Losing the Baby Weight

My two girls

It is a rare woman who can go through 10 months of pregnancy cravings, give birth, and fit into her pre-pregnancy jeans soon after.  Some women can gain 60 or more pounds while pregnant!  Do the math.  If you have 3 children, and gain 60 pounds with each pregnancy, you might need bariatric surgery by the end your child-bearing years.

Clean Plate Club

Are you a member of the Clean Plate Club (CPC)? If you are, you probably eat more than you should.

You Are What You Eat

Have you ever talked to a passionate vegan who asked you to give up meat?  If you’re anything like me, you might have responded with, “I didn’t fight my way to the top of the food chain to eat plants!”

There are many superb reasons to go meat-free:

1)      For religious reasons

2)      For greater wellness

3)      For social reasons

4)      For global reasons

Unlike many carnivores, I am not threatened by those who “Go V!”.  For those who don’t know, vegetarians are those who do not eat meat.  Vegans are those who do not eat any animal products.  Vegetarians eat fish, eggs, milk, and cheese.  Vegans don’t eat any of those.  Some of the tastiest food I’ve ever eaten was vegetarian.

Regardless, it can be extremely uncomfortable for me to talk with someone who is passionately vegan by choice.

Taste of Thoughts Book Review

http://www.amazon.com/review/R3OECRUZJEBRIX

Can’t is a 4 Letter Word

I ran as fast as I could to the safety of my room.  There, I crawled underneath my bed and laid my tear-streaked face on the rough carpet.  Repeating over and over to myself, “I can’t, I can’t, I just can’t”.

 

The cause of this turmoil?  My Ma had just told me that I should stop eating potato chips.  I was a young child, and I was obese.

 

At the time, giving up potato chips was akin to Armageddon.  It was as unthinkable as becoming a mermaid.  It was a challenge that I refused to accept.

 

Today, I have no problem avoiding potato chips.  Remember that famous Lays slogan, “you can’t eat just one?”  They lied.  Not only have I given up potato chips, but I also have stopped even thinking of them as a complement to my favorite meals.

What changed between my childhood tantrum, and my current lack of interest?  I threw out the word, “I can’t.”  Along the way, I learned how to improve my health.

Recently, I was chatting with a personal trainer about one of her clients.  Her client is a busy professional who spends almost every day in the gym.  To my astonishment, she said that he also fasts for up to 3 days at a time.  Considering that my family only approaches me in the morning after I’ve had something to eat, I opined, “I could never do that”.  She turned to me and said, “And that’s why you never will”.

I thought about that conversation for awhile.  Why wouldn’t I be able to fast for three days?  Sure, the last time I tried going without food, I lasted about 12 hours before scarfing down everything in sight.  But, past efforts don’t rule out future success.  The problem was not in my ability.  The problem was in my attitude!

What are your attitudes about your goals?

• When faced with the idea of trying a different workout, what are the first words that come to mind?

• When considering giving up one of your favorite foods, what makes you change your mind?

• When someone offers you a food you have never tried, or you can’t recognize, what do you say?

Can’t is a 4 letter word.  It also travels with some lesser-known family members.  You might recognize these family members, such as “should”, “might”, “don’t”, “won’t”, or “am not”.  All of these words underscore a fear of failure.

Guess what?  The more you fail, the more you improve!  Next time you find yourself saying, “I can’t”, STOP!  Replace “can’t”, with “can”.  Try this for 30 days.

My Ma once challenged me to give up one of my favorite childhood foods.  Little did I know that years later, I would have exceeded all expectations.  What challenge can you accept?

Photo credit: politicsandfinance.blogspot.com

Did Someone Say TREAT??

Like dogs and kids, my ears perk up when I hear the word TREAT.  The problem is, a treat is usually something I put in my mouth.  Something that has too much sugar and fat.  Something that I regret eating later on.

When growing up, the word treat was usually synonymous with “reward”.  A day long bike ride across the border into Illinois from Wisconsin was rewarded with ice cream.  A good grade in school was rewarded with homemade chocolate chip cookies.  An extra hand helping Ma grocery shopping was rewarded with a piece of candy.

Eventually, I got to the point where I was rewarding myself on a daily basis.  From theater-sized boxes of Spree candy to 4 scoop ice cream sundaes with chocolate syrup and nuts, I ate it all up.  Until the day I went cold turkey.

I stopped eating any desserts for one month!  I don’t remember just how difficult it was to last the whole month.  What I do remember is what happened one month later.

I had one of my most vivid eating memories one month later  After an intense absence, I allowed myself a one-time dessert extravaganza called “Offering to the Goddess“.  A smorgasbord of chocolate fondue, marshmallows, bananas, and grahams over an open flame, the Offering was truly god-like.

What I learned from my experience is that treats are not the same thing as rewards.  A treat is a momentary pleasure.  A reward can be a long-lived pleasure.  Ten years later, I can still taste the Offering.

Why you eat something is just as important as what you eat.  How many times have you eaten something just because it was there?  Or because you were stressed, or bored, or even angry?

When choosing to lose weight, you have to realize the difference between treats and rewards.  Once you do, you take one step closer to reaching your goals! Feel free to share some non-food treats that you enjoy!

Gluten-Free Bread Lover

I love bread.  I love cereal.  I love pasta and grains!  Why would I choose to go gluten-free?

I watched my Ma lose 60 pounds when she maintained a gluten-free diet.  I still ate a bowl of cereal every morning for breakfast.

I read Wheat Belly, a compelling book written by a cardiologist from Wisconsin who argues that modern-day wheat is the cause of many medical ailments in addition to obesity.  I still ate a sandwich for lunch every day.

