1) Write down everything that goes into your mouth and how many calories it had.
I know it sounds neurotic, but I assure you, that's the point. "How the hell am I supposed to know how many calories are in 6 BBQ Jimmy John's chips?" you ask? Well, you're not. So it forces you to go through the process of researching the nutrition information, and then following that up with some mathematics to figure out the exact calories per your unique 6-chip portion. Sounds like a hassle, huh? It is. So skip the chips and half a clementine instead (20 cals).
2) Reward yourself early, reward yourself often.
Believe it or not, I used the gold old star-sticker strategy to reward myself throughout this journey. Yup, every time I reached a goal, I put a yellow star sticker on my progress sheet. At first I said, "I'll put a sticker down if I reach my goal for the day." But then I realized, a day is a long time, ladies and gentlemen. Think about it: every day, you have to keep your willpower in check for 1,440 consecutive minutes. And believe me, a few of those are going to be haunted by cravings for Oreos. So I figured, if I made it through breakfast without going beyone 200 calories or incorporating a few peanut butter M & M's before noon...STICKER. If I had my salad and fiber bar for lunch and refrained from taking a trip to the vending machine...STICKER. If I got home and prepared my own dinner aside my Mom and Dad who were busy chowing on cheese toretellini...STICKER. Some days,I would rack up 6 stickers, but it worked. I have never come across a meal (or day, for that matter) that I didn't earn my sticker. I know a sticker can't buy me shoes and doesn't have any value in the real world, but mentally, getting a sticker was like winning the lotto. Create your own value system and reward often in the beginning to keep yourself on track.
3) Always order the small.
I haven't eaten out much this week, for obvious reasons. But I did head to Jamba Juice this morning for a little pick-me-up. Normally I get the medium (24 oz.). Sometimes I get a large (32?). But today I got the small. After 16 oz., I felt full enough, got my serving of fruit, boosted my immunity and it only cost me 150 calories. What I'm realizing is that whether it's a tall latte, a small cup of fro-yo, a smoothie, or an order of fries - there really is no reason ever to order bigger than a size small. I firmly believe it should never be your goal to "feel full" after eating, it's to feel full enough. And that's precisely what the purpose of ordering the small is. Bring food back down to it's basics - it's fuel for your body to function. When you fill up your gas tank, you stop at the point where it's full enough. You don't keep filling when it already has enough to do it's job, right? Same thing goes for food.
4) Think about things from a medical standpoint.
I often thought about what my body would go through in the time after I would ingest some calorie bomb like a greasy burger or chocolate lava cake. I'm convinced foods like these send your body into some serious shock. All your internal systems must go into overdrive figuring out how to process the contamination - it's like an oil spill in your body and let's just say...clean up is a bitch. Your body does you a lot of favors in life, do one for it. Give it foods that are easy to process and help it function better over all. How simple is that?
5) Keep it to yourself.
This next one is going to sound like an oxymoron since I'm writing a public blog about my experiences. However, if you remember my very first post, I declared the purposed of doing this was more for me - to hold myself accountable by putting words on paper. Kind of like a contract. But as far as telling people about eating less and working out more, or the details of how my pants are fitting on a daily basis, or complaining about calories or being hungry, etc. etc. etc., I just keep this process to myself and battle for a better body on my own. The less I talk about it in the open, the less excruciating dieting seems. Plus, people get diet envy. Most people, your friends and family included, probably don't have the willpower you are mustering up right now, so the fact that you have it is definitely something to envy. Don't let anyone throw your game in a fit of jealousy. Keep on track by keeping your mouth zipped.
There you have it. I'll reflect more next week.
Anything is possible:
Monday's starting weight- 120
Friday's starting weight- 115
No comments:
Post a Comment