Trip to Dunkin Donuts

Today I had to make a trip to Dunkin Donuts. I try not to go in there at all because I find it really hard to resist all the temptations. But today I had to go in to get an egg sandwich for my daughter. I won't bore you with all the details but the bottom line was she needed some breakfast food, neither one of us was at home and I had to get her something quickly.

I decided Dunkin Donuts was the place - and I was "going in", but was also smart enough to know that I needed to let someone know I was "going in". So I text Rachel and told her my plan. Needless to say, she was rather concerned with the plan. We got right on the phone about it and she tried to talk me out of it. However, I was already in my car and on my way there while still talking to Rachel on the phone. She told me she didn't think this was a good idea but if I was "going in", she was "going in" with me (on my bluetooth of course).

So there I was walking into Dunkin Donuts with Rachel in my ear. I have to say, it was a little weird walking in there and placing my order with Rachel piped into my head (and at one point, I thought about putting her in my pocket...) but it certainly did keep me from ordering anything but the egg sandwich...for fear that the little voice in my head (literally) would start speaking to me. I do have to say, we had a good laugh over it. She stayed with me until I was well out of range to go back.

It's nice to have someone to help you through those little challenges in life. I don't know if I would have ordered myself a donut or not, I think there was a good chance I would have, and I'm sure I would have enjoyed every morsel of it, but I also know once I finished eating it, I would have regretted it and then would have had to adjust my whole days' food because of it, or not - which would have been worse. But you know what the coolest thing is? I am at the point where I don't say, "it's just one donut, no big deal", I know now that my whole eating plan for the day would have had to be readjusted had I eaten that donut. I hold myself accountable now. Really, how many times in a week can you say, "it's no big deal, it's just one ...", it adds up really fast.

Time for the "Sugar Talk"

There are a few things in life that just aren't fun to talk about. I've been cruising along the weight loss road, eating my chocolate, everything is going great. As I approach my target weight, something interesting starts to happen, the weight isn't quite coming off as easily as it was. Rachel and I try to "tweak" a few things, give it a little more time but unfortunately, not making a whole lot a progress. And then it happens...the words no dessert lover wants to hear "it's time for the Sugar Talk."

Now I know that chocolate has sugar in it - I've worked it into "my plan". But here's something I hadn't thought about before, other foods with sugar in them. The other day Rachel was asking me about how much sugar I had had so far that day. I proceeded to tell her that I hadn't had much at all, just a couple of chocolate covered almonds. Within the conversation, I mentioned that I had made banana bread the night before and had a slice of that. Rachel pointed out to me that banana bread has sugar in it, so it counted as a "sugar thing". I never really thought about that before. In my mind chocolate/candy = sugar. It never really occurred to me that other foods were considered sugar foods. That was a rude awakening. So apparently I have more sugar in my diet than originally thought.

Now you might say, what's wrong with sugar? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that sugar needs to be completely cut out, but through my weight loss battle and nutritional counseling, I have learned a few things about sugar intake. Sucrose, which is table sugar, is processed differently than fruit and vegetable sugars which go to the liver first. But sugar goes directly into the blood stream, causing insulin to be released in large amounts to "clear" the blood of the sugar. But this then causes "low blood sugar" within a half hour, making you feel tired and cranky....so....you then crave more sugar...and viscous cycle begins....

Basicly, the less processed food you eat, and the more slow burning carbohydrates you can replace sugar with, the more fat you will loose and the better you will feel, because your blood sugar will stay stable.

I am working up to a day (or maybe even two) with no sugar. It's a little scary but I think would be interesting to try. I just want to see what it feels like. I'll keep you posted when it actually happens.

Tough Cardio Day

Today was a tough day for cardio. I just didn't want to do it. I went down to the gym at lunchtime for my legs workout with Rachel. I was doing the leg press machine and Rachel said "we" (love the way she says "we" because I'm only seeing one person on that leg press...), but anyway, "we" are going to do 12 - 15 reps. I get to 15 and she says "5 more". I hate when that happens...but you know what, I did them. I wouldn't have if I had been by myself. I did complain and pointed out that she had said 12 to 15 - it didn't work. Rachel said she knew I could do more and told me she wouldn't be doing her job if she didn't push me. I guess that's true.

