You must do the things you think you cannot do.
~
Eleanor Roosevelt

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Weight Loss and Lifestyle Change

You patient souls know why I've decided enough is enough and it's time for a change. And now I'll tell you about the dietary changes I'm committed to making.

I think part of why so many people are overweight is because they're overwhelmed by the information given them by 'experts.' I saw 3 different medical professionals about my weight - family practice dr, dietician, and gyn - and was given 3 very different sets of opinions. Confusing!

After reading and reading some more, the [very] basic differences between the 'lifestyle' diets I read about  involved meat, grains and animal fat (meat and dairy).

They each agree that whole foods, veggies and fruit are good. Drinking water is good and so is exercise.

They are in concert against white flour, white/artificial sugar, and processed foods in general.

My objectives:
~ a lifestyle change that can be sustained over the long term -- no weird vitamins or pills, no fasting 3 days/week, etc

~ a diet that doesn't require foods vastly different from what my family eats -- no special order meals or crazy expensive supplements

So here's the deal for me
1. Eat lots of veggies particularly leafy green ones and limit starchy ones like potatoes
2. Drink lots of water - at least 80 oz/day
3. Continue to eat meat ~3x/week
4. Continue to eat fruit - especially blueberries
5. Limit dairy intake to no more than 2 svgs/day - and the dairy I do eat will ideally be from pasture fed cows
6. Limit grain intake to no more than 2 svgs/day - and the grains I eat should be whole and soaked when possible
7. Avoid white flour, white sugar/artifiical sweetners (corn syrup, fructose, etc) and processed foods

The good thing is I've been doing this fairly consistently since January and it hasn't been a huge shock to my daily life.

What a minute?
If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you always got.
Right?

So if I haven't lost weight since January, how am I going to continue to do this and meet my objective?

Great question. The key lies in the words Fairly Consistently.

The new word is Consistently.

Consistently track my calories in and calories expended. Consistently avoid  #7. Be more diligent about limiting #s 5 and 6. Choosing veggies or fruit over toast or popcorn for a snack. And if I've reached my caloric limit for the day....stop eating.

I can do this. I will do this.

6 comments:

Laima said...

Sounds like a good plan - good luck:)

misszippy said...

Tracy--A really great approach. I love your determination. Send some my way too, ok?

Great meeting you in person last week! I hope the ITB is behaving better for you!

Elena (Running in Heels After Child) said...

I am with you on all your points, this is how I tend to eat but not all the time. I like a treat, pasta, cheese and cocktails and I have had a hard time committing to giving any of them up.

My new plan is much like yours. I need to be consistent. Apparently 4 days on and 3 days off does not really work for me.

Best,

elena

*~*~* Tracy said...

Elena, that was my issue. I was slacking over the weekends because we're so busy, and that makes it hard to plan ahead. My downfalls are hard cheese and cookies, well any sweets really! I'm tired of my squishy-ness so I have to stick with it.

Maybe you could give up just one thing at a time until you have them all nailed. You can do it!

Tina @ Faith Fitness Fun said...

Yep. Consistency is what makes ALL the difference. Also right that it doesn't have to be anything crazy. Your plan sounds great. :)

Molly said...

you hit the nail on the head, the key is consistency. Something I'm ALWAYS working on.

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails