A month of eating right…
February 3rd, 2008A tale told by two.
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His story:
What a change it has been.
A month of eating right. A month of small slivers of meat and heaping piles of vegetables. A month of finishing dinner and wanting more. Compared to coming home from work and polishing off a can of cashews…more calories in one sitting than I now get over two days…
I am eating better than I ever have before in my life. Fruits and vegetables with every meal. Reasonable portion sizes. Practically no saturated fat, and modest amounts of other fats. Very, very little refined starch and sugar.
I’ve really come to appreciate the meat in each meal, even if it is a modest three to four ounces. We’ve had a stir-fry Kell made from scratch with beef, onions and seasonings about a week into the diet, and it must have been that I was ravenous for meat and/or protein because it tasted like the most delicious thing I’d ever had in my life.
In general, while never feeling satisfied by a meal, I look forward to eating every last bit. Before, I’d never feel any gusto regarding an apple. Why would you, considering how delicious a bag of potato chips tastes? When we come home from work I can smell the delicious aromas in the kitchen from the previous nights meal. I am attuned by appreciation.
What happens in your head when you improve your diet feels much like what happens when you decide to quit smoking. When certain options simply aren’t possible (as in, you don’t allow yourself those options), you gain an entirely different viewpoint of the things you do have.
I’ve also been exercising daily, doing three sets of push ups morning, noon and night. Practically no aerobic exercise, however…
At the end of a month of this, I had lost nine pounds, from 210 to 201. I would say it was worth it, but I don’t look much difference. I feel a bit more trim, a little more solid through the midsection, but visibly nine pounds doesn’t look like a whole heck of a lot. It seems some of my jeans fit a little looser, but nothing really amazing.
I think I ended high school around 165, and filled out to about 185 shortly thereafter. I think that is the weight I’d like to be back to. I’d been around 200 for a while, then 205, and then finally 210 the past couple years. I think it is time to start reversing this disheartening trend. Exercise and diet for the win?
Eating healthy, being healthy is all well and good, but when I look down, I want to see a six pack.
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Her story:
One month - only 3 pounds lost
So it’s been one month on this Nazi-diet (editors note: I keep complaining about living in a concentration camp as we are only allowed to eat X at time Y, sir yes sir) and I have only lost a mere 3 lbs…..and I lost those the first freakin’ week. Zilch since then…grrrrr.
I do have to admit that I barely exercised this month though….yea, I’m lazy..I admit it.
I though that perhaps just the cut in calories would be enough. Guess not.
I was very flustered about the diet in the beginning but it has gotten easier over the past couple weeks. I’ve learned how to make substitutions and have a much better understanding of proper portions.
There are lots and lots of fresh fruit and veggies involved, which I actually have enjoyed, and this means our grocery bill has gone up significantly…. average $100 a week for 2 people..this is high for us. Especially since I’ve not purchased much meat. I do buy organic when it’s available though and that tends to add a few extra dollars.
The first week, aside from the coffee withdrawal headache, I thought that I was feeling a bit better….but that feeling didn’t really last. I would like to think that I am healthier but I really don’t have any proof. And it’s not that we ate terrible before…we were into healthy foods, whole grains, some veggies (practically no fruit aside from juice & smoothies), fiber-full foods, etc. It’s just that now we actually eat more veggies, fruit and we don’t skip breakfast…oh and our night time snacking has been severely cut (this I miss the most!) to a mere 130 calories. Whereas I would usually eat a salty snack, like pretzels, then have something sweet, perhaps some chocolate. I’m sure that I was eating too much at night before but now I am finding myself feeling deprived.
For example, even though I am not a big candy eater (usually only if we are on a road trip), I am finding myself craving candy, like Sprees, Jelly Bellies, Skittles. It’s driving me mad!!!! I broke down and bought some Jelly Bellies this past weekend (they were the all natural kind of course)…turns out they weren’t as good as I’d hoped. I have been craving salt too! During the second week of the diet I was having such a bad salt craving that I went to the cupboards with the intention of eating a bullion cube…only to find that what I had left were old and soft…yuck.
Anyway, we have been following the diet very well during the week but it seems when Friday night comes…well, we slip a little. Then of course when there is a gathering, how can we pass on the snackies and alcohol? Then Sundays at my folks…we do our best to eat appropriate portions…but we always seem to give into the sweets which taunt us from the coffee table…stuff we definitely don’t have in our house (mini candy bars, chocolate, skittles).
All and all, I really don’t mind the diet, the recipes are easy but the prep is a bit time consuming. I like that we are eating more fresh fruits and veggies…and I actually like eating breakfast! The only really bothersome thing is that I usually don’t feel full after eating dinner…and I definitely don’t feel satisfied. I think this is due to the lack of carbs. So I usually drink some water and take my vitamins to help fill my stomach…that usually works, physically anyway.
