I am proud to announce that I am officially 15 pounds DOWN! I have been wavering between 10-15 pounds of weight loss for a few weeks, but yesterday I stepped on the scale and it was the lowest I have seen it in three years. THREE. I emphasize three because it's kind of depressing that I had been carrying around that extra weight so long! Luckily though, it's gone now.
How did I do it?
Well, let's start with how I didn't do it.
No pills
No weird shakes.
No crazy fitness programs.
No calorie counting.
No starving or depriving myself.
I hate gimmicks and though I'm one or all of the above has been beneficial to someone out there, I know myself. I don't follow through with set "programs" and I don't like counting calories because a) I'm bad at math b) I'm lazy and c) I used to struggle with eating disorders and I used to obsess with every single calorie that I put in my mouth and it was unhealthy. I don't ever want to go down that road again.
So what have I been doing?
1. I discovered that I can't eat gluten, so cutting that out immediately made me feel better and drop a few pounds.
2. I eat more fruit and vegetables. I don't always eat at least five servings a day, so I just make sure to add extra the day after I didn't eat as much. The easiest way to do this: salads.
3. I eat smaller meals throughout the day. This tricks my mind into thinking I get to eat more throughout the day even when I don't. It also makes my metabolism faster.
4. I don't deprive myself. If I want gummi bears, I eat them. If I want extra mayo in my tuna, I add it. I'm sure if I was more strict on "bad for you foods" I could be down even more pounds, but if I ever feel deprived I'll overeat. Since I started eating healthier months ago I haven't felt the need to binge on anything.
5. I have cut out almost all processed foods. I still eat them on occasion, but generally speaking, if it has more than five ingredients, I don't eat it.
6. I started working out again, anywhere from 1-3 times a week. Sometimes I work out hard, other times I do 30 minutes of strength training and call it a day.
7. STRENGTH TRAINING. Ladies, I can't stress enough how important this is. Most women I see at the gym stay in the cardio section. Cardio is obviously important, but if you really want to feel good and see a change in your body, it's important to strength train. I honestly feel like I've lost over 20 pounds just because I now have toned muscles.
Fifteen down, fifteen more to go!
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
what I ate Wednesday #3
Today was my first day of school, so naturally the day was hectic. Today's "meals" were virtually all snacks, and though this list of food may look like a lot, I didn't eat all that much in each sitting.
Meal 1: Two slices GF toast w/ PB, a banana, and coffee
Meal 2: Fruit leather, almonds, hard boiled egg
Snack: Dark chocolate covered almonds (from Trader Joe's--they are amazing!) and iced tea (unsweetened of course)
Meal 3: Sandwich w/: GF bread, turkey, 2 slices havarti cheese, mustard, and mayo; pickle, small bowl of chocolate fudge ice cream (Tillamook Brand)
Meal 4: One black bean-zucchini patty (it's literally three ingredients: black bean, zucchini, and ground flax seed!), polenta, and a bit of ranch dressing
Again, you may be thinking "Ummm you're trying to lose weight?" Yes, I am, and I am.
1) Smaller meals trick my brain into thinking that I get to eat more than I actually do. Because inside, I'm really just a fat ass who is obsessed with food.
2) Smaller meals boost my metabolism.
3) I have to incorporate some slightly-very unhealthy food into my diet or else I'll feel deprived and then want to eat EVERYTHING. Today I ate more sugar than I have been eating on a daily basis, but hey, it was my first day back teaching I needed it!
As I'm winding down to go to bed, I'm still satisfied: not too full, not too hungry. Smaller meals WORK!
Meal 1: Two slices GF toast w/ PB, a banana, and coffee
Meal 2: Fruit leather, almonds, hard boiled egg
Snack: Dark chocolate covered almonds (from Trader Joe's--they are amazing!) and iced tea (unsweetened of course)
Meal 3: Sandwich w/: GF bread, turkey, 2 slices havarti cheese, mustard, and mayo; pickle, small bowl of chocolate fudge ice cream (Tillamook Brand)
Meal 4: One black bean-zucchini patty (it's literally three ingredients: black bean, zucchini, and ground flax seed!), polenta, and a bit of ranch dressing
Again, you may be thinking "Ummm you're trying to lose weight?" Yes, I am, and I am.
