So here I am at 84.8lbs down with 10.2 to go to hit Lifetime at Weight Watchers and 15.2 to go to lose 100 (because let's face, who doesn't want to say, "I lost 100lbs!"... It just sounds better than "I lost 95!") As most of you know I lost my first 25lbs fairly slowly through over a year at Weight Watchers. Then, over the course of 14 weeks I lost about 55lbs doing a rapid weightloss/healthy eating program with a Nutritionist. And now I'm back at Weight Watchers and down 5 more pounds from the last 10 weeks (boy did everything slow back down!).
When you lose a lot of weight quickly it's mental. When you lose ANY weight it's mental because it goes a little something like this: At one point, I was 250lb woman. I ate like a 250lb woman. I thought like a 250lb woman. Now I'm a 165lb woman. But I can still eat like a 250lb woman. Just stick a bowl of queso in front of me and watch me put the food away. I'll ALWAYS be able to eat like that. It's just the sad reality because my mind has been there, my stomach has been stretched that far... it's possible! And a lot of people - wether they do rapid weightloss or not - gain weight back at some point. It happens. Christmas rolls around and it's no longer appealing to eat like the weight you are or want to be, you want to eat like you used to be because hello! Fudge! Cookies! Rich, salty food galore! I completely, completely, completely understand!
And so today, I'm sharing with you my tips for maintaining your loss and still losing when you transition out of a program (or just switch to a program that's more of "what real life looks like now") and into learning to eat like you want to eat the rest of your life to look how you want to look the rest of your life!
The last two weeks I've posted on Instagram my plunder of fruits (and one time) veggies after I had chopped everything up for the week. This is something I started doing recently, but oh it is so vital!
A typical week in produce for my family of four (a man, a woman, and two toddler boys who want to eat every hour) looks like this: 1 watermelon, 1-2 canteloupes, 1-2lbs strawberries, 8 apples, about 20 bananas (purchased throughout the week), 2-3lbs of grapes, 2-4 oranges, 2 bunches of romaine lettuce or 1 2-3lb bag of salad, 1 head of cauliflower, 1lb fresh green beans, 1lb bag baby carrots, 2 cloves of garlic, red onion, pickles, 4-6 tomatoes, 2 sweet potatoes, 2-5lb bag of potatoes (lasts 2-3 weeks). We eat a LOT of produce. Produce, milk, and meat is where we spend the bulk of our grocery budget.
Anyway, usually the day after I shop or the night I shop after I've recovered, I go on a chopping frenzy. It always starts with the strawberries and ends with the watermelon. Typically my kids are awake when I do this and are watching TV or playing and my baby E (who's not a baby -- he's almost 2) figures out what I'm doing and gets about 4 bowls of the various fruit as it's chopped. He's my fruit loving kid! I chop, bag or box the cold stuff, put the room temperature fruit in the fruit bowl and walk away.
The BEAUTY in this is that is now easier to go get watermelon than it is to make a bowl of popcorn. It takes me as much effort to give my kids a bowl of strawberries pieces as it does to pour them a bowl of goldfish. It makes choosing to throw together cauliflower chips almost as easy as eating potato chips. It makes salad so easy. It's just a good decision. My "stock pile" usually lasts 5-6 days and by the end of it I'm ready to do it all again.
Keep Moving
Most people fall in love with exercising. I did! It's addictive now. And no, it's not addictive like I need to train hours a day. I still max out around an hour and spend an hour of my day working out only 1-2 days a week, but when I'm in my rhythm, I need that 20-30 minute run or that 25 minute workout video every day. And right now, that's what my body expects! It needs that to feel better and healthier. And it pays off! Even in weeks I'm up in my weight, I'm down or the same in my measurements. And even though I've only lost 5lbs in the last 10 weeks, I've seen my stomach develop definition and 10 weeks ago it was still quite flabby! Moving also continues to motivate you to eat well. I make better choices because I've already chosen to put all this effort in work in so reaching for popcorn is less appealing. And if you're a Mom, it's SUCH a great break! I love starting my day running because it's doing something for me. It makes the demands of the rest of the day easier to take.
