Friday, March 6, 2009

Reflecting on the Next 50 Pounds

So Ive lost 50 pounds. Now where do I go from here. I am under no misguided ideas that the next 50 will be easier than the last 50. The only thing that is easier about it is the fact that I have success behind me. That helps my frame of mind. But looking ahead I realize that I am going to have to fine tune some things if I want to reach my goal.

I have already made the switch to mostly whole foods. Last night I ate at the Macaroni Grill. I ate some of the bread with olive oil and I had a side salad followed by chicken breast and a couple spears of asparagus. I had set aside calories and planned for the chocolate cake for desert. I thoroughly enjoyed that decadent piece of cake...that is until this morning. Today I feel blah and my stomach hurts. I have a nagging headache. Its not worth it!

Grains and seeds and nuts and fruits and veggies and lean proteins look really good to me today. Why do I even want to eat that other stuff that makes me feel so yucky!

Okay, so I have 50 more pounds to go. What is my game plan? Is what I am doing feasible and sustainable in the long term?I think it is. Will it get me to my goal by May of 2010? Yes, I believe it will. When I reach my goal will I have acquired healthy eating patterns that will stay with me for the rest of my life? That I don't know and that is what I am going to work on the rest of the way.

I need to drink less coffee. I need to drink more water. I need to commit to an entire whole food way of life. I need to exercise.

If I could hone in on all of the above I would feel more confident of the future. I have lost four dress sizes this past year. I have eaten an average of 1500 calories a day as near as I can tell. Yes, I strive for 1200 but in reality if I average all the days together I bet its closer to 1500 which is a good thing. I arrive at that figure when I count in the past holiday from Halloween through Christmas and last summer when I barely lost anything. On those days I was eating more than 1200 making my average higher. You can see these bad months reflected on my sidebar under my monthly totals.

Okay so I know what I have to do now I have to do it. This next fifty pounds is going to be a time of soul searching and clipping the diet in to fit the boundaries I have laid out. I have long been intrigued by the Mediterranean Diet and many times over the years I have thought longingly of making that way of eating my own.

After a year of dieting I am quite close to a Mediterranean way of eating. This coming year as I work to get off the last pounds I am resolving to get rid of all red meat in my diet and lean more heavily on fish. I love fish. I could eat it all the time but my kids and my husband hate it. In spite of that I am going to incorporate fish as a very real part of my diet.

I'm excited about the year ahead. Its funny how I rarely think about how I will look at a thinner weight. That used to be my goal in other diets in times past. Now I think more of the health part of it. My slimmer self has faded into the background and my healthier self is taking center stage.

That's how I know that this time I can make it!

5 comments:

  1. I think you are so right! Its all about the Whole foods. The foods that are as close to nature as possible. You can't always be "perfect" but.. I don't drink juice. I would rather eat the fruit than drink a glass of juice that is gone in one fell swoop.

    Go for a variety of COLORS in your Produce... the MORE the BETTER! GRAINS, VEGGIES and FRUITS, Lean Proteins, the low and Fat free Dairy or Dairy subs etc....

    And the ACTIVITY!!!! GET IT MOVING and a SHAKING... and Boy ya feel good!!!

    You have it going on!!!
    Leslie
    LeslieVeg@msn.com
    http://leslielovesveggies.blogspot.com/

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  2. You have made some great changes to your life.........those that will help you enjoy a much longer, healthier, productive one!

    I'm on the second 50 and have to say..........it's been harder for me because the first 50 came off so fast. Mentally it's easier because I'm in a groove now and I know how eating bad makes me feel and KNOW I will NEVER go back to that way for more than a meal or a day.

    Congrats to you and the 50 lbs!

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  3. You have company...I, too, am in the midst of my "second 50" and it is coming off slower...but that's ok; I know that is what will keep me developing the good eating habits so that I won't go back to my old ways and regain what I've been working so hard to lose.

    Great job hitting the 50 lb. mark!

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  4. Mrs. D, you have my admiration with all you have done. You are truly an inspiration!

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  5. Awesome on the first 50 pound loss and a "toast" to much success on the next 50!

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Thank you for taking the time to encourage me on my journey! Your comment is appreciated!