Day 3.9: Almost there

Nearly done!  Not starting on Monday has really confused me, but I'll manage.

Check in on the challenges for this 10 Days:

1. 1400 calories per day...most days
2. No sugar - meh...
3. 30 minutes daily...except yesterday.
4. 3 veggies & 2 fruits...success!

I've been off to a slow start, I'll admit.  However, I did make rice crispy treats yesterday and only ate two and I still met my 1400 calorie limit.  Horray!

Do you have any suggestions on challenges for the next 10 days?  I've got some ideas stewing, and I think simplicity is going to be the key word here.  I've been told I'm a little intense, so I think I'll try to be a little less so.  No reason to make any of us feel like a failure, right?

A little note about meal spacing.  After going through the small children phase, when they ate frequently and I ate right along with them, I have morphed into a grazer.  Sometimes I think that this should allow me to perfectly integrate the "golden rule" of fat loss which is eating every 2-3 hours to keep your metabolism revved all day.

Yesterday I was on the computer and doing business stuff all morning.  Then I left the house around 12 and didn't get home until 3.  Most mornings I usually don't usually eat after breakfast, and then I start grazing.  Every time I wander through the kitchen I eat something.  Yesterday I ate a bigger lunch, 500-600 calories at 1, and I was stuffed until dinnertime.  Not being home helped, but I really didn't feel a desire to snack after lunch, even after I got home and the kids came home from school.  This is a miracle.

So I'm wondering if three bigger meals is the best way for me to eat. You know, actually sitting down at the table and eating enough food to feel satisfied?  It makes me feel like a diet rebel, like I'm laughing in the face of all scientific research, like how could I possibly lose fat if I'm not eating every 2 hours.  Don't get me wrong: I like having more frequent excuses to put food in my mouth.  But this only helps me if I actually need it.  Not to defy all logic, but it is possible that something different might work for me.  Like maybe the way I ate all my whole growing up life.  Three squares a day, no snacks.  Like following a circadian rhythm for eating.  Do what comes naturally.  I have a gut feeling that the less I am required to think about what to eat, the less I'll think about it period.  Which is a good thing.

I'm willing to give three square meals a try.

Day 3.8: Hard Facts About Exercise

The other morning I pulled on my compression tights and thought "I really like these.  Maybe if I wear a long sweater no one will know they are workout pants."  I'm avoiding jeans and wearing stretchy pants.  It's gone a little too far, don't ya think?

Alrighty, back to what I do best: information.

I read this a month ago and really really loved it.  It is called "8 Cold, Hard Facts About Exercise"

It is worth reading.  I really liked the 5th fact: "I won't allow you to eat whatever you want".

Whenever I start exercising a lot my appetite increases.  But more than my appetite is my "perceived food budget".  Yeah, I can totally eat a dessert after each of my 5 meals.  I worked out.

As you can see, this is not working for me.

When you start truly calculating how many calories you burn during exercise (as the article points out) it's really not as many as you think.  I have a cycle computer that tells me I burn 900 calories on a 90 minute ride.  I appreciate that calculation because it gives me permission to eat everything in sight.  But I'm preeeettttyyyy sure that it's off by about 300 calories.  Truly.  And while 600 calories is a lot, it ain't 900.

I am always jealous of professional cyclists.  They are always saying in interviews how they have to force themselves to eat enough calories during the day so they don't bonk.  This is during a grand tour, like the Tour de France.  Those poor cyclists.  Wouldn't that be an interesting problem to have?  Forced to eat enough calories?  Wouldn't I love to be them.  Riding 150 miles each day.  For 3 weeks straight.  Never mind.

Other facts I liked:

"Exercise alone won't change you."  Enter my personal diet challenges.  This will be a hard one for me to get through.

"Exercise will always feel hard."  Each time I ride my bike I dream of a day when I can ride 17 mph for hours without it hurting.  Unfortunately, it will always hurt.  My mind just has to quit telling me that I can't go any more.  Because in reality, I can.  Our ability to push through the hard will increase as we exercise more.

I am ready for some results that I can see.  This article helped me see some things I can change that will hopefully help me get off my plateau.  Did you find anything interesting or new?

Day 3.7: I feel better now

Wow.  Now that I have nothing to hide...

I'm so glad someone commented (thanks, Tess).  I was starting to hear crickets and uncomfortable silence.  That's not awkward.

