Green Smoothies and Pyramids

My pet peeve: people who tout various pyramid-scheme, multi-level marketing programs as the cure-all for various health issues. In reality, it's the caffeine and the green tea in that "fizzy stick" that is keeping your appetite and weight down. It's not rocket science. Healthy whole plant foods provide the best nutrition for our bodies. Unfortunately, it seems to be rocket science when it comes to actually implementing the steps.

I think this is why so many people get excited about quick-fix products. Yes, you have to pay something for the product, but you're guaranteed results, you get a support group, and you feel accountable to stick to the program.

What if you put the money you're spending into organic fruits and veggies? What if you invested the time you used to build a team of sellers into exercising, creating tasty dishes, and learning more about nutrition?

I'm going to be the first to confess that I'm struggling with living a healthy life. I need to lose at least 30 pounds, I need a regular exercise plan, and I am not always good at choosing grapes over tortilla chips. I've done the on-again-off-again diet deal for years now and each time it gets slightly more frustrating and slightly less rewarding. So I'm here to say I want to change but I want it to be a lifestyle change. I want to be able to sustain it for a lifetime and feel good about it.

I was wondering what my next project would be after I finished my graduate studies. I think I've found it. It's to become a healthier version of me in the healthiest way possible. And then maybe I'll write a book about it. Or at least a blog :)

Mediterranean Meal

I'm going to try documenting my meals by taking pictures of them. We'll see how long this lasts!

Sunday Brunch ~569 calories
1 large white pita bread (special treat from Lebanon)
2 tsp tahini (approximately)
1/3 English cucumber
24 green olives
1 cara cara orange

4 grams of fiber so I need to bump up the fiber in my next meal.

Scorecard

On a mixed up schedule since the weekend and now I'm not sure how to get back on. I know I need to get out exercising again, especially with this amazing weather. I know I need to eat a proper breakfast so I'm not eating supper at 10:30 pm. I know I need to stop eating potato chips, even if they are vegan and amazingly flavoured sour cream and onion.

I know all the right things to do but I'm tired of doing them. . .

'cept I can't be tired, because I need to do this. I need to succeed. I need to reach my goal in weight loss just as I reach  my goal in academics. So I'm off to bed to get some sleep and then tomorrow I'll be out exercising.

In groups of 5

So I lost my first 5 pounds today!!! Of course I'm rather apprehensive about the scales tomorrow; they seem to be rather vindictive. One day they'll go down 1/2 a pound and the next they'll go up 2 pounds. I really don't know the rhyme or reason, though I have a sneaking suspicion that if I logged what I ate and when I ate it for the next couple of weeks, I'd have a better idea. Can't be bothered, though.

When I happily announced to a group of people that I was going to lose weight this semester (why oh why did I do that?), I wasn't thinking about the miserable aspect of that. Realistically, there are 2 ways to lose weight. Increase exercise. Reduce calorie intake. I've done both in order to have maximum impact and because I know that for my body I can't just increase exercise because I end up eating whatever I like and putting on weight instead of losing it.

This time around I'm limiting myself to 2 meals a day with fruit in the evening if I need it. It's hard. Actually, it's VERY HARD. And yes, I meant to put that in all caps. My stomach rattles rather emptily at about 8 pm and I usually don't get to sleep til 11 so I end up being distracted by it and can't think very clearly. I crave carbs because I love eating bread and my current diet doesn't allow for a lot of that.

Here's what I'm doing:

• Exercise 3 miles a day (walk up hills/jog down hills) 6 days a week
• Eat oatmeal with blueberries and walnuts for breakfast 5 days a week
• Eat beans for lunch 5 days a week if possible
• Skip supper or eat an orange/grapefruit if needed

Nothing too fancy but the key is consistency. The benefits after 2.5 weeks:

• Lost 5 pounds
• Pants fit better
• Increased self-esteem
• Sleep well at night
• Reduced sugar cravings

I didn't even realize it, but because of my diet, I've significantly reduced the amount of sugar I eat. Now, if I want something sweet, I have a rice cracker with Smuckers Fruit Spread and Tofutti Sour Cream. A couple of those and I'm happy!

