Eat Clean

Remember my last post where I was sure I found the best diet ever?  Yeah, scratch that.  What was I thinking? I am not a calorie counter. Never was. Probably never will be.  I felt scared and nervous and anxiety-ridden the whole time.  It didn't mesh. It didn't feel right.

That's why I was super excited when I got an email from my local library that the book I had requested was on hold and waiting for me.  On a previous post, I received a lot of great feedback about a book called The Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno.  The book itself was really nice to read with nice glossy pages and lots of color. (Is it sad that i don't read diet books or cookbooks with dull pages and no pictures?)  It's pretty short too.  It includes a 2 week sample menu and some recipes.  But most importantly, it included a lot of info that made me say, "Yes! That is SO true."  Eating clean is the way to go. 

There is no fluff to it.  No gimmicky promises.  This is a long haul, long term, long lasting way of eating.  It's all about giving your body what it needs to perform at its best.  There is no calorie counting, but makes you aware of calories.  You eat 5-6 times a day and each meal ends up being around 300 calories.  You build your meals with 1 complex carb, 1 lean protein and veggies.  A serving of protein is the size of your palm and a serving of carbs is the size of your fist.  Easy. Then of course there is the obvious emphasis on exercise (including 3-4 weight lifting sessions) and drinking at least 64 oz of water. 

There were certain things that just stood out as TRUE...

• All calories are NOT created equal. 

• Getting enough sleep is just as important as getting enough exercise.

• Weight training is a MUST.

• Crap food tastes great because it is MANUFACTURED to taste great.  Clean food will not give you the same "party in your mouth" experience.  But after a while you will enjoy it more and not crave the crap as much.

• The biggest meals should be at the beginning of the day and the lightest at the end.

I started my day this morning with weights (upper body). All my food is packed in my cooler.

Breakfast:  Smoothie (pineapple, unsweetened coconut milk, chia seeds, rolled oats, plain greek yogurt) and a hard boiled egg. 
Snack1:  Apple with 1 T natural peanut butter 
Lunch:  Salad (chicken breast, baby spinach, artichoke hearts, asparagus, cukes, carrots, 1 t olive oil, 1 T apple cider vinegar)
Snack2:  Tuna in a mini whole wheat pita with green beans on the side.
Dinner: Salmon with 1/2 sweet potato and steamed broccoli
Snack 3: orange with 1/2 c unsweetened kefir


My exercise plan is to do weights 3 days a week and 45 minutes of cardio 3 days a week.  I feel so good about this.  I am not expecting huge numbers to be falling off the scale.  But this is something I can do long term.  I'm done losing 10 pounds fast and then gaining it back just as quick. Let's do this RIGHT. 

Weigh-In:  242 lb
Waist: 45 inches

Shiny and New

My library trip proved very fruitful.  I went through the entire Health/Fitness section of my public library.  (Holy Fad Diets, Batman!)  These were the ones I decided were worth a closer look.

I actually went through all of these books and read two of them cover to cover.  A few people commented on my last post about The Eat-Clean Diet by Tosca Reno.  My library didn't have it in stock so I had to order it. I can't wait to check it out.

I truly believe calorie counting is the way to go.  I have never ever counted calories.  It terrifies me. Seems so scary.  But with MyFitnessPal it is worth a try.  That website is the best.  I decided to do the Curves Eating Plan.  This is the low down:

• 3 phases:  1 Week=1200 calories, 3 Weeks=1500 calories, 2 Weeks=2000 calories  (The idea is to diet for a month and maintain for 2 weeks. Keeps your metabolism up and teaches you how to maintain.)
• Pick either High Carb or High Protein.  (I decided to start off with the high carb.  This means 137 g of carbs and 91 grams of protein each day.)
• Exercise at least 30 minutes 5 days a week.  (My workout schedule is 45 minutes of cardio 3 times a week and 45 minutes of weights 2 times a week.)

I know this will work.  It will be a major challenge though.  I was getting about 1200 calories on the Fat Smash Diet but this is different because I need to spread my out my calories like this..

