Simple changes net results
It'll be a double post day, I've got a doctor's visit to update.
Those who know me, know I've had issues with my weight for most of my adult life. I was the string bean kid. I could eat anything and everything and not gain an ounce. Alas, that just set me up for poor habits and gaining the freshman fifteen and then some. Oh, I've had periods of time where my weight was acceptable for my height, but the time that it wasn't has been far greater.
I got myself down to a respectable 130 a few times: my wedding the first time around, when the ex left, and until I discovered I was allergic to Nutrasweet. That was the worst, because I just switched from diet soda to regular soda. I gained 50 pounds in 6 months. Then in the move here to Florida, I packed on more weight.
A couple of years ago, though, there was a big change afoot. I started managing a meal prep kitchen. Instead of eating out multiple nights a week, scarfing fast food for one meal a day several times a week and drinking lots of soda and preparing a lot of processed food at home, we now had wholesome food nearly every night.
My clothes started getting smaller. I dropped two sizes, then three. The only thing that had changed was the elimination of fast food and processed junk. I noticed that I started eating a lot less. Even after I left that job, and started eating some more prepared meals, the weight continues to slowly come off. A year later, the pants that I just began to fit in to start the current job are all loose. I mean loose enough that I should go buy more.
What I learned is simple. Today, I'll share it with you (since a couple of people have asked).
1. EAT breakfast! There are two simple reasons for this. Your body is like a locomotive:not enough fuel (food) and it is slow and sluggish. Feed it fuel and it barrels down the track.
Additionally, when you don't eat breakfast, or eat sporadically, you put your body into defense mode. It hoards every calorie you give it, because it doesn't know when you're going to give it more. When you eat breakfast (and small, regular meals), your body has fuel and doesn't feel the need to hold onto whatever comes in.
If you're the person who skips breakfast because you're hungry two hours later, that is what your body is supposed to do! (that's where smaller meals spaced throughout the day comes in)
2. Cut out the preservatives! The less processed stuff I have, the more I've lost. That's not to say that I don't eat junk (I eat candy every day, folks. I can't live without it). The big thing though, is now, instead of a meal from a box, we make the effort to make stuff from scratch. We eat out, but it is hardly ever stuff where you talk to the person in a speaker. The 'fast food' choices now are places like Tijuana Flats, where it's prepared in house from fresh stuff that day.
Seriously, the less high fructose corn syrup, sodium and the unpronounceable ingredients you have in your body, the more your body can burn the calories you give it.
3. Cut out the soda! I'm working on this one. I had the flu a few months ago and it turned me into a Vitamin Water junkie. It was pointed out to me that those have calories, and they do. About half of the comparable size of a soda. What they don't have is phosphorus (causes osteoporosis), high fructose corn syrup (instant fat) and the other chemicals that your body cannot process or turns into formaldehyde (eeeewwwwww). I'm a work in progress, but I notice now that when I drink soda, theres a salty undertaste that makes me thirstier. Hmmmm....
4. Give in to the cravings! If you want cake, eat cake! (however, I tend to make them at home, from scratch now, I can't tell you the last time I had a twinkie). It's better for you to say I want a Twix bar and have it and be done with it, than to deny yourself and end up eating more to compensate.
That's it. That's what's working for me. Some people need more, and yeah, I would love to add exercise and more to that, but for now, with the limitations I have, this works just fine for me.
If you're wondering just how much I've lost, well, I can't exactly tell you. I was slightly over 200 when I started this and now? Around about 155-160. My goal is to get to around 135...
Those who know me, know I've had issues with my weight for most of my adult life. I was the string bean kid. I could eat anything and everything and not gain an ounce. Alas, that just set me up for poor habits and gaining the freshman fifteen and then some. Oh, I've had periods of time where my weight was acceptable for my height, but the time that it wasn't has been far greater.
I got myself down to a respectable 130 a few times: my wedding the first time around, when the ex left, and until I discovered I was allergic to Nutrasweet. That was the worst, because I just switched from diet soda to regular soda. I gained 50 pounds in 6 months. Then in the move here to Florida, I packed on more weight.
A couple of years ago, though, there was a big change afoot. I started managing a meal prep kitchen. Instead of eating out multiple nights a week, scarfing fast food for one meal a day several times a week and drinking lots of soda and preparing a lot of processed food at home, we now had wholesome food nearly every night.
My clothes started getting smaller. I dropped two sizes, then three. The only thing that had changed was the elimination of fast food and processed junk. I noticed that I started eating a lot less. Even after I left that job, and started eating some more prepared meals, the weight continues to slowly come off. A year later, the pants that I just began to fit in to start the current job are all loose. I mean loose enough that I should go buy more.
What I learned is simple. Today, I'll share it with you (since a couple of people have asked).
1. EAT breakfast! There are two simple reasons for this. Your body is like a locomotive:not enough fuel (food) and it is slow and sluggish. Feed it fuel and it barrels down the track.
Additionally, when you don't eat breakfast, or eat sporadically, you put your body into defense mode. It hoards every calorie you give it, because it doesn't know when you're going to give it more. When you eat breakfast (and small, regular meals), your body has fuel and doesn't feel the need to hold onto whatever comes in.
If you're the person who skips breakfast because you're hungry two hours later, that is what your body is supposed to do! (that's where smaller meals spaced throughout the day comes in)
2. Cut out the preservatives! The less processed stuff I have, the more I've lost. That's not to say that I don't eat junk (I eat candy every day, folks. I can't live without it). The big thing though, is now, instead of a meal from a box, we make the effort to make stuff from scratch. We eat out, but it is hardly ever stuff where you talk to the person in a speaker. The 'fast food' choices now are places like Tijuana Flats, where it's prepared in house from fresh stuff that day.
Seriously, the less high fructose corn syrup, sodium and the unpronounceable ingredients you have in your body, the more your body can burn the calories you give it.
3. Cut out the soda! I'm working on this one. I had the flu a few months ago and it turned me into a Vitamin Water junkie. It was pointed out to me that those have calories, and they do. About half of the comparable size of a soda. What they don't have is phosphorus (causes osteoporosis), high fructose corn syrup (instant fat) and the other chemicals that your body cannot process or turns into formaldehyde (eeeewwwwww). I'm a work in progress, but I notice now that when I drink soda, theres a salty undertaste that makes me thirstier. Hmmmm....
4. Give in to the cravings! If you want cake, eat cake! (however, I tend to make them at home, from scratch now, I can't tell you the last time I had a twinkie). It's better for you to say I want a Twix bar and have it and be done with it, than to deny yourself and end up eating more to compensate.
That's it. That's what's working for me. Some people need more, and yeah, I would love to add exercise and more to that, but for now, with the limitations I have, this works just fine for me.
If you're wondering just how much I've lost, well, I can't exactly tell you. I was slightly over 200 when I started this and now? Around about 155-160. My goal is to get to around 135...
Comments
Hmm...I think I could do this....
Days, you can do it-it's easy. If you think the meals from scratch thing is too hard, just double the recipes and freeze half. You'll have something to pop in the oven on the days you're too tired to cook properly.