Sunday, November 16, 2014

Food and I. Me and food



Over the last years (or decade) changing my habits and routines around food has always made it to both my resoultion lists and often on my vacation to do lists where I come back and aim to do things differently.

And I can say that in the 18 yrs. I have been married-not a hell of a lot has changed in terms of my food habits routines. Which is off for me-as I am a mover and a shaker! If I want something I get it. If I set my mind to achieve something-I always do. It’s who I am.

Well not in the food area.

In analzing why this is-I have realized it has never been a real goal for many reasons. Have not wanted or cared enough about it to make really changes for the following reasons: Beware very very honest like I always am!

I adore food and the taste of it

The family I live with find cutting out and changing food very boring
I am an attractive person I think that has always worked in a large company with many cute males and have never felt a lack of attention so has made me care less about the pounds I should probably lose. I have a very curvy body so people look at my boob’s way before they look at my hips I guess!!! Thank God!!!

I have had many other bigger issues to deal with other than food that have needed and deserved my attention over the years

Food loving  is a bit of a cult to me-if you cut it out you are out of the cult

Even when I have tried to make changes-I seem to be able to eat way less and barely shed a pound so what’s the point anyways?


I have never really thought about health that much. I am sad to report I have taken it for granted in many ways. This year woke me up with three family members with big challenges

I don’t have time to think about food and eating it or not eating it

Dieting bores me to deaths the fun part of my life revolves around meals and restaurents and travel so how could I be on a diet

My husband could not care less if I am plus or minus 10 pounds. He cares very much more  if I do not accompany him in a cupcake.

Now reading the above I make our family sound like Rosanne Barr's family or pigs!! Far from from it. Our three kids are three of the most in shape and skinniest kids I know. My husband is over 6 feet tall and weighted 140lbs before I met him (and now at a comfortable 204 which for his height is good but now has a beer belly he could do without… and I… Well I am just kind of your average girl who has always been a good curvy and loves clothes but yet in the last few years have had more and more lbs  cropped up that have bothered me. And I have liked less how I look.

And I am so not a binger on food naturally . I never ever  snack at night, prefer big lunches to big dinners, don’t have a huge sweet tooth, don’t love cream sauces and am just naturally not an obsessive eater at all. It should be so easy for me  to lose weight as I have naturally fairly good habits . Nor do I drink.

But I love love love  my weekend, meals, the freedom of food, looking forward to a meal with a friend, enjoying and indulging as a family and generally food is just a healthy part of my life and has been for years. And a pleasure,.

BUT..over the last years I have gained about 10 lbs (and I was not ever  skinny before so this bothers me a lot-I was already  at my personal borderline weight) , I notice that compared to a lot of my friends I make less healthy choices more often,and I am not 30 anymore and need to watch out for my health.

But over 5 yrs. have found no health plan that does not make me feel deprived and on a diet and boring and useless and pretty much like staying in bed all day out of boredom or not  so excited for the weekend to come around that I can’t wait to dig into the treat food. Not a healthy cycle and even when in it never lost more than a lb as then would juts gain it right back after a normal meal.

Well fast forward to august 2014 when a friend of mine  came back to work that was on maternity leave and had lost 30lbs!!!!!! She looked amazing!!! And still does. For some reason it hit me because she and I are very alike. Very similar bodies (before)...same light colored eyes, same hair in a knotted bun or messy ponytail. Like clothes lots-purses. Same kind of  au natural feminine style. People never really noticed she could stand to lose a few lbs because you look and notice all the other stuff first. When she lost the weight-for the first time in my life I was inspired to do the same.

I will never lose 30 lbs as I am not motivated enough to go this far-but 15 would be great! And you know what? So far I have lost 7lbs! And I bet by Xmas will be 10 lbs I have lost! I seem to be slowly but surely losing about ½ lb to 1 lb per week!!!!!

py. And you know what….almost scary to write but it is very pleasant and almost effortless by this point. I have  never thought I would write these words. It took about 8 weeks to really get in the habit but now after 10 weeks it is pretty easy actually.
I actually missed the routine and food when on vacation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So here it was it looks like:

Breakfast within 30 minutes of getting up:
Shake with fruit. Special protein smoothie
Snack 10:30: 1 Melba toast and cheese
Lunch –stir-fry-rice and chicken and tons of veggies and beans with peanut sauce or a chicken sandwich and a small salad (or something similar at a rest0)
3:00pm- protein bar that is so sweet I can barely eat it but tastes like a Mars bar in general

5pm-some yummy smoked almonds or a handful of trail mix
Small portion of dinner whatever we are having and try to avoid the starchy carbs or second shake and a salad (which would be hard for me at lunch to not have carbs but weeknights is easy for me as not very hungry)
7:30 pm- Small portion of dinner whatever we are having and try to avoid the starchy carbs or a second shake and a salad

Plus- one special vitamin iced tea in afternoons, lots of water with meals and snacks. Plus a multivitamin daily.


Exceptions:
Weekends I have one shake a day and one protein snack like cheese but usually besides that eat like everyone else and lots of carbs and always 2-3 desserts or treats on weekend etc. My weekends are basically the same although I tend to naturally eat less and also try to only have one dessert a day on weekend and a bit smaller portions but hardly.

During week-usually 2 times go out to restaurants and don’t  stick to the meals at all and eat whatever always when out

 in general:  so much less hungry and so many less craving for sweets or fast food or bad stuff. The protein shakes full up so much, the protein snacks leave much less room for anything else, the shakes are full of everything your body needs in terms of vitamins for the day so have a way of just making you make the right choices!

It has been slow as to do this right way would need to eat almost double the protein a day that I am eating (which tends to disgust me as don’t love it) but for now about a a pound every two weeks...which is fine by me! And I feel great too which is even finer.

I don’t know if I will keep losing weight –but it kind of feels like it. I don’t feel deprived at all. And although took me a couple of months to actually enjoy the shakes now my body craves them on days when I don’t have them or I travel.
Plus I have cut out 80 percent of diet coke and only have it at restaurants, trips and maybe once a week with a meal at home. So almost (85 percent) caffeine free as I don’t drink coffee. I am water all the way. I need to find a way to get more veggies in there but other than that I am good I think.

My X-mas my goal is 10 lbs !(so 3 more than now)
I am very very very proud of myself as you can probably tell
Because I get to have my cake-and eat it too!!!!!