|
|
| |
|
|
In case you missed it, we over here at PT scanned in the cover of the PEOPLE article along with her story. Even if you only want to lose 10 pounds, or 50 pounds, this is a powerful story. I can't tell you how many people called me and said, I could totally relate to her story about the moment she had, through the drive-thru, when she knew she wasn't going to live like that anymore. She has a lot of stuff on her own blog (great stuff by the way, even a picture of her with her former size pants") but I wanted to share it here too.
 
You can check out others like her here. I get inspired daily.
I have to share my secret way
of eating broccoli because I detested it for years. Yes, I know it
seems to be the wonder health food but I couldn't bring myself to eat
it. Sure, if I slathered it with cheese, it would have been no problem
but what's really the point of that. I can make it taste as delectable
as as an artichoke heart. Seriously. I'm
putting in how you cook it but the "secret" part of it is the part that
you serve and eat.
First, steam it. And if you're like me and you didn't know how to
do this, I will give you the easiest way. Take a big pot and put about
2 - 3 inches of water in it. Throw in the entire stalk (don't cut it
up, avoid all of that hassle). Just stick it in, preferably with the
stalk side in the water and the bushel side closer to the top and put a
lid on it and turn the gas up to high. Put a little olive oil, salt and
lemon in the water, but only if you want it. Bring it to boil. Then
turn it down to low - med for 5 to ten minutes. Test with a knife to
see if it's to your preference.
I avoid the bushel part of the brocolli and concentrate on the
stem. I cut off the outside parts of the stem - think of it as "kiwi"
skin or mango skin, and slice off the outer layer. The inside part is
unbelievably good and literally tastes like an artichoke heart. I make
a bowl of fresh squeezed lemon and salt and dip it in, just like I do
with artichoke leaves. It's soooooooo good. If you try it, let me know!
More from the PT community on great ways to make vegetables taste good
Here Are Some Other Tips To Help You Be Successful:
1. Develop the Logging Habit.
Daily logging is the cornerstone of effective weight loss, and engages
you in a process called "self-monitoring." Basically a conversation
with yourself each day.
2. If you are new to logging, only focus on that for the first few days. It takes a while to develop a new habit, and you want to start this process by breaking them down into easy, achievable goals.
3. Find active groups and teams. This is the SINGLE most important factor in the success of a group.
Yes, you might want to find people with similar interests, geography,
backgrounds etc-- but first and foremost find active members.
4. If you don't, join This Team and you will be personally welcomed into PEERtrainer.
5. Start slow. Find achievable, short term goals.
Whether you want to lose 50 pounds or train for a marathon, it is going
to take time. Take your time. It will make it easier, you'll be more
successful, and you'll have more fun.
6. Would you like some advice on how to get started losing weight? Click to Read this article which outlines the steps needed to achieve success.
7. The PEERtrainer "Aha Moment." The other members of your
group or team can see and read your logs, and you see what you are
eating. The first week on PEERtrainer is an eye opener for most people.
8. You can join as many groups as you want, our users suggest
that three is a good number to be part of. The only thing we ask is to
be positive and active in your groups.
9. You can invite friends directly into your group, through an
"Invite a Friend" feature. Put in their email address, and they will be
sent an invitation right to your group. When they sign up, they will be
automatically placed in your group.
Now that I've been through
both the cycles of losing weight, maintaining the weight loss and back
to losing weight, I thought I'd share my thoughts and what I've noticed
about the scale.
There is a great deal of debate about whether to weigh yourself
every day, or once a week, or to give up the scale totally and use
other ways to measure progress such as a tape measure. I am a fan of
the scale. It works for me. It's funny, it's when I gave up the scale
that I gained all of the weight in the first place because I lacked the
"checking in of reality". That said, when I was losing initial weight,
I weighed in once a week as my official "count". I would hop on the
scale on about Tuesday to see my unofficial progress and then on Friday
I would record what my official "weigh in was". Then, when I was more
in maintenance mode, I started to get on the scale frequently, almost
every day or at least every other day. If I'd see the scale up a pound,
I would eat fewer calories or run around more, if it was down a pound,
I would feel like I could order dessert.
Then a few months ago, I decided I would like to lose another 10
pounds but I still had the habit of hopping on the scale all the time.
