This is Day 1 of a million start overs. Isn't it great that we can start over? At the same time, I think that because I can start over, or I think I can start over, I don't take the things that I have done and am doing health-wise as serious. I think that getting over this mentality will do great things for me in the future.
I started off today by figuring out what we were going to be eating for the next few days, made a shopping list and then made my breakfast.
I have been doing a 30 day green smoothie challenge that a friend of mine posted on Facebook. After reading what it was all about, I decided that it would make an excellent addition to eating healthy. Basically, you add one green smoothie to your day. Whether it is a meal or a snack, adding a smoothie will help you to add the nutrients that you can get from your fruits and veggies, all in a delicious package. You have 2 cups of a liquid (water, coconut water, almond/hemp/soy milk, etc.), 2 cups of a veggie (spinach, kale, etc.) and then some various fruits. My smoothie today was spinach, almond milk, a banana, 1 cup of mixed berries and 1 cup of cherries. It was delicious. It wasn't even green! This set me up to have a good day nutrition-wise.
I went to the gym this morning and did an hour of my favorite exercise of all... ZUMBA! I love Zumba. I love the way that I feel while I'm working out, and I love how I feel after I work out. It's total exhilaration. The class that I attended this morning usually averages around 100 women. 100! Our instructor is always so full of energy. I don't feel like I am working out, I really feel like I am just part of one big dance party. Plus, according to a calorie burn calculator, I burned between 600 and 800 calories.
On the drive home, my brain always starts asking what I should eat for lunch. It does this every time, as I drive by various fast food joints. The worst ones are the ones where you can actually smell the food. I started contemplating the fact that I could eat a burger, a delicious bacon burger from Wendy's, and since I had just worked out, I had extra calories and could do so. I actually was turning into Wendy's when I realized what I was doing and had to turn around. I wanted a burger, but I ended up having a healthier lunch. I was very proud of myself.
For lunch I had a veggie plate with baby sweet peppers, cucumber and carrots, with hummus. I also had green grapes. I wasn't hungry again until dinner, which is what Dr. Fuhrman expects. He doesn't want you to be hungry right away or all day. This defeats the purpose of his plan.
For dinner we had whole wheat flatbread salad tacos. Romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, red onion, cucumber straws, sliced grape tomatoes, grapes and dried cranberries mixed together with a little bit of balsamic vinegar. Put the salad mixture in a whole wheat pita or on a flatbread and fold to make a "taco." We also had some fresh cut watermelon to finish out the meal.
Today was a good day 1. Now I need to make sure that all my days are as good as today.
Benefits of Watermelon
Watermelons are a good source of Vitamin C and Vitamin A. It contains lycopene, which has proven cancer protection qualities. Watermelon is also a great fruit to eat when you are feeling dehydrated or when you don't think you've had enough water because it's almost 90% water! Watermelon may also relieve muscle soreness and help to lower blood pressure.
<source http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/266886.php>
Monday, April 7, 2014
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Beginnings
This blog is really just for me. I've spent the last few weeks reading Dr. Joel Fuhrman's new book The End of Dieting. About 8 months ago, I was introduced to Dr. Fuhrman's way of thinking when a group of friends started talking about his revolutionary book Eat to Live. I bought a copy and devoured it. The things written in the book made sense. All of the things that I had been being told by "health companies," who wanted to you be dependent on their products, by personal trainers who hadn't actually taken any nutrition courses and were just repeating what they were told, as well as doctors who wanted to give you medication to curb your appetite but did little else to help you, all these things were wrong!
I have tried pretty much everything in my quest to lose weight. Years ago, I began by learning about eating better, and everything that I read pointed to cutting calories. You do this by cutting your portions. You do this by cutting out all the good things and eating chicken, rice and vegetables. I had a trainer who gave me a two week plan that had oatmeal, salad, chicken, rice and broccoli in it. That was it! I got a half cup of oatmeal for breakfast, 6 oz of chicken and a half cup of rice, etc. By the end of the day I was so hungry. After a few days of this, I didn't feel better, I felt worse. I had no energy, I was hungry, tired and grumpy.
I had another trainer who told me that I was eating too many vegetables and that this was going to make me fat. I needed to be eating more meat and grains. Needless to say, I didn't lose any weight with him and actually gained weight.
In my quest to find out what actually worked, I realized that nothing worked. A friend told me about this revolutionary new diet fad called the HCG diet. I ordered the drops and began doing the diet with her. I lost over 40 lbs with this diet. But I was calorie deficient. I was hungry. I stuck with it, but I was miserable. I have since gained all that weight back and more. I know that this was not the right way to lose weight.