• Breakfast: 200 cal
• 2 Snacks: 100 cal each
• Lunch/Dinner:  400 cal each

 I also have to make sure that I get the right ratio of fat/protein/carb.  If it weren't for MyFitnessPal I wouldn't stand a chance! It took me a while to figure it all out but in the end I am happy with what I came up with.  (Don't I sound all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.  Ah...the hope that comes with a new diet.)

I made a bunch of steel cut oats with blueberries for breakfast.

Don't they look adorable in these mason jars?? I got the idea from this "Refrigerator Oatmeal" recipe which I will post all about later.

I tried to make my lunch super yummy and veggie packed.

Pretty, huh?

One of my snacks is a smoothie with plain unsweetened kefir and mango.  I put the kefir and mango in the little canister and brought it to work like that.  I'm leaving the blender base in the break room for super easy convenient snacks!

I need to find something that I can stick to long term.  And I need to learn how to maintain.  I really hope I found something here!! Cheer me on :-)

Just a quick hair photo... made up this weird bun. With the summer heat I need my hair off my face!
 
Kinda cool!

Journey Journal

Tracking is so important for me when I'm trying to lose weight. I have to keep a daily record of what I'm eating, my exercise, and how I'm feeling.  However, it's not always easy to do this.  Sometimes I just don't feel like it.  I have to make it fun.

The first step is to find a journal that I really really really like.  It has to be adorable.  And the paper needs to feel good to write on.  This is what mine looks like.

The second step is to get a really nice pen that feels good to write with, some colorful markers and a bunch of happy stickers.  I try to find stickers that are related to healthy eating.  I have some veggie ones and fruit ones and some of My Little Ponies eating apples.  Look at that cute Lettuce Head!

On the inside cover of my journal I have a spot where I put a sticker for every day I have stayed on plan.  It's a nice way to look and see your progress.  The more those stickers pile up the happier I feel.

The front page is labeled *My Weigh* (Like Frank Sinatra....."I did it myyyy wayyyy"...get it?  Never mind.)  This is where I record my weigh-ins.

Each week I write what I have planned to eat that week.  This might sound silly, but sometimes the calorie deficit affects my brain and I can't remember what I bought at the grocery store and I am standing in my kitchen thinking "There is NOTHING to EAT."  I grab my journal, flip to this page and remind myself that YES there IS healthy food to eat in this house.....step AWAY from the car keys.  No fast food for you!

Each night I jot down what I ate and when, my water intake, and my exercise. I also write down how I am feeling that day.  I slap a sticker or two on that page as a *good job* reward.



I use a whole page to record my weekly weigh-in and give myself space to write about what I liked about the week and what I didnt't.


At the end of the week, Hubs writes me a little note with his observations and thoughts on how I did that week.  (Awwww....he's so cute.)

I often go back and flip through it to look for any connections between how I'm feeling and how I'm eating.  If I had a good week I flip through and see what helped.  If I had a bad week I flip through to see where I may have gone wrong.

It really helps keep me on track.

What about you?? How do you keep track?  How do you make it fun?

RFS Challenge START

Weight: 251.6 lb

I am done done done with this up and down crap.  I have been on one diet or another for the last 6 months and I weigh exactly what I did when I started. When I got on the scale this weekend and saw that DESPITE staying within my points and exercising like crazy I had GAINED 3 pounds, I just stood on the scale and cried. Cried my eyes out.

Then I promptly open my cupboards and shoved FiberOne bars in my mouth.


After lunch with my hubby I did feel better....not sure exactly why.


I need to get focused and this challenge is starting at JUST the RIGHT time!!!


In the past I have mentioned the Great Weight Loss of 2007.  I lost 50 pounds in about 6 months. I did it by sticking to the Fat Smash Diet.  I didn't want to do it again because, well, it's hard. And restrictive.  And WeightWatchers is much easier. 

