A milestone. And doing nothing to stop my memories of where I left from flooding my senses.
I should be happy. Maybe it's just a moment of - what? Of wishing here was as wonderful as there? Of wishing I had the same options, people, places that made me who I am. Who am I here?
A year and a half and I still don't know.
I guess it will take more time for the welcome to come.
Losing weight, today, is reminding me of so much else I lost when I moved.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Basic exchange guides
1200 cal diet= 4 starch/6 meat/3-6 vegetables/3 fruit/2 milk/3 fat PER DAY + 64 oz water
1 starch:
Breads: 1 slice bread, 2 slices reduced calorie bread, 1/4 bagel, 1/2 small pita
Cereal: 1/2 cup
Pasta: 1/3 cup
Vegetables: 1 small potato, 1/2 cup corn, peas, plantain, mashed potato, winter squash, yam
Chips and snacks: 2 - 2.5" graham crackers, 3 cups air popped corn, 3/4 oz pretzels, matzoh, whole wheat non fat crackers, 6 saltines, 7 tortilla chips, 2- 4" rice cakes, 20 oyster crackers.
1 starch AND 1 meat:
Beans: 1/2 cup -garbanzo, pinto, kidney, white, black eyed peas, lentils, lima beans, refried or baked beans
1 starch AND 1 meat AND .5 fat
Hummus
1 meat = VERY LEAN
Chicken or Turkey: 1oz white meat w/ no skin
Fish: 1 oz - Fresh cod, flounder, haddock, halibut, trout, Tuna (fresh or canned in water)
Shellfish: 1oz
1 meat = LEAN
Beef: 1 oz - round, sirloin, flank, tenderloin, rib chuck or rump roast, steak cubed, ground round. Pork: 1 oz ham, tenderloin, center loin chop.
Lamb: 1 oz roast, leg, chop.
Chicken or Turkey: 1 oz dark meat w/o skin or white w/skin.
Egg Whites: 2
Low Fat Cottage Cheese: 1/4 cup
Parmesan Cheese: 2 tbs grated
Cheese: 1oz (3 grams or less of fat)
Soy Milk (low fat): 1 cup
1 meat AND .5 fat
Beef: 1 oz ground beef, meatloaf, corned beef, short ribs, prime grades trimmed (prime rib)
Lamb: 1 oz rib roast.
Chicken or Turkey: 1 oz dark meat w/skin, ground, fried.
Pork: 1 oz top loin, chop, cutlet.
Fish: i1 oz fried.
Cheese: 1 oz feta, mozzarella, 1/4 cup ricotta.
Egg: 1
Soy milk: 1 cup
Tofu: 4oz
1 meat AND 1 fat:
Beef: 1 oz spare ribs
Pork: 1 oz sausage
Cheese: 1 oz
Peanut butter: 1tbs
1 milk: 1 cup skim or 6oz non fat yogurt
1 vegetable: 1 cup raw or 1/2 cup cooked or canned
artichoke, asparagus, beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, green beans, green onions, greens, Jicama, Kohlarabi, leeks, mushrooms, okra, onions, pea pods, peppers, radishes, salad greens, sauerkraut or borscht, spinach, summer squash, tomato, tomato juice, turnips, water chestnuts, zucchini
1 fruit:
Fresh fruits: 4oz - small apple, banana, pear, tangerine, orange, kiwi. 1/2 grapefruit. 3/4 cup berries or pineapple. 1 cup melon, papaya. 17 grapes. 3 dates. 12 cherries. 1.25 cups strawberries.
Canned fruits: 1/2 cup
Dried fruits: 2tbs
Juice: 1cup reduced calorie cranberry juice. 1/3 cup blend or grape juice or prune juice. 1/2 cup citrus or pineapple
1 fat:
read lables and choose monostaturated and polysaturated fats over saturated fats -
I've listed in better > worse choices.