Don't Buy What You Can't Deny Yourself
Chips! Cookies! Popcorn! About 2 weeks after my big results diet, I had free reign and so I bought rice cake chips. They were delicious. So delicious in fact I waited until my husband and kids were in bed one night and ate the WHOLE BAG. It felt terrible and I felt again like I was just a 250lb person living in a 165lb body waiting to become a 250lb person again. So I don't buy those anymore! Recently my grocery store had Pop Chips for 99 cents and people love those things so I bought a bag! Same problem. I know I need to buy chips. My husband who has weight management down loves them in his lunches and my kids get them a couple times a week so I buy chips I don't like they do. IE salt & vinegar or dill pickle flavor (ew!). I also try not to buy goldfish for the kids and instead get pretzels because I don't like pretzels very much. And as far as desserts, it's strictly graham crackers, marshmallows, vanilla wafers, and animal cookies - nothing I like much so I'm not tempted to dive in! Popcorn I bought again lately and while I've controlled myself with it, I see it as a problem. I'm trying to decide now if it's a treat or a bad influence. I'm tracking it and controlling myself but those 7 points of buttery goodness are not good for me at all!
Be Consistent
I've said this before. Eat the same things. This is what skinny people do. My best friend Reagan literally eats a half of sandwich with a few chips or a cup of soup for lunch every single day. Even at a lunch out she'll order this. It's her thing. And she loves it! I see this in a lot of slimmer friends and I've tried to adopt the habit. Today my Mom brought us McDonalds to the park. She and I always get the Southwestern Grilled Chicken salad. While I was tempted to stray and enjoy a burger, I knew I'd have a better burger later this week at home and I needed to stick to my guns. I also eat a turkey sandwich for lunch most days. I eat an apple every day. I eat eggs or Special K for breakfast. I drink the same creamer. My family eats most of the same dinners and when I am low in points those dinners always become a salad for me. Being consistent is SO key to me because I know what I'm doing. The days Josh makes waffles and we order pizza for dinner and I decided to get a burger for lunch are the worst days on me and I always, always, always go over in points, drink less water, feel unmotivated to work out, and feel awful!
Reward Yourself
This looks different for everyone! Josh and I have "allowances" we get in our budget every pay check. It's not much to most people, but it's something! It's enough for me to buy a new top at Forever 21 or a pair of jeans during a great sale at Kohls. Now that I've lost weight shopping is a really enjoyable experience and getting a size 10 and a medium or a small and consistently fitting in those sizes is very motivating! But sometimes there isn't much money and I still need a reward. Those days a reward can come in some time to myself. I skip cleaning or working out at naptime and take a nap or watch TV or read. We go to my Mom's house and I lay by the pool while my kids sleep. I take a solo trip and walk around Target.... whatever makes you feel reconnected to yourself and motivated, do it! And do it wether you're succeeding or not because sometimes your lack of success is because you feel so overwhelmed and want to EAT ALL THE THINGS! (Or maybe that's just me?)
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And just another note... surround yourself with positive people! My best friends are so supportive! My girls know I'm dieting and struggling to overcome this weight problem and they care! Friends have made me Weight Watcher friendly meals they found on Pinterest for me during play dates, they've let me pick where we eat lunch, they text encouragement, they ask about the heart of the issues, and they listen when I say I'm failing and offer support and tough love! My husband is encouraging and he is the best at helping me take the time to work out! Morning work outs are my favorite and I appreciate so much how he watches the kids and takes care of breakfast so I can do that. My family is supportive! My Mom is also on Weight Watchers and so instead of us saying, "Let's be bad and eat Mexican food and queso today!" we buy salads and take the kids to the park. I hope you have people in your life who can encourage you too!
And if you're failing... if you're gaining or struggling, don't lose heart! Tomorrow is a new day and you can find new resolve! Sometimes I get off 1-3 days. I don't exercise and I don't track and I stop caring because all the work! But then I think about how I want to be THIS person not who I was before and I think about how far I've come and it helps motivate me all over again!
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