The Nitty Gritty - Four Steps to Weight Loss

So, I'm ready to share my four steps to reaching a healthy weight.... I followed this routine for 5 months and lost an average of 2 pounds per week. I continue to incorporate many of these things into my lifestyle to maintain a healthy weight (I will discuss that further in the next post).

FIRST - TRACKING CALORIES & NUTRIENTS

How much was I even eating?

I created a free account on Spark People. I entered my start weight and began tracking all of the food/calories I ate. This wonderful site also tracks nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, fat, etc. You can even set it to track a more specific nutrient that you'd like to look at.

After doing some research, I decided to set my daily calorie goal at 1,200-1,450 calories. I learned that 1,200 is a kind of "magic number" when it comes to calories. If you are careful to get enough protein, vitamins and minerals in 1,200 calories, your body will run at optimal fat-burning speed. Any less than 1,200 calories (or failing to get the proper nutrients in the 1,200 calories you do eat) can result in your body going into "starvation" mode, where it will store more fat than usual to make up for a deficit in diet.

Many people say that eating five or six small meals throughout the day is the most effective way to lose weight. In my case, I stuck to three meals and occasionally a snack. I usually had a piece of sourdough toast (this was before I discovered my gluten intolerance) with peanut butter and sliced bananas for breakfast. Then a vegetarian salad or sandwich for lunch (with LOTS of veggies and a little tofu) and a stir fry or whole wheat pita pizza for dinner. I would have a yogurt or fruit as a snack.

I should also remind you that I came into this situation eating almost all natural and organic foods from scratch. If you're eating processed foods, it's going to be a real challenge to get all of your nutrients in and also to feel full (since processed foods are full of "empty calories" that leave you hungry). So, if that's the case, your first step is to lean toward homemade meals (with no ingredients that have more than 5 or 10 ingredients on the label).

Oh, and REMEMBER TO DRINK WATER. Spark People will also help you track your water intake. I found that drinking 12 or more ounces of water before each meal helped me feel fuller and more satisfied. 

If you find it helpful, you can also track your exercise on Spark People. Instead of using Spark People to do that, I created a chart for the refrigerator and put an X on days that I did my full routine at the gym. More on the gym later...

SECOND - CHOOSING FOODS LOW ON THE GLYCEMIC INDEX

I switched to all foods that were LOW ON THE GLYCEMIC INDEX. The glycemic index is a measure of a food's effect on your blood sugar. Research indicates that our bodies store fat a higher rate when our blood sugar is elevated.The higher the glycemic index number, the more the food causes your insulin to spike.

A low GI diet usually consists of foods with a score of 55 or lower. I fudged a tiny bit and went up to 60 because it expanded my options so much. So, here's an example of some (surprising) GI scores. Green foods are okay, and red are no way!

Apple -- 38

Watermelon -- 72

White rice, long grain -- 44

Wild Rice -- 87

Buckwheat -- 54

Sweet potato -- 44

Baked potato -- 85

Spaghetti, whole wheat -- 37

Sourdough bread -- 53

100% whole wheat bread -- 77

White bread -- 100

Stone ground whole wheat bread -- 53

Onions -- 10

Parsnips -- 87
Pumpkin -- 75
Carrots -- 49 

See more foods and their GI score at: this website

So, as you can see, it's not easy to predict what the glycemic index score of a food is going to be. You would assume that whole wheat bread would be lower than sourdough, right? And how the heck can watermelon be so high? Parsnips are almost the same score as white bread!? You will continue to find interesting scores as you do more research. Just remember that this diet is to be used to your advantage, not as a torture mechanism. I was an all-or-nothing kind of girl, so I didn't ever knowingly cheat. Others may need to make a reward program for themselves, such as allowing foods with high GI scores once a week, etc.

Also note that GI scores change depending on where you look. It's not always easy to find the score of a food. Thankfully, looking things up on a smart phone can help you make a quick decision at the grocery store or before eating out. 

When I hit my weight loss goal (145 pounds), I incorporated foods with medium (or even high) GI scores back into my diet. The fortunate thing was that they became a treat and I was more aware of which foods should be eating more sparingly than others.