Avocado: 2 tbs
Oils: 1 tsp olive, canola, peanut oil, margarine, corn, flax, sunflower, soybean, cottonseed or grapefruit seed oil, butter, 2 tsp whipped butter, 2 tbs reduced fat butter, 1 tsp shortening.
Seeds and Nuts: 2 tsp peanut butter or tahini paste, 1 tbs sesame seeds, 1o peanuts, 6 almonds, 4 halves pecans, walnuts.
Olives: 8 large black, 10 large green w/pimento
Salad dressing: 2 tsp reg salad dressing, 2 tbs reduced fat salad dressing,
Mayo and miracle whip: 1 tsp mayo, 1 tbs reduced fat mayo, 2 tsp miracle whip, 1 tbs reduced fat miracle whip.
Milk products: 2 tbs cream, 1/2 oz cream cheese, 1 oz reduced fat cream cheese, 2 tbs sour cream, 3 tbs reduced fat sour cream.
Coconut: 2 tbs
free choices - 3 per day:
Veggie: 1/4 cup salsa. 1.5 dill pickles. 1tbs fat free cream cheese, nondairy creamer, fat free
Milk like product: 1 tbs fat free or 1 tsp reduced fat margarine, 1tbs fat free cream cheese,1 tbs fat free sour cream, 2 tbs whipped topping light or non fat
Salad Dressing: 1 tsp low fat, 1 tbs fat free
Sweets: 1 piece sugar free hard candy, 2 tsp low sugar jam, 2 tbs sugar free syrup, 1 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
Any amount:
Sweets: sugar free jello, sugar substitutes,
Cooking: non stick cooking spray, wine used in COOKING
Condiments: soy sauce, horseradish, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, , Tabasco, Worcestershire., spices, garlic, herbs
Drinks: bouillon, mineral and soda water, tea, diet soda. sugar free drink mixes, sugar free tonic water.
1 starch:
Breads: 1 slice bread, 2 slices reduced calorie bread, 1/4 bagel, 1/2 small pita
Cereal: 1/2 cup
Pasta: 1/3 cup
Vegetables: 1 small potato, 1/2 cup corn, peas, plantain, mashed potato, winter squash, yam
Chips and snacks: 2 - 2.5" graham crackers, 3 cups air popped corn, 3/4 oz pretzels, matzoh, whole wheat non fat crackers, 6 saltines, 7 tortilla chips, 2- 4" rice cakes, 20 oyster crackers.
1 starch AND 1 meat:
Beans: 1/2 cup -garbanzo, pinto, kidney, white, black eyed peas, lentils, lima beans, refried or baked beans
1 starch AND 1 meat AND .5 fat
Hummus
1 meat = VERY LEAN
Chicken or Turkey: 1oz white meat w/ no skin
Fish: 1 oz - Fresh cod, flounder, haddock, halibut, trout, Tuna (fresh or canned in water)
Shellfish: 1oz
1 meat = LEAN
Beef: 1 oz - round, sirloin, flank, tenderloin, rib chuck or rump roast, steak cubed, ground round. Pork: 1 oz ham, tenderloin, center loin chop.
Lamb: 1 oz roast, leg, chop.
Chicken or Turkey: 1 oz dark meat w/o skin or white w/skin.
Egg Whites: 2
Low Fat Cottage Cheese: 1/4 cup
Parmesan Cheese: 2 tbs grated
Cheese: 1oz (3 grams or less of fat)
Soy Milk (low fat): 1 cup
1 meat AND .5 fat
Beef: 1 oz ground beef, meatloaf, corned beef, short ribs, prime grades trimmed (prime rib)
Lamb: 1 oz rib roast.
Chicken or Turkey: 1 oz dark meat w/skin, ground, fried.
Pork: 1 oz top loin, chop, cutlet.
Fish: i1 oz fried.
Cheese: 1 oz feta, mozzarella, 1/4 cup ricotta.
