So if you haven't been following my twitter, here are highlights of my weekly health goals I try to incorporate in my life. Small changes to great health.
2010 weekly health goal #10: Commit to increasing your moderate physical activity by 5 minutes a day each week until you reach 1.5-2 hours
2010 weekly health goal #9: Swap one meal a day for a vegetarian meal. It could be a veggie breakfast omelet, veggie burger or salad.
2010 weekly health goal #8: Shrink your stomach by eating less than 1 L in volume of food a meal and waiting at least 3 hours between meals.
2010 weekly health goal #7: Clean your living area like your bedroom and kitchen. De-cluttering your space leads to a healthy mind and body.
2010 weekly health goal #6: Don't eat for 3 hours before bed. Nutritionists say it's untrue. Try it and weigh yourself in the AM. Believe.
2010 weekly health goal #5: Cut one thing out of your diet. It's called processed white carbs. No sugar or white bread.
2010 weekly health goal #4: Start your morning with a good breakfast. Whole grains, lean protein, veggies. Veg egg white omelet with toast!
2010 weekly health goal #3: Plan out your meals. Go for 50% of food space from non-starchy veggies, 25% lean meats and 25% whole grains.
2010 weekly health goal #2: Eat 5-9 servings of fruits and non-starchy vegetables a day. Yes to asparagus, no to potatoes.
2010 weekly health goal #1: Drink 3L of water a day. Yes, that's 2 of those monster 1.5L. Cleanse baby cleanse!
Showing posts with label diet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diet. Show all posts
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Eat Like A Child, Your Child
After the blog about McDonald's and the children I got to thinking about how one of my milestones is having a child. It's this far off wish that I rationalize will be the time I'll give up my bad habits.
"I'll eat right when I'm pregnant for sure."
"Breast feeding will be great for my metabolism."
"Sex and the City told me that taking care of a baby will help me burn calories."
The one thing I do look forward to is fixing things like healthy bento boxes for my kids. Have you seen them? Adventures in Bentomaking is one of the most inspired blogs on bentos. Small portions of fresh food heavy in fruits and vegetables along with lean proteins. Isn't that the perfect diet?
Do you have an idea of what you actually want your kids to eat? What if you ate the same things? Does the well being and health of your child inspire you to be healthier?
Things I like about kids foods:
1. Convenience and portability are of the utmost importance in kids meals. That idea melds well with the compact self contained nature of so many fruits. Think strawberries and bananas! How much more convenient does it get?
2. Robust colors and visual appeal are paramount to get children to eat it. Eating the rainbow is not just some skittles advertisement. Eating the natural rainbow in produce provides more nutrients and antioxidants than plain green leafy vegetables.
3. Small amounts of lean meats. Kids naturally don't usually eat a lot of meat and don't have a problem consuming lean meats while not having cravings for fattening protein like bacon. Sticking to proteins that don't overpower the fruits, vegetables and whole grains in mass results in less calories at each meal.
What I like the most about eating a healthy child's diet is that children learn good nutrition not just through what you feed them but by watching what their parents eat. Why not be a good example?
"I'll eat right when I'm pregnant for sure."
"Breast feeding will be great for my metabolism."
"Sex and the City told me that taking care of a baby will help me burn calories."
The one thing I do look forward to is fixing things like healthy bento boxes for my kids. Have you seen them? Adventures in Bentomaking is one of the most inspired blogs on bentos. Small portions of fresh food heavy in fruits and vegetables along with lean proteins. Isn't that the perfect diet?
Do you have an idea of what you actually want your kids to eat? What if you ate the same things? Does the well being and health of your child inspire you to be healthier?
Things I like about kids foods:
1. Convenience and portability are of the utmost importance in kids meals. That idea melds well with the compact self contained nature of so many fruits. Think strawberries and bananas! How much more convenient does it get?
2. Robust colors and visual appeal are paramount to get children to eat it. Eating the rainbow is not just some skittles advertisement. Eating the natural rainbow in produce provides more nutrients and antioxidants than plain green leafy vegetables.
