Planning for success

after talking to many "fit" people and "unfit" people and from personal experience I have realized on why so many of us fail: we are all results driven, but with no patience.

So if you are already relatively fit, with only 10-15lbs to loose, look at joining the gym. But if you are like me, looking at 100lbs or more, don't waste money joining the gym the day you decide to loose weight. You end up with a big issue. With your unhealthy habits, you go and work out, but then continue with your large portions, sweets and carbs and after a month wonder.. Why am I not loosing weight? Little by little you stop going, continuing to pay your memberships out of guilt. 

For those who have a lot of weight to loose, here is how I am conceptualizing the process (note i am NOT qualified in any of this and only sharing MY plan for MY weight loss) : 

• Most importantly! Start forming healthy habits. The first step to this transformation is learning to eat healthy. Start with what you consume and AVOID dieting. No.. what you need is to learn how to eat healthy as a habit. Sustenance ways for life. (I'll talk on my meals later)
• Look at lifestyle change: e.g. 
• right now i walk the 100 yards between my house an the dog park and sit on the bench while the dog plays. I commit, going forward to walk around the park 2 times at a brisk pace (1.2 miles total) before putting him in the dog area. This will also be good for him as he would be a little less hyper which freaks out the smaller dogs). 
• On weekends, I usually go and sit on the beach with him on a long 20 foot leash. I commit to walking from one end of the beach to the other, and back with him, throwing a stick for 10 minutes, before sitting down and letting him sniff around.
• i will NOT turn on the TV until, I have played with my kid for an hour and made dinner. 
• Give myself credit: Every time I complete one of these I will be one step closer, one bit more powerful, and every week I keep these up, they will become further from exceptions in my life an closer to habits. 

I do not plan to set a weight goal for this first month. My goal is to look at how i live my life and improve it. Eat like I should, move and be active, take care of myself. 

EATING: 

I will not diet. This is part of how i got here. Trendy diets, untrendy diets, they are all bad. Once you are done dieting, or if you break your resolve, you gain even more weight. 

No calorie counting for me. 

No memberships to diet clubs. 

I am doing this for me and my kid! 

My plan:

Clean out the kitchen! Throw out processed and high fat foods: Ice cream, breads, white rice, mac n cheese, anything in a can that is not a veggie, anything in a plastic wrapper. IMPORTANT: Throw out BUTTER and any unsaturated oil. Only leave Olive oil. Sauces too... everything must go! Keep some light soy sauce and some oyster sauce for carefully moderated flavoring.

Stock up on foods you need to eat. 

Shop the perimeter of your grocery store. Focus on veggies and fruits. 

My guidelines: Items low on the glycemic index are okay so - No bread, no pasta (at least not at first. Later i can ad wholegrain pasta), no rice.  I plan on getting most of my carbs from veggies. 

Things to buy 9no fruit right now. will add fruit in a couple of weeks)

• Cabbage (red, green any variety! Healthy!) (HINT: if you get gassy from cabbage.. cut in small pieces, add salt and squeeze the life out of it.. and leave soaking in the fridge for 1 hour... )
• Tomatoes (moderate consumption, they have a lot of sugar!). I love tomatoes! but 1 a day (and I mean a roma sized one, not one of the big ones). 
• Cucumbers 
• spinach
• lettuce (as much as you want!)
• Bell peppers (1 a day max. also high in sugar)
• egg plant (Yum! so many ways to eat! So yummy! - I am particularly fond of the chinese eggplant sauteed in garlic!)
• Sprouts
• radishes
• Onions and garlic (i don't plan on kissing anyone anytime soon!)
• Brussel sprouts 
• sweet peas and edamame
• brocoli and Brocolini
• Any other veggies that are no part of the potato family, or too sweet)
• NUTS: Almonds are good. get the unsalted so you can add in most anything. 
• Low fat meat -- white chicken meat. Some pork cuts are okay (i hate pork), as much fish and seafood as you want. 
• Spices : Turmeric, Ginger root, Cinnamon, salt (easy!)
• Sugar free Jello for those sugar cravings. 
• EGGS!
• Quinoa (a healthy rice alternative but stick to the size of a fist per serving) 
• Crystal light drinks for those who hate plain water. 
• Avocado (no more than 1/2 a day)
• Limes (but not lemons)

No Buy foods: 

• Fruit - no fruit the first few weeks. 
• Dairy (you can add a tiny pit of Parm cheese but generally no dairy)
• Steak and burgers (I'll miss you!)
• Potatoes, Taro, Sweet Potatoes (Yams can eventually be added)
• Less caffein
• No SWEETS. 

Food preparation:

if you have a BBQ like me -- BBQ everything you can, Bake the rest, and sauté as little as possible. NO FRYING! You should aim not to use more than 2 tbl spoons of EVOO a day. 

Salad dressings? I salt and add a bit of water and some lime juice. Sparingly. 

Serving: Plan on having a fist full of quinoa, or as much salad as you want, with meat servings as big as your palm. 

Meals: 

Always eat b-fast (scrambled eggs with broccoli! YUM)

Snacks - Up to 20 almonds per snack. Or some celery, cucumber... Jello pack

Lunch and dinner should be planned and at the same time. Dinner as early in the evening as possible. 

 I plan on eating something little every 3 hours. I don't plan on being hungry. 

OTHER: 

Supplements: I tak my 1 a days, calcium, co-enzime Q10, and Fish oil or Salmon Oil! 

Great! Now I have my shopping list. I get paid tomorrow! Woohoo! 

240lbs, signing off!