- I became vegetarian and focused on eating 50% green vegetables like Lettuce, Bell Peppers, Asparagus, and Spinach; then, 25% grains and 25% protein.
- I gain my protein from tofu, lentils and beans, quinoa, coconut milk, eggs, and some cheese.
- I also went gluten-free. I cut out all wheat bread and refined flours. My go to healthy grains are brown rice, quinoa, and corn tortillas. I tend to eat corn tortillas only once a week and the other grains twice a week.
- I eat three meals a day, breakfast will be a smoothie (sometimes with a piece of fruit), lunch will be my largest meal with at least three servings of vegetables, and dinner a lighter meal.
- I snack on fruit (fresh and dried), homemade popcorn, a handful of nuts, or a single slice of cheese. I also try to snack only once a day.
- I exercise 3-4 times a week for 30 mins to 1 hour. I like exercise bikes, ellipticals, beginner ballet classes, and running. I also love looking up exercise videos on youtube.
- I only drink alcohol once a week and limit it to two glasses of wine or 1 glass of hard cider or 1 cocktail.
- I drink mostly water and to add flavor I will put a little drop of 100% fruit juice (not from concentrate) in a tall glass of water.
- About once a week I will treat myself to Starbucks. I usually order a tall green tea frap w/soy milk and no whip or a decaf caramel frap w/soy milk and no whip.
I have changed my lifestyle in order to achieve better weight loss. Here's a list of changes I have made over the last two months that helped me lose 10.5 lbs so far.
0 Comments
Sometimes we just tread weight for awhile.
It's been 8 months since my last post. That's 8 months where I thought I would "tread" weight. That's where I take everything I learnt about weight loss and try my hardest to not change a thing. Granted reality is never the same and changes happen. So over the last 8 months, I found time to take care of everyone else first before myself. When I put my needs last, my weight was the first to go. I acknowledged my weight throughout those 8 months. I got on the scale and did not like what I saw. It's hard to admit that you gave up on yourself! Being brave enough to have guilt is what makes treading weight what it is. We give ourselves an allowance of guilt, but once it gets past that allowance (mine was hitting 150 for the millionth time) we feel past guilt to a level of being remorseful. We feel so sorry for ourselves that we respond with "Flight or Fight." Give In or Move Forward. I am so tired of taking flight at the sight of my own problems, especially if it has to do with my body. This is your body that you live with forever, why feel remorseful about yourself for the rest of your life. That is where I decide to move forward. I gain back my whole food affair, gain back my daily exercise, and journal my journey. It's how I start to feel alive again. One month in and I'm already 6 lbs lighter. Can't wait to see what next moth has in store! I gained some weight this week from overeating, I did not let the discourage me. I worked around it and found motivation to change. I started a new rewards program for my current weight loss journey. I got this idea from another blogger (fit-personality.tumblr) but I tailored it to my specific goals. Then I printed this out and posted it on my fridge!
I have all the knowledge and tools to lose weight, but I continue to eat even when I am not hungry. My subconscious rules my food cravings and I always cave into those tempting thoughts. However, I keep looking for solutions to rid myself of these emotionally bad habits.
I've been curious about hypnosis and weight loss. I found some videos on youtube that might help clear my mind before I sleep and keep me prepared for the day. I hope that with the extra pep talk, my subconscious will make better decisions on food and health. I really do want to lose those extra 18 lbs that I'm carrying around. Hypnosis for Weight Loss: 1. I have everything I need to lose weight. It is within me. I will find my balance. 2. My weight loss plan will work. My PLAN will WORK before the year is over! 3. Positivity over Negativity. MANTRA: "Overeating is an activity that I do less of each day. I like to eat healthy portions at each meal." 4. Visualize my future thinner healthier older self giving the advice above. Visualize stepping onto a scale and seeing my weight be 120 lbs. 5. Imagine yourself turning away from your food craving. Literally think about the food you want, then have the satisfaction of walking away from it like an old boyfriend or a bad date! Better yet, think of the worst men in your past trying to make you eat your food craving. EWWW... 6. Keep up on myfitnesspal. Tracking is forward motion, always! 7. There are times when I want to taste a certain food, if that is the case I will always choose the healthier option! 8. I will never starve myself, I will always eat healthy portions. 9. I will meditate on these thoughts everyday when I wake up and before bed. Practice is perfect. 10. Progress not perfection. If I have a relapse, I will react faster than I have in the past and make progress. The thing I dread most about trying to lose weight is keeping track of everything. I am not the type of person that loves to journal. Of course, tracking is the only way I lose weight. So as a way for myself to stay on course, I plan on blogging what I eat again on my-fitness-pal and working out using the Body-For-Life Method. The BFL method has truly been the only plan that I can say gives me consistent results without making me feel deprived of food. I just hate hate hate to track and I just want to make "smart" food decisions without having to write down what I eat.
