Thursday, November 10, 2011

Changes



Hello everyone.  We have been enjoying some glorious fall weather here in  Pennsylvania. Warm days in the mid to high 60 's and nights in the 40's. The leaves are so beautiful in all of their fall glory.  Hard to believe we had a mini snow storm here a few weeks ago. I love this time of year, and for some odd reason, I always feel  like it's the time for fresh starts. Maybe this goes back to my memories of school years, when that clean, untouched notebook, and sharp pencils were awaiting all the endless possibilities of what the year would bring. Some people feel renewed in the spring as we come out of winter hibernation, but for me the fall evokes that feeling.

After speaking with Rosalie last week, and after reading all of your kind, supporting, encouraging comments, I went into the new week with renewed commitment and focus. I realized that so many people, when you talk about weight loss (myself included), think they are doing all the right things, but then are puzzled at the results. I can't tell you how many of my friends say things like, 'I don't understand why I can't lose weight, I hardly eat anything', or 'I don't eat very much sugar at all'. Some people, including those that I'm around alot, are convinced of this, especially the sugar part. It's frustrating because I feel that I can see so clearly what they are doing wrong, but they can't.  But this also applies to ourselves. Often we can't see the  little things we do to sabotage ourselves, and it's so obvious to others.

So I took a good look at myself, and realized if someone was watching me through a crystal ball, they might see me doing the following....having  more than 2 glasses of wine at a time, having more than 2 glasses of wine plus a square or two of dark chocolate, breaking off small pieces of white bread from the bread basket at a restaurant, trying alittle pasta off someone's plate at a restaurant, trying to keep my  sugar/carb count in my head instead of on paper, overdoing the portions of the stuff I can have, etc., etc. They are all little things,  that add up and can hinder the weight loss results you want. Unfairly some people can get away with them and still lose. I for one am not that person. Those little things matter. I know this because this week the scale was down 3 pounds. I took a good look at what I might be doing wrong and tweaked things a bit. I'm sure that is why I lost.

Now, remember I was up the week before and feeling down about that. I realized that even though many have lost weight on this plan by not counting calories or exercising, or even writing their food intake down, that it was not going to work for me that way. The beauty of the world we live in, and the creative spirit of those around us, show us there are endless possibilities to achieving our goals. I realized that I have been following this plan for awhile now, and although there were some imperfectons along the way, the losses for me were not coming the way they were for other people. I believe in the Belly Fat Cure. I believe that sugar is the root of all evil. I have seen the benefits in my own life of leading a low sugar lifestyle. But I needed more. I needed to add a few other components to get to my goal. I needed to tweak how I was going to continue on this plan, and how it was going to work for me.

So this is what I decided. First off, I believe a body in motion is a good thing. I needed more exercise than the daily walk with the dogs around the neighborhood. I headed back to the gym, back to the elliptical and weight  machines. Not everyday, but a few days a week will be my goal for now. I have learned that the smaller the goal, the happier I am when I reach it. The large, unattainable goals that I don't reach ( lose 5 lbs every week, work out everyday for an hour) just frustrate me and make me unhappy. I know an awful lot about exercise and training from years of practice. I was a real fitness nut in my younger days, the mom who hired babysitters just so I could go to the gym every day. I've had a few trainers over the years, and I know alot about all the machines, circuit training, etc. I just had to get back to a regular schedule, and draw on those years of knowledge. Jorge may say you don't need to exercise to lose on the BFC, but I am the exception. I need alittle bump in the old metabolism to make this work.

