A couple of weeks ago, a close friend shared that she was overwhelmed. She has been trying to get healthy for some time. The problem, as she sees it, is that there are too many people giving advice. Even more, the advice they give tends to be self-serving.
What I mean is, the people who are trying to help people get healthy are usually selling some kind of shake, powder, pill, meal plan, etc. I do not disagree with my friend. Step over to a Barnes & Noble (remember what those are) or the library and there is a plethora of books available on the subject of getting healthy.
I feel like celebrities are following some invisible protocol whereby they should all release a book on healthy eating or living. Gwyneth Paltrow has done it, as have Cameron Diaz and 50 Cent.
Here's my problem. This friend has some amount of disposable income, so she can decide to embark on a 21-day fix or some such program. I, on the other hand, have no disposable income available for things like that. I work with my fabulous trainer, Kate, and I feel like my money is well-spent with her. Other than that, I try to spend the remaining amount of money I have on healthy foods.
What my friend said was upsetting for me. I got upset because here is a well-educated, talented girl who is just feeling so overwhelmed by All the Things, as she would say. There is just so much information on what to eat, what not to eat, when to eat it, how much to eat, when to work out, what kind of workout is best, etc., etc. It is like swimming in a turbulent ocean and not being able to find your footing.
This all got me thinking. I am by no means an expert in weight loss or nutrition. I have, however, managed to (very slowly) lose about 60 pounds and overhaul my eating in the past three years. As my funds so far have been very limited, I've done most of it while not spending too much money at all. So I decided to make a list of the ten things I've done to lose weight. Most, if not all, require very few resources. I am hoping there are ten, because lists should always have ten things (in my mind, anyway).
So here goes.
1.
Drink water. This is, by far, the easiest way to lose weight. Our bodies are made up of mostly water. In general, we are not drinking enough. If you are feeling thirsty, you are already dehydrated. In some cases, your body can mistake the feeling of thirst for the feeling of hunger. This can cause you to eat unnecessarily and inadvertently pack on the pounds. Not sure which one it is? Drink a full 8 ounces of water and wait 20 minutes. If you are still hungry, eat! If not, drink some more water and wait to eat until your next meal. Aim for 8 8-ounce glasses of water. Drink more if you indulge in any pop, coffee or other beverages. (I am currently doing a challenge on Facebook where I am aiming for 80 ounces of water a day. It's kind of nuts, but I am noticing a decrease in my appetite in general and in my craving for sweets.)
2.
Put your fork down. Yep, that sounds nuts. The reality is that we tend to eat too fast. In other parts of the world, meals are seen as a gathering, an opportunity for conversations and friendships. Here, however, we tend to shovel our food down as fast as we can--we have things to do! We have to take our kids to All the Places. I get it, I really do. Wednesday nights are rushed around here. I never, ever, start dinner prep soon enough. Like ever. So typically I am wolfing down my meal as I'm getting ready to race Bekah to AWANA. My suggestion is this--during meals that you are able, put your fork down between bites. So simple, I know, but it does a couple of things. First, it allows you to savor what you are eating. You will actually have a chance to enjoy the taste of what you have made. Second, it slows down the process of eating. There is a disconnect between your brain and your stomach. Typically, it takes 20 minutes for the two organs to communicate fullness to one another. If you are eating more slowly, you are giving a chance for your body to tell you that it's full. You will be amazed at how much you will not be able to eat just by doing this. (For extra credit, take a sip of water after every bite. This will also help you feel fuller sooner.
3.
Put your phone/iPad/TV program/book down. This correlates with number 2. If you are not paying attention to your food and to the activity of eating, you are going to eat more than you should. Meals (again, when possible), should be a chance for you and your family to connect with one another. Even if you're single, take 15 minutes to eat a meal without distraction. The emails/texts/FB updates will be there for you when you're done. Brian and I started doing this at the beginning of February and it's made a difference in how much we're eating. We actually have leftovers a lot more than we ever did before.
