Eating Healthy...Again

We're on another healthy eating lifestyle plan. I'm not calling it a diet because diets are temporary. We're trying to find something that will work for both of us for the long haul. We've been doing a low carb/ high fat plan for the last 2 weeks. Honey hadn't been feeling 100% lately and wanted to give this a try. There is more information at this website. Honey is more strict with what he's eating, me not so much. It cuts out carbs (potatoes, pasta, bread, cookies, sugar, did I mention cookies?) and what you're left with is dairy, meat/nuts and some veggies.  We can have veggies that are lower in sugar, great for me I love veggies! Honey doesn't like many vegetables, that has been a bit of a challenge. The high, healthy fat part causes me trouble. My entire adult life, low or no fat has been what I've heard, so this is a hard adjustment.

The first few days were very hard, we both were tired and a bit cranky. Around day 5 things started getting better. I noticed I wasn't as tired during the day and wasn't craving as many sweets around 3:00. Honey noticed he was losing more weight than with just exercise and not having the ups and down with his blood sugar.

We've been doing this for 2 weeks now. This week has been a challenge because Honey is traveling and I'm cooking for mostly just Bean and me. I've been eating eggs, peanut butter toast, cold cut lettuce wraps,  greek yogurt w/fruit and a lot of vegetables for most of my meals. Last week we were trying some new recipes from a low carb cookbook or just eliminating potatoes, rice, corn and bread from our regular meals. Snacks have been nuts or fruit and peanut butter.

The biggest change I've noticed this week is not craving sweets. The proof is the Chips Ahoy cookies still on the top of the fridge and the candy bar on the table. I noticed my clothes were fitting better before I lost any weight. Honey has lost quite a bit of weight. He's also doesn't get as hungry, but when he does he doesn't get a headache and jittery.

Over all I think it's working for both of us. I also think it will get easier as we do this longer and find new recipes for some of our old staples. As with all diet and exercise plans this isn't for everyone.  Before changing your diet, check with your health care provider.

Weighing in

Luckily, or not, my weekly weigh in today didn't reflect how poorly I've eaten since Thanksgiving and how many workouts I've skipped. My blood sugar crashed yesterday afternoon, it was a direct result of the bad food choices I've made the last few weeks. I know when my blood sugar is dropping because my eyes start to sweat, my bones feel like they're shaking, my legs turn to jell-0 and when it gets very bad like yesterday, I have a hard time concentrating. Unfortunately, by the time I feel the symptoms it's too late. I need to control my sugar level all day, everyday.

There have been two ways for me to maintain a steady blood sugar level. The first is to have a steady intake of sugar and simple carbs. The other way, the healthy way (that has worked for the past year and a half since my "health makeover") has been to make good food choices and exercise. Getting ready for the holidays I chose option A without exercise. Yesterday afternoon that choice came back to bite me. Several hours later I was still feeling the effects of the crash and I'll have to be very careful in the next few days to avoid another one.

I don't usually make New Year's resolutions. I figure if I need to make a change, today is the best time to start. So I'm making a January 7^th resolution to get back on "my plan". It's not a formal plan, it's bits and pieces of information that, through trial and error, work for me. The highlights of what I'm going to get back to doing are to limit "white stuff" (white sugar and flour), exercise, eat more small meals, journal what I eat and combine protein and healthy carbs for snacks. That sounds so simple but it isn't and it will take 2-3 weeks to get back on track.

I'm not saying I shouldn't have eaten any goodies (have I mentioned I love cookies?). But all the cookies, candy and junk I ate over the holidays weren't worth how awful I felt yesterday. Because I know that what I eat effects how I feel, I needed to be more mindful of what I eat and increase my exercise, not let it fall off the "to do" list. I thought I could just coast through the holidays without having to watch that closely – wrong! What I lost sight of is that weight/health maintenance is a journey, not a destination.

On the Right Track

I have developed an obsession,oops I mean an interest in weight loss and healthy life styles lately. So, it's not a surprise that a weight loss segment on The Today Show on NBC caught my attention. Prevention Magazine was doing a story about losing those last few pounds. One of the ideas they shared was keeping a food log. Prevention said "dieters who jotted down what they ate lost twice as much weight as those who don't keep a record". I've done something right! It doesn't say if that continues to help keep the weight off, but I'm not taking any chances. Several times a day you'll find me jotting down what I've eaten in my planner. Prevention also offers a free online meal and exercise log here.

Just in case you were wondering, no, I didn't hurt my arm patting myself on the back.