Back on the Wagon -- Let's See How it Goes

Well, it's been quite some time since I blogged, and that's because I began to slip back into my old habits, and made a left turn instead of continuing on the trajectory I was on to get to my goal weight. I mean, last summer I was so dedicated to getting fit that the day after I had hand surgery I was in the gym on the elliptical with my huge cast. 

 

Dedication of last Summer

Now that I've decided to go back to taking advantage of all the help and support I have at my disposal with my friends and family cheering me on, I feel better already. 

Some of the steps I've already taken include meal planning, preparing meals and snacks for the week, making a daily schedule so I know when to get up and walk around and when to clean/organize, when to keep busy so I don't snack out of boredom (my weakness) or even simply knowing when to sleep. 

I like to think that I try to think of the things I SHOULD do rather than a list of "no"s, as in, what I can't eat or can't do or the like. I'm just glad I'm getting back on the wagon before I slip completely back to where I was. Luckily I didn't gain back too much of the 70 pounds I ended up losing, but still. 

We'll see what happens. Stay tuned. 

62 and counting - onward and...downward?

Losing weight has been a great challenge. "Great" in the sense that it's a big undertaking, as well as the fact that it's rewarding, too. Sure, it's hard to get started when you're used to eating whatever you want, how much you want, and whenever you want, but I think I've mostly gotten the hang of the lifestyle change. Yes, I slip up occasionally. Yes, I've "cheated." Overall, though, I've felt like I've made incredible progress over the past 4 months, in which I've lost more than 60 pounds. SIXTY! That's the weight of the typical 9 or ten year old child (yes, I looked it up)!

15 weeks, 62 pounds lighter. No surgery, no pills, no gimmicks -- only hard
work and persistence.

Part of what has helped me is dietbet.com -- I joined an online game 7 weeks ago, where you bet you can lose 10% (no more than 30%) of your weight within 6 months. You pay $25/month to play, and each round, the 1000 players vie to lose 3%, which the time frame is one month. Weigh ins are monitored by referees and may require auditing if cheating is suspected. The last rounds, you have to maintain (or continue losing) to win. But every round has a rolling cash prize, with the biggest payout at the end. You don't get paid until the end, though, and that's after the Diet Bet staff takes a cut of the winnings. The overall pot is $80K, and in the first round, only about 60% of the players met their goal. I have a feeling in subsequent rounds (we're almost done with round 2), even fewer people will meet their goals because they haven't enacted a lifestyle change. It's cool, because I can and will easily lose 10% of my weight in 6 months.

What I will say to those wary of going on a "diet," is that you may feel hungry and even moody at the beginning of your journey, but that goes away. You'll be eating small meals every few hours, so even if you are a bit on the cranky side, you know if you keep at it. Always remember that in a few hours you'll eat -- the next meal is coming soon. I rarely feel hungry between meals, and when I do, I eat. The barometer for my hunger or propensity to snack (since I am a boredom eater) is to ask myself "would I eat a piece of fruit now, or do I just want something to eat to allay boredom?" But now, I really just innately know and don't have to ask myself. You get the hang of it.

Onward and downard!

Occasional Self-Sabotage

So far I have the inkling that this blog makes it seem like I'm invincible at weight loss, which isn't true! It's a constant effort I have to put forth every day to not say "screw it" and grab a taco drizzling with chocolate-coated bacon and a side of pork rinds. OK not quite, but there it is.

CHOCOLATE BACON?!?!?!

Yesterday I caved and got a salad from Fresh & Easy (take out grocery store in California, reminiscent of the ready-made foodstuffs from Trader Joe's). Like most chubb0rs, I rationalize that it's AOK because, hey, LETTUCE! Well, not so much. Loads of fat and calories are included in that oh-so tasty dressing. Plus, often there's cheese and bacon and eggs and other such BS, and by the time you're through, you may as well have had a triple decker bacon cheeseburger on Passover, that's how many sins you've committed.

