|
|
Thursday, September 2, 2010 6:08 p.m.
Haven’t written for a couple of days – focused on finding my sea legs with this program I am doing. So here it is: Changing bad habits is hard. Maybe harder than hard. But if you really want it to happen, you make it happen. And I think I am finally well along the way.
For me, bad eating started for several reasons. A lung injury put me on steroids, and steroids + inability to exercise = ugly weight gain = depression = more ugly weight gain. Off steroids, I managed to get to a reasonable size for my kids’ weddings, but ingrained bad habits meant regaining the weight right after – and even with the weddings I did not reach anywhere near optimal weight.
Then my other half was out of town for work a lot, the house was empty, and eating chaos reigned. Life had become a series of binges. I would go to Costco, buy a container of cream puffs – you know, those mini ones that are irresistible. And that would be my meals for a day or two. Next day I’d make chocolate chip cookies, and again binge. It was not unusual for me to eat a half-gallon of coffee ice cream in a day – with caramel, hot fudge, and homemade whipped cream. The wonder is that my weight stayed anywhere near within reason – that I didn’t gain a lot more.
On August 21 I boxed myself in. Not only was I admitting my weight gain publicly, not only was I committing to this weight loss, but if I did not stick to it, I would be injuring the author who had committed to helping me. So I had no choice. I had to stick to it.
Week one was awful. I wanted ice cream. I wanted pound cake. I wanted pie and pizza and pasta and my homemade French bread stuffed with spinach and Romano cheese. And I cheated a bit – but only a bit. And I couldn’t exercise. Week two was easier. The cravings for sweets began to abate and I was finding a rhythm to this challenge. But I still have not been allowed to exercise, so the weight loss is going slower than I would like, but it is going.
In between, I keep washed baby Roma tomatoes in the refrig and pop them instead of candy. I drink a lot of water. I keep a really good salad ready for scooping and eating. And when the desire to binge hits at 3:00 p.m., I measure out two tablespoons of raw organic cashews with three or four dark chocolate covered pomegranate bites and nibble slowly. When the urge for ice cream hits at night, I take leftover coffee, ice cubes, stevia, and two TBS of milk, put them in the blender, and pretend I am having a coffee ice cream shake. Last night I didn’t even need that.
So, what does it take? For me it was a commitment beyond myself. It was making a public statement and not wanting to let Aaron Snyder down. And this weekend, I will finally begin to add exercise to the equation.
I haven’t weighed myself for two days. Need to see a jump on that scale, know I will get frustrated if I don’t, so I am taking a few days away from it hoping that the next time I check it a few pounds will be gone. But today I easily got into a pair of jeans that ten days ago were tight, so something is happening.
For those of you out there having a hard time changing your eating habits, don’t get discouraged when you cheat. Don’t let a cheat be the excuse to quit. And remember that nothing tastes as good as being healthy and in shape feels – well maybe nothing except lasagna and garlic bread, apple pie ala mode, ice cream with fudge and caramel and whipped cream, NY pizza from Fat Tony’s in Clairemont … All of us have our weaknesses. But here’s a secret that hit me over the last ten days. Right now, whenever I eat, I am conscious of my weight and that consciousness diminishes my enjoyment of food. Yes, it tastes good. But I am also thinking about my weight and whether or not the food is adding to it – so eating has become an emotional minefield. When I was at my ideal weight, I just ate. If I overate at one meal, I made up for it the next day or two. No big deal. Food was much more enjoyable then. And I am looking forward to getting back to that place where it is that enjoyable on all levels again. So I am sticking to the plan.
The mind plays tricks on you when starting a new way of eating. It tells you a little is ok. This is why deciding beforehand what is acceptable and what is not is so vital. Antoinette just learned a very important lesson – plain frozen yogurt and 2 ribs stalls weight loss. How much? Probably half a pound at the rate she can lose weight right now. And yet, she gets right back on the diet, just stalled a little, but not having slipped backward. I call that a learning experience. If she keeps it up, she can lose 3 more pounds and make her Labor Day of 152.
August 30, 2010
The weekend was killer. Picnic on Shelter Island with a huge group – we all pitched in to get a band. Last minute made meatball heroes – took all the middle out of the bread on mine, but still, there was bread. Then friends wanted to stop for frozen yogurt. Tried to convince myself that plain frozen yogurt was ok – but add the chocolate chips, and not so much. Sunday, made bison ribs – first time I ever made ribs, and they were amazing. Only ate two, but so many calories even in two. So Monday, no loss – but no gain.
Not fair to Aaron to issue a challenge and then dabble. But considering no exercise and a bit of cheating, not bad for one week. If I lose two pounds per week for 18 weeks, I will be exactly where I want to be. But I challenged him to 20 pounds in eight weeks, so I have to get serious.
