Karyn's Seven Simple Rules for Weight Loss
Oct. 5th, 2007 08:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
prosodicI decided to post my weight loss program here, because I lost 27 pounds, so I apparently did something right. I'm not saying my plan is perfect. I still feel my eating habits could improve. But this worked for me, and maybe it could help other people. I get asked a lot what I did to lose the weight. So here's an explanation. But if anyone is looking for some secret miracle weight loss gimmick, they may want to look elsewhere. This is a sensible, realistic way of losing weight, and it really isn't all that difficult, although you have to realize that you will have good weeks and bad weeks, as far as weight loss goes.
1> Track your efforts. The very first thing I did on January 1: sign up at fitday.com. At the time I hadn't heard of sparkpeople.com, but if I had, I would've signed up there instead. It's a community where you can interact with others who are also losing weight. Fitday is more of an individual effort (hence, Live Journal ended up being my source for support and validation during my efforts). Also, learn to use the timer feature on your camera. I took a lot of photos during my progress (as most of you know, since I posted them here), and it really helped me to see how far I had come. It was very motivating.
2> Record your starting weight and your goal weight. Then you should figure out how many calories you should shoot for a day in order to lose weight (don't try to lose any more than 2 pounds a week). I think my range was somewhere around 1400-1600 calories, a bit more than that allowed on days I exercised. Also, keep weighing yourself. I was doing it daily, but that didn't work for me. Three times a week seemed to work better: Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and then I could adjust my eating/exercise according to how my weight loss progressed (or didn't, whichever the case may have been).
3> Eat! There are 3 types of breakfasts I normally eat:
- toasted honey wheat English muffin with 1 TBSP. reduced fat peanut butter and all-fruit jam, 4 oz. yogurt, 2 cups green tea.
- 2/3 cups berries (fresh or frozen) topped with 4 oz. yogurt and 2/3 cup organic granola, 2 cups green tea
- And when I'm lazy: cereal and skim milk (Grape Nuts, Raisin Bran, Shredded Wheat, oatmeal…something high in fiber). Always always ALWAYS 2 cups of green tea.
Occasionally, I would have eggs and bacon...all that yummy stuff. Maybe once a month. (Hard-boiled eggs were often good for a quick high-protein snack, however...so I kept those around in the fridge).
I would measure portions. If the box said 2/3 cup cereal as a serving size, that's how much I would eat.
Lunches and dinners are usually a bit more varied, but I try to eat more veggies or fruits than meat or starches. A *little* olive oil worked in there somewhere is good too. Also, fewer things out of boxes and cans. Fewer preservatives, artificial ingredients, etc. Since Lance is a macaroni and cheese addict, I found a reduced fat recipe we can both enjoy, and since I'm making it from scratch, I know it's better than that crap that comes from the blue box. But the point is, I COULD STILL EAT MACARONI AND CHEESE. I don't believe in depriving myself. I just believe in eating smarter. And guess what? Boxed mac and cheese tastes absolutely vile to me now. Once you get used to eating real food, most of that convenience food starts to taste pretty nasty.
Snacks between meals: I would generally have something post-workout. A particular favorite is Kashi cherry dark chocolate granola bars…lots of whole grains, and just the right amount of dark chocolate, which is good for you in small quantities...and dried cherries, which provide a bit of fiber. Also, surprisingly filling, for being a granola bar. Chewier than most, so it takes longer to eat. I also eat a snack around 8 PM…maybe a couple of graham crackers or one of those 100 calorie bags of popcorn.
For chocolate cravings: fat free pudding cups (calcium, at least), Dove dark chocolate pieces (if Lance didn't eat them all before I could get some), Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches
Record what you eat on Fitday or whatever website you're using. This may be impossible sometimes, particularly if you cook a meal and don't have the nutrition information. Just do the best you can. Once you start looking at what you're eating, you may be surprised at the things that go in your mouth.
If you need nutrition information for anything, look for it here:
http://www.dietfacts.com/
This website was a valuable resource for me. I used it daily.