Egg: 1
Soy milk: 1 cup
Tofu: 4oz
1 meat AND 1 fat:
Beef: 1 oz spare ribs
Pork: 1 oz sausage
Cheese: 1 oz
Peanut butter: 1tbs
1 milk: 1 cup skim or 6oz non fat yogurt
1 vegetable: 1 cup raw or 1/2 cup cooked or canned
artichoke, asparagus, beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, green beans, green onions, greens, Jicama, Kohlarabi, leeks, mushrooms, okra, onions, pea pods, peppers, radishes, salad greens, sauerkraut or borscht, spinach, summer squash, tomato, tomato juice, turnips, water chestnuts, zucchini
1 fruit:
Fresh fruits: 4oz - small apple, banana, pear, tangerine, orange, kiwi. 1/2 grapefruit. 3/4 cup berries or pineapple. 1 cup melon, papaya. 17 grapes. 3 dates. 12 cherries. 1.25 cups strawberries.
Canned fruits: 1/2 cup
Dried fruits: 2tbs
Juice: 1cup reduced calorie cranberry juice. 1/3 cup blend or grape juice or prune juice. 1/2 cup citrus or pineapple
1 fat:
read lables and choose monostaturated and polysaturated fats over saturated fats -
I've listed in better > worse choices.
Avocado: 2 tbs
Oils: 1 tsp olive, canola, peanut oil, margarine, corn, flax, sunflower, soybean, cottonseed or grapefruit seed oil, butter, 2 tsp whipped butter, 2 tbs reduced fat butter, 1 tsp shortening.
Seeds and Nuts: 2 tsp peanut butter or tahini paste, 1 tbs sesame seeds, 1o peanuts, 6 almonds, 4 halves pecans, walnuts.
Olives: 8 large black, 10 large green w/pimento
Salad dressing: 2 tsp reg salad dressing, 2 tbs reduced fat salad dressing,
Mayo and miracle whip: 1 tsp mayo, 1 tbs reduced fat mayo, 2 tsp miracle whip, 1 tbs reduced fat miracle whip.
Milk products: 2 tbs cream, 1/2 oz cream cheese, 1 oz reduced fat cream cheese, 2 tbs sour cream, 3 tbs reduced fat sour cream.
Coconut: 2 tbs
free choices - 3 per day:
Veggie: 1/4 cup salsa. 1.5 dill pickles. 1tbs fat free cream cheese, nondairy creamer, fat free
Milk like product: 1 tbs fat free or 1 tsp reduced fat margarine, 1tbs fat free cream cheese,1 tbs fat free sour cream, 2 tbs whipped topping light or non fat
Salad Dressing: 1 tsp low fat, 1 tbs fat free
Sweets: 1 piece sugar free hard candy, 2 tsp low sugar jam, 2 tbs sugar free syrup, 1 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
Any amount:
Sweets: sugar free jello, sugar substitutes,
Cooking: non stick cooking spray, wine used in COOKING
Condiments: soy sauce, horseradish, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, , Tabasco, Worcestershire., spices, garlic, herbs
Drinks: bouillon, mineral and soda water, tea, diet soda. sugar free drink mixes, sugar free tonic water.
Eating to lose
You see so many quick fix programs that say if you only "do this" or " take this" or " use this " that the pounds will drop off WITHOUT changing the way you eat.
Yeah, right.
If you flip it, it really DOES work. Eat this way and the pound WILL fall off. I am proof.
If you eat the exchange diet at the 1200 cal a day level. ( higher for men) you will lose WITHOUT working out. I'm not saying you should not work out, I'm saying you can lose even you can't.
The magic numbers you MUST meet every day are:
4 starch
6 meat
3-6 veggies
3 fruit
2 milk
3 fat
4 16oz glasses of water
No sugar
No alcohol
You could NOT follow this without a guide though. And you MUST weigh and measure foods and ingredients.
If you do a google search for FOOD EXCHANGE you,ll find quite a few basic guides. I have not found a comprehensive guide.
