A long "Rant"

[hkellick]

Not a rant, per se.. just a long set of connected thoughts sort of post.

I'm at 288 now. That means I lost 2 lbs in 2 days. Wow. I HAVE been working harder in the gym, but I doubt it's only that. I suspect that since I have started losing weight, it's becoming easier to lose it. I know that this sort of loss won't last. Eventually, I'll level out. And... that's fine. I've been losing fat, I guess, in the easier areas. My legs, my face, possibly my arms. Eventually I'll run out of fat to lose there and have to start at the hard places.. my stomach and my tush. That may be harder. I don't know.
I got a new book today "Fitness for Dummies". I did really well with "Dieting for Dummies", so this can't hurt, right?

I've had a couple people now ask me how I'm dieting. Let me explain. In as much detail as I can. I am not on any sort of special diet. This is based on what works by me.
I'm doing two things: Eating Healthier and Exercising... Let me explain in more detail

Eating Healthier
When you're on a diet, you have to be worried about three things: Fat, Calories and Cholesterol. Personally, I admit I tend to watch Fat content and ESPECIALLY Saturdated Fat Content more than the other two. Eventually, I'll need to get to a point where I'm counting calories, but so far, I'm not. Then again, I WAS close to 300 lbs, so eating better in any way should have been enough to help spur a weight loss.

Below is a list of tips on eating better that I've accumulated in three weeks of eating

1. Rule 1 - Do Not Overdo Any of these rules. Look, diets are hard. Do not take any of the following rules and try to say. I WILL not eat Cheese.. I WILL not eat Candy.. I WILL not eat Peanuts. You would eat a very boring set of meals indeed. Just do not overdo it on any of the listed rules below. A little cheese won't kill your diet. Nor will a little cake or a little candy. Just remember overdoing it on any of these high-fat or high-calorie foods WILL kill a diet.
   
2. Give In To Your Cravings - Dying to have a piece of cheesecake? Oggling those chocolate chip cookies? Enjoy.. just do it in small doses. A SMALL piece of cheesecake or ONE chocolate chip cookie. If possible, try to find a lo-fat or lo-calories alternative. In front of my desk I have a tiny bag of sugar free Jolly Ranchers. Less than 10 calories per piece and 0 fat. If I feel like a little bit of a sweet, I open one up and eat it. Before this, I had Jelly Belly Jellybeans - 4 calories per bean and 0 fat. This helps me deal with any sugar craving I may get.
   
3. Read The Labels - For any diet to be successful, you need to cut off excess sugar, fats and oils. To do this, you need to know what kind of calories the food you eat has. I list a few things below, but the best thing to do is read the health calories. Women should be eating 1500 Calories or SLIGHTLY less if on a diet (not TOO much less) and men should be eating 2000 Calories. Saturated Fat is BAD! Try to stay away from it.. Unsaturated Fat isn't as bad and a little helps keep you full longer and also tastes good. You should keep your eyes on Cholesterol as well, but I don't know the standard for that. Listed below I give ideas of things I do on my diet. Each diet SHOULD differ from person to person. We all eat different amounts of food, weight different amounts and have different tastes in food.
   
4. Drink Diet Pop - Yes, I KNOW Diet Pop doesn't taste good as the original. But, it does matter. Pop has no fat, but it does have alot of excess sugar. There's really no need to HAVE to consume these calories when there's so much nearly sugar-free pop out there. Also, the pop industry has gotten alot better at making diet products taste just like the original. Diet Dr. Pepper does really taste, to me, like Dr. Pepper. So avoid the non-necessary calories and go with Diet Pop. Or even better, drink water. Water has no calories, no fat and you need alot of it... especially if you're exercising.
   
5. Drink Fat-Free or Reduced Fat Milk and Eat Reduced-Fat or Fat-Free Dairy Products - Dairy IS a very important part of your diet. You should be having, I BELIEVE 3 servings per day. Unfortunately, Dairy products tend to be very high in fat. This does not mean you should give them up at all, but keep your eye open for low-fat alternatives. 1% Milk (reduced-fat) tastes nearly exactly like 2%. If you want to avoid even the reduced fat, Fat Free (NOT SKIM, two different types of milks) tastes mostly like 2% (it has more of a cream taste to it, but it isn't bad. Especially if you get Fat-Free Chocolate Milk which *I* found better than regular Chocolate Milk because of the creaminess of the milk. I know skim doesn't taste quite right.. but Fat Free is a viable option instead. I suggest trying it. If not, 1% Milk should be just fine.
   