1) Smaller meals trick my brain into thinking that I get to eat more than I actually do. Because inside, I'm really just a fat ass who is obsessed with food.
2) Smaller meals boost my metabolism.
3) I have to incorporate some slightly-very unhealthy food into my diet or else I'll feel deprived and then want to eat EVERYTHING. Today I ate more sugar than I have been eating on a daily basis, but hey, it was my first day back teaching I needed it!
As I'm winding down to go to bed, I'm still satisfied: not too full, not too hungry. Smaller meals WORK!
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
lazy, healthy snacks
Since this is now aptly titled "the lazy girl's guide to getting healthy," I figured it was time I shared some of my low-maintenance yet healthy snacks.
Before I get into these "snacks," I should probably clarify that my definition of a snack is anything that doesn't require intensive cooking. Therefore, many of these "snacks" end up being my meals. Now that I'm back at work (I'm a teacher) I tend to eat many smaller meals throughout the day rather than three big meals. This is actually healthier than the three meals a day model many of us grew up with, but being on the go constantly, it's just practical for me when I teach.
To be honest...I cook an actual meal maybe twice a week (eek! I know). The rest of my meals are more snack-like or eaten out (healthy options of course).
Here are my lazy, healthy snacks:
Before I get into these "snacks," I should probably clarify that my definition of a snack is anything that doesn't require intensive cooking. Therefore, many of these "snacks" end up being my meals. Now that I'm back at work (I'm a teacher) I tend to eat many smaller meals throughout the day rather than three big meals. This is actually healthier than the three meals a day model many of us grew up with, but being on the go constantly, it's just practical for me when I teach.
To be honest...I cook an actual meal maybe twice a week (eek! I know). The rest of my meals are more snack-like or eaten out (healthy options of course).
Here are my lazy, healthy snacks:
- Yogurt (goat) w/ berries and GF granola
- Hard boiled eggs
- Almonds
- GF crackers and hummus
- Cheese and salami/turkey/ham (okay I know these aren't super healthy foods, but I don't eat this that often and I buy minimally processed cheese and meat)
- Tuna w/ mayo, pickles and GF crackers (again, mayo isn't healthy but I get low fat mayo and don't eat it that often)
- Seaweed
- Fruit leathers
- Pickles (I've had an obsession with pickles my entire life. Don't judge)
- Apple w/ peanut butter
If there any other "lazy" snacks that you suggest please let me know! I'm always looking for lazy ways to eat healthy :)
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
what I ate Wednesday #2
Breakfast: two slices gluten-free toast w/PB and jelly, two cups of coffee
Lunch: two slices of havarti cheese, roasted turkey, two pickles, and a bowl of canteloupe
Dinner: steak salad from Chipotle (lettuce, rice, black beans, steak, pico de gallo, corn), tortilla chips and guacamole
Snack: gummi bears
Workout: none
Two notes:
1. I try not to drink my calories, with the exception of wine. I drink my coffee black (I actually prefer it this way) and don't sweeten my tea (hot or iced), so when I note what I drank during the day, I don't factor in calories (except wine) because black coffee and tea have very small amounts.
2. While I am lactose intolerant, lately I have been experimenting with hard cheese (in small amounts) and have been okay. It's not something that I consume on a regular basis, but today I wasn't very hungry around lunch time and was just craving some cold cuts.
Lunch: two slices of havarti cheese, roasted turkey, two pickles, and a bowl of canteloupe
Dinner: steak salad from Chipotle (lettuce, rice, black beans, steak, pico de gallo, corn), tortilla chips and guacamole
Snack: gummi bears
Workout: none
Two notes:
1. I try not to drink my calories, with the exception of wine. I drink my coffee black (I actually prefer it this way) and don't sweeten my tea (hot or iced), so when I note what I drank during the day, I don't factor in calories (except wine) because black coffee and tea have very small amounts.
2. While I am lactose intolerant, lately I have been experimenting with hard cheese (in small amounts) and have been okay. It's not something that I consume on a regular basis, but today I wasn't very hungry around lunch time and was just craving some cold cuts.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
what I ate Wednesday #1
I don't want to post what I eat everyday because that would not only be boring but laborious, but I do find it helpful when other bloggers post a random sampling of their diet to get a general idea of what they eat.
Here is my commitment to post what I eat every Wednesday, for better or for worse.
