Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Getting Back to Business

Wait...you mean this isn't a travel blog? Enough with Maui for a few days - I still have some funny (to me, anyway - hopefully to you as well) pictures to post, but I thought I would actually write about dieting for a change!

Once upon a time I decided to lose weight. And I did - sometimes the weight came off quickly and sometimes slowly - but it always came off. Until the month of October. *cue ominous music* From October 1st to the 15th, nothing happened. The scale didn't move down, not one bit. Of course, it didn't move up, either - but that wasn't much consolation! As I was continuing to watch what I ate AND do three killer workouts each week, I grew increasingly frustrated.

I even spoke with my trainer, Brad, about it, and after looking over my food logs, he gave me some good advice. Basically he told me to mix things up a bit - perhaps eating the same thing for breakfast month after month might not be the greatest thing for losing weight, no matter how healthy it was. I have to say that I shed a tear at the thought of not eating my beloved Fage yogurt, Kashi Golean Crunch cereal and fresh sliced strawberries every morning. Brad also thought that I wasn't getting enough good fat in my diet and advised me to cut back on the carbs (including some of the fruit - the horror!) and add in some nuts, olives or natural peanut butter.

Well, as you can imagine, these were some major changes that I needed to wrap my mind around. Luckily, I was leaving for vacation soon and knew that by being out of my normal routine and away from home, I would have no choice but to make some changes. And, as evidenced by the previous post, I ate some very different foods - but hey - I was on vacation!

Cut to my return home from vacation and all the wonders of gelato. Would I be able to get back on track, diet-wise? The (blog)world waits in anticipation...
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and the answer is yes! You know why? Because I had the mindset that vacation was for having some fun with food, but being home is where the rubber hits the road. Plus, while realizing that I look like a normal person, I still have about 20 - 25 pounds left to lose...and I want to get on with it! I weighed myself on Saturday, and I was up four pounds, which wasn't unexpected. By Monday morning I was already down 2.5 pounds, and I'm hoping that this downward trend will continue. I know it sounds weird, but I was just glad to see a different number on the scale on Saturday, even though it was higher.

So it looks like mixing things up, starting with the vacation food, might do the trick. What am I doing differently now that I'm home? Well, I have actually had some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (made with 1 tbsp. of Maranatha Organic Peanut Butter, about a tsp. of Smucker's All-Fruit Spread, and an Orowheat Sandwich Thin) for lunch last week - I forgot how good pb&j tastes! The fruit selection in the store has changed and now I'm on to eating apples, clementines, a banana every once in a while, and pomegranates are back - yum! I bought a carton of egg whites and am having a 1 egg plus 1/3 cup egg white scrambled breakfast taco (eggs, fresh pico and corn tortillas at 55 calories each make for a yummy breakfast). And while I can't give up my yogurt breakfast for good, I am trying to not eat it every day. Plus, I'm changing that up a bit by reducing the amount of cereal (down from 1 cup to 2/3 cup) and since strawberries are no longer in season here, I've tried adding 1/4 cup of dried cranberries to the mix. Tasty! I do need to get to our health-food store to see if I can get the dried cranberries without added sugar, but for now the Craisins will do. With those changes, I've dropped nearly 100 calories from that meal alone.

I'm being pretty strict with myself and sticking to 1,200 calories per day. For a while there, I wasn't counting fruit or veggie calories, and while I still won't count the veggie calories (I don't eat high calorie veggies like corn or potatoes), I will count what fruit I eat toward the 1,200. Hopefully with these changes, I can finally get to the end of this journey, and start the next phase - maintenance!

22 comments:

  1. Wow lady, you are back and fierce!
    No sugar added cranberries are really hard to find - I just use the Craisins, too.

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  2. Shelley - You are really on your way! I eat the same thing for breakfast everyday, too, and I'm not looking forward to the day when I have to change it. So sad.

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  3. Shelley, we are so alike. :)

    Good on you for already being only 1.5 lbs. from when you left for vacation! You are going to get there, and it's gonna be SO SWEET! Meet you at the (dieting) finish line in February or so! :)

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  4. Shelley - I want YOU for a personal trainer!

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  5. I'm just catching up with your blog. Maui?! I'm so very jealous. The pictures are beautiful.

    You're doing great getting back to business and mixing things up. I have no doubt that you'll drop those last stubborn pounds. :-)

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  6. So good of you to pick up your healthy lifestyle right after you've got back!