3. Small amounts of lean meats. Kids naturally don't usually eat a lot of meat and don't have a problem consuming lean meats while not having cravings for fattening protein like bacon. Sticking to proteins that don't overpower the fruits, vegetables and whole grains in mass results in less calories at each meal.
What I like the most about eating a healthy child's diet is that children learn good nutrition not just through what you feed them but by watching what their parents eat. Why not be a good example?
Monday, April 26, 2010
McDonald's and the Children
On the way home though, Josh, my dear husband and I discussed it. Though it's staggering that someone who has lived in the United States her whole life has never had anything from the Golden Arches it's a testament to the dedication of her parents to keep her away from it and teach her the habits to stay away from junk food.
It's a dedication that I would hope to have but most likely won't in the long run because I believe that to evolve a palate one must start young and make them open minded eaters. I can't very well tell my children that they have to try everything they *say* they don't like to eat at least 3 times if I'm not willing to let them try something that they may want to eat right?
That being said, junk food is off the table until the child is at least 3 years old. Why? Because that's when they can actually play with the Happy Meal Toys and will likely start demanding things.
I personally feel that if I eat a clean diet of vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and fruit throughout my pregnancy and continue on through each kid's childhood healthy eating habits will come naturally to them. The occasional splurge on Happy Meals is a lesson in moderation.
Depriving them of something that is popularized in the media and can be geared healthily now (apple slices instead of french fries, 1% milk instead of soda) will likely make them binge when they can buy their own food in high school and college.
(Image Courtesy of Get Fitness Here.)
Monday, November 16, 2009
Japanese Women Don't Get Fat or Old?
As I was lazing around my house Sunday after a gluttonous wedding weekend as a Matron of Honor I was perusing the health and fitness videos on MSN.com and came across a clip from the Today show where Katie Couric interviews the author of Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat: Secrets of My Mother's Tokyo Kitchen
.I'm Chinese, I buy into the idea that the average Asian diet is healthier than the average American diet so of course, I kept watching. Apparently there are 7 basic guidelines.
Here's the gist with my own little spin:
1. Healthy ingredients make for healthy food. Eat homemmade meals preferably using fish, soy, vegetables and fruit. She made a point in the interview of noting that chicken is fine, the key is less red meat.
2. Get Closer to the Grain. Use rice instead of bread. Brown rice is preferred.
3. Small Plates, Smaller Body. Eat smaller portions by serving your food separately on small plates. The sample meal in the video included a small bowl of miso soup, a small bowl of mixed green salad, a small plate of chicken, a small bowl of rice, a small plate of multicolored vegetables and a pot of green tea with cup. Visually it looked like a lot and full of healthy and appetizing foods.
4. Miso Happy Day. Have a bowl of miso soup for breakfast, which is traditional in Japan because of ease and quickness of preparation, it's high nutrient, protein and fiber values and because it's just plain delicious.
5. Small Desserts. No really, that pazookie is not small enough.
6. Light and Gentle Cooking. I'm a big proponent of raw fish and other sea life but this concept lends itself to general Japanese cooking. Steaming, brief boiling, anything that doesn't impact the original ingredient too far from it's original flavors is preferred. Yes, I am talking to you Broccoli Casserole.
7. Hari Hachi Bunme. This is the Japanese art of not stuffing your face until you're full ala some pizza buffet. The author more tactifully put it as eating small amounts of food whenever you like until you are 80 percent full.
Pretty solid ideas except I like foods from other cultures. There's got to be easier, wider guidelines. I'll think on it and get back to you soon.
Image courtesy of Finnair.com.
Monday, September 29, 2008
3 Easy Rules of Thumb
With all the fad diets out there, and if you've read my blog you've seen I've tried many, at the end of the day there is only a handful of rules that if you follow you'll be on the right track to eating healthy the easy way.
1. If you can't figure out the ingredients, don't put it in your mouth. For instance, that twinkie you've been eying at the 7-Eleven near you isn't an option. I don't know what Sorbic Acid is and I heard that it actually is derived from natural gas. Gross.