Still no exercise – back still hurting over weekend. Starting today. Aiming for 152 by Labor Day.
Friday, August 17th,
1:15 p.m.
I know I’m not supposed to weight myself mid day, but I did and 157.7 is what the scale told me. That’s 3.2 pounds down without the ability to exercise this week – and no hunger. Sweets cravings still there – good thing they are out of the house or I would not have done this well – but nothing tastes as good as being in shape feels. And I can say that because my trigger foods are not conveniently here.
I write that title not only to state my opinion about how well Antoinette did yesterday at the restaurant and ball game. I also write that to point out she had a great time despite not having the regular fattening fair. It is possible.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
11:16 a.m.
No loss, but no gain this morning. The restaurant last night was wonderful. I would, in the past, have talked everyone into dessert. Would have had a drink. Instead, water and beet and goat cheese salad. Where I did go astray was the roll. It was fresh, it was hot, it was sourdough. But, nothing else, not so much a peanut at the ball park, much less one of those sundaes.
Right now munching on tomato, cucumber, avocado and taziki for brunch. Baked lemon poppy seed pound cakes this morning. Not a bite. All will be given away.
Want to weigh 155 by Monday – my first week. That will mean a 5.9 pound loss. Short term goals.
Tonight walking, by Sunday the rowing machine.
5:30 p.m.
Just took bison meat loaf out of the freezer to defrost and have with veges for dinner. Passed the scale in my bedroom. OK, went into the bedroom and took the scale out from under the dresser. Weighed in at 158.4. That’s 2 ½ pounds gone. A beginning.
Won’t say I haven’t craved carbs or sweets. There are strawberries and rhubarb sitting in my refrig just begging to be made into pie. Did I mention I make great pies? But need to be 155 or less by Monday morning. Small goals. That will be 5.9 pounds in a week. Then break 150 by Labor Day. So, meat loaf and veges it is.
August 25, 2010
Antoinette’s story is not like those seen on the television show The Biggest Loser. Unlike those contestants, she is not allowed to spend 24 hours a day doing nothing more than exercising, eating well, and focusing on weight loss. And tonight, she is going to face her first public challenge. She has to manage to eat well through attending a ball game with her friends. It’s not the typical diet scene, but it’s an experience everyone who will ever be successful kicking off a weight loss program will have to master. While losing weight, life is going to throw you into environments where eating well is anything but easy while getting at fattening foods couldn’t be easier. See for yourself below how Antoinette is prepping for her first night out!
10:30 a.m.
Starting weight on Monday morning was 160.9. Weighed in this morning at 159.2. That’s 1.7 pounds in two days. Every little bit is encouraging. Chiropractor told me yesterday I will be able to use rowing machine by the middle of next week. That should kick in just about the time weight loss usually slows down – so I am looking at that glass as half full.
Last night dinner, 1 scrambled duck egg over a bed of seasoned, steamed spinach, topped with 1 TBS crumbled sheep-milk feta. Sliced tomato and cucumber on the side. Yum. But still craved dessert. I love dessert. So, took some leftover Papua New Guinea coffee, some ice, 2TBS goat milk, dash of vanilla, dash of Stevia, dash of glucommanan, and made a smoothie. Dash of whipped cream, and I was in heaven.
Going to a Padres game tonight with friends and out to dinner first. So loading up on protein and veggies today. Just did ¼ sliced yellow pepper, ½ roma tomato, ¼ sliced cucumber and ½ avocado with 2 TBS cilantro-avocado hummus. Same as yesterday, just added the pepper. Very filling, lots of colors, texture, and flavor. Works for me. Also, knowing what I am going to eat and not being in the kitchen long enough to cook deters snacking.
Will check out menu at restaurant online and choose what I will have in advance so I am not tempted. 155 is on the horizon.
2:05 p.m.
Half a protein shake and I am again on target. Big mistake today – trying to avoid small meals to ‘save up’ for tonight. Need to eat regularly through the day and just make a wise choice tonight. Strawberry protein shake also deals with that mid-afternoon need for sweets.
Seeing the scale drop from 160 to 159.9 feels way better than going from 160.1 to 160. It’s a whole different 10’s place! These little victories help build momentum during weight loss. See below as Antoinette describes both her morning and afternoon of her second day of transformation.
August 24, 2010
OK, this morning before eating 159.9. Cannot tell you what a relief it is to not see that 160 on the scale. And wondering how it happened with a small bit of cheating and no real exercise. But I will take what I can get and do better today. Will walk later – beach or Mission Bay. Shoulder still too sore for rowing machine or even impact of treadmill.
Off to make a protein shake. Will pretend it is almond butter and organic strawberry jam on multigrain bread.
