"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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