2. If it naturally grows from soil, with the exception of various drugs and poisonous things, it probably is good for you.
2a. It's probably even better for you closest to it's natural state from the soil. I.e. whole apples as opposed to apple juice.
3. If it comes from the ocean it's probably a good source of lean protein.
3a. If it's a white meat, it's probably also a good source of lean protein.
1. If you can't figure out the ingredients, don't put it in your mouth. For instance, that twinkie you've been eying at the 7-Eleven near you isn't an option. I don't know what Sorbic Acid is and I heard that it actually is derived from natural gas. Gross.
2. If it naturally grows from soil, with the exception of various drugs and poisonous things, it probably is good for you.
2a. It's probably even better for you closest to it's natural state from the soil. I.e. whole apples as opposed to apple juice.
3. If it comes from the ocean it's probably a good source of lean protein.
3a. If it's a white meat, it's probably also a good source of lean protein.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Alcohol is Out!
I watched a few episodes of 30 Days, you know that "documentary" show hosted by the guy who brought you Supersize Me? One of the episodes for 30 days was called "Binge Drinking" as if the guy never went to college or something!
Well just as Supersize Me encouraged me to go vegetarian for some time, 30 Day encouraged me to gift up the Drink for a month or two just to see how it would go.
I'm over half way through and I've dropped 5 lbs (I'm assuming because my body has stopped needing to process alcohol and can now focus on processing fat) and feel pretty good. I'm up to 2X a day workouts (an hour long morning run and at least 1.5 hours at the gym after work) and I'm not pigging out on junk food after getting trashed. Overall, kicking alcohol to the curb for a while has proven to be one of the most worthwhile changes I've made to my lifestyle for a while.
When I do get the urge to socially drink, which just happens to be the times I am tempted the most I've come up with some delicious mocktails. Check it out here.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Low Carb: Why Does It Work? Part 2
I'm on Day 3 of my low carb adventure. I assume that eventually, after the first 30 days it'll be a lifestyle choice instead of an adventure per se. I'm starting to feel the dizzy carb withdrawls which I can only assume are occurring because my body has no more glucose to burn, no more glycogen to tap into for energy and as a result, thinks I am starving. After I go to the gym for a couple of hours tonight I'm going to assume my body will start burning fat.
Back to the low carb logic. Insulin is the hormone that basically stops the use of fat for energy. It is responsible for pulling glucose from the blood stream and converting into the glycogen for energy use. The body will only store about a day's worth of glycogen for energy use. Anything beyond what the body can convert and store as glycogen is converted to fat.
Insulin is released whenever glucose is released into the blood stream. Glucose is apparently something our bodies want regulated in the blood so insulin is something of a blood stream hero. There's some nitty gritty science going on about glucose release but we'll skip it. For low carb purposes, know that the consumption of carbohydrates results in the introduction of glucose into the blood stream which results in the release of insulin.
So how do you avoid the release of insulin in the blood stream if you need to get at least 7 servings of vegetables in per day and vegetables naturally have carbohydrates in them?
The key is minimize the amount of glucose released in the blood stream resulting in the smallest amount of insulin released into the blood stream. The less glucose, the less insulin required to regulate the glucose levels.
So what vegetables should you eat to reduce the amount of insulin released and continue to burn fat? For that answer we turn to the Glycemic Index (GI).
This is another topic that most mainstream diets fail on. Being low on the GI is not purely enough to say that you can eat as much of it as you want. The GI measures the glucose effect on blood when a particular food is eaten. That measurement is based on a specific serving size. Consumption beyond that serving size can increase the glucose load.
Most foods that have a high fiber to calorie ratio, low in glucose and fructose as well as high in fat tend to have a much lower GI rating than foods than the average food.