I signed up in January 2013 with a personal trainer named Megan K., who challenges her clients to lose fat.  That’s when I went gluten-free.

Let’s start with the basics.  I don’t need to go gluten-free.  I am not allergic, or intolerant, or suffering from a mysterious ailment that does not respond to treatments.  Megan is not some hard-core trainer who screams that I need to “put the bread down”.

My goal is to experiment with a gluten-free life.  Basically, I want to see how long I can go without eating my beloved bread.

For those of you who are thinking that’s a recipe for disaster, think again.  This is how I began my weight loss journey of 100 pounds over a decade ago.  I wanted to experiment with a new way of eating back then, too.  I still haven’t looked back.

It took me two weeks of overall grumpiness and frustration before I manifested some of the benefits of cutting out bread.  So far, I have lost 6 pounds, 3% body fat, and the grumpiness of “dough withdrawal”.  I also have a different energy level.

In order to avoid bread, you have to have a lot of patience and a bit of creativity.

Here are my 3 best tips for those bread lovers who are willing to try:

1. Find go-to meals that take the work out of building your new meals (i.e., Amy’s Light and Lean entrees, Garden Lites, Kind Bars or Pamela’s Whenever Bars, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, fruit, raw veggies, nuts, etc)

2. Remember your specific motivation for going gluten-free

3. Don’t demonize bread!  If you obsess over a piece of bread, just eat it!

Only time will tell if I will completely adopt the gluten-free lifestyle.  They say that new habits are adopted within 21 days.  I have lasted for about one month.

What change can you make in your lifestyle, even if only for one month?

Nutrition Labels 101

How many artificial colors or flavors died to provide you with your food?  Regardless of what your weight loss goals are, you should always start at the beginning.  The beginning is knowing what you are putting in your body!  Did you know that Spanish researchers found that women who read food labels weigh nearly nine pounds less on average than those who don’t? (as reported in Fitness magazine)

Don’t take the word of the Spanish researchers.  Take it from me.  I lost nearly 100 pounds by studying food labels to make sure my nutrients were on track.  The first question you probably have is: what should I look for?

Below are some suggestions for those who are just starting out:

Calories

• Generally speaking, whole foods will have fewer calories than processed foods.  Would you rather have two apples or a half slice of pie for the same amount of calories?

Protein

• The more protein you eat, the more full you feel.  If you’re extremely active or train with weights, it also helps to maintain lean muscle mass.

Sugar

• It is true that the more sugar you eat, the more you crave.  Most low fat or processed foods have added sugar.

Beware of the following misleading claims:

Natural

• The FDA only regulates the word “natural” in meat and poultry products to include those that contain no artificial substances – although confusingly, genetically modified organisms are allowed.
• There is no official definition of what a “natural” vegetarian product can or cannot contain.

Reduced Sugar or Sugar-Free

• Typically, these foods are not low calorie foods, and the sugar is replaced with a sugar substitute.  Some sugar substitutes may cause indigestion.

Fiber

• Many food products these days have added fiber.  The American Dietetic Association’s position paper on fiber states that adding purified dietary fiber to foods is less likely to benefit Americans than changing diets to include more whole foods that are rich in the substance.

Based on your own needs, you might want to review food labels for other nutrients.  When I first started on my weight loss journey, I only paid attention to calories, fat, and fiber.  Today, I pay attention to calories, protein, and sugar.  Both approaches are getting results.

Ideally, the best foods you can eat are ones that don’t even have labels.  However, as someone who has struggled with their weight for over half my life, I understand that not everyone can completely change their diet overnight.  Take the first step.  Read the labels, and get one step closer to a healthier you!

Note: I am not a nutritionist or dietician, nor do I play one on TV.  I am someone who has slowly learned how to live a healthier lifestyle by self-informing and experimenting.

KFC Put Me in the Hospital

Finger-licking good?

The KFC locations in Minneapolis closed recently.  As I saw the boarded up windows, I felt nostalgic.  After all, KFC put me in the hospital.

I was 17 years old.  KFC was our family’s traditional Friday fare.  Even though I had been diagnosed with gall bladder stones just the previous year, I thought nothing of regularly eating fried foods.  Besides, I loved fried chicken and biscuits!

That night, I suffered a burning pain in my abdomen.  This is the same problem I had been having nearly every month since my gall bladder stones were discovered.  The pain of the “attack” is comparable in intensity to labor pain.  Like labor, the pain comes in waves.  Like labor, the pain can leave you sweating and straining.  Unlike labor, the pain does not result in a bundle of joy.

This time, the pain didn’t go away after several hours.  I was still sweating come the dawn.  Finally, my worried mom took me to the hospital.

I was scheduled for emergency surgery.  The gall stone had actually plugged up my pancreatic duct, which was back-washing bile into my stomach and making me even more ill.  Luckily, the gall bladder is not a necessary organ.  It was removed, along with the offensive stone.

The surgery was not without its perils.  I needed a blood transfusion the next day, and took a week to recover.  My stomach bloated to incredible proportions.  My mom later confessed that she was afraid I was going to die.

I didn’t die.  I went to my junior prom shortly after being discharged from the hospital.  My beautiful green prom dress needed to  be taken out to accommodate my bloated stomach.  I was also unable to do much dancing.

KFC is not a source of fear for me, despite its role in my emergency surgery at 17.  Regardless of the reason for the restaurant closings, I know that my eating choices are what caused my medical troubles.  KFC was just the vehicle.

What is the vehicle that is driving you away from your own health goals?

Photo credit: rickcafe.com

Biggest Holiday Challenges