Well, day 1 went pretty well. I stuck to the plan with some minor variations (added half a banana to the snack and some vermicelli to dinner) and did 20 minutes of exercise (I know, a bit pathetic, but I'm trying to take small steps at first).
Inspired by Seren's post on what has worked for her this year and what goals she has, I thought I'd write my own list. Unfortunately I don't have anything to put in the plus column for this year, I've utterly wasted 6 months (and not just wasted - I've actually put on weight). But I can pinpoint things that have worked for me in the past and I'm going to try to replicate them.
What works for me:
No limitations or specifications of any kind - so no Atkins, South Beach, Paleo, what have you. I am not good at cutting out food groups.
Not restricting too much in general - 1500-1600 calories per day is my goal
Meal planning (for every meal)
Incorporating desserts, meals out etc so I don't feel deprived - this usually requires exercise
Not trying to be too virtuous and 100% perfect. It's hard enough trying to eat better and restrict calories, I can tie myself up in knots and absolutely beat myself up about not eating like some perfectly healthy whole foods yoga goddess. Near enough is good enough. I need to keep eating what I like, and what I can see myself eating forever. I love pasta, so I'm going to keep eating it frequently - just be measured about volume and accompaniments
Asking The Husband to be mindful of what he buys/eats. I wish I could just happily sit by feeling un-deprived while he scarfs 3 kinds of cheese after dinner, but I just can't. The Husband is sadly one of those people who can eat whatever he wants in huge quantities and remain skinny (lucky bastard). Obviously I don't want to restrict him eating whatever he wants (and enough of it) but I will ask him not to buy crisps and so on, and perhaps also remind him to make an effort to eat lunch (he's also one of those people who will skip meals, which I have never understood) so he doesn't then need to eat the huge quantities of cheese for a second dinner.
Keeping track of what I eat - which for now means lots of tedious daily food blogs
Being positive and trying not to fall into my usual morass of self loathing. Cliched but true, I need to be a bit gentle on myself
Constantly, constantly, constantly reminding myself that slow and steady wins the race. I have a tendency to despair at the amount of weight I have to lose and how long it will take me, which leads me to give up, counter productive though I know that is
Things I haven't really tried, but all the diet powers that be say are good ideas - What to try:
Asking myself before eating anything whether it brings me further or closer to my goal, and if I really want to eat it
Actively distracting myself when the urge to eat/ binge comes upon me a taking a walk or waiting for ten minutes to see if the desire is still there
Writing a list of reasons why I want to lose weight and revisiting it
And of course, mindfulness, seemingly the weight loss watchword of the moment
Also I read recently that clenching your fists while ordering in a restaurant actually gives you more willpower to stick to your plan, which is interesting. I'd link to the article but not savvy enough to work out how to do that yet.
Current Goals
Track my food
Try 3 new recipes every week
Exercise 20 minutes daily
Strength training every second day
That's probably enough to start with! I haven't planned my food for the day yet but I'll be back to post again at some stage.
Inspired by Seren's post on what has worked for her this year and what goals she has, I thought I'd write my own list. Unfortunately I don't have anything to put in the plus column for this year, I've utterly wasted 6 months (and not just wasted - I've actually put on weight). But I can pinpoint things that have worked for me in the past and I'm going to try to replicate them.
What works for me:
No limitations or specifications of any kind - so no Atkins, South Beach, Paleo, what have you. I am not good at cutting out food groups.
Not restricting too much in general - 1500-1600 calories per day is my goal
Meal planning (for every meal)
Incorporating desserts, meals out etc so I don't feel deprived - this usually requires exercise
Not trying to be too virtuous and 100% perfect. It's hard enough trying to eat better and restrict calories, I can tie myself up in knots and absolutely beat myself up about not eating like some perfectly healthy whole foods yoga goddess. Near enough is good enough. I need to keep eating what I like, and what I can see myself eating forever. I love pasta, so I'm going to keep eating it frequently - just be measured about volume and accompaniments
Asking The Husband to be mindful of what he buys/eats. I wish I could just happily sit by feeling un-deprived while he scarfs 3 kinds of cheese after dinner, but I just can't. The Husband is sadly one of those people who can eat whatever he wants in huge quantities and remain skinny (lucky bastard). Obviously I don't want to restrict him eating whatever he wants (and enough of it) but I will ask him not to buy crisps and so on, and perhaps also remind him to make an effort to eat lunch (he's also one of those people who will skip meals, which I have never understood) so he doesn't then need to eat the huge quantities of cheese for a second dinner.
Keeping track of what I eat - which for now means lots of tedious daily food blogs
Being positive and trying not to fall into my usual morass of self loathing. Cliched but true, I need to be a bit gentle on myself
Constantly, constantly, constantly reminding myself that slow and steady wins the race. I have a tendency to despair at the amount of weight I have to lose and how long it will take me, which leads me to give up, counter productive though I know that is
Things I haven't really tried, but all the diet powers that be say are good ideas - What to try:
Asking myself before eating anything whether it brings me further or closer to my goal, and if I really want to eat it
Actively distracting myself when the urge to eat/ binge comes upon me a taking a walk or waiting for ten minutes to see if the desire is still there
Writing a list of reasons why I want to lose weight and revisiting it
And of course, mindfulness, seemingly the weight loss watchword of the moment
Also I read recently that clenching your fists while ordering in a restaurant actually gives you more willpower to stick to your plan, which is interesting. I'd link to the article but not savvy enough to work out how to do that yet.
Current Goals
Track my food
Try 3 new recipes every week
Exercise 20 minutes daily
Strength training every second day
That's probably enough to start with! I haven't planned my food for the day yet but I'll be back to post again at some stage.
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