So I've been reading the new book for the past several days. It's been very enlightening. After all I've read on food and diets and also on depression, you'd think there'd be nothing new out there.
But, of course, there's always something new to learn.
I'll get into more of the science stuff when I have more time to chat. For now I'm going to skip straight to Chapter 6 "The First Step: Getting Started."
Are you ready? Here it is.
Eat breakfast.
That's it. Simple, right? But with most simple things, it's not easy.
There are, of course, some rules around breakfast eating. It's not like you can eat a bowl of Lucky Charms. The rules are these:
1) Have the right amount of protein for your weight (for me, that's about 26 grams)
2) Eat within an hour of getting up
3) Have a complex carbohydrate
4) Have breakfast every day.
#2 & #4 are going to be tough. Eating this type of breakfast means I have to get up early enough so I have time to make my food & eat it. In order to get up early enough I have to go to bed at night early enough. & in order to go to bed on time I have to be efficient and productive with my time at night.
I also have to not eat a bunch of junk food before bed, because the last thing I want when I wake up after a binge night is to eat a big breakfast.
And that, my friends, is the big freaking deal about this breakfast thing. I can't eat the crap I like to soothe myself with at night if I want to accomplish step #1 successfully.
When I was losing weight in 2007, what I found was key to success more than anything else was consistency. I might screw up once in a while, but more often than not I was consistent with my food plan. And I never quit. I kept moving forward every week.
The author of this book says that the key to her plan is to master each step before moving on to the next. Eating breakfast consistently will help set the stage for the body to heal itself.
She doesn't prescribe the number of successful days of eating breakfast and then you're ready to move onto step 2 (at least, I haven't read that yet....maybe she does & I'm just not there). But she's very clear that success on the plan is achieved more often when you master each and every step before moving on to the next.
I've got one successful breakfast day under my belt. This consistent breakfast thing is going to be interesting. Simple, but not easy.
***
Cooler weather at last! I got to run yesterday, about 40 minutes & a little over 3 miles. I'm still slower than molasses, but at least the temps are cooler & I'm enjoying the run more. I'm no where near close to my training plan for the Half on October 11. I still have time to get in my long runs, but not much. And my weekends are already filling up. So I'm not sure where I stand with that race. I'm really just going to do the best I can & let it go at that.
6 comments:
Yee haw to cooler weather!
I read an article in a magazine the other day about a woman who was insulin resistant or something like that. There were a lot of similiar things that you two had in common. It was a very interesting article and if I can find the magazine again, I will let you know. (That short-term memory loss thing. . . Grrr)
So, what does she recommend for breakfast?
Good luck getting in the breakfast habit!
MCM Mama
insulin resistent means pre-diabetic, not processing insulin correctly
http://baby-steps-v.blogspot.com/2009/07/need-to-watch-carbs-or-just-calorie.html
if you read the comments attached to that posting - there is information about carbs
Laura - do you mean to tell me that you didn't know you have to eat a solid breakfast first thing in the morning and you didn't know you have to eat protein and complex carb as that breakfast - ???
What have you been doing. . .?
I know that breakfast is important, but I don't like to eat when I first get up! (sorry!)
So, I get up early, exercise, hang out with the kids, and then eat around 9:30 or 10:00. Then I eat small things throughout the day.
Laura, I completely agree with steps. It seems like a lot of protein to me, but I'm kind of light on protein for breakfast.
I know you can do this. I changed from a person who skipped bfast and didn't eat until 1pm sometimes, to someone who has bfast EVERY DAY as soon as I get up, and many times have a second 'bfast type meal for my mid-morning snack.
And I have to get up at 4am to go to work, so it has to be ready. You can cook a big batch of oatmeal and it will keep very well in the refrigerator for quite a while. You could eat a grilled chicken breast wrapped in a lettuce leaf on your way to work (I have never done this, but the idea always sounds so good to me! Yogurt and cottage cheese are ready to go. I just got done cutting up my peach for tomorrow morning. Here's a weird but tasty one: 1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal stirred into 1/4 cup yogurt, with a little agave syrup and cinnamon. VERY TASTY! I could go on and on, but you really can do this. It does take a little planning ahead of time.
No one believes this until they experience it, but I am convinced that by eating heavy early in the day I don't crave food late at night.
Go Laura!
Hey chica - I used to never eat breakfast, but since I've been working, I always eat breakfast. Nothing big - sometimes it's just whole wheat toast with a little peanut butter and some milk, or it's cereal with frozen blueberries (the frozen bbs make the milke ICE COLD -yum!), or oatmeal. And no, I'm not usually hungry but I eat anyway. I need to incorporate more protein, but at least I'm eating!
You can do it, and pretty soon it will be a breeze.
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