10 Pounds

I've lost ten pounds, everybody! Yay! And two inches everywhere! Yay! I measured myself before I started my diet and I'm now two inches smaller on my thighs, waist, booty, etc. Woo hoo!

Anywho, I'm starting the fourth week of my diet today. My friend Patty lost 15 pounds when she was this far in, but everybody's different, I guess. Here are my notes so far:

I joined a really nice gym (Equinox) but I still hate working out. I've been mixing it up with different kinds of cardio, alternating between the treadmill, bike, and elliptical, but I still hate it. I'm going to take some classes this week because I hear they're good at Equinox. Also, I could do three push-ups when I started and I've been adding one a week, so now I can do six. This week I'm going for seven. I'm going to be so strong!

Two funny things about the gym... people wear weird things when they work out. Yesterday some dude was wearing a winter hat while running on a treadmill. Um, why? And the other day a woman had on pantyhose and shorts. Not dancing tights or leggings— but control-top pantyhose. And they were black, which made it worse. I've also identified the gym hussy. Yesterday she was humping a wall (pelvic thrusts, whatever) and every man in the place was staring at her. I was, too, but only because I was taking mental notes on just how ridiculous she looked. Thank God there wasn't a stripper pole around.

Okay, about my mid-morning snack of almonds: I've been jazzing it up a bit and also eating macadamia nuts and seeds (sunflower and pumpkin mix.) Macadamia nuts are on the South Beach Diet and that Gwyneth Paltrow cleanse included seeds, so they're probably all just as good for me.

For my after-dinner snack, I've been freezing a cup of soy milk in ice cube trays and then blending them with a cup of blueberries for something cool.

Larabars: The Pecan Pie one is also delicious and I've been dying to try the Cocoa Mole one but I can't find it anywhere. Has anyone had it? What are your favorites?

Also, since I've been on this diet I've been in situations that haven't exactly been diet-friendly. I went to a Mets game but didn't eat anything there. Instead I brought almonds and bag of cherries. I also went out for Mexican one night and ended up getting chicken tacos (chicken was grilled) and one margarita. After a year of not eating meat, I've started to eat chicken again simply because I need more lean protein. Sorry, chickens—I try to keep eating you to a minimum and still eat a lot of fish and tofu. My point is that I'm not going to stop living because I'm on a diet. It takes planning and self-control, but so far so good. I worked out a little harder after my Mexican outing and I still lost weight.

Anyone else have success? Tell me!

Diet Update

So I've been on my diet for about ten days now and I've lost six pounds! I finally feel better, too. The first week was pretty unpleasant... I got the worst headaches and felt like I had the flu at times. But I got through it without cheating, exercised almost every single day, and already feel like you can see a difference.

Someone said they were starting today and asked if I have any tips. In addition to what I put in the first post, here are some more:

• If you usually eats sweets and a lot of bread carbs, you'll probably feel yucky the first week, but I read on the internet that when you change your diet for the better like this it can take your body up to ten days to start feeling better. So keep this in mind if feeling like crap lasts more than a couple days, it may take ten. I went like this... Day 1-4: I felt horrid, almost like I had the flu. Day 5-6: I didn't feel flu-like, but I still had horrible headaches. Day 7-8: The headaches finally stopped but I still felt somewhat weak, especially when waking up. Day 9-10: I don't feel weak anymore.
  
• The first couple of nights on the diet I kept waking up because I was so hungry, so on the third and fourth nights I took sleeping pills. Worked like a charm; I stayed asleep. On the fourth and fifth night I woke up as well, but instead of taking sleeping pills again I ate a thing of string cheese so my stomach would stop grumbling and I could get back to sleep. (I then didn't eat my string cheese the next day.)
• In the middle of the day, if I was hungry, instead of eating, I'd sleep some more. (I've slept a lot in the past ten days.) So if you're able to nap, then nap away the hunger pangs.
• I think Cherry Pie and Cashew Cookie Larabars are the best.
• I think romaine lettuce is dull and much prefer arugula or spinach in my salad at lunch even though they are less hearty. Earthbound Farm also makes the best lettuce mix with dill, cilantro, and parley in it called the Fresh Herb Salad. It's deelish.
  
• For motivation, I hung a recent picture of myself on the wall next to two old ones where I was more fit to remind myself of my goal.
• Boom Boom Pow. The best workout song. Makes me forget I don't want to be at the gym.
• If your gym offers something like this, get a body fat analysis. I did and the results were frightening. When you hear someone say, "You are xx percent body fat" it doesn't mean much. But when someone says, "Of your weight which is xxx pounds, xx pounds are lean body mass and xx pounds are fat," it certainly does. I want to get another one done after I've been working out for a few months to see how I've improved.
• When I feel like cheating, this is what I think: It's not that I can never eat pizza (or other delicious off-limits food) again, it's just that I can't eat pizza while I'm on this diet. I'm trying to get my weight back to where it used to be and once I'm there I can eat what I want (in moderation, of course.)

Hmm.... what else.... I think I'm re-learning portion control. Last night I ate out with my family and realized I had the equivalent of two dinners on my plate. So I only ate half the rice, half the shrimp, half the veggies and took the rest home.

