When you eat until you are "stuffed" it can take a long time before your body can tell you that it is hungry. Are you listening to me? We all over eat every day. Even now while on this journey to a new me, I know if I eat very sparingly during the day so that I can "save up" for my evening meal, I tend to over eat at that last meal of the day, and quite honestly that is the worst meal to over eat at. Your body does not have enough hours left in the day to process and better yet, USE these calories for fuel that you have just consumed. So what does your body do? It "stores" it as fat to use at a later time or day. One day when you aren't eating so much and aren't getting that 2500 to 3800 calories per day!
So back the the lady who taught us about listening to our body for clues that we are hungry. She said it is very simple. First she had us to un-program ourself about when and what time we should eat. She gave us specific instructions on how to begin this process.
1. She explained that your body is not necessarily on a "set" schedule, but our MIND is.
2. She told us to forget about three meals per day and two healthy snacks per day.
(who eats two "healthy" snacks per day any way?)
3. She said pray before you begin and ask the Lord to let you be in tune with the signals
that your body will give you when it is hungry.
4. Drink water and other unsweetened drinks while you are waiting for the first "signal" of
hunger so as not to get dehydrated.
5. But the key is to listen to your body for the "hunger signal".
So what is the "hunger signal"? I thought you would never ask! She said that the hunger signal can take on many forms. For some is is growling in the tummy, for others it is an "empty" feeling in their stomach. Some may feel weak or worn out, others may have a stomach that makes other types of noises or rumblings.
I learned so much from the Weigh Down Workshop, my problem is I never really applied any of the techniques that I learned to my every day eating. It is too easy to do what you always do. Eat what you always eat, and eat when you have always eaten. It would take a very concentrated effort to only eat when you are hungry but maybe this challenge will help all of us realize that we should not eat just to eat, but we should eat when our body is crying out for fuel (food) Sometimes a glass of cold water can fill the crying in your stomach. But if it is food you need just make sure to make a good choice. Listen to the voice inside your belly.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
When Your Hungry ... EAT !!!
There are so many times during the day when I can eat. Let's see, when I wake up, when I get up, when I leave for work, when I drive to work, when I get to work, during my work day, break time, lunch time, snack time, and on my way home from work, when I get home from work, dinner time, munch out time, during TV time, before I go to bed, midnight snack time, and any other time in between!
So, when do I eat? How do I know when is the best time to eat? That's pretty easy... When I am hungry! A few years ago, probably ten or more, I did a weight loss program with some ladies at the church that I was attending and it was called "The Weigh Down Workshop". Many of you may have heard of it. It is written by a Christian woman who struggled for years with her weight and finally got in tune with how the Lord wired her body to work and be healthy.
The gal who wrote the diet, or message I should say, had been doing this program herself for many years and had been very successful in not only losing her extra weight but keeping it off. Everything she spoke about in her book and the videos that we watched was geared with the same thought. "When you are hungry, only Then should you eat.". What she meant by this was that you should learn to listen to your body for clues to tell you it is time to eat. Easier said than done, right? Well not necessarily...
She explained that many years ago our ancestors, even as far back as during Bible times, that food was not as plentiful as food is today. People did not tend to be over weight or obese because food was not in abundance and therefore there was not the tendency to over eat, or eat the wrong things in general because they were not available. I remember when I was a young girl telling my mother that I was hungry. Well I didn't really know what hunger was I just knew that I wanted something to eat. And most of the time I got this response, " Well you need to wait until dinner." Or "If you have to eat something, eat a piece of fruit."
Well this usually did three things, it made me (1) want to sneak and snack on things that I should not eat, and since we did not have "sweets" in our house I would eat peanut butter on crackers!! Yum yum one of my all time favorites! And (2) it made me look at fruit as something undesirable, something that was good for you so therefore not something that I wanted to partake in. And finally (3) because I had eaten something before my meal, I was not really very hungry during my meal, but because I did not want my parents to know I had eaten a whole lot of crackers and peanut butter I would eat everything that was for dinner as well. Meaning I was stuffed!
To be continued .....