THIRD - EXERCISE

I got a gym membership and actually used it! I met with a personal trainer once (my free visit I received for signing up!) and got familiar with some of the machines. I tried to do at least  45 minutes of cardio, 5 days a week. Now, when I say cardio, I mean mostly fat-burning cardio (the kind that makes you sweat, but doesn't make you feel like you're going to die!). I was intentional about keeping my heart rate between 130 and 155 beats per minute most of the time (note: target heart rate varies by age--all heart rates discussed in this section are based on 25-30 years of age). Some great exercises to hit that target heart rate include: riding a stationary bike and walking briskly on the treadmill. I also added in "sprints" of exercise where I would get my heart rate up between 155 and 180. My personal trainer suggested a one-minute "sprint" for every 4 minutes of exercise. The problem with keeping your heart rate up above 155 when you're losing weight is that your body will go into "fat preservation" mode (not a technical term) after a period of time because it's unsure of how long it is going to be running that hard and wants to save energy-cells (i.e. fat) for the long haul. If you fluctuate between mostly a fat-burning heart rate (again, between 155 and 180 for a young person) and intermissions of cardio training heart rate (above 155 for a young person), you can maximize fat burning.

I should mention that, over time, I had to increase the types of exercise I was doing to get my heart rate into the target zone. This indicated that my heart was getting healthier and that I was building cardio endurance! I was eventually able to run a mile under 10 minutes without feeling like my chest was going to explode!

I also added in 25 minutes of weight training, 5 days per week and did a lot of stretching during and after my workouts. At the beginning, I was spending about an hour and a half at the gym most days of the week. As my metabolism sped up, I cut back to three days a week and maintained the progress I was making.

FOURTH - WEIGHING IN

 
When it came to weighing in, I did it ONLY ONCE  A WEEK. I think this was a very important key to my success. Weighing once a week gave me a healthy snapshot of where I was at. I always weighed before breakfast (i.e., empty stomach) on Fridays. It's important to keep the time of day consistent because our weight fluctuates throughout the day based on food intake, bathroom use, water intake, etc. Previously, I had weighed daily and at different times of day. I found that doing this literally made me neurotic! Monitoring my weight on a daily basis was not predictive of my overall weight loss trend and it caused me to become discouraged. Anyway, just trust me on this one: weigh only once a week!

I also publicly posted my weekly weigh-in on my refrigerator. I competed with my dad to see who could lose the largest percentage of body fat each week. Although he won after 6 months (he lost more than 60 pounds on a crash diet of mostly lettuce and tuna fish!), I was the one that was able to maintain my weight loss. He is, unfortunately, heavier now than when he started dieting 18 months ago. Competition isn't for everyone, but it was definitely a motivating factor for me. See if you can find a diet buddy if you think it might help!




....So, that's that. Please post questions if you have them.

What Does Change Mean?

Although it's easy for me to talk about before and after as two distinct periods of time, many things have not changed. I lost 40 pounds, but I don't look back and think of myself as "ugly" then and "not ugly" now. In fact, I'm not sure that my confidence or self-image have changed a whole lot through this thing.

What has changed is the birth of this idea that my eating habits affect my health and that my health affects all other things in my life (including the people I love). I have heard stories of men and women that maintain healthy cholesterol, blood pressure and other indicators of health at a normal or even better-than-normal levels regardless of weight. I was not one of those people. As I gained weight, my blood pressure and cholesterol were skyrocketing. If image alone could have ever been a motivator, it would have been a long time ago.

Here are two photos I am happy to share. I think they illustrate the change that I made physically, as well as the lack of change in my confidence. Both photos illustrate moments where I was confident in my own skin.

February 2010 - 185 pounds, Size 14

April 2011 - 145 pounds, Size 6

I notice that most people like to share before photos of them in sweatpants, hair unkempt, and frowning. I choose to show these photos to illustrate the point that weight loss doesn't have to be about vanity. It can be about something much deeper than that. It's possible to be completely happy at any weight. It is possible for others to love you completely at any weight. I don't believe I am considerably more happy now than I was then -- except if you take into account my enthusiasm about the future. I definitely have more of that now.

Although I have to admit that shopping for clothes and getting dressed in the morning is a lot more fun now, I also have to also note that isn't the main benefit I've received from losing weight. The area that has improved most in my life is that of my spiritual well-being. The idea that I have now added years to my life, and quality to the years that I already had -- that's the true benefit.

