Unsure of Where To Start? How About Here!

Image courtesy of tinypic.com

Eating healthy can be anything but boring. I started my journey in March of 2013 and kicked it into high gear by September. The reason for this blog is to let others who find themselves in the position I found myself in that there is, in fact, a way out of the hole you dug yourself and that more people than you think are riding along your boat, in the same deep water. I am not a weight loss expert, nutritionist, personal trainer or dietician. What I am is a mother of 3 and the wife of a man who has loved me no matter what I looked like on the outside. This has been both a blessing and a curse. The curse being, I let myself get over the top overweight and didn't do anything about it until the hole I was in was so deep I could barely see any light. I want to stress the importance of loving yourself enough so that you really try hard to make a change. I want you to write somewhere "Because I am worth it!", somewhere, and look at it everyday. All too often, especially with mothers and caretakers, we put our own needs on the back burner. In the rush of daily life we tend to graze on unhealthy foods and not put the time into feeding or taking care of ourselves as well as we do for others. There is nothing selfish about taking time to take care of yourself, even if it means you complete a 20 minute workout or sit down once a week to plan some meals. We all deserve the time and attention we give to others. With that being said, these are some tips that worked for me and I hope they work for you as well. Like anything else in this blog, take whatever you can from it that you find may apply in your life or help your situation. After eating myself into oblivion, I realized that I clearly had a problem. Some people can live their entire lives in moderation, eat what they want and never gain a pound (or stay within 5). I was not one of those people.

When I began my journey, the FIRST thing I had to do was become food conscious. Years of haphazard eating frenzies and celebrations left me in the worst shape of my life. We have this crazy notion in this country that everything must be celebrated with food. We mourn with food. Every emotion from A-Z often times have food in the equation. I had absolutely ZERO knowledge of my daily caloric intake. I had no idea that actual AMOUNT of food I was consuming on a daily basis. I gained over 130 pounds since I began dating my husband. I'm not only embarrassed to admit that, but it leaves me absolutely sick that I put my health in jeopardy. It makes me sad that I made my heart and vascular system work as hard as it had to during the past 15 years. 130 pounds seems like an incredible amount of weight - and it is. However, when you break it down it was less than 10 pounds per year. 8.6 to be exact. Break it down further and it was a mere 3/4 of a pound per month. Again broken down, it comes out to 0.16 pounds per week. Teeny tiny weight over 15 years that I never took off. Guess what? Tiny changes gave me huge results. What goes up must come down, so to think it will come off quickly is unrealistic. However, it won't take 15 years and I still believe I can do it in less than 2. I am nearly half way there, roughly 8 months in.

For the first 2 weeks, I didn't change anything in my diet. When I say the word "diet" I am referring to it nutritionally as a whole. Everything I eat is my diet. I am not insinuating to cut yourself off, feeling deprived and hungry. On the day I decided to make a lifestyle change, I downloaded an app for my phone called "Fat Secret". Similar to "My Fitness Pal", this app would enable me to track all of my food I consumed for the day. I made a vow that I wouldn't eat anything without logging it in. Yes, my phone was with me everywhere and yes it was on the table, but I logged everything I ate day in and out and by the time a week passed I realized I consumed way too many calories in a single day. The other change I made was that I religiously drank a MINIMUM of 64 ounces of water daily. Some days if I worked out, I drink more, however, we're starting slow. Just drink your water and log your food for 2 weeks. I would also highly suggest taking your measurements. There are weeks that the scale won't budge but you will lose inches. Keeping a log of your size will help you from feeling discouraged if you come across a week where the scale just isn't going anywhere. This is a process and we are building on what we learn. All too often, people jump into this lifestyle change head first and find themselves overwhelmed and defeated (as I had so many times before). I found making tiny changes and building on those blocks would enable me to keep these changes a permanent part of my daily routine. I wanted to be one of those women on the cover of a magazine that had a headline something along the lines of "I lost 100 pounds and kept it off!".

Now that I knew what I ate, I had to make another change. The first two weeks were my "awakening period". Now I had to go through detox. "Detox" is where I started to make changes that would keep me on the right track and focused. The first phase of detox means no eating after 8pm. I know this is late with some eating plans, but I've reduced the time in the weeks coming to 7pm. Right now I was learning to eat at somewhat regular intervals. Do you ever feel like you need a nap mid-morning or mid-afternoon? Guess what? So does your metabolism. Eating frequent, small meals or snacks will keep it on it's toes and moving. It prevents it from wanting a nap, too! Ok, so during the "detox" phase there are a few important steps. Once again, I kept them simple and small. No eating after 8 pm. If you drink coffee, reduce your sugar by 25%. If you put 4 teaspoons, just put 3. If you put 2, try putting 1.5. You get my drift. The last thing I did during this 2 week phase was eat serving sizes. I didn't impose a caloric limit at this point and I was still eating whatever I wanted, however, the new change was that I could only eat whatever a serving was. After logging all of my food for 2 weeks and realizing the amount of food I was eating, I found myself making better food choices. Now with the serving size requirements, I was choosing foods even wiser. This will take you through weeks 3 and 4.