(And later that afternoon, she writes…)
OK. 1:02 p.m. and counting.
Breakfast was a protein shake. Lunch was a whole roma tomato in bite sized pieces, ¼ sliced cucumber, ½ avocado, some RealSalt, and 2 TBS avocado-cilantro hummus. It was so good. The combination of flavors and the crunchy cucumber to replace crackers was perfect. Ate a bit later hoping to stave off that 2:30 p.m. need for sweets. If needed, will do a half shake at 3:00 p.m.
Staying on track. Could be in part because everything off the menu, except dark chocolate covered pomegranate, is out of the house.
August 23, 2010 9:00 p.m.
OK, so it wasn’t as difficult as I thought, but it wasn’t easy, either. Gave the chocolate cake away today – but ate a couple of bites. And when my other half opened a bottle of sauvignon blanc to celebrate my diet, I had a glass. The chocolate cake is out of the house, the bottle of wine is all his, will do better tomorrow. Shoulder feeling better. Rowing machine Wednesday. Weigh in tomorrow morning. Would be happy with a few ounces gone.
How did Antoinette spend her last few days before beginning her transformation? By saying goodbye to some old favorites! See below!
August 22, 2010
Today is the first day of the challenge I leveled to Aaron Snyder. Have to admit, I spent the weekend eating some of my favorite things. Spit a NY pizza from Fat Tony’s in Clairemont – only the best pizza in San Diego – on Saturday evening. Followed with a plain frozen yogurt with chocolate chips. And that day, made myself my favorite chocolate cake filled with strawberries and topped with vanilla frosting. A trip to Rubio’s, breakfast at Honey’s Café & Bakery in Encinitas on Sunday, and half that chocolate cake left me on Monday morning – despite walking from Cardiff Beach to the northern end of Encinitas and back for breakfast – 18 pounds heavier than I ever was full-term pregnant. But I am ready to begin. My goal is to be between 117 and 120, perfect for my currently hidden small-boned frame, by the New Year. And 140 pound by October 15.
Why now? I don’t know. Maybe it is that I have only three pair of shorts left that fit. Maybe it’s because I will no longer be seen in a bathing suit and it is the middle of summer. But mostly it is because I just want to be healthy. I have a family I love, three grandkids I want to set a good example for. And, let’s face it, I am tired of looking at that overweight person in the mirror.
I didn’t realize how hard it would be to say how much I had gained, particularly to say it on TV. Writing it here is even more difficult. I am starting this journey at 160.9 pounds. There, it is acknowledged. Never mind that this started with having to take steroids for a lung problem. It ended with me eating too much of the wrong foods too often and moving too little. And the less I moved and the more I ate, the less I moved and the more I ate. It has become a cycle. Sound familiar.
So, today the rest of the cake goes to the kids – none of whom has a weight problem. The rest of the junk is out of the house. And I am committed to following Aaron’s plan. And it look’s like my shoulder just might cooperate – lots of ice over the weekend and it is feeling better. But if it doesn’t, I’ll walk. I am that determined not to be part of the growing statistic of obese Americans.
Want to join me?
Now if I can just get through that 2:30 craving for sweets!
Antoinette Kuritz is sick of making “lose weight” her #1 New Year’s resolution. She’s made the same one at least 5 times. But after reading an advanced copy of the New Diabetes Prescription, she decided I might be the one to help her lose the 40 pounds she’s tried and tried again to ditch. But there’s a catch – I have to help her lose the first 20 by October 15th, and it can’t be in a crash diet fashion. It has to be sustainable weight loss that she can maintain.
Good think I like a challenge.
Antoinette is very serious about losing this first 20 pounds in 8 weeks. She is willing and able to follow the exact diet and exercise program I outline. She is essentially putting herself in my hands. If she doesn’t lose the weight, it’s all on me.
“I’m sick of this weight!”
Antoinette had been in great shape for most of her life. Work and series of life circumstances through her a curve ball, and she slowly found herself getting heavier and heavier until at 160 pounds at 5 foot 6 inches, she was the heaviest of her adult life.
Well that’s about to change.
We’re going give Antoinette a healthy diet using foods she already loves to eat, a progressive exercise program that builds as her fitness improves, and a new set of habits that makes eating the right way easy and eating the wrong way as damn near impossible as we can make it. Here is the plan.
The Rules
- Throw out every single tempting food that is not on your diet. Give it away or throw it away, but get it out of the house. We want fattening foods to be as hard to get as necessary.
- Use 6 inch plates, 1 cup glasses, tiny bowls, the smallest knives, forks, and spoons you have. The smaller the containers and utensils, the less you will eat. Believe it or not, study after study shows it’s true. Funny – it’s true even if you hate what you are eating. You will eat more it if it’s served on a bigger plate!