4.
Skip takeout. Look, I am ambitious. (And also lack a plethora of disposable income.) I make most of our family's meals almost every single day. I do plan for leftovers 2-3 times a week, but otherwise I am cooking meals from scratch. Roll your eyes, I know. You have to do All the Things. You can't cook every meal at home. You like the food at Portillo's a lot. Trust me, I get it. I really do. Here's what I will say, though. Food that is prepared in restaurants usually comes in portions that are too big. Food that is prepared in restaurants has a higher sodium and sugar content than food prepared at home. Food that is prepared in restaurants is typically not as fresh as that which is prepared at home. Hey, listen--I love Portillo's. I used to order a Big Beef with mozzarella cheese and a large order of fries, plus a slice of chocolate cake (cause, yum). Since I've started eating more food that I prepare myself, I can't tolerate that much food from Portillo's. The sandwiches and fries, while still yummy, taste much saltier than they ever used to taste. I cannot eat movie theater popcorn in any quantity. Panera's baked goods taste very stale to me. Again, I know there are healthy choices now at a lot of restaurants. I'm saying, even if they are labeled healthy, the food you prepare at home is much better for you in the long run. Try to eat two less meals out a week (or month or however often you eat out). You will start to see a big difference in how your taste buds operate.
5.
Move more. Weight loss is really nothing more than expending more calories than you ingest. I love to run and I have learned to love working with Kate, my trainer. Again, that costs some money. However, there are exercise videos available at the library
for free! Yep, free. If you are starting out with moving more, take a representative sample home from the library and find what you enjoy. If it's Zumba, great. If it's Jillian Michaels yelling at you, fantastic. Aim to move more than you had previously moved. I'm not saying to start working out 60 minutes a day. That's crazy and you'll never sustain it. Start small--even 15 minutes of cardiovascular exercise (where you have difficulty carrying on a conversation) a day is great! If you are just starting out, don't stress about a heart-rate monitor, FitBit, etc. Those are great tools but they are not necessary for helping you get started. Please note, tools like My Fitness Pal will help you estimate how many calories a specific exercise will burn. Always underestimate. You don't want to eat all of the calories you are burning.
6.
Eat more nutrient-dense foods. Hal Higdon, in his book on marathon training, suggests eating a "wide variety of lightly-processed foods." This does not mean becoming a gourmet, drastically restricting your diet, adopting a crazy set of rules about food. This means, if you have a choice between orange juice and an orange, pick an orange. Read labels more. Even if something is marketed as organic or gluten free, read the label. Anything you're buying in a bag, box or can has a lot of sodium and other yuck in it. Again, I'm not saying to cook everything from scratch or throw out all the boxes, cans and bags in your house. What I'm saying is, educate yourself. Be a good consumer--there is nothing wrong with taking your time through the store looking for healthier options.
7.
Ditch the snack foods. I know, revolutionary. My family hardly ever has cookies, candy, sweets, or any snack in a single-serving pack in our home. We have pretzels, we make popcorn in our air popper, and every once in a while I bake something at home. My philosophy is that if it's not in my house, I'm not as prone to want to mindlessly eat it. I spent some money on small Glad containers (snack-size) and use those to pack things for my kids lunches. I save money not buying fruit snacks, chips and other things that are typical lunch fare. I also save a lot of calories. This is a great opportunity to swap out a salty/sugary snack for a whole food like fruit, nuts, granola, etc. Again, more nutrition, less calories will lead to weight loss.
8.
