Still Here

do0rdiet.blogspot.com
Christina 2009

In October of '07 I took a new, full time job। Since then I have left that job in exchange for a better, full time job with the local university. What does this mean for my weightloss. It means that I put back on most of the weight I lost (20 out of 25 pounds). I have been changing my eating habits for the past 3 weeks. I hope that I will be successful "for keeps" this time. I have many new inspirations and I can honestly say that I've learned alot.


New Inspirations:
Kung Fu Panda and Queen Latifa are two of my favorite inspirations right now. Po the Panda (voiced by Jack Black) shows that food can be a good motivator (not a reward... but I'll get to that in the future). It also shows that sometimes when you get that food that you so badly wanted, you may be surprised and find that you are truly not hungry. Queen Latifa is great in her Jenny Craig ads. She never talks about what size she is, she simply, but confidently states that she is a size healthier. Her modesty and honesty about her own personal struggle are very inspiring. One other inspiration is People Magazine's list of folks who lost 100 or more by diest and exercise alone. It is very, very uplifting to see women who have succeeded. It gives me a sense of long term direction to know that it took most of these women 2-3 years to achieve their goals. And it's relieving to know that most of them have kids. It really helps me to see that this can be done. (I will not quit, I will not give up)... see previous posts.

What I've Learned:
One thing that has changed is my attitude about being healthy. Last year, when I would go over my daily calorie goal, I would freak out. I think this ultimately lead to the cessation of the healthy lifestyle. If I couldn't be perfect then there was no reason to try.

Now, my food log reflects positive weight loss days (or is that negative?) with the color green. Any daily calorie count less than the number of calories my body normally burns in one day is green. Any daily count within 200 calories of my sustaining point are yellow. And any daily count that goes over my sustaining point is red. I was much harder on myself before, too hard I think. I've even reconsidered the name of this blog, but the resolve behind the idea still stands.

I have learned that it is OK to fall off the horse, as long as you get back on. One bad day, two bad days, even three or four or a week. Just get going again, as soon as you can. I also allow myself a cheat day once a week. More on that in a future post.

I am happy to say that during the first 2 weeks of healthier eating, I lost 6 pounds! That's a little faster than I want the weight to come off, but after this weekend, I think things will average out.

So, here's to a starting the summer on the right track. Here's to staying on the track. Here's to me! And here's to not quitting. We can do this!


Read more!

Mission Statement Explanation

I will in general eat healthy. The tools and products to develop healthy eating are already available to me. My idea of eating healthy is largely based on the USDA Food Pyramid. A person of my height should eat at the lower range of serving sizes mentioned on the Food Pyramid. I should eat from each of the five basic food groups. I differ from the USDA suggestions in that I believe that it is not necessary to eat from each of the food groups every day. Eating from each group at least once every 2 or 3 days is sufficient to maintain proper health provided that the right multi-vitamin is taken on a daily basis. This variance from the USDA suggestions is an acceptable way to control my total daily caloric intake.

...eat "normal" food. In order to make a lifestyle change I need to migrate away from my bad habits but towards a realistic diet. In other words, something I can live with. I consider "normal" food to be foods that are readily available at the grocery store. Some "diet" foods are OK but the idea here is to avoid foods like diet bars and diet shakes. Foods labeled "lite", "low-fat", "low-calorie", "zero calorie" and "zero fat" are acceptable choices provided that the tastes are not so altered that my family will not eat them. Also, foods with those labels should not have so many unpronounceable ingredients (chemicals) that I would not give them to my toddler to eat.

...without gimmicks. I will not use a gimmick-style diet, i.e. eat nothing but watermelon for a day or eat as much steak as desired but no carbohydrates on Tuesdays. This also includes popular diets such as The Grapefruit Diet and The Cookie Diet.

...pills. I will not take diet pills, appetite suppressants, or any other artificial weight loss supplements. I will take a daily multi-vitamin. I do not consider taking a multi-vitamin to be in contradiction with the premise of not taking pills.

...surgery. I will not have any kind of bariatric or plastic surgery (i.e. liposuction) to facilitate weight loss. I am not in general opposed to the practice of stomach reduction surgery but I do not feel that it is the right choice for me or my family.

...trademarked diets. I will not use any diet plan that is for sale including but not limited to Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Dr. Atkins, NutraSystem, Slim Fast, Bob Greene, and The South Beach Diet. My diet plan may unintentionally be in line with some commercial diets. The only trademarked diet I have ever done is Atkins. I do not think that all commercial diets are bad or that they do not work. I do believe that at least temporary success may be achieved with just about any diet. My diet plan is just that, my own ideas based on bits and pieces of knowledge that I have acquired through nutrition classes, seminars, other blogs, and research. It is a diet in terms of an account of what I actually consume. It is a plan, a plan of action for what I believe is realistically attainable.

I will log all calories consumed. I will keep track of everything I eat or drink that contains calories. I will do my best to notate portion size, calorie and fat content. I will do this on a daily basis. I will use Google applications whenever possible to do the logging.

...and estimate calories burned on a daily basis. I have an idea of how many calories my body will burn during an average day using information generally found through Internet research. I will also use the same methodology to estimate how many calories I burn doing out of the ordinary activity (such as exercise) until such activities become part of my average day. I will keep track of calories burned on an average day. I will log extra activities as often as they occur. Extra activities will not be included in daily calories burned totals until they become part of my daily routine.

I will then be able to track my progress. Using the log I will have a clear system for tracking progress by each meal, day, week, month and year. This log will act as an indicator for success and highlight areas for improvement.

...and estimate arrival time to my goals through the calorie log. Unfortunately weight loss using my methodology will not be at a constant rate. The log will enable me to calculate and estimate the time it will take to reach each goal. Calculations and formulas will be reset upon arrival at each goal. This is in order to keep my goals and estimated time to achieve each goal realistic. This system will also highlight any periods where my goals were reached ahead of schedule. Having a record can serve as both a reminder and motivator during the tough times.

I will also develop non-food rewards for reaching my goals. Special recognition of success is important. I know one reward will be buying a new wardrobe, although I can't afford to do that for every reward. I am VERY open to suggestion in this area.

...knowing that reaching each goal is a reward in-and-of itself. My body, mind, and spirit will certainly reap the rewards of reaching each goal, without external recognition. It is also satisfying to know that my toddler will have a positive influence and example for leading a healthy lifestyle.

I will not give up. I will not give up. I will not give up. I will not give up. I will not give up. I will not give up. I will not give up. I will not give up. I will not give up.

I know that I will not be perfect. If I hold myself to a standard of absolute perfection I am only setting myself up to fail. I will not fail this time.

...but that I am making a permanent lifestyle change. It becomes less of a chore, less of something I don't want to work for if I look at my diet plan this way. Eventually, this diet will be my lifestyle and vice versa.

The good days will out-number the bad days. As I said before, there will be bad days, however, overall, the good days will be more prevalent and frequent than the bad days. The calorie log will help insure this remains the case.

I will not give up I will not give up! I will not give up! I will not give up! I will not give up! I will not give up! I will not give up! I will not give up! I will not give up! Read more!