So, when do I eat? How do I know when is the best time to eat? That's pretty easy... When I am hungry! A few years ago, probably ten or more, I did a weight loss program with some ladies at the church that I was attending and it was called "The Weigh Down Workshop". Many of you may have heard of it. It is written by a Christian woman who struggled for years with her weight and finally got in tune with how the Lord wired her body to work and be healthy.
The gal who wrote the diet, or message I should say, had been doing this program herself for many years and had been very successful in not only losing her extra weight but keeping it off. Everything she spoke about in her book and the videos that we watched was geared with the same thought. "When you are hungry, only Then should you eat.". What she meant by this was that you should learn to listen to your body for clues to tell you it is time to eat. Easier said than done, right? Well not necessarily...
She explained that many years ago our ancestors, even as far back as during Bible times, that food was not as plentiful as food is today. People did not tend to be over weight or obese because food was not in abundance and therefore there was not the tendency to over eat, or eat the wrong things in general because they were not available. I remember when I was a young girl telling my mother that I was hungry. Well I didn't really know what hunger was I just knew that I wanted something to eat. And most of the time I got this response, " Well you need to wait until dinner." Or "If you have to eat something, eat a piece of fruit."
Well this usually did three things, it made me (1) want to sneak and snack on things that I should not eat, and since we did not have "sweets" in our house I would eat peanut butter on crackers!! Yum yum one of my all time favorites! And (2) it made me look at fruit as something undesirable, something that was good for you so therefore not something that I wanted to partake in. And finally (3) because I had eaten something before my meal, I was not really very hungry during my meal, but because I did not want my parents to know I had eaten a whole lot of crackers and peanut butter I would eat everything that was for dinner as well. Meaning I was stuffed!
To be continued .....
Monday, March 28, 2011
The "POWER" Of Half
Do you ever watch those TV shows that have doctors and other weight loss experts on them that try to encourage us all to lost weight and to gain a healthier lifestyle? Many times they are preaching the same message. If we would learn how to eat just 500 calories fewer per day we could lose 1-2 pounds per week! They offer up a simple formula using the scenario that if you cut out 500 calories from your daily food intake that you will lose weight. What are they talking about? How can this be so? How do they know?
The answer is simple. They know because they have college, and medical school and their license to practice medicine that tells them the facts behind the statement. So my question has always been, "How do you know that 500 calories is enough? How do you know you can lose weight by only cutting out 500 calories?". The explanation that I have heard on numerous occasions is that the average person eats between 2500 to 3800 calories per day. And unless you are in supreme physical shape, and are at your personal "goal weight" you are probably struggling with Mr. Scale. Your trips onto Mr. scale are not met with excitement but with heartache and discouragement. The reason? Because if you continue to eat this high a count of calories per day without burning some of them off with exercise you are going to gain weight.
So without counting the calories what would be a quick and easy way to get rid of 500 calories per day? Here is my free advice. Try eating everything that you would normally eat. If you eat salad with non low-fat ranch dressing, cheese, croutons, and the works, eat it but only Half the portion that you would have normally eaten. You enjoy Wendys Double Cheeseburgers? Order one and cut it in half! Don't save the other half for the trip home in your car. Throw it away! I promise you won't miss it! You like to order a large fries and shake? Dump half the fries into the waste bin "Before" sitting down to consume your meal. Oh and the same with that chocolate shake. Go ahead and pour out half of it or give away half of it before you take the first slurp.
I know this sounds funny and extreme but believe me it works! Way back when we first adopted our children I remember losing quite a bit of weight without really trying. And when I thought about it during my trip down Memory Lane and looking at those pictures, I realized it was because I would order whatever I wanted to eat and I would Split my food with my daughter, Pam. We would share the entire meal so I was only getting Half of what I would have normally eaten.
So why don't you take this challenge? For the next three days, or maybe week, try eating Half of the food that you would have normally put in your pie hole (mouth). It goes without saying that by the weeks end you will have a favorable visit with Mr. Scale and if you continue to do this he will wait on you to come back again later so that he can tell you some more good news! If your up for the challenge I ask that you weigh yourself in Before you start so that you can see for youraelf if this excercise worked for you. Oh go ahead! The only thing you have to lose is a few calories, which means pounds, and a few french fries!
