Okay, it’s really a good time of year to start talking about loosing weight and keeping it off. I originally posted about this before Christmas. Probably NOT the best time to post something about loosing weight! But now is the perfect time to revisit weight loss. So here you go, but rewritten with a bit with freshness for the people who don't scroll the list!
I can’t stand to count calories and portions! I’m not good at keeping food diaries and writing down what I ate. I know that most of you probably aren't either. I can’t follow a restrictive or specific diet. For me they just don’t work for long. I can’t follow specific food plans. There are lots of things I don’t like to eat that are on some diet plans. I also eat some things in moderation that diets say to cut out. Otherwise I start to rebel when my choices are too limited and restricted. Most things in moderation are better for me. Actually over time I have avoided some things or just don’t crave them as much.
So how was I successful in finally loosing weight and keeping most of it off? The things I'm sharing with you are what worked for me. I tailored healthy foods and exercise to what I liked, what I would eat and which exercises I would stick with. This worked surprising well. That is why I am sharing my “secrets” with you; because they aren’t secret. It seems like there are so many diets and diet books out there and most of them don’t work for long. So you may not want to spend your hard earned money on a new book or plan.
When you are restricted in what you eat and then go back to eating normally, of course you are going to gain weight back! I’ve done that and I know you have too. My life style change was not a diet. I am giving you tips, and ideas that worked for me and I still follow. I’m not always perfect, but I’ve been keeping most of the weight I lost off for three years.
You must resolve to eat healthier and never go back to most of your old habits. Period. It is the bad habits that you must break, not a diet that you have to stay on.
You have to exercise! Sorry, you just can't do it without it. It’s that simple. You should learn healthy new habits and commit to them. Over time they will start to become a part of your daily routine. A routine means its something you do all of the time, often without even thinking about it.
Many of the things I’m sharing worked for me. I research things that I read and I cross reference them. That is one way to check and see if it is really true or worth trying. Just remember to always consult with your doctor.
You have to exercise! Sorry, you just can't do it without it. It’s that simple. You should learn healthy new habits and commit to them. Over time they will start to become a part of your daily routine. A routine means its something you do all of the time, often without even thinking about it.
Many of the things I’m sharing worked for me. I research things that I read and I cross reference them. That is one way to check and see if it is really true or worth trying. Just remember to always consult with your doctor.
You may want to start watching the Dr. Oz show, he gives great tips and advice. A lot of the things he talks about are things I've learned over the last few years, so I know I am on the right path. I talked to dietitians and doctors about foods and supplements. I look up the ingredients listed on products. I always read the labels on everything! I want to know what is going into my body. Is it natural? How much sugar is in it? Sure, I cheat. But I can always stop and be good again. I'm doing that now. That's how I'm different from the other people who give up and gain it all back and then some. I have been going through menopause and stress at work and with my family. That makes it much harder to avoid temptation, cravings, and premenstrual and stress bloat.
Before my father went in the hospital, I had lost more than 70 pounds. Those long months of chronic stress from his illness, death, work, taking a class and menopause all at the same time, helped to put back on some weight. I am happy to say that it was only about 10 - 15 pounds and not the whole 75. My body has found a new set point, and it is not the old high set point. That's a hugely positive thing to me. I know what I have been doing has helped enormously.
My mostly very healthy eating, giving up things like soft drinks, practicing meditation, yoga, walking and riding the exercycle have kept diabetic depression at bay too. Which in turn helps to keep me more watchful. Meditating helps me to deal with all of the things that life throws at me. Sometimes its an awful lot. I can deal with it, because I have found two keys things to keep me positive; exercise and meditation. In turn they help me to stay mindful of what I am eating. When I cheat, I am totally aware of everything that's wrong or too much that I eat. When I am in total control I consciously choose what to eat.
I have not lost my motivation, I know the weight will come off again. You see, I understand all too well what stress and hormones do to the body. I realize that I am having and will have after affects of stress. My father's fall, long hospitalizations and death alone were crushing stress situations. Like I said before, I have not gained that much back. I can work that off slowly again. The affects of stress often appear months to a year later. My father's accident was in August of 2009 and he passed away more than 6 months later. There was lots of chronic stress over months and months of time. So gaining 10 - 15 pounds back, after loosing 75, with the intense stress I've been under, I know I've won most of the battle.
As a diabetic, I am aware of the effect some foods have on the body. My diabetes is tightly controlled and my HA1c tests are always under 7, (usually between 5.8 and 6.0). But that doesn’t mean I can eat whatever I like. Oh no, that is a recipe for trouble. A result of 6.0 or less is where a diabetic wants that number to be. I have kept my fasting blood sugar under 100, most of the time, which is excellent. Sometimes it creeps up, depending on if I had a very stressful day the day before. Diabetics need to balance their meals and snacks. You CAN eat carbs if you eat protein with it most of the time. But eat complex carbs. Brown rice is really good in keeping my blood sugar stable. So for example, some brown rice and chicken will keep me going and stable, until my snack. And I love it. I buy the best blends, because I'm worth it!