Particularly easy to eat, find and enjoy low GI foods include:
(Chart courtesy of southbeach-diet-plan.com)
Back to the low carb logic. Insulin is the hormone that basically stops the use of fat for energy. It is responsible for pulling glucose from the blood stream and converting into the glycogen for energy use. The body will only store about a day's worth of glycogen for energy use. Anything beyond what the body can convert and store as glycogen is converted to fat.
Insulin is released whenever glucose is released into the blood stream. Glucose is apparently something our bodies want regulated in the blood so insulin is something of a blood stream hero. There's some nitty gritty science going on about glucose release but we'll skip it. For low carb purposes, know that the consumption of carbohydrates results in the introduction of glucose into the blood stream which results in the release of insulin.
So how do you avoid the release of insulin in the blood stream if you need to get at least 7 servings of vegetables in per day and vegetables naturally have carbohydrates in them?
The key is minimize the amount of glucose released in the blood stream resulting in the smallest amount of insulin released into the blood stream. The less glucose, the less insulin required to regulate the glucose levels.
So what vegetables should you eat to reduce the amount of insulin released and continue to burn fat? For that answer we turn to the Glycemic Index (GI).
This is another topic that most mainstream diets fail on. Being low on the GI is not purely enough to say that you can eat as much of it as you want. The GI measures the glucose effect on blood when a particular food is eaten. That measurement is based on a specific serving size. Consumption beyond that serving size can increase the glucose load.
Most foods that have a high fiber to calorie ratio, low in glucose and fructose as well as high in fat tend to have a much lower GI rating than foods than the average food.
Particularly easy to eat, find and enjoy low GI foods include:(Chart courtesy of southbeach-diet-plan.com)
Thursday, June 12, 2008
JTV: Anderson's Split Pea Soup
Honestly though, I get sick of the constant influx of sweet juices and with tomatoes on the salmonella list raw tomato juice aren't an option and you know I'm not shucking peas for every pea drink I want. Sure, I could blend frozen peas but with the cans I can make a can of non vegetarian pea juice for my fiancé too.
He likes meat. And get jealous when something I eat looks healthier than what he's eating. The key word is "looks".
JTV: Juice Fasting - Day 1.5
Juice fasting, renamed juice feasting, for those who want to avoid the negative stigma of fasting. Personally, as a Buddhist, I know that the word "Fast" isn't a bad one. When I started my first juice fast someone asked me why. Why give up food to drink your calories for a week?
The idea first appealed to me because I knew my body was seriously laden down, full of garbage and bad foodstuffs. I wanted to go vegetarian, but it still wasn't enough. I needed to cleanse all this vodka out of my body. I read about juice feasting on a blog from my friend's fiance who went away to a 12 day retreat and came back centered and vegan. She quenched her cravings for anything bad with a juice fast.
Now with anything that sounds completely radical, people have a million opinions on what juice fasting does. In my reading, the following made me want to give it a shot:
1. Detoxification of the internal organs, like the colon,without forgoing and nutritional intake.
2. Shrinks the stomach to it's original size preventing overconsumption after breaking the fast.
3. Weans the faster off any food additions that are derailing their health goals.
4. Allows the body to focus on detoxification including releasing toxins from fat cells instead of on digestion.
During my first 3 day juice fast I did end up with lighter with more energy, prettier hair and skin, as well as a more peaceful and positive attitude. The world was oddly sunshiney and bright. I'm going to have to assume it's not that the massive amount of beta carotene from the gallons of carrot juice are repairing my vision.
Update: I didn't do any subsequent updates to JTV because it was time consuming to make my own juice and lower energy when fasted for more than 4 days. I still do juice fast from time to time when I need a quick cleanse.
JTV: Juice Fasting - Day 1
This girl has been living the loose and cruisey lifestyle, drinking, smoking while doing the obligatory straight west coasting. So for a few days last week I took on juice fasting just to see what it would do. It ended up losing me 5 lbs in water weight, giving me the energy to workout a few hours daily at the gym and cleared my mind.
Then back to the party lifestyle this past weekend. And oddly my body was demanding, I dare say craving to go off food and back onto juice, so today I got back on the juice wagon.
