Get Fit

Friday, July 9, 2010

You have to have a plan

Sometimes you just need to take a break.

I'm now weighing in at 213 pounds.

Measurements

Neck 15.5 in
Bust 41 in
natural waist 40 in
Waist at widest point 45 in
Hips 44 in
Thigh (each) 26

I can now do:

15 curl ups
2 30 second planks
By the way...2 lb weights kick your ass when you're out of shape!

I can run almost *ALMOST* half a mile, actually more like a medium jog, but hey, when the most you've run in the last 15 years was to catch a toddler before he drank out of the toilet, you'll take what you can get!

And now on to the topic people have shown the most interest in: Fooooood

A change to a healthier diet will drop the weight slowly, which is what you want if you intend to keep the weight off:

Eat breakfast: Consume up to 55% of your calories first thing in the morning. Lean protein, fresh fruit and vegetables, fiber that's all you need to remember. That and the following are just suggestions, not requirements. I'm not a doctor or a dietitian, just someone who's learning as she goes or is it just someone who's remembering what she knows?????

-Plain Greek yogurt with fresh blueberries, granola, and a tablespoon of honey. If you can't stand the plain use Greek yogurt with honey or caramel instead.

-Scrambled eggs with herbed feta mixed in.

-Pepperidge Farm 15 grain slice of bread with unsweetened pnut butter and a glass of milk.

-Have a plate of cheddar, mozzarella, grapes, avocado slices, and black olives, sweet tea. Yes Sweet Tea, sweeten it with honey, go easy on the sugar. Sugar is not the enemy. You are.

-Oatmeal with raisins or dried cranberries, sweetened with honey or sugar.

-Special K cereal (I LOVE Cinnamon Pecan Special K)and milk, fruit of your choice.

Have all the coffee, tea, milk you want, or water, just drink something to get you hydrated. I'm a huge fan of SoBe Zero Calorie Life water, too bad it isn't sold by the gallon.


Lunch: More lean protein, all the FRESH fruits and veggies you can stand.

-Tuna stuffed whole wheat pita pocket, blueberries or grapes

- Baked herbed chicken breast, mixed greens salad, dressing on the side, whole grain roll or slice of bread, a teeny tiny bit of butter if you must have it.

-Chef's salad, dressing on the side dip your greens in the dressing don't drown them with it that defeats the whole purpose of ordering on the side.

-Sushi, yes, sushi

-Al fresco tacos


Supper: Yet again, more lean protein, fresh fruits veggies (I try to avoid grains at night as they tend to cause bloat)

Supper is pretty much the same as lunch. I'll post whole weeks menus if you really want me to.


Snacks: I am a huge fan of those 100 calorie snack packages but that doesn't mean eat the whole box in one sitting or even in one day. A lot of popular candies are available in the 100 calorie size. I usually have 2 100 calorie snacks and a bottle of SoBe Zero Calorie Lifewater or tea or maybe a 1/3 of 12 oz can of soda just depending on my mood.

Carrots and hummus
Snap peas and hummus
Celery sticks and hummus or peanut butter or pimento cheese (go easy) or cream cheese (go easy)
Pretzel chips and hummus
Trail mix (unsalted)
Unsalted, non roasted nuts
slices of mozzarella or cheddar cheese and an apple
a bowl of fruit drizzled with honey (not swimming in it, there's a difference)

Did you notice anything about the above? There are no limits, no calorie counting, no fat counting, no weighing of meats,just good old fashioned common sense. You know when you're pushing the over eating envelope. Pay attention to what you're doing. Pay attention to what you're eating. Pay attention to YOU. Make a plan. Know what you're going to eat and how much. Once it's gone, it's gone, do something else besides eat.

Dessert: What do you like? I'm not a dessert kind of girl. I might have a spoonful of ice cream or a couple bites of cake, half a Debbie cake or none at all mostly because I now look at dessert like I would look at a roach while thinking oh no...not in this house...