This month I will make an effort to exercise, continue the diet and see how it goes. Perhaps it’s time to break out the trampoline.
Sigh.
You both have a dedication that is amazing.
Diets are hard. Exercise is easier I would say, with equipment around. I would take having a weight machine and punching bag around over doing push/sit ups… I guess that’s why I don’t exercise much. I really miss the weights/bag.
Keep it up.
I second John’s comment. Although I share the goal of losing weight, i have not weighed myself yet as I suspect little to no progress. I have definitely been eating better but probably not eating less. It is a step in a positive direction but I share Kelley’s craving for snacks and lack of motivation for exercise! Go Garrett!!! I disagree, I think you can see nine pounds because you were not exactly obese to start out. Don’t give up kelley- you’ve hit that plateau but the healthier eating will still add up to long term benefits!!!!!!
Maybe when it warms up and we all get more active we will see a change.
Can I jump with you on the trampoline when it warms up Kelley?
We’ve always said if we broke out the camera around the trampoline, someone would end up getting launched off into a broken bone…so I’ll man the camera while you two jump!
Trampolines = trouble. You’ll never see me on one.
I’ll play some badminton though!
Another change wrought by the altered lifestyle is a reduction in my blood pressure. I was pre-hypertensive, with a BP usually around 140/90. Took it tonight, 126/80, the lowest I can remember it being in years and years.
how’s your sugar?
Kelley, I completely agree with you, dieting is sooo frustrating. I think I told you, last year I was on a diet for 12 weeks, rarely cheated, and only lost 10 pounds…over 3 freaking months of torture. Like Garrett, I felt like I couldn’t even notice the 10 pounds. Like you…I was JUST dieting. No exercise.
I have a friend though, who went to Curves AND dieted and lost 40 lbs in 7 months. I am actually going to Curves tomorrow to find out about the program. I know it is a 30 minute workout that is susposed to FLY by. I think I can force myself to do 30 mins…..
30 minutes of exercise is no joke, that is a decent amount of effort. how many times per week is the workout? 40 lbs in 7 months sounds really good. I’m looking to lose another 10 or 15, but I expect it to take much longer.
I don’t have any test strips for diabetes so not sure about the sugar.
I want CAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Grrrrrrr.
Garrett, next time we are together, remind me and we can check your sugar. I still have my meter and strips.
I did it. I signed up tonight….I am going to set my goal at a minimum of 3 times a week. I hate to spend money on myself, so I am hoping that the auto-withdrawl of $34 a month will motivate me to actually use it.
Cool! Let us know how you like it.
Exercise is definitely the key to serious weight loss. Kelley - 3 lbs is definitely a good start. Don’t get discouraged. I think adding exercise over the next month will definitely produce results. I believe what is probably preventing further weight loss is your metabolism has slowed down because your body has gone into a type of self-preservation mode so amp up the cardio to boost your metabolism. Whenever I decide to lose a few pounds I watch what I eat and exercise like a freak. Along with my normal weight lifting I add 10 minutes of cardio. I’ve recently lost 3 pounds just over a weekend. At my highest, I weighed in at 235 lbs and have since dropped to 215 lbs. I plan on dropping another 10 lbs before the beach this year. One final thought, one pound of fat is the equivalent of 3500 calories. What that means is you need to burn 3500 more calories than what you take in to lose 1 pound.
Thanks for the pep talks! I do know that I need to exercise…I just freakin hate it!!!! Especially when it is doing something that isn’t very fun. I love jumping on the trampoline, playing badminton, going for bike rides (sometimes I don’t like it)…stuff like that. It’s exercise and it’s fun. But riding the exercise bike in the living room…it’s not very appealing to me. I think we will have to break out the trampoline very soon, if not this wknd.
3500 calories, I know, that is a lot of exercising…ugh. You just had to remind me!!!
I recently checked out this site that figured out how many calories you burn in a typical day…well, it figured that I needed 1300 calories if I laid in bed all day…over 2000 doing my normal day to day stuff. This doesn’t seem to be right because this diet we are on is only 1200 - 1300 calories a day. I just don’t know.
What I do know is that it’s Friday, WOO HOO, and pretty soon I’m going to have a Blue Moon in hand (maybe wine) some delicious food in my belly and some laughter with my husband & friends (if they join us).
What more could you ask for at the end of a crappy work week!
Kelley, I HATE, HATE, HATE exercise just for exercise sake just like you. I would rather play a game of kickball at the farm or take a walk in the woods or go swimming vs. walking on the treadmill at home. But Curves was awesome for me!! Maybe it is just my personality, but I went to the appointment with a sense of dread, figuring I was going to hate it and was just doing it because I knew I needed to….but it was soooo fun and I am looking forward to going back. Yay!! Finally exercise that I am not going to dread every day.
That’s awesome! Can’t wait to hear more about it!