I can't tell you the frustration I've experienced. It's driving me
nuts, If it's up a 1/2 pound I"m bummed if it's down I'm elated, if
it's the same I'm frustrated. But the last couple of weeks, I waited as
long as I could. Today, I waited until Thursday, 6 whole days from the
last weigh in and I'm so much happier. I haven't been driving myself
crazy with all of the daily fluctuations and I feel like I'm making
progress. Have any experience with this? I would love to hear your
thoughts.
Pound down from yesterday
morning on the scale which would make it a 1/2 pound lost during the 2
pound challenge. Note to self: do not eat sushi before a "weigh in"
challenge.
I'd like to discuss my lunch yesterday. I went to an industry
conference and they gave tickets for lunch there. You could pick from
several different boxed lunches including tuna fish, grilled vegetable,
chicken wrap. I chose the roast beef sandwich.
The boxed lunch literally had enough food for 2 maybe 3 people. I
understand that since it's a one size fits all, that you have to have
enough food for the men, but I have to express the need to be hyper
aware of portion control and that it's getting harder to do so, because
the portions are bigger than ever.
They gave out:
a roast beef sandwich with blue cheese, arugula and a choice of
mayo or mustard. One 1/2 was equal to more than a regular sandwich
because the bread was a HUGE french roll, both sides. I not only left
1/2 of the sandwich there, I also took off one slice of the french
bread of the sandwich I ate. I scraped off the blue cheese (who needs
all of that extra fat) and I used mustard instead of mayo (woo hoo!)
Large bag of potato chips. For some reason, I had a need to do
something I did when I was little and I stacked the potato chips on top
of the roast beef, almost like a piece of bread. I put the rest of the
chips back in the box.
1 package of chocolate chip cookies, 2. If I had eaten the whole
package, it would have been 270 calories. I wish they hadn't been there
at all because I did eat one.
A banana. I left that there.
I also opted for water out of a choice of many soft drinks and
juices which was a great accomplishment for me because I've been
choosing coke lately.
So if I had eaten the entire lunch (which tasted really good so it
was tempting) how many calories would I have eaten? I think it would
have been more than a whole days worth of food if you're on a diet.
Thoughts?
Since I've been reading about emotional
eating today in some logs, I wanted to offer some of the things I do
when I get stressed/upset instead of grabbing many cookies (which I
tend to do about once every 6 months). This list is for myself as well.
I call my friends.
This is a common one. If one is not home, I literally move down my
mobile phone list to call the next one and so forth until someone is
home. Might sound strange, but I need to feel heard and I'm not picky
about who is on the receiving end. Of course, if you use this
strategy, you have to be available to them as well, which I am.
I take a long shower.bath.
A
shower/bath is filling up the tub but still keeping the shower head on
as well. (sorry to the environmentalists out there but I'm not really
using more water than a long shower). I keep the lights off (currently
I have a window in the bathroom that produces great light, if I don't
have a window, I light candles). I stay in there as long as I want with
the water beating down on me. I tend to go through many emotions,
crying, to relaxing, to happy to crying again to relaxed. It works
really well.
I play catch and release, shopping style.
I'm
not proud to admit this but we're talking selfish strategy here. I go
out, shopping all day long. I walk and walk and walk and walk and
shop.Then a few days later, I return and return and return.I usually
end up keeping one thing that I bought, but I do find that when I shop
when I'm stressed/upset, I don't really buy things that I like and when
I'm in a better mood, I see that immediately.I'm not proud of it but
this strategy works VERY well. Don't go to the high end boutiques
though, they won't let you return. Stick to the department store/chain
shopping.
Pick up a book or magazine.
Nothing gets me out of my stress or funk better than a really good book or magazine. Sometimes I pick up books directly related to health and fitness (Dr. Weil's 8 weeks to optimal health is still one of my favorites). Often they are even books I've already read. I go back for a refresher or a pick me up. Other times I opt for light reading in the form of a popular magazine like Health or Allure. Whichever I choose, it gets me away from the snacks and towards new ideas.
I go to the gym or out for a walk for 5 minutes with my FAVORITE music.
Yes, I commit to 5 minutes because I know once I get there, I'll be
there for a the full workout but if I commit to "sweating it out", I
just get tired and I don't go. The 5 minute rule works well. The only
caveat is that I have to have my favorite music on my ipod and it MUST
be charged. Music is proven to change your mood and your spirit and
sometimes within one minute it change change everything.
The PEERtrainer community also had some great advice about the psychology of food and emotional eating if you'd like more suggestions.
