Nuts and Bolts

This blog wasn't meant to be a weight loss record, or lack thereof, but it comes up so often it might as well have been. Reading Sean's blog has encouraged me to focus on this for a while, if only to remind myself of all the wonderful knowledge I have and that I actually have to apply it for it to do me any good. So this morning I am thinking of the nuts and bolts of my eating program. Yes, eating program. We all have one, we all have a diet that we follow; diet and program don't mean restriction, they just mean what is usual for you. And I know that when I usually do the following things I feel better, have more energy, and lose weight.

I was logging my food and exercise at PeerTrainer back when I was slowly and surely losing weight and it really helped to find support from others who were eating along the same veins as I was (veins, plants, get it.) Anyway, I tried going back there recently and while it is still a good site I am too impatient - it loads super slow and takes forever to save changes. So I have decided I can do my logging here and pop in there to see what my group is up to and read what new ideas they are sharing when I am in need of inspiration.

What worked; these are the nuts and bolts - details later
Filling up two 24oz water bottles in the morning and drinking them throughout the day
Drinking a couple of large mugs of herbal tea, no 'natural flavours' in the ingredients
Staying away from glutamates (natural flavours usually means flavour enhancers which trigger cravings)
Staying away from artificial sweeteners
Moving; everyday do something to make it nice around the house, walk the dog, and shoot or ride the bike
Eating raw and cooked veggies every day; goal is a pound of each but at least a large healthy serving
Green smoothie for breakfast most days w\ flax meal
Variety, search out new and delicious meals
Restrictions: stay away from refined 'food products' and stick with the real deal
Weekend: hot yummy breakfast one morning (usually potatoes fried up with greens - yum)
Grocery day: one roll to make a yummy sandwich or bread item to share from the bakery
Evenings: finish eating by 7pm & go to bed with an empty stomach to boost my immune system
Breakfast: Break my Fast first with water or herbal tea, then eat when I am actually hungry

As I type this up I remember that these guidelines are about getting healthier, and that weightloss was an added bonus. But for my mental sanity I need to drop these first 20 pounds more quickly than before.  I'm going to try and count calories a couple of days each week to make sure I am not going over the magic 1500 calorie mark. Remember when that number was 1200 and we would starve and then binge? Ugh. I have my old spreadsheet I can use, but in keeping true to other beliefs I have built up over the past several years, I want to focus on the positive. "What you focus on expands" (expanding calories...uh, no thank you!) seems to be the mantra from Mother Teresa to The Secret....and Oprah of course :) And I believe it. Besides, I have a tortured and ugly relationship with the then almighty calorie and counting them never worked for me in the past. But I think I can use it as a tool to stay on track for weight loss instead of it being the all consuming exercise in frustration that it once was.

While I was using the nuts and bolts listed above I was getting stronger and feeling better and losing weight - and it all went flying out the window when I finally found a J.O.B. after looking for over a year. "You Must Pay the Rent, I Can't Pay the Rent!"  Anyway, what was easy to do while unemployed and time on my hands became impossible - add stress eating to that and the perfect storm of relapse came storming through my life. Now a year has gone by and I am back to working a desk job; the challenge will be to find ways to incorporate what I know into my 9-5 schedule. I am already making healthy lunches to take with me to work, and I am quitting my online farming in the morning to give myself enough time to make a healthy breakfast - so two big steps in the right direction.

Recommended Reading: In Defence of Food, anything by Dr. Fuhrman or Dr. McDougall or their fitness consortiums. I just want a refresher course on all the wonderful information I have read through; it's easier for me to make a good decision if there is a solid reason behind it; call it form following function (my form, my body's function.)  How funny that I see those as two separate things, I am all of one piece, am I not? Learning to integrate might be a huge learning experience, but this morning I feel game as I think about Sean's box with the mirror in it.

And speaking of humour, that is paramount. I must and will surround myself with funny movies, books and people. Maybe the people part will take some time, but this has to change in my life. I can not, and will not, continue to be surrounded by gloom and doom. My positive attitude will persevere, radiant light will freakin stream from my eyeballs!

On to a good day.