One month Atkins Anniversary - a new me!
Well I know it's been awhile since I've updated this journal, and a LOT have happened so far in this semester!
I've let myself get put down and discouraged. I got unmotivated on the viola. I got unmotivated in life, I guess you could say.
Then something happened. Marta came to Graz for a night and stayed by my place. We talked about so much, and she also told me about a low-carb diet she had tried and was very successful with.
It rang a bell to me, so I researched Atkins on the internet. I told Hannes about Marta's personal testimony too, and he instantly knew he wanted to try it. He'd recently had frustrating experiences for him - feeling weak in sports, not being able to finish a rock-climbing path all the way too the top - his pounds were creeping on and he wanted to put an end to that!
I'd also had enough with the slow weight gain. My clothes were getting too snug and I was running out of wardrobe options accordingly.
So we decided, the first Monday of the month meant the start of Atkins! I'd read up enough on it to get us started, then ended up ordering the book. It was a great investment with a lot of great and helpful information.
Contrary to popular belief, Atkins does NOT mean just eating bacon, processed meats and huge steaks all your life. It's about cutting carbs (yes that means no to pasta and breads) but not avoiding them altogether (meaning vegetables are every bit as part of the diet as meat and eggs are).
And so far it has been THE most effective way of eating I've ever experienced! From the get-go, I noticed more overall energy - no feeling 'randomly' tired in the middle of the day, no sugar-highs, and best of all no cravings or feeling insanely hungry at odd times.
I eat when I'm hungry, I stop when I'm satisfied. I don't starve myself at all - I just restrict WHAT it is I can eat. But I have discovered some GREAT replacements, even finding a low-carb muffin and chocolate cake recipe which are phenomenal!
Feeling better physically has also inspired me in other areas. I now go for a jog almost daily, and I almost look forward to it. I'm practicing much more focused, concentrated and efficient than ever. I'm cutting out a lot of the sitting around I used to do, the over-browsing of Facebook or YouTube. This diet means more time spent in food preparation/clean up but it is a worthwhile investment!
Don't believe me - judge yourself...
Me in February, 2008!
These jeans I'd just bought out here were snug at that time. Now they're hanging quite loose on me!
Now to 2009
A nice picture at a friend's party - my last "carb day!"
November 1st
A good shot of the face. With makeup. Where's the jaw line?!
November 1st - 143 lbs
That's me above, standing in the group photo....
December 1st - 134 lbs!
...now, one month later, there's room to spare in those same pair of pants! And I'm not even sucking that belly in, folks ;)
Dec. 1st - 134 lbs
My jaw is to be seen again! And as an added bonus, look how clear my face is - in this photo I'm wearing NO make-up!!
I bought these new pair of jeans yesterday - now that I need pants that don't sag!
Those thunder-thighs are slowly dwindling :)
Now I don't want to hear any talk about "But you didn't NEED to lose weight!" or "Don't you get TOO skinny!" But I'm starting to think our perceptions of what is "too skinny" is starting to get pretty distorted. Yes, many models ARE in fact too stick-skinny thin. I don't find it a sexy way to look either, and I don't want to look THAT way. But I DO want to look appropriately proportional to my size!
I look around at most of the women here in Europe and they are pretty slim. I don't think it's coincidence. I think people in Europe just don't eat the way people in the U.S., nor have the sedentary lifestyles many people in the U.S. do. And I don't think it's outrageous to expect that with a proper way of eating, I can look like that too.
If I'm losing this much weight by only getting a bit more active and changing my diet, there MUST be something wrong with what we think of as a 'normal' diet that CAUSES us to tend to be overweight. Diets full of carbohydrates - pastas, breads, french fries to name a few - don't really provide anything our bodies ACTUALLY need. So they turn our figures into something we figure must be 'normal,' just cause everyone eats it.
But I don't starve myself or make any particular effort to cut down calories. I simply eat well and don't overeat. Yet I still lose weight! Because my body is shedding that which it just doesn't need anymore - extra fat. And it's doing it efficiently.
I will soon reach a point where my body will start to be resistant to losing any more weight - and when it does, that's fine with me. For me, this is about staying healthy and it's such a bonus that I can look good too! I've felt better than I've ever felt, and I hope to create these healthy habits for a lifetime of looking and feeling so good.
I'm starting to believe in the power of it: "You are what you eat." Changing my way of eating has coincided with other changes for the better for myself, and I can't help but think that what you put in your body affects what comes out of your daily life.
In that respect, I've been inspired and made sudden and noticeable progress on the viola. I've stopping wading in the "why can't I?"s and starting focusing on what I want and how to get it. Making a plan, and implementing the work it takes to get there!
So my most recent Klassenabend performance of Reger (some of you have seen this already) was quite a step up for me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMtZL6HLc1Q
That second movement is DAMNED hard, and I realized even a well-known concert violist Yuri Bashmet plays some of the trickiest parts out of tune too! If no one's perfect, what do I have to fear?
So I'm reinspired, reinvigored, and enjoying my youth! Life's so good when you know how to take full advantage :D
Now although I have some hard work yet in front of me, I'm looking forward to Christmas and seeing my family again! And I'm more determined than ever to stick to this diet. I hope you guys really understand that, and you don't try to push the carbs on me. If you think my results are a fluke, or you're chalking it up to my extra exercising, maybe you should try two weeks tracking your carbs and see for yourselves how different you feel - and weigh!
