My weight stayed the same this week. I think last week's HUGE drop had more to do with the stomach flu I had the week before than anything else. Regardless, it's off and it's staying off and that makes me happy. I had tried on a pair of pants at Fashion Bug just before New Years and couldn't buy them - they were tight and uncomfortable, but I liked them. This week I not only bought them, but they're LOOSE! Good thing they were on sale, I may not be wearing them long.
I'm reading along with the ladies at Quilters' Lounge, sharing their weight loss successes. Debra's climbed aboard the South Beach train with Rian and Jules, and it really seems to be working for them. I think that's great! Me, I can't do it. I've tried cutting carbs, tried increasing protein and losing the starches and the results were not pretty. My head hurts, my stomach hurts, my whole system gets stopped up. I develop hideous breath and a super aggressive temperament. Like I said, not pretty. As it is now, I'm up to between 15 and 20 grams of fiber a day, but with the iron supplement I need, it's not enough. I cannot imagine what a higher meat intake would do!
I'm maintaining a calorie intake of around 1300/day - 15-20% protein, 25-30% fat, 55-60% carbs, most of which are fiber boosted. I crave little, I'm comfortably full with that number of calories, and it's what's worked for me in the past. I have to hope it will continue to work for me now. I don't naturally eat a la South Beach, or Atkins, or SugarBusters. The idea (sorry Debra) of mixing artificial sweetener and lemon extract into ricotta and calling it dessert is just not something I'm willing to do for the rest of my life. I'd really rather have a bowl of strawberries or a couple of graham crackers. Watching my fat and calories, I can do that, and I know that it's a lifestyle I can happily maintain forever. I can eat just about anything, just about anywhere, and not feel like I cheated or blew it, or insulted the chef. Over the course of a healthy week's worth of (mostly) healthy eating, one cannoli or a spoonful of brown sugar on my oatmeal is not a deal breaker. I guess it's easier to climb back on the wagon having fallen off, when that wagon is set pretty low to the ground. Low carb/high protein is a wagon that's set just to high up for me. If I got on and fell off, I know I'd be hesitant to climb back aboard.
I need to increase my exercise, I know that. Yesterday we went snowshoeing and that was fun. I've also ordered a yoga DVD that should be here today - yoga with toddlers. Sounds fun, huh? Once the weather decides what season it should be, we'll walk more. Saves gas AND builds up the big powerhouse thigh and leg muscles! What could be better?
5 comments:
If you are on the south beach diet, the strictest weeks are the first 2 weeks. During that time you cut the carbs to nothing and make ricotta dessert, which is just an idea--you can have another cheese dish or whatever if you want. Once your blood sugar has leveled out & the cravings have stopped, you slowly add the carbohydrates back into your diet to see what you can handle. You do not give up your carbohydrates (bread, oatmeal, fruit) forever. You just learn which ones will cause you to put the weight back on & either choose to stay clear of them or eat them in moderate amounts. The diet does not encourage high meat eating--just regular servings of meat. I usually eat 3-4 oz of meat at each meal, which certainly is not more than I would normally eat. Two eggs for breakfast is not alot of protein.
But, I cut out the raisins, the banana, the aspartame, the carrots, the apples (which I will add back in the 2nd phase), the bread (although I am not much of a bread eater really), orange juice & haven't had any sweets. Just making that adjustment caused me to lose 4 pounds last week.
My diet has been more fruit based than vegetable based. I have moved more to vegetables & I still have the roughage I need. The protein has stayed about the same. I haven't been too faithful to the nuts everyday just because I forget to eat them (& I forget to eat the dessert at night most nights) because I am not hungry. That is a far cry from the bowl of chocolate covered raisins I was having for a mid afternoon snack previously.
So, for me, it's working and I am not changing that much to make it work. It will be interesting to see how this week plays out.
Thanks for the fabric and the soap! Smells wonderful.
Oatmeal in that soap even! Yeah fiber! ;o)
I know that everyone is different, and what works (obviously!) for you might not be right for me, or Fitzy, or Jules, or anyone else. I think success comes with finding the eating style that works best for you, and then sticking to it.
and BTW - 3-4 ounces of meat is as much as I eat in a whole day, so for me, South Beach *would* be an increased protein thing. I've tried it in the past, and I don't like the way it makes me feel. For you, it *does* work, and you feel better! More power to you, I hope we can all find the right way for each of us to eat for the rest of our lives, because really, that's the only way to succeed.
I agree that each has to find her successful way of eating & stick with it.
Had you not suggested I present my food one day and then have it analyzed, I would not have discovered how sugary raisins are to my body.
So, there is value in friendly debate or questioning!
I absolutely agree. I think, Debra, that we see food differently, and perhaps (what I think is) your way is the healthier one. I suspect it is. Food, to many is fuel. And it is. But to me, food is also a large serving of emotion. I LOVE food. I see beauty in a well plated dessert, and art in a perfectly seasoned soup. Like Rian's birthday cake table decorations, a beautiful meal IS the centerpiece.
Coffee isn't just caffeine, it's the company of my best friend even when she's not there. Tea in a teacup isn't just a hot drink, it's dressing up a little and pretending to be a grown up, even after I really am. The same tea, in a huge mug, is crawling out of a tent and weatching the sun rise through the steam. Bread out of the oven with butter and sugar (I know, I know) is my dad before he became a bitter, angry old man.
I cannot relegate food to *just* fuel, so I have to work around that. And while I will send back a steak that's done anything beyond rare, I'd never ask the server to "throw this prime rib on the grill for a second" as dinner companion once did. If the corned beef comes with buttered noodles, I'll order a side vegetable or a salad as well and expect to pay for it. The noodles (most of them) would stay on my plate. They were part of the meal I ordered, I just chose not to eat them. Asking for vegetables INSTEAD would never even occur to me.
My mother is/was an emotional eater and I guess growing up I saw what it did to her body. I never have developed an attachment to food.
While I was in Costa Rica my folks stayed at my house. Upon my return my mom had baked the family's favorite chocolate cake and a pan of fudge.
I had a few pieces of cake & threw the rest away; same with the fudge. Wes is not a choc/sweet eater and I was not all that interested either, which is new to me. I think learning to live without sweets is going to be what I have to do to stay slim.
BTW, you can easily request vegs instead of pasta--lots of places will do that for you.
Post a Comment