The answer is simple. They know because they have college, and medical school and their license to practice medicine that tells them the facts behind the statement. So my question has always been, "How do you know that 500 calories is enough? How do you know you can lose weight by only cutting out 500 calories?". The explanation that I have heard on numerous occasions is that the average person eats between 2500 to 3800 calories per day. And unless you are in supreme physical shape, and are at your personal "goal weight" you are probably struggling with Mr. Scale. Your trips onto Mr. scale are not met with excitement but with heartache and discouragement. The reason? Because if you continue to eat this high a count of calories per day without burning some of them off with exercise you are going to gain weight.
So without counting the calories what would be a quick and easy way to get rid of 500 calories per day? Here is my free advice. Try eating everything that you would normally eat. If you eat salad with non low-fat ranch dressing, cheese, croutons, and the works, eat it but only Half the portion that you would have normally eaten. You enjoy Wendys Double Cheeseburgers? Order one and cut it in half! Don't save the other half for the trip home in your car. Throw it away! I promise you won't miss it! You like to order a large fries and shake? Dump half the fries into the waste bin "Before" sitting down to consume your meal. Oh and the same with that chocolate shake. Go ahead and pour out half of it or give away half of it before you take the first slurp.
I know this sounds funny and extreme but believe me it works! Way back when we first adopted our children I remember losing quite a bit of weight without really trying. And when I thought about it during my trip down Memory Lane and looking at those pictures, I realized it was because I would order whatever I wanted to eat and I would Split my food with my daughter, Pam. We would share the entire meal so I was only getting Half of what I would have normally eaten.
So why don't you take this challenge? For the next three days, or maybe week, try eating Half of the food that you would have normally put in your pie hole (mouth). It goes without saying that by the weeks end you will have a favorable visit with Mr. Scale and if you continue to do this he will wait on you to come back again later so that he can tell you some more good news! If your up for the challenge I ask that you weigh yourself in Before you start so that you can see for youraelf if this excercise worked for you. Oh go ahead! The only thing you have to lose is a few calories, which means pounds, and a few french fries!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Where Are You In The Family Photo?
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| The Lindberg Family - Christmas '2007 |
When I decided to start adding pictures to my blog, and wanted to include pictures of myself, I realized just how few pictures there are of me in my collection after collection of photos. And the pictures that I found were of me with other people, as many other people as I could find so that I could "hide" behind them. Not my whole self but my body. Even if it was a picture being made of me and my husband I would find a way to stand."behind him, and do one of those Olan Mills classic poses with my arm or hand on his shoulder and as he is sitting down in a chair I could lean over so that our faces were on the same level. I have picture after picture of this pose.
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| My hubby & I in the famous pose (Hubby block my body pose) |
Then we adopted our children after 11 years of marriage and the poses changed. Now I had a 12 year old son, and seven year old very petite daughter that I could have stand in front of me to help " block out" my body from the shot.
My husband and I have been empty-nesters for the past three years. My son is now all grown up and has a beautiful wife and two precious children. Now I find that I am using my grandchildren to block my body from the picture.
Think about it. When taking a family photo of yourself and your spouse and children, or you and your grandkids where do you place yourself in the picture?
Are you "front & center" or "where's Waldo" hiding in the background? I can look back at my pictures and see that I am trying to hide the elephant in the room (picture), me!
Another thing that I am coming to realize is that if I knew the picture was being taken, when someone sent me a copy of the picture I would visualize that I looked a lot better (thinner) than the picture actually showed. But it is the pictures that are taken of me that I am unaware of that catch me unaware and when I see the picture later I am appalled at my true self and what I look like. It's not just the hair and make-up but the me that I can finally see. I would always try to make excuses as to why the picture did not turn out better than it did. When in reality it was the best wake up call that I could have ever asked for.
My biggest critic is myself. I am learning a little more every day to love and accept myself, for myself. That mental picture of myself as been thinner and healthier is going to one day be a reality as I continue on My Journey To A New Me! So, where are you in your family photos? Are you hidden in the background, or are you hidden behind the camera taking all the shots? Don't miss out on opportunities to create memories that last forever. Long after you and I are gone, our loved ones, children and grandchildren will have the pictures to remember us by. Don't put it off, take a picture of yourself today. Smile & Say Cheese!
