Day 5: Education Station

So yesterday was a pretty phenomenal day!  I started the day with 2 eggs and half an apple with natural pb.  While waiting for my eggs to be done, I looked at the ingredients on the side of my organic natural peanut butter and then I looked at my Kraft Crunchy Peanut butter (can it even be called peanut butter?)  It's slightly shocking when you actually look at what you are putting in your body when you eat things.  I think that makes it a bit easier to say no.  Educating myself is definitely a start to keeping this thing going long term.

One of the reasons I was good at the weight loss clinic was because I love love loved learning about nutrition, different foods, biology, etc. It was just interesting how our bodies react to certain types of food, good and bad.  I won't bore you with a ton of scientific facts, but OUR BODIES ARE INCREDIBLE!!

It's amazing that our body will literally try every possible thing to make life easier for us and all we have to do is treat it as such.  Like a car, if we give it premium fuel, go for monthly/yearly checkups, and do a little cleansing here and there to start fresh, you will have a purring machine.  So, I felt a bit guilty about the things I had been putting into my body.  While it was trying its best to well, keep me alive, I was working against it by eating tons of sugar, starch, gummy candies made up of God knows what, every dextrose/maltose/sucrose you can imagine.  My body tried its hardest to keep up with breaking it down, but eventually I consumed so much that it was fighting a losing battle and BAM!! Hello, weight gain!

(This little beaut was taken in 2001)

 

Below are some basic rules of thumb that I have come to realize:

1. If it's fast, it probably isn't food.  I was thinking about this yesterday as I contemplated the thought of stopping somewhere for healthy food on the way home.  No such thing exists.  Yes, I know lots of "fast food" restaurants offer salads.  Have you ever tried eating a salad while driving?  It ain't happening.  I just think about how much prep I have to do to create a basic salad: buy organic vegetables, wash them, cut them, put it together, mix the balsamic vinegar and olive oil, cook the chicken (or meat of choice) cut it up, put it on the salad, drizzle the dressing on.  Essentially my prep time for a small salad is that of about 10 minutes.  The salads you get at a fast food place are packaged for survival, meaning they spray chemicals and gases in the bags/pre-made salad containers to ensure they last longer so the company gets more revenue. 

2. Eating organic is not actually more expensive. Oh how silly I have been, make up excuses about not buying organic because of the price.  Then, I found myself throwing out a few chicken breasts last week (pre-organic) because we didn't eat them.  This week, I have ensured that both Ryan and I are not only eating meals at home, but also sending him with the leftovers to ensure we do not waste.  I am not about to eat $20 because I wanted to eat at a restaurant instead.  I am more likely to actually eat ALL of my groceries, instead of throwing them away.  Plus, head to a U-Pick or the farmers market and not only get delicious tasteful vegetables, but usually at a cheaper price.  Or if it is more expensive, its because you get more.

3. "Eating Healthy" means something different to everyone.  As it should.  Everyone's bodies are different and no 2 people are going to be able to eat exactly the same thing and achieve exactly the same result.  It was a sad day when I realized avocados were making my stomach sore.  I LOVE AVOCADOS!!  You have to find out what works for you.  Basically in this first week of my adventure, I simply went to the bare minimum so as I go along and start adding back some foods, I will know how I feel immediately and can say "yay" or "nay" to adding them back full time.

4. Bleached sugar is literally, the devil.  No joke. How do you think they "bleach" sugar?  Yes. With...bleach. Would you take a swig of Javex?  No, I don't think so.  So why add a tsp of bleach to your coffee every morning?  Just sayin'.  I know it's extremely hard to cut out sugar (hello, I am a sugar junky!)  Not only do I swallow red Dinosours practically whole, but I consume licorice like it's going out of style.  Recently though, after chowing down on some gummies, I experienced some of the worst digestive pain in the world.  Almost like the candy was going through my intestines in it's full state.  Not cool.  For me, it is a necessity.  If I don't have sugar, I don't crave sugar.  The end.

5. Drink your damn water.  You know when you feel frumpy and bloaty and blame it on your "water weight", start drinking water and this is not an issue.  On day 5 only and I am pretty certain my stomach has come in at least 2 inches.  Don't give yourself an opportunity to have water weight, just drink your water.  It helps bring all the vitamins and minerals to your blood stream, it helps move the crap along faster, it helps to filter out the chemicals that we consume, contact, and breathe every day.  Get these bottles from Costco if you don't already have them, it's so easy to chug back 1 of those in like half an hour (if not less with the heat being the way it has)

 6. Preparation is the absolute key.  Awhile back when I was bodybuilding I had heard the best quote ever:  "If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail."  and OMG, it is so ridiculously true!  I was so hungry yesterday and tempted to stop and eat some not so good stuff for the sake of satisfying the rumbling in my tummy, but because I am on day 5 I am still very aware of what choices need to be made.  So after I grabbed my vegetables from the shop yesterday I chopped them all up before I put them in the fridge and put them in little baggies to snack on.  This blog helps me keep on track because while I don't follow my intended meals 100%, I still ensure I am only eating 5 times a day, just swapping out different meals.  Every healthy blogger/trainer will tell you to set aside 1 day and just use that day as your prep day for the week.  Thankfully for me, I work at home so I can start my dinners earlier in the day to ensure I am not ravished by the time work is done.  But for those of you that work in an office, a prep day is definitely essential.

So yah, those are just a few things that I have learned and experienced within the last 5 days.  I am feeling fantastic and less bloated.  I woke up this morning with little to no swelling! YAY!  I feel more and more confident everyday because I am saying no and continually winning the battle in my head between the good and bad foods.  I just feel good.

Yesterday I went to the splash park with Cori, Jeff, and the babies and that was a lot of fun!  It's so good that the city has free things like that for the kids to stay active.  Running around after children is no easy feat, that is for sure!

 

Date: August 21, 2013

Current weight: 242 lbs

Goal for the day: 25 minute walk in the park

What is your plan for food today?

B: Greek yogurt with 1 tsp of honey and berries

S: handful of nuts

L: bison burgers

S:apple with pb

Su: leftover chili

Planned water intake: 96 oz (4 water bottles full)