Putting Pen to Paper

We're over a week into the new year.  How are things going?  Is it easier than you thought or did you binge yesterday on sugar and fat?  Are you hitting the gym or has the cold weather sapped your energy?  Do you feel you have a strong plan or are things falling apart at the seams?  If you are stumbling, it's time to write it down.

There is something more real, more concrete, about things in writing.  It doesn't have to be fancy, no new journal needed, it just has to be kept.  This won't be disposable, not until you are done.  So the back of an old envelope probably isn't going to cut it.  But a simple piece of notebook paper from the kids will.

This scrawling will help keep you on track and is something you can look back on frequently.  Keep it in a place of importance, it will be a mental reminder that YOU are a priority for yourself now. 

Now it's time to figure out your personal style.  What has and hasn't worked for you in the past?  Taking these things into account is very important.  If it hasn't worked in the past, it won't work this time either.

Here are a few ideas:

Keep it simple.  Write down your goal weight, then write down month to month what you plan to lose.  And finally a goal date.

Make a list.  Step by step, how you plan to make your healthy lifestyle successful.  Your overall exercise and eating plan would fit nicely here.

Go visual.  Use pictures to motivate you - what your rewards will be for successes, what you want to look like when you are done or a warm body that makes you want to workout.

Gerard Butler, my warm body

Scotland, my reward

A smaller me

Do it every week.  Instead of laying out a year or 18 months, some people need to focus on now.  Pick a day of the week and use it to map the week to come, each week.

Put it on the wall.  Often it helps if you see your goal every day.  A lot of people put it on their refrigerator, that can be a bit daunting.  But you can put it somewhere else you look at least two or three times a day.

Journal it.  This is a daily look at what you plan to do.  It can be on paper or maybe it's filling out your food journal in advance of the day, making it more likely you will stay on task.

Blog it.  Obviously I do this.  It's a chance to not only put goals out there, but connect with other people on a similar journey.

Hopefully one of those work for you.  Of course, that's just a smattering of ideas.  There are many other ways to chart your course to success.  Whatever you choose, I know you will succeed.

Yours in Health,
Kate

Finding a new weight loss strategy

Today I begin looking at my food habits, again. I think that, as important as calories and fat are, when I am eating and what I am eating, may have an effect at whether it stays to become fat. I think it is time to once again mix-it-up.

The times of day I struggle the most are in the morning and right at dinner time. With my wacky schedule - up at 2:45 a.m. to work at 4 a.m. and in bed by 8 p.m. at the latest - deciding when to eat has been hard.

In the morning, even with eating a high-fiber, high-protein cereal, I feel ravenous by 6 a.m. Of course, by that time I have been up for over three hours. For most people that might not be a problem, but I have been able to speed up my metabolism via gaining muscle.

That said, it should not be an excuse to eat from 6 a.m. until 9 a.m. continuously. I tend to eat my banana, then a hand full of trail mix, then anything else that isn't nailed down in the break room. I had also picked up a crap habit of using non-dairy, fatty, sugary creamers in my coffee. (I removed that on Thursday and yes, I know better.)

From 9-11 I drink my Starbucks. It's actually one of my more sensible choices. I drink a Venti (large) 1/2 caf, Americano with sugar-free syrup, some Splenda, a 1/4 cup of non-fat milk and a drizzle of half & half. I know it sounds very high-maintenance, but as long as I am paying for coffee, I will get what I want. Nursing that over two hours or more, helps curb my appetite and keeps my hands busy. I now know, I eat when I am bored too.

About 11 I start in on carrots, then at noon some form of protein, followed by a piece of fruit. I try to be out of the office by 1 or so, that way I don't find some kind of junk in the break room to eat. I far too often do for someone who preaches against it.

Once I have worked out, my body needs a snack. I may not be hungry, but if I have just worked my muscles hard, I need to feed them for their recovery. I try to stick to about 100 calories of protein and a piece of fruit.

Then I walk into the apartment, I put my stuff away and begin staring at the kitchen.

I have no idea why.

For the first part of this journey I was able to lock away my demons and make the kitchen my friend again. I was purely eating for utility. I knew my body needed something on board for quick access energy and that's how I kept it. I made it dig deeper for energy when I exercised and that is how I burned off so much fat.

When I am fixing my dinner I begin grazing - a handful of nuts here, a couple of tortilla chips there, then I eat tons of veggies (anything consumed in the kitchen is "free", right?).

Finally I have a sensible dinner. Only problem is, thinking about it now, I have been wandering on my portion control too, mainly at dinner. Then I 'have to have a little something sweet'. Wow, there are seven self-defeating words if I have ever seen them.

In total, a day like above would be 1800-2000 calories. Unless I throw in some extra sugary goodness for some reason, something that has been happening far too often.

So, there you go, complete {ugly} honesty. Now, what to do about it?

My plan:

-Take one meal or snack at a time.
-Plan ahead and do not wander off path from plan.
-Less processed sugar, it has NO dietary value.
-Get back to every meal being extremely veggie heavy.
-Peruse eating plans created by experts that are specifically designed to accomplish what I want. [I have a copy of the "Abs Diet" sitting at home collecting dust, time to at least read it.]
-Follow the good examples other people are setting and remember, I taught some of them to eat that way.
-Talk down that evil wench, Luci. She's not the one who gains fat when I overeat - I am!
-Measure everything again. Eye-balling portions is not helping control calories.
-Don't eat the same thing all of the time, maybe my body is simply used to burning what I have been giving it. I need to reintroduce food challenges.
-Keep working out and keep it diverse. It's the only reason I am looking at 5 pounds having crept back on instead of 25.
-Remember how I got here. I think it is time to go back to old journal and blog entries to find inspiration. Before I landed in the hospital last year, I felt bullet proof when it came to food.
-If none of this works, be ready to pay a professional nutritionist to assist me.

Well, there you go. All of that definitely falls under 'too much information' for you. But I needed to put a plan in writing to deal with this situation and this seemed the best place.

Wish me luck.

Yours in health, Kate