N is for Nutrition

One of the things I'm struggling with is weight loss. I should preface all of this by saying that all of my "I need to lose weight" comments are based on the fact that my doctor has told me to lose weight. My weight loss goal is based on what my doctor says is a healthy weight for me.

While my doctor thinks the primary reason is my need to exercise more (and I don't dispute that- but I also haven't seen results from exercise), I've also been looking at nutrition. I am pretty anti-diet. I've just met too many people who go on diets, especially fad diets, and temporarily lose the weight, but mostly gain it back. Plus, I really don't want to live that restrictive of a lifestyle. Both my doctor and nutritionist think that my diet is fine, and I know that my caloric intake is in the range of what it should be to lose weight.

That said, I know I can do better diet wise. And while so far, it has not helped me lose weight, I have learned some good things about nutrition that will get me closer to my goal. Even if I never lose the weight, I know that diet-wise, I will be healthier because of my nutritional choices. One of my friends commented that I am her nutrition example, because she's also trying to lose weight.

Here are my nutrition tips that she said really help her:

• Always add an extra vegetable. Our diet in America is so vegetable poor. So I made a point, that in every recipe, if it calls for one vegetable, I always add two. If it doesn't make sense to add an extra vegetable, I double the amount of the single vegetable. More veggies = more vitamins!


• Add protein. This might just be a diet issue I personally have. Back when I tracked calories (I don't anymore, because I naturally eat within a good calorie range), I realized that the area that was always low was protein. I realized that when I'm eating on the go, or snacking, I almost always reach for carbs or fruits and veggies. I wasn't getting enough protein. So now, if I want a snack, I always look for something with protein in it. I also make sure every meal has a decent amount of protein.


• Eat the best food first. When I start to feel full, and I have a lot of food left on my plate, I ask myself this question, "which of the foods left on my plate has the most nutrients I still need today?" Some days, that's protein, so I eat the protein, other days, it's the vegetable, so I eat the vegetable. If I still feel a little hungry, I eat the next most healthy thing. When I am full, regardless of how much food I have left, I stop eating.


• Think about leftovers. If you grew up in the clean plate club like I did, think about how you can use the food you didn't eat for another meal. Sometimes, when I am deciding what to eat more or less of, I will choose the item that I can't eat for lunch tomorrow. I am notorious for going out to eat with the intention of taking food home for lunch the next day. If I know that one meal will actually be two, I won't eat as much.


• Water. I actually hate plain water. However, I am convinced that part of my weight gain started when I started drinking water with the little flavor packets in them. I don't care that they say zero calories. I gained weight in a nightmarish way and I can't get it off. There are nasty chemicals in those things. Throw them away! However, since I hate plain water, I needed something to make it palatable. I do two things. One, I add lemon or lime juice to all of my water. It give it a little flavor, plus extra nutrients. Two, I drink tea. Now, I know that cup one is full tea and doesn't technically count as water. But then, I re-steep that tea ALL day. So by the time I'm on cups 3, 4, 5, and on (yes, I drink that much tea), it's really glorified flavored water and the caffeine and bad stuff is gone. I DO NOT ADD sweetener. I wouldn't make it as a Southerner.


• Breakfast. I used to be firmly in the "don't make me eat breakfast" club. It took a while to get used to, but now that I make breakfast a priority, I've found that I get less hungry during the day and make better food choices. My ideal breakfast (I'm still working on doing this every day, but I feel best on days I do this) consists of protein, a complex carb (if I omit the carb, I'm hungry by 10 am), and some kind of fruit or vegetable.

Those are the tips that have worked for me. Like I said, I'm still trying to lose the weight, but I think if I weren't doing these things, I'd probably weigh more. Our bodies need good nutrition. My focus isn't on going on a diet, but on having good nutrition and taking care of my body.

What nutritional tips work for you?

Back on the wagon again...

