The D Word.
I've started a new healthy eating plan. (I hate the D-Word.) A bit of history: I have successfully lost large amounts of weight in the past, the last being 50 lbs. over 8 months in 1997. I did it carefully and slowly, without any big fad diet plan, just cutting out excess fats and sugars and carbs. I was a really bad eater, and became a really good one.
I pretty much kept it off for about three years, gaining about 10 back by year four. Then, I quit smoking, and voila! Gained 15-20 back. It's amazing - I consciously did not substitute food or drink for cigarettes, and joined a gym to distract myself (and combat the metabolism change), and still gained the standard weight. Since then, I'm sad to say, I've gained more. Problem is, I'm not eating all those bad things I used to - just a handful of them. My biggest problem is probably quantity - if you eat too much of even the healthy foods, you're going to gain.
So, this time I think I need some guidance. I can't just do it on my own, because I'm struggling at figuring out what I need to do. I was inspired by "The Biggest Loser" finale - who wouldn't be? Those people are hot. Of course, if I had a personal trainer and dietician, and didn't have to work so I could work out all day in a fully equipped gym, I'd probably do pretty well, too. (I thought about auditioning for the show after season 1 - but they wanted people who were outgoing and had dynamic personalities. I would be hiding from the cameras the whole time. I like to watch reality tv, never want to be on one.) Anyhow... I went to their website to check out Before & After pics, and there was a link to their online weight loss program... So I subscribed. Really. I'm on the Biggest Loser Diet.
It's pretty good though - low fat, "conservative carb," low calorie diet that is easily adaptable to tastes and preferences (i.e., I eat fish but no red meat or poultry.) Suggested daily and weekly meal plans are online, and you can swap out different elements and create your own customized one - from which you can then generate a shopping list. You also get a daily exercise plan with fitness tips and exercises, record your weight as often as you want to (and get a cool chart showing your progress), have access to message boards, etc.
So far, so good. I've learned that I really don't hate celery, and that cashew butter rocks. The basis of the food plan is that you eat 5-6 small meals a day vs. 2-3 big ones. Yeah, exactly what my doctor has told me to do for my acid reflux problems. Overall, everything about it is sensible.
We'll see. I am going to the gym after work today, the first time I've been inspired to do so since I got this new job & new commute. (It is going to snow, too, but I won't let that stop me.)
I don't know if I'll keep talking about it here. I might not want to, unless I'm really successful.
Oh, and... I'm being tortured today. You see, on the show, they challenge the participants with "temptations" each episode that test their will power and commitment. Not my favorite part of the show - some just seem cruel (i.e., if you eat this bad food, you can have a personal phone call with a loved one.) I know they think they have to do that for ratings, but... the drama of trying to lose all that weight is interesting enough, I think.
ANYHOW, today for the first time in the entire two months I've been on this job, someone brought in a cake and it's sitting on a file cabinet near me, with an "Eat me" sign. No,really. It's chocolate with peanut butter mousse frosting, and as the people who have walked by carrying pieces of it have said, "delicious!"
Really, where are the cameras?
I pretty much kept it off for about three years, gaining about 10 back by year four. Then, I quit smoking, and voila! Gained 15-20 back. It's amazing - I consciously did not substitute food or drink for cigarettes, and joined a gym to distract myself (and combat the metabolism change), and still gained the standard weight. Since then, I'm sad to say, I've gained more. Problem is, I'm not eating all those bad things I used to - just a handful of them. My biggest problem is probably quantity - if you eat too much of even the healthy foods, you're going to gain.
So, this time I think I need some guidance. I can't just do it on my own, because I'm struggling at figuring out what I need to do. I was inspired by "The Biggest Loser" finale - who wouldn't be? Those people are hot. Of course, if I had a personal trainer and dietician, and didn't have to work so I could work out all day in a fully equipped gym, I'd probably do pretty well, too. (I thought about auditioning for the show after season 1 - but they wanted people who were outgoing and had dynamic personalities. I would be hiding from the cameras the whole time. I like to watch reality tv, never want to be on one.) Anyhow... I went to their website to check out Before & After pics, and there was a link to their online weight loss program... So I subscribed. Really. I'm on the Biggest Loser Diet.
It's pretty good though - low fat, "conservative carb," low calorie diet that is easily adaptable to tastes and preferences (i.e., I eat fish but no red meat or poultry.) Suggested daily and weekly meal plans are online, and you can swap out different elements and create your own customized one - from which you can then generate a shopping list. You also get a daily exercise plan with fitness tips and exercises, record your weight as often as you want to (and get a cool chart showing your progress), have access to message boards, etc.
So far, so good. I've learned that I really don't hate celery, and that cashew butter rocks. The basis of the food plan is that you eat 5-6 small meals a day vs. 2-3 big ones. Yeah, exactly what my doctor has told me to do for my acid reflux problems. Overall, everything about it is sensible.
We'll see. I am going to the gym after work today, the first time I've been inspired to do so since I got this new job & new commute. (It is going to snow, too, but I won't let that stop me.)
I don't know if I'll keep talking about it here. I might not want to, unless I'm really successful.
Oh, and... I'm being tortured today. You see, on the show, they challenge the participants with "temptations" each episode that test their will power and commitment. Not my favorite part of the show - some just seem cruel (i.e., if you eat this bad food, you can have a personal phone call with a loved one.) I know they think they have to do that for ratings, but... the drama of trying to lose all that weight is interesting enough, I think.
ANYHOW, today for the first time in the entire two months I've been on this job, someone brought in a cake and it's sitting on a file cabinet near me, with an "Eat me" sign. No,really. It's chocolate with peanut butter mousse frosting, and as the people who have walked by carrying pieces of it have said, "delicious!"
Really, where are the cameras?
posted by medusa at 1:31 PM
2 Comments:
Good luck! Yeah, cashew butter ROCKS! I love dipping apples in it. YUM. I lost 100+ lbs in 1994 and have gained it back and lost it and gained it plus some again...good god. But I'm going to the gym regularly, just need to get the eating part down. I've lost about 50 lbs and am feeling healthier than I have been in the past. But it's an hourly struggle. All I can say is go get 'em and you are not alone!
Thanks for the encouragement! I am not sure yet what I've lost - I upgraded to a digital scale which put me at 4 lbs. higher than my old one, which was really hard to read anyway. So it appears I've lost 1 lb, but it's possible it's been 5.
Good luck to you as well!
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