No one ever said weight loss was easy, and I am not kidding when I say this has been a journey. I am not even at the end of it yet. I still have daily struggles, spurts of depression that cause me to commit emotion eating, and I still get frustrated and tired of fighting my cravings. But I have seen results. I understand that because I put on 65 lbs of weight in a 10 year period, I am not going to lose it in a few weeks or even a year, like stupid celebrities claim to. I'm a work in progress. I am learning as I go. I have found out so much about myself and that I really do have a lot of strength within.
To those of you I email or tweet a lot, this may sound familiar. I shared this email and decided to copy/paste it here, as it's filled with relevant info and it's the most up-to-date with the eating/exercising that I am doing now.
***************DISCLAIMER............. I am not a nutritionist, a doctor, or a trainer; however, I have found results w/this WAY of eating and thinking, and hope it helps. I have consulted Jillian's books, esp, "MASTERING YOUR METABOLISM," as well as my friend who's a Ph.D. in Exercise Science.
Things to keep in mind:
1. whatever your goal weight is, x10, is how many calories you should eat in a day...NEVER less than 900 calories a day; i.e. I wanna weigh 135, so I try to eat between 1350 and 1400 cals
2. that same goal weight, you should be eating that many GRAMS of protein a day: i.e. 135-140 g of protein for me.
3. less carbs the better, but only to a certain extent--- I think Atkin's was a moron, and there's no GOOD reason healthwise to remove carbs completely.Carbs are necessary to LIVE. In order to build lean muscle, and still be able to function, I only eat 100g of carbs a day. (Recommended daily amt. based on a 2,000 cal a day diet is 300g of carbs a day....that's A LOT unless you are a heavy duty bodybuilder/athlete, and generally, that's the amt a man would need.)---> Michael Phelps ate up to 12,000 calories a day in training, FYI!
4. skipping meals is BAD-- you make your metabolism sluggish and almost non-existent if you don't eat. if you are hungry, you need to eat
5. a small meal every 2-3 hours is ideal
6. drinking at least 10 glasses of water is necessary, esp if you are training hard.
7. when the weight starts to come off, you'll need to add a complex carb to your diet- (whole wheat toast) to add calories and fiber
8. diet sodas are BAD, they slow your metabolism because of all the chemicals in em. water is the only way to go
9. use sugar alternates in moderation; Truvia is the only one now that's made from a plant. The others are chemically processed
10. candy, and "100 cal" things are not good, because they are processed junk that slow your metabolism, and are filled w/carbs and sugar despite being only 100 cal.
11. stay away from "WHITE" stuff: bread, pasta, sugar. They are all icky bad CARBS. They spike your glucose, give you the crash and burn effect, and cause your body to store fat instead of use it as fuel.
My vitamin supplements are as follows:
Biotin: for hair/nail support
Women's Multi Vitamin
Calcium Citrate
Flaxseed Oil: digestive health & fat loss
Papaya Extract: digestive health
B-12 Complex: energy & metabolism
Green Tea Extract: metabolism support
B-12 sublingual lozenge
CLA: Congugated Linoleic Acid: body toning/fat loss
Zyrtec
This is what I eat and when:
7 am. Whey protein shake-- this is important because it has SUPER RECOVERY BLEND in it. This is creatine and L.Glutamine to help prevent after workout soreness, and to help repair muscle tears. 1 scoop of powder, 1/2 c 0% fat milk, 1/2 c blackberries, 1 tsp almond butter, 1 tsp wheat germ
9 am 1/2 c whole grain oatmeal w/ cinnamon & Splenda -OR- 3 hard boiled eggs- (2 egg whites only, 1 w/yolk), 2 pieces of turkey bacon
11 am 1c Oikos PLAIN Greek yogurt w/ 1 tsp wheat germ, 1/2 c blackberries (Using GREEK YOGURT is very important because a lot of other yogurts have up to 20g of sugar in them, 20g of carbs, and little protein. This particular brand is GREAT because it has 23g of protein, and 9g sugar and 9g carbs.)
1 pm spring greens salad w/4 oz grilled chicken and low fat dressing -OR- a can of tuna w/lemon juice, spring greens mixed w/broccoli slaw and a baked sweet potato w/cinnamon
3 pm 1 apple w/ 1tbs almond butter; -OR- 1c cottage cheese w/ 24 raw almonds
5pm GYM.....if I am STARVING, I'll eat a LUNA BAR, but they have about 27g of carbs, and that's A LOT because I am usually already at 100g of carbs by this time.
6pm dinner; usually 6oz chicken breast or tilapia fillet; boiled, or baked, 1-2c of asparagus, broccoli, spinach, or collard greens. Sometimes I'll use a CARB CHOPPER whole wheat tortilla and make a burrito of some sort w/the chicken; I have made low-carb pizza w/whole wheat flat bread. I make my own sauce or buy organic w/o sugar added, and w/o high fructose corn syrup.
It varies...I also eat black beans, red beans, or lentils as the protein source, on their own, or w/chicken & fish. I used to eat a lot of brown rice, but, again, it has a lot of carbs, even though it's a complex carb, I am at the point where I am avoiding them after 6 pm, and trying to stick w/the 100g daily. Your needs might be higher, and honestly, you should consult a doctor just to be sure. You might have other considerations to keep in mind. ALSO, ONE cheat MEAL a week will keep you sane and it REBOOSTS your metabolism.
My exercise regimen is pretty intense. I do HIIT : High Intensity Interval Training: sprinting & walking in intervals on the treadmill for 20 minutes, while changing speeds every 1-2 minutes, Stairmaster speed intervals for 20 minutes, and I lift weights for 20 minutes.
I am now lifting 160 lbs on the squat, 210 on the leg press, 50 on the triceps, 40 on the bench press, and 50 on the pull down. When I first started dieting and exercising in January '09 all I could do was WALK. I walked 1 mile a day until I built up to more. By the time I went on first cruise, I was walking 5 miles in an hour, was down from size 18/20 to a 14, and had lost 25 lbs. By the time I went to the Full Service tour in July, I was in a size 12, and around 165 lbs. By September '09, I was in a size 10. January 2010 I was in an 8 and had officially lost 50 lbs.
Now I am running, sprinting, doing the stairs and lifting heavy weights. Every day that I can go to the gym is a BLESSING, and I thank God for it, because my mom has Multiple Sclerosis, and can't walk. She's paralyzed and immobile. I started working out January 25, 2009, after seeing my grandpa die of heart disease on January 6, 2009. I finally had a wake up call; and it's a good thing too, because my doctor had also recently told me that I was borderline high blood pressure, borderline high cholesterol and pre-diabetic about 6 months prior to that. My ultimate goal was HEALTH not LOOKS. However, in the process, I have become enamored with my results, even though I still have a long way to go. I am less concerned w/ weight per se, now, cuz I am 150lbs, and was 200..I am gaining muscle, which weighs more than fat. I just want to be at a healthy body fat percentage, and be strong.
Now that we moved into our house, I am easily able to access my bike (it was locked up on our tiny patio at the apartment), and am riding miles a day on the trails behind us. I ride bike 3x a week and lift weights 4x a week. I change up the routine a lot so I don't get bored. I keep fluctuating between 145-150 depending on the time of the month, but am comfortably fitting into a size 6/8.
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