I hope everyone is feeling as great as I am right now because I am on a roll! I have been concentrating on drinking that water every day and it's been really helping to curb my appetite. It's also relieved my bloat. Go figure - you have to drink more water in order to get rid of water. I've also got a set of 5# hand weights next to the TV and every other day I've been hoisting those babies up in the air while I watch Oprah. (Not throughout the entire show...I'm not Hercules!) but enough to feel a burn and work out all the different muscles in my arms.
I also bit the bullet and bought some specialty foods to help me along this path. But I made sure it was food I'd buy always...not just while I'm losing weight. First on my list was Special K bars...which I adore and always ate for breakfast when I was teaching. I know that the gurus say we need to eat a big breakfast - and they're probably right. But I also know that One diet does not fit all! I am the type of person who likes something sweet with my coffee. Not always - but a lot of days. I still do my cheerios with blueberries and my oatmeal now and then - but most days I need something crunchy and sweet to start the day. It works for me.
Which is something I've thought a lot about the past 2 weeks. What works for me. Remember I said I was a fickle dieter? Well I am. And part of that is because I'm always trying to to take someone else's plan and make it fit my life. And frankly - there are a LOT of plans out there! And many contradict each other.
So I have been pondering lately....what fits my life - my routine - my likes & dislikes. In other words - what can I LIVE with the rest of my life? I know I can not live (happily) with never having something sweet with my coffee in the morning....on most days. So I bought the Special K bars along with some Kashi Go Lean cereal that looked good. (I'll let you know how it is tomorrow). I also got some rice cakes - because I need to crunch something in the late afternoon too. And I like rice cakes! I got a lot of fresh veggies to make my salads more interesting and I sauteed some chicken breast strips in a teaspoon of olive oil and some Uncle Doug's seasoning to toss into the salads. Right now I'm measuring and counting calories because I want to get a good feel for portion sizes and what's in what. Soon I'll be able to do it second nature. But I learned the hard way that eye balling something can be pretty deceiving. We tend to err on the side of more!
I also got some fit and lean yogurt and some Smart Balance "butter". Some apples and bananas found their way into my cart too. And you know what? I didn't break the bank! The rest of the stuff I bought was pretty normal. I just made wiser choices and checked labels. It felt like a normal shopping trip. Not like in the days I belonged to Weight Watchers and everything I bought was specially made for a dieter. That ended up costing me a fortune and when I lost the weight - I went right back to buying the regular stuff and well....we all know what happened next.
So I'm easing into this whole thing a day at a time. Little by little. It's always hard to do that because we want to see results NOW! But I thought about it. I read this great blog daily called The Elff Diet and last year (when I started reading) the author was advising this exact same thing. To tackle one struggle at a time. Incorporate one new habit a week. Well - I wanted to see something happen sooner than that! It seemed to easy her way... But now it's almost a year later and had I listened...had I done what she advised - well I'd be a LOT farther along than I am now! She, by the way has lost a LOT of weight - so I should've know better!
Anyhoo - lifestyle changes that we can live with. I can't say it enough!
Oh - and by the way - the pic is my lunch yesterday. It was yummy! (and the croutons are whole wheat...that crunch thing I was talking about...)
8 comments:
Your lunch does look yummy! So nicely presented.
I really believe that gradual changes are the way to go. You're doing great, Lora! We'll see a huge difference at the end of this year.
It never seems to be so daunting if we take one step at a time instead of trying to jump to the end and fall. Sounds like you are well on your way down the right path. Step by step you are doing going to get where you want to go!
Hope you have had a wonderful day!!
*huggles*
=0)
awesome job with the water and weights! you are so right about the water...you need to drink it to hold on to less of it!
you hit the nail on the head..its about whats right for you. so many people think that a diet fits all. or, people like to think that because their diet works for them, that it will work for everyone and is the "best" diet. well the truth is, the "best" diet is the one thats right for you and your life.
I agree entirely - the diet has to be just right for you, tailored to you. I could never do South Beach for example, much as I like the idea, because I don't like to eat that much meat. There is a book, can't remember the name, about tailoring the diet to your own needs, it is quite good, will look for it next time I'm in the library -
I love love love Kashi Golean crunch. it's good plain, or sometimes i mix it with yogurt.
sometimes we need those little tools to keep us on track... your on a roll- enjo it!!
I want to come and live at your house if those are the meals you are serving...YUM!
I know what you mean about this time next year. I am hoping to lose 1lb per week because this time next year I should be at goal and well, it is ONLY 1lb per week.
Hugs xx
I totally agree! I am not "dieting" or starving myself this time. I am undergoing a complete lifestyle change. I'm incorporating small changes into my life that I can live with for the REST of my life.
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