This morning's diary may be short and somewhat simple but still very important to those of us wishing to live a more heathly life. For months, we have talked about diets, various exercises, using short small steps as the beginning, and providing each other inspiration and life's challenging stories on the many times we have attempted and why this time will be successful.
There are more diets and weight loss programs than we can count on both hands and toes. They all have different paths to supposedly reach the same goal line. How can this be? Atkins Diet with the very low carbs on one side. Body builders who swear by more protein than the corn fields of the MidWest have ever seen. Runners and bikers who declare that without the fuel of simple carbs before a race or ride, they could never complete the event. And finally, those who throw all advice to the wind and eat a high fat diet and stay satiatied and lose weight at the same time plus new studies show they think more clearly and perform better on mental tests.
Join me below for the short diary and the poll.
WHEE (Weight, Health, Eating and Exercise) is a community support diary for Kossacks who are currently or planning to start losing, gaining or maintaining their weight through diet and exercise or fitness. Any supportive comments, suggestions or positive distractions are appreciated. If you are working on your weight or fitness, please -- join us! You can also click the WHEE tag to view all diary posts.
As you look at the list of future diaries below, you can see that more involvement is needed. It's time to step up.
October 12
Mon PM - ???
October 13
Tues AM - ???
Tues AM - Clio2 (Kessler, Ch. 14)
October 14
Wed AM - ???
Wed PM - Edward Spurlock (special Geek My Fitness bicycling issue!)
October 15
Thurs AM - A DC Wonk
Thurs PM - ???
October 16
Fri AM - ???
Fri PM - louisev - Be Your Own Geneticist, Chapter 1 Obesity vs. Overweight
October 17
Sat AM - ???
Sat PM - Edward Spurlock (Kessler, Ch. 15)
October 18
Sun AM - usually reserved for louisev
Sun PM - ???
October 19
Mon AM - NC Dem
Mon PM - ???
Do We Really Know What We Eat?
Just as many of us here step onto the scales of weight judgment only once a week while others are obsessive about the scales, we have some who never count calories but go by points, portions, color on the plate, locality of the foods, processed vs natural, six meals a day vs three squares, no breakfast vs big early breakfast, and probably many combinations I have since forgotten.
But even if you don't know every calorie you have consumed over the last week, you have a pretty good estimate of how your proteins, carbs, and fats percentages breakdown. Right? No! Well, I think you should.
I am a firm believer in two things when it comes to my diet. One is moderation in how fast I want/need to lose the weight. The second belief is that in order for me to lose the weight, I have to change. Not only change what I have been doing in the past but change my ratio of fats, carbs, and proteins based upon what my lifestyle is. If I were young again (no thank you), I would consume more carbs so that I could run full out for 30 minutes in fullcourt basketball. If I had eaten correctly for the last twenty years, I wouldn't have to keep my protein levels higher so that I could regain some of the lost muscle mass that I had at age 25. After watching my mother-in-law struggle over the past three years with advancing dementia, I wouldn't be as focused on eating lots of healthy fats with a low ratio of omega 3's to omega 6 fats.
Back about three months ago, I wrote that I had plateaued in my weight loss at around 215 lb. I had stayed within a few pounds of 215 for over 4 months and maybe longer. I began then to change my ratio of nutrients and to do more strength training than cardio. Within 2 weeks, the weight started to flush out of my system again. I'm now down slightly below 200 and on cruise control. That is until the next plateau which may have already begun. Time for change again. What do I change now? At this point, I'm looking to pick up my cardio before the winter months hit and I can't get outside into the garden as often as I have this summer. To do that, I'll begin to alternate higher carb days with higher protein days so that I can have the needed energy to jog/run 2-3 miles every other day.
What have you learned this week about your diet, your health, and your goal of having a fit body?
I'll leave you with this ad that is currently being displayed in NYC on subways and billboards. Some think it may be a little over the top. It certainly isn't like seeing a BK double whopper with cheese. It reminds me of the nasty ashtray of partially consumed cigarette butts in the ad at Amazon for Kessler's book. It is disgusting!