I'm so pleased that this has been successful and I'm writing about it because I need the accountability. I need to lose a minimum of 29 pounds by August 1 and 5 of those are gone already! I plan to march at my graduation with a huge smile, not just because I completed the studies, but because I reached a very important personal goal of losing weight. I am also going to a large convention in July and would love to feel comfortable in my skin when I meet up with old friends there. Plus I need to learn how to eat healthy now so when I'm there for 2 weeks I don't put all the weight right back on. This is the daily battle, possibly a battle for life, but that is why I'm fighting it. I want my life and I'm willing to fight my natural desires for the sugars, the carbs, and the processed foods high in fat, so I can be victorious with Christ's help.

Tumbling Backwards

Last week was great. Lost 3.5 pounds. Jogged an hour each morning. Ate oatmeal for breakfast and lentil soup for lunch. I finally wasn't hungry at suppertime and was content with fruit or a single slice of bread.

This week was horrible. Found 1.5 of those pounds. I was supposed to lose another 2 so now I'm off track. Ate chocolate granola bars for breakfast, frosting for supper. Slept in every morning. Trying to keep up with a sudden mountain of expectations at work and school while finding some time for me.

Not exactly sure where I'm at right now. If I don't keep up the exercise and healthy eating, I think a thousand thoughts a day about how I need to lose weight. If I keep it up, I get discouraged when I see the weight fluctuate as it is wont to do, seeing as how I'm a female and if I happen to cry the night before I'll lose 2 extra pounds!

It is one day at a time but it has to be a long term plan too. I would be so happy if I could take my graduation photos in six months as a woman who is a healthy weight. That number is 27 pounds away. It means a pound gone every week. Every single week.

An Emotional Hole

I stress-eat. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone but what I need to know is how to stop doing that. Tonight it was a frustrating text message exchange that set off the binge of Danish cookies and hazelnut vanilla spread. I think I managed about 1500 calories, or 10 times as much exercise as I did today (which was not easy, I might add). They say that exercise is not as beneficial to weight loss as learning how to eat right and it makes sense when I look at the numbers.

In the end, it's only me who suffers. When I find myself in a difficult situation and I console myself with high-fat high-sugar high-carb comfort foods, I feel good for a moment but once the food disappears and I come out of the fat/sugar/carb "coma" I realize that 1500 calories has gone into my mouth but the emotional hole is as empty as before.

I had decided to exercise diligently this week. I am changing my resolution. Instead I shall work on understanding what is going on inside my head and heart. I shall also use some of that time to indulge in healthy foods. In other words, make hummus and eat it with cucumbers and olives instead of grabbing chips and salsa. Peel an orange instead of a granola bar.

My affirmation for this week: "If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you." ~Fred Devito.

Which key is it?

I had hoped it wouldn't come back to this. Successfully managing to keep off about 5-8 pounds, but the rest of the 22+ have returned. I get frustrated because I wonder if I will ever manage to drop to that magical weight and be able to keep it there. Read about all-or-nothing thinking today in The Lost Art of Thinking and realized that there is where one of my challenges lie. I had just decided not to eat vegenaise again. I've done that before, then I've binged on it, and then I'm right back to where I started. It's hard for me to set realistic goals; in life as well as in weight loss I tend to aim for an "A" grade and anything less than that means that I'm less than also.

This is going to be hard, but this week I am going to restrict myself to 30 minutes of exercise every day. I'm doing it for a purpose; I want to be able to sustain it and I want to enjoy it/look forward to it. I will also do my best to eat oatmeal for breakfast and an orange every night for supper.

I'm turning 35 this year, in just over 6 months. I would like to reach a weight that makes me smile, both when I reach that milestone birthday and when I reach for my graduate diploma. I feel sad because I think it's not possible, I can't keep up a regime of oatmeal breakfasts, no suppers, no sugar, and no oil for long. Tonight though, I want to commit to myself that I will consider this goal as important as my goal of graduating with a 4.0 GPA (4 classes away from that!). I would like to dedicate time, persistence, and encouragement to my goal of a healthier me.

I recognize that the biggest struggle is not inside the doors of my refrigerator or the size of my plate. It is within me. When I can learn to be kind to myself and to translate that kindness into health instead of numbing foods, then I shall have unlocked the key to success.