Second, I realized that I have to set some caloric limits. Others can follow the plan and not count calories, but I had to consider them in my daily eating. I was keeping track of my food intake, and the sugars and carbs on fatsecret, and with the tap and track app on my phone or ipad. You can pick what you want to track. I track sugar, carbs, fiber, and the calories are tracked as well. I couldn't help but notice that I was often about 2200 calories every day. Now for all of you who have done well  by not counting anything but sugars and carbs, I think you may just have a more realistic view of portions, or maybe you eat slower and get full faster, or maybe you  have more discipline. I'm not sure, but I know that I was eating way to much of the good stuff; the stuff with zero sugars and zero carbs, like cheese, mayo, etc. The reason alot of people don't count calories is that it's too hard to keep track of a large number like 1500 calories a day. Sure the apps and online programs help, but it's a lot easier to remember how many sugars or carbs you have eaten, then how many calories you have consumed. That's what I loved about the Belly Fat Cure.Having been a longtime weight watcher prior to the BFC, I turned back to the point system to help me. I know from my mom who follows the program, that 29 points is the daily allowance. I have a cool little app that lets you tap in the nutritional value of your food and it tells you the points.  I realized that a point is equal to about 50 calories. It's just a handy unit to help you keep track more easily. So in addition to counting my sugars and carbs, and tracking what I eat, I put the info into the WW point calculator on my phone and it keeps track of the points for the day. 

I have had some eye openers. Those brown Rice Works chips ( I'll do a review on them later) that I had with my lunch sandwich yesterday, while only having an s/c count of 0/1, came out to a whopping 3 ww points. In comparison a slice of ezekial bread is only 2 points and also a s/c count of 0/1. There is much more nutritional value in the Ezekial bread, and less calories too. One of the  coconut flour pumpkin muffins comes out to 3 ww points. When you add the cream cheese you are at 4 points. So the s/c count is low, but the calories are high. I have to back off them for a little bit, as they have become the snack of choice lately.

 I know some of you are saying, I can't do all this tracking, and I will tell you that it takes alittle time, I will admit. But it also slows me down and makes me more aware of what I'm eating. For me that's a much needed thing, to slow down and be aware.  I could see that my normal breakfast of 2 ezekial  pieces of toast, topped with 2 slices of canadian bacon, some cheese, chia seeds and two poached eggs was well over 500 calories, but only a s/c count of 0/2. This week I am having 2 pieces of ezekial bread, with butter and two poached eggs and the calories are only 350, but still has s/c count of 0/2.  Same sugar/carb count, but well over 150 calories less. That adds up in a day.

Do you see where I'm going with this? It has been working for many of you to follow the BFC straight as it is written, but for me and my body I'm losing at a snails pace and I need to do better because I'm so frustrated. I needed to realize that even though I am following the plan, I am still eating too much food for my individual metabolism and body type. So I am still tracking and staying within my 15 gms of sugar and 6 carb servings, but also keeping my calories down a few hundred a day by tracking those in the form of points.

Can I keep this up? I am going to try. I am a foodaholic, and a carboholic. I have a hard time limiting myself, eating proper portions or smaller quantities of food. Keeping an eye on the calories via the ww points, at least for this week, made me realize how much I am eating, even while staying true to the BFC guidelines. Stay tuned!

Thought for the day: “Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts."  Arnold Bennett

10 comments:

  1. Good morning Pattie!!! :)
    You know what I say??? GOOD FOR YOU GIRL!!! As a gal following the WW program & someone who is a true believer that it really does work when YOU work the plan, I have counted carbs & sugars on WW & while it was alot of tracking, it helped me to stay on track. I dont really do that now, I just keep track of my points & try to make better choices with lower sugar counts. I try to eat more berries, unsweetened chocolate almond milk ( I dont like skim milk anymore. Every time I buy it, I end up throwing it out) etc. I too am losing at a snails pace but you know what? Im still losing! I am wearinga comfortable size 14 now whereas just a year ago I was pushing the limits of a size 18W!! FIgure out what works for you and roll with it! We are all here for each other to love & support through this weight loss journey & while ours may be a littel slower than the rest, we are getting there! I know that I have found that when I start to reach for something that I probably shouldnt have, I ask myself if it is really worth delaying my weight loss & many times, that helps me to talk myself out of eating that particular thing. I fell that with 42# off now, I have come way to farr to go backwards. I will NEVER EVER weigh over 200# again! I was a very unhappy girl when I weighed 218.5#. I can hardly believe that I am in the 170s again. It is almost a "pinch me" moment because I havent been in this weight bracket in forever! I also try to tell myself that I am less than 10# away from being in the 160s...THE 160s!!!!!!! Holy schmolie!!
    I hope this helps you.
    Love ya girl! Have a great Thursday!!!
    Sherri

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good Morning Pattie,
    Can I say how proud of you I am??? It is hard for everyone to realize that we are not all the same and everything does not always work the same on everyone.
    From the beginning I always looked at the calories (not actually counted) even though Jorge says not to.
    I also agree with the goals thing. Setting unrealistic big goals just get us disappointed when they don't happen.

