Saturday night, Tim and I were heading to a church meeting, and I had to try on 3 skirts before I could get one to zip up. And I decided right then and there that it was time for me to get serious. I needed a real plan. One that would reduce the size of my ever-growing posterior and deflate my spare tire. I have been "trying" for 16 months to get off the baby fat, and so far, I've lost a total of 2 pounds. Pathetic. Here's my plan. If you have any additional suggestions, please, suggest away.
1. Exercise. I've moonlighted at exercise for a year now, and have lasted 2 or 3 weeks at the most, before I've gotten sick or travelled or gotten discouraged. I'm doubling up to make up for the lost time. Instrument of Torture #1 is Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred. It's painful, it's brutal, it's annoying, and it makes you hurt. And it is extremely effective, and only 25 minutes long. So you may want to die the whole time, but it's over quickly, and every muscle in your body has just gotten a great workout. Tim and I take turns guilting each other into doing it after the boys are in bed. So far it's been working pretty well. Instrument of Torture #2 is the elliptical. It sits by our bed and is a daily reminder of my need to exercise. Tim gets up at the ridiculous hour of 5:20, does his time on the machine, then harasses me until I roll out of bed and do my time. Tim is really good at removing me from bed. Maybe all this exercise will give me enough strength to defend myself from his relentless tickling.
2. Diet. Oh, how I hate that word. I'm using the word hate here. I like food. But not all food. Just the yummy kind. You know, chocolate, creamy sauces, chocolate, filet mignon, ice cream, Wendy's Big Bacon Classic with a Frostee and fries, and chocolate. I don't like vegetables, whole wheat bread, tofu, skim milk, and anything that is labeled as a dessert but doesn't have anything sweet or chocolatey in it. I'm sorry, but an apple with a little bit of cinnamon is NOT dessert. You see why I haven't been losing weight?
So here's my plan, and this is where any helpful suggestions and recipes would be fab. My friend introduced me to the "Eat This, Not That" book series. It lists foods we love and gives us the skinny (or the fat) on its dietary value. For example, a Coldstone shake has something like 3000 calories and 250 grams of fat in it. (!!!) It doesn't just tell you, "Look how bad this stuff is." It says, "Instead of this, eat this equally delicious dish, and it only has 150 calories and 15 grams of fat." That's information that is useful to me. I bought the "Cook This, Not That" book, and it breaks down the types of food we cook (crock pot, stir fry, grill, baked), and makes a list of ingredients that are commonly used in cooking, and rates them from healthiest to unhealthiest. It gives you lists of cooking fats and oils, marinades, spreads, and even cuts of meats. And then it gives you a whole load of recipes, complete with nutritional information. It also compares its meals to a similar restaurant meal and shows how much fat and calories can be cut by cooking at home. So far, I have made Pesto Gnocchi with tomatoes and green beans, and Stuffed Chicken with Roasted Red Peppers and Spinach. They have both tasted fantastic, and have included protein, vegetable and carb. I admit, the Stuffed Chicken was a little stressful (don't overpound your chicken), but at least it tasted super good. So, the plan is to make delicious food that includes veggies without tasting like veggies, stop eating out so much, and keep my portions reasonable. For my other meals, I'm including whole grains (ugh, but jam helps) and healthy cereal. I bought chocolate yogurts to satisfy my sweet tooth. If I know dinner will taste okay, I can live with whole wheat toast and Grape Nuts. No more second helpings, no more delicious white bread sandwiches, and no more making a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies, then eating them all in 2 days.
So, why am I telling you this? This is Part 3 of the plan. If this bores you guys to death, I'm sorry, but I have to put my money where my mouth is. If people I see regularly know that I'm doing this, they'll either notice I'm losing weight, or not losing weight. And I don't want people I know to look at me and say, "Man, she must not be working out anymore. Look at the size of her butt!" (To themselves, of course. If they said it to my face I'd probably slap them.) So please, hold me responsible. I have lofty goals and clothes I love hiding in my basement closet. At I'd at least like to fit into my church clothes that I fit into 2 months ago. Thanks for bearing with me through this long post. It's what I do.
9 comments:
Sounds like a good plan to me. I have been trying to make somewhat more of an effort to get my family to eat healthier. I had always let my kids eat any cereal they wanted but I just started buying healthier ones without all the sugar. My kids LOVE whole grain cheerios and so do I. They are slightly sweetened so they are not super blah and are a good source of fiber. Sorry to sound like an advertisement, but I really do love them. Keep us posted on the progress!
