Day 2
I know, it is unusual to start a blog on day 2 of a diet, but I have just been reading a blog called Escape from Obesity, and it inspired me to blog about my experience. I am hoping to achieve the results that Lyn did in her blog. On my first attempt, the South Beach Diet significantly improved my blood pressure and cholesterol numbers, but I had only been eating better, and did not incorporate any exercise into the plan. My doctor was happy about the improvement, but still saw a need to improve my blood sugar numbers and my good cholesterol. The only way to do that folks, is by exercising. So, I invested in an updated version of the South Beach Diet, this one called Supercharged(!) and it was worth every penny. What I was lacking in the past was the structure. Supercharged has a day-by-day to show you what to do for interval cardio and total body work out. I must admit, I found myself thinking I need to challenge myself more, but decided to stick to it as planned. This try, I am going to stick to the interval cardio plan, but add in my own at-home workouts from Oxygen Magazine and maybe have my husband design workouts for me when it's time for a change.
Day one was OK. I didn't think about things too much, it was more about not licking my fingers or the ice cream scoop while preparing food for the kids. If you aren't familiar with the diet, the first 2 weeks are about almost complete elimination of certain sugars, the ones that make your blood sugar spike. These little devils are the ones that make you want more and more and more sugars throughout the day. While the first few days are tough, I usually stop craving sugars by the third day of this diet, and find it relatively easy to stick to. I don't use the recipes in the book, I just choose foods from the list of approved items, and make my own food. Even though my knee was still a little irritated, I decided to do the cardio in the book. Nothing too extreme, just 14 minutes of interval walking, with easy to moderate pace. My knee was a little "grumpy" in the end, but a little rest made it feel better. The reason interval training works is because your body burns more FAT at lower levels of intensity and more CALORIES at higher levels of intensity. Interval training is the best of both. I ate clean all day, I still have some more tweaking to do, to incorporate more veggies into my diet, but at least I didn't compensate with garbage, I just ate pretty clean. My son was enjoying a bowl of pretzels and wanted me to have some with him, and it was very tempting, but I also knew that meant it was time to eat. When I fill myself up with clean food, those garbage carbs don't effect me, when I am hungry, my will to avoid them is weak. I ended the day with a little pampering, a facial mask and some luxurious lotion, and felt good about my decision to try again.
Today has been much the same. I ate my same breakfast, eggs and turkey bacon, as I have been eating for a year and happen to enjoy. I am trying to keep my meals/snacks 3 hours or less apart, to help keep my motabolism fired up, but it's hard to remember. My older son is always aware of when I am on a diet, and is very curious and always wants to try one too, I just tell him it's not a diet, I am just chosing healthier foods to eat so that I can keep my heart healthy. I don't want my kids to grow up thinking they need to worry about their weight, but I do want them to be conscious of their health, and how the choices they make effect it.
I am not overly optimistic about this venture, but it seems like the times I do really well, are the times when I just don't make a big deal of it. It is about not making choices that will end me up in the same, depressing place I have always been. Sounds simple. We'll see in a month, that is about the time I start to let things slide a bit, and I have to make the choice to indulge in loss of control, or pull from my inner-strength and get things back on track. I am hopeful that I will stick to it. I keep thinking about how cool it would be to go through a hot, sticky summer able to wear tank tops and not be ashamed of my hideous arms/flab. There is time, and time will tell.
Day one was OK. I didn't think about things too much, it was more about not licking my fingers or the ice cream scoop while preparing food for the kids. If you aren't familiar with the diet, the first 2 weeks are about almost complete elimination of certain sugars, the ones that make your blood sugar spike. These little devils are the ones that make you want more and more and more sugars throughout the day. While the first few days are tough, I usually stop craving sugars by the third day of this diet, and find it relatively easy to stick to. I don't use the recipes in the book, I just choose foods from the list of approved items, and make my own food. Even though my knee was still a little irritated, I decided to do the cardio in the book. Nothing too extreme, just 14 minutes of interval walking, with easy to moderate pace. My knee was a little "grumpy" in the end, but a little rest made it feel better. The reason interval training works is because your body burns more FAT at lower levels of intensity and more CALORIES at higher levels of intensity. Interval training is the best of both. I ate clean all day, I still have some more tweaking to do, to incorporate more veggies into my diet, but at least I didn't compensate with garbage, I just ate pretty clean. My son was enjoying a bowl of pretzels and wanted me to have some with him, and it was very tempting, but I also knew that meant it was time to eat. When I fill myself up with clean food, those garbage carbs don't effect me, when I am hungry, my will to avoid them is weak. I ended the day with a little pampering, a facial mask and some luxurious lotion, and felt good about my decision to try again.
Today has been much the same. I ate my same breakfast, eggs and turkey bacon, as I have been eating for a year and happen to enjoy. I am trying to keep my meals/snacks 3 hours or less apart, to help keep my motabolism fired up, but it's hard to remember. My older son is always aware of when I am on a diet, and is very curious and always wants to try one too, I just tell him it's not a diet, I am just chosing healthier foods to eat so that I can keep my heart healthy. I don't want my kids to grow up thinking they need to worry about their weight, but I do want them to be conscious of their health, and how the choices they make effect it.
I am not overly optimistic about this venture, but it seems like the times I do really well, are the times when I just don't make a big deal of it. It is about not making choices that will end me up in the same, depressing place I have always been. Sounds simple. We'll see in a month, that is about the time I start to let things slide a bit, and I have to make the choice to indulge in loss of control, or pull from my inner-strength and get things back on track. I am hopeful that I will stick to it. I keep thinking about how cool it would be to go through a hot, sticky summer able to wear tank tops and not be ashamed of my hideous arms/flab. There is time, and time will tell.
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