I got a free fitness assessment on my birthday and low and behold I'm going from 27 to 20! What a motivational boost! I have been lacking drive and determination to lose weight but now I'm getting that back on track.
I've been on weight watchers for 12 weeks now and I'm happy to have 8 lbs off my body. However, I know I can put more effort. Thankfully I have friends that are sharing pinterest boards to help keep motivation there, I have a gym within walking distance from my house, among other resources. I recently switched from tracking to simply filling. So far it has been an easy transition, except that I overeat when I am emotional and bored. Therefore I know my weight loss will be slow for this week. I'm recently recovering from a sinus infection. I did less exercise on most days. Right when I was feeling better, I made sure to increase my exercise to the point of normalcy.
So, by tracking my WeightWatchers(TM) PointsPlus and by doing light exercise, I actually stayed on plan. I did not lose or gain any weight for the week. My goal for this week is to increase my cardio by incorporating jogging or some form of high intensity. The outlook is positive. I jogged/walked 2 minute intervals for a full hour, without an asthma attack! Feeling very proud of myself and I hope that my results will lead to a better weigh-in next week. The new spaces and routines tools are amazing!
I was able to stay on point at my friend's all dessert party. The idea behind spaces is that at any moment you can find advice that can help you right then and there. The advice is specific to your problem and will give you the motivation and options to stay healthy. As an online subscriber, this makes life easier! I no longer have to ask around message boards or find the perfect article. Now I have motivational advice that works with the ups and downs of life. Routines will be a bit harder to justify because it requires picking a new habit and making it become "routine." You can pick up to three new "routines" and work on them as you go. My three are as follows:
Although hard to justify, you can't help but see the fun in a simple challenge of changing one or two habits. What this tool does is remind you, in a fun way, to do your new routine daily. Week 2 Progress was good and bad. I'm starting to learn what situations cause me to make smart and stupid eating decisions.
THE STUPID: I eat more when I'm out with family. On Saturday night, my phone's battery was about to die and I couldn't get my WW mobile app to work. I didn't know how many points Sue's Dinner was and I ended up going way over what I thought I was going to eat. Same with tonight, I had Papa John's Pizza in memory of my dog. He always ate pizza crust. But guess what? I spent 20 points on two slices! Holy Cow! I'm only allowed 26 points in a day. To believe that I would once eat a whole pizza to myself! That's 80 points in one sitting! THE SMART: I rely heavily on the search tool to find my food's PointsPlus values, it works best if I have time to research the points values a head of time. I did that on Friday with my thanksgiving dinner and I didn't feel guilty about using extra points because I was in control of where those points were going. I was also able to make better decisions and say eat half of one item for 4 points instead of 8 points. I feel like I gained weight this week, but we will see what the scale says. If I did, I will be a little sad. I just have to remind myself to keep at it. Just like my dog's passing. I can be sad for a moment, but if I let my emotions get in the way of my life then I won't progress. I won't see the joy he really brought me and in relation to Weight Watchers, if I remain sad, I won't see the progress and the positive changes it's doing for me. The great thing about this week, is that I earned more exercise points and I ate less points than last week. However, I don't know if I calculated all my points correctly as I had to guess on some items that had no nutritional information. Regardless, it was a learning experience and I'm gaining more control on the Weight Watchers program. My goal for next week is to not use my activity points for food. |