4> Exercise! For me, that means cardio 3x a week (at least) and toning/weight training 2x per week. I try to do at least 45 minutes per session. This is roughly my schedule right now:
Monday: spinning
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: cardio at home (interval training with my DVDs)
Thursday: pilates/yoga, upper body weight training (at home)
Friday: spinning
Saturday: off
Sunday: pilates/yoga, upper body weight training (at home)
If the weather is nice, I also take walks, in addition to what I already do above.
If I was feeling unwell on a particular day, I would either skip the workout, or do a shorter, low-impact one (or switch cardio with pilates/yoga). This schedule isn't set in stone. You have to allow for some flexibility, or you won't succeed at losing the weight.
5> HYDRATE! I cannot emphasize how important this is. I got sick of water after awhile, so having Crystal Light helps (yeah…I know, artificial sweeteners). I also cut way back on soda. I still have a can of Diet Coke a few times a week, but not once a day or more as I was previously.
6> Enjoy Life! That means NOT DEPRIVING YOURSELF. If you want to go to lunch with your friends, for crying out loud…do it! One fattening lunch isn't going to undo all your progress. Just eat sensibly for the rest of the day, and try and get some exercise. If you're doing fast food, study up ahead of time (if you can) to see what's okay to eat. Chicken is generally a safe bet (as long as it's not breaded), just leave off any mayo and get honey mustard instead. On our shopping days at Schinnen, I ordered grilled chicken sandwiches at BK (nothing else but that, and then I'd have an apple or something when we got home). I still let myself have pizza every now and then.
7> Listen to your body. It tells you what it needs. If you feel strongly that you need rest, then rest. And don't feel guilty about it. If you need fresh air and exercise, take a walk. And please, whatever you do, don't be so hard on yourself. You'll screw up. That's okay. You're allowed. Just don't give up.
See? So stupidly easy, anyone can do it!
1> Track your efforts. The very first thing I did on January 1: sign up at fitday.com. At the time I hadn't heard of sparkpeople.com, but if I had, I would've signed up there instead. It's a community where you can interact with others who are also losing weight. Fitday is more of an individual effort (hence, Live Journal ended up being my source for support and validation during my efforts). Also, learn to use the timer feature on your camera. I took a lot of photos during my progress (as most of you know, since I posted them here), and it really helped me to see how far I had come. It was very motivating.
2> Record your starting weight and your goal weight. Then you should figure out how many calories you should shoot for a day in order to lose weight (don't try to lose any more than 2 pounds a week). I think my range was somewhere around 1400-1600 calories, a bit more than that allowed on days I exercised. Also, keep weighing yourself. I was doing it daily, but that didn't work for me. Three times a week seemed to work better: Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and then I could adjust my eating/exercise according to how my weight loss progressed (or didn't, whichever the case may have been).
3> Eat! There are 3 types of breakfasts I normally eat:
- toasted honey wheat English muffin with 1 TBSP. reduced fat peanut butter and all-fruit jam, 4 oz. yogurt, 2 cups green tea.
- 2/3 cups berries (fresh or frozen) topped with 4 oz. yogurt and 2/3 cup organic granola, 2 cups green tea
- And when I'm lazy: cereal and skim milk (Grape Nuts, Raisin Bran, Shredded Wheat, oatmeal…something high in fiber). Always always ALWAYS 2 cups of green tea.
Occasionally, I would have eggs and bacon...all that yummy stuff. Maybe once a month. (Hard-boiled eggs were often good for a quick high-protein snack, however...so I kept those around in the fridge).
I would measure portions. If the box said 2/3 cup cereal as a serving size, that's how much I would eat.
Lunches and dinners are usually a bit more varied, but I try to eat more veggies or fruits than meat or starches. A *little* olive oil worked in there somewhere is good too. Also, fewer things out of boxes and cans. Fewer preservatives, artificial ingredients, etc. Since Lance is a macaroni and cheese addict, I found a reduced fat recipe we can both enjoy, and since I'm making it from scratch, I know it's better than that crap that comes from the blue box. But the point is, I COULD STILL EAT MACARONI AND CHEESE. I don't believe in depriving myself. I just believe in eating smarter. And guess what? Boxed mac and cheese tastes absolutely vile to me now. Once you get used to eating real food, most of that convenience food starts to taste pretty nasty.