I really do feel better, however.  I feel like I can start again.  Just after I posted  yesterday, I sat down to read the January Ensign.  No, I didn't tear into it on Dec 30, and yes I procrastinate.  Have you not read this blog?  Anyway,  I read Pres. Uchtdorf's message about beginning anew.  It was just what I needed.  The best time to start is years ago.  The next best time is now.  So very perfect and uplifting.  Take time to read his message.

Also perfect and uplifting was my workout today.  I got invited by my favorite person to go cross country skiing at Snow Basin.  It was 37 degrees, perfectly sunny, and so much fun.  The grooming left us sinking in snow drifts in some areas and not speeding along, but it was one heck of a workout.  All the moving arms and struggling uphill on super skinny skis and shooshing downhill with no edges...it's a toughie.

It was very rejuvenating and I had a smile on the whole time.

I know some of you have been enjoying outdoor workouts now that the air isn't the color and consistency of mud, and I encourage you to keep it up.  The weatherman says we're in for a week of declining air quality, so get outside while it won't give you emphysema.  Seriously.

Confront your demons, take control, and learn from mistakes.  I think that's this 10 days' theme.  Also, don't set goals you can't realistically reach.  But wait, I already said that.  The story of my life.

Day 3.6: In the Middle

Humph.  Middle of the 10 days.  Can't get the gumption to move off the computer chair.  The weekend mess is staring me in the face and my sheets need to be changed.  Also, I need to iron.  All of my least favorite things.  I think I need a nap.

I had a healthy breakfast, though.  I drank some water.  I read a funny an inspiring post on a new website I found, called Fiterazzi.com.  Other women going through the same things and feelings I am.  Well, some of the same.

I read a bit over the weekend about diet restrictions, and I think some of us have discussed this before.  When we black-list foods from our diet, we find ourselves obsessing over them, craving them more, and over-indulging when we get our hands on them.  For instance...

A couple years ago I did a diet for 5 weeks.  I was feeling particularly interested in what this would do for my body, I was feeling motivated and ready to give it my 100% effort.  And I did.  It was heavy on protein, alternating with days of protein & certain veggies.  It cut out bread and sugar completely, including fruit.  I followed it.  When I had my cheat meal, it was a hamburger wrapped in lettuce.  I had no sugar, not even sugar substitutes.  I ate tons of eggs and carrots.  I made a pancake for breakfast every day that had 1-2 tbsp of oat bran.  The only exercise I did was walking 20-30 minutes each day.  And I lost weight.  8 lbs in 5 weeks.  I felt totally in control, totally excited that something was working.  I was also looking forward to the set date that I was done and I was going to have bread and dessert again.  The plan was to have it just that day and then continue on with my new found success.

So the day came.  And boy was it a day.  I stuffed myself silly.  I felt rewarded, and so deserving.  Then the day ended and the next day came.  There were a couple things I had wanted to eat and didn't, flavors I'd been missing, and so I figured I could eat them the second day, and THEN get back to the restrictions.  I survived 5 weeks, right?  I didn't die without sugar and bread, I was happy and content, and proud of myself during those 5 weeks.  Okay, I was AMAZED at myself.  But the reward day turned into days, then weeks, and then months, and I never got back on the train.  And I sure made up for lost time.  I gained back 13 lbs in 5 weeks.  Such very classic diet behavior.

Mentally I was ruined.  The total deprivation that I had enforced evolved into a feeling of panic that these things I craved were never going to be there again, or that they will forever be off limits.  I was ruined because I knew it was physically possible for me to go without them, so I must be a weakling when I did eat them.  Not only that, but I hadn't been exercising at my usual pace and because I had been eating so few calories every day, my poor starved body and mind clung to every calorie I gave it.  I started out that spring in the worst shape of my adult life, and spent the summer slowly building back what I had lost in fitness.

I still have not gotten back to that lower weight, and have hovered at my beginning weight for 2 years.  I still overindulge on sugar and bread because I swear I'm going to cut it out for good on Monday, and it really is the LAST time I eat 5 cookies at a sitting again.  Okay, 8 cookies.  Luckily I have stuck to exercising because I can never be that unfit again.  

But I am still mentally confused about my feelings for sugar and bread.  I know they are part of a healthy and happy diet and lifestyle.  I know that I don't really need much of them, and truly I do not need them every day.  I have made changes like eating only whole wheat bread, so I know I'm getting more quality from what I do eat.  I don't keep candy around the house and I don't even make dessert once a week.  But when I do get my hands on dessert, heaven help me.  Somewhere in my brain that diet has temporarily turned off my ability to say "I don't need it now.  It'll be there later, when I really want it".

