Hot Wings & Other Things

This is a catchup post about how my eating/exercise plan has evolved since I started on July 5, 2009.

At first it was just all about my weight. I started out counting calories. I knew this had worked in the past, and it was very flexible regarding food choices.  I figured I would need to keep this up for life, so it had better be flexible. I loaded up on little frozen Weight Watchers, Healthy Choice & Lean Cuisine meals. Grabbed some fruit, fresh veggies & lots of lean chicken breasts - and away I went! I also knew from previous attempts that water was vitally important. So, my goal was no less than 64 ounces of water per day. I started tracking all my calories on SparkPeople, and gave myself a range of between 1500 and 1800 calories per day. I also knew I would be needing to watch my portion sizes, so I decided to measure everything - at least at first.

A week later, I decided that diet sodas were doing me no favors. They were like a crutch and keeping me from getting all my water in. So I cut diet sodas completely out. Things were moving along well and I was pretty proud of myself. But I will say those first two weeks were very difficult. After all, I could not just eat anything I wanted, whenever I wanted it anymore. I had to plan for it, or not eat it at all. This is also the week I started incorporating exercise. I started exploring the exercise DVDs I had on the shelf - some not even opened! I decided 30 minutes, 3 times per week would be a good start. I mainly used Leslie Sansone’s 3 Mile Walk DVD. I found 3FatChicks.com (3FC) this week as well, and it has been nothing but a positive and encouraging experience there. Wonderful, helpful people from all walks of life and on all sorts of eating plans that are willing to hold each other up as we go along this journey.

The following week, I read the ebook, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto, and my eating plan and the way I thought about exercise transformed. He literally turned me around - it was my turning point - the point where I knew this would be the last time I would start an eating plan. I found out why I had failed so many times in the past. I hadn’t realized it, but I was bombarding myself with all kinds of negative thoughts about myself all day long. And when I let those thoughts overtake me, I always failed - like a self-fulfilling prophecy. I also realized I should be eating 5-6 smaller meals per day to keep my metabolism and energy up. .. and that I should be eating lean protein & good carbohydrates at every one of those meals. This means eating a “clean” diet. No processed foods - or extremely limited (like low cal salad dressing). I would also need to eat a very small amount of good fats - no saturated, partially hydrogenated or trans fats. I mainly use extra virgin olive oil for this part. So now my eating plan looks like this:

Meal 1: Lean Protein, Starchy Carbohydrate
Meal 2: Lean Protein, Starchy Carbohydrate
Meal 3: Lean Protein, Starchy Carbohydrate (smaller portion), Fibrous Carbohydrate
Meal 4: Lean Protein, Fibrous Carbohydrate
Meal 5: Lean Protein, Fibrous Carbohydrate

I add a very small portion of good fats to one of those meals. Usually, it is Smart Balance w/Olive Oil margarine on a baked potato, or a little extra virgin olive oil in stir fried veggies. My eating plan has not changed as of the date of this post. Although, I sometimes mix the starchy carbs into the later meals in the day.  I try to keep my ratio each day as close to 45% good carbs, 35% lean proteins, 20% good fats as I can get.  At this time, I also found out that there was a small fitness center 2 blocks from my house! So, I started going there for some cardio on the elliptical machine, which I love.

After reading Tom’s ebook, I also realized that lifting weights was going to be a key to minimizing loss of lean body muscle. It would also help tone my body as I lost weight. Weight lifting does not add bulk to a woman, contrary to what seems like popular belief out there. A woman would have to be either taking testosterone or some sort of steroid, or working out for hours on end every day to “bulk up”.  I decided to seek out a weight lifting plan that I could live with and do at home.

For whatever reason, I found that section of the ebook a little confusing and I did not know the proper technique and form for lifting weights. You have to have that down, or injury can occur. So, I started that eating plan, kept up with the cardio and sought out a book that could help me with the weight lifting part - I found The Body Sculpting Bible for Women by James Villepigue. This is a book that I had heard mentioned a few times on 3FC.

The following week, I was thrilled when it arrived in the mail and found it was exceptionally good at explaining the form/technique for lifting weights & how many repetitions you should do for a beginner, etc. Beginner & advanced plans were readily available in the book. It even came with a free DVD demonstrating all the lifts, as well as pictures in the book. I went and bought a starter set of dumbbell weights, and followed that for the days I was not doing cardio.  I gave myself Sunday as a free day. =) I was also pleased that the eating plan in that book was nearly identical to what I learned from Tom Venuto’s ebook.

This past week, I checked out a book from our local library, Body for Life by Bill Phillips. I had heard of this book through 3FC as well. Again, eating plan so similar to what I was already doing, that I did not change it. But, I really liked his approach to weight lifting and cardio. It seems to me that he emphasizes more of a “work smarter & harder in the minutes you have” kind of approach. Build to a high point (high intensity) and make every minute count. Do 20 minutes of building up to intense cardio (whatever is intense for you where you are currently at), instead of just adding minutes of the same intensity as your body gets used to it. I really had wondered what I would do if I just had to keep adding minutes and spending more time exercising than I had available.

That is where I am at this point! It is my first week of the “Body for Life” approach to exercise & weight lifting. Still on Tom Venuto’s eating plan, and just ordered his book The Body Fat Solution, which I hope will be even more detailed than his ebook, though his ebook was tremendous.

IMPORTANT:  My blog has moved to a new location. Please leave a comment on this article in the new wordpress blog located here. If you leave one below I will likely not see it!

Posted on August 17th, 2009 by hotwings
Filed under: My Lifestyle Plan