Snacks between meals: I would generally have something post-workout. A particular favorite is Kashi cherry dark chocolate granola bars…lots of whole grains, and just the right amount of dark chocolate, which is good for you in small quantities...and dried cherries, which provide a bit of fiber. Also, surprisingly filling, for being a granola bar. Chewier than most, so it takes longer to eat. I also eat a snack around 8 PM…maybe a couple of graham crackers or one of those 100 calorie bags of popcorn.
For chocolate cravings: fat free pudding cups (calcium, at least), Dove dark chocolate pieces (if Lance didn't eat them all before I could get some), Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches
Record what you eat on Fitday or whatever website you're using. This may be impossible sometimes, particularly if you cook a meal and don't have the nutrition information. Just do the best you can. Once you start looking at what you're eating, you may be surprised at the things that go in your mouth.
If you need nutrition information for anything, look for it here:
http://www.dietfacts.com/
This website was a valuable resource for me. I used it daily.
4> Exercise! For me, that means cardio 3x a week (at least) and toning/weight training 2x per week. I try to do at least 45 minutes per session. This is roughly my schedule right now:
Monday: spinning
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: cardio at home (interval training with my DVDs)
Thursday: pilates/yoga, upper body weight training (at home)
Friday: spinning
Saturday: off
Sunday: pilates/yoga, upper body weight training (at home)
If the weather is nice, I also take walks, in addition to what I already do above.
If I was feeling unwell on a particular day, I would either skip the workout, or do a shorter, low-impact one (or switch cardio with pilates/yoga). This schedule isn't set in stone. You have to allow for some flexibility, or you won't succeed at losing the weight.
5> HYDRATE! I cannot emphasize how important this is. I got sick of water after awhile, so having Crystal Light helps (yeah…I know, artificial sweeteners). I also cut way back on soda. I still have a can of Diet Coke a few times a week, but not once a day or more as I was previously.
6> Enjoy Life! That means NOT DEPRIVING YOURSELF. If you want to go to lunch with your friends, for crying out loud…do it! One fattening lunch isn't going to undo all your progress. Just eat sensibly for the rest of the day, and try and get some exercise. If you're doing fast food, study up ahead of time (if you can) to see what's okay to eat. Chicken is generally a safe bet (as long as it's not breaded), just leave off any mayo and get honey mustard instead. On our shopping days at Schinnen, I ordered grilled chicken sandwiches at BK (nothing else but that, and then I'd have an apple or something when we got home). I still let myself have pizza every now and then.
7> Listen to your body. It tells you what it needs. If you feel strongly that you need rest, then rest. And don't feel guilty about it. If you need fresh air and exercise, take a walk. And please, whatever you do, don't be so hard on yourself. You'll screw up. That's okay. You're allowed. Just don't give up.
See? So stupidly easy, anyone can do it!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-10-05 07:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-10-05 09:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-10-05 11:06 am (UTC)you should have put your username up there... I would have put it in as a referral :)
no subject
Date: 2007-10-05 11:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-10-05 03:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-10-05 03:30 pm (UTC)1 1/2 c 1% cottage cheese
1 1/2 c skim milk or buttermilk
1 t dried mustard or 1 T prepared mustard
pinch of cayenne (or more) (I omitted this)
1/4 t nutmeg
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/4 c grated onions
1 c grated sharp cheddar (4 oz.) (I used Kraft 2% sharp cheddar)
1/2 lb. uncooked elbow macaroni (or other tubular pasta)
2 T finely grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese
1/4 c bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 375. Prepare square baking pan with a light spray of oil.
In a blender, combine cottage cheese, milk, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg, salt and pepper and puree until smooth. In a large bowl, combine pureed mixture with the onions, cheddar and uncooked macaroni. Stir well. Pour macaroni and cheese mixture into the baking pan. Combine the grated Pecoino or Parmesan and bread crumbs and sprinkle over top.
Bake about 45 minutes, until topping is browned and the center is firm.
We also like this one:
http://www.bettycrocker.com/Recipes/Recipe.aspx?recipeId=35181
And I make this one more often, because it's a bit easier.