Gasp. I've run two days in a row and I started a new food plan yesterday (and did very well on it). And I didn't lose 5 pounds. I am shocked.
I kid. I know it doesn't work like that. Part of me did have my fingers crossed for a pound or two since, you know, I didn't eat sugary junk yesterday. But, alas, my body does what it does and the scale doesn't always equal success on day two.
(Actually, when I read the books "Crack/Conquer the Fat Loss Code," the author talks about how the body is on a three day food cycle. I don't remember the science, and don't have time to look it up right now, but I remember her talking about why she planned food days the way she did, and it had to do with how the body stores food for energy.)
At any rate, I am not expecting a miraculous weight loss overnight, even though I really did think I might weigh in the 178 range this morning. It's just the same old thinking attaching itself to me, I suspect. But I am recognizing it for what it is--potential sabotage. I am not going to let the lack of one day's movement in the scale derail me that easily.
Yesterday I had breakfast at 10 am. By 2:30 I was hungry. I had no food cravings for 4 1/2 hours. I didn't have cravings at 2:30; I was hungry. Not to say I didn't think about food. I DID. All day. I kept thinking "what in the heck do I eat for a starch if I can't have wheat or any kind of flour?"
For my late lunch, I had rice as my starch. It was the boil in the bag whole wheat kind, but it didn't taste very good. The texture was off. How do you mess up boil in the bag? I think I overcooked it. Plus, I think I need long grain wild rice or the kind that takes 30 minutes to cook instead of 10. Texture is a big thing for me.
At 6:00 pm I went out for a run. I was starting to get hungry, but it wasn't bad. At around mile 2 I was feeling puny, like I hadn't fueled myself enough. Then I channeled my inner Jillian and said "Are you kidding me? You are carrying around your fuel on your behind. Get it moving and keep it moving." It worked. I bettered my 5k time from the day before by 30 seconds, and I ended up going 3.4 miles.
At 7:00 I left for the grocery store. The exercise suppressed my appetite. I shopped at Target and The Fresh Market (we just got one a couple weeks ago; expensive, but the sales on produce are actually pretty good). I bought tons of veggies and fruits.
When I got home it was 8:30. By the time I had the fridge cleaned out and everything put away, it was almost 9:30. Then bedtime for the kids. Then it was almost 10. No time to eat a full meal. I had a measured cup of fresh raspberries and 1/2 c. lowfat organic cottage cheese. I was full and happy and no cravings.
Woohoo for day 1!
My big issues now are to figure out how to get protein and starch into my diet--and how to make them enjoyable. You know, without sugar and fat and salt, these things are just not a turn on. I know they can be. I just have to figure out how to get them there.
I have a couple of recipes from my low carb days that work well--protein and veggies. I can do breakfast easily and tastily. It's lunch and dinner that are going to throw me. I don't have time to spend an hour every night making dinner; heck, I don't have 30 minutes.
I need a plan so I don't fall on my face on day 3.
Cooking and preparing fresh food is work. It's work until you've figured out how to make it NOT (so much) work. And right now, it's work.
I have enough work in my life--the job, the house, the kids, the dog, the never-ending piles of laundry. No wonder it's so easy to throw up your hands and give up.
But I know it's possible for a mere mortal to cook real food on a daily basis (although, truly, aren't Moms expected to be more than mere mortals?). So I will pursue and learn and figure out how to do this.
I did pull Vickie's link on the foods she eats so I know what to call a starch. I mean, I "know" what to call a starch, but the one page I printed from Kay Sheppard's plan doesn't elaborate much on what she classifies as a vegetable. Potatoes and corn and peas are starches, but she doesn't list them as such. To be fair, I've barely perused her site, so it may be there somewhere, just not on the page that I printed.
I also see that Vickie has a list of recipes on her side bar. I'll be going there next.
I can't do this whole food transformation in a day, or a week, or even a month. But I can get started. Which is what I finally feel like I'm doing.
7 comments:
Good job, Laura. You're right, it will take a while to figure it out, but once you're in the groove, and you have all the right foods stocked, you really can throw something together pretty quickly. Plus the whole thing of cooking too much and freezing portions.
Do you have a Costco or Trader Joe's nearby? I have gotten their brown rice, and you just heat it in the microwave. I love the taste and texture of them.
Do you like sweet potatoes? they are easy in the microwave (scrub, poke, nuke).
I love squash and am okay cooking in oven and then warming leftovers in microwave (scrub, cut in half, scoop out seeds, put face down in pan of water, 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour (test with fork).
red alert!
those recipes on my side bar are mostly family suggestions - I do NOT eat most of them.
