Back in May I had turned over a new leaf. I was walking with a pedometer and eating more veggies and felt pretty good about it. I had even lost 1.5 pounds. Soon after, I swapped running for walking and ditched the pedometer (only partly because I felt like a dork wearing a white pod on my pants every time I left the house). I thought the more intense workouts would quickly show results, but I was wrong.
On the one hand, I was getting stronger. I could run farther and faster. And under the layers of cushion, I could feel my muscles getting firmer. But the cushiony layer was not shrinking. The scale was not budging. And my jeans were tight as ever. Frustration set in, and I may or may not have tried to soothe myself with ice cream and a couple of chick flicks (which I realize does not help the weight loss cause but sometimes that’s just what happens when you’re frustrated).
So one day last month, I was talking to a personal trainer about how I could tell I was getting stronger but my weight was not changing at all, despite progressively healthier eating and increasingly intense workouts since January. He said I should consider a detox diet to give my metabolism a boost and recommended The UltraSimple Diet by Dr. Mark Hyman
, saying that the first time he tried this detox a few years ago he lost 10 pounds in a week.
I don’t know about you, but when someone starts talking about losing 10 pounds in a week warning bells go off in my brain. But I was frustrated enough to consider it. I decided to read the book to see what sort of crazy techniques and concoctions the good doctor was trying to sell. Turns out, it’s not all that crazy.
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Tagged as: breakfast, detox diet, fruit smoothie, protein, smoothie, tofu, ultrasimple diet, weight loss
Yep, you heard me right: A week without sugar. Can a girl who has eaten brownies for dinner really give up sugar? Better yet, why would she even try? I have no idea. Hehehe. Okay, to be completely and embarrassingly honest, I ate an entire buttermilk cake by myself… over two days. Well, technically over about 16 hours, but it was only a single eight inch layer. And it had cherries in it (cherries are healthy). But in addition to the cake, I also ate a handful or two of marshmallows with chocolate (think s’mores minus the graham crackers and fire). And all of this was really just the culmination of several months of carbo-loading in the form of pure refined sugar (and a little butter of course).
You see, I am addicted to the white stuff. So in a moment of weakness strength, I gave it up. That’s right, cold turkey. I reasoned that I needed to reset my sugar cravings. Kind of like the recasting Mireille Guiliano recommends in French Women Don’t Get Fat
except without the leek soup weekend and only concentrating on my biggest offender: sugar. I’ve been working out more and seeing progress in how my clothes fit, but my weight hasn’t budged. And in this moment of clarity I thought maybe, just maybe, eating a bit less butter and sugar might help. Maybe. I wasn’t convinced but thought it could be possible. So there I was, resolute and determined… and on Monday, I declared that I would cut out refined sugar from my diet for an entire month. Fruits and naturally occurring sugars are fine… and some natural sugar substitutes are okay in moderation (I mean, I have to have something sweet. I might implode if I have no sweets at all).
Then on Saturday, Dan and I had a couple of friends over for dinner. And they brought dessert: a chocolate cake called “Black Magic” with strawberries macerated in balsamic vinegar. So I had a piece (or two)… it would’ve been rude not to have some. Did I mention the maker of this Black Magic is a pastry chef named Christine who also makes fabulous truffles? I’m not just saying this because I know her… NeoCocoa truffles are decadent and delicious just like truffles should be. I’m only human, people. What would you have done? That’s right, the sugar-free streak bit the dust. And it was totally worth it.
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Tagged as: agave syrup, brownies, fitness, french women don't get fat, good housekeeping baking, healthy eating, sugar free, sugar substitute, weight loss
Remember those days when the protruding belly was cute in your little pink two-piece? And having a little chub on your thighs was adorable? Sadly those days are long gone (for me at least).
That’s me around age 3. I wasn’t very camera shy back then; in fact I was a bit of a ham. My how things change. I much prefer to be behind the camera now. But those were the days, weren’t they? No notion of body image. I just knew that swimsuits meant fun… the beach, the sprinkler, a baby pool out on the lawn… slip n’ slide! Who could forget slip n’ slide? No nagging worries like “does my butt look big?” or “should I suck in my tummy?“. I was just happy to be out in the sun and playing in my super cute pink suit which I loved (as you can tell by my stylish pose).
Fast forward to today and bathing suits bring a great deal of anxiety to me. Squeezing into a little piece of fabric and parading all of my curves around outside of the confines of my little apartment?… well, the thought of it makes me queasy. This year more than years past because I gained about twenty pounds last year. Maybe I ate too many cupcakes? A mix of stress, eating whatever-whenever, and lack of exercise contributed. Sure, the cupcakes probably didn’t help the equation, but I refuse to give them up completely… I like my treats too much. Although, I may cut back a little bit on the butter-sugar-chocolate trifecta at least until I reach the point that the words “bathing suit season” no longer makes my entire body cringe.
I’ve been upping my exercise. And attempting to up my fruit and veggie intake. Both of these are good things and are working… slowly. But I realized something today. I’ve only been partially committed so far. Oh sure, I’ve lost about two pounds in the last few weeks. But that’s only two pounds in about a month. The right direction but… meh. Too slow. This has lead me to a decision. I need to get serious about it if I really do want the pounds to come off. This means doing some things I don’t like to do like keeping a food journal. Ugh, I really hate keeping a food journal. But it is amazing how aware I become of every piece of candy I eat at my desk when I have to write it all down.
But it also means doing some things that I do enjoy like embracing the fruits and veggies of the season… and discovering new ways to eat them. I love shopping at the farmer’s market and the spring and summer bring out the best fruits here in sunny California.
So I am committing right here and now that I will lose those pesky pounds. I have not yet figured out how I will balance baking with this goal but I’ll have to find a way (I can’t give up baking). Meanwhile I’m trying to get in touch with my inner three year old. I mean, think of how much easier it would be if I just started to believe that a little extra belly hanging out of a two piece really is cute?
Do you have any fitness goals this spring? How are you handling the upcoming “swimsuit season”? How do you maintain your girlish figure?
Tagged as: 20 pounds, fitness, goals, three year old me, weight loss