Oh well. The scale is upset with me, as well as for having a couple vodka sodas the other day, but it feels cathartic to admit to it, at least.

BACK ON THE WAGON.

My Secret is there is No Secret

Before shot, May 2014. "During" shot" (not after because
I'm not done with the journey), August 2014.

So, I hit the 50 pounds lost mark, yay for me!

The ever-helpful roommate, Joe, made this list for
a friend of mine who asked what I did to lose the weight (read: no surgery, no pills, no supplements; just portion control, calorie restriction and increased physical acticity):

"An effective way to diet and exercise is to eat sensible balanced meals, have a consistent exercise regimen, and proper hours of sleep. Set goals, stay positive, keep moving, plan out your meals, think about everything you buy and consume. Look at the nutritional labels. Good rule of thumb: avoid frozen, previously frozen, preservatives, anything stored in a can or box. Cook fresh! Eat fresh!"

DO'S

• Calorie deficit. Burn more calories than you take in - this is the core component of weight loss! Make sure those calories come 95% from FOOD, not from beverages. Make sure the calories are quality, meaning plenty of lean protein, limited carbs (excluding veggies/fruit, which actually are carbs), and avoid unhealthy fats, while having a sensible amount of healthy fats like olive oil or nuts and fatty acids.
• Cook. Make your own fresh meals at home, make fresh juices and shakes from scratch with natural/leafy greens, veggies and fruits. Eat good fiber, portion out your meals. Use olive oil instead of butter or vegetable oil. 
• Eat fresh fruits and veggies, lean meats (chicken breast & fish) etc.
•  Physical Activity. Even if you have to start small, get moving. At least 30 minutes per day should be physically active, whether that's taking a walk, taking the stairs instead of the escalator/elevator, or biking instead of driving. When stamina builds up, strive for an hour a day, and dedicated exercise 3-5 times per week (treadmill, elliptical, rowing, stair master, stationary bike)
• Drink plenty of water. Although the common adage says 8 glasses/day, that's really not accurate if you're consuming lots of fresh fruit or veggies, because they contain mostly just water and fiber!
• Sleep. Eight hours per night, so your body can heal and be prepared each day. Avoid naps during the day, as they're often counterproductive and make you feel more tired afterwards.
• Make attainable goals. This means goals along the way, not just the end goal weight, or you'll go crazy. Think about fitting into small clothes, losing inches off your waistline, no longer being obese/or overweight, going off medications that you may take to cope with the effects of being overweight, or things of that nature.  

DON'TS

•  Don't expect miracles overnight. Many people get frustrated and give up on weight loss attempts because they starve themselves to kickstart the process, then give up because that's unsustainable. This results in a yo-yo effect, where not only will you gain the weight BACK, you'll be even heavier than when you started! 
• LIMIT SUGAR! Read labels. Cut out anything sweetened, including SODA, fancy coffee beverages (frappuccinos, looking at you), 99% of boxed cereals, flavored oatmeal, flavored yogurt, etc.
• NO FAST FOOD! A good general rule is don't eat in the car! Eating should be an activity that is enjoyed and savored! 
• No rice, bread, crackers at home. Avoid.
•  Oatmeal is good -- unflavored! Add berries for sweetness, or a bit of stevia
•  No cookies, ice cream, cookies or candy! 
• Limit dairy, especially CHEESE.
•  Cut way back on processed foods! This includes anything in a box, anything that needs to be microwaved, anything that has ingredients that don't sound like FOOD, and anything frozen/previously frozen, canned or preserved.  

Hitting the 40 lb Mark!

Forgive the lapse in posts, it's been a challenge to type because of my recent disability. I cut my finger in the kitchen, majorly, then had to get surgery to repair a severed nerve, and am now wearing a finger/short arm splint for another 2.5 weeks. But I've been wanting to write in here for awhile, so I'm typing away, handicapped and all!

