Spring has sprung here in the northwoods (finally)
so this means no more big heavy coats
I have had people asking me
what are you doing?
How are you doing it?
Weight watchers? Atkins?
and the list goes on
now for some I cannot say
it is simple
I cut the crap
so I'll be polite and explain what cut the crap means and my favorite tools to do it
USE a website to log your food
I use MyFitnessPal because it has the largest already entered food database that gets confirmed by members who are also tracking their food
If you struggle with understanding it they have boards for posting questions
BE WARNED like anywhere in the world they are nice people and there are snarky people and there are jerks everyone has an opinion about what is the "best" way to lose weight and get healthy
it is overwhelming
Here is the best way
the way you can stick to
that is it
that is the secret
find something to do that YOU can and will stick to
be that Paleo
or fasting
or atkins
or gallons of green tea
or bacon sandwiches every 10lbs lost
whatever
WHAT I DO
is I watch my sugar intake
and my sodium intake
by doing that the rest falls into place
LOG ACCURATELY
weigh and measure your food
buy a digital food scale or even a cheapo analog one
I got a digital scale for $15
I had an analog one or $5(it broke)
Get measuring cups and spoons
USE THEM every meal
KNOW what a portion size is
DO NOT LIE
the only one you are hurting when you lie in your logging is yourself
no one else gives a shit
READ FOOD LABELS
be an educated consumer
we put more thought into buying a TV than we do the food we put in our mouths
sure we would all love to eat beautiful gourmet meals with fresh organically grown ingredients
and free range grass fed meat or no meat whatever
I like crackers and no I am NOT grinding almonds into my nut thins
but read those labels make the choices that are best for YOU
for myself I need food with the lowest sodium content and lowest possible sugar content
I cannot believe Im saying this one
EAT VEGETABLES
I sneak them in I'm not a fan so I chose a few nutrient dense vegetables that I can tolerate
those are mashed cauliflower disguised as alfredo sauce
Spinach
tomatoes
avacadoes
onions
garlic
cucumbers (only diced super small and mixed with onions and Greek yogurt to top a sandwich)
yeah do not argue with me about what is a veggie those that know me are shocked Im eating those *shudder*
drink water
yes yes diet soda this diet food that tea this tea blah blah blah whatever
drink water
suck it up
drinks lots
dont like it plain?
add lemon juice
MOVE MORE
just do it
get up walk around the house
pace while on the phone
go for a walk after dinner
park far away from where you are going and walk in
take the stairs halfway up to your office or something
just get off your ass and move
you do not have to beat ANYONE just do more today than you did yesterday
and tomorrow do more than you did today
don't let some little thing derail you
by little thing I mean something outside YOU
are you physically injured or too sick to eat or move?
no?
then do it
I do not care if work is stressful
I do not care if you kid came home with a D
or if your house is messy
or you are having a bad hair day
or whatever
my mothers advice would work here
shit or get off the pot
AND
if something does derail you DO NOT let one day or two days or a week or month completely fuck you
brush yourself off and move on today is not yesterday !
YOU ARE NOT TOO BUSY to eat healthy
there are a LOT of tricks you can do to make healthy meals ahead of time
YOU are not too broke to eat better
you just have to be creative
and be a better shopper
this takes planning just like anything else you do in life
GO TO YOUR DOCTOR
know your stuff
know your numbers
you get one body
life is too short to be sick
MOST OF ALL
make it fun
find something YOU love and do it I love walking and dancing badly
I put on 80s pop music and walk on the treadmill like I am the lead singer of my own airband(if you are an 80s child you know what this is)
my goal is to be able to do this on my treadmill:
ASK QUESTIONS
keep looking for answers
do not settle
Sue, you're amazing! I'm so happy you've been able to get healthy. I may have to print out your rant - I feel like you just gave me a kick in the butt! It's so easy to get discouraged and make excuses but you've proved we just have to keep trying to find what works for us. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteBaby steps...I started logging my food with the withmyfitnesspal app. It's so much easier being able to scan food in now, I tried a different app before but the database wasn't very good. It's cool that it can sync with my fitbit. I also cut out chips and candy/chocolate which is one of my biggest problems. I even took a few pictures, the "ugly stomach" ones that I will most likely never share with anyone.
Delete