I should clarify that along with my juice I am also having a slew of supplements. I'm taking a detox stack from Prosource that includes a Super Detox and an Ultra Cleanse. In addition to that I'm taking a thermogenic called Adicor, a multivitamin, hair, skin and nails (HSN) supplements and a vitamin B complex pill. I take the detox stack in the morning and at night. I have the Adicor 3 times a day, the HSN supplement in the morning, the multivitamin in the afternoon and the B vitamin in the evening before going to the gym.
I know, it sounds like a lot but I was taking the Multi, B vitamin and the HSN before hand, my trainer recommended the detox stack because he's partied with me before, and another trainer recommended the Adicor to supplement my weight loss goals at the gym and I've made sure there is no conflict with any of these health supplements.
So today I picked up a delicious juice from a local small time juice shop that included pineapple, papaya and apple. The 32 oz. has lasted me from 9:30am until 1:30pm. I have gotten pangs of hunger here and there, usually when I haven't had a sip of juice in a while but overall my energy levels are good and I'm looking forward to the gym tonight.
I've been doing about 1 hour of cardio, 1 hour of weights and then hitting the pool and steam room after my workouts for detox purposes. After my workout I usually have additional juice or vegetarian split pea soup. Arguably some people say that this doesn't count because the juice should be raw and blah and blah.
I say bottle juices are fine, and I'll get into this tomorrow because it has to do with the purpose of juice fasting.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
JTV: Chinese Food
Yesterday at the Rockband get together I did have some Coq Au Vin. I have a hard time serving people completely vegetarian meals because there seems to be a negative stigma against not providing meat protein as a dinner party host.
I made some great vegetarian sides like cauliflower au gratin, garlic green beans and whole wheat couscous, of which I have plenty of leftovers that I'll be eating for the rest of the weekend.
Yesterday, for lunch I had a bean and cheese burrito. I think going forward I'll have to get those from Taco Bell because I can only assume that authentic restaurants have animal lard in the beans. At least, that's what fiance keeps reminding me.
I'm back eating vegetarian and stopped into the Veggie Wokery, a vegetarian Chinese restaurant and ordered basil eggplant, hot and sour soup and a side of multigrain brown rice. IN the soup I came across faux squid! It actually had the consistency of squid and you could barely tell it wasn't real squid!
Here's another reason to go vegetarian, courtesy of the Vegetarian Times:
"2 You'll save your heart. Cardiovascular disease is still the number one killer in the United States, and the standard American diet (SAD) that's laden with saturated fat and cholesterol from meat and dairy is largely to blame. Children as young as age 3 who are raised on fast food and junk food show early signs of heart disease, according to the Bogalusa Heart Study done at the Louisiana State University. Cardiovascular disease is found in one in nine women aged 45 to 64 and in one in three women over 65. Heart attacks are also deadlier to the fairer sex: 53 percent of women who have heart attacks die from them, compared with 47 percent of men. Today, the average American male eating a meat-based diet has a 50 percent chance of dying from heart disease. His risk drops to 15 percent if he cuts out meat; it goes to 4 percent if he cuts out meat, dairy and eggs. Partly responsible is the fact that fruits and vegetables are full of antioxidant nutrients that protect the heart and its arteries. Plus, produce contains no saturated fat or cholesterol. Incidentally, cholesterol levels for vegetarians are 14 percent lower than meat eaters." -Norine Dworkin
Image courtesy of itofoods, where you can find vegetarian squid.
Friday, April 11, 2008
JTV: The First Step
For some people I think that jumping into vegetarianism sounds awful. My family, full of serious meat eaters, couldn't understand why I would forsake something like meat when I went vegetarian years ago. At the time it was based on a principled value: that the reason why animal meat is bad for you is because we're not supposed to eat it. Afterall, why does animal fat, with the exception of seafood, have such a bad effect on the human body?
I'll be the first to admit, I'm not the best at doing things that are good for my body. Like drinking. I know that vodka club soda is not good for me but when I'm out there it is in my hand asking me to drink it.
