Tuesday, March 9, 2010

No change this week...

Oh well... I think it's because I'm all bloaty due to mother nature paying me a visit. :-(
I'm not going to complain too much though because until this morning I was starting to get very concerned that I might be preggos and that would most definately not have been part of my plan for this year!

Today I want to talk about taking breaks.

I've seen some people who have made part of their plan taking one day a week or month that they allow themselves to eat anything that they have been craving while on their plan. So far I have resisted doing this. Not because I think it's a bad idea, I think it can be very instrumental in stopping you from cheating as well as teaching you how to eat forbidden foods in moderation. Moderation is the key though. If you plan on giving yourself permission on Sundays to eat some things you aren't supposed to eat during the week, that's okay. But you can't take that permision to be an excuse to go on an all out eating binge where you gorge yourself until you can't breathe on any number of high calorie, low nutrient foods.

Up until now I have been following a low-carb approach to dieting. I think it's time for me to try mixing it up. I still want to avoid sugar and refined carbs. And I want to keep my blood sugar as stable as possible. But I think I want to start to add in more "good" carbs now specifically fruits and whole grains. I have to closely monitor it though because I don't want to over-do it and go off on some crazy eating binge. So I am going to implement a variation on the "Free day" philosophy. I am going to start allowing some meals that I would not have had up to this point. I'm going to start with the weekends because that seems to be when I have the most time to carefully plan a meal. It's not going to be a free for all though. Even though I'm going to be eating more carbs, I want them to be nutrient dense low glycemic complex carbohydrates. That means brown rice, whole wheat pasta, and fresh fruit and veggies. It does not mean I can have a bowl of fruit loops because the box claims they have whole grains. My reason for this is two fold. First I'm doing it because no matter my intentions, I don't think I can do very low carb forever because, well let's face it, I don't live in a low carb world. More importantly, I want to model good eating habits for my 23 month old son. Part of my parenting philosophy has been that I don't want to make separate meals for my child. I prefer him to eat what we are eating. That means preparing balanced meals for the whole family to enjoy together. If I'm not eating half of the meal, it's not providing a good model for him to at least try a little of everything.

3 comments:

  1. What you want to do sounds a lot like Phase 2 of the South Beach Diet, after the first two weeks of strict low carb you start adding in good carbs etc. Might be worth checking out for you? I have trouble taking breaks, so I think it really depends on you. For me, when I take a break I tend to have huge problems getting back, so I try not to do it.

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  2. I lost 30 pounds all fat, doing this routine. As far as exercise I did 3 mornings of cardio for about 45 mins. alternating with 90 mins. of light weight lifting the other 3 days. Sunday off.

    In order to lose weight I ate 5 to 6 small meals (300 to 500 calories each) and did juicing for 2 of those. I never eat the same caloric content for each day. I think calorie shifting fools your body into thinking its not on a diet. Start your first meal at 7am and the last one at 5pm. Only drink water after 5pm. Throw in a little morning aerobics to rev up the metabolism for the rest of the day. Don't forget to clean your pipes before starting a weight loss program - more info here: http://www.thefinalpound.com

    One more thing, for motivation I took very revealing photos of myself in my underwear and posted these on the fridge, mirrors, car dash, etc. I also wrote my body fat measurement on these pictures. Take pictures once each month to see your progress, This works!! Also, journal your progress and adjust exercise and diet as necessary.

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  3. She's visiting me this week, too! ;)

    Your plan, particularly the reason behind your plan, sounds like an excellent one.

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