Threatened by the idea that our dear Pamela, mother and wife, could die, my family instituted radical food, portion size, and daily behavior changes. Although nothing is "off limits," we no longer condone fast food, super-sized portions, or all-you-can-eat dinners, because most people who go into the hospital suffering heart failure, have eaten out at a fast food restaurant 3 times during the week, like my mother. In fact, going by the addage "you are what you eat," we cut back on high-glycemic index foods (high starch/high carbohydrate) and made low-glycemic foods (fruits, vegetables, whole-grain, high-fiber) our new focus. Here's a typical day where I am working on losing weight (1200 to 1500 calorie diet), rather than maintaining weight (1800 to 2000):
Breakfast @ 8:00am (oatmeal with a fruit)
-Fruit snack (1 serving)
Lunch @ 12:00pm (sandwich and 1 or 2 vegetable servings)
-Non-fruit snack (1 serving, like cottage cheese or hot cereal)
-Fruit snack (1 serving)
Dinner @ 6:00pm (1 meat serv., 1 carb. serv., and 1 or 2 veg. serv.'s)
-Non-fruit, high-fiber snack (like 1 serv. Fiber One cereal)
"As a practical matter, most fruits and vegetables have quite low caloric content, so those are the things that you can use to fill your plate. They're typically more filing when they're warm. As long as you prepare them without adding fat, creams, or high-carb dressings, you can eat practically all the vegetables you want. Seriously. As for fruits, you can't eat an unlimited amount, but they'll definitely help you avoid those "tiny" portions of high-calorie disaster foods. A whole cantaloupe plus two plums have the same number of calories as four little "reduced-fat" SnackWell cookies. Make good choices, and losing fat doesn't need to be about deprivation." -hussman.org
Ok, so now let's not forget working out! Six days a week, I would put in 1 hour of aerobics (not an intensity so high that I was panting, but working just hard enough so I would sweat), plus 30 minutes of lifting weights to maintiain my muscle mass during the weight loss cycle (since protein, a.k.a. muscle, is preferentially burned by the body when in need of energy). Although I've lost over 50lbs., it took over 1 year (a lot of which I was not losing much weight at all but I didn't let that discourage me!). Primarily, I stuck with this weight loss plan because I designed it myself. If you're interested in losing weight or eating healthy too, here are some tips that I follow:
1.) No food is "off-limits," moderation is the key.
2.) Use salad plates instead of dinner plates and don't make left-overs.
3.) Make fruit and veggies "all-you-can-eat."
4.) Fight the urge to be lazy every chance you can!
5.) Base your success by the change in your belt size, not #'s on a scale.
6.) Work with others who are working towards the same goal.
7.) Don't get discouraged if life gets in the way, it happens to everyone.
8.) Make a record of your progress (photos, journal, count calories...)
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. |
