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"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."
Kitsap TriBabes
Add to Subtract, Pt. 2

Dear Tri Babes,

First and foremost, I want to stress that I do NOT advocate "dieting" in the traditional sense of that word. Dieting is usually about "denying" oneself. In my experience, this approach to weight loss is doomed to failure. Most psychologically sound people, who are not being paid to be a "celebrity," simply will NOT maintain a regimen of severe denial for a sustained period of time. Consequently, they board the dieting merry-go-round and rarely exit the ride happier and healthier than when they started.

Instead, I advocate slowly but surely adding positive, healthy habits into your daily routine. Once initiated, your goal is to maintain these good habits for the rest of your life. When these habits are present in your life, they tend to insure that you maintain a reasonable, healthy weight.

If you want to fast track your weight loss, start today and add in one habit per day; if you want to be more gradual, add in one habit each week. But no matter which pace you choose, once you have initiated a good habit, continue it for the rest of your life.

Before I explain the healthy
"Add to Subtract" habits, I want to comment on some realities that you need to accept in order to lose weight successfully:

1) Let go of the number in your head that represents your "ideal weight." Most likely whatever weight you think you SHOULD be is based upon what you weighed as a child/teen-ager. In my head, I think I "should" weigh 120 pounds. Not only is that most likely NEVER going to happen again . . . it really shouldn't happen again. The last time I weighed 120 pounds, I was 18 years old. That was my teen-age self. My adult body needs an adult weight. I currently weigh 160 pounds. Do any of you really think I would be healthy if I lost 40 pounds?

Instead, simply institute and sustain reasonable fitness and eating regimens and let your body decide what it should weigh. When I follow my own darn good advice, I settle in at around 145 pounds and get enough rave reviews to convince me that this is a fine & dandy weight to be at.

2) Expect weight loss to happen sporadically. This is ESPECIALLY true if you are implementing an EXERCISE regime AND WEIGHT LOSS regime. The majority of people either gain weight OR hold steady in the beginning of a new exercise program. There are several factors for this: the old "muscle weighs more than fat" adage is partially true. What is more true is that it is easier to gain muscle than it is to lose fat; your body's first response to a new exercise regime is to go into crises mode. It wants to maintain the sthatus quo so it usually encourages you to eat more OR it lowers your metabolism in an effort to maintain the weight it is used to. Eventually, your body figures out that YOU know best and it begins to cooperate by shedding pounds. (Also, please remember that the "Interval Trainings" are what help you lose the most weight, in the least amount of time.)

Of course, we WANT weight loss to occur progressively and predictably so we can congratulate ourselves each day on what a good job we are doing and get a daily shot of "attagirl" encouragement. The reality is that you tend to hold steady at a "plateau" weight and then suddenly shed several pounds at once. You then hold steady at that plateau before dropping to the next.

3) Expect that your weight will vary. This is true on a day to day basis, throughout your monthly cycle, AND on a seasonal basis. The smaller boned you are, the more narrow your range of variation; the bigger boned you are, the wider your range of variation. I am obviously in the "bigger boned," "more muscular" category. Depending on what I have eaten the previous day and where I am in my monthly cycle, I can gain or lose 3-5 pounds from one day to the next.

Also, my optimal "training season" weight is between 140-145 pounds; my reasonable "non training season" weight is between 150-155 pounds.

You will serve yourself best if you chart your weight in a way that allows you to accept and appreciate these vicissitudes rather than stress over them. You are looking to maintain healthy average weight trends NOT a specific daily weight.

Now that you have your head in the right place, here are the healthy "Add to Subtract" habits that I advocate:

1) Drink a minimum of 64 ounces of unadulterated water per day. No, flavored water doesn't count and fluids don't count. I mean WATER!!! For every "bad fluid" you consume such as coffee, caffeinated tea, soda, sugared juice, alcohol, etc. you MUST drink and additional 8 ounces of WATER to counteract the negative effects of your de-hydrating drink. Fluids like non-sugared juice, Gatoraid, Poweraid, non calorie flavored waters, herbal tea, etc. are considered "neutral" drinks. Consume them if you wish, but they do NOT count in your 64 ounce minimum daily requirement.

Also realize that for every 30 minutes of exercise you do, you should be consuming an additional 8 pounces of water or electrolyte drink. This means that on some days, you cold be taking in a helluva lot of fluids. YES, following this advice will radically increase your daily trips to the bathroom. But, it will have dramatic positive effects on your weight loss and your overall health. I promise it IS worth it!!!