Right about at this point, I was one month in to living a healthier lifestyle. Let's review the weeks:

Weeks 1 and 2:
Drink 64 ounces of water daily
Log food using an app

Weeks 3 and 4:
Continue doing Weeks 1 and 2 tasks
Measure, Measure, Measure! Eat only a serving size!
No eating after 8pm
Lower sugar intake by 25%

Now we have the tools we need to really get this process going so for weeks 5 and 6 and beyond, I cut my sugar in my coffee in half. I currently drink 1.5 teaspoons of sugar in my coffee each morning as well as 2 tablespoons of half and half (this was learned during the serving size & measuring phase and to this day, I still measure these items). My coffee is my one non-negotiable in the morning and since I have drastically reduced the sugar and cream in it, it doesn't feel so bad. Confession: I used to go out and get my coffee and in it I would put one packet of sugar for every ounce the coffee cup held. 12 ounce Dunkin' Donuts coffee? Sure! I'll take it with no sugar, when I will then go over to the counter & proceed to put 12 packets of sugar in it. Replace your afternoon cup of coffee (if you have one) with a cup of tea with lemon or another 20 ounces of water. This will cut out nearly 70 calories because guess what this week starts? Setting a daily limit on what we're eating. Now this will vary from person to person depending on activity level and metabolic rate. I am also breastfeeding my son, so I have a little bit more leeway when it comes to what I eat, however that doesn't mean I can still eat a burger freely and it not have any effects. For me personally, I consume between 1700-1900 calories daily. I have tried to go much lower, but for me, it doesn't work. I tried to stay between 1200 and 1400 but I have had weeks where the scale just didn't budge. Maybe this will change when I am done breastfeeding, but for now, it is what it is. I keep a ratio of 40% carbs, 35% protein and 25% fats. Your body requires all 3 of these to function properly. Carbohydrates give you energy, protein builds muscle and fats keep your heart healthy providing you eat the right kinds (and trust me, there are plenty!). You will find what works for you as you go along. If you eat too little, your body will retain weight. It's all about finding a balance and what works for you.

During these weeks, after I established my caloric intake for the day, I stuck to that religiously. I eat 1700-1900 however, I do not count for breastfeeding and I do not log my exercise into my food app. After all is said and done, I personally may net around 1400. After about week 6, I started really making a point to get some kind of physical activity in daily. I take Mondays off (because that's my weigh in day). I exercise to build muscle and be strong, not just to lose weight. I do some type of physical activity daily. One of my favorite websites is the 30 day fitness challenge one. There, they have listed various "challenges" that test and build your strength and ability. They are activities that you can do, at home, while watching water boil. Very easy, especially if you are limited on time. I haven't necessarily done the "challenges" in order, instead, modifying them to my own ability. At one point I did 50 squats and ended up being so sore for 3 days that I quit and stopped doing them altogether. 15 squats per day is better than 0 squats per day. I have ADD when it comes to fitness and bore easily so these give me something I can change every few days. I began walking. At one point, I was running, however I have allergy-induced asthma and was put on meds for some time and was just never able to go back to it. I have quite a ways to go (about 70 more pounds, but I would be happy at 40 for the time being). At my weight, I sometimes find it hard to consume all the protein that is ideal so I started drinking LRW Protein Powder and love it to pieces. It has 24g of protein per serving and I drink it IN ADDITION to a light breakfast or after a workout. I don't replace anything with it (although you CAN) and I find it enhances my diet tremendously. At some point, months from now, calorie counting won't be necessary and instead I can become "calorie conscious". You have to be aware of what you're eating, however when you are at the level of maintaining your weight or slower weight loss and have the proper knowledge of your body and how it handles food, I am not sure that calorie counting and measuring is necessary. I would revisit the measuring cups maybe every other month because sometimes when you eyeball ingredients, you may eventually add a little here and there, thus throwing off your portions. I took a break from Phase I of my journey for 2 months and kicked it back into high gear recently. During the holidays I gained 5 pounds. I took it back off within a few weeks without killing myself. I always weigh myself on Mondays and to celebrate a weight loss (here we go again with celebrating with food), I allow myself a cheat meal - not day - one meal. If I don't eat it on Monday then it has to wait until next week. I think weighing yourself on Mondays helps to keep yourself in check for the weekend. Why undo in one day what you worked so hard all week to achieve? At this stage I eat very little processed foods and refined sugar other than what's naturally occurring in the foods I do eat. I have become very educated and have spent many hours researching various topics. Once again, I'm not an expert, but I know a lot. I have tweaked recipes and use websites more as a guide to inspire me to make my own dishes. Cooking has become fun and inventive. When I am looking for a dessert or something to satisfy my sweet tooth, I look for recipes that contain all natural ingredients and immediately cut the sugar in half. You wouldn't believe how little sugar you can live on when you start to remove it from your life. Everything tastes so sweet now, even natural peanut butter (my current absolute favorite snack, with sliced bananas) or dark chocolate (which I would never go near before this change. As of March 2013, the cost for diagnosed diabetes in  the United States is $245 BILLION*. As of  2011, 25.8 MILLION adults and children in the United States alone have diabetes.* I don't want to become a statistic for diabetes, heart disease or chronic kidney disease and so I have made a vow to do what I can to try to live healthier so that my body can run at it's peak efficiency. It can't do that at the weight I was.

All too often I see people in the same position I found myself in, not so long ago. I was desperate to be in the shape I was once upon a time that I found so much fault with. I WISH I looked like I was years ago but my new goal is to be healthy and strong. I don't believe you need expensive meal replacements, workouts or gym memberships. I think if you spent the money on food or maybe nutritional counseling or a personal trainer you would get just as good results that would have a bigger sense of permanency because you are armed with the knowledge.  I know with the tools I have learned and the way I have reprogrammed my way of thinking, that this is absolutely possible and I WILL reach my goals. Thankfully, I have welcomed some amazing people in my life. This was a process that was kicked into high gear by doing weight loss challenge (which I have recently joined again for another round) and I had the most amazing, well educated "coach" who knew so much about nutrition and health. To this day, she is in my life every step of the way and I cannot be more grateful that I have these people in my life that share my way of thinking. The accountability and support has been nothing short of fantastic and positive. It's a long road and it takes dedication, perseverance and patience but I am willing to walk with anyone who has a good pair of walking shoes and a positive attitude that anything is possible!




*Statistics via The American Diabetes Association