To Anonymous

I got this comment from Anonymous on my last post:

"I think you are trying to lose the weight to fast. Whenever you lose that much weight in a short period of time it ALWAYS comes back! It is good to eat healthy. Stay away from processed foods!(I know its hard)And when you do eat some, just don't over indulge. Listen to the Lord(word of wisdom)he made our body's, he must know whats good for them. Grains, fruits and veggies. Good luck you just got to make up your mind that your going to be happy no matter what! "

First off, know that I am not at all offended by this comment!! I know that whoever you are you were just trying to give some good advice. And you did!! I agree with everything you said in your comment. Except that first part. :) So I thought I'd explain myself.

I know that when I try to eat healthy I lose weight VERY quickly in the first few weeks. It just melts off. After that first little bit, it slows WAY down. To the regular 1-2 pounds per week. I don't change what I'm doing at all, that's just how my body does things. It is ready to get rid of the weight and let's it go quickly. Then, after a certain point, it regulates itself and I'm just like everyone else. That is how I lost 30 pounds in just over 2 months last time. The bulk of that weight was lost in the beginning. After that I was losing 1-2 pounds a week. Although I was eating as a vegetarian, which probably quickened the weight loss. However, I am not doing that this time. But I AM eating WAY less meat. (More on that in a minute.)

Just so I don't give anyone the wrong idea about what I'm doing here I thought I'd share an email I just wrote to a friend (Hi Kathlen!!) who wants to join me. (Remember how I can't write a short post? Well, I can't write a short email either.) :)

I'm so glad you want to do this too!! It's nice to not be alone. :) And it's so helpful to keep each other motivated!! What kind of info do you want? I'll tell you what I'm doing and then you let me know if you want more info than that!!

So I have a little notebook. And every night before I go to sleep I write down the next day's date, and plan out every meal and snack I'm going to have that day. I also have a little place where I write down my weight and water intake. So today's looked like this:

Weight: 188.8 lbs.

friday, march 19th, 2010

water: ll (I just make tally marks here for each 8 ounce glass of water I have and make sure it's AT LEAST 8 marks.)

breakfast:

1 cup special k cereal with 1/2 cut skim milk and 1 cup fresh berries

snack:

1/2 an apple and 1 ounce nuts

lunch:

1/2 grilled cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread with mozzarella cheese (light on the butter) and 1 cup vegetable soup, 1/2 an apple

snack:

1/2 bell pepper sliced and carrot sticks with bean dip

dinner:

bean and veggie enchiladas

If the portions seem too small they do to me sometimes too. But I'm trying to make sure I'm watching my portion control and the truth is that after I've eaten that amount I feel satisfied. I'm trying not to get full. I want to listen to my body and feed it when it's needs food, but not let myself get to starving. And I want to stop when I'm satisfied and not get to that stuffed point. And on days where I feel like I'm getting hungry, I might add an extra healthy snack in there. Or if 1/2 an apple wasn't enough at snack time, I'd just eat the rest of the apple and write it down. I'm not trying to be extreme. I just want to teach myself to only eat what my body really needs.

Also, yes, I weigh myself daily and write it down. This is what works for me. It might not work for you. But I don't pay attention too closely to those numbers during the week. Only on my "weigh in" day. I just look at what I've lost between Wednesday and Wednesday. I just like weighing daily so that I can show myself how what I ate the previous day affects my body. But like I said, you have to do what works for YOU.

How I plan my meals is simple. I know what is healthy. It's on the food guide pyramid and it's in the Word of Wisdom. I've studied both. And I use common sense. I know that each day I need protein, dairy, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. And I know that fats are okay in moderation. So I I just start with dinner. I am trying to plan my weekly menu, which helps. If I'm not getting a lot of vegetables in my dinner then I know I need more for lunch. If I had two pieces of toast for breakfast then I know I should have less carbs throughout the day. Simple things like that.

Although I am not eating vegetarian any more I AM eating a LOT less meat. For example, on Wednesday I had a tuna sandwich. But yesterday and today I got protein from beans and nuts and had no meat. But on Sunday we're having hamburger stroganoff. Eating as a vegetarian for a few months last year taught me a lot about different sources of lean protein. I can get it from nuts, eggs, peanut butter, even cheeses. And I take a vitamin supplement to make sure I'm getting the nutrients I'm missing from not eating as much meat.

Also, I'm allowing myself treats. I know I'm only on my third day of starting fresh, but last night we had a RS thing. They served dessert. It was a strawberry shortcake. I ate a piece. And I didn't feel guilty. I had eaten perfectly the entire day. And guess what! I still lost weight! Of course I won't eat treats every day. And I still have to be very careful about my treat portions. It's SO easy for me to have 3 pieces of cake when I planned on just one small one. But that's okay.

I've also decided that Sunday dinner doesn't matter. On Sunday we will have whatever sounds delicious. I can make my less healthy recipes that my family loves, watch my portions and have more of the veggies or salad and not feel guilty. It's one meal. And it will make Sunday dinner something to look forward to. A reward for doing so well all week. I have so many recipes that my husband and kids love that are SO fatty. Poppyseed chicken, hamburger stroganoff, broccoli cheese soup. They are delicious but so bad for you!! But I also have some yummy favorite healthy Sunday dinners. Lemon pepper salmon, vegetable lasagna, ratatouille. So on Sunday's I might not eat perfect. But I'm okay with that!!

That's my eating plan in a nutshell. As for workouts, I'm starting Monday with Lindsay Brin's 12 week bootcamp program. I LOVE her videos. I work out for 20 minutes and FEEL like I've been through a vigorous 1 hour workout. It saves me time and gets me feeling good. It builds muscle and burns fat. And each week is a new workout. So I never get bored. LOVE that!! But you can do anything to work out!! We just need to start moving, right? I think I'm also going to start the couch to 5K training program in between Lindsay's workouts. I have always hated running. But I think if I start slow and train for this 5K in May then I'll be motivated. We'll see how it goes. Maybe I'll convince some moms in my ward to join me. :)

Anyway, let me know what you're planning and how it goes for you!! We'll have to keep in close touch and motivate each other!! I know I need it. I'm so ready to be done being fat. Really. Thanks for your comment!! I heart comments. Don't we all? :) Anyway, good luck!!

So maybe you still think I'm trying to lose weight too fast. I think I'm just being sensible. What works for me might not work for you. Honestly, I think what broke me last time was the vegetarian thing. I think it became overwhelming and I just gave up when things got hard. So this time WILL be my last time!! Is there a possibility I could turn myself into a liar? Sure. But I'm just going to keep telling myself that this is it, because if I don't believe it, it won't happen.

Anyway, I like hearing what you think. Even if you don't agree with me. So let me have it! I can take it! I'm ready! :)