Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Carb Cutback: Week 2

Get excited.

Since cutting carbs in half (which has become almost second-nature in only a week and a half!) I have lost 2 1/2 pounds! I don't anticipate (or want) to lose weight at this rate for much longer-- this is probably just the initial drop-off from making such a big change. Right now my goal is to lose a pound a week. Here are some things I tried this week that have worked wonders:

I allow myself to have a piece of toast with my breakfast (usually 1 scrambled or boiled egg) and I even allow myself to have a love affair with butter. But I no longer add jam (this has been tough). Instead, I add fruit or I save those sugars for later in the day when I know I'll be needing a boost.

I have hearty lunches. Instead of something light at lunch (which induces cravings and unnecessary snacking later) I go ahead and fill up! My lunches of choice have been tuna salad with crackers, hearty potato soup, and of course my leftovers from the previous night's dinner.

When it's time for a snack, or when I feel a craving coming on, I pour myself a glass of iced tea or fruit punch-- something that tastes sugary but is actually sugar-free. Then, only if that drink doesn't cut it, I'll have a snack. I've been a little limited by my budget, so right now my snacks are Nutri-Grain bars or cheese with a couple of crackers, but on my next grocery trip I'll be buying bananas to freeze in bite-size pieces with peanut butter, yogurt, fruit, and lunch meat (sometimes a couple slices of ham or turkey rolled up is enough to get by).

At dinner I've been cutting out breads and pastas almost completely. If I have a few carbs left to "spend" (referring to my goal number of course) then I'll have a piece of garlic toast or I'll put a couple of croutons on my salad. Otherwise, I ignore those things altogether. This past week for dinner I've had roasted fish with lemon, onions, and potato slices; thinly sliced zucchini sauteed with olive oil and garlic and topped with meat sauce; and chicken cutlets topped with brown sugar, paired with broccoli.

Since I'm eating alone most nights it's easy to have leftovers a couple of nights each week, which also keeps me from splurging when I try to think up a new meal.

While tracking my meals and watching myself reach that goal number every day has been awesome, by far the MOST rewarding part of all this has been seeing how FAST my work has paid off. After two days I felt more energized, less "ick" from eating junk, and very proud. After 12 days I feel slimmer (and I look it, too), it's much easier to stay on track, and even after being sleep-deprived for 3 nights in a row, I've been able to maintain my energy.

If you're thinking about making a change or you're in the process and you're struggling, I strongly advise you to take it slow like I did. I didn't completely eliminate carbs, I just cut back. I didn't deprive myself of food, I just replaced heavy calories (junk food) with lighter ones (veggies, fruits, etc.). I still eat the same amount and I even still eat things like chocolate and cereal and occasionally oatmeal. I just make sure I stay within the bounds of my set plan and it has been working like a charm. Right now I'm set to reach my goal weight in April. That's like. Right around the corner.

Like I said, get excited!

Friday, February 15, 2013

Carb Cutback: Week 1

It's day 5 of my recent carb cutback. So far it's been pretty manageable. There have certainly been a few obstacles, but I already feel great and I've noticed how quickly this change has affected my weight.

I began last Saturday when I counted my carbs for the whole day (in grams, subtracting fiber). At the end of the day, I added up that number, divided it by 2, and got my goal for this week.

Every day I have tried to make small changes to help me reach that goal. The first day was hard-- I felt like I couldn't eat anything! By Wednesday I figured out how to plan my meals out for the whole day so that I could meet my goal AND satisfy my appetite and cravings. I was thrown completely off track yesterday, as Eric and I had planned to make homemade pizzas and we had a moscato wine cake for dessert for Valentine's Day. (What can I say, I'm in love!) Today I'm back on track.