Weight has been coming off in fits and starts. My friend/roommate Joe compares weight loss progress to watching a stock plummet -- while it may go up a tad or flatline, the general direction is down. Right now I'm at a total of just over 40 pounds lost! It's a huge (literally) achievement for me, and even though I've struggled some days to keep the progress going, I know how badly I want to get to my goal weight and I've kept my eyes on the prize, minus a 3 day period where I indulged in some Tootsie rolls and cheesy snacks and felt guilty after.

Now I have to pretty much nix booze, because I've found that when I drink, I don't lose weight for something like 4 days. I'm working way too hard to let a Mai Tai derail me. Granted, I know that the occasional indulgence is necessary to maintain sanity, but I'd much rather eat than drink my calories. Plus (thankfully), I don't crave booze.

Onward and upward!!!h

Food Tracking: A Must for Weight Loss

Weight loss progresses, albeit slowly at the moment. I don't want to give up now that I've been in a week-long plateau, however, because if I quit now I'll likely gain all the lost weight back, and then some. Eff that.



I've found that tracking food, not necessarily obsessing over calories, is important. For this, I'm a big My Fitness Pal fan. I tend to lose sight of the importance of what goes in my pie hole, and this helps keep me accountable. Today I magically landed under my calorie goal (which, by the way, is 1200, but with exercise, it's higher because I get to eat back the burned calories), but over on fat, protein, sugar and fiber. Not that I care so much about going over protein and fiber, but it troubles me when I go over sugar or fat, and especially over carbs. I don't know. I try not to go bizzerk over numbers, so long as I'm eating healthy food. And sometimes I ballpark calories because I'm unsure how many are in a particular homemade cuisine, but I'd say it's close enough.

Wow this entry is boring, who likes to hear about chubby chicks counting calories? Enjoy my food journal entry that I posted for today. Obviously I'm eating a crapload of protein with eggs, lean meats, nuts and protein shakes. Probably need to cool it a bit with my protein craze, right? Feel free to chime in on my food diary. I'll likely post more of those on here in the future for my readers' input! Thanks in advance.

Film at 11: Chubby Chick Exercises, Eats Vegetables

And so the journey of eating right and moving continues. So far it's been a pretty rewarding one, and not nearly as arduous as I anticipated. It's really not that difficult to avoid the drive-thrus and soda and transition to healthy food that really is delish/nutrish. Granted, baby steps are important, not just diving head first into eating one celery stalk per day and a bottle of one-calorie lemon water straight up...that would be my biggest piece of advice.

Hiking Runyon Canyon. It helps to mix up going to the gym
and doing outdoor exercise, to prevent boredom.

It's strange that I'd be the one doling out advice! But that's what I have to say. Just don't view it as a chore. It's not a punishment, it's freedom. Freedom from carting around weight your body doesn't need, freedom from your heart having to pump blood through tons of excess tissue, freedom from the possibility of a shorter life because your organs give out when you turn 70. Believe me, I know of those people who only exceed a fat person's life expectation because they are kept alive by science, and I don't want to be one. Hell, I want to get fit before thirty so losing weight isn't a REAL hassle because my metabolism has slowed down.

Make veggies part of every meal!!!

Getting in the right mindset, I'd say, is the first step. I've half-heartedly tried losing weight before, and that doesn't work, long-term. It takes a real effort to make a lifestyle change, and having people in your corner, like my roommate Joe or my friends online, helps a lot. If you don't have friends to help, then join an online support group, or use the My Fitness Pal message boards, that's what I've done. Just don't bust a nut trying to count calories. If you're eating right, and in good portion sizes, you don't really need to do that. Of course I'm sure some would disagree, but weight loss advice is a subjective field, in some respects. That's why there's so much BS out there to wade through!

Granted, I still have those days where I'd rather sleep, or watch some Sex and the City or just wallow in boredom, but then I turn on the roommate's espresso machine, get myself a double and put on the gym clothes. Kind of like the little engine that could. I'm in the midst of going up a seemingly insurmountable incline, but I keep on truckin'. No cheating. No gimmicks. No quick fixes. Just work hard and keep positive and motivated!