Rock on sister! You can do it! I still need to send you that skirt by the way....maybe I'll get to the post office today.
We're on the same kick. Support buddies! we're even doing it for similar reasons. I tried on a pair of capris that I fit into last October, and couldn't even get them up to even try to zip them. It just suddenly hit me that I had spiraled out of control. The biggest problem was that I was turning to food for comfort. It's not even like I was going through a difficult time. I just let food comfort me through the normal daily stress of life. I was ballooning and if I didn't change then I would surely end up being a viable contestant for The Biggest Loser by 2011.
We use the guilt method for exercise too. If I'm not held responsible, then I won't do it. We've been going for three weeks now (Jillian Michaels Biggest Winner series which kicks my trash every day). Stephen had to force me to do it every day for a while, but I'm starting to get my own motivation. Why? Well let me tell you, it's not because it is any easier. In fact, it is just as hard as it ever has been. But I'm feeling better. I've realized that I just feel better during the days. I just want to keep that feeling.
Food....I thought this would be my downfall. I love to cook, and what kind of a cook are you if you don't load things up with butter? Things have been going great though and we haven't sacrificed taste at all. It helps that we bought a grill. I'm going to start posting some of the recipes and meals plans I've been using. I've turned some old favorites into healthier versions. A days meal basically consists of bran flakes for breakfast (which I love anyway because I'm weird), a wrap for lunch (sliced chicken from the deli, a little cheese, a little spinach, avocado, and a little cheddar chipotle dressing on a whole wheat flat bread), and then we have some kind of reasonable dinner where we strictly control portion sizes. Then, if we really want dessert, I make a healthy smoothie (fruit, milk, orange juice, sometimes peanut butter, and then honey to sweeten it). We keep it at about 1200 calories a day. Sometimes we get up to 1400. The best thing I think I have done is to cut out snacking and relying on chocolate so much for comfort. I've had a piece here and there, but I've made a conscious effort to make sure I don't have it every day. I just keep telling myself that I don't need that. I'm good enough and I'm strong enough that I don't need a two second indulgence to make me feel good. I don't use it as a treat or a reward either. I don't want it to have any control over my life at all. I thought it would be harder than it has been, but it has actually been alright. I don't really miss it and I don't need it. And this coming from a chocoholic that was downing an entire giant Symphony bar almost every single day!
Mypyramid.gov has a good food and exercise tracker. It even lets you track daily tasks like carrying a baby and dressing a child. It let's you know how you are doing and gives you a complete analysis of what you are eating and your activity level. I really like it.
And that's the longest comment I have ever made on a blog.
Good luck Rach! You can do it! I'll be waiting for some weight loss updates- just to give you some added pressure:)
oh how i feel your pain! I feel like i have TONS of clothes, but none of the are viable options because the just DONT FIT.
I try and justify my situation because i had a baby 8 months ago.... but /hello/ that WAS 8 months ago. I lost 30 lbs in the first month without any effort, and havent lost a pound since. I htink i would give almost anything to lose 10 more lbs... or 15 or 20... but hey, i am trying to be realistic.
I just inherited a cycling exercise machine, so i suppose i need to start using it. For some reason i just lack the motivation to get with the program. you would think the impending need to buy a whole new wardrobe i cant afford would do it...but no. Though your post and the comments attached to it reminded me that when i exercise i feel better, and i have more energy to survive a day with my 2 kids.
So, i wish you the best with your efforts, and i think i will take a cue from you and try to do the same.
Hey, Rachel, do you actually own "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman? If you do, I want to borrow it! mom.
See, and all this time I thought you WERE losing weight. Who cares if you're really losing it, as long as you LOOK like you are. Fresh starts are the best. I had a fresh start a month ago, when I only ate treats once a week, and lost 3 pounds and then gained it all back plus 2, so I am deeply depressed with myself but impressed with you. So here is me cheering you on . . . Go Rach!
Yeah! Let me know if you want to attend that gym class with your free pass. It's this friday at 4:30pm. I am doing the Fat Smash diet right now. Started Monday and am already down 2 pounds. It's basically all the fruit and veggies you want, 1 egg white, a bit of brown rice and black beans, and 1 serving of yogurt a day. I did it in July for 3 days and lost 8 pounds, put I couldn't last for the entire 9 day cleanse. When I was reading the book I marked down to try that gnocchi dish too.
RaeAnne, I'm totally with you on that class. Tim gets home at 4, so I should be good to go.
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