Yesterday, my friends, was unfortunately for worse.
Here's what I ate:
Breakfast: two chocolate chip cookies (home-baked GF), oatmeal, coffee
Lunch: Fruit smoothie (goat milk yogurt, OJ, strawberries, peaches, pineapple, flax seeds), hummus and GF crackers
Dinner: Handful of chips & salsa, three carne asada soft tacos (one tortilla each) w/ pico de gallo, side of rice and refried beans, mojito
Snack: GF beer and handful of tortilla chips w/spinach artichoke dip
Workout: 45 minute hike
So I know you're thinking "You're eating like this and expecting to lose more weight?!?" On a normal day, I'm not. This is why I think a set day a week is good to show what I eat because I absolutely do not believe in depriving myself and for the most part, I do eat pretty healthfully. The cookies in the morning were impulsive because I had just baked them the night before and they were sitting next to the coffee maker. I promptly bagged them up and put them in the pantry to get them out of my sight, and I haven't had any since.
Looking back at this list of food, I realize it's actually not all that bad, but something went terribly, terribly wrong leading me to wake up with horrible stomach pain and the oh-so-familiar feeling of needing to throw up. Right after I did I felt much better, but my stomach has still been really off all day.
I've been racking my brain to figure out where I went wrong, because six months ago I was throwing up from a combination of GERD and an unrealized gluten allergy on a weekly basis and it was HORRIBLE. I literally had to leave class while teaching a couple of times to throw up in the bathroom, and since I have stopped eating gluten I haven't thrown up once.
Flashback to last night, and I know I didn't eat gluten, but I did eat late at night because we grabbed some drinks with friends and I needed to eat a bit in order to be able to drive later.
This is all I can think of and it's frustrating because my body is just so damn sensitive. Just when I think I'm doing right by my stomach, something like this happens and I'm back to feeling like I'm screwed no matter what I eat.
All I have had today is oatmeal, hot green tea, a few GF crackers, and corn pasta w/ daiya (dairy and soy free) cheese because I don't think I can stomach anything else. Hopefully I'm back to normal tomorrow, and we'll see what I end up eating next Wednesday.
Here is my commitment to post what I eat every Wednesday, for better or for worse.
Yesterday, my friends, was unfortunately for worse.
Here's what I ate:
Breakfast: two chocolate chip cookies (home-baked GF), oatmeal, coffee
Lunch: Fruit smoothie (goat milk yogurt, OJ, strawberries, peaches, pineapple, flax seeds), hummus and GF crackers
Dinner: Handful of chips & salsa, three carne asada soft tacos (one tortilla each) w/ pico de gallo, side of rice and refried beans, mojito
Snack: GF beer and handful of tortilla chips w/spinach artichoke dip
Workout: 45 minute hike
So I know you're thinking "You're eating like this and expecting to lose more weight?!?" On a normal day, I'm not. This is why I think a set day a week is good to show what I eat because I absolutely do not believe in depriving myself and for the most part, I do eat pretty healthfully. The cookies in the morning were impulsive because I had just baked them the night before and they were sitting next to the coffee maker. I promptly bagged them up and put them in the pantry to get them out of my sight, and I haven't had any since.
Looking back at this list of food, I realize it's actually not all that bad, but something went terribly, terribly wrong leading me to wake up with horrible stomach pain and the oh-so-familiar feeling of needing to throw up. Right after I did I felt much better, but my stomach has still been really off all day.
I've been racking my brain to figure out where I went wrong, because six months ago I was throwing up from a combination of GERD and an unrealized gluten allergy on a weekly basis and it was HORRIBLE. I literally had to leave class while teaching a couple of times to throw up in the bathroom, and since I have stopped eating gluten I haven't thrown up once.
Flashback to last night, and I know I didn't eat gluten, but I did eat late at night because we grabbed some drinks with friends and I needed to eat a bit in order to be able to drive later.
This is all I can think of and it's frustrating because my body is just so damn sensitive. Just when I think I'm doing right by my stomach, something like this happens and I'm back to feeling like I'm screwed no matter what I eat.
All I have had today is oatmeal, hot green tea, a few GF crackers, and corn pasta w/ daiya (dairy and soy free) cheese because I don't think I can stomach anything else. Hopefully I'm back to normal tomorrow, and we'll see what I end up eating next Wednesday.
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