Last week a friend was doing a swim suit party (some type of direct sales think like Mary Kay, but with swim suits. Strange, I know!) After trying on a couple of swimsuits, which I would never buy any way because they are $80 and I'm cheap, I decided enough was enough. It was time to lose the weight I've been carrying since having all these kids. None of my clothes fit, and I always look terrible in pictures (cameras must add at least 15lbs!) Oh yeah, and being over weight it not healthy. I am comfortable with the fact that I will never look like I did as a freshman in college, but I've decided a goal of losing 20-25 lbs is hopefully realistic and should put me down into a more appropriate healthy weight for my height. Personally, I just wish I could add 6 inches or so to my height, then I wouldn't have much of a weight problem. I will shortly be done nursing, don't plan to be pregnant in the near future and I'm not on any hormones, so excuses are out the door. I don't own a scale so I guess I'll have to get one if I'm going to track my progress and see if I'm being successful at all.
My plan: I'm currently on Slim Fast, though I will probably only do that short term to jump start things. For me that just consists of a shake for breakfast and for lunch. I'll probably replace the morning shake with some whole grain, high fiber cereal. So far my changes in dinner consist of eating more fruits and vegetables and smaller portion sizes of other things. Other than the milk in the 2 shakes, the only thing I'm drinking is water. I try to keep my eating on a schedule too, with breakfast around 8, snack at 10, lunch at 12, snack between 3-4, dinner around 6. I have cut out all treat things except for one treat in the evening at around 8pm (I know you're not supposed to eat after 7, but I am up till 11 so I figure I'm ok.) Right now that consists of a Creamie ice cream bar at only 120 calories and has 3 grams of protein. I've been researching the key to actually feeling full and it seems that secret is a combination of fiber and protein. Some of the things I have decided to do for snacks are of course fruit and veggies (those seem to be the answer to all the worlds problems,) a few nuts (fiber and protein plus good for salt/crunchy cravings,) low-fat cottage cheese (12 g of protein!!), 100 calorie bag of kettle corn pop corn that has 8g of fiber and 3g of protein. I found some bread today that has 6g of fiber and 4g of protein! I usually have half a turkey sandwich with my shake for lunch. I hope to be able to permanently keep up this basic form of eating, particularly the more fruits and veggies, almost no treat/junk food stuff, whole grains, smaller portion sizes and lots of water.
I'm still working on incorporating some exercise in to this. I don't want to pay to go to a gym and it's hard to fit things into my schedule with little kids at home. Plus my ankle is still bothering me some. I've started a daily 10-15 minute toning/strenghtening thing of different muscle groups and hope to add more walking and such little by little as my ankle continues to (hopefully) get better.
In the past I have had little success with losing weight, so I get impatient and give up. Plus I have such a sweet tooth!! I'm hoping this time will be different. Jonathan and I will be going to New York in September for a vacation, just the two of us. Hopefully by then I'll be looking skinny! =) It's been just short of a week, but I'm feeling really good about myself just knowing that I'm doing something good for myself!
8 comments:
Let me know how it works--I have similar problems. I've been about 30 pounds overweight for the last ten years or so, and have too much of a sweet tooth to change it. I think portion control and mindful eating is a big part of my problem; we eat pretty healthy meals, but then I snack on little treats all day long. It's also hard because my kids and husband are kind of scrawny, so when I plan meals it's OK for them to have more fat. Anyways, eggs can be another good source of protein--especially if you don't eat the yolks. Make some hard boiled eggs, mash the yolks up in the baby's food so he'll get those nutrients and fats, and then eat the whites for a healthy protein snack!
Some good cookbooks you can check out from the library are called 'Healthy Homestyle Cooking'--they have good tips for how to make good changes to make food lower fat and healthier.
Good for you. It is hard for us short people to not look a little chubby in most pictures. I am super critical of myself as well. My weight wouldn't be too bad for someone taller, but not for my height. Let me know how it goes and I may try it. I haven't been doing very good with my eating since my surgery.
You go girl!!! It's something I've been halfway working on lately but after seeing our new family pictures today it's time to really get in gear! The joys of being short...
Hey Julie, Good for you! I had an epiphany several months ago and I too was tired of not fitting into anything and feeling depressed. So now I have been exercising for 3 months!!!! That is a huge goal for me. I have tried to eat healthier too, but I'm not as discipled with my diet as I am with my exercise. My favorite low fat treat is a sugar free jello or a fat free pudding. It hits the spot and has way fewer calories than ice cream (my downfall). Keep up the good work!
good luck!!!!
Way to go Julie. let me know how it goes. You can even do 3-4 10 min exercise activities throughout the day. Breaking it up like that might be easier with your schedule, and just starting up. Keeping a food diary keeps you honest too. I know it's a pain, but knowing how many cals you are consumming a day helps too. Most of us eat a basic diet of the same stuff, so once you figure out the cals for the foods you like to eat, it will be easier each time. Meausuring helps too, giving you an idea of how much of one food is supose to look like on your plate. Hope that helps. :)
Good luck Julie! You CAN do it.
Good for you! And we will all look SO HOT when we have our "girls retreat" in a couple years. :)
About the witch... YES! I knew it was her head, and as a little girl I LOVED her! Strange kid, I know.
Post a Comment