    I hope you didn't pay Brad for this advice? Cause it's something I could have told you. Eating the same thing day in day out makes the body lazy.
    I would like to eat yoghurt with Special K for breakfast every day too but I know I have to change my meals so the oven keeps on burning those calories.

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  7. That's what vacations are for - splurging! :D

    You'll get back into the swing of things in no time.

    I didn't see your email to me about the zucchini - maybe it got mixed in with spam?

    Email me at bdl319@gmail.com with your question :D

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  8. Good for you for getting right back at it. 4 lbs from vacation is nothing. Glad it's coming off quickly. Soon it will be maintenance which can be the worst part, although I can't seem to get to that part. Just think of that Oct 1 to 15th plateau as maintenance. You didn't go up. Yeah! Anyway, keep at it. You're looking great and you will get there soon.

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  9. Shelley, I feel your frustration. But with success comes slower loss. I betcha you're still going to lose inches even if the scale doesn't register a change. You're practically there already. October was maintenance at a minimum (which is fantastic), but progress will still reveal itself. And look how great you've done after a fantasy Maui vacation!

    And PB & J sounds dreamy right now.

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  10. I love me some yogurt breakfasts...but the only thing I am consistent on is the yogurt, everything else I change...the fruit and the cereal.

    Good luck with the changes!

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  11. I never questioned whether or not you'd get back on track...you're the AMAZING SHELLEY!! Of course you are!! Changing things up is a GREAT idea...it really is. Our bodies are weird. They get used to things so fast, and it stalls or slows the weight loss. I've found this is true with food as well as exercise.

    I joined a gym a couple of weeks ago and you know how you get the "free hour" with the personal trainer, right? So he told me to change my calorie count every 2 weeks...meaning something like 1400 one week and 1600 two weeks later...or whatever range you like to stay in. He also said to change your exericse routine every 2 weeks...just do different stuff to keep the body guessing. Since you've been doing this for so long, I'm sure you already know all of this....but just tryiing to pass along the tips I picked up!! :)

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  12. This post was so great because you have obviously really changed your relationship with food and know the things you need to do to stay healthy and fit! I love that.

    I told my hubby I thought we should go to Hawaii. He laughed out loud!

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  13. I really liked your blog I think it's really interesting to go through your blog..Thanks for sharing it........

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  14. I don't count veggies either, but I do count fruit.

    Sounds like your body got/is getting the mix up it needed - you are on the way down!

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  15. this is entirely how you know youve made a tremendous LIFESTYLE CHANGE, Woman.

    theres no going back now :)

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  16. You can't tell me that papaya with lime juice is fattening. You didn't gain weight eating that wonderful fruit.

    Also, remember that cheesy saying how it's not about the something or other, it's the journey? You're so there already with your attitude.

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  17. I want to try your breakfast taco-- yum. Wonder if you toast the corn tortilla?

    My best tips are plums with snacks (high fiber/water, low calorie) and not eating carbs at dinner. Looking forward to watching you march through the next (and last!) 20 pounds!

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  18. I used to be skeptical about the whole "mixing it up" idea--isn't a calorie a calorie when it comes to weight loss? But I keep hearing anecdotal evidence from all kinds of folks that eating different foods, even if they're the same number of calories, seems to help with the plateau problem.

    I'm so impressed with your determination and positive attitude--way to go!

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  19. I have heard the same thing about eating repetitive foods. And that is something that seems to be a part of me. I will change things up, and then I find a new 'repetitive food' that I like! I currently like yogurt with Bob's Red Mill Muesli--It has a lot of different stuff in it, and its really delicious. The other day I added grapes for the first time, and that was REALLY delicious.

    Right now I am trying something new--carb cycling--on the recommendation of my trainer. And it is a challenge for me to have 2 low carb days in a row. But I like a challenge. And I hope that it will 'shake things up' enough that I will lose a few pounds.

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  20. Oooh, I am doing the same thing Debby above me does. My snack tonight was Greek yogurt, Red Mill Muesli, half a banana, and some strawberries. The muesli is my new find.

    I am going to steal some of your awesome meal ideas like the "skinny" PB&J's and the corn tortilla breakfast tacos.

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  21. Congratulations! You are the inspiration I need. I am one who saw you in Women's Day. WOOHOO! Not your everyday happening.

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