Friday, March 25, 2011
45 Down .. 5 Pounds To Go By Easter!
Yes! I am at the "5 Pounds To Go" marker before hitting my 50 pound goal by Easter. It looks great on Mr. Scale to! I have a confession to make. I weigh for two or three days to just "make sure" the numbers on the scale stay the same before bringing you this report. I wouldn't want to make such a big announcement one day and the next day due to water weight or something have gained that one pound back. Would you?
Well thinking of this last 5 pounds of unwanted fat, I decided to break it down. Five pounds is approximately one pound to lose per week between now and Easter. How could i "guarantee" myself success in reachimg this goal? I could try one of the latest fad diets out there and drop that five pounds in a couple of weeks. You know the ones that they advertise on TV and in the magazines. Or I could do it with the latest exercise piece of equipment that Suzanne Sommers is pushing on her latest info commercial. You know the one that for Six Easy Payments of $39.95, but wait there's more. If you act now we will double your order for no additiional charge except for shipping and handling! WOW what a deal! Or maybe I could fast for a week and only drink carrot or celery juice and try to drop those five pounds. But wait I forgot about the cabbage soup diet. That's a good way to shed a few pounds. You eat the soup and then take up residence in the bathroom!
If this all sounds a little silly to you, let me tell you how ridiculous it sounds to me! After starting this Journey To A New Me and un-brainwashing myself from all the crazy thinking out there about how to lose weight and get healthy, you can bet your last dollar that I wouldn't go back down ANY of those roads of Weight Loss Failure.
There are some roads in life that you go down and you look around at your surroundings and you say to yourself "Hey this is a nice area, I wouldn't mind living here.". And then there are other roads you go down and you find yourself locking all your car doors and putting up your windows, and slumping down in your seat a little bit and getting out of there as fast as you got there. You know what I am talking about. Those scary places you ride into by accident and you pray that you can find your way out without getting shot, or your car being vandalized.
Well folks those fad diets and get fit quick schemes are just as scary to me. And now that I have seen the light I won't be driving down those roads ever again! I will continue doing what I have been doing since December 11,2010. And when Easter comes in four short weeks I know that I will have a happy surprise waiting for me in my Easter Basket, and that is a goal of 50 pounds accomplished. Then I can begin my next step on my journey to hit 75 by Labor Day!
So if your asking me, I guess there are no chocolate Easter bunnies in my future, or maybe I can just bite off one of his ears! Happy Spring Everyone!
Well thinking of this last 5 pounds of unwanted fat, I decided to break it down. Five pounds is approximately one pound to lose per week between now and Easter. How could i "guarantee" myself success in reachimg this goal? I could try one of the latest fad diets out there and drop that five pounds in a couple of weeks. You know the ones that they advertise on TV and in the magazines. Or I could do it with the latest exercise piece of equipment that Suzanne Sommers is pushing on her latest info commercial. You know the one that for Six Easy Payments of $39.95, but wait there's more. If you act now we will double your order for no additiional charge except for shipping and handling! WOW what a deal! Or maybe I could fast for a week and only drink carrot or celery juice and try to drop those five pounds. But wait I forgot about the cabbage soup diet. That's a good way to shed a few pounds. You eat the soup and then take up residence in the bathroom!
If this all sounds a little silly to you, let me tell you how ridiculous it sounds to me! After starting this Journey To A New Me and un-brainwashing myself from all the crazy thinking out there about how to lose weight and get healthy, you can bet your last dollar that I wouldn't go back down ANY of those roads of Weight Loss Failure.
There are some roads in life that you go down and you look around at your surroundings and you say to yourself "Hey this is a nice area, I wouldn't mind living here.". And then there are other roads you go down and you find yourself locking all your car doors and putting up your windows, and slumping down in your seat a little bit and getting out of there as fast as you got there. You know what I am talking about. Those scary places you ride into by accident and you pray that you can find your way out without getting shot, or your car being vandalized.