On my next topic:

I have people asking me how much can I eat? My answer is How much does it take to make you feel satisfied? I know some people can eat A LOT and still not feel full and vice versa. This is where you have to start taking control of bad habits. Start paying attention to your body. It cues you in when its had enough you just have to learn to listen.

I have people ask me What diet are you on? My answer is that I'm not on a diet per se, I'm changing my way of life. Diets automatically set you up to fail by setting some goals that most people think they can attain, want to attain, but realistically, they can't ever get there, or once they're there, there's no plan on where to go next because the diet doesn't help them detail the 'What next?' after they achieve their weight loss goal.

Your goal might be to maintain the weight loss, but where is the 'weight loss maintenance diet' book? They are few and far between which is why I choose to adopt a healthier lifestyle rather than subscribe to Atkins for the rest of my life, or South Beach or whatever other diet is out there that many have 'tried' even succeeded at, but in the end...well...no plans beyond that...and guess where the weight went?

My son Caleb likes to have definite plans "Mom what are we doing today?" he listens intently then adds "And then what?" after each answer I give him. It's annoying for sure.

But in planning this blog, his question started nagging at me from a different angle "And then what?" that seems to be the question every 'dieter' seems to avoid. Okay, I lose the weight and then what?

Maintain?

How do I maintain? Is this diet something I want to do for the rest of my life? I mean come on, the cabbage soup diet might be a great way to drop a few pounds but do you really want to eat the stuff for the rest of your life? Have a plan for what comes next.

I certainly didn't have a plan when I looked at myself in a 3 way full length mirror last year. I just knew it had to come off and come off now. No, wait, quick weight loss results in even quicker weight gain and icky saggy skin. Slow and steady wins the race. Knowledge is power, So what did I know about getting the weight off and what did I know about food?

Cardio (not necessarily running) gets the middle off. Crunches tone the middle BUT upon studying a little on the internet, PILATES was even better at toning the middle as it works the core muscles and it would only cost me whatever I could find used at McKay's Used books....there lies an endless library of workout videos for all ages and stages of life. Hello Brooke Siler and Suzanne Deason. If it has their names on it, I will own it eventually. Jillian Micheals can kiss my fat backside, that girl's work will never see the inside of my home on purpose.

I also have seen what some of these women who've shed a lot of weight on a diet without giving thought to toning their bodies as they go and OMG I don't want to look like that! EWWWWWWWWW! Exercise, tone, that's the ticket.

So what do I know about food? I look at food and I know that bag of chips has enough salt in it for ten adults. I look at a Krispy Creme Donut and I know there's enough sugar to keep me wound up for a week, and enough calories to completely shipwreck the entire program I'm inventing as I go. I know a can of soda is loaded with caffeine and sugar and sodium. So, I guess, in a way, eating to drop weight is just using plain common sense.

You don't need my permission to eat what you like. I eat raw broccoli, because I can't stand it cooked, and I eat cooked cauliflower because I can't stand it raw. So there. There are no rules on eating as long as you use common sense. Vinaigrette is supposedly better for you than ranch dressing, I HATE vinaigrette so I have a teeny tiny bit of ranch dressing on the side. I don't eat fries or buns that come with the hamburger. I don't eat pasta of any description unless it happens to be appealing to me, which is very very rare these days. I hate that whole wheat pasta with a blinding passion so don't even got there on that.

What are my plans post diet?

Run in a marathon! then what? Take real Pilates classes! Then what? Become a Pilates instructor! Then What? Open my own studio! Then what? Kick Jillian Micheals butt! Then what? Well, what else, write a book about my change of lifestyle, then age gracefully while being a fabulous 50,60,70,80,90 something, and still look better than any other of those old bats in the nursing home with me!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

love the blog ~leann

LeAnn said...

i am over it.

I am a stress eater.

there, i've said it.

so, i've managed to gain enough weight at this new job of mine that i can hardly fit in the new work clothes i bought in february and march. they don't pay me near enough to get more.

so i decided that it had to come off -- again. i'm so over this yo-yo crap. it's killing me. i have gained and lost the same 35 pounds in one form or another for the last 11 years.
i am over it. this has to stop.