Dairy Free and Gluten free: Day 7

Well, here it is...
Day 7 - my first week dairy free and gluten free. For me, this simply means I am not doing any grains nor any dairy products. Primarily, no breads and no milk or cheese.  I am sure that it is more complicated than that, but that is where I am choosing to draw the line. As my son says "You can go as far down the gluten/dairy rabbit hole as you want". In the reading I have done so far, I am becoming more convinced that removing dairy, especially, will do me more good than harm. And the gluten? It's not hurting me to ignore it for a time, So I will stay off it for awhile longer.
The really great news here is that on Monday morning last week, I weighed 237 lbs. Today, 7 days later, I weighed 230 lbs!
Basically I am eating "Lean and Green". Chicken, salad, almonds, eggs, fresh fruit, vegetables and Shakeology are the major components of my current diet. I have tightened it up a bit more by paying more attention to portions. I am keeping my calories to between 1500 and 1700 calories. I am eating something every three hours. Doing this is proving to be very helpful in this weight loss process.

Here is a sobering thought that points to the severity of my weight issue. When I started this process towards good health in April of 2011, I weighed really close to 260. I was classified as morbidly obese. I lost thirty pounds last year, which got me to being simply obese. Thirty more pounds, and I will be merely overweight. Wow - I have to lose sixty lbs to become overweight!
My goal is to be under 220 by Valentines day, and by the end of summer to be at 200. I am on my way.... when I get into the 220's this next week it will be the first time I have seen that part of my bathroom scale in probably over 20 years.... Woo-Hoo!!!!!

Join me on my journey. Start exercising. Start figuring out how to eat to live rather than living to eat. Explore eating fresh fruits and vegetables. You don't have to go gluten or dairy free - this is just my personal experiment, not a requirement for good health, necessarily.

Regards,
PAige

day one gluten and dairy free done... bring on day two

Day one  - gluten and dairy free.... in the tank. Not bad. Shakeology for breakfast, three handfuls of peanuts or almonds throughout the day, a four egg omelet with salsa for lunch and a large salad for dinner. The calories were really low... I need to up those. I am discovering that ultra low-calorie days don't really work for me when it comes to weight loss, especially when I am exercising (which I am). I stopped at the store on the way home to pick up some Silk Almond milk (sugar free) to replace the dairy I use, some bananas, and some chicken, along with salad stuff. Today I started with the 4 egg omelet with salsa.

Several things that are going to help me here...
1. Variety, for me, isn't an absolute necessity... when I find something I like, I tend to stick with it. I am not a picky eater. I find I REALLY like 4 egg omelets cooked in virgin olive oil. So I expect I will see these on my menu alot. Me and eggs - we're buds....

2. Eating something every 3 hours really appeals to me... and the foods I get to use I really like... almonds, peanuts, fruits... I like ALL that stuff.

3. The weight loss... every lb lost is a pound towards being non-obese. Below is a link to a site that does a Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator.
BMI For Adults Widget

A BMI over 30 is considered obese. My BMI is currently 33.7, according to this calculator. When I get to 205, my BMI will be at 29.4, and for the first time in 15- 20 years, I won't be considered obese... just overweight.



So... my first goal - to not be obese. That means I have 32 lbs to lose from yesterday.


Now - a word to my friends who know as I do that fast weight loss doesn't necessarily mean long term weight loss. Many folks who lose weight quickly via a fad diet, or medication, gain the weight back. What I am doing is not that. My Beachbody program (Shakeology, 5 meals/snacks a day plus exercise) is NOT a fad program. They encourage keeping your calories up. I want long term, steady weight loss... a pound or two a week is just fine with me. And this is not JUST about weight loss - I want to use this time to learn more about my body, how it reacts to various foods and activities. I want this to be become a lifestyle - not a diet.

But having said that - I expect there will be some fairly rapid weight loss at the beginning of this push to escape the clutches of obesity - in fact I am depending on it. I have a bet with my son, who is roughly the same weight as I. The first one to get under 220 gets a movie ticket from the other. He should be smarter than to challenge a fat guy to a weight loss contest. When we apply ourselves, we can be very impressive  :-)
Have a wonderful day....
Paige

new year, no resolutions....

I am not a big believer in resolutions.... but having said that, Jan 1st is a good day to assess what worked the previous year and what didn't.
Here is a list of what worked for me:
1. Shakeology - honestly, I have NEVER used a product as effective for getting my predilection for junk food under control. From a daily consumption of McD's breakfasts and Wendy's hamburgers and fries to MAYBE once a month getting an egg McMuffin on the run... huge  improvement for me.

2. Learning to eat more  "lean and green" than the way I used to. My diet used to be so screwed up. No breakfast (or McD's if I had $$$ in my pocket), cookies and junk food from the teacher's table at school, and then a HUGE plate of food for dinner (usually around 8 pm) because I was starving. I learned to eat breakfast - Shakeology, usually... and something healthier than cookies for lunch and smaller plate of food for dinner.
3.Exercising at least three times a week. ChaLean Xtreme was an incredible experience and was instrumental in getting me stronger and functionally fit. An incredible DVD exercise program. This was very important for me - being very heavy and having not exercised for decades, this program used light dumbbells and averaged 30 - 40 minutes per session. And it was a 90 day program... pretty substantial.




Here is what I need to work on for this year:
Diet:
1. I need to learn to eat every three hours, small portions.
2. I need to eliminate gluten and dairy from my diet as much as possible. I have seen such incredible results with my son and his allergies that I really want to give this a shot. I know removing dairy and gluten won't hurt me, so let's see if this is doable. I think it is.
3. I need to change my mindset about the caloric intake as it relates to weight loss. My natural bent is to think "eat as few calories as possible to lose weight". To a degree, this is right. But there IS a line that says if you cross it, your body goes into "starvation" mode and the fat quits leaving. I need to keep my calories higher than I have been used to... right now it is around 1900 calories.
4. I need to become knowledgeable about food and exercise and nutrition.
5. I need to lose 30 more pounds. Seem like a lot of weight? Hey - in April of 2011, it was "lose 60 lbs"! I am halfway there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      Finally - all of the above is a moving target - as my weight drops, as I change my dietary habits and my exercise routines change - my metabolism will change. My body's needs will change. I have to be aware of this and be willing to change up something if necessary. As a great example - I made it from 260 to 232-ish this summer. I have plateaued around 232, so I need to look at what has happened, and make a change or changes. 232 is still obese for me. I can't stop here. So what do I do? change up my diet. change up my exercise routine. keep moving forward. This is shaping up to be a great year.
I would be honored if you would join me in this weight loss journey - let's make 2012 the year the fat melts away and we achieve some kind of fitness goal.
Regards,
Paige