You can call them 7 pounds of wedding bliss, but whatever. Fat is fat.
It's interesting to me that I can workout 45 minutes a day 7 days a week and gain weight steadily. But I know this about myself: I am either losing or I'm gaining. (Yo-yo anyone?) I don't actually ever maintain my weight.
One of my issues is that my body is used to eating a very small amount of calories. This "gain" has happened because I allowed myself to begin eating like a "normal woman." Ie: I've been eating 1500-1800 calories a day. To my body, this is tons. After many years of terrible low-calorie eating, my body thinks it only needs around 1200-1400 tops. Anything over that makes me gain weight.
A conundrum, yes?...
What I'm actually referring to is Set Point Theory. Basically, this means your body becomes accustomed to what your doing/eating and you have to make a drastic change to pull your body out of that set point.
Or, atleast that's what I've always thought.
But, I'd like to approach this Set Point Enigma from another angle. Something Miz recently talked about on her blog, and something I really agree with is another rather simple concept: Consistency.
I don't need any schooling to tell you that consistency is the key to lasting weight loss. You will see countless bootcamps, purges, detox diets, lose-15-pounds-in-15-days miracle weight loss plans, but the truth is these things are teaching us only how to lose weight in a vacuum. Instant gratification, without sharpening the tools that help you learn to live after the diet or detox. It's the American way (gee, wonder why americans are obese?...) I sincerely believe the only tried and true method of weight loss plan can be summed up in two simple words: BE CONSISTENT.
Simple, impossible, achievable. All at the same time. Be consistent.
Consistency is something I have trouble achieving in my food routine, mostly because my food (and exercise) tends to be reflective of my life. Since my wedding, I've had a major shift in my career and I'm going back to school to boot. So, how do you find consistency in a life that is so chaotic?
It's simple. You force it, you fake it and eventually it becomes habit. I believe in this, and I know it works.
If you fail to plan, plan to fail.
One of the most important parts of living a consistent lifestyle is planning ahead. Not everyone needs to do this. But I need to, and if whatever you're doing isn't working, maybe you need to, too.
Planning my food a day in advance was one of the key aspects of my 200 pound weightloss and every small weightloss I've achieved since then. So why did I quit? Honestly? Because I hate doing it. I love being able to get inspired by a blog I read or an idea I have while driving to the office... But, the reality for me is that sticking to a plan keeps me in line. It's like my mind switches out of food mode because I've taken the creativity of that moment out of it. If I know that at 10am, I'm having a cheesestick and an apple, there's no need to stare at the fridge trying to figure out what to eat and eating half of it while I'm making whatever it is. I already know.
So, that said, I'm toying with the idea of posting my food plan on here one day in advance. It might help me out to be accountable like that. It's worth a try. I need to get rid of these 7 pounds (I can't afford new clothes anyway!!!).
My idea is meet this set point theory head on with a consistent practice of health and wellness. Workout as I've done, pushing it a little more, and push consistency in my eating, even as I'm eating at 1500 calories instead of insanely low like I've had to do to lose weight in the past. I sincerely believe consistency will win out. What do you think?
On Tomorrow's Menu
Breakfast
Oatmeal w/1 spoon of Natural Jif and Rasberries
Mid-Morning Snack
2 Whole Grain Fig Newtons and Cheesestick
Lunch
Ham and Swiss on Nature's Own Bread
Light n Fit Yogurt-Watermelon (You NEED to try this flavor.)
Mid-Afternoon
Honey Oikos, 1/4 cup Pumpkin Flax and a Nectarine
(Big snack because dinner isn't until 7:30)
Dinner (Bookclub at CPK)
1/2 CPK Cobb Salad (They list this at 574 calories, but I don't like avocado and I'll use oil/vinegar, not the ranch or blue cheese, so I think it'll be significantly less than 574.)
+Popsicles, which I never count in calories.
Ok. Feels good to do that.
I bet you guys are dying for pictures to break up all these WORDS.
Breakfast was... not good. Toast, egg and a really yucky maple Morningstar sausage patty. GROSS! I like the regular sausage, but the maple tastes like... bread or something. It was weird.
Leftover Lunchie. Always good the next day.
And, I'm afraid that's all the food pictures I have. Today was binge-y, plus extremely busy. Luckily I had help..........
Yep... can't tell you how much it helps the old work concentration to have cars driving over your paperwork... and your arms... and over the back of the chair you're sitting in and under it... and occasionally random little cars driving (or crashing, sound effects included) into your laptop.........
;) All this and I'm not even a parent yet! Good practice, I 'spose.
After all that work, I didn't have the energy to cook, so we went to Souplantation for dinner. So, that's all the pics. I'll do better tomorrow guys!!!
Goodnight boys and girls! :)
Much love,
Mrs Myers
==========TALK BACK========
Do you plan your food in advance? How do you stay consistent with your healthy eating habits?
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