I know a lot of you have been able to read from my postings how I'm losing weight, how I'm closing in on a goal I only dreamed about, how I've tried, almost desperately at times, to reach a specific weight. Well, I'M THERE!!! In the past ten months, I have gone from a size 14 (occasionally a 16 during fat days) to a size 8! It's been a rough road, and it hasn't been easy, especially since I worked as the solitary cook at a preschool for nine months. I've had to learn self-control, and keep myself focused on what my goal was. The result has been an incredible life-change. And I'm not talking about the fact that my entire wardrobe has been revamped several times in the last year. It was hard to tell myself no when the chicken nuggets were right in front of me, to make myself go for 15 more minutes on the elliptical, or to get off the couch and go to a kickboxing or Zumba class. My whole perspective on food has changed, on eating, on relationships between people and the earth and the life forms that provide our diet. My outlook on what is possible has been revolutionized! My energy levels are up, I can play longer and harder, and I don't cry in the dressing room anymore.
Let me tell you right now--there is NO miracle pill that will shed your years of bad decisions. You can't drink, diet, or sleep your way to a healthier physique. You MUST put in the time in the gym, and you MUST make better eating choices. It's all about habits. And although it hurts sometimes, it's nothing compared to the pain in the dressing room.
So here are a few things I've done that have helped me shed 30 pounds over the past 10 or so months. Please keep in mind, while I started working out in October, my commitment to a healthier EATING lifestyle didn't start until January, and it wasn't until February that the weight started to come off in a VERY noticeable way.
FOOD
I started these habits at different stages of the game. Some of them were obvious from the start--no more ice cream, junk food, more fruits/veggies, etc--but other habits I picked up as I started to investigate what the exact consequences were from everything I ate. I'm sure I still make poor decisions, but it's nowhere near what I was doing. Everything I eat or don't eat is for a health reason. I encourage you to evaluate where YOU are first, before you just jump into it. It's a complete mindset-shift--this isn't something you can drop after a few months. You must be committed to changing, PERMANENTLY, how you see food and eating. I could write a whole other post on Americans' relationship to food. Onward!
1. I learned the difference between APPETITE and HUNGER. If I wanted something to eat, I evaluated my urge. Was I actually hungry, or was it my mouth that wanted something? If it's been three or more hours, it's usually hunger. If it's a particular craving ("I really want a ___ right now") then it's appetite. And appetite gets a "NO".
2. I don't eat unless I'll be up for three more hours. Eating right before sleep is NOT a good idea--your body simply stores up all those calories instead of burning them. And I have a shift-work job, so some nights I'm up until 1200 working and can't control when my dinner time is. So the three hour rule worked well. And I DON'T eat past 900.
3. I stopped drinking soda. Not only is the dark syrup bad for your teeth and liver, the sugar content in one can of coke is incredible--17 TEASPOONS!! That's outrageous. So, I started drinking water ALL the time--most of the time your 'hunger' cues are really from dehydration. You lose two liters of water (two nalgenes) everyday, through simple body functions (breathing, cell function, urinating, etc). So I drink those liters back plus some, and not only is my system flushed out of toxins and waste, but my skin is clearer and I'm not hungry nearly as often. Tip: You can buy Vitamin C drops at any grocery store. I drop one in my Nalgene, and not only am I getting my daily C (which makes your skin 'glow') but it makes my water tastier!
4. I stopped eating most processed foods---no ice cream, cakes, cookies, puddings, etc. All my favorites were keeping me in 14s and sometimes 16s! Junk food is no longer an option. Instead, grapes, almonds, plums, and sometimes pretzels.
5. An endless supply of fruits and vegetables. I eat fresh, raw (or steamed) vegetables and fruits instead of "ready-made" meals or foods for most of my meals and snacks. I like to think of them as 'zero' calories--they're mostly water anyway, and the other bits are vitamins and important fats (avocados=monounsaturated fats, which help you lost belly pudge). So unlimited amounts of sweet, juicy, fruits and delicious, crisp veggies.
6. I cut out inorganic meat. Which I define as: meat that has no antibiotics or artificial hormones and was a grass-fed/vegetarian diet cow during it's life. Chicken is a little trickier, so I generally don't eat much of it. I don't eat much meat, period, but I'm not opposed to it. (Dating a vegan is teaching me ways around it.) Legumes are an awesome way to get your protein--I like to add pinto beans to my spinach salads or to a bowl of rotini with broccoli.