I have to work to stop cravings and stay healthy. Over time it gets much easier. Yoga, which I wrote about in one of my first posts, is excellent for calming the bodies’ cravings. So of course is meditation. They are what make you mindful. No other exercise does that. That’s why I write about it so much. I want you to understand how beneficial it is. It has changed my life and therefore my lifestyle.
I have been wearing a pedometer to measure my steps and calories burned every day for the last 3 years and counting. It keeps me paying attention to how much walking I do each day. The golden rule is 10,000 steps. I never forget to wear mine. It is my constant reminder. I'm on my third one. I use the Omron Walking Style clip on. It costs about $25 - 35 depending on where you find it. I got all of mine at Amazon.com. I would suggest you also buy an extra metal clip so you don't loose it.
I have been wearing a pedometer to measure my steps and calories burned every day for the last 3 years and counting. It keeps me paying attention to how much walking I do each day. The golden rule is 10,000 steps. I never forget to wear mine. It is my constant reminder. I'm on my third one. I use the Omron Walking Style clip on. It costs about $25 - 35 depending on where you find it. I got all of mine at Amazon.com. I would suggest you also buy an extra metal clip so you don't loose it.
These are things you must cut out or limit that are bad for you:
Smoking
Sugar
Things made with high fructose corn syrup
Enriched white bread
Anything made with white flour
Trans fats
You simply have to start exercising. There is no way around it. Avoid foods that have sugar listed as one of the first few ingredients; I think most of the guidelines say, avoid it if it is in the first 3 or 4 ingredients. I'm avoiding it if it is in the first 4. Simple sugars are not efficiently absorbed or processed by your body. As a type II diabetic, I try to avoid sugar added in foods as much as possible. High fructose corn syrup is an ingredient that is found in most processed foods and in soft drinks. Did you know it turns into fat in your liver? Yeah me either, until I did some research on it three years ago.
If you must drink soft drinks, regular or diet, cut back to one or two glasses a week, not a day. If at all possible stop drinking them. I can go for months without soft drinks. If I do drink them, it’s maybe one glass once a week, when I go out with friends. I used to drink 3 or 4 a day. I lost about 7 pounds after I quit drinking soft drinks! Limit or cut out fast foods and processed foods and snacks. If you do not do these things you are helping to set yourself up for metabolic syndrome. I was the walking poster child for it. Several years ago, thanks to Dr. Oz, talking on Oprah, I realized that I probably had it and got tested. Now you know why I am such a big fan of his. (You may want to read my first post.) I had already gone into diabetes by the time I was tested. I was diagnosed in April of 2008. I am tons healthier today. It shows in my skin and hair too; bonus!
If you have a large midsection, you may already have it. Please see your doctor and ask for blood tests. Once you develop metabolic syndrome, you may become diabetic, as I had. It is very hard to lose that fat around your midsection once you develop metabolic syndrome. It takes a lot more work to get it off and keep it off.
I still have a problem with it, but my midsection is shrinking a little at a time. Unfortunately, I had a lot of weight to loose. I started out at about 260 pounds. I kept asking my doctors why I was gaining so much weight, yet not eating as much. As You know I asked to have an A1c test to check my blood sugar. I had had it done, but even though the doctor had underlined the result in red, his office never called to tell me I had entered the diabetic range. I never thought to call and ask. I had it done a year later after seeing Dr. Oz on Oprah and called to get the result and made an appointment. I asked to see my file and my previous blood work. I wanted to keep copies of my progress. There was the previous year result and underlined in red was my A1c in the diabetic range. I had gained 35 pounds in one year. That was a warning sign of Metabolic Syndrome, as the gain was all in my middle. That underlined test result was missed by someone from the doctor's office. He caught it, and they forgot to call me. I had to move on and forgive and not obsess on it. I really like my doctor. It wasn't his fault. He did see it. This is a warning to all of you reading this to be proactive with your health care and follow up YOURSELF. Take care of your life!
Being over 200 pounds is very bad. That my friends is considered by health care professionals to be morbidly obese. I don’t like that word “morbidly”. I celebrated every pound that came off, no matter how long it took. Slow weight loss seems to help it stay off better too. I know most doctors recommend loosing one to two pounds a week at most. So you also have to watch salt intake too, because it will make you retain fluid.