I don't always feel guilty for eating candy or dessert.  When I do feel guilty it is because I know I didn't really need it.  It is because I know that inside me is the ability to say no.  The ability to control myself.  The ability to have control over my bodily appetites, and to practice moderation.

All of this sounds like an addiction recovery program.  Because it kind of is.  

This is why when we talk "diet" it should be about balance, healthy substitutions, and listening to your body.  It should be about recognizing why we are eating: hunger, loneliness, sadness, happiness, or boredom.  Healthy diets start with what we can eat, filling ourselves with healthy good food so we don't need empty unhealthy foods.  Diets should be about enjoying food because it makes us feel and and it is enjoyable, but knowing when to say when.  This is also why we share and have support systems and fitness groups, and make realistic goals.  So that the changes we want to make can happen and stick.

So, I am officially adjusting my 101-day goal until Easter: I am going to have dessert once per week.  I am going to have sugar, the real kind, on my oatmeal every day.  I may even have something sweet during the week NOT on my cheat day, but it is going to be less than 100 calories if I do.  I will have no more than 2 pieces of bread each day, the whole wheat kind, and enjoy every bite.  And I am going to eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies each day.

My name is Emily, and I am totally addicted to sugar.  But I don't have to be.

Day 3.4: The Sun & Vitamin D

It's going to be a beautiful day today, sort of sunny and creeping toward 50.  What!?  I'm going to try to get outside today and exercise in the clean air...finally.

Are you having a cheat meal today?  I know I am!  All I've been wanting is a McDonald's single cheeseburger.  I even turned down a cookie yesterday.  I did not turn down caramel popcorn I made for a friend party.  It's my mom's recipe and it is so delicious!  It's more like Cracker Jacks, buttery and salty.  It was worth it.

Get outside and let what sun there is bathe you in warmth, lift your spirits, and boost your Vitamin D. 

Vitamin D can decrease your risk of cancer, developing type 1 diabetes, osteoporosis.  It stimulates your pancreas to produce insulin, regulates your immune system, and is an inhibitor to cancer cell growth.  

In the summer we get plenty because we spend so much time outside, but in the winter we typically find ourselves deficient, particularly at our latitude and above.  Studies suggest that we need 1000 IU of Vitamin D daily for the maximum cancer fighting & immune system boosting results.  

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin which means it is stored in our bodies.  If you take supplements and get over the recommended dose you can get a toxic effect, leading to kidney stones or failure.  Don't worry, stay under 2000 IU daily to avoid overdose.  For women, guidelines suggest 200-400 IU daily.  Get 400 IU between age 50 & 70, and 600 IU after 70 to really combat osteoporosis.

Food Sources of Vitamin D From WebMD:

"So how can you get enough of this overlooked vitamin? Most foods aren't filled to the brim with vitamin D -- far from it. You can get 425 IU in a 3-ounce serving of salmon, and 270 IU in 3.5 ounces of canned sardines. But most foods provide much more modest amounts of vitamin D, from egg yolks (25 IU per egg) to cheddar cheese (2.8 IU per ounce).

"You'll get 200 IUs of vitamin D by drinking two glasses of fortified milk," says Sandon,"

The sun stimulates human skin to produce Vitamin D beyond your daily requirements.  If you have been in the sun in a bathing suit long enough to make your skin slightly red, you've produced 10,000-25,000 IU of Vitamin D!  No wonder we're happier in summer.  Be cautious, however.  Prolonged sun exposure has is negative side effects, as can taking too many supplements.  Be balanced.

Point being, the sun is your best source of Vitamin D.  Get out in it every chance you get in the winter months.

Have a Sunny Winter Day!

Day 3.3: Body Image: What is your ideal?

Happy Late Day 3.

Saw this in November and thought it was post-worthy.  These are photos taken by Howard Schatz of women athletes in their prime and at the top of their individual sports.  Read the full article here.  It is fascinating to me how many differences there are.  When we think about our goals and what we want to be or look like it is important to remember two things:  what are we trying to accomplish and where are we starting from.  As we analyze our individual strengths and weaknesses we can use those to become our individual best.  With my personal physique it would be crazy of me to try to be a rhythmic gymnast.  With my personal strengths I am more suited for long distance and endurance activities.  