I wasn't always able to see that far out though. I have to admit that the doctor telling me that I was shortening my life wasn't even my true tipping point (as I alluded to in a previous entry). More specifically, the real tipping point happened when one of my brothers and I were discussing the news from the doctor. He looked at me and said, "My children need their aunt. You're important in their lives and in mine. If you don't get healthy, you're being selfish. The rest of us need you around as long as possible." Woah. Lucky for me, my brother is just blunt enough to say something like that. He probably saved my life (or at least added years to it.)

This leads me to encouraging you to discuss your health with the people you love. If you're overweight, have your cholesterol and blood sugar tested. Have them tested even if you're not. Talk to your doctor about risk factors you are facing. Get comprehensive physicals. Then share the results. Talk to your friends and family. Decisions regarding your health affect everyone around you, everyone that loves you. It turns out that weight loss and weight maintenance really aren't all about vanity.

So, there you have it. Benefits all around. I hope that if you're considering weight loss as well that you are in it for the right reasons also. This is about length life, quality of life, and yes, there are some added bonuses (like actually looking forward to wearing a bathing suit!) involved too.

What I want to talk about in future posts is what worked for me in the journey to achieving a healthy weight, what I am doing to maintain it and.... finally.... I am going to have my cholesterol post-tested. I'll share the results when I get them.

If you have any questions, please post them in the comments section. I am an open book.

Rolling with the Punches -- Including the Gluten Issue

Okay, so it's been forever since I've written anything. I could come up with many excuses, but the primary reason is all that really matters: I'm still getting over my anxiety about this whole "sharing myself with the world" (even though the whole world isn't really reading) thing.

When I started this blog, the idea was to write something that almost everyone could relate to. Now that I've been reading other blogs, I realize that everyone doesn't have to relate to everything I write, but that if they understand the majority of it, they will gain something from it. So, with that said, I address the gluten-intolerance/Celiac disease thing. This is a factor that contributes to my ongoing struggle with food. And, from what I've gathered, that's really what a good blog is about--the journey, not the destination.

So the bottom line is that gluten and I don't get along. Like many others, I have had to cut gluten out of my diet due to the harsh biological response I have to eating it. It wasn't until I read another blog, (see Let's Clear This Whole Glutard Thing Up) that I felt empowered enough to address this issue so publicly.

If you read that eloquent post, you will find out virtually everything you really need to know about having a gluten intolerance and/or Celiac Disease. You can also check out my response in the comments section to see some of my feelings about the whole thing. The bottom line is that gluten intolerance (and potentially Celiac disease) affects my food lifestyle. There may be references to this issue in my future posts.

So, there you have it. More to come. Soon. I promise.

How the Food Movement Swept Me Away

The food movement that has been sweeping through the farms and kitchens of progressive folks across the United States is one that I am happy to be a part of. Reading Michael Pollan, listening to radio interviews about inspirational young farmers changing the world (and knowing some of them myself), seeing people struggle to address food security on a global scale--how empowering! I joined the movement by challenging myself to eating mostly all local, organic and seasonal foods. I continued with my life-long commitment (14 years and counting!) to vegetarianism. I cut high fructose corn syrup, processed foods and genetically modified foods out of my grocery list completely. Just one problem--I still felt like the fat girl in the room full of skinny locavores. What was I doing wrong?!

The bottom line: I followed all of Michael Pollan's rules except one. His abridged list goes something like this: eat food, mostly vegetables, not too much. I'm sure that with the background knowledge I've given you, you can decide which rule I didn't stick to. Stumped? Okay, okay. I admit it. I didn't stick to the "not too much" part. All those local vegetables roasted to perfection and served alongside handmade tortillas and creamy hummus? Guacamole on top, you say? How can you turn down seconds? Thirds? What about the brick oven pizza made by the guys down on the corner using only the freshest local, organic ingredients? That's what food is all about!

I could picture all the beautiful, hard-working hands that had grown that food for me. I could appreciate every bite and every meal to the fullest. Somehow I justified my overeating with my decision to be a conscious consumer who ate only the purest of ingredients. I thought that my overeating was stimulating a local market, driving a national movement. I justified until I was blue in the face. But the hard truth could be found in my waistline--it was getting bigger and my lifespan was getting shorter.