Easiest way to begin is to keep it simple. Only buy lean meat you can bake or grill. Eat fresh veggies or steamed veggies. Find fruits you love.
Yeah, right.
If you flip it, it really DOES work. Eat this way and the pound WILL fall off. I am proof.
If you eat the exchange diet at the 1200 cal a day level. ( higher for men) you will lose WITHOUT working out. I'm not saying you should not work out, I'm saying you can lose even you can't.
The magic numbers you MUST meet every day are:
4 starch
6 meat
3-6 veggies
3 fruit
2 milk
3 fat
4 16oz glasses of water
No sugar
No alcohol
You could NOT follow this without a guide though. And you MUST weigh and measure foods and ingredients.
If you do a google search for FOOD EXCHANGE you,ll find quite a few basic guides. I have not found a comprehensive guide.
Easiest way to begin is to keep it simple. Only buy lean meat you can bake or grill. Eat fresh veggies or steamed veggies. Find fruits you love.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
what wieght weighs
Nutritionist slipped a weighted vest on me today to show just how much I've lost.
It was SO heavy - and it was only 17lbs and I've lost 20.
I love the exchange diet. It works and it's teaching me how to eat healthy! In the last week and a half I dropped 5 lbs just by eating right. I have been too sick with a cold to work out.
It was SO heavy - and it was only 17lbs and I've lost 20.
I love the exchange diet. It works and it's teaching me how to eat healthy! In the last week and a half I dropped 5 lbs just by eating right. I have been too sick with a cold to work out.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Eatting right has become a habit
Weight this morning (naked) 164.4
Yes yes during the course of the day this could go up as much as 4 lbs or so with water and food. But since last entry - same time of day - well, its a milestone.
Since starting my food exchange diet I've moved from paper to excel docs on my ipad. It's much easier for me to use this tool to "pre plan" my diet day. By entering the dinner I plan to fix and the exchanges it will take, I'm able to work in all the points I need until then. It's also fixing the problem of having to eat more than I want at the end of the day to "catch up."
I put a link to the NHLBI web page on my ipad so I can see the basics of food exchange without dragging out the paper chart. If you are interested, the here's the link.
My new excel chart also has the approx calorie equivalents for each point and the total calorie count for the day. (around 1225 cal) I am also tracking water I drink. I am to drink at least 64 oz of water per day. I measured a glass so I know that it's 16 oz, then I track each time I drink. Without diet drinks - it's easy to drink MORE than enough water!
There is no "room" in this diet for alcohol or sugar. I realize that I am not needing any, though I doubt I could do without salt. Salt has made meals without butter so much better. I think it was as much the salty butter as the fat that I was craving. I also use my favorite snack, sunflower seeds, when I have not met my "fat" requirement for the day. With some math, a small bag of seeds=1.7 oz. Half a bag, unshelled = 1 tbs which = 1 starch.
I've come up with a number of ways to eat well within the plan. Low calorie bread, while a bit soft, lets me make a full sandwich because I can use 2 slices instead of one. Reduced fat buttery spread is another indispensable tool. I can use up to 3 tsp a day as a "free" choice - no points) I can use it in place of butter in recipes ( I use less than called for) and it WORKS. Last night I made biscuits with it. I've started recipe files (again on ipad using pages) that show exchange points, calorie count, and ingredients per serving. Multiply by the portions. Simple. The best advice I could give someone would be to find basic foods you can eat over and over. Knowing I chose one of three breakfasts, that I only buy lean meat (chicken breast/cod/sirloin/ground turkey/pork loin chops), and that I love light and fit non-fat yogurt (especially caramel) keeps me on track. Onions, garlic, carrots, celery, radishes, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, fennel, peppers, small potatoes, whole wheat pastas, crackers, tuna, skim milk, low fat cottage cheese, low fat cheese, low fat soy milk, apples, cantaloupe, watermelon, bananas, pears, hummus, pita, eggs... I keep my fridge and counter stocked with options. And I plan my day, roughly around what I have on hand.