And, while my dreamy-dream is to be a super-athlete, the main thing I have always tried to accomplish is being a healthy child-bearer, child-raiser, wife, and church-member.  And these are the hardest and most challenging pursuits of all.  Which is all the more reason to step it up.  Be realistic: we don't have a personal trainer, dietitian, team, and host of medical advisers, and all the fitness equipment and gear we could possibly need.  But we do have the internet.  And friends & family and plenty of resources.  And me.  So no excuses, either.

So take a gander, oooh & aaahhhh, & think about what's possible, don't get discouraged, dream, set goals, and keep on working at it.  We'll get there...eventually! 

Always remember:

Be your fabulous self!

Just a healthier version!

Day 3.2: Have you Forgotten?

This is a reminder post.  

Don't forget to:

• write everything down, both food and exercise.
• weigh yourself and measure yourself.  For added motivation, take photos of yourself front, back and side.  I did this.  It wasn't pretty.  I did smile.  Still not pretty.
• use the hunger scale in this post.  Hunger is polite, not ravenous.
• stretch.
• use the super foods and everything we've learned in the previous 2 cycles.  Build, ladies.

I was really excited to see on Saturday that one of my favorite apps, NTC (Nike Training Club) has a new look.  They've updated and added some great features (there are a few bugs, mostly in timing and the voice coach).  My favorite is the Program feature.  You can select your goal, level, and add running to make a four-week program.  I love it when people tell me what to do!  This feature takes the brain strain out of deciding what workout to do and keeps it interesting (like the Blogilates app or calendar).  Both of which are sure to keep you on track.  Check NTC out.  I adore it.

Okay, not much else to say today.  I worked out this morning so that's great, but I do believe I ate almost a third of my daily calorie goal for breakfast.  Sigh.

Eat Green!!

Day 3.1: A Fresh 10 Days (remember 3 is the number of times we've done a cycle, 1 is the day of 10)

I am so excited for the New Year!  I was thoroughly ready to say good-bye to 2013...it was not awesome in so many ways...I'm ready to commit to a better me and a healthy and happy new year.

So, I am making a push until Easter. Tess once said that the best time to make a diet and exercise push is from New Years to Easter.  I wholeheartedly agree.  There's not much on the calendar that is celebratory in nature that comes with a lot of social eating.  Let's use that to our advantage and make some positive and lasting changes. I am going to run consecutive 10-day phases, even if they don't start on Monday :) Easter is on April 20th.  In 14 weeks and 4 days, or 101 days.  That means we will be going through 10  10-day cycles.  Brace yourself.  

Today is Day 1 of a Fresh 10 Days.

I have been getting health-related emails since December, most about what to watch for and what will be big in 2014.  Some of these things caught my eye.  I will share them with you over the next couple months, but this 10 days I wanted to focus on this little gem:

"Adopting a plant-based diet could help tip the scales in your favor. A five-year study of 71,751 adults published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that vegetarians tend to be slimmer than meat-eaters even though both groups eat about the same number of calories daily. Researchers say it may be because carnivores consume more fatty acids and fewer weight-loss promoting nutrients, like fiber, than herbivores do."

I am not going to be a vegetarian.  I like meat and I like what it does for my body and my appetite.  But I can see the advantages of eating more plants.

The first challenge this 10 Days will be to eat 3 servings of veggies & 2 servings of fruit each day.

That makes even me feel a little panicked.  My diet is bread-centric.  And I dislike cold foods in the cold weather.  But I'll manage.  Here's some ideas of how to do it:

• make a green smoothie with one cup of spinach - 1 serving
• eat a cup of carrot & celery sticks (sans ranch, please) - 1 serving
• eat a cereal bowl of salad with veggies on top (1 tbps or less of olive oil for dressing) - 2 servings plus a bonus of 1 healthy fat serving
• top your morning oatmeal with 1/2 cup berries - 1 serving
• eat a banana, apple, or orange - 1 serving
• any 1/2 cup serving FRESH fruit - 1 serving
• fruit juice or concentrate - 1/2 cup (we've been over this, but juice is so concentrated and sugary and lacks all the fibrous benefits of fresh fruit)
• drink exception: 8 oz of V8 tomato or fruit blend - 1 serving

See, not so bad.

The second challenge is to eat 1400 calories per day.  We have done this before.  We can do it again.  Remember that fruits and veggies and protein are energy-dense foods, while breads, sugars and processed foods are calorie-dense.  Energy-dense foods help you feel full, lose fat, and provide nutrients.