- Make a cupboard with all the foods on your diet. From now until the end of the challenge, this is the only cupboard with food you are allowed to go into. We want Antoinette to start associating only the foods she is allowed to eat as the only foods she can eat.
- If you have a separate refrigerator that only you can use, store your food there. If not, then place all of your food on certain shelves in your fridge. These are the only shelves you will use. The same goes for your freezer(s).
- You will select a time in advance everyday for when you are going to exercise. It can either be a specific time or after you complete a specific task each day.
- Weigh yourself every morning at the same time with or without clothes, but never changing from clothes some days and no clothes on others. Write this number down.
The Diet
Each week, Antoinette will receive her exact diet for the next 7 days. It’s based on her personal food tastes, weight loss goals, and current weight and activity levels. Below is Week 1.
30 Minutes After Rising (Breakfast): 2 Eggs any style with half an avocado – 300 Calories & 2 Carbs
2½ Hours Later (Midmorning Snack): Strawberry protein shake with 1 scoop of Vanilla J-Rob Whey protein powder, ½ teaspoon glucomannan powder, 1 tablespoon of milled flax seeds, 1 teaspoon Carlson Labs’ fish oil, and ½ cup strawberries – 160 Calories, & 7 Carbs
2½ Hours Later (Lunch): 3.5 ounces of salmon with steamed spinach: 200 Calories & 1 Carb
2½ Hours Later (Afternoon Snack): Strawberry protein shake with 1 scoop of Vanilla J-Rob Whey protein powder, ½ teaspoon glucomannan powder, 1 tablespoon of milled flax seeds, 1 teaspoon Carlson Labs’ fish oil, and ½ cup strawberries: 160 Calories, & 7 Carbs
2½ Hours Later (Dinner): 4 ounce bison stir fry using 1 tablespoon olive oil and any vegetables you want – 350 Calories & 5 Carbs.
2½ Hours Later (Bedtime Snack): 1 Roma tomato with 1 ounce of fresh mozzarella and a teaspoon of olive oil, seasoned as desired – 180 Calories and 5 Carbs. The bedtime snack is optional.
For beverages, Antoinette is allowed as much water and caffeinated green tea as she likes. She is allowed 2 cups of black coffee or black tea per day.
This diet is filled with green vegetables, berries, protein, fish, healthy fats, and lean bison meat. It is void of refined sugar, saturated fat, and enriched flour. It’s also made up of foods Antoinette has already told me she likes and has access to. If she sticks to this diet, she’s going to lose the weight.
In fact, even though this diet of 1,350 calories is less than what Antoinette burns in a day, I predict she will be too full and may not be able to get all this in. If she tells me she is too full, we will scale some of this back. Otherwise, we are sticking to what’s outlined above.
The Exercise
Since Antoinette has a rowing machine at home, we will take advantage of that. Rowing can be excellent exercise for the legs, hips, and back so long as one maintains an arched back from beginning to end of each stroke – no rounding of the lower back!
However, we also want to make an exercise program that anyone can do from home for all those who will be joining Antoinette in her challenge.
On Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, she will row at a steady pace for 45 minutes. Antoinette currently has a neck problem, and so if unable, she will walk briskly for 45 minutes. Alternatively, 45 minutes of walking or running up stairs or hills is also acceptable.
On Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, Antoinette, will perform the following circuit 5 times with no rest between exercises. Once completed, she will rest 2 minutes, and go through the circuit again.
- 10 Lunges
- 10 Glute Bridges
- 10 Squats with arms extended
- 10 Clams
- 10 Push-Ups
- 10 Wall slides
- 10 Jumping Jacks
After all workouts, Antoinette will stretch her hamstrings, glutes, hip flexors, calves, inner thighs, chest, and upper back.
The Mindset
Antoinette needs more than rules and a diet and exercise program to change. She needs a new environment and a new outlook on herself. Part of that is replacing all the fattening food in her house with healthy food, and choosing the size of plates and utensils. But Antoinette probably needs more than that. She needs to remember why she is doing this. She is becoming not only a whole new person, but becoming the person she used to be. She is finally not going to have to set the goal of weight loss on New Years. It will have already happened. She is finally going to stop spinning her wheels.
Finally, the last thing Antoinette needs is you. The more people who join her and support her on her quest for a leaner life, the more successful she will be. Please comment on what Antoinette writes on this blog every day. Encourage her. Even better, join her! The diet and exercise plan above is suitable for most women. Men will need roughly 50% more calories, but the principles will work just the same.
I congratulate Antoinette on her decision to lose weight, and look forward to the next 60 days and beyond. Please check in daily to see our progress!
Stay tuned over the next two days for a big event! Hint – if you want to lose weight fast and in a healthy way, you won’t want to to miss this!
|
|
