Week 1 is officially over! Today was my long-awaited weigh-in and my "free day"! What an interesting week, too. I learned a few things and I am sure this is just the beginning of my learning process. I am so glad I decided to keep this blog while embarking on this challenge because it has helped me to see what is working and what isn't...Ok, the big news first: I lost 4 lbs on my first week! I was so excited when I jumped on the scale this morning and saw the scale had moved that much, especially since I had not been as vigilant as I should have been with the very restrictive diet.
That brings me to my first lesson on this journey so far--I am scrapping the diet I used for the first week. I realized (with a little help from some friends) that I need to build a plan that is livable. Diets don't work because people make the mistake of utilizing a diet that is not sustainable for the long haul and therefore, don't make the necessary permanent changes that keeps the weight off. As I stated in a previous post--beans have never been a major staple in my diet and they are not a food I can comfortably eat every day for the rest of my life. That means that I am not making any long-lasting changes by sticking to this program, which also means that my chances of keeping the weight off are slim (pun intended).
Does anyone remember the Optifast diet Oprah went on in 1988? She wheeled out the little red wagon on her show filled with 67 pounds of fat--the amount she had lost on that diet plan. Well, she gained it all back for a variety of reasons, the primary reason being that the diet was not a sustainable one--it was not a program she could live on the rest of her life. That is one of the lessons I have taken with me after this week as well.
My new plan is going to be a modification of the old one. I am sticking with the slow carb, low fat idea but I am making some changes. After doing some research, I found a whole list of low GI (glycemic index) carb foods that I can eat and still lose weight. This will open a lot of food choices up for me which will hopefully allow me to stay on track better. I will probably have one or two days dedicated to the old plan, but the rest of the time will be with a wider variety of other food. I look forward to sharing some of those menus!
Yes, I went to Starbucks and had my coffee--delicious! After weighing myself today I had a hard time just going wild with my food choices. Since I was already indulging with my calorie-laden coffee, I had Special K fruit crisp. Has anyone tried them? I love them! They are available in strawberry or blueberry and two crisps are only 100 calories. To me they taste like a Pop Tart, but not quite as sugary. They just don't taste like a 100 calorie snack--they are too good! Lunch was the big no-no: french fries. They tasted so good, though!! Dinner was much more sensible. Since I had not had any fast food for a week, I treated myself to the Drive-thru Diet at Taco Bell. I had two of the freso chicken soft tacos and they were fabulous! Each one is only 170 calories, but it certainly tastes like more. I had tried the steak burrito (from the frecso menu) previously and was not very impressed, but the chicken soft tacos tonight were absolutely delicious. I am glad I gave the drive-thru menu another shot. They were so good that I plan on making them my new fast-food treat!
After drinking water all week, I also had my first Diet Coke this evening and I have to say I was surprised to find it wasn't as appetizing as I thought it would be. It did not taste as good as I thought it would (like the coffee and french fries did). I find this to be good news since I know that soda (especially diet) is not good for you anyway. I think I may be making my first permanent change--water instead of soda. That is not to say I will never drink another soda again, I just think I will try to make it a once-in-awhile treat.
I've noticed that this post is probably going to take a full page, so I am going to stop here. Suffice it to say it has been a good first week with some interesting discoveries. I think the "free day" is great for indulgences and for reviewing the week, so I will be keeping the free day. I think the free day is good to keep motivation fresh because I am definitely looking forward to getting going again tomorrow. I am so happy with my 4 lb weight loss and I want to keep losing!
Let's see what this next week brings!
"Whether you think you can or you think you can't -- you are right."
Okay, first things first - congratulations!!! Four pounds! Wow! That's a big drop in one week!
ReplyDeleteMoving forward, I have a couple of suggestions for you. One is to look wider than your carb/protein mix. Think about other nutrients in your diet and how they affect your metabolism. For instance, potassium has a significant role on regulating your metabolism, and yet the majority of the population does not get their RDI of potassium (4,700 mg/day. This gets further compromised by the fact that we, as a society, tend to have *very* high-sodium diets, which further interferes with potassium's ability to do its job, causes water retention, contributes to hypertension, etc., etc. The upper limit for sodium should be approximately 2,300 mg for someone who is active and exercising - most North American eat as much as double that daily. Our bodies really only need about 500-700 mg to function, and you'll find it quite comfortable to subsist of a diet around 1,400 mg.
Check out your food guide, and make sure you are getting the right balance of foods as well, and I cannot stress the value of eating whole foods. One of the few "fads" I really have come across in the past few years that I like is the "Eating Clean" phenomenon - the idea that our food should come from as close to original sources as possible. Within a short period of time, you'll find those "shortcut" foods, like your Diet Coke, don't even taste as good anymore.
My other suggestion is to get a food diary and find a good calorie counting website. Calorie counting is the most basic way of monitoring what you're eating, both to ensure you aren't over-eating and to ensure you aren't starving yourself, which is as detrimental as gorging. If you need any tips, I'm happy to help!
Congratulations again and way to go!
Cass
http://pathtowellness2010.blogspot.com/
Congrats, keep it up!!
ReplyDeleteYour going to feel and look so good and be so proud of yourself!! I've been starting to go back to the gym and wow, its hard to push yourself!! Congratulations, I'll keep checking back...u go girl!!:)
Hi there! I just wanted to say thanks for checking out my blog and your words of encouragement! I have just updated it so please check it out! I will keep following you and your journey - good luck to you! Oh, and I love your quote! It's kind of funny because my Weight Watchers leader tells us that all the time and it is SO TRUE!
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