But thinking about why vegetarianism is a good choice for my life is probably how I'll stick to it. So courtesy of the vegetarian times, here is reason number 1:
"1 You'll live a lot longer. Vegetarians live about seven years longer, and vegans (who eat no animal products) about 15 years longer than meat eaters, according to a study from Loma Linda University. These findings are backed up by the China Health Project (the largest population study on diet and health to date), which found that Chinese people who eat the least amount of fat and animal products have the lowest risks of cancer, heart attack and other chronic degenerative diseases. And a British study that tracked 6,000 vegetarians and 5,000 meat eaters for 12 years found that vegetarians were 40 percent less likely to die from cancer during that time and 20 percent less likely to die from other diseases." --Norine Dworkin
Image courtesy of DesiThreads who actually sells the shirt pictured.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Journey to Vegetarianism
I think the healthiest time in my life was when I was a vegetarian. My body felt good, my mood was better and my mind was focused. Whenever my body feels awful I think about how detoxing with a month or so of veggies would be great. So today I started.
On my way to work I picked up a small container of strawberries from a local farm and 2 containers of basil seaweed from my favorite vegetarian restaurant. I have a bottle of water and a bottle of orange juice and I'm hoping it'll all get me through the day. When I get home I'll probably have some soba noodles.
I realized that part of being a successful vegetarian is to give up any notion of the Standard American Diet which usually comprises of some protien, a carb and a vegetable side. Indeed we can subsist on fruits and vegetables alone.
Today I feel lighter already and have already taken in more water than I normally would. I'm not even going to think about the calories.
On my way to work I picked up a small container of strawberries from a local farm and 2 containers of basil seaweed from my favorite vegetarian restaurant. I have a bottle of water and a bottle of orange juice and I'm hoping it'll all get me through the day. When I get home I'll probably have some soba noodles.
I realized that part of being a successful vegetarian is to give up any notion of the Standard American Diet which usually comprises of some protien, a carb and a vegetable side. Indeed we can subsist on fruits and vegetables alone.
Today I feel lighter already and have already taken in more water than I normally would. I'm not even going to think about the calories.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Weight Training Goals (Part 2 - How Long)
One of the biggest questions I always have is hong long something is going to take. I'm pretty impatient, so wanting a shorter time frame is always best. I know weight loss can take a while, usually about 1lb for a week, sometimes 2 if you're training really hard but how long does it take to build a lb of muscle.
For the answer, I turned to Yahoo Answers. Here's what contributors had to say:
"It depends on your diet and how often you train. If you train hard and eat at least 1g per 1lb of protein, you can perhaps gain 1lb a month on average (assuming you are female)."
"gaining muscle is all about the diet. resistance training only stimulates muscle growth. there must be a caloric excess in the diet and sufficient nutrients from proteins, carbs and fats. women have less muscle mass then men because their bodies produce roughly 1/10 the amount of test. to insure high test production you need to make sure that you are getting 20% of the daily calories from healthy fats. test production can drop by 30-40% in a woman with a low fat diet.
shoot for 40% protein, 40% carbs and 20% fats."
For the answer, I turned to Yahoo Answers. Here's what contributors had to say:
"It depends on your diet and how often you train. If you train hard and eat at least 1g per 1lb of protein, you can perhaps gain 1lb a month on average (assuming you are female)."
"gaining muscle is all about the diet. resistance training only stimulates muscle growth. there must be a caloric excess in the diet and sufficient nutrients from proteins, carbs and fats. women have less muscle mass then men because their bodies produce roughly 1/10 the amount of test. to insure high test production you need to make sure that you are getting 20% of the daily calories from healthy fats. test production can drop by 30-40% in a woman with a low fat diet.
shoot for 40% protein, 40% carbs and 20% fats."
Friday, January 18, 2008
Every Day Is A New Day
It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through. - Zig Zigler
I have a confession. I'm great at starting at horrible at the follow through. A lack of discipline and a short attention span that rivals the lack of inches in my physical height I feel are to blame. Some people build up this great forward momentum, change their lives, achieve great heights and sometimes I wonder, especially when it comes to my physical appearance goals, why I can't seem to make things stick.