I still have a problem with it, but my midsection is shrinking a little at a time. Unfortunately, I had a lot of weight to loose. I started out at about 260 pounds. I kept asking my doctors why I was gaining so much weight, yet not eating as much. As You know I asked to have an A1c test to check my blood sugar. I had had it done, but even though the doctor had underlined the result in red, his office never called to tell me I had entered the diabetic range. I never thought to call and ask. I had it done a year later after seeing Dr. Oz on Oprah and called to get the result and made an appointment. I asked to see my file and my previous blood work. I wanted to keep copies of my progress. There was the previous year result and underlined in red was my A1c in the diabetic range. I had gained 35 pounds in one year. That was a warning sign of Metabolic Syndrome, as the gain was all in my middle. That underlined test result was missed by someone from the doctor's office. He caught it, and they forgot to call me. I had to move on and forgive and not obsess on it. I really like my doctor. It wasn't his fault. He did see it. This is a warning to all of you reading this to be proactive with your health care and follow up YOURSELF. Take care of your life!
Being over 200 pounds is very bad. That my friends is considered by health care professionals to be morbidly obese. I don’t like that word “morbidly”. I celebrated every pound that came off, no matter how long it took. Slow weight loss seems to help it stay off better too. I know most doctors recommend loosing one to two pounds a week at most. So you also have to watch salt intake too, because it will make you retain fluid.
So how often should you eat? Well, I have 6 small meals a day or 3 meals and 3 snacks. The key is to eat healthy snacks in between meals, so you never go without eating for more than 4 hours. The sad thing is our bodies quickly adjust to eating less and less often. So if you skip meals, your body starts to feel deprived. Eating something healthy helps to trick your body into feeling nourished. Don’t feel bad if you slip. Just forgive yourself and start over; otherwise you will just stop trying. That is the main reason I have kept most of it off for so long; paying attention, forgiving myself, continuing to persevere and exercising at least several days a week for 20 minutes or more each time.
Here are some things I leaned to eat;
Fiber
Eat 25 – 35 grams of fiber a day. It will help fill you up and keep you from eating junk food because you will not feel as hungry. Build up your daily fiber slowly though over time, or you will be in the bathroom a lot and have a lot of gas!
Fish and chicken
Eat fish several times a week if you can. I am not a salmon or tuna lover, so I feel that any fish is better than none. Bake it or broil it, but don’t fry it. Limit or cut fried foods completely out of your diet. Chicken is good, but watch when using sauces.
Try to eat your biggest meal at breakfast or lunch and eat a little lighter at dinner and then have a small snack a couple of 2 hours before you go to bed. You want to be able to sleep without feeling too full. I cannot sleep well if I eat too close to bedtime.
I try to eat a green leafy salad with a meal or with something else, several times a week. Right now I am bad about it, but I will try to re-motivate myself. I ate them everyday and sometimes twice a day. So I ended up getting sick and tired of the salad. I only use extra virgin olive oil on my salads. I drizzle 1 – 2 tablespoons over it. I crumble either walnuts or sprinkle in wheat germ. I actually used to crave my salads! The extra virgin olive oil is good for your heart. It is a monounsaturated fat which is healthier and more desirable than Trans fats or saturated fats. Something else you will need to read labels for and learn more about.
Healthy snacks
All of these have fiber, so they will help to fill you up:
Organic peanut butter; 1 or 2 rounded tablespoons
Baby carrot sticks
By the handful; or 10-16 pieces
Walnuts (I eat these every day)
Pecans
Almonds (I eat these every day)
Pine nuts
Pistachio nuts
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower seeds
Avocado slices 2-4 (I eat a whole one almost every day. It’s my favorite snack.)
Apple Sauce ½ - 1 cup (look for natural or low sugar)
Apples
½ an orange
A ½ cup of any berries you might like
Broccoli (raw is good too)
Cauliflower (raw is good too)
Also try:
Cup of yogurt, but read the labels for those bad ingredients before you buy it. You’d be surprised how much sugar, high fructose corn syrup and Trans fats are in some brands
Not as good, but satisfying
1 or 2 slices any of your favorite cheeses (I am guilty of eating 2 or 3 or more)
Unprocessed cheese is one of my huge cheats, better that than 3 candy bars though!
1 glass of low fat or skim milk
Also research says that dairy helps you to loose weight. I'll have to stop eating cheese to tell you if that is true for me.
You can still eat pastas and rice especially if you like multi-grain or wheat pasta. If you must eat white pasta, have no more than a cup’s worth and eat a fiber rich vegetable and protein with it. Simple carbs cause blood sugar spikes and crashes that will only make you crave more carbs. I find brown rice really keeps the blood sugar spikes at bay. I have a super busy lifestyle and I have NO problems keeping my blood sugar stable.
Just remember I am no expert. Consult with your doctor. I am just another person who has been there too and I still have weight to lose, but not as much as I did! Think of me as inspiration. Read my previous posts and some of the older ones, (except for 12/23 it is similar to this post). I hope to help you stay motivated, like I am. I just lost one of those regained pounds. Yeah!!
Use a personal mantra like;
"Think before I drink. Look before I eat."
Namaste