What at first seemed challenging, now seems so incredibly obvious. And I can see down the road how tracking what I eat will help me keep the weight I eventually decide is my target.
Target. I have no idea what that is right now. I think it's safe to say what I weighed in my 20's is not a realistic goal. I am just NOT as active (and hyper) as I was then. I think I'll shoot for normal BMI and see how that feels. For now, THIS weight feels like I am floating. I am swimming in the tops that I used to hide my stomach with. Pants that were too tight to even zip are now slipping off without unzipping.
Exercise - I've been to the gym once. I fully intend to go often, but I've had a cold with a cough for over a week . I know, no excuse is a good excuse. I have Wii fit as well as xbox 360 and a bowflex at home. There are stairs I can run up and down. With the way I'm breathing right now, I've been using heavy cleaning, and laundry (up and down stairs with heavy baskets) as my "activity." While that has worked up till now - I need to work regular workouts into my life with the same energy I worked nutritional food into my life.
Yes yes during the course of the day this could go up as much as 4 lbs or so with water and food. But since last entry - same time of day - well, its a milestone.
Since starting my food exchange diet I've moved from paper to excel docs on my ipad. It's much easier for me to use this tool to "pre plan" my diet day. By entering the dinner I plan to fix and the exchanges it will take, I'm able to work in all the points I need until then. It's also fixing the problem of having to eat more than I want at the end of the day to "catch up."
I put a link to the NHLBI web page on my ipad so I can see the basics of food exchange without dragging out the paper chart. If you are interested, the here's the link.
My new excel chart also has the approx calorie equivalents for each point and the total calorie count for the day. (around 1225 cal) I am also tracking water I drink. I am to drink at least 64 oz of water per day. I measured a glass so I know that it's 16 oz, then I track each time I drink. Without diet drinks - it's easy to drink MORE than enough water!
There is no "room" in this diet for alcohol or sugar. I realize that I am not needing any, though I doubt I could do without salt. Salt has made meals without butter so much better. I think it was as much the salty butter as the fat that I was craving. I also use my favorite snack, sunflower seeds, when I have not met my "fat" requirement for the day. With some math, a small bag of seeds=1.7 oz. Half a bag, unshelled = 1 tbs which = 1 starch.
I've come up with a number of ways to eat well within the plan. Low calorie bread, while a bit soft, lets me make a full sandwich because I can use 2 slices instead of one. Reduced fat buttery spread is another indispensable tool. I can use up to 3 tsp a day as a "free" choice - no points) I can use it in place of butter in recipes ( I use less than called for) and it WORKS. Last night I made biscuits with it. I've started recipe files (again on ipad using pages) that show exchange points, calorie count, and ingredients per serving. Multiply by the portions. Simple. The best advice I could give someone would be to find basic foods you can eat over and over. Knowing I chose one of three breakfasts, that I only buy lean meat (chicken breast/cod/sirloin/ground turkey/pork loin chops), and that I love light and fit non-fat yogurt (especially caramel) keeps me on track. Onions, garlic, carrots, celery, radishes, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, fennel, peppers, small potatoes, whole wheat pastas, crackers, tuna, skim milk, low fat cottage cheese, low fat cheese, low fat soy milk, apples, cantaloupe, watermelon, bananas, pears, hummus, pita, eggs... I keep my fridge and counter stocked with options. And I plan my day, roughly around what I have on hand.
What at first seemed challenging, now seems so incredibly obvious. And I can see down the road how tracking what I eat will help me keep the weight I eventually decide is my target.
Target. I have no idea what that is right now. I think it's safe to say what I weighed in my 20's is not a realistic goal. I am just NOT as active (and hyper) as I was then. I think I'll shoot for normal BMI and see how that feels. For now, THIS weight feels like I am floating. I am swimming in the tops that I used to hide my stomach with. Pants that were too tight to even zip are now slipping off without unzipping.
