I'm not much of a chef. For two years, I struggled with trying to figure out how to eat. I had to relearn what was "healthy."
I was pretty restrictive with my calories. I wanted to eat 1500 a day (but it was usually closer to 1800 calories a day). On a side note, I was even evaluated by a "nutritionist" (I use that name lightly because honestly she was just hawking shakes) who said I should be eating 1200 calories a day to lose weight. Excuse me?? To me, that sounds like a starvation diet and NOT healthy.
My typical meals for two years were as follows:
BREAKFAST:
Low-calories cereal with nonfat milk or Egg Beaters scramble with an English muffin and fake cheese (nasty!)
LUNCH:
Every day for 2 years I had a turkey sandwich and the exact serving size of Wheat Thins.
DINNER:
Usually a Lean Cuisine frozen dinner with a salad.
I wasn't perfect with my diet, but I was okay. I rarely snacked in between meals, and tried to eat fruit and veggies when I did.
Boy, am I sick of sandwiches now!!
This diet probably sounds awful to a lot of people. But for me it was great. I knew what I had to eat each day, I knew I would reach the calories I needed for the day, and I learned what PORTION SIZES were!! This is probably the most important lesson I learned in this whole process. I had NO idea what a portion size was.
Once I got comfortable with this diet, I started to change things up. I sometimes made a chicken breast on my George Forman grill for dinner. I love fish, so I baked salmon a lot. Again--not a chef. It wasn't exciting food. But I learned portion sizes and what I should be eating, instead of what I wanted to eat.
Now before anyone gets too overwhelmed thinking they can't do what I did...I slipped up many, many times! I was in no way perfect with my food for those two years. My weight fluctuated up and down and I battled the holiday bulge.
My suggestion to anyone trying to lose weight: LEARN PORTION SIZES. Trust me, it's NEVER enough food. However, if you retrain your body to eat portion sizes, you will not be hungry.
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I tell Steve all the time that you are totally my inspiration to get moving! I gained almost 100 pounds from hormones my ex made me get on. Almost 100 pounds in a year (that was over 7 years ago). I went from (my normal) 155 to 250. UNhealthy. Because I can't stand for too long on my weak knees and ankles, and I love to swim, I can't wait to get my routine started.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see that swimming and controlling your portions really paid off for you in the end! Portion control is the big thing I'm struggling with. It shouldn't because I don't really have a large stomach and I can't eat a lot in the first place. Then motivation. What, my pants aren't tight enough?! :)
Keep up the good work and blog too!!
-Jenn
I can't sing the praises of swimming enough. I absolutely love it! And it was perfect for me because I was embarrassed about my body. But once you brave the locker room and get into the pool, no one can really see you. :) Thanks for checking out my blog, Jenn!! :)
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