Also, someone asked if I'd share my height and weight with everyone. I totally understand why they asked and actually considered doing so as I think it would be motivating for others to see my progress. But after thinking it through I decided not to. This may sound silly but I still get a mean email every once in a while and the last thing I want while I'm struggling to get fit is some dude calling me a fat-ass. I have no problem telling my friends what I weigh and if it were just us girls I'd probably post it, but for now it's not going to happen. I'll post how much weight I lose though (and actually, I'm 5'4"—I have no problem sharing my height!), so you can make your own assumptions.

Is anyone else on the diet? If so, how are you doing?

Summer Slimdown Diet

Okay, here's the diet. My friend Patty lost 20 pounds in five weeks on this. (Four pounds a week.) But she also worked out like crazy. It's not meant to be a diet to help one maintain their weight (obviously), but to help one lose weight and do so pretty quickly.

I'm now on day five and my hunger pangs have subsided, but when I started this thing I was starving. If someone asked me how many calories I thought it had, I would've guessed 600 or so because I was so hungry. But, I've added it up and there are anywhere from 1200-1400 depending on what lean proteins and fats you choose.

So anyway, here it is:

SUMMER SLIMDOWN

BREAKFAST

OPTION 1

• 8 oz nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1 cup fresh fruit or berries
• 2 tbsp slivered almonds

OPTION 2

• 1/2 cup liquid egg whites, scrambled
• 1 cup of veggies (mushrooms, tomatoes, onion, asparagus, broccoli, peppers, spinach, etc.)
• 2 tbsp guacamole or 1/4 avocado
  

SNACK

• 23 almonds

LUNCH

Think of lunch as a puzzle. Here are the pieces:

• VEGGIE FOUNDATION:
  

2 cups dark leafy greens (options include field greens, torn romaine, spinach)

• VEGGIE PARTNERS
  

Add another cup of watery (not starchy) veggies like mushrooms, tomatoes, onion, asparagus, broccoli, peppers, spinach, zucchini, artichokes, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, cucumber, green beans, snow peas

• LEAN PROTEIN:

3 oz size of deck of cards grilled chicken, shrimp, chunk light tuna canned in water, firm tofu or low sodium, lean deli turkey

• ONE “GOOD” FAT:
  

A quarter cup (size of a golf ball) of slivered or chopped nuts or avocado or no more than 1 tbsp olive oil

SNACK

• 1 all-natural bar like Larabars (I love these because the only ingredients are whole nuts and fruit) or Bumblebars

DINNER

PUZZLE PIECES:

• 1 cup (1 baseball) cooked veggies
• 3 oz lean protein
• 1 “good” fat
• 1/2 cup cooked grain

EXAMPLES:

• 3 oz grilled chicken with 1 cup Oriental veggies sauteed in oil over 1/2 cup brown rice
• 3 oz grilled fish with 1 cup steamed green beans garnished with 1/4 cup slivered almonds and 1/2 cup cooked quinoa

SNACK

• 1 cup (1 baseball size) fresh fruit
  
• 1 dairy (Options: 1 reduced fat string cheese or 1 Laughing Cow mini babybell round, 6 oz nonfat Greek yogurt, 8 oz skim or calcium fortified soy milk)

And now, a few more notes from me:

• This diet came from a nutritionist, so the notes contained in it are from her not me.
• There is a lot of preparing in this diet. If you like convenience, do yourself a favor and buy as many veggies as you can cut and cleaned from a place like Trader Joe's. I did this with mushrooms, snap peas, broccoli, spinach, etc. It makes life a whole lot easier, especially when you have a headache.
• You can also do this with the liquid egg whites, cooked frozen shrimp, etc.
  
• I also bought the guacamole from Trader Joe's. They have something in the produce department that's made from whole avocados and no fillers. If you peel back the plastic topping very slowly to only uncover what you need and store it in a ziplock back, it doesn't brown. The guacamole will be a highlight of your diet—trust me—so make it good.
  
• My friend Patty had a chocolate-covered Fiber One bar instead of a Larabar and she still lost weight. I'm sticking with Larabars because they're more nutritional and I happen to love them. Try the Cherry Pie one.
  
• I'm also taking a multivitamin.
  
• Don't forget to drink tons of water and exercise!

I'm off to work out! I'll post motivation tips when I get back! Happy losing weight!

My Diet

I started a new diet. I'd post it for you but I don't have any energy. I'm not starving myself by any means—I'm eating about 1200-1400 calories a day in lean protein and TONS of veggies—I just think my body is getting used to life without sugar and reacting in a not-so-pleasant way. I truly feel sick tonight, almost like I have the flu.

Anyway, my friend Patty got married last weekend and dropped 20 pounds for her wedding day by following this diet. She looks amazing and it was such motivation for me to lose weight. I'm the fattest I've ever been in my entire life and it's no fun. I don't look like myself, my clothes don't fit, I'm just unhappy overall. So in addition to joining a gym, I started this diet. I've been on it for four days and I haven't cheated once. I'm so proud of myself. But I feel like shit. But I think that's normal. I read somewhere that I could feel this way for up to ten days. God, I hope not.

I'll post the diet tomorrow.

Sorry for rambling in this post but I have a headache. ;(

PS - I also stopped drinking Diet Coke. I used to have one 20 oz. bottle a day in the afternoon, so that could account for part of my headache.