What?!

Last night I happily crawled into bed with a stack of magazines I had accumulated over the past two months (did I ever tell you that being a director AND teacher is time consuming?!) and started to read my way through them. My eyes fell on an article about losing two dress sizes so I instantly flipped right to that page in hopes of finding some profound weight loss/maintenance program. Instead I found a list of alternatives such as visit a dietitian, seek out help from a cognitive behavior therapist and consider weight loss surgery. What?! OK, I do agree seeking the help of a dietitian can be beneficial to everyone. And I also agree that enlisting the help of a therapist can be very helpful especially if there is a reason behind your situation (example: you are an emotional eater), but let's be really honest: most people do not have the time, money or resources to seek out this level of help. I was so disappointed in this article!

This past year I lost what I feel is a significant amount of weight. I'll be honest, I cannot say what the exact amount is as I really fluctuated on the scale. I do know that at my absolute heaviest (I want to say that was around March 2009) I was right at 160lbs. I am only 5'2 so that is truly overweight. Granted I had two babies within 2.5 years so I had pregnancy weight after pregnancy weight slapped together. But let's also say I didn't have a food enemy. I loved and welcomed every piece of cake, cookie, chip, cheeseburger, fry, soda and beer that crossed my path. I didn't watch my portions. I ate when I was pissed, happy or just because. I didn't like to sweat so I didn't exercise. But I also hated how I looked. In 2010 I had the worst teaching year on record. Some days I felt like giving up before even getting out of bed. I turned to alcohol and drank A LOT of it to get me through that hellish year. That was the summer I lost a little weight, but it was also the year that my IBS went through the roof. I'll never forget laying on the floor in pain, gasping for breath, as an IBS flair up rocked my body. I couldn't eat most days so that was my "thinnest" at 150lb, still overweight. The summer of 2012 I started walking with a co-worker and finally "dropped" to 147lbs. Then I fell and broke my foot and ripped the ligaments. I ballooned back up to about 154lbs. At Christmas 2012 I was in a size 14 pants and my shirts were large to extra-large. In 2013 my boot came off and I was officially signed off from physical therapy and that is when I said "NO MORE".

I started off slow because I knew myself all too well; if I went into this 110% I would fail. I started by watching portions. When I ate a salad I actually measured out a true serving of dressing and cheese, I just didn't blindly toss things into a bowl. I ate one scoop of potatoes instead of loading up. I waited a few minutes before going back for seconds, many times I found myself to be full. Next I cut out soda. That was hard! I subbed carbonated flavored water for the soda, same fizzy feel, but no calories and no artificial crap pulsing through my veins. I started drinking unsweet green tea. Then I cut out as much processed stuff as possible. We always plant a garden so soon I was able to eat tomatoes, lettuce, spinach and cucumbers from my backyard. I could see results! Last, I added in some mild exercise. I enjoy walking around my neighborhood so I started walking here and there. When the tornado hit in June many of our roads were blocked with trees, downed lines and debris so I stepped away from outdoor walking. I am still very cautious of my foot, even a year later, so walking on and around that scared me. I have not held exercise as a priority as I should and that is my 2014 lifestyle goal. I also made it a point to not snack unless I was truly hungry and to not eat after 8pm.

For breakfast I would have a cup of coffee and a protein drink with skim milk. Lunch was usually a big green salad with tea or I would make "fun" lunches like sliced tomatoes & basil from my garden with fresh mozzarella cheese. Dinner was usually grilled veggies, baked potato and fruit. We grill a lot in the summer so it wasn't uncommon to have grilled veggie kabobs, salad, grilled corn and watermelon. Snacks were foods like Greek yogurt, fresh fruit, whole wheat crackers, cheese, etc. I am a vegetarian so obviously meat is absent from my meals, but I ate beans, eggs, veggie burgers, etc. to make sure I had protein. I can honestly say that this is the best I've felt in a very long time. By September I was down to 137lbs (still technically overweight) and I was in a size 8 pant and my tops are small to medium.