    Just keep going in the direction that you feel is best for you and WILL reach you goal at your own time.

    Have a great day :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Me too Pattie! Every time I ignore the calories (but not really b/c they're always in my tracker, lol) the count gets 2000+ and there's no weight loss to be had. Way to go! I will be right there with ya! Well, except for the points. I really have no desire to do the WW thing right now. All I need to do is keep on with low sugar/low carb/lower calorie. That's enough. :)

    I am so happy for your loss this week!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Pattie, first of all - 3lbs in one week - YEA!! Don't think I've ever had that big a loss in one week except maybe way back in the beginning. Good for you! I'm also a slow loser. I'll be 51 years old in March and I can't drop the pounds fast like I used to. I'm giving myself SIX MONTHS to lose the 18 more pounds that I want to lose. Although I wasn't all the way on it anymore, I stopped the FT yesterday and stopped a lot of the coconut flour baking. I was actually a little too hungry doing things that way and it was just getting a little too weird for me - I just can't explain it. I want to go back to more of my normal BFC eating habits and save the baked goodies for a healthy dessert. I will definitely still keep my carbs low, usually way below the 120 and keep my sugars as low as possible too. I'm also keeping a better eye on my calories. You're right when you say some people can cheat and get away with it and some of us can't. It's all in our genetic and metabolism makeup I guess. I'm not one of the lucky ones in that department. Hopefully this will be the formula that works the best for us!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. First I want to say how beautiful the fall trees look. Being here in Calif., we don't get to see that beauty! Second, congrats for losing 3lbs AND for taking a deeper look and owning up to those little bites. I always have to catch myself and count every little bite. Ok, now I need to go add up the bite of mashed potatoes that I "borrowed" from my daughters bowl :) I did WW before, too and feel that I have subconsciously carried that over to the BFC. So if it makes you feel better, I was kinda watching the calories as well as sugar and carbs. I do try to add veggies to most of my meals like they do in WW and fill up on the healthier and lower cal stuff. Anyhow, keep up with what you are doing because it's working ;)
    Carey

    ReplyDelete
  6. Pattie, those little things do add up and it is great to step back and take a look at them. Snacking was my real problem, not so much the meals. Shakes in the beginning and hot tea at night now really really helps me. I dont count or look at calories. I think that might be pretty high during my losing phase, just based on what I was eating and its just a guess.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yeah 3 lbs. What a great week you've had, and all that your learned and realized. We're all just so individual-that it's critical that we customize for ourselves.
    I'm proud of you, and thanks for sharing your wisdom

    ReplyDelete
  8. Pattie congrats on the 3lb weight loss. I loved the post today. I can relate to everything you talked about. I can not eat like other people eat on this diet and still lose weight. I have to track and watch the little snack of this or that. I dont really count calories but I try to watch the amount I eat. I suffer from thyroid disease so I also have to work out if I want to lose anything. I did WW for many years and loved it just was eating way to many carbs. I was a carb overloader...no wonder I could never lose any weight. Keep up all your hard work because you will see great results.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I agree with you I love the freshness of the fall. I think you just need to keep up the good fight and if doing WW helps you get there more power to you. Hang in there and don't give up. Have a wonderful day :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I would love Fall if it didn't lead into winter. We had snow today:(
    Your writing is beautiful and I so agree with what you have discovered. I am so excited for your weight loss and new motivation. You are beautiful whatever size you are, but you have a goal in mind....now go attain it!!!

    ReplyDelete