But it's what I need right now.  The first phase is 9 days.  It's the Detox phase.  Even though there is no counting of any kind, it's mostly just fruits and veggies.  I found some great recipes and went grocery shopping. I was really proud that my cart was practically FULL by the time I was done with the PRODUCE section.

That's all just fruits and vegetables! 

I am serious this time. I mean business. I have the eye of the Tiger.


I am FOCUSED. I plan on being 225 pounds by the end of this challenge on June 2nd.  Please no comments about how that's not possible. If it's not then at least let me try and fail.  In 10 weeks I want to lose 26.6 pounds.  That's about 2.7 pounds down each week. Crazy. I can do it though. I know I can.  Cheer me on!!!

Week1 Weigh-In: 242.0 lb (-2.8 lb)

Weight: 242.0 lb

Loss: -2.8 lb

Total Loss: -33 lb













My first week on Weight Watchers went well, all things considered. I am allowed 36 points a day. Which is plenty of food...especially since fruits and veggies are FREE. And I STILL went over my points. Every. Single. Day. I don't really know how this kept happening. Well, I did kinda binge a bit on my days off from work (shoving cheese sticks in your face can rack up points quick). I only work three days a week (yes, I am jealous of me too). Those two days off are land mines. It is so hard to eat right on my days off.

Every day after I had written in my cool pink food journal I went to add up my points... and needed a calculator. I went sooo far over my daily points allowance. For this week, I planned ahead to make sure that doesn't happen again.

Even though I didn't exercise every day Monday through Friday as I had planned, I did get to the gym three days this week and walked on the treadmill for 45 mins at 2.5 mph (i know that's really really slow...go ahead and laugh, I won't think less of you). Best of all, I managed to get to they gym BEFORE work in the morning.

For those of you who have met my alarm clock and have seen the scars on its snooze button, you probably already know that I am not a morning person. But getting to the gym early seems to be the secret to my getting to the gym at all. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Could I have done better this week? Sure. Could I have done worse? Absolutely. I am happy with my results. And I plan on doing even better Week2.

Grapefruit

Some foods possess whimsical qualities. These foods magically turn delicious and irresistible the second I start a diet. For instance, if I am off-plan, trail mix isn't even on my radar. But when I am on a diet, trail mix takes on the characteristics of crack cocaine... and I have to measure it out into 1/4 cup servings lest I eat a week's worth of calories in dried fruit and nuts. Thankfully, not all these chameleon foods are high in calories. When I am eating healthy, I also crave Grapefruit. (mmmm...grapefruit)

Sadly though, we have a love-hate relationship. I can't stand the outer white bitter stuff. Which means before I can actually EAT a grapefruit, I spend forever separating the yummy part from the icky part. It is tedious and very messy. I have tried cutting out the sections with a knife...and using a grapefruit spoon. I even bought this fancy grapefruit-sectioner-thing....which didn't work very well...and left most of the grapefruit in the rind.

What's a girl to do? The only thing TO do when you are stumped. Google it.

After just a few seconds I learned that Grapefruit got its name because it grows in clusters like grapes. And that the fruit was known of since the 1600's but only used as an ornamental plant. It wasn't until the 19th century that people started to actually eat it. (I guess no one was on a diet before then.)

Google also brought me to this very helpful video that promised to show me how to speed-cut Grapefruit. I was skeptical and had to try it for myself.

First, I cut off the top and bottom ends like this...

(Yes...I have a pink knife.)

Then I cut it in half.

Then I flipped the grapefruit halves over and used that pink knife to cut the rind off.

When I was done it looked like this....

Then I cut each half into quarters like this....

At the pointy part of the quartered piece there is that hard white bitter center. See it?

I cut that off of each quartered piece like this.

When I was done with that, I sliced up the quarter pieces and put them in a bowl.

And then I sprinkled it with a little Truvia.

The verdict? It still isn't as easy as peeling an orange or a banana. But it's a lot faster and less messy than the way I was doing it before. This will definitely be my go-to method from now on.