So what was the straw that broke the camel's back? ONE DOCTORS VISIT. Already diagnosed with a disease that includes symptoms such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure, I was gambling with my life by overeating. By the time I turned 23 years old, my total cholesterol was over 260 and my blood pressure topped out at 149/90, despite my vegetarian, health-conscious, environmentally-concerned food decisions. The doctor looked at me in the eye and told me that, given the rate that my cholesterol was increasing, she projected that I would be at risk for heart disease within my 30's. What!? How could that be possible, I argued. She argued that I had to take responsibility for my condition, that I had to cut out all risk factors related to food and lack of exercise. Since I've always been active, there was just one thing to tackle: the eating. Nothing in the world could have justified a continuation of my previous patterns.

So, I decided to make my health my number one priority. It turns out that already being into natural, organic foods was a huge foot in the door. It was cutting down the sheer volume of intake that would prove to be more challenging. More on the beginning of that journey soon...

Rear View Mirror

Having spent the larger part of my life suffering from a decidedly dysfunctional relationship with food (not so different than many other Americans), things are finally looking up. In just one calendar year I have managed to drop 40 pounds and regain a whole lot of control over my life, my body and my future. I'm ready to share how I transformed from a routine where food was my comfort, my reward at the end of a long day, my favorite kind of celebration and my own personal therapist, to a world where I am the one delivering my happiness and passion to my dinner plate. The more I cook, the more I develop a close and intimate relationship with my food, the happier I become. It isn't that food and I were so bad for each other--we just didn't know each other on a deeper level.

Shall we start at the beginning?

I am a proud child of a blue-collar family. Growing up, my father was an auto mechanic and my mother worked in bakery. Four children, two busy adults, and well, our life was like most typical Americans. Some of my best memories from childhood involve junk food: Top Ramen before walking to afternoon kindergarten with my dad, piles of candy and soda leading to junk food comas with my brother, my mom fulfilling all of our immediate dreams with just one drive around a fast food joint, and, of course, the classic memory of eating extraordinary amounts of pizza and candy at sleepovers with my girlfriends. Food was great! It was a defining component in all good times. Every holiday and every milestone in my life was associated with a mouth-watering plate of deliciousness!

It wasn't until later on, when I entered my preteen years, that food and I really started to have a love-hate relationship. I, like many other young women, became aware of the social stigma associated with eating junk food and overeating in general (no matter how healthy the food). As I was slightly overweight (always teetering at the high end of "healthy" as a child), I was becoming more and more self-conscious about my once-proud moments of being able to consume more than half of a large delivery pizza or being able to chug more strawberry soda than my big brother. That's how the downward spiral into self-destruction via food began. I didn't stop loving food, I just started to hide my love for food.

Long story short? This went on for years. These habits crept into adulthood. Eventually, I found myself at age 23 and 40 pounds overweight, right on the bottom end of the obese range for my height. I couldn't say no to delicious foods in private. As my self-confidence increased, I even began to binge in front of others. I was, to put it bluntly, a food addict. I ate when I was happy. I ate when I was sad. I ate when I was stressed. I ate when I was relaxed. I just loved eating.

The bright side of this story is that I have found ways to take the control back. Food no longer has the stranglehold on me that it once did. Although I face a continuous sequence of situations in which I have to say no to delicious, mouthwatering, tempting food, it's getting easier. Drug addicts and alcoholics can remove themselves from exposure to their drink or drug of choice. Us food addicts? Well, there's no place to hide! The others around us (especially mothers and grandmothers!) will never stop tempting us. So, my journey in this struggle is what I'm bringing to the table to share.


I'm starting this blog because I am not alone in my struggles and because I feel there's a chance that at least one person out there could benefit from hearing what has worked for me. So many Americans like myself have an unhealthy relationship with food. Its temptations are out of their control; its complexity is beyond their understanding; its comfort is beyond most other soothing. This is America, and ladies and gentlemen, we are not alone. So, here I am, putting myself out there for all the world to read. Let's conquer this battle together start living and longer, happier and more fulfilling lives!