Wow. I feel so much better after writing this. Thanks for reading!
Saw this post in the community today and it was so well put, I thought I'd add it here...
"Hi! I'm beth and I'm new to PEERtrainer. Any tips?"
"Welcome to the site Beth... this is one of the greatest things you'll do in your weight loss journey... my best advice to you in joining this site is to find a group (or several) that meet your needs and if you find they don't find a new one until you get the right fit for you, you can also start a new group if none of the existing groups meet your needs! Make sure that you log every day because that will have a huge impact on your weight loss and most importantly, don't be afraid to ask questions or seek suggestions from other PTers! Good luck!
Want more tips on how to get started? Click here.
Filed Under:
PEERtrainer, accountability, PEERtrainer get started tips
This morning I woke up and said I'd rather live with the pain of regret. That single thought was enough to get me to the gym to run. I ended up doing a run/walk for 3 miles with 4 sprints! I am so proud of myself. It's really hard for me to get motivation to workout and I feel like I'm on a beginners luck roll.
What's a beginners luck roll? My theory is that every time you try to do something new, whether it's a positive life change, or a new habit, you get "beginners luck". For instance, let's say you you decide to venture into the stock market. The very first trade you make will be a truly positive one, usually, so positive that you start to think, wow, what took me so long? I should have started this long ago. Maybe your beginners luck even continues through your second and third trade, but then, suddenly, it stops. The trades stop going well. This is precisely when the real work sets in, the real work and discipline it takes to make a profound change. You're left sitting there wondering, it was so easy when I started, why not now?!
Filed Under:
weight loss, PEERtrainer, Health, accountability
I worked out yesterday! So psyched about it. Not long, but a full 20 min. on the elliptical. Someone here (karenk28) wrote a quote on her public log that made me go.
It said:
You can either live with the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.
I realized that I have spent so much time attempting to find a workout that I like, a sport that's fun. I never realized (or acknowledged) that, for me, working out just isn't fun So what. A lot of things "just aren't fun" and I do them anyway. I'd much rather have the pain of discipline than the pain of 23 hours and 30 minutes a day of feeling big. I chose discipline yesterday and it felt great.
On a side note, I was really hungry after 8pm yesterday but chose water instead which was hard but who said being disciplined is easy?
I wrote this a while ago but someone said it was helpful so I'm reprinting here.
I was speaking to a coworker today who exclaimed, OMG, that has 8 grams of fat!!! I can't eat that. I realized that many people see a high number of fat grams and lack context for what that actually means. I explained it to her, she thought it was helpful so I thought I'd write it here.
According to many diets/regimens, a 25 to 30% fat intake per meal is recommended. It's easy to figure out. If a food has 300 calories and has 8 fat grams, an easy (BUT NOT EXACT) way to tell the percentage of fat is to add a "zero" to the fat gram number. So for the example:
The above food has 8 grams. Add an 80 to make 80 fat calories (again, not exact but pretty close and much easier to do math this way). The food has 300 calories to it has less than 30% of the total. You can do this for anything. If a 100 calorie product has 1 fat gram, add a zero to the fat grams. You get 10 calories. So that food is only 10% fat. This will keep your perspective. And some fat is good for you. Many recommend to just keep it lower than 30% of your intake at any meal.
I read SELF magazine yesterday and while I mostly read stuff for the pictures (lol), I came across an article that said if you want to lose 10 pounds, think Cardio, cardio, cardio. Become a cardio queen. I've read other stuff that says strength training is so much better for this because muscle burns more than fat.
What bothers me is all the conflicting information out there. However, it does make me realize that weight loss and getting fit is a personal endeavor where you have to be a scientist and use your own body as the lab. Try different things to see what works. I tried so many things until I found the ZONE protein/carb combo, and found that works for me. But it was too hard to follow by itself so I started using the weight watchers points system for portion control. I feel like I have to do the same experimentation for working out, so I can come up with a plan that works for me.
As much as I wish I was a two marshmallow girl, I'm definitely a 1 marshmallow girl that strives to be a 2 marshmallow girl.
Stanford University conducted a study with young children of the faculty there many years ago. They had the children in a room and the facilitators put 2 marshmallows on a table in the room for each child. Then they told the children, we will be leaving the room. you may eat one marshmallow now or you may have 2 if you wait until we return. The children had no idea how long the facilitators would be gone, but they had to wait until they returned if they were to claim the prize of the 2nd marshmallow.
