Many of us need to lose weight. After my sons were born, I found that my weight just kept creeping up on me. Last year I finally found the motivation to really address my weight issues.
While 25 pounds doesn't seem like a lot for some, it is a significant stepping stone to continued success. I highlighted this achievement on twitter and Sue Wolff encouraged me to share my techniques.
I share this as a case study and not as advice on how to lose weight - I'm not a nutrition or health expert. I do believe everyone is unique and what works for me may or may not work for you. Plus, as you will discover as you read on, I could have done a lot more to lose more weight.
One of the hardest parts about this post was the title - I didn't want it to sound like one of "those ads". But, inevitably, it does. So, here is what I learned along the way. Note that my success isn't attributed to one thing, but to a variety of techniques - more of the beginning of a lifestyle change than the adoption of a specific program.
Going into last year's weight loss plan, I took into account several things:
- Diet and exercise are THE prescriptions for weight loss.
- I have never been good at follow-through with exercise (even more so with the extra weight), so I felt my best approach was to tackle the diet side of the equation as a first step.
- I tend to sit at a computer for most of my work day and I get up at 4:30am workday mornings, sometimes without adequate amounts of sleep. These lifestyle elements have been identified as contributors to weight gain. But I would continue work within these parameters in 2008.
- I had tried modest improvements in diet over the past ten years - but my weight still climbed. So I needed some SIGNIFICANT diet improvements.
- I hadn't started until March/April of 2008.
- The best weight loss is gradual but continual, so losing the full amount of weight I want to lose (given my parameters) was going to be a multi-year process. So I started with something that was achievable given that I would probably not be devoting much time to exercise this year.
- I was willing to invest financially in some guidance on improving my diet.
The most useful portion of this program was the "Blueprinting" - identification of my body type. Essentially it identified me as having a low metabolism and the best way around that was to build up my metabolism to burn more body fat.
That made sense to me based on what I knew of myself.
The prescription: Boost my metabolism by cutting down on oils, carbs and other fattening foods and increase my intake of proteins, fibers, and all the green leafy vegetables I desired. Also, invest in vitamins to boost my metabolism.
- To increase my metabolism to help with fat-burning, I start with a light breakfast of a protein (2-3 egg whites) and a fiber (1/4 cup oatmeal). Egg whites is important as fat and cholesterol primarily resides within the egg yolk whereas egg whites primarily contain the protein.
- Eat every 2-1/2 hours with a 2-4 ounces of a low-fat protein and a fiber (vegetable or fruit). For a total of 5 meals each day. I had to watch the fruits and vegetables I selected - avocados are more fattening than apples. Fresh is better than cooked. Through this exercise I discovered the joys of eating edamane, a vegetable I had rarely dined on before. I prepare a package of edamane and that is my vegetable for most of my meals for the day. I compost the pods.
- Drinking water and coffee during the day helps fend off pangs of hunger. However, having smaller meals every 2-1/2 hours cuts back significantly on the hunger pangs.
- I also invested in vitamins to help boost my metabolism. I have to say that I never liked taking vitamins and have avoided taking vitamins for years because I believe you should get your nutrients through your foods. But I decided to try them this time. They did seem to boost my metabolism on the days I took them.
A major key to the success of this diet plan, however, was to radically remove fats, sugars, and carbs from my diet.
- Where possible, I would no longer cook with margarine, butter or oil. Instead, I turned to using water or low-sodium vegetable, chicken, or beef broth. While there are many broths that "claim" to be low-sodium, I found the lowest sodium is Kitchen Basics at 480 mg. And they have just launched a no-salt version of several of their broths, so I'll be looking for that to appear on my grocer's shelf soon. Note: It is important to actually read the labels because claims on packages don't mean a thing until you comparison shop.
- Where I absolutely had to use some kind of oil to avoid food sticking to the pan, I used cooking sprays. I selected olive oil and canola and while they contain cooking oil, they do so at much smaller amounts than I would typically used if adding by hand.
- I changed from sugar to Splenda or Whey-Low. One positive benefit of using a Splenda-sugar mix in baking is that I don't need to use as much and I don't get that burned sugar effect that often occurred when making my sons' favorite banana bread. I use a teaspoon of maple flavored Whey-Low in my morning oatmeal.