Some things I've learned/changed so far to help me meet my goal:
1. I eat a scrambled egg for my breakfast on days when I want a sandwich for lunch or pasta for dinner. Otherwise I stick with my oatmeal, which does a lot for my digestive health and keeps me full all morning. Planning my meals like this helps me stay on track, while eating what I like!
2. I plan to switch out my pasta for veggie substitutes; this week I'm trying out thinly sliced zucchini with sauce instead of spaghetti.
3. Drinking water throughout the day helps me to keep from feeling hungry or getting cravings that will throw me off track (I usually drink 5-6 glasses a day anyway, but I've been especially diligent about it this week).

It feels great to be taking this one step at a time. Cutting carbs in half has been very manageable and has kept me from having to completely change my diet. Instead, I'm making small changes that make a big impact and keep me sane. Moderation has worked best for me so far when it comes to weight loss, and I plan to stick with it!

For week 2 I'm sticking with the same goal number. I want to meet that goal every day before I try to cut back more.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Project Me is Underway

Hello world.

If you have been reading this blog for a while you should know by now that I have embraced the idea of "project me". I'm constantly in search of ways to better myself, to better my life, and to better my taste buds! These things collide in lovely and magnificent ways most of the time. Some of the time the result is an extra 5 pounds that I'm not too fond of. Which is why today I started a new project.

In the past I've accomplished weight loss by making life changes, not by dieting or embarking on some crazy exercise routine (because, let's face it-- my exercise mainly consists of toning my arms while I raise and lower my TV remote). I hardly ever drink sodas anymore, and when I do it's often a Coke Zero or diet version. I don't really do fast food except for when I'm home, mostly because it's inconvenient here in Chicago and I don't have much of a taste for it anymore. And I've been eating vegetables and NOT feeling like I deserve a gold star, because it's finally just a regular part of my diet.

However, this has not been enough. I'm very happy with these changes and I love that I can enjoy my meals and lifestyle with less crap in my system, but my weight loss goals just haven't quite been accomplished. So as I searched for ideas and solutions over the last month, I stumbled across an announcement that Eric's sister Emily made-- she'd just lost 5 pounds after starting the Atkins diet and cutting way back on her carbs.

It was like a freakin' football field's lightbulbs went off over my head. I need to pay attention to my carbs.

I love carbs. I love eating them, I love anticipating eating them, and I'm happy to resort to relying on them for my happiness if I outlive Eric. But that's part of the problem. I eat way too many carbs with each meal, and I'm not talking about the carbs I get from veggies and fruits. I'm talking pasta, crackers, bread (Oh, how I love bread), cereal, grains, you name it. This is not going to be easy.

However, today I decided to finally quit thinking about how to cut out carbs and I took my first step towards making a plan. First of all, I decided I'm not going to go on any diets. I'm going to keep doing what has worked; I'm going to address carbs in a way that works for my lifestyle, in a way I can adopt as "normal" so that I don't just gain all that weight back.

Today I took a notebook and wrote out a page for every day for the rest of the month. I'm going to track what I eat, noting the calorie content (I am currently trying to jumpstart my weight loss by sticking to 1500 a day) and the carb content. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to work to cut that carb number in half. Every day I will write down what I eat and make sure I'm on target for my calorie count (I also use an app for this, called "Lose It!"), and I'll also be able to make sure I'm on target for my carb count. At the end of each week I will think about how easy/difficult it was to meet that carb goal and either cut it down further, or spend another week focusing on sticking to it.

By March I hope to be eating 1/2 the carbs I do now, without struggling. I figure that if I manage to meet that goal, or even go beyond it, I'll be thrilled! March 1st I will decide what my next goal will be. From what I've heard Atkins dieters do something like 20 carbs a day-- I'm not sure that that number fits my lifestyle. In fact, I'm not really sure of what my end goal will be! But that's what this journey is all about. I want to find a number that works and stick to it.

I'll be posting here about my progress, as well as what changes I make to achieve that progress. So stay tuned and get excited! Project Me is underway!

(BTW, Project Me is universal-- anyone can have a self-bettering project. What's yours?)