A short lesson in carbs -
when you are first sorting out whole food carbs, you have to remember that you subtract the fiber number from the carb number.
a few carb stats for you:
first here are green beans (a veggie, which I offer as a comparison, to have an idea of the range of carb numbers, because yes, getting carbs even in veggies):
Beans, green snap or string, boiled, drained, no salt added
1 cup
Nutrition Facts
Calories 44
Total Fat 0.4g < 1%
Sat. Fat < 0.1g < 1%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 1mg < 1%
Total Carbs. 9.9g 3%
Dietary Fiber 4g 16%
(*9.9 - 4 = 5.9 actual carbs)
Sugars 1.9g
Protein 2.4g
Calcium 55mg
Potassium 182.5mg
Then here is the lowest of the carbs/starches:
Peas, green, boiled, drained, no salt added
1 cup
Nutrition Facts
Calories 125
Total Fat 0.5g < 1%
Sat. Fat < 0.1g < 1%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 115mg 5%
Total Carbs. 22.9g 8%
Dietary Fiber 8.8g 35%
(22.9 - 8.8 = 14.1 actual carbs)
Sugars 7.4g
Protein 8.2g
Calcium 38.4mg
Potassium 176mg
I eat peas and rice together, to get the over all carb number down (1/2 cup peas and 1/2 cup rice).
then acorn squash (which I am perfectly happy eating plain)
Squash, winter, acorn, baked, no salt added
1 cup
Nutrition Facts
Calories 112 (468 kJ)
% Daily Value 1
Total Fat 0.2g < 1%
Sat. Fat < 0.1g < 1%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 8mg < 1%
Total Carbs. 29.2g 10%
Dietary Fiber 8.8g 35%
(29.2 - 8.8 = 20.4 actual carbs)
Protein 2.2g
Calcium 88mg
Potassium 874mg
then here is the lowest carbs of the potatoes (red):
Potatoes, red, baked, flesh & skin
1 medium (2 1/4" x 3 1/4")
Calories 154
Total Fat 0.3g < 1%
Sat. Fat < 0.1g < 1%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 14mg < 1%
Total Carbs. 33.9g 11%
Dietary Fiber 3.1g 12%
(33.9 - 3.1 = 30.8 actual carbs)
Sugars 2.5g
Protein 4g
Calcium 15.6mg
Potassium 942.9mg
Corn, sweet yellow, boiled
1 cup
Nutrition Facts
Calories 153
Total Fat 1.1g 2%
Sat. Fat 0.2g < 1%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 7mg < 1%
Total Carbs. 36.6g 12%
Dietary Fiber 4.6g 18%
(36.6 - 4.6 = 32.0 actual carbs)
Sugars 5.9g
Protein 5.1g
Calcium 4.9mg
Potassium 411.6mg
then
Sweet Potato, baked in skin, no salt added, edible portion
1 cup
Nutrition Facts
Calories 180
Total Fat 0.4g < 1%
Sat. Fat 0.1g < 1%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 72mg 3%
Total Carbs. 41.4g 14%
Dietary Fiber 6.6g 26%
(41.4 - 6.6 = 34.8 actual carbs)
Sugars 16.9g
Protein 4g
Calcium 76mg
Potassium 950mg
long grain brown rice cooked
1 cup
Nutrition Facts
Calories 216
Total Fat 1.8g 3%
Sat. Fat 0.4g 2%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 10mg < 1%
Total Carbs. 44.9g 15%
Dietary Fiber 3.5g 14%
(44.9 - 3.5 = 41.4 actual carbs)
Sugars 0.7g
Protein 5g
Calcium 19.5mg
Potassium 83.9mg
numbers are all from
calorie king
the delete was me, I had to switch something to have them in order of carbs (lowest to highest).
taco salad -
beans or rice or a mix
greens, tomatoes, onions
chicken or lean ground beef
tuna salad -
water packed chunk
chick peas/garbanzo beans
greens, onions, apple
hamburgers with no bun
(slice of onion, tomato, greens, mustard)
lots of recipes out there for homemade baked fries (sweet potato or regular)
I cook all my protein over the weekend and then warm from refrigerator.
So, I might cook a large package of chicken breasts (even though they are already halved, I half again as they are usually huge) either in oven (350 degrees, spray 9x13 and cover with foil, one hour) or on grill
ditto with lean hamburger (when we were eating that) - cook burgers on grill or spray pan and cook on stove (chopped for tacos or salads). I eat my tacos with no shell as a salad because I would rather add the beans than eat the shell (which is processed).
learn to think 'processed' rather than 'wheat'. Because that is the real issue (in my opinion). it isn't the fact that it is wheat, it is the fact that we only eat wheat with sugar and salt and other additives.
I cook beans from dried, in crock pot, on a day I am home, and then freeze in portion sizes. To cook beans in crock pot, simple rinse (and look for foreign objects) and then put in crock pot covered with water. Set your timer and check every hour. As soon as they are done (but not too soft/mushy), get them out of the crock pot by dumping in large colinder/strainer to drip/cool. if you leave in crock pot, they will continue to cook from heat of pot. when you figure out how long it takes to cook (for your area and your crock pot, write it down so you know for next time). If you can find no salt added canned beans, can use those, but I love cooking one big batch and then freezing in portion sizes.
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