Normally I would do my cardio right after my workout but I didn't have time today so I decided I would go back down after work. Well after work came and guess what I didn't want to do? My legs were tired from my lunchtime workout and I was tired from work. So the decision needed to be made, should I go or not? And then I thought about the chocolate...yes, it always comes back to the chocolate. If I didn't go down to do my cardio that would mean less (probably no) chocolate after dinner - didn't like that idea so much. I went down and told myself I would do just 20 minutes since I had already trained 30 minutes on legs earlier. Well 20 minutes came and I decided I could do another 5 minutes. That is a strategy that Rachel taught me when you really don't feel like doing your cardio exercise. It works pretty well.

I am a happy camper now because it is after dinner and I am having my "treat" all because I forced myself to do my cardio today!

The Weight Loss Story

Many of friends have been asking me how I lost weight and transformed my body over the past 7 month. I thought creating a blog would be a good way to share it with all of you who are interested. I started working out with Rachel Ryan, a personal trainer/nutritionist and owner of rachelryansfitness, in Chester, CT, who is just wonderful! Since January, I have lost about 20 pounds, gaining instead, lean muscle mass. I have also increased my strength, flexibility, and cardio capacity. I had muscles hurting I didn't even know I had!

This is not a fun process, in fact you could say it's just alot of work. But I can tell you this, now that I've lost the weight, it is very rewarding. Rachel has also been my weight loss "coach", putting together a nutritional/eating plan based on my fitness needs and food preferences. I have been keeping a food diary on a website called "The Daily Plate". Rachel can then monitor my program online and make suggestions and "tweaks" to my intake. Yes, it means having to add up every morsel of food you put into your mouth. It's amazing when you start writing down and keeping track of the calories you eat each day how you become very conscientious of what you are eating. But more than that, when you have to report back to someone on what you had to eat that day, it makes it hit home even more. Nothing like getting that text everyday, "what did you eat for lunch? what's for dinner?" It makes it very difficult to cheat...

Every day I log in what I eat with the calorie count. I find if I don't do that, I'm not nearly as careful about what I eat. It's way to easy to grab something as you are walking by and pop it into your mouth if you're not writing it down. When you are keeping track and writing everything down and have to stay within a certain calorie count for the day, there are decisions to be made about whether or not you really want that "thing". You only have so many calories in a day, so you have to really decide what you want to "spend" those calories on.

Now for me, it's all about the chocolate. I love chocolate and I want it everyday. So when the kids are grabbing a cookie for themselves and I think, "well it's just one cookie, I can have just one" - that one cookie means I won't be able to have my 5 chocolate covered almonds that I absolutely love!

But you might be surprised to know that since January, I don't think a day has gone by that I did not have chocolate. You wouldn't think that a person could lose 20 pounds and eat chocolate everyday, but I did. I figured out a way to work in my chocolate and still loose weight. In fact, as I'm writing this right now, I am having my chocolate covered almonds...and writing it into my calorie count for the day. You see, it is possible to have your cake and eat it too...and lose weight. It just needs to be part of "the plan".

And then there's the exercise, yes, it's true, you do have to exercise. I always thought that I didn't have time to exercise, there's so much going on with work, kids, etc. you know the routine. But it's amazing how you find the time once you decide this is something you really want. Exercise for me now, is like eating lunch, it's just something I need to do everyday. Do I take a day off every now and then? Yes I do, but not very often. I find that for me, it's way too easy to get out of the routine, it only takes missing 2 days for me to lose my momentum, so I don't allow myself to do that. Actually, I am at the point that if I don't exercise one day, I don't "feel" good. I need it now.

A friend of mine asked me the other day, "Is it hard to eat different things than what other people are eating?" The answer is "yes!" It's really hard when you are out of your normal daily routine. I find the weekends to be really difficult, especially parties and outings.

There are still days when I may vary "off the plan" - Diary Queen's Blizzards are a favorite! So if you're in a car with me and you spot a Diary Queen...please don't ask if I want to stop, just keep driving. But those are the times when having a personal trainer/nutritionist are helpful. A quick text or phone call can make all the difference. I have been in restaurants trying to decide what to order and texting Rachel to see what I should have - actually, I usually have the kids text for me because they are way faster than I am. She talks me through it and we find something that lets me stay within "my plan".

There you have it, that's how I've done it. There are challenges everyday to overcome, but it does get easier. And when I fall off the horse - and I do fall off the horse, Rachel & I get right back on it and off we go!

I'll keep my blog updated so you can follow my weekly challenges and hopefully hear about my successes also. If you are going through something similar or thinking about taking this journey yourself, I would love to hear from you!