- I stopped adding cream to my coffee (no, I haven't given up coffee yet). I invested in a personal coffee maker for home and have discovered I prefer the lighter roasts. I collect the grounds and compost them. I still go to Starbucks or Caribou Coffee now and then, but mostly to purchase ground coffee beans to make coffee at home. When I do order a specialty brew, I ask for the skim version of my favorite beverage. ("I'll have a triple-shot-venti-white-mocha-skim, thank you.")
- I don't eat out during the day but bring food prepared from home. I invested in a small George Foreman grill ($30.00 and recommended by my mom) which I use to prepare some of my proteins. Because I am working with small portions, I can prepare the proteins and any vegetables that need cooking each morning as I prepare my breakfast.
- I've cut down on sodas (though I still have a diet soda now and then) and drink water. I desire to purchase an orange Kleen Kanteen, but since there are many drinking vessels available to me I have postponed that investment. But it is still very much on my radar of future purchases.
- I cut back on my carbs and starches. Initially I exchanged whole grain rice for pasta. But I discovered that semolina pasta cooked al dente is actually better for you than rice or potatoes. Also I've also learned to make pasta from scratch to avoid the sodium and other additives I would get in store-bought versions. Note - pasta making can be a bit time consuming. I also limit my intake of bread, though I do make banana bread on a regular basis. But since it is made from scratch using low-fat, low-sodium ingredients, I enjoy a few slices myself.
- We still eat out - but we tend to be selective on where, how often, and what selections we order. Eating out has the potential to hurt our pocketbooks as well as our health, if done regularly. A good resource for making the right choice when eating out is Eat This, Not That brought to you by Men's Health (visit the accompanying website at http://www.menshealth.com/eatthis/). Often the portions you get when eating out are worthy of two or three meals, so I will eat half (or a third) and bring back the rest to save for subsequent meal(s). And I WILL eat leftovers - that is key because I know it is easy to bring home a doggie bag and forget about it until it is no longer edible. Key to the success of eating leftovers is storing them in air-tight containers. Don't ever leave your leftovers in the packages provided by the restaurant. Always repackage - this includes pizza. It is interesting to note that one of he frustrating things I have encountered as I eat smaller portions is that sometimes I seem to have too many leftovers. I announce that dinner will be comprised of leftovers to make sure leftovers are eaten.
- Along this timeline I also discovered the website EatingWell.com which is an accompaniment to the magazine by the same name. There are a wealth of great recipes there and I learned how to replace existing recipes with healthier versions incorporating low fat, low sodium and better-for-you ingredients. I also used FoodNetwork.com to find healthy recipes. Making food from scratch eliminates many of the fats and sodium additives that you will find in pre-packaged and restaurant-prepared foods. I download individual recipes from these sites into individual word documents in a folder on my computer under My Documents labeled My Recipes. I can test the recipes and, if they are a success, I can update them with the appropriate changes (if any). I also invested in an inexpensive 3-ring binder recipe book to hold print-outs of my recipes which I use in the kitchen.
- I weighed myself regularly but didn't let the daily ups-and-downs of weight loss depress me. Fluctuations are to be expected. If you find your weight has gone up, just refocus your efforts. I kept my weight goal down through the holiday season - where it is anticipated you will gain weight - by sticking to my diet guidelines.
- Slow cooker ($50.00). This is a wonderful tool for preparing low-fat meals that can cook for several hours. I prepare ingredients the night before, then pop them into the slow cooker before I go to work. And clean-up is easy. Actually, the slow cooker I use is one I purchased several years ago but it found it's way out of the cupboard and back on my kitchen counter this year.
- My Food Diary ($9.00/month). This is a website where you can track your diet, weight loss, and exercise programs. I found this stie useful for a while, but after a while I found I spent less time online and given the economic downturn, I looked for areas to cut costs and so discontinued this program. But it is a useful resource. which I might use again at a later date.
- Pasta machine ($30.00) and pasta drying rack ($15.00). This is my most recent purchase and I'm still improving my pasta-making skills. But I hope to expand my capabilities in this area over the coming year.
- Ingredients / Specialty cooking books. With the Internet having so many resources available at your fingertips for free, I hesitate to purchase recipe books. When I do, I tend to invest in books that expand my understanding of a wide range of ingredients unfamiliar to me or new cooking techniques I'm seriously adopting.
