Trimming the Fat

I am approaching the two-month mark on my decision to live a healthier lifestyle.  A death in the family and the horrendous tubing trip led to almost a week-long fall off the wagon, but I was determined not to let a lapse turn into a relapse.

I’m trying not to stick too closely to the scale, as I believe that can lead to doubts and loss in self-esteem. Instead, I am going to let my loose clothes, compliments, and overall feeling of wellness speak for my success.

However, after a month or two, one’s pound-droppage starts to plateau. It’s time to ante up on the exercise!

Now, for someone who sits at a cubicle for the majority of her day and gets teased because every single time she walks from one building to the next, she trips at least once, I am probably not the best candidate for major athletics.  In fact, anything involving a ball terrifies me, which is funny, since I regularly attempt to play tennis (hey, one day, Roger Federer will come to his senses and realize I’m The One).  And on my second day of my job, I thought it would be great to tackle the walking trail that circled the perimeter of the main building and the garden (I still think it’s awesome that we have a garden at work).  I gave myself a goal of walking the circle six times and would try to build up from there.

I walked two laps. I thought I was going to die.

The rest of my story is on my blog; check it out!

So, we went on an office tubing trip last weekend, and I thought I would love it, since it would be something different and a great source of exercise. EPIC FAIL.  It’s a pretty funny story though now that there is some distance from it, and there are also some very hilarious photos of me on the river having an absolutely miserable time.  The catch is though, I put them on my personal blog. So if you want, check it out! http://thejebbica.com/humor/tube-tube/

Image via Wikipedia

This is one of the first times in my life I have started a diet and stuck with it.  After realizing just how much the homemade ice cream and fried foods had hurt me on Father’s Day, I decided to make a lifestyle change, and so far, trading this for that and taking up cooking at home instead of just “dieting” has really been a great help.  So here I am, 17 lbs less than when I started, and while it still seems like such a slow go, I can’t really argue with those results, can I?

Having our own garden both at home and at work has been a great help as far as staying on the right track.  Sure, I’m sure The Boyfriend is sick of it.  But I love it.  Squash, zucchini, red and green tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, okra…and soon there will be eggplant, bell peppers, etc.  And let me tell you: there are zillions of different ways to cook/eat them! I am just getting around to the most obvious method of them all: garden vegetable soup.  You really can’t go wrong with veggie soup…just chop up your vegetables, use whatever meat you want or none at all, clean out your refrigerator, and dump into the Crock Pot.  Healthy, easy, and can be frozen and eaten again and again.

As far as exercise goes, I always try to do active things outside: neighborhood basketball games, tennis, badminton, swimming, Frisbee…anything that gets me moving.  However, I am still quite embarrassed and ashamed that doing two solid minutes of jumping jacks for Wii’s “My Fitness Coach” almost killed me, and I have been too afraid to turn the game back on, afraid that Maya, the virtual trainer, will frown at me and let me know just how out of shape I actually am.  I have two rafting trips planned in the next three weeks: one for work, another with some friends.  And while rafting isn’t really physically demanding, I am nervous about wearing a bathing suit around other people.  I am good at covering up my areas-of-need, but swimsuits aren’t generally so forgiving.  Also, I’m white as a sheet.

Overall though, things are going well, and I hope I will see those last 32 lbs disappear in the coming months.  And as long as The Boyfriend is promising to buy me a new wardrobe when I reach my goal, I will have plenty of motivation!

How about you? Share your insights, tips, and progress!

So, you’ve probably seen those articles in Men’s/Women’s Health Magazine called “Eat This, Not That”.  I try to pay attention to what they say, and some things have really been helpful.  Remember the salmon at Outback Steakhouse, anyone?  However, in my journey for a healthier life (I’m at Day #18 and still going strong!), I have come up with a few of my own substitutions I thought I would share:

1. McDonald’s Iced Mocha–I love these, but at 280 calories and 12 grams of fat, I think I can do better!  Try their sugar-free vanilla iced latte with nonfat milk instead; it’s still really good and has only 50 calories!
2. A Butterfinger Sonic blast–a large one has 924 calories and 37 grams of fat!  If you’re out and must have ice cream, I’d try McDonald’s ice cream cone: it has only 150 calories and bonus: right now it’s only $0.59!
3. Bacon Egg and Cheese Biscuit: one has 440 calories and 24 grams of fat, but an “egg McMuffin” from ALDI has only 210 calories and 6 grams of fat.
4. A slice of Chicken Bacon BBQ pizza from Papa John’s has 220 calories and 8 grams of fat, but a homemade spinach thin crust pizza has less than 100 calories per slice.
5. Ranch dressing: we don’t eat this in our house anyway because it has mayonnaise in it, but once upon a time I liked it on certain things.  Eating a lot of ranch dressing and mayo is never good for you! However, we got some fat free sour cream and some ranch dressing mix powder, and voila! Instant veggie dip!

