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So, you're probably thinking the above theory is fine and
well, but what, exactly, did I do to achieve that 55-pound weight
loss? Here goes:
First, my doctor told me to lose weight. In other words, I
was not one of those women who was conned by the media
into thinking I was overweight. I actually was overweight
and needed to take it off for health reasons.
Food
- I joined a commercial weight-loss program. I won't tell you
which one, except to say it was not one of those that
requires you to eat their food. The one I joined lets you choose
what to eat, and provides you with guidelines on how to balance
it, how much is allowed each day, etc.
- Each and every day, I carefully recorded everything that
I put into my mouth. Everything! Every tiny piece of candy or
bite of cake. Each evening, I totaled up the food intake, item
by item. This is how I learned which foods were fattening versus
which weren't.
- I had been eating some foods such as rice just because the
cafeteria at work included them on my plate along with what I'd
ordered. I didn't particularly crave them; I just ate them because
they were handed to me. When I discovered that these foods were
fattening, I simply quit eating them. Why eat something you don't
find particularly interesting when avoiding it will help with
that weight loss goal?
- My daily food diary demonstrated that I was not getting enough
fruits and vegetables in my diet. My program identified certain
vegetables as being ones I could eat a lot of without weight
gain -- carrots, celery, jicama, spaghetti squash, zucchini,
lettuce, tomatoes, and bell peppers, to name a few. I started
using these foods as evening snacks. I found that carrot and
celery sticks taste great dipped in salsa, which is also non-fattening.
Exercise
Before my weight loss program, I averaged about 3 hours of
exercise per week, which really isn't much at all. Through the
following activities, I raised it to about 9-10 hours per week:
- I started taking 20-minute walks at lunch time. I set a general
goal of doing this every day, but realistically I did it about
3 days a week.
- I attended an hour-long troupe rehearsal one night a week,
and taught my own students for 2 hours one night a week. About
half the weekends, I also had a Saturday troupe rehearsal. I
made a point to keep moving myself in these classes.
- About 2 or 3 days a week, my husband and I would go to the
gym together to work out. I'd use the treadmill at running speed
for 20 minutes to boost my metabolism, then do other exercises
the rest of the time.
- About 3-4 evenings per week, my husband and I would go for
a walk to either eat supper at a neighborhood restaurant or even
just to get a cup of hot chocolate. These walks were typically
no less than 20 minutes each direction (40 minutes per evening
total).
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