Saturday, April 16, 2011

April 16, 2011

So, I have lost about 5-6 lbs in about 4 days.  Not that remarkable for someone of my weight class but remarkable for me since I am rarely able to lose any weight at all.  I promised that I would give a run down of my diet so here it is:
  • No grains-due to my Celiac disease I gave up gluten (in wheat, barely, or rye) about 3 years ago but I noticed that I still didn't feel great.  Then I found the Paleo diets and gave up grains all together and suddenly I started feeling well again.  I know the "experts" will tell you that you need whole grains. I think there are people like me who really can't handle grains.  I do have one exception to that rule-occasionally I will have a small amount of white rice.  White rice goes against everything you have read about brown rice being the best rice to eat, but white rice is less damaging to your intestines then any other grain.  Even still, eating white rice is not even a monthly thing for me.
  • Very limited sugar-I do not eat artificial sweeteners of any kind.  In the morning, in my tea or coffee, I only have a teaspoon of sugar or honey. The rest of the day I use stevia (not a huge fan of stevia either but that is due to its taste).  I allow myself one sweet treat a day.  That treat will either be a bowl of berries or 2 pieces of dark chocolate (dark chocolate starting at 60% cocoa and above).
  • Protein and fats-I tried to be a good Paleo person for the last 6 months and really couldn't get a lot of weight off. Felt great though!!  The author of the "Perfect Health Diet", Paul Jaminet, gave me some advice the other day that really helped and confirmed my instincts. Basically to lose weight I need to eat normal portions of protein and cut back on my fats.  I am NOT going low fat.  I am just cutting back on my fats. Without fats I starve no matter how much protein or carbs I eat.  But, I can cut back on fats from what I was doing on my Paleo diet.  The link below explains the science behind what I am saying.
  • HERE IS THE LINK TO Paul Jaminet's ADVICE THAT EXPLAINS IT PERFECTLY
  • One healthy starch a day.  I do this by eating one baked potato a day.  I know most Paleo diets want you to cut back on carbs. I actually don't eat any carbs except for my one sweet treat a day, natural sweeteners in my coffee, and one potato a day. Since adding that potato my mild depression has lifted.  I really don't understand the Paleo resistance to tubers. I know that animals dig up and eat tubers in the wild all of the time so it makes sense to me that early humans did as well.  You decide for yourself where you fall on that issue.
  • Calorie Restriction-On Paleo diets they tend to promise easy weight loss as long as you create a "deficit".  But, there is rarely talk about how to create that deficit.  Well, the plain honest truth is that you have to restrict your calories. And, you do that by counting them.  It is very easy to find the calorie content of any food on line.  A good general website for that is CalorieCount.com but there are tons of other sites like that out there.  I just write everything down in a notebook and keep track.  I have been using a calorie level of 1800 a day but I am thinking of dropping that down to 1600.  You have to determine what works best for you!
  • VEGETABLES, VEGETABLES, VEGETABLES-At all my meals I load up on vegetables.  I make large pots of vegetable soup and cucumber salad.  I eat large portions of that and then eat the rest of my food.  Due to this I am able to eat less calories and still feel full.  I also do not count the calories for my vegetables.
  • 10,000 steps a day-I wear a pedometer every day and try to hit 10,000 steps a day.  I do other exercise like push ups, kettlebells, and kata but at the very least I get my 10,000 steps in every day.  (note:  2,000 steps equals one mile)
  • More sleep-I don't sleep very well.  It has been a problem for me all of my life.  But, now sleeping can be difficult due to two dachshunds, a cat, and a husband all sharing the bed with me.  Lately, due to the advice of Mark Sission, I have been adding a nap every day.  I always felt guilty for napping even though I would feel terrible during the day.  It seems to really be helping my stress and hunger levels decrease.  So, if you can, either get more sleep at night or take a nap.
  • Water-I drink a good amount of water. But, more importantly I don't drink soda of any sort.  If I want a break from water I make ice tea and use a little stevia to sweeten it. 
  • Limited dairy-I have read that most people have food intolerances to wheat and dairy.  If you think you have a problem with those foods it is best to get rid of them from your diet.  I use cream in my coffee or tea (sometimes coconut milk depending on my mood) and occassionally a little cheese on my turkey burger.  But, I don't eat a lot of the stuff and I don't eat it every day. You have to determine what works for you.
Well, that is all I can think of in terms of what I am doing.  If you have any questions please let me know. While reviewing this information it occurred to me how many diets this plan seems like.  And, that is due to my taking the last year of my life researching every diet out there and seeing what worked for me and what didn't.  You will have to do the same thing for yourself.  The best advice I can give is keep a food journal.  Not just to track calories but to see what foods make you feel good or bad.   My husband feels best eating nothing but carbs.  That would kill me.  I need protein and fats to feel my best.  So, you see, everyone is different.  Feel empowered to find out what works for you!  But, if you like the way I am doing things here are a few diets you might want to check out:
Perfect Health Diet
Zonya Foco's Diet Free program
Primal Blueprint
Perfect 10 Diet
Weight Watchers  -check out their "power foods" which used to be called "Core"

3 comments:

  1. It's wonderful that you have figured out an eating plan that works for you...and really defined it well...and that it is something that makes you feel so good...isn't just something that you are trying to do for a while, just to lose weight...this is what leads to lasting change. And when you can figure this kind of thing out, then the weight can literally fall off of you as your body goes back into balance. Bravo!

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  2. Congratulations! Wishing you great success.

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  3. Thanks for the lovely comments!!

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