6. Stay away from Deep-Friend Foods - From French Fries and Onion Rings to Battered Fish, deep-fried foods are often cooked in excessive amounts of oil. In general, you simply don't need the extra oil in your diet. I personally have pretty much given up Deep-Fried Food and don't feel the least bad about it. I have had the very occasional fry, but otherwise miss it not.
   
7. Fill yourself up on Salad and Fresh Fruit - I probably eat more fruits and vegetables than I should. But vegetables and fruit are good for you, taste good and generally contain less fat and sugar than other deserts and snacks. I have my favorite fruits just like everyone else: Apples, Pears, Oranges etc. (Luckily for me, Apple and Pear season is just starting so I'll get a good season of cheap fresh fruit I love :) AND FRESH APPLE CIDER :D ), I also adore lettuce, mushrooms, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, beets, radishes and what you could generally consider salad material. Though by themselves, fresh fruit and vegetables won't stay in your system very long, with a little fat (for example, ranch or bleu cheese dressing), the salad can fill you up and still give you minimal fat. Also, try new fruits and vegetables! There's nothing worse than eating the same thing over and over. There are SO many different types of fruits and vegetables that you should experiment and keep lunch and dinner more exciting.
   
8. Stay Away from Nuts and Seeds - For better or worse, most nuts and seeds are very high in fat. This goes for Peanut Butter too. Just don't overdo it on the Seeds and Nuts. I know they're taste and good for you.. but you don't need too much excessive fat.
   
9. Eat More Fish And Chicken - Beef isn't a BAD meat to eat. But it isn't a good meat to eat. Red meat has been often considered possibly very fatty and possibly bad for you. I dunno. Everything I've read doesn't say Beef is a BAD meet, but white meat is better: Chicken, Turkey and Seafood are all excellent meat choices. Tuna, Fish, Chicken, Turkey or, if you want to try other things.. shrimp, duck, or what not.
   

Anyways, that's my diet. If I can think of any more, I'll append this post.

So, the other part of my weight loss comes due to exercise. I exercise for half an hour to an hour a day. I constantly push myself hard. Not too hard, though.
Some tips I've found out about exercising

1. Do not exercise too hard!! - No Pain, No Gain is WRONG! However, No Sweat, No Gain IS correct! The proper level of exercise is a level where you can talk fine. If you can sing and still work, you aren't working hard enough. If you can't breathe, you are working too hard. It is important to maintain the proper level because if you work too hard, your body doesn't properly use the energy it has and goes anoxic. I don't know the full details.. but suffice it to say.. you shouldn't work too hard. Also... don't exercise too hard. If your body says no more, then it's best to listen to it. It takes time to get in shape.. and it takes time to be able to life the heavier weights. If you keep at it, though, you will be able to lift more and run longer etc.
   
2. I've been asked how I exercise. Personally, I work half an hour on the cardiovascular equipment (for me, the treadmill.. but bicycle, rowing machine, stairmaster and elliptical are all other good choices.) and, if I have the time, I work half an hour or so lifting weights on weight machines (though, if you don't have access to the gym, free weights work fine. And they're relatively cheap. A good book like "Fitness for Dummies" for $20 is a good place to start.)
   
3. Make exercise FUN! - It's not always fun and often boring (especially on the cardiovascular equipment when yer working for half an hour or more). Put on some music or read a book or drag a friend along to talk and chat with. Just do your best to make it more interesting.
   
4. Keep At It - Exercising takes time. You won't be suddenly muscular in a matter of days or suddenly more in shape. It takes time and effort, but it WILL happen. It's like weight loss based on my diet.. it won't happen all at once, but it WILL happen. Just be patient.
   
   That's All I can think of fhink of for right now. if I think of more, I'll edit this post. (and note it up top)
   Enjoy my quick lesson on dieting!

Comments

Advice?

[phinnia.livejournal.com]

My two cents on eating healthy (you learn a lot as a pregnant vegetarian)...
- try some of the soy products out there. Dessi won't agree with me, but I think soy hot dogs are actually pretty good, and have lots of protein and no fat at all. Same with the lunch meat. I personally didn't like the turkey and bologna, but that was more because they tasted ... well, like turkey and bologna, which I don't like.
-try juice instead of diet soda. They've actually come out with studies stating that it causes bladder tumors in humans. (Aspartame).
- you can't eat too many fruits and veggies, actually. Unless you don't eat any protein (cheese, refried beans, beans and rice, soy, eggs, dairy products, etcetera etcetera) at all.
Given that they tell me the baby is healthy and so am I, hopefully this means something. :)

Good luck!
Phinnia

Re: Advice?

[lite.livejournal.com]

Uh. NO!
I've tried the soy substitutes.
They're TERRIBLE!

No, my diet is one of conveniene. Not totally eating differently. Especially since working *MY* dinners around my family's is difficult enough.