Well folks those fad diets and get fit quick schemes are just as scary to me. And now that I have seen the light I won't be driving down those roads ever again! I will continue doing what I have been doing since December 11,2010. And when Easter comes in four short weeks I know that I will have a happy surprise waiting for me in my Easter Basket, and that is a goal of 50 pounds accomplished. Then I can begin my next step on my journey to hit 75 by Labor Day!
So if your asking me, I guess there are no chocolate Easter bunnies in my future, or maybe I can just bite off one of his ears! Happy Spring Everyone!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Spring Has Sprung - Take Time To Smell The Flowers
Have you ever heard the expression "Spring Has Sprung"?" I have heard this expressions all of my life, The Daylight Savings Time always marks a new season for me. With it we get longer days that allow you to get more done, and to be outdoors more.
I love to watch the daffodils come up and then the tulips. All the trees are blooming, first the Bradford pears and next the red buds and cherry blossoms. The azaleas will take their turn in the spotlight and then sthe Easter season, and finally summer will be upon us. With the passing of each day I can see eveything waking up and becoming alive again.!
Remember when I wrote a week ago about My Big Sweet Tooth and in part II I talked about my mother joining Weight Watchers and encouraging me to go with her. My mother in all her wisdom was determined that we could take the weight off and become healthier in the process. She did everything within her power to get us on the right track and to keep us there. She would only buy foods that were on the approved list of foods that we could eat, but more importantly she would drive us to the weekly meetings. And my mother was not just taking us there to "weigh-in" as so many do, but we were there for the full hour to hour and a half. We sat through the leaders talk, and the question and answer time at the end.
Oh how I dreaded those weekly meetings that always came on Monday. Monday of all days!! I asked her why we couldn't go on a Thursday or something, and she told me on more than one occassion that by going on Monday evenings it would keep us from going off "The Program" during the weekend because we would know that we had to face that scale on Monday night.
I can tell you that there was not a Monday that went by that I ate anything during those months of attending those Weight Watchers meetings. I was always afraid that any little thing that I may have eaten during the weekend may cause the scales to "tip" the wrong direction. And I figured a Monday full of "fasting" and not eating anything could surely tip the scale back in my favor.
We would ride in almost silence over to the church where the meetings were being held. My mom was not the best at getting us there on time, and we would have to wait in a long line with a lot of other people who were trying to do the same thing that we were, "Go to the Monday meeting and it will help you to stay on track during the weekend before." I didn't like the weighing in part, not because I was not losing weight or because I felt like I had cheated and had not lost any weight that week, but because I was embarassed by how much I weighed. It was very uncomfortable for me, a 16 year old to "weigh in" and have someone else keep track of my weight loss progress. Back then, we are talking 1980, they were writing down your current weight and subtracting or adding in some cases the weight loss / gain in the margin. And they kept everyones profile with your weekly weigh-in weights in a metal box with all the other participants and their cards. So when I was not there, who had access to my profile card with my weight recordings on it? Who else knew how much I really weighed? Not my mother! I made her promise that if I did this with her that she would not make me show her my weight progress card.
I remember my very first week of attending and my first week's weight loss was 6 pounds!!! I was so happy with that 6 pounds that I thought that I had arrived! I forgot all about the half of can of tuna fish and 5 crackers that I had made myself eat for lunch every day the previous week to get there. I was proud of my weight loss success! I continued with Weight Watchers until I had lost 35 or so pounds and by then I had met the new love of my life and with this new found love, my focus became less on the weight loss and more on my relationship with him. But I can honestly say that that was not a bad decision because this new love became my boyfriend for 2-1/2 years, and then my fiance for 6 months, and now my husband for over 27 years!!!! So I may not have become a lifetime member of Weight Watchers, but I did become a lifetime wife and partner to the best gift that God has ever given me. I love my husband with all my heart, and if I had to do it all over again, I would pick him again.
Do I regret turning away from WW? No, I know that many good things came from my WW experience. Did I learn everything that I needed to learn to be a healthier me? No. Did I continue on to become a Life Time Member? No. Did I keep the 35 pounds off that I had lost? No. But I did learn something about myself. It was during my time at WW that I discovered that I can do anything that I set my mind to. You see, I have control over what I think, but more importantly what I believe. And this 40 plus year old woman has done a lot of thinking, and now I am believing that My Journey To A New Me is not just about losing weight, but enjoying myself along the way and learning how to eat to live a longer and healthier life. And if I can encourage someone along my way that is ok with me. So here's to bright and sunny days ahead!