I've let myself get put down and discouraged. I got unmotivated on the viola. I got unmotivated in life, I guess you could say.
Then something happened. Marta came to Graz for a night and stayed by my place. We talked about so much, and she also told me about a low-carb diet she had tried and was very successful with.
It rang a bell to me, so I researched Atkins on the internet. I told Hannes about Marta's personal testimony too, and he instantly knew he wanted to try it. He'd recently had frustrating experiences for him - feeling weak in sports, not being able to finish a rock-climbing path all the way too the top - his pounds were creeping on and he wanted to put an end to that!
I'd also had enough with the slow weight gain. My clothes were getting too snug and I was running out of wardrobe options accordingly.
So we decided, the first Monday of the month meant the start of Atkins! I'd read up enough on it to get us started, then ended up ordering the book. It was a great investment with a lot of great and helpful information.
Contrary to popular belief, Atkins does NOT mean just eating bacon, processed meats and huge steaks all your life. It's about cutting carbs (yes that means no to pasta and breads) but not avoiding them altogether (meaning vegetables are every bit as part of the diet as meat and eggs are).
And so far it has been THE most effective way of eating I've ever experienced! From the get-go, I noticed more overall energy - no feeling 'randomly' tired in the middle of the day, no sugar-highs, and best of all no cravings or feeling insanely hungry at odd times.
I eat when I'm hungry, I stop when I'm satisfied. I don't starve myself at all - I just restrict WHAT it is I can eat. But I have discovered some GREAT replacements, even finding a low-carb muffin and chocolate cake recipe which are phenomenal!
Feeling better physically has also inspired me in other areas. I now go for a jog almost daily, and I almost look forward to it. I'm practicing much more focused, concentrated and efficient than ever. I'm cutting out a lot of the sitting around I used to do, the over-browsing of Facebook or YouTube. This diet means more time spent in food preparation/clean up but it is a worthwhile investment!
Don't believe me - judge yourself...
Me in February, 2008!
These jeans I'd just bought out here were snug at that time. Now they're hanging quite loose on me!
Now to 2009
A nice picture at a friend's party - my last "carb day!"
November 1st
A good shot of the face. With makeup. Where's the jaw line?!
November 1st - 143 lbs
That's me above, standing in the group photo....
December 1st - 134 lbs!
...now, one month later, there's room to spare in those same pair of pants! And I'm not even sucking that belly in, folks ;)
Dec. 1st - 134 lbs
My jaw is to be seen again! And as an added bonus, look how clear my face is - in this photo I'm wearing NO make-up!!
I bought these new pair of jeans yesterday - now that I need pants that don't sag!
Those thunder-thighs are slowly dwindling :)
Now I don't want to hear any talk about "But you didn't NEED to lose weight!" or "Don't you get TOO skinny!" But I'm starting to think our perceptions of what is "too skinny" is starting to get pretty distorted. Yes, many models ARE in fact too stick-skinny thin. I don't find it a sexy way to look either, and I don't want to look THAT way. But I DO want to look appropriately proportional to my size!
I look around at most of the women here in Europe and they are pretty slim. I don't think it's coincidence. I think people in Europe just don't eat the way people in the U.S., nor have the sedentary lifestyles many people in the U.S. do. And I don't think it's outrageous to expect that with a proper way of eating, I can look like that too.
If I'm losing this much weight by only getting a bit more active and changing my diet, there MUST be something wrong with what we think of as a 'normal' diet that CAUSES us to tend to be overweight. Diets full of carbohydrates - pastas, breads, french fries to name a few - don't really provide anything our bodies ACTUALLY need. So they turn our figures into something we figure must be 'normal,' just cause everyone eats it.
But I don't starve myself or make any particular effort to cut down calories. I simply eat well and don't overeat. Yet I still lose weight! Because my body is shedding that which it just doesn't need anymore - extra fat. And it's doing it efficiently.
I will soon reach a point where my body will start to be resistant to losing any more weight - and when it does, that's fine with me. For me, this is about staying healthy and it's such a bonus that I can look good too! I've felt better than I've ever felt, and I hope to create these healthy habits for a lifetime of looking and feeling so good.
I'm starting to believe in the power of it: "You are what you eat." Changing my way of eating has coincided with other changes for the better for myself, and I can't help but think that what you put in your body affects what comes out of your daily life.
In that respect, I've been inspired and made sudden and noticeable progress on the viola. I've stopping wading in the "why can't I?"s and starting focusing on what I want and how to get it. Making a plan, and implementing the work it takes to get there!
So my most recent Klassenabend performance of Reger (some of you have seen this already) was quite a step up for me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMtZL6HLc1Q
That second movement is DAMNED hard, and I realized even a well-known concert violist Yuri Bashmet plays some of the trickiest parts out of tune too! If no one's perfect, what do I have to fear?
So I'm reinspired, reinvigored, and enjoying my youth! Life's so good when you know how to take full advantage :D
Now although I have some hard work yet in front of me, I'm looking forward to Christmas and seeing my family again! And I'm more determined than ever to stick to this diet. I hope you guys really understand that, and you don't try to push the carbs on me. If you think my results are a fluke, or you're chalking it up to my extra exercising, maybe you should try two weeks tracking your carbs and see for yourselves how different you feel - and weigh!