The Diet Naked Blog

The Post-Strict Diet Binge

My big mistake was going from a super-structured diet plan (PureFoods Fresh Start) to Christmas.  The holidays were crazy and my refrigerator was poorly stocked (no need to buy food for me for three weeks) and then BOOM!  I ate stuff I would never normally eat, including some pecan toffee my husband's sister sent from Texas and an assortment of See's chocolates.  This is bad.  Very bad.

But yesterday, I went to the grocery store and stocked up on decent food:  oranges, quinoa, oat bran, carrots, beans, chicken breasts . . . in other words, whole foods.  I am prepared to eat like a sensible weight-watching person now.  And I discovered something interesting during my week of oh-my-goodness-what-shall-I-eat-now?  Sugar gives me a headache and makes me feel like lying very still on my bed like a lethargic lump of coal. 

Also?  Not exercising makes me feel like not exercising. 

Tomorrow is the last day of the year.  Tuesday is the first day of our Exercise Streak!  Now, here's how this will work.  You decide what constitutes an Exercise Streak for you.  For me, that means exercise every single day, at least twenty minutes.  I prefer to aim for 30 - 60 minutes, which is optimum for weight loss and health maintenance.  My schedule has gone crazy as I am now working forty hours a week (from home), including four nights that end at midnight.  Early morning walks are unlikely, so I am going to switch things up and fit exercise in between my split shifts (after dinner, essentially). 

We will keep accountable, probably doing a weekly Exercise Streak check-in.  Details to follow.  Meanwhile, some time soon, my blog at dietnakedblog.com will go live . . . meanwhile, you can find that blog at http://www.dietnaked.typepad.com.  (Something about domain names and redirection and who knows what . . . all I know for sure is that until my domain name works properly, you can just typed in http://www.dietnaked.typepad.com.)

Official Thursday Weigh-In

Quickly:

163.2

And you?

(p.s.  This is that water-retaining time of the month for me . . . my rings are tight on my fingers . . . so my weight loss is not as impressive as in the two previous weeks.  Drat!)

Random Stuff

Several of you asked for my cut-out sugar cookies recipe.  I don't want to post it here (that just seems wrong, doesn't it?), but if you leave a comment and ask for it, I'll send it to your email box.  We really don't want to tempt anyone, right?

If you don't have some, now is the time of year to buy those little Clementine oranges.  They are so easy to peel, so sweet to eat and so good for you.  So, go buy some!  (They look pretty in a bowl on your kitchen table, too.)

I'm in my last week of PureFoods Fresh Start.   I understand now why I was stuck at 170 for so long.  I was simply eating portions that were too large.  I am confident that I can get the last 15 pounds off . . . but I am going to have to measure and count to do so.  (My plan is to start Weight Watchers after Christmas.)

Also, I'm thinking I will start another Exercise Streak on January 1.  Anyone up for the challenge?

Official Thursday Weigh-In

I'm down to 164.6 this morning, for a grand total loss of 61.8 pounds.  Last week I weighed 166.8, so I am down 2.2 pounds since then.  All thanks to PureFoods Fresh Start. 

Time to check in!  It's especially important to weigh yourself during these weeks leading to Christmas, I think.  Otherwise, it's too easy to say, "I don't care . . . I'll worry about it in January." 

The past couple of weeks I've had trouble exercising regularly.  Once I stopped my Exercise Streak (daily cardio every day for over a year), my exercise program fell apart.  I was walking 5 mornings a week, but once I started a night job, ending at midnight, I found rising at 6:15 a.m. to be more and more difficult.  We went to three mornings a week, and then I decided to take the month of December off entirely. 

But clearly, no exercise at all isn't great, either, so I am back to using my exercise bike in the evenings (between my works shifts).  So, I'm back in the saddle again.  I have the "Biggest Loser" exercise DVD that I want to start using for toning. 

I also think I might have to start another Exercise Streak in January.  After all, near-daily exercise is one of the traits people who've kept off weight share according to the National Weight Control Registry.  And I want to be one of those people!

Healthy eating tips from PureFoods Fresh Start

I received a lovely email from Beth at PureFoods Fresh Start.  I'm sharing the bulk of it with you as I think it contains really helpful advice.  Here it is:

*  *  * 

I wanted to share a few tips that might make your transition to a lower calorie day easier - now and for the long-term.  Our belief is PureFoods is a "jump start" to a healthy eating plan for life, as most research shows it takes 3 weeks to form a new habit. 

 

1.  Our goal is for PureFoods Fresh Start Diet Plan to be a "new habit" training tool for :

- "Right-Size" Portions:  to help "right-size" a portion of protein, complex carb and healthy fat for your meal.