Remember: "Spring has just sprung, and Summers on her way!"
Celebrating My 50th Blog Post! A Look Back At How I Got Started
It is with great excitement that I write this blog entry today. Today marks my 50th entry in My Journey To ANew Me! So many have asked when did you start this? How are you losing the weight? What do you eat? And the questions just continue until it has been hard to answer everyone. So instead of asking you to go all the way back into my achieves of blog post, I thought that I would bring my first post forward. If you have not read some of my earlier blog post you may want to put it in reverse to see if you can catch yourself up. And if you have read my previous post, I have been going back and adding pictures along the way.
So enjoy the beginning of My Journey To A New Me and I will be back later with some more good news!
Original post to my Blog January 22,2011
I am new to the world of blogging. Actually I have never even read a blog before. I know you probably don't believe that, but it is true. I watched a move today, Julie & Julia, and discovered blogging. So, I decided to blog "My Journey To A New Me" because that is exactly what I have begun.
My adventure began with a doctor's visit on December 11, 2010. It was during this visit to the doctor I was given some advice from my physician. I told him that I was sick and tired of being overweight. Well, not just overweight, but obese. I know that the excess weight that I am carrying is sending me to an early grave. I was diagnosed with diabetes Type II over six years ago, and have successfully managed the disease with medication, but have not been successful in losing the excess weight that helped to bring me to the disease in the first place. Not to mention almost everyone in my dad's family has or had diabetes. So yes it is genetic but I do have to bear some of the blame for the shape that I have gotten myself in.
Now back to my doctor visit. The answer I received from the doctor was not what I was eating, but the amount of calories that I was consuming. I thought that was a strange thing to say. Then he continued....
"If I told you to eat only 1200 calories per day, you could chose to eat 1200 calories of ice cream, or cake, or whatever, but only 1200 calories per day." I asked what would that do? And he continued, "It is guaranteed that you would lose weight because you would be eating less calories than you would burn."
I then proceeded to explain to him that 1200 calories per day was simply not enough, and he replied "Well what if I said 1400? What if I gave you a 1400 calorie per day allowance?"
This sounded crazy to me! What doctor would tell an obese diabetic woman in her mid forties that she could lose weight by simply counting her calories? As a person who had tried ALL the diet plans out there, this sounded to good to be true. Not that I would build all my meals around ice cream & cake but I was anxious to see if the doc knew what he was talking about.
My first step was to figure out a way to count those calories. I thought about his statements all the way home and pondered just how hard it would be to actually do this. It would take information that I did not have, and I was not about to go and buy another book on weight loss or fitness to try and figure out what every piece of food that I put in my mouth was going to cost me.
But it just so happens that other people must be doing this to because I located a website to do just that. It not only has calorie and nutritional information about thousands of foods, it also had favorite foods from restaurants and fast food places. Check out http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ for more information. You can download an app to your iphone, which I did, and you can even keep track of your water intake and excercise. With the app downloaded onto my iphone I begin to think that this was possible.
With this weapon added to my arsenal I was now ready to tackle the challenge of 1400 calories per day. And what I found is that it was much easier than I had originally anticipated. What started out as a "I don't think this doctor knows what he is talking about and I am going to prove him wrong" became a reality for me.
As of today, Janurary 22, 2011, I am down 32 pounds and feel better than I have in years! I have more energy and more "Get Up and Go" than I can remember ever having. And I am not even excercising yet! "i have maybe excercised on a eliptical for 10 minutes and walked on a treadmill 30 minutes this entire time!
It's not that all I eat is meat, protein and veggies because I don't! I enjoy many of the things that I always ate, but in smaller quantities and not always during the same meal.