This holiday season I have been lax in my eating habits, but I have been pretty good. My size 8 pants still fit! I haven't weighed myself in literally weeks, I've discovered I do not need that scale. I know I am healthy because I look good and best of all, I feel good. If I can do this, so can you. I was the poster girl for every failed diet I could get my hands on. I tried starving myself (not smart!), Weight Watchers (I gained weight?!) and even OTC pills (stupid!), but it was finally a talk with a friend and a drive from within that got me going. My lifestyle goal (I refuse to say resolution) is to find a simple exercise routine and stick with it. I am happy with my weight, if I lose more that would be great, but if I don't, that is good too. I want to exercise for the health benefits. Here is to a healthy, happy 2014!

Food Rules

In my last posting I talked about this great little book I had just finished reading called "Food Rules" by Michael Pollan. I love this book! Michael lists about 65 food rules that all humans should follow in their lives. Some of these rules seem so very common sense to me yet I can truly imagine how many people would read his list and say, "huh?!"

I am genuinely amazed at how uneducated folks are about food, health, choices and lifestyle in general. I had to go grocery shopping today. Prior to walking out the door I planned a week's worth of dinners, checked the kitchen for foods we were in need of and made a list. Upon arriving to the store I started shopping. In the first 15 minutes my cart was full of bananas, tomatoes, kiwi, apples, red onions, ginger root, romaine lettuce, avocados, cucumbers, zucchini, blood oranges, grapefruit and strawberries. Yes, we eat that much produce! I try my best to shop the perimeter of the store and I strive to steer clear of processed foods. If you had looked in my cart you would have also found skim milk, yogurt, chicken breast, ground turkey, canned beans, unsweetened applesauce, canned mandarin oranges and tuna (not bad choices, in my opinion). The processed foods were Kashi cereal bars, organic oat o's (like Cheerios), provel cheese, cream cheese, bagels and multi-grain rice cakes (not the best, but really not the worst). I walked out of the store feeling like I had made conscious food choices, foods that would truly feed my family. I don't know about you, but I always look at other peoples carts and wonder about their food habits. Yes, I know that sounds kinda weird and stalker-like in nature, but I promise I never actually talk to these people!! Anyway, I noticed one man with probably 20 packets of Ramen Noodles. I couldn't help but think about how much sodium and artificial crap he was ingesting. He could easily buy whole wheat noodles and jarred sauce for the same amount of money and the nutritional benefits would be so much greater. Another man was buying Lucky Charms, Fruity Pebbles and Pop-Tarts like they were going out of style. I couldn't help but wonder if he actually fed that sugary "food" to his children before school each day. Instead of Lucky Charms or icing coated Pop-Tarts, he could buy a big container of oats and jazz them up with a little peanut butter and sliced fruit or even but a big box of Cheerios.  The kicker was the lady in line in front of me at the check out; she had 10 frozen pizzas, 10 frozen dinners, 10 frozen orange juice concentrates, two cases of soda and a big container of rum. I'd like to think she was hosting some type of party, but I bet money that was lunch and dinner for the next several days. I am sure she was able to buy all of the items for fairly cheap, but I venture to say that she could also buy noodles, rice, beans, canned/frozen vegetables and select cuts of meat for about the same amount of money. Maybe cost wasn't even an issue, maybe it was the convenience of the prepared foods that appealed to her? Again, I bet she could spend a few hours cooking and baking one afternoon and freeze/prep enough healthy foods for the week. I try very hard not to judge others when I am out, but sometimes I just cannot help it. How can people eat so unhealthy and not realize the effects of their choices? Do they truly not know the risks? Do they not care at this point (that would so be my mom!)? Is money a factor? There are so many possibilities.

I am so interested in food and seeing how much I adore this handy little book, I have decided to delve a little farther into it all. Look for my next post!