Exercise - I've been to the gym once. I fully intend to go often, but I've had a cold with a cough for over a week . I know, no excuse is a good excuse. I have Wii fit as well as xbox 360 and a bowflex at home. There are stairs I can run up and down. With the way I'm breathing right now, I've been using heavy cleaning, and laundry (up and down stairs with heavy baskets) as my "activity." While that has worked up till now - I need to work regular workouts into my life with the same energy I worked nutritional food into my life.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Pathetic
I just went time traveling through my posts on this blog.
The theme is - I reach the place I feel "fat" and I moan and groan.
I binge if I feel it's hopeless. Or I starve.
Starving only works for a bit, then it's the long plateau that ends when I gain it back.
5 weeks ago I weighed 186 (naked)
today I weigh 169 (also naked)
Yes, I did my "only eat 960 calories a day" starvation diet.
But not every day.
I was not able to work out due to a pinched nerve in my back that left me in agony.
Pain has subsided.
I've been watching "Heavy" on A&E and it made sense.
You have to focus and WANT to change to make it work.
You have to VISUALIZE where you want to be.
You have to have help - accountability.
so...
A couple weeks back I went to a weight loss meeting where I was the skinniest in the room. I listened through the liquid only diet, the liquid 2x day + food diet. I raised my hand and asked about their 3rd option she had not even mentioned. Nutritionist guided diet with the bonus of free hospital gym and pool access.
The gym and pool are ONLY for the weight management programs, rehab, and employees of Aultman. I've been there when my mom was in rehab for her knee. Clean, sunny, full of brand new equipment - mostly empty - with coaches to guide you every step of the way.
I signed up for option 3. $250 for 10 weeks. I eat the way they tell me.
I work out at the gym whenever I want or not at all. My choice.
Yesterday I met with my nutritionist for the first time. Seems my low calorie diet was destined to put my body into famine mode. Since I had yet to "plateau" it was perfect timing to move to the new diet. My weight (with clothes) was 173. Waist 36" Hips "40something. My "new" nutritionally guided diet is a bit of a learning curve. I am to eat MORE and more often. I am to drink at least 64 oz of water (yes, JUST water) a day.
The plan comes with a guide for giving foods "exchange" rates. To make it simple, lets call them "points." For my 1200 calorie plan - I don't count calories at all.
My day's food should balance out -
4 starches
6 meat
3-6 veggies
3 fruit
2 milk
3 fat
Portion sizes, ounces, cups, teaspoons... guide tells me options and it's up to me to make it all balance at the end of the day. If I eat this way, for 10 weeks, I'll loose between 1 and 2 pounds a week. Period. If I work out - I'll loose more and I'll be in better shape when I do.
Friday I have my orientation at the gym and start working out. I put it off till then because of a wicked cold and my back is still twinging a bit. I am HOPEFUL that my back will not get worse as I workout.
So what does a day's eating look like?
64 oz water (so far) + coffee + tea at night (love my mint and truvia sweetener)
1 cup oatmeal 2 starch
apple 1 fruit
coffee
1/4 cup soymilk (in the coffee) .5 meat (weird, i know)
6oz light and fit yogurt 1 milk
1/4 cup hummus .5 starch .5 meat .5 fat
1/2 6" pita 1 starch
1 cup cucumber 1 veggie
1/2 cup pineapple 1 fruit
1 snack stick low fat cheese (colby) 1 meat .5 fat
1 small banana 1 fruit
4 oz lean meat 4 meat
1 cup peppers/onion 2 veggie
2 teaspoons of oil to cook the meat/veggies 2 fat
-------------------
so far
3.5 starch (I need to eat .5 of something later... like 5 pretzels)
6 meat ( I need to each 1 more later - or eat another ounce of meat)
3 veggies ( enough but I can eat more later in the evening as snack)
3 fruit (right on)
1 milk (so I'll have another yogurt with my pretzels later)
3 fat
It's confusing - and I FEEL like I am having to eat more than I want right now.