But I know the answer. I know it's because I get gung ho about making huge changes to my diet and exercise and start full force forgoing the fact that I actually have to live my multifaceted life that doesn't have room for just one single focus day in and day out. No, I have a company to run, a fiance to love, a family to spend quality time with and friends who actually want me to be present.
These changes I make, I have to be able to not just stick to the diet that I know is good for me and fit in the exercise that I know I need, they have to change the way I live my life and make my choices. They have to shift my paradigm. I have to make changes that work for my life and keep me happy.
I'm good with loose rules and daily goals that don't have to be done by a certain time but I need to set limitations to remind myself not to step beyond the realm of moderation.
I think I've developed a personal diet that I can stick to and tomorrow I'll start to take all of you along on that journey.
I have a confession. I'm great at starting at horrible at the follow through. A lack of discipline and a short attention span that rivals the lack of inches in my physical height I feel are to blame. Some people build up this great forward momentum, change their lives, achieve great heights and sometimes I wonder, especially when it comes to my physical appearance goals, why I can't seem to make things stick.
But I know the answer. I know it's because I get gung ho about making huge changes to my diet and exercise and start full force forgoing the fact that I actually have to live my multifaceted life that doesn't have room for just one single focus day in and day out. No, I have a company to run, a fiance to love, a family to spend quality time with and friends who actually want me to be present.
These changes I make, I have to be able to not just stick to the diet that I know is good for me and fit in the exercise that I know I need, they have to change the way I live my life and make my choices. They have to shift my paradigm. I have to make changes that work for my life and keep me happy.
I'm good with loose rules and daily goals that don't have to be done by a certain time but I need to set limitations to remind myself not to step beyond the realm of moderation.
I think I've developed a personal diet that I can stick to and tomorrow I'll start to take all of you along on that journey.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Community
There are times when I'm happy with how I look and in turn become complacent with what I eat. Sure, these times are usually after a really great workout session with Anthony, my personal trainer, but they're detrimental to my weight loss goals.
I believe the reason I haven't been as committed as I could be to reaching my goal weight is because I'm having a hard time facing the fact that I am in actuality overweight and as a result am putting a strain on my heart and general health. I realize that it's hard going it alone so I decided to join a community. Today I joined http://weight-loss.fitness.com.
I'm committed to the following:
1. Keeping a food diary. *edit: I'll just be keeping the information on my fitday.com account.
2. Sticking to my diet that includes the following items:
a. 100g of protein per day (Approximately 33g per meal or a 4 oz skinless chicken breast).
b. 25g of fiber per day ( Approximately 8g per meal or a Thomas's light english muffin).
c. 7 servings of fruits and vegetables (Approximately 2 servings of veggies per meal and a fruit snack or a salad before a meal and a fruit dessert after).
d. 2.2 liters of water per day.
3. At least 1 hour of exercise per day. Ideally a training run.
4. Posting daily on the weight loss forum.
I believe the reason I haven't been as committed as I could be to reaching my goal weight is because I'm having a hard time facing the fact that I am in actuality overweight and as a result am putting a strain on my heart and general health. I realize that it's hard going it alone so I decided to join a community. Today I joined http://weight-loss.fitness.com.
I'm committed to the following:
1. Keeping a food diary. *edit: I'll just be keeping the information on my fitday.com account.
2. Sticking to my diet that includes the following items:
a. 100g of protein per day (Approximately 33g per meal or a 4 oz skinless chicken breast).
b. 25g of fiber per day ( Approximately 8g per meal or a Thomas's light english muffin).
c. 7 servings of fruits and vegetables (Approximately 2 servings of veggies per meal and a fruit snack or a salad before a meal and a fruit dessert after).
d. 2.2 liters of water per day.
3. At least 1 hour of exercise per day. Ideally a training run.
4. Posting daily on the weight loss forum.
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