How much have I lost, how quickly did I lose it and what do I eat?

The most asked questions I get from friends, family, and anyone who is familiar with my journey is, how much have I lost, how quickly did I lose it and what do I eat? Although it is usually asked at the same time and I could go on and on about all three questions separately, my most common answers: During which attempt? A lot if you combine each attempt. And oh gosh, how much time do you have, because I’m kind of a nutrition junkie and I’ve been trying to figure that out for years…

Over the last four years (since my daughter was born), I’ve lost over 60 pounds but that was 30 pounds rather quickly and then my loss evened out to approximately 1 to 2 pounds a month. That’s it, that’s all I lose now, 1 teeny tiny pound, if I’m lucky, 2 pounds a month. I did manage to finally break through a plateau line though that as an adult I’ve never crossed before.

The last 10 pounds has been painfully slow, and my weight fluctuates up and down everyday… that’s right, I do weigh myself every day. I do not recommend this for everyone, but for me it works. It’s simply part of my morning routine. Get out of bed, go potty, weigh myself (wearing the exact thing everyday… i.e. nothing), take my vitamins and or supplements, get dressed, breakfast… of course there is a lot change post take my vitamins, I do have to get a 4 year old and a husband up, moving and ready too, I also am not a fan of getting up early so this process is usually a little rushed.

Weighing myself every day is really good for the way I think. I completely understand and expect my weight to fluctuate daily. But, not a lot can happen in one 24 hour period, and because my eating is simple and healthy, when I see an unusual jump or decline I can almost always directly correlate it with what I ate yesterday… for example Sushi nights most certainly guarantee that I will be up at least 2 pounds by the AM weigh in time.. it’s not that I’ve really gained any weight, it’s just the added sodium consumption… and seeing the scale change is a good reminder to get all my water in and maybe a little more to flush out all that sodium. Sushi is a healthy choice, at least my options are, they are just naturally saltier than most food I eat. Water also plays a huge role in my daily weight fluctuation, just another thing I think about if a change on the scale occurs. But the average result is 1 to 2 pounds loss each month.

I’m actually feeling really good right now, so while my weight loss is slow, I’m at a point that 1 to 2 pounds a month is absolutely acceptable for me. If in 6 months from now, I’m 6 pounds lighter, woo hoo!!! I’m doing awesome.

I do still have pounds to lose, and I could lose them faster, I know I could, however this is where my preferred lifestyle comes into play. My goals are not to be at a certain weight as quickly as possible, not anymore… My goals are to be healthy, strong, as pain free as possible, and to be a good role model for my daughter. I am not on a diet. Don’t get me wrong I’ve tried so many diets with real effort that I could probably teach a class about each one, I research what their scientists claim work and why. At different times I’ve had some success on Weight Watchers, Southbeach, and Absdiet… I say some success because while I was following those diets how they were intended I had a successful weight loss, I’ve tried many others and there are some things that work from them and some that don’t but the biggest fail for me is that I do not want to be on a diet forever. Not to mention I am a all or nothing personality type so figuring out the diet, reading everything possible about each one, truly researching them, and then spending hours and hours planning meals that I like and that work for my family means that I then think about food, all day long every day… quick hint: when you think about food constantly, even healthy food, it makes you hungry… Being & feeling hunger makes making good choices all that much harder. I have a beautiful family, we love food, we love celebrating with family and the last thing I want to do is take the fun out of food for my self and for my family.

So what do I eat? Instead of making a REALLY long blog post, I’ll save sample menus and ideas for a different date, in fact I’m thinking through a possible blog schedule of sorts, where I post something nutrition related one day a week, exercise another, maybe even see if I can get a few of my friends to post a guest blog of sorts one day…I think it would be great to hear from others about the topics that they have passion about, besides who really wants to read my words every day anyway right?

My general diet consists of about 95% healthy, non-processed, real food, including fruits, vegetables, lean protein, natural fats, some grains and chocolate cake… (I was just seeing if you were paying attention), eaten in small portions at regular intervals throughout the day. Add at least 100 ounces of H2O and that’s what I eat… 95% of the time. I try very hard not to eat processed foods and will go out of my way not to eat anything with High Fructose Corn Syrup… eliminating HFCS alone is a great start for most people. My normal diet and the food that I eat can be found in almost any diet plan, The zone, Paleo, Mediterranean, in fact most of my trial recipes come from one of those 3 sources. I do have one downfall… I’m totally addicted to my espresso drinks, and not just espressos… Sugar Free English Toffee Mochas, Sugar Free Hazelnut Mochas, Sugar Free Caramel lattes… you get the picture. I make these mostly at home and I have a 16 oz one every day, and still frequent my favorite coffee shops as well. My own recipes use splenda Sweetened Sweetners… this is the only place that I use Splenda. It like all other “sweeteners” is a chemical which I don’t allow myself to eat or drink it any other time. Maybe someday I’ll give it up, but not now… it’s part of my morning routine too, and frankly, I love it! I make my espressos, extra creamy using Trader Joes Fat Free Organic Milk and they are yummy!!!

For the most part, I do not count calories although I do know with pretty darn good accuracy how many calories are in the foods I eat, I simply eat on a regular schedule, simple foods that I like that are healthy, I always incorporate a lean protein source in any meal I eat, even snacks, and I drink water throughout the day. I tend to eat the same or similar some might even say boring foods each day but then I get more creative with dinner since I eat that with my family. And here’s the fun part… while the food I prepare for myself fits these standards above, I’m not on a diet, if it’s my birthday or one of my friends… I will eat a piece of cake, ooey gooey chocolatey cake… and I will enjoy it. If you invite me over for dinner, I will not feel obligated to ask you how you prepared a meal, and I will even have some dessert if I want to.

I accept that my way of eating may not be the fastest way to lose weight, but I am losing weight, I am feeling great, and I do not feel bad in anyway indulging once in a while.

However, remember that my workout regimen, is intense, and consistent. If I miss a gym workout I make up for it in my home gym. I rest only when I need it (and sometimes I do) and every so often I hit a plateau… that’s when I grab a new journal, journal and track all my food, count the calories, add up the protein and other nutrients… for at least 2 weeks, analyze it and make some adjustments… this helps keep my eating on track and my recollection of portion sizes in tact. By the way, I love using the journal “Diet Minder” by BodyMinder, a small company out of Eugene, for this… it’s by far my favorite paper/spiral bound journal.

I’m not opposed to ever being on a diet though, and if you are on one that you think is the best one ever… I want to know about it… I’ll even try it for a while, so long as it’s healthy, and it doesn't turn me into a super hungry zombie who thinks of nothing but food because the menu plan is too hard to create. I just won’t plan on doing it forever… I can’t imagine being on a diet forever… that would suck! I’m also up for any challenge or contest… I love competition, and it gives me intervals of focusing that I need once in a while… not to mention an opportunity to try out new recipes…

My food motto is simply to eat healthy clean as possible food most of time at regular intervals throughout the day, only eat food that actually tastes good, that I like, and when I eat something that I probably shouldn’t… enjoy it.