Better and Better Everyday!
Welcome to day 4 of my weight loss challenge. Yesterday went pretty well. I took the stairs down from the 8th floor instead of the elevator and stayed within my calorie count. I could have been better with water consumption, and my carb:protein ratio is still way too carb-heavy, but overall, I'm already feeling better. :)
I forgot to do a few exercises before bed last night, but I plan to do a full Pilates workout today and take the baby for a walk, so hopefully that makes up for that a bit. :D
My motivation for day 4 is titled "Boundaries, not diets".
The idea is that the diet itself is never the problem, but the rigid, perfectionist way we use it. When most of us are "on a diet" we strive to take in the exact number of calories, fat or carbs allowed by the plan. If we slip up and eat a forbidden food, we figure we've blown it so we may as well throw the entire plan out the window.
This all-or-nothing approach will never work. When we are "off", we cancel all the progress we made earlier.
So how do we fix this?
Well, in order to lose weight, I have to have some sort of plan or boundaries. My book suggests making two lists:
One with narrow boundaries for the days you are motivated and focused, and the other with a bit more wiggle room for the days that are hard, or for when you are interested in maintaining your weight. The idea is that this way, you *never* go totally "off" your path. :)
With that in mind, here's what I do:
**Narrow Path:
Eat 1760 calories/day (and this is quite restrictive as I'm still nursing).
Stick to real, whole food. Avoid all processed foods.
No fried foods.
Limit processed sugar products to 1/day (with the ultimate goal of changing this to 1/week)
Drink a minimum of 64oz of water/day.
Get 3 solid workouts in each week.
**Wider Path:
I could consume a maximum of 2500 calories/day and probably maintain my current weight.
I could eat some pre-packaged meals for convenience, but should still watch the calories.
I don't ever crave fried foods, but having something like that once/month wouldn't destroy my plan.
Sugar is my difficulty. I have a huge sweet tooth. I am currently tapering off my processed sugar.
When I need my wider path, going back to 1/day for the day wouldn't destroy me either.
Drink at least 64oz of fluid, but not necessarily water. (I don't drink pop, so that isn't an issue).
Get at least one workout in the week.
That's about it. This was a really good exercise! I feel like no matter what, I can stick to one of my plans and just know that if I choose the narrow path, I'll be more likely to reach my weight goals within the time frame I want. If I slip, I only slip onto my wider path...it doesn't *ruin* the day, so I'm never falling off or trying to get back on.
I just am.
I like this. :)
I forgot to do a few exercises before bed last night, but I plan to do a full Pilates workout today and take the baby for a walk, so hopefully that makes up for that a bit. :D
My motivation for day 4 is titled "Boundaries, not diets".
The idea is that the diet itself is never the problem, but the rigid, perfectionist way we use it. When most of us are "on a diet" we strive to take in the exact number of calories, fat or carbs allowed by the plan. If we slip up and eat a forbidden food, we figure we've blown it so we may as well throw the entire plan out the window.
This all-or-nothing approach will never work. When we are "off", we cancel all the progress we made earlier.
So how do we fix this?
Well, in order to lose weight, I have to have some sort of plan or boundaries. My book suggests making two lists:
One with narrow boundaries for the days you are motivated and focused, and the other with a bit more wiggle room for the days that are hard, or for when you are interested in maintaining your weight. The idea is that this way, you *never* go totally "off" your path. :)
With that in mind, here's what I do:
**Narrow Path:
Eat 1760 calories/day (and this is quite restrictive as I'm still nursing).
Stick to real, whole food. Avoid all processed foods.
No fried foods.
Limit processed sugar products to 1/day (with the ultimate goal of changing this to 1/week)
Drink a minimum of 64oz of water/day.
Get 3 solid workouts in each week.
**Wider Path:
I could consume a maximum of 2500 calories/day and probably maintain my current weight.
I could eat some pre-packaged meals for convenience, but should still watch the calories.
I don't ever crave fried foods, but having something like that once/month wouldn't destroy my plan.
Sugar is my difficulty. I have a huge sweet tooth. I am currently tapering off my processed sugar.
When I need my wider path, going back to 1/day for the day wouldn't destroy me either.
Drink at least 64oz of fluid, but not necessarily water. (I don't drink pop, so that isn't an issue).
Get at least one workout in the week.
That's about it. This was a really good exercise! I feel like no matter what, I can stick to one of my plans and just know that if I choose the narrow path, I'll be more likely to reach my weight goals within the time frame I want. If I slip, I only slip onto my wider path...it doesn't *ruin* the day, so I'm never falling off or trying to get back on.
I just am.
I like this. :)