I decided something at the end of 2010. I would rather really enjoy the holiday season (and in my mind the "holiday season" encompasses Jaidan's birthday on October 10th right up through New Year's Day) and eat whatever I want, gain weight in the process, and then turn around and work really hard in January and February to take it off. Life is too short to spend the best [food] time of the year eating "just two bites" of your favorite casserole or only having one chocolate covered cherry. Gimmee the whole damn box. I'll Jillian Michaels it off come January. I did it last year; I'll do it again this year.
So, cliche as it is, I am trying to lose weight this January. Again. I was determined not to even step on the scale at all until today (after a full five days of not eating like an asshole and an extra work out added to my daily routine) but I decided to hop up on there Sunday and see what it said. I was up seven pounds from mid-October. Okay. Not too bad.
Five days later and . . . I'm down two pounds. Not too bad!
So what do I do to get the weight back under control, out of the danger zone? This is the same thing I post pretty much every year, just tweaked slightly. (And, ha!, funny enough. I went searching through my archives and found that I posted this on January 6th two years ago as well!)
1) I cut calories. (In the past I've also used Weight Watchers. I think their point system is AWESOME and I LOVE IT. It helped me lose almost 75 pounds after I had Kyan). I try to keep my daily calory intake between 1200- 1500. Definitely no less than 1200. How do I cut the calories? Just making better choices. Here is what I had for my three squares yesterday:
Breakfast was two slices of turkey bacon (each one cut in half so I *felt* like I was having more), scrambled egg whites with salsa, two pieces of wheat toast (with 0 calorie butter-like-substance), and a clementine. Total calories = 280
Lunch was a bowl of chicken taco soup with a tiny bit of cheese and some homemade tortilla strips. I had half a frozen banana as my "dessert" Total calories = 309
Dinner was ham, ranch potatoes, and green beans. Total calories = 270. (And, yes, I totally rocked my dinner on a paper plate. Sue me).
The rest of my calories came from snacks -- banana chips (I'm a sucker for dried fruit), hummus with pita chips, sweet peppers, and apple slices. Oh! And one Hershey's Kiss after dinner. Mama's gotta have her chocolate.
2) EXERCISE. I already exercise daily so I added in one more work out to my routine. I heard from a reliable source that the best way to lose weight is to do 45 minutes of cardio twice a day. So I get up at 6:00 and get one work out in before the kids are up and then do another one in the evenings after they go to sleep. I think it's seriously so important to find a work out that you enjoy. If you dread working out, you're just not going to do it. I have an exercise bike and I love it. I've tried to be a runner in the past and it doesn't work for me. But riding my bike does. I also (ocassionally) get in a work out with Just Dance or The Biggest Loser on the kinect. (I have Zumba too but I have no rhythm and just hate, hate, hate Zumba. I'm probably the only person in America that feels that way but really. Hate it).
3) I drink one Coke Zero a day but the rest of the time it's water. Water, water, water. This is an actually an all the time thing for me. I've been drinking water for so long that it's just what comes natural now. I add a packet of the Hawaiian Punch lemonberry to each 1 liter bottle of water and end up drinking about 5-6 of those through out the day (yes, I constantly run to the bathroom). The lemonberry packet adds 10 calories for each one but that only adds up to an additional 50-60 per day. Worth it to get me drinking water.
4) I track my calories! I use the (free!) MyFitness app to keep up with what I eat and with my workouts. I had it on my Droid and now I have it on my iPhone.
Did you know you lose 50% more weight when you keep a food diary?? That's pretty good incentive, in my opinion. By the way, when I was losing all that weight after I had Kyan I wrote down everything I was going to eat the day before. I'm not that rigid now. But I do try to input lunch and dinner in the mornings. That way I know how many calories I have to play with when it comes to snacks.
(And, yes, I know those Boca burgers are terrible, horrible, no good, and very bad and should not be considered health food. BUT I LIKE THEM!)
5) No more alcohol until New Orleans.
Hold me.
6) I pay attention to serving sizes and measure everything. If it says a tablespoon then I measure out a tablespoon, I don't just try to eyeball it.
7) I don't eat after dinner. People. I love me a night time snack! Seriously, love to curl up in bed with . . . something. But I know late is the worst time to eat: the only way I'm going to work THOSE calories off is by sleeping. And I'm really, really good at sleeping -- but not enough to burn off a Hershey bar or chips and queso.
Tonight, though, since I had a loss today (and since I won't weigh again until next Friday) Imma reward myself. After the kids go to bed, I'll watch the Cotton Bowl with some potato skinnies and pita chips with hummus. (I do not wish it was chips and queso. I do not wish it was chips and queso. I do not wish it was chips and queso).
8) It's a diet, okay? It's not a lifestyle change. The lifestyle change is in October when I go from eating small portions or healthy snacks to devouring half a loaf of pumpkin bread all by myself. It's okay to call it a diet. Really. It is.
You can follow this link to see alllllll the posts I've made on weight loss since starting this blog (there are also lots of low calorie recipes following that link). Feel free to ask any questions you might have!