[caption id="attachment_4236" align="alignleft" width="198"] photo courtesy of: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/african_fi[/caption]

My children are in school!!!!! This is me, dancing for joy. Um, okay, it's not REALLY me. I would not look good in that outfit, and I'm way too self conscious to do that sort of thing in front of others, let alone have my picture taken. Just saying.

And maybe I am jinxing myself here, since I actually am writing this the night before. But we are going to think really positive that the kids will be back in school and I will have my beloved schedule back!

I'm feeling really discouraged about my fitness level these days. Part of it is the realization that I gained instead of lost weight last year. Part of it is that my favorite jeans are not fitting the same (in a bad way). And part of it is that I know I need to be in better shape.

I abandoned my exercise program when the tendonitis in my hip got too bad. The doctor told me NOT to work out, so I didn't. But I'm feeling better, so now I have to get back on the wagon. To be honest, I've been waiting for them to go back to school until I started again. I have some great Kettlebell workouts (I'd say the name, but the last time I said it, I got tons of spam from them. Dudes, don't spam people that already have your system!) AND, I got a really fun Wii Just Dance game that I really like. I don't like doing them in front of my kids because I look stupid and they make fun of me. Actually, I don't like doing things like that in front of anyone.

To test my resolve, I logged back in to my haven't used in forever Sparkpeople account. I wasn't as horrified by the results as I thought I'd be. My calorie count was good, even though I ate like crap today, but I didn't get enough protein. And, I got to mark that I exercised since I did the dance workout while the kids were at piano. And, I drank the right amount of water. So I'm not being TERRIBLE. But it will feel good to get back into a routine and exercise again. Not that I like exercise. I hate it. But dancing is fun, and I kind of like the kettlebell thing.

How does your routine change when your kids go back to school?

 

My big fat food confession

As I've mentioned previously, I'm on a hideous diet that my doctor says will make me healthy. Tomorrow, I will be mostly done with the colon cleanse. It is also hideous and nasty. I am so sick of gagging down fiber every morning- literally. Sadly, I still have another week or so on the fiber.

Do I feel healthier? Yes. Do I look healthier? Yes. I think I might have even lost some weight. I don't own a scale, so I'm not sure about that one.

However, I am soooo sick of this diet. I think I'm going to make prime rib for Thanksgiving because I honestly will vomit if another piece of turkey crosses these lips anytime soon. My meat consumption has been limited to poultry and fish and after a while, it gets BO-RING.

I am counting down the days to eating real food by fantasizing about what I will eat when I can finally eat real food.

First meal: Sonic Chili Dog. No, I am not kidding. I want me a chili dog so bad, it's not even funny. I throw things at the TV and cry when Sonic commercials come on.

Second meal: REAL spaghetti and meatballs. No rice pasta, no ground up turkey mush, REAL cheese (I've also been dairy free), and gobs and gobs of fresh french bread. Do you have any idea THE TORTURE of walking through the grocery store when they're pulling out their fresh bread? It's enough to make me homicidal.

Third meal: A big fat cheeseburger. With sauteed mushrooms, onions, and LOTS of ketchup.

I think one of the things I've learned, or am learning, on this journey, is that I really do love food. I like good food, and bad food. I'm going to have to be careful not to totally gorge myself on the bad food when I get done, but to pace myself and work on having a mixture of the good and bad. So maybe I won't have those meals in order, but spread out over a couple of weeks. The good news is that I DO like most good for me foods. I'm fine with eating lots of salads, lots of veggies, and fruits instead of sweets. I just really really like bread and cheese. I'm not sure where the chili dog craving is coming from, but I will admit, I do like a good chili dog. Maybe I can have that with a big fat salad on the side.

As much as I'm all for getting healthy and eating right, I'll be honest. I don't think I could do this forever. I saw a magnet somewhere that says life is too short to drink bad wine. I think it's too short to eat bad food. There has to be a balance in there somewhere. For those who eat all healthy, all the time, my hat's off to you. Because right now, I'm DYING. And all I can think about is the moment when I can finally eat stuff that actually tastes good.