- Filling Foods: when you've eating high fiber foods you'll feel fuller with smaller portions

- Right Foods: eating foods with a low glycemic index (lower sugar loads and are processed more slowly by the body) will help regulate the blood sugar spikes and keep you from feeling hungry or low energy within 1-2 hours of eating. 

- Satisfying Feeling:  when you know your base hungry is satiated but room to have had another bite vs. full-feeling when you have that second helping vs. stuffed-feeling like the Thanksgiving turkey where you can't wait to loosen your belt.

 

Hope these lessons can help you easily transition from PureFoods Fresh Start to making your own food or dining out- you're just losing the convenience, the personal chef!  We're just giving you a jump-start on YOUR healthy life eating plan.

 

Some other key things, which I've seen in your blog and know you believe in.

2. Keep it Moving!  I know it's hard to do, but even at your desk don't be sedentary.   

(At least once an hour, I make a reason to go up and down stairs from my desk just to keep moving - - and I've been known to mute a conference call and listen while doing some push-ups on the arms of my chair or angled from my desk.  Yes, I'm a fitness fanatic and work-out every day, but know when I can't there are little things that do add up.)

3. Get the Whole Team on-Board!  (Your family, friends, etc.) A small thing that makes a big impact is just using or getting appetizer size plates and start serving all your meals on them.  (If you put your PureFoods meals on these you'll see how the meal fills the plate and looks even larger since no "white space" from the oversized dinner plates that only Americans seem to fill).   I did this with my family and the first day my husband joked "so you don't think I'll just fill this up 3 more times"....but now he doesn't and actually uses those plates even when he's eating on his own.

 

Best of luck with Week #2, which should be easier now that your body is adjusting.  In this colder weather, you may want to try some tea or veggie broth to keep you warm and even more full which we support on our plan.

 

Let us know if there's anything else we can do to support you.  Our whole company is cheering you on!!

 

Best Regards,

Beth Burrough

Chief Marketing Officer, PURFOODS

Newsflash!

It is possible to attend a movie in a theater without eating popcorn!  I took my snack (a little plastic bag of cashews and raisins) and a couple of packs of sugar-free bubblegum.  And I enjoyed the movie.

What do you know?

*  *  *
Some of you may be confused by the comments on the previous post.  Originally, I had written "I've confessed my sins here before (eating the whole package of double-chocolate Pepperidge Farms Milanos while driving home from Target, for instance)."  A commenter objected strenuously to my use of the word "sin."  As I had not intended this sentence to have any religious connotation whatsoever, I edited out the word "sin" and replaced it with "indiscretions." 

The idea I meant to convey is that I haven't kept secrets about my former bad eating habits.  I admitted them here.  I confessed them.  I called them "sins" meaning not "an offense against God" (the first definition in my Webster's New World Collegiate Dictionary), but "an offense against any law, standard, code, etc." (second definition in the dictionary).  Indiscretion is a better word ("lack of discretion or good judgment; imprudence") because it lacks the baggage that "sins" brings.

So I changed it.  I do my best to communicate clearly with my readers.  Even before the commenter in question railed against my word choice (and misunderstood my meaning), I had considered changing that word.

Why do I say all this?  Just to clarify for those readers who are confused by the comments in the previous post.  I feel no need to excuse myself or my faith.  However, in this case, my faith has nothing to do with the previous post.  Also, I believe my former behavior (overeating and indulging in highly processed foods) was merely a bad habit and a coping device.  I never considered overeating a spiritual issue.  (Some do.  I don't.) 

As for readers who leave because they take offense . . . well, I'm truly sorry to see them leave, but just as one diet doesn't work for everyone, neither does my blog.  (Luckily, there are many diet blogs around--you can see a list on my sidebar.)

An orange makes me happy

When you are limiting your food intake in a serious effort to budge yourself off a plateau, an orange can be mighty good.  In fact, while I drove around Christmas shopping, dodging the Krispy Kreme drive-thru and avoiding the Dairy Queen and NOT THINKING about donuts and ice cream, I comforted myself with the idea that I still had a snack at home:  an orange.

And, oh, that orange was glorious and nearly overpowered the scent of the popcorn my husband ate while we watched "Friday Night Lights" together.  Who needs popcorn when you can consume a delicious, juicy orange? 

How much better it is to wake up in the morning without regretting an overindulgence.  I've confessed my indiscretions here before (eating the whole package of double-chocolate Pepperidge Farms Milanos while driving home from Target, for instance).  I've eaten more than my share of processed junk foods, including whole cans of Pringles in a day or two.  I spent over 10 years living as a fat woman.

And that is how I know that it's preferable to deny myself and reap the rewards of that denial.  Someone just told me today in a comment (you can read it below, I think):  "Don't lose sight of what you want the most because of what you want at the moment".  Good, huh?  Excellent philosophy, in fact.