7. I drastically cut down on breads. Bread, tortillas, rolls, etc. Fill up on vegetables and fruits instead of those heavy grains. And when I did eat it, it was whole grain--no more white bread.
8. I don't eat lunch meat/deli meat that contains nitrates/nitrites. Which is most of them. Unless they specifically say they don't have them, or aren't marked "uncured", then they DO have these harmful chemicals. Did you know--nitrites are turned into adrites, which is a cancer-causing chemical. No thank you. I don't eat ham/bacon at all anymore, either-even uncured, it only has to be 20% protein to be labeled as such, and if I'm eating meat, it's for the protein content. So turkey, nitrite-free, is my lunch meat of choice. I like Boar's Head brand, because they're organic, uncured, and tasty.
9. Dairy intake cut in half. Not only is most dairy high in fats, I'm also lactose-intolerant. Occasionally I eat organic, natural yogurt (No HFCS) for the acidophilus (an important bacterial culture important for women!). But ice cream, most butter, cream cheese, sour cream, and inorganic milk had to go. (Side note: I couldn't drink milk for a long time because of my lactose intolerance. But fat-free milk that comes from pasture fed, hormone-/antibiotic-free cows doesn't bother me at all! Go figure).
10. No more high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). This is mostly on principle: the government gives subsidies to the soy and corn farmers, encouraging mass-production farms (capitalism at it's worst) while family-farms and local farmers are dying out because no one can compete with the prices subsidized farms can offer.
EXERCISE
Simply put--MOVE more. Mom's been telling me this for a long time, but I couldn't believe how much exercise I WASN'T getting. As I got over the general stiffness and soreness, I started noticing muscles. And THOSE burn much more fat than....fat. The leaner your muscles, like your thighs (particularly the quadriceps, which are the largest in your body) the more calories they burn
1. I go to the gym. Seems simple, right? You wouldn't believe how hard this one is to keep up with. But once I'm there, and in clothes, I quit thinking of reasons to go home. The easiest way was to go straight from work to the gym.
2. I go to Zumba classes. I suppose I should have made this number one, but I have LITERALLY danced my butt off. If you haven't heard of this workout phenomenon, google it. It's an amazing hour of interval training through latin-based hip-hop dancing. It's incredible--I completely attribute my success to this class. I go anywhere from once to three or four times a week, depending on my work schedule. I'm a success story my instructors love to use to show the newbies why they should keep coming.
3. Cardiovascular workout. My apartment complex has a little fitness room with the perfect little elliptical. If I don't feel like battling austin traffic to get to the YMCA, I run down there and knock out half an hour on this clunky machine. But I ALWAYS feel my thighs twitching in the tell-tale sign of a successful workout.
4. I ride my bike. Granted, this one is a recent addition, but I feel I can attribute this latest jump from a 10 to an 8 to it. My quads are burning more calories because not only are they getting used more in workout, but at a resting heart rate they're burning more simply because there's MORE of them! Also, riding to work has not only saved me gas, but it makes me feel like I'm experiencing the world in a whole new way. I enjoy feeling my lungs and thighs struggle through hills, and getting to work out under the sun (usually a problem for an asthmatic like me) has been an awesome experience.
Nothing more. The workout portion wasn't as long as the food because the idea behind it is simple: get UP and DO something! The classes work best for me because I stand up front, not to show off, but to keep myself motivated. There isn't a way I'm walking out of there when 50 people could see me leave! And it's fun and I don't have to think about what to do-I just follow along and BAM! my workout's over. No mulling over what to do next. I love being able to do physical activities now without feeling fat or unable to--I can keep up and actually enjoy myself!
One more thing before I go. Don't deprive yourself. I know I've said a lot about telling yourself no and having self-discipline, but what's the point of life and of enjoying food if you're not actually enjoying yourself? I had to learn to love fruit over Swiss Cake rolls, but I honestly do now. The trick is to not buy it. I can't eat it if it's not in my house. Eating from boredom is a lot less dangerous if I'm snacking on grapes rather than cookies or potato chips. So a) go work out if you're bored and b) make smarter decisions when you go to the grocery store.
All that said-- if I'm out with friends, I'm not going to say no to chocolate gelato. I'll simply order the smallest one there, or share one with a friend. It's about portions, and about not beating yourself up if you have 2000 calories instead of 1600 one day. So what? Life should be enjoyed. Food is a part of that.
So there you go! Not too difficult, right? If you have any questions or comments, PLEASE leave them--I'd love to help. And I love to learn, so if you have any nutritional advice, send it my way--I'm always looking for ways to improve my diet.