I had a doctor recently tell me that there were only a few ways that I could lose weight. I could take some pills or I could have weight loss surgery. When I asked him about nutrition he said that he didn't know much about it and he would stick with the pills. I couldn't believe that a doctor was actually telling me that the best way for me to lose weight was to take pills. To stick objects in my body that have horrible side effects. When I mentioned Dr. Fuhrman's book and listed some of the basic principles that he shares in his book, my doctor said, Well, I don't know about that either. I wouldn't recommend switching your diet. It's just not good for you to switch like that.
For those who aren't familiar with Dr. Fuhrman's methods, I would recommend reading Eat to Live, but let me give a basic summary.
Fruits, Veggies, Legumes, Seeds and Nuts, Whole Grains. In a nutshell, if it grows from the ground and hasn't been processed, it is good for your body. If it has been processed, not good for your body. He recommends eating as much vegetables as you can, several servings of fruit in a day, at least a cup of legumes, a small portion of seeds and nuts, especially if you are trying to lose weight. He gives scientific explanation for everything. He backs all of his claims up, and he makes it fairly easy to follow a plan. This isn't a diet, this is a lifestyle change. It's not just about losing weight, but making your body as healthy as possible.
The problem for me is, I like my foods that I shouldn't be eating. I like sugar, I like pizza, I like burgers. I have struggled for months to make this change. However, this time, it's going to stick. I need to make a healthy change not just for myself, but for my husband and my daughter. I want to have the energy to keep up with my daughter. I want to be healthy enough that I can live a longer life. I want to be able to teach my daughter how to eat and take care of herself, so that she doesn't have to go through being overweight like I have. I want to make this change!
I will be posting as often as possible, not only listing what I've eaten, but how I've exercised, as well as posting pictures of myself on a weekly basis. Hopefully this will document a change, a permanent change.
I have tried pretty much everything in my quest to lose weight. Years ago, I began by learning about eating better, and everything that I read pointed to cutting calories. You do this by cutting your portions. You do this by cutting out all the good things and eating chicken, rice and vegetables. I had a trainer who gave me a two week plan that had oatmeal, salad, chicken, rice and broccoli in it. That was it! I got a half cup of oatmeal for breakfast, 6 oz of chicken and a half cup of rice, etc. By the end of the day I was so hungry. After a few days of this, I didn't feel better, I felt worse. I had no energy, I was hungry, tired and grumpy.
I had another trainer who told me that I was eating too many vegetables and that this was going to make me fat. I needed to be eating more meat and grains. Needless to say, I didn't lose any weight with him and actually gained weight.
In my quest to find out what actually worked, I realized that nothing worked. A friend told me about this revolutionary new diet fad called the HCG diet. I ordered the drops and began doing the diet with her. I lost over 40 lbs with this diet. But I was calorie deficient. I was hungry. I stuck with it, but I was miserable. I have since gained all that weight back and more. I know that this was not the right way to lose weight.
I had a doctor recently tell me that there were only a few ways that I could lose weight. I could take some pills or I could have weight loss surgery. When I asked him about nutrition he said that he didn't know much about it and he would stick with the pills. I couldn't believe that a doctor was actually telling me that the best way for me to lose weight was to take pills. To stick objects in my body that have horrible side effects. When I mentioned Dr. Fuhrman's book and listed some of the basic principles that he shares in his book, my doctor said, Well, I don't know about that either. I wouldn't recommend switching your diet. It's just not good for you to switch like that.
For those who aren't familiar with Dr. Fuhrman's methods, I would recommend reading Eat to Live, but let me give a basic summary.
Fruits, Veggies, Legumes, Seeds and Nuts, Whole Grains. In a nutshell, if it grows from the ground and hasn't been processed, it is good for your body. If it has been processed, not good for your body. He recommends eating as much vegetables as you can, several servings of fruit in a day, at least a cup of legumes, a small portion of seeds and nuts, especially if you are trying to lose weight. He gives scientific explanation for everything. He backs all of his claims up, and he makes it fairly easy to follow a plan. This isn't a diet, this is a lifestyle change. It's not just about losing weight, but making your body as healthy as possible.
The problem for me is, I like my foods that I shouldn't be eating. I like sugar, I like pizza, I like burgers. I have struggled for months to make this change. However, this time, it's going to stick. I need to make a healthy change not just for myself, but for my husband and my daughter. I want to have the energy to keep up with my daughter. I want to be healthy enough that I can live a longer life. I want to be able to teach my daughter how to eat and take care of herself, so that she doesn't have to go through being overweight like I have. I want to make this change!
I will be posting as often as possible, not only listing what I've eaten, but how I've exercised, as well as posting pictures of myself on a weekly basis. Hopefully this will document a change, a permanent change.
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