What do you want the most?  I want to be rid of these last pounds.  Only sixteen to go.  I can sacrifice a donut or two in that quest.

I start my second week of PureFoods Fresh Start tomorrow.   This week, I reached the 60-pounds-lost mark.  (Hooray!  166.4 pounds this morning!  I lost 4.6 pounds in the first full week.)  Who knows what will happen in the next week?  I can't wait to find out.

 

What to do about Christmas cookies?

I come from a long line of excellent bakers.  My great-aunts back in Wisconsin would start baking Christmas goodies in October and then freeze them until the holidays.  They would make dozens of varieties of cookies, breads, candies and bars.  My own mother did the same when I was a child.  At Christmas, the entire kitchen table would be covered with plates of home-baked goodness.  In fact, we had no traditional Christmas dinner.  Just sweets!

A few years back, even before I decided to lose weight, I had to reevaluate my own Christmas baking frenzy.  My husband is not that interested in cookies (more cookies for me!) and my children don't like nuts in anything.  I ended up eating huge quantities of Christmas goodies by myself.  (Yes, Virginia, cookies will make you fat.) 

When my now 5-year old was a very clingy baby, I realized that we could celebrate Christmas even if I did not spend days in the kitchen baking and cooking.  That year, people gave us plates of their homemade Christmas cookies and no one even noticed that I didn't personally bake anything.

Mix all these events and thoughts together and I have come up with a Christmas cookie plan that works for me. 

I bake, but only a few special items that everyone loves. 

I use my mother's recipe for cut-out cookies that uses real butter and powdered sugar and we make the most delicious stars with sprinkles.  The kids get to help and the cookies are ten times better than any other cut-out cookies I've ever had. 

When I was a girl, my mother also made some cookies called (oddly enough) Horseshoe Cookies.  They have a yeast dough and a nut filling.  Delicious!  I love them and no one else bakes them.  (I've never had another version of them anywhere.) 

So, last year, I baked them.  My kids don't like nuts and my husband is not interested in cookies much, so after I had one or two, I froze them.  (I think I took a few to a Christmas party.  I can't remember now.)

Over the course of the year, I've seen them in the big freezer in my laundry room and remembered that they are there.  I think I've had one or two of them.  But the cookies remain . . . and here it is, Christmas again.

This year, maybe I should just give away the ones I don't want to eat!  I think it's really funny that I still have them in my freezer after all this time.  I never would have believed I could use such self-restraint.  The key is that freezer in the other room.  Out of sight, out of mind!

So, this holiday season, here are my suggestions:

1.  Make, bake and eat only special items that you truly love.
2.  Stash treats and temptations out of sight. 
3.  Confine your indulgences to one day or one occasion. 

Then, enjoy!

Official Thursday Weigh-In

I'm late!  Sorry!  I have had the craziest day.  But, I started it with a weigh-in, of course, and was delighted to discover today's weight:  166.8.  Last week, I weighed 171, so that's a 4.2 pound loss.  All thanks to PureFoods Fresh Start! 

I am learning what a reasonable portion looks like . . . without having to weigh or measure it myself.  I love this, although I must admit that I am seriously missing 94% fat-free popcorn. 

I have now lost 59.6 pounds. 

How are you doing?  Is Christmas bringing temptation your way?  How do you deal with it?

Day what? Four!

I had the best lunch today:  a roast beef and swiss cheese whole wheat wrap.  Yum, yum, yum.  I think I definitely enjoy food more when I'm not overeating.  And I am certainly not overeating while on this program.  I believe the calorie count per day (depending on the meal selected) is 1110 to 1300 calories.  I know!  Not very many, but exactly what I need to jump-start my weight loss and get me moving in the right direction.  (I'm using the PureFoods Fresh Start program.) 

The food portions are generous, I think.  But, obviously, you don't get seconds and you don't get to prowl around in the cupboards at night wondering what you can eat.  (Who, me?)  Someone emailed me and wondered if my hunger is a sign I am not eating enough.  I think I am eating enough (considering I am trying to lose weight), but that hunger is an unfamiliar feeling to me.  I think hunger says, "Hey, let's burn some fat!" 

As soon as I finish this 3-week program, I am going to join Weight Watchers (well, after Christmas--I'll be done with this on the 21st).  Then I will religiously count points to get the final weight off. 

Who would have guessed that it would take me closer to two years than one to get off 76 pounds?   When you start a weight loss program, the idea that you have to follow a plan for a certain amounts of months (or years!) can be a deterrent.  Best to just plunge right in without considering how long it will take to get results. 

As we all know, keeping the weight off is a life-long effort anyway.  Who cares how long it takes to lose the weight in the first place?