The statement "Fiber Fills You Up" is so true. If I eat a wholewheat Thomas Bagel Thin in the morning (only 110 calories) with 2 Tablespoons of Philadelphia Strawberry Cream Cheese that is 1/3 less fat (70 calories) This 180 calorie meal fills me up, and I do not get hungry until lunch some five hours later. Why you say? It's the fiber!! That is a magic weapon in my new arsenal of learning to eat and be healthier. When the fiber goes into your body it tells everything that you are twice as full as you actually are. I am not a doctor or a scientist but I know what my body feels like. And if something is working for you, why change it? Especially if it improves your lifestyle?
I'll be back later to record my journey, but until then... remember Fiber Is Your Friend!!!!
So enjoy the beginning of My Journey To A New Me and I will be back later with some more good news!
Original post to my Blog January 22,2011
I am new to the world of blogging. Actually I have never even read a blog before. I know you probably don't believe that, but it is true. I watched a move today, Julie & Julia, and discovered blogging. So, I decided to blog "My Journey To A New Me" because that is exactly what I have begun.
My adventure began with a doctor's visit on December 11, 2010. It was during this visit to the doctor I was given some advice from my physician. I told him that I was sick and tired of being overweight. Well, not just overweight, but obese. I know that the excess weight that I am carrying is sending me to an early grave. I was diagnosed with diabetes Type II over six years ago, and have successfully managed the disease with medication, but have not been successful in losing the excess weight that helped to bring me to the disease in the first place. Not to mention almost everyone in my dad's family has or had diabetes. So yes it is genetic but I do have to bear some of the blame for the shape that I have gotten myself in.
Now back to my doctor visit. The answer I received from the doctor was not what I was eating, but the amount of calories that I was consuming. I thought that was a strange thing to say. Then he continued....
"If I told you to eat only 1200 calories per day, you could chose to eat 1200 calories of ice cream, or cake, or whatever, but only 1200 calories per day." I asked what would that do? And he continued, "It is guaranteed that you would lose weight because you would be eating less calories than you would burn."
I then proceeded to explain to him that 1200 calories per day was simply not enough, and he replied "Well what if I said 1400? What if I gave you a 1400 calorie per day allowance?"
This sounded crazy to me! What doctor would tell an obese diabetic woman in her mid forties that she could lose weight by simply counting her calories? As a person who had tried ALL the diet plans out there, this sounded to good to be true. Not that I would build all my meals around ice cream & cake but I was anxious to see if the doc knew what he was talking about.
My first step was to figure out a way to count those calories. I thought about his statements all the way home and pondered just how hard it would be to actually do this. It would take information that I did not have, and I was not about to go and buy another book on weight loss or fitness to try and figure out what every piece of food that I put in my mouth was going to cost me.
But it just so happens that other people must be doing this to because I located a website to do just that. It not only has calorie and nutritional information about thousands of foods, it also had favorite foods from restaurants and fast food places. Check out http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ for more information. You can download an app to your iphone, which I did, and you can even keep track of your water intake and excercise. With the app downloaded onto my iphone I begin to think that this was possible.
With this weapon added to my arsenal I was now ready to tackle the challenge of 1400 calories per day. And what I found is that it was much easier than I had originally anticipated. What started out as a "I don't think this doctor knows what he is talking about and I am going to prove him wrong" became a reality for me.
As of today, Janurary 22, 2011, I am down 32 pounds and feel better than I have in years! I have more energy and more "Get Up and Go" than I can remember ever having. And I am not even excercising yet! "i have maybe excercised on a eliptical for 10 minutes and walked on a treadmill 30 minutes this entire time!
It's not that all I eat is meat, protein and veggies because I don't! I enjoy many of the things that I always ate, but in smaller quantities and not always during the same meal.
The statement "Fiber Fills You Up" is so true. If I eat a wholewheat Thomas Bagel Thin in the morning (only 110 calories) with 2 Tablespoons of Philadelphia Strawberry Cream Cheese that is 1/3 less fat (70 calories) This 180 calorie meal fills me up, and I do not get hungry until lunch some five hours later. Why you say? It's the fiber!! That is a magic weapon in my new arsenal of learning to eat and be healthier. When the fiber goes into your body it tells everything that you are twice as full as you actually are. I am not a doctor or a scientist but I know what my body feels like. And if something is working for you, why change it? Especially if it improves your lifestyle?
I'll be back later to record my journey, but until then... remember Fiber Is Your Friend!!!!
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