Aren't I Smart?
I want to post more about how I started, the progress I've made so far, where I am today and where I plan to go as I move forward. But, over the past three months, I’ve made some interesting discoveries along the way that have helped me to be successful this far and I’d like to share them right now. Maybe they will help someone else:
Have a “cheat” day once a week. If you are on a structured, limited-calorie nutrition plan where you eat really clean six days out of the week like I am, bump up your daily calorie consumption with a more indulgent day once a week. Treat yourself - my last “cheat” day included my (100% Italian) mother’s spaghetti, a glass of red wine, and a frightening wedge of blueberry cheesecake. The good news: it will keep your body from going into starvation mode and you can avoid those dreaded weight loss plateaus. But don't, for God's sake, weigh yourself the next day. You have to consume 3,500 calories more than your daily maintenance level to gain a pound and it would take some serious pig-in-a-trough behavior for you to do that. But the scale can still register higher because of the water retention, etc. that usually follows after a feeding frenzy like this. Do yourself a favor and save yourself some grief - don't weigh yourself until at least three days have passed.
Holidays don’t have to be an emotional minefield. I sat down and thought about how I wanted to get through the past holiday season without going binge-crazy. This is what I decided: I was going to make a plan, stick to it, and allow myself indulgences without guilt. I made Thanksgiving day, Christmas day and New Year’s day my “cheat” days and I ate whatever I wanted during each holiday meal. I had fairly sensible portions, but I ate some of everything, including dessert, and then I walked away and stuck to healthy foods as much as possible the rest of the day. That way, I didn’t feel hungry, I didn’t feel deprived - and I didn’t waste a ton of emotional energy by first feeling guilty that I cheated, and then trying to justify why I cheated. Who needs that kind of negative emotional burden during the holidays? The rest of the time, I was 100% clean, scheduling my other “cheat” days to coincide with parties, etc., AND I NEVER SKIPPED A WORKOUT. It worked like a freaking charm. I had a great time from Thanksgiving to New Year’s and I still lost weight.
Exercise is mental, not physical. I’ve always thought about exercise as being something physical, but I’ve come to realize that’s not true. God (or whatever Creator you believe in) created our bodies to be in constant motion and they are – even when we’re sleeping, our bodies are busy breathing, circulating blood, making new hair, bones, tissue, muscles, etc. They are never not working or exerting themselves in some way, so physical effort is something completely natural. So, I believe exercise is really for our minds, because they are constantly working to derail our bodies’ efforts to do what comes naturally to them anyway. That’s why thinking positively is so powerful. If we exercise our minds and keep them in good shape, then our bodies will naturally do what they were designed to do without a struggle.
Be creative and plan for the bad days. They are going to happen – it’s inevitable. And a bad day will kick you right in the patootie and derail your efforts faster than anything else. So, plan for them and they won’t take you by surprise. I always have a couple of "bad day plans” in my back pocket. For instance, one day I came home at lunch and was a huge grump about god-knows-what. I thought about fixing a salad or a turkey sandwich and my bad mood spilled over onto my nutrition plan – it wasn’t working, I wasn’t losing weight fast enough, fuck the whole thing, I was going to eat what I wanted. So, I made myself stop for a minute and I pulled out a bad day plan. I took two slices of whole wheat bread, a couple tablespoons of natural peanut butter and 100% fruit spread – and I made myself a PBJ, which is one of my favorite comfort foods in the whole wide world. I ate it with a glass of low-fat milk and was as happy as a pig in shit. I factored it into my calorie/fat/carb/protein allowances for the day, made some adjustments for my evening meal, stayed perfectly legal – and was so smug the rest of the day, I probably would have slapped myself if I had to deal with me. Planning on how you will deal with your bad days will save you a ton of grief and struggle.
Have a “cheat” day once a week. If you are on a structured, limited-calorie nutrition plan where you eat really clean six days out of the week like I am, bump up your daily calorie consumption with a more indulgent day once a week. Treat yourself - my last “cheat” day included my (100% Italian) mother’s spaghetti, a glass of red wine, and a frightening wedge of blueberry cheesecake. The good news: it will keep your body from going into starvation mode and you can avoid those dreaded weight loss plateaus. But don't, for God's sake, weigh yourself the next day. You have to consume 3,500 calories more than your daily maintenance level to gain a pound and it would take some serious pig-in-a-trough behavior for you to do that. But the scale can still register higher because of the water retention, etc. that usually follows after a feeding frenzy like this. Do yourself a favor and save yourself some grief - don't weigh yourself until at least three days have passed.
Holidays don’t have to be an emotional minefield. I sat down and thought about how I wanted to get through the past holiday season without going binge-crazy. This is what I decided: I was going to make a plan, stick to it, and allow myself indulgences without guilt. I made Thanksgiving day, Christmas day and New Year’s day my “cheat” days and I ate whatever I wanted during each holiday meal. I had fairly sensible portions, but I ate some of everything, including dessert, and then I walked away and stuck to healthy foods as much as possible the rest of the day. That way, I didn’t feel hungry, I didn’t feel deprived - and I didn’t waste a ton of emotional energy by first feeling guilty that I cheated, and then trying to justify why I cheated. Who needs that kind of negative emotional burden during the holidays? The rest of the time, I was 100% clean, scheduling my other “cheat” days to coincide with parties, etc., AND I NEVER SKIPPED A WORKOUT. It worked like a freaking charm. I had a great time from Thanksgiving to New Year’s and I still lost weight.
Exercise is mental, not physical. I’ve always thought about exercise as being something physical, but I’ve come to realize that’s not true. God (or whatever Creator you believe in) created our bodies to be in constant motion and they are – even when we’re sleeping, our bodies are busy breathing, circulating blood, making new hair, bones, tissue, muscles, etc. They are never not working or exerting themselves in some way, so physical effort is something completely natural. So, I believe exercise is really for our minds, because they are constantly working to derail our bodies’ efforts to do what comes naturally to them anyway. That’s why thinking positively is so powerful. If we exercise our minds and keep them in good shape, then our bodies will naturally do what they were designed to do without a struggle.
Be creative and plan for the bad days. They are going to happen – it’s inevitable. And a bad day will kick you right in the patootie and derail your efforts faster than anything else. So, plan for them and they won’t take you by surprise. I always have a couple of "bad day plans” in my back pocket. For instance, one day I came home at lunch and was a huge grump about god-knows-what. I thought about fixing a salad or a turkey sandwich and my bad mood spilled over onto my nutrition plan – it wasn’t working, I wasn’t losing weight fast enough, fuck the whole thing, I was going to eat what I wanted. So, I made myself stop for a minute and I pulled out a bad day plan. I took two slices of whole wheat bread, a couple tablespoons of natural peanut butter and 100% fruit spread – and I made myself a PBJ, which is one of my favorite comfort foods in the whole wide world. I ate it with a glass of low-fat milk and was as happy as a pig in shit. I factored it into my calorie/fat/carb/protein allowances for the day, made some adjustments for my evening meal, stayed perfectly legal – and was so smug the rest of the day, I probably would have slapped myself if I had to deal with me. Planning on how you will deal with your bad days will save you a ton of grief and struggle.
Not bad, huh?
posted by Tiffany Anderson @ 9:48 AM
1 Comments:
At 7:01 AM,
Tiffany Anderson said…
Jeanine, my ya-ya ... how the heck are you? Thanks for stopping by, girlfriend. I have lots more I've learned that I'm going to share, so feel free to keep on reading (or send me an e-mail) :) Lord knows, there is still tons I don't know, but I'm working on it.
Miss you, too!
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