Week 1 CapCityKid (Weightloss Chronicles)
By CocoaDiva on Aug 25, 2009 with Comments
As I believe I mentioned before, I love food. Love, love food. I love the whole process of preparing food. Whether that means baking, grilling, boiling or sauteing… I love it. And then I love to indulge in food, savor the familiar tastes and learn and identify new and food items that I would enjoy. I grew up in a household where the enjoyment of food was not a premium, but as I have gotten older I have come to believe that our enjoyment of the variety of different foods is one of many things that make life unique and fulfilling.
That said, it is obvious I have an issue with over-indulgence. This was no more apparent to me then when I found a picture of me from five years ago at my low weight of 205 pounds. Glancing at my smile in the photo, I felt shame and yet a sliver of hope. I came to DC rather overweight seven years ago and my pure restraint and being extremely poor (more the latter than the former) I lost approximately 40 lbs in a fairly short period of time. Staring at the picture I tried to focus on what really has been harming me. What did I do during this weight loss period that I don’t do now? How could I find a way to get back on the path? As I kept asking questions, it all came back to one thing: food. The quality and quantity of food.
With this in mind, I kept it pretty easy this week. Instead of my morning run schedule, I hopped on the elliptical a few times and kept all the pressure off my knees. I also shunned the weights for the week, but much of that was more due to the fact that my trainer was going to be out the gym much of the week more than anything else. So, instead of the usual cardio I made sure I did more walking through the day and focused on taking the stairs instead of elevators, walking up escalators, etc. At the same time, I focused on cleaning up my plate. It was time to cut out the alcohol, saturated fats, salt, and sugar. Not an easy task during the summer in DC, but one I took on nevertheless.
The week started out fairly well, but it’s never the beginnings of any healthy living/ eating that I struggle with. Breakfasts remained spotless. I keep blueberries bananas to pack easily for work and that has saved me greatly. I usually picked up some oatmeal or eggs at work and I was good to go. Lunches actually were not too bad either. I have been working on bringing lunch so I had various salads and lean meat dishes that I made through the week. I avoided the temptation to indulge in pizza and heartier pasta dishes as I went out several times for lunch with friends. But again, usually, my failings don’t come until the early afternoon.
Approximately 3 PM or so has been my toughest test. This is the time after lunch but before dinner when the cravings for something different or out of the diet usually come in. For me, I usually have a craving for something a little salty or sweet and have fallen prey to chocolate/ yogurt covered pretzels in the in-building convenience store. It’s pretty hard for me to resist. At the same time, I went the whole week without a slip up. I ate popcorn or brought fruit like grapes and (miraculously) I kept my eyes on the prize. Once I can get through that, dinner is usually not too tough. Keep it fresh, light and minimally process and away from the butter and usually it’s easy breezy. Of course, that also means eating slowly and at some point backing away from the table when feeling sustained. Not full. Just sustained.
I wish I could say I my eyes didn’t divert from the prize through the weekend, but alas, I cannot. By Friday it was fry day and I was all up in the culinary delights of unhealthy Belgian food. Including beer. Lots of beer. On Saturday, I ended up doing okay but a housewarming party ended with me drinking copious amounts of liquor and I spent all day Sunday making up for it. Two steps forward… one step backward.
All in all, not a bad week. I think I am starting to get a better sense of what I need to do eating wise. I have to keep focus specifically mid-day (to stay away from the easily attainable but always regrettable snacks) and at dinnertime (when I am often apt to eat more than I should). More than anything, it’s looking more and more likely that I will at some point have to renounce my drinking ways. I really like a good beer or a glass of my favorite alcohol concoction, so this is going to be tough. However, I have to step up and do what I need to do. It’s time.
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