I have never checked out weight watchers, but I remember my doc (year after year) telling me the ONLY way her patients really lost and kept it off was using it. I think, perhaps this system is similar - but with food paring. My nutritionist insists I need to have the right number of everything every day, and log it.
The theme is - I reach the place I feel "fat" and I moan and groan.
I binge if I feel it's hopeless. Or I starve.
Starving only works for a bit, then it's the long plateau that ends when I gain it back.
5 weeks ago I weighed 186 (naked)
today I weigh 169 (also naked)
Yes, I did my "only eat 960 calories a day" starvation diet.
But not every day.
I was not able to work out due to a pinched nerve in my back that left me in agony.
Pain has subsided.
I've been watching "Heavy" on A&E and it made sense.
You have to focus and WANT to change to make it work.
You have to VISUALIZE where you want to be.
You have to have help - accountability.
so...
A couple weeks back I went to a weight loss meeting where I was the skinniest in the room. I listened through the liquid only diet, the liquid 2x day + food diet. I raised my hand and asked about their 3rd option she had not even mentioned. Nutritionist guided diet with the bonus of free hospital gym and pool access.
The gym and pool are ONLY for the weight management programs, rehab, and employees of Aultman. I've been there when my mom was in rehab for her knee. Clean, sunny, full of brand new equipment - mostly empty - with coaches to guide you every step of the way.
I signed up for option 3. $250 for 10 weeks. I eat the way they tell me.
I work out at the gym whenever I want or not at all. My choice.
Yesterday I met with my nutritionist for the first time. Seems my low calorie diet was destined to put my body into famine mode. Since I had yet to "plateau" it was perfect timing to move to the new diet. My weight (with clothes) was 173. Waist 36" Hips "40something. My "new" nutritionally guided diet is a bit of a learning curve. I am to eat MORE and more often. I am to drink at least 64 oz of water (yes, JUST water) a day.
The plan comes with a guide for giving foods "exchange" rates. To make it simple, lets call them "points." For my 1200 calorie plan - I don't count calories at all.
My day's food should balance out -
4 starches
6 meat
3-6 veggies
3 fruit
2 milk
3 fat
Portion sizes, ounces, cups, teaspoons... guide tells me options and it's up to me to make it all balance at the end of the day. If I eat this way, for 10 weeks, I'll loose between 1 and 2 pounds a week. Period. If I work out - I'll loose more and I'll be in better shape when I do.
Friday I have my orientation at the gym and start working out. I put it off till then because of a wicked cold and my back is still twinging a bit. I am HOPEFUL that my back will not get worse as I workout.
So what does a day's eating look like?
64 oz water (so far) + coffee + tea at night (love my mint and truvia sweetener)
1 cup oatmeal 2 starch
apple 1 fruit
coffee
1/4 cup soymilk (in the coffee) .5 meat (weird, i know)
6oz light and fit yogurt 1 milk
1/4 cup hummus .5 starch .5 meat .5 fat
1/2 6" pita 1 starch
1 cup cucumber 1 veggie
1/2 cup pineapple 1 fruit
1 snack stick low fat cheese (colby) 1 meat .5 fat
1 small banana 1 fruit
4 oz lean meat 4 meat
1 cup peppers/onion 2 veggie
2 teaspoons of oil to cook the meat/veggies 2 fat
-------------------
so far
3.5 starch (I need to eat .5 of something later... like 5 pretzels)
6 meat ( I need to each 1 more later - or eat another ounce of meat)
3 veggies ( enough but I can eat more later in the evening as snack)
3 fruit (right on)
1 milk (so I'll have another yogurt with my pretzels later)
3 fat
It's confusing - and I FEEL like I am having to eat more than I want right now.
I have never checked out weight watchers, but I remember my doc (year after year) telling me the ONLY way her patients really lost and kept it off was using it. I think, perhaps this system is similar - but with food paring. My nutritionist insists I need to have the right number of everything every day, and log it.
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