Some children ate the one marshmallow right away, forfeiting the 2nd. The ones that chose to wait, did whatever it took to keep their mind off the waiting time, tapping their foot, looking at the wall, dancing until they could have both.
They tracked both the one marshmallow kids and the 2 marshmallow kids through their lives, through college. As you might have guessed, the 2 marshmallow kids were more well rounded, did better in school, better on the SATs, attended more prestigious universities. You get the idea.
I had to be honest with myself and admit, I'm a 1 marshmallow girl. I like instant gratification, and am unwilling, much of the time, to put in the time and discipline it takes to be a 2 marshmallow girl. This is true for most things in my life. For some reason, the marshmallow thing popped into my head this morning, and I realized, weight loss is so a 2 marshmallow endeavor and I have been able to be more of a 2 marshmallow girl. Why this, why now - not sure. Have to think about it.
Filed Under:
weight loss, PEERtrainer
I went out to eat last night. I didn't order a salad, which I should have, but I didn't, I ate enough for 3 people and I'm feeling HUGE today.
I think there was a published study that individuals eat 50% more than they normally would when they eat out with friends. I know I do and I often go out to eat so here are some things I started to do. Of course, I don't always stick to it but if I manage to fit in a few, I do reasonably well.
I almost consistently order a salad when I go out for dinner. If I don't order a salad, I usually order an appetizer as my main entrée. While they can be the most fattening things on the menu, the portion is usually 1/2 of that of an entrée, which keeps me, relatively, within my calorie allotment for the day. Of course, last night I didn't, so frustrating. If you're anything like me, you shouldn't even look at the other things on the menu. Stick to only looking at the salads and the apps, and don't bother with the rest. It's likely to be a train wreck of a calorie night if you do. If I do drink alcohol, I limit myself to 2 glasses of wine. SKIP the fruity drinks. All of that sugar gives you double the hangover anyway.
Other things that are helpful:
Dessert: Sometimes you just CAN'T skip dessert. The whining of your friends about NOT taking a bite of your birthday cake are actually more painful than actually eating the cake. I use the 3 bite rule; you can take three bites of the most decadent dessert and still lose weight. You'll find that after the 3 bites you're not even tasting it anymore and the first 3 are really the most satisfying.
The bread basket: Everyone says say no to the bread. Tell them to take away the bread basket or remind them to not bring it. But that's a challenge when the other people at your table want it. Again, use the three bite rule. Take a piece, take the three bites because I'm sure you're hungry.
Water: Order water! Get into the habit of ordering water when asked what you'd like to drink. If you're having a glass of wine, get the glass of water too. Alcohol dehydrates you which gives you the feeling of being even more hungry; if you have water alongside, you'll at least stay somewhat hydrated.
Split EVERYTHING. Get into the habit of splitting whatever you order. Offer bites to your companions. You'll eat less.
And finally...
If you do overeat, it's just that: ONE night of overeating. One night does not mean a gain of 5 pounds (and if you get on the scale because you like to punish yourself and you see a gain of 5 pounds it's because of the salt.) Tone it down the next few days and you'll be fine.
Filed Under:
weight loss
I've been reading a
fascinating book and it speaks about an emotion we rarely cop to or
speak about: shame. Why? Because we're too "ashamed" to even
acknowledge what were shameful about. We all have it and it's attached
to us like a big elephant in the room, we try to hide it, but you can't
hide an elephant. It's too big and too interesting for others to
ignore. I know I rarely even use the word "shame". I use the words for
emotions like happy, elated, angry, frustrated, sad often, but I rarely
say "shame". So I started to thing about it....what am I ashamed about
and for those of you who are reading, what does this have to do with
weight loss?
My dad always seems to remark how fair skinned I am. I've heard,
often through my life, why don't you get a tan? I've even had
instructions about how to build a great tan and get darker skin. Forget
about the fact that sunning might actually be harmful, he thinks I
would be more attractive if I had darker skin. So I walk around,
ashamed of my skin color. Can you imagine? I see my skin color 24 hours
a day! I feel "shame" 24 hours a day! Who cares how great of a figure I
get, I'll still have this fair skin!
It made me realize something: there are so many "demons" wrapped up
and intertwined within the process of weight loss. Confronting the
demons, maybe slowly, maybe only one at a time, is the only way. The
only way through something is actually through.
Filed Under:
weight loss, Health
|
|