Sugar and Sin

Detox is going much much better. Thanks to everyone for all of your support.

On Sunday, we had our church home group, and they celebrated birthdays. It had been so long since they'd done it, they included my birthday. Including a SUPER chocolate cake. I decided that since Becky had gone to all that trouble, I would have a bite. My doctor didn't say NO sugar, she just said cut WAY back. Because I knew temptation would be too high otherwise, I went no sugar. So I felt okay with taking ONE BITE of chocolate cake.

It was about the nastiest thing I've ever had. I got that cake in my mouth after a week and a half of no sugar at all, and I wanted to throw up. My body screamed at me like I was abusing it. I realized then that I do not need sugar any more.

Sugar is a funny thing. The stuff made from sugar looks so good. That chocolate cake was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. But it was just... fluff. Sugar has no real nutrients. It does nothing good for your body. Yet it tempts us. And with each bite, we want more. Worse, to keep us wanting more, the rest of the world puts sugar in everything. Foods that are delicious on their own get added sugar. Until we think we can't live without.

Sin is a lot like that. So easy to get hooked. Some of it appears beautiful. In the moment, it feels good. The more we do it, the better it seems to taste. The less we think about the dangers. We eat more and more until we're toxic beings who think we need it because if we don't, we're going to feel really bad.

I felt awful the first week or so of my sugar detox. Nothing in my body felt right. But once I got it out of my system, sugar no longer held the attraction. It suddenly tasted funny. This week, I feel great. Today was the first morning for as long as I can remember that I've woken up feeling good. I didn't even get as much sleep as I'd planned. I'm amazed at how much more my body can do without all the toxins.

What would life be like if we made the same choices about sin? Knowing that initial withdrawal is going to be tough, but as we continue shedding our dependence on it, feeling stronger and healthier.

What sins have control over you? Are you willing to take the painful steps to detox from your sin?

Detox Stinks

Okay, so I have a lot more colorful words to describe it, being a writer and all, but most of them are definitely R-rated.

I have not yet started the colon cleanse because it hasn't arrived yet, but I am already on the restricted diet. I've done the diet before, and I don't remember it being this bad. Maybe because my body wasn't this bad off. I'm finding, though, that as my body withdraws from the starches and sugars, I'm having a rough time.

Yes, friends, detox stinks. I've never been able to relate to people addicted to alcohol, drugs, nicotine, and whatnot. I haven't understood the physical pain of giving it up. For some reason, this go-around on the diet, I am having such horrible physical symptoms of sugar withdrawal, I can relate. I am on day six, and I want to die.

One of the hardest things is that since my husband is not on this diet, except for the fact that he eats the diet-friendly meals I cook, is that we have sooo many sweets in the house. For as long as I've known him, he's enjoyed a pastry every morning on his way to work. Guess what's sitting on my counter? Gooey, scrumptious pastries. Every time I pass the counter, I have to make a choice: grab a handful of almonds, which are on the diet, or have a pastry. So far, the almonds are winning.

Actually, what's winning is this: I am sick and tired of feeling this way. I'm tired of being a reasonably young woman who's too tired to do things people twice my age do with ease. I hate that my kids are used to the fact that mommy can't do this or that with them because she doesn't feel good. I hate my husband's resigned sighs when I tell him I have a headache again and he's on his own with the kids. I can feel awful for the next month, or I can feel awful for the rest of my life.

I can better relate to those with more difficult addictions like drugs, alcohol, and whatnot. But as I take each painful step, and my hands can't stop shaking because my body wants sugar so bad or my stomach is telling me I'm not full yet because there's no starch in it to make it feel that way or I'm dizzy and have a massive headache from my body adjusting to it all, I remind myself why I'm doing this.

I am worth it. My kids are worth it. My husband is worth it. And those of you who are thinking of detoxing from something, you are worth it, too. Yes, detox stinks. But what stinks worse is to be ruled by something that doesn't give you real, lasting joy. We deserve better than what our addictions are telling we deserve.