I am finding out more and more the things I can eat that are delicious while being nutritious, and I am absolutely loving it!  The best part is, if I really want something that’s not-so-good for me, I can still have it.  We went to Long John Silver’s the other day, and instead of having my usual 2 pieces of fish, hushpuppies, and crunchies in malt vinegar, I had one piece of fish, one hushpuppy, and the mixed vegetable side and stayed within the 400 calorie range.  Also, I am trying things I have never tried before or wouldn’t usually try, such as hummus, tofu, flat breads, and tons and tons of black bean pico de gallo and spinach.  I literally eat the last two things on everything.  So here’s to another hopefully successful 18 days; I hope some of these have inspired you as well!

Thanks to my job, I get a long weekend, and so that means the 4th of July cookouts start tomorrow! So there will be plates and plates of potato salad, slaw, chips and dip, etc. in my near future. Thankfully for me, my boyfriend is allergic to mayonnaise, so a big pile of the side dishes are already off-limits. But how can other temptations be resisted?

Thankfully, the grill isn’t limited to just hot dogs and hamburgers. There are plenty of things to munch on while eating healthy. For example, we have our own garden, so tonight we harvested PLENTY of squash, zucchini, cucumbers, and green tomatoes. So, when we got home, I started slicing them, added onions, bell peppers, and broccoli, then threw in a little salt, pepper, and a smidge of Smart Balance, threw them into some aluminum foil pouches I made, and voila! Instant grill sides. Meat is easy, because you can do grilled chicken breast, steak, a hamburger patty, fish, without packing on the pounds. Chips and dip can be substituted for whole grain tortilla chips and salsa. And what about those brownies, and the homemade ice cream? Well, The Boyfriend and I are grilling peaches–yes, you can even grill those! And if the temptation gets too great, I might just have to break out the Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches.

Now that I am almost two weeks into my “lifestyle change”, I am learning that tit for tat goes a long way. Really like potato salad? Try making some with red potatoes, fat free sour cream or plain yogurt, green onions, feta cheese, and rosemary. It will be better for you and will be something different! Homemade ice cream? Try making some with skim milk and Splenda (I keep trying to convince The Boyfriend to let me do this, but he has reservations about sugar substitutes. He’s probably right.) There are so many different things to do, and the more I learn, the more excited I get that it doesn’t have to be all grilled chicken breast and salad. Variety is the spice of life, and what America is all about! So, for her birthday, how about trying something different? It might just keep you from having to go up another dress size! At least, this is what I’m hoping.

That was the question posed to me this week.  It was the second day into my eating better regime, and my eyes started welling up. “Yes I’m sure!  See, this is why I’m on a diet!”

I might have been just a tad cranky, seeing as it was my second day without bread or sugar.  I was feeling the withdrawals and wasn’t even getting any compliments on my new svelte appearance.  I mean, that is how it works, right?  You go on a diet, and you’re instantly thin!

Yeah, not so much. 

Regardless, it was that comment that could have torn me down, could have sent me home wallowing in a bowl of homemade ice cream, but this time, it had the opposite effect.  No this time, I have a food journal spreadsheet instead of just a little notebook.  I am armored with every nutritional fact of every item in every restaurant within a 50-mile radius.  I am going to use that comment as my motivation to succeed, so that I finally won’t get that dreaded question anymore. 

One week in, and things are going much more smoothly than they were the second day.  The first days were hard, as I have documented in my hand-written journal.  After the third day though, I started to feel better.  Letting go of most of the horrible things I have been putting into my body as of late has been nothing but good for me.  I am already slimming down at a higher-than-expected pace!  Out with the processed foods, the white bread, pasta, and rice, and in with tons of veggies, fruits, egg whites, low-fat cheese, and brown carbs.  What do my friends and family have to say about this?  “Oh, but wouldn’t a Killer Potato sound so good right now?”  “Honey, I left you a cheesecake in your fridge.”  Gee, thanks.  But this time, I’m not going to let that deter me.  I am in the first week of what is going to be a lifestyle change for me.  I joined Buddy Slim, an online support group.  I played tennis today. Everything that tempted me a week ago already seems gross to me.  I feel better than I have in awhile.  And I plan on things staying that way…minus a dress size or two!

Food Log

Exercise Log