Educate yourself. The library is a great resource for books on nutrition. One of my favorites is
Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, by Michael Moss. He is a journalist who takes a very meticulous look at how the big food manufacturers produce their food. It's eye-opening and is one of the reasons my family doesn't eat out as much and stays away from a lot of processed foods. A word of caution--too much information can be a dangerous thing. My general rule of thumb is to be picky with what I read. I like Mr. Moss because he is a journalist. He's not trying to sell me on buying a bunch of supplements and other things. Rather, he is trying to educate me. I have mixed feelings on Michael Pollan (
The Herbivore's Dilemma) because I feel he takes too hard a line about how we should consume our food. I don't have the resources at my disposal to only shop at farmer's markets. So use good judgement. Talk to friends about what books have helped them--be sure to listen to whether or not they ended up subsequently plopping down a bunch of money for food the book "suggested." This probably means you should steer clear. (I would also recommend
Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser, for the same reasons I recommend
Salt, Sugar, Fat. Schlosser is an investigative journalist and he shines a light on the fast food industry. Really a fascinating read.)
9.
Dump the carbonated beverages. I have heard more and more studies lately about how harmful Diet Coke, Coke, etc., are for our bodies. As someone who used to drink gallons of Diet Coke a month, I can tell you that it was not doing me any favors. I wasn't drinking enough water, was craving sugar and other salty foods and constantly felt fatigued and "blah." I gave up Diet Coke two years ago and I've not looked back. I will say that I occasionally enjoy a Sierra Mist, 7UP or Sprite. I don't get as much satisfaction out of them as I used to get. Even more, I've had an uptick in bladder infections after I consume them. (My mom also has this issue, which is why she doesn't drink them at all.) I mention Diet Coke because it is touted as a diet beverage. There is nothing about it that contributes to a healthy lifestyle, in my opinion. Dump it. If that seems overwhelming, cut your consumption in half, wait a month and cut it in half again, until you have quit altogether. I can almost guarantee that you won't miss it or the pounds you will lose when you stop drinking it. Can't imagine life without carbonation? Try La Croix. I haven't, because that's not really my thing. I tried coffee for a while but it was tearing up my stomach, so I have recently switched to green tea (which is great because it has catechins--Google that). Honestly, I don't miss carbonation as much as I thought I would.
10.
Make small, incremental changes. I can't stress enough how huge it has been for me to make small, manageable changes in my diet and lifestyle. I have never, in three years, eliminated an entire food group (I don't consider Diet Coke a food group). I have never said a food is off limits. I have never said I am not allowed to eat at (fill in the blank) restaurant. As a result, I have never felt deprived. I have, however, noticed that my taste buds have changed dramatically. I don't like to eat at restaurants as much, unless the food is really good. I say no to desserts that don't look like they're worth it (even if it's a designated dessert night). I eat less bread, but bread is not off-limits. I started just within the past few weeks shifting how I eat during the day. I used to eat a late breakfast and have three eggs, a baked potato and three slices of toast (along with coffee and sweetener). Now, I started making granola and have that, along with about 8 ounces of whole milk plain yogurt (not as strong as it used to taste) for breakfast. For lunch, I chop up a huge handful of spinach leaves and onions and scramble an equivalent of two egg whites, one regular egg and 3 tablespoons of whole milk all together. I have a baked potato and either water or green tea with honey. I can tell you that I feel less sluggish throughout the day, I am eating far more veggies than I used to and overall am consuming far fewer hidden calories than I was (e.g., in the coffee creamer and butter on my toast). I don't feel like I'm missing my bread too much. I have bread--just the other night I made chicken salad sandwiches--but I'm not eating as much and instead I'm eating more nutrient-dense foods. There is a little more elbow grease involved in my current meal plan, but it's not as much as I previously thought and it's well-spent because my omelets are delicious!
Yay, there were 10! I hope one or more of these will help anyone who is currently overwhelmed in trying to make a change. You don't need to be. There are plenty of ways to make a change without spending too much change. So far, these changes have helped me in a huge way with even my limited resources.
The last rule to remember is Rule #63, not to take yourself too seriously. If making a change in your life seems tedious, you will not stick with it. I guarantee that. Whatever you decide to do to make changes, make sure there is plenty of room for being human. If not, you will find yourself stuck.