The third challenge is to exercise every day for a minimum of 30 minutes.  We are going to increase the minimum exercise time next challenge, but for this 10 Days 30 minutes is the bare minimum.  Do more if you are feeling like a rock star.  If you are like me and took a huge portion of December off, and you worked out hard yesterday to kick your rear into gear, and are paying for it in soreness today...30 minutes is PLENTY.  Use the things we've already learned: mix cardio up with weights, get outside, and do something with a group or partner occasionally.

The fourth and last challenge is to eat no sugar.  The giant tin of almond roca is not helping my situation any, but I did have the gumption to chuck all the other Christmas candy and treats.  All I have left is a big bowl full of nuts, in the shell, which will end up being a great snack.  It will take time to pry them out of their stubborn shells, and they are full of healthy fat and proteins.  It will become my new afternoon ritual.  I personally am going to commit to indulging in sugar only once in 10 days.



The last thing about losing weight that I want to discuss today is your personal incentive, goals, or base reasons to lose weight.  Some ideas are:

• Put your money where your mouth is.  Websites like dietbet or healthywage let you make a goal, pay monthly, and pay you when you meet your goal.  I like that!  People on healthywage have won $1000 for meeting their goal weight over a 6 month period.  The more lbs the more money you get.  WOW!
• Don't obsess about a number on the scale.  Focus instead on how you feel, how fast you run, a specific area of your body, or an item of clothing you would like to (realistically, of course) fit.  Not the 1-size-smaller-than-you-have-ever-worn-in-your-life jeans that you bought on sale and hung up to remind you of how skinny you'll never be.  I've never done that.  Nope, not me.
• Make a goal and visualize yourself there. The more you visualize yourself exercising and being fit the more likely you will be to get out and exercise.  Make a notebook with magazine pictures and positive reinforcement statements about your ability to be where you want to be.  Research shows this is a powerful tool in achieving goals and people who do this are successful in their ambitions.  I like to look at the Athleta catalog.  It makes me want to look like that: strong and healthy, not skinny and underfed.  I also want to be able to stand on my hands with my feet almost touching the ground behind me.  Unrealistic?  Maybe a little.
• Divide your goal in to smaller short-term goals.  Want to lose 10 lbs?  Set a goal to lose 1 lb per week, 4% of your total body weight in 30 days, or 1% of your body fat in 2 weeks.  These are all realistic and healthy goals that help you focus on the smaller less overwhelming task to get to your overall goal.  I am terrible at this: I set my weight loss goal and put it off, convincing myself that I can do it all in the last 10 weeks of my time period.  Classic fail technique.  Works every time.
• Reward yourself.  If you work out all 10 Days this time, buy a new piece of exercise clothing or other clothing item.  If you're like me, new exercise clothes always make me excited to work out.
• Set activity-based goals.  Run a half-marathon, ride 100 miles, hike to the top of Mt. Timpanogos, do a triathlon, go to Hawaii (jealous).  Having an activity with a set date will encourage you to get fit enough to accomplish this activity in an enjoyable manner: no walking the marathon, or taking 20 hours to summit, or wearing a mu-mu on the beach.  Know it's coming and OWN IT!  I entered a lottery for the Little Red 100 mile bike event on June 7.  I hope I get chosen...and if I do, I'll be ready!  If I don't, I'll need someone to be support while I ride 100 miles on my own...somewhere.  This also means I need to start riding my bike downstairs.  Ugh.
• Do it for your right reasons.  We've discussed this before in this post, but make sure you are making this journey for a good reason, one you and your family can all support, and that mentally will help you become a better person for you.  Doing this for the right reasons will help you stick to your goals.  My reasons are that I want to reach my personal best.  I have always wanted to reach that best and stay there.  My goal is to be lighter so everything in my life is easier: hiking, walking, running, and playing.  I want to be healthy so I can keep pace with my teen-aged daughters, my amazing Mom (who did a ninja course at a trampoline park at 60...NINJA!) and, eventually (heaven help us all) my grandchildren.  Also to set a good example for my daughters of a healthy lifestyle and eating habits, so they can avoid problems such as anorexia or bulimia which affect so many young girls and women today.

Are you ready?  I am!  So I'll end this ridiculously long and blathering post with this inspirational and thought-provoking quote...and then I'm going to work out.  I'm already in my workout clothes.  Half the battle is already won.

Be Committed!

And Kathryn, we love you.  Your dad was, and is, a great and kind person.  Having seven daughters, he had the patience of Job, and he passed on his best qualities to you.  You and your family are in our prayers.