2) Thou Shalt Eat Thy Breakfast Every Morning!!! No excuses!!! You MUST eat something within an our of waking. Otherwise, your body goes into "conservation mode" and begins shutting your metabolism down. By eating SOMETHING within 60 minutes of awakening, you will activate your metabolism and insure that it works FOR you not against you for the rest of the day. For those of you with squeamish morning stomachs, something simple like dry toast, raw nuts, and/or fruit will suffice.

3) Add in a Green Salad daily. A variation on this suggestion is to eat veggies and or fruit at the beginning of each meal. Then begin to eat the other food you are really interested in. By doing so you will fill yourself up on healthy, low calorie food and naturally limit the amount of higher calorie food that you intake. Basically, get your work done before you start playing.

4) Pay attention to the serving size on food labels. Before you eat anything, (healthy OR decadent) look at the label and see what the recommended serving size is. Start by eating that amount. Once you have consumed the recommended amount, ask yourself if you really want/need more. If you don't want/need more, great. Stop eating! If you are truly still hungry/desirous, eat another ½ serving (and so on) until you are satisfied.

5) Eat proactively. Often times, it is suggested that you eat every 3 hours. If you can do this, great. If not, simply realize that you should be eating regularly BEFORE you get super hungry. Once you start to feel excessively hungry, your body goes into crises management mode and begins shutting down your metabolism. Consequently, when you DO eat, you tend to eat more and you do not process the food as efficiently.

6) Eat real, non-processed food. Healthy people tend to shop at the outer perimeters of the supermarket - in the fresh vegetable section, in the fresh meat department, in the fresh bakery section, in the fresh dairy section. Non-healthy people tend to shop in the inner aisles buying frozen, processed, packaged food and boxed, "just add liquid" items. If it has already been cooked for you and all you have to do is heat it or hydrate it, it is NOT serving your "Healthy Habit" goals.

7) Add healthy food stashes in strategic places. A lot of unhealthy eating occurs because of convenience. You need to make healthy eating be convenient for you. So, create your own personal drive-thru by adding stashes of healthy snacks (such as dried fruit, nuts, low calorie granola bars, etc.) to your car, your desk, your purse, etc. Continually re-stock these stashes so that it is CONVENIENT to eat healthily.

8) Before you eat anything that you know is not super healthy, ask yourself the "Crucial Question" - "Do I love this?" A lot of times, we eat mindlessly. Your health cannot afford this. If something isn't good for you, only eat it if you TRULY love it. This is especially true in social situations. We often eat unhealthy things, that we don't really want (and certainly do NOT need) in order to be polite. Or, out of boredom. Or, out of social awkwardness. Stop this!!! If you don't LOVE something, do NOT "waste calories" on it. Only "waste" calories on food that you love. I don't LOVE pothato chips, so why eat them at a party? If I need to eat to relieve my boredom and self-consciousness, I'll munch on the darn carrot sticks. "No thank you" is a PERFECTLY acceptable response to food offers.

9) Cultivate a list of non-fat "mindless" food. A lot of times, we simply want to eat. We aren't hungry, but we want to mindlessly stuff our faces either because we are bored or because we need comfort. This need is VERY hard to control and almost impossible to abolish. So, instead, find some non-fat, low cal foods to satisfy this need. For me, it is plain popcorn, Gummy Bears and Non-fat Meringue cookies. When I want to just "veg out" in front of the T.V. and stuff my face, I turn to these snacks so that I can eat mindlessly without derailing my health/weight management program.

10) Create a weekly eating pattern. Each week, I make sure that I have 2 "diet days" when I limit my fat and carbs; three "reasonable days" when I eat low fat snacks and strictly follow recommended portion sizes; and two "indulgence" days when I eat whatever I darn well want to. If I follow this pattern, I maintain a weight. If you need to lose weight, then do 3 Diet Days; 3 Reasonable Days; 1 Indulgence Day. Most importantly, experiment with what ratios work for you and create a weekly pattern that meets your current needs. Plan ahead and if you KNOW that you are going out to a restaurant or to a party, schedule that day as your "Indulgence Day" so that you do not feel deprived.

11) Eat Intentionally. Before each eating experience, say to yourself, "I will savor this food and recognize the exact moment that I am satisfied." Often times we cram food into our mouths without appreciating it. This causes us to eat more than we need to. If you appreciate the flavor of each bite and commit to noticing the INSTANT you start to feel full, you will naturally limit the amount of food you eat.

Great luck . . . please let me know how these suggestions work for you. - Lisa Be full just from writing this!!!


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