(no subject)
I'm now down to 173.2. At the end of October, I was at anywhere from 185-187. So, yeah, I've lost 12 lbs in three months. I was trying to think it through since I don't do any of the traditional diet things. I'm not really exercising (I'll do < 30 minutes of yoga or pilates in the morning but that's about it) and I'm not denying myself anything. So what's my secret? I'm trying to figure out. But as far as I can tell, it's:
1) Cut out the booze. As some of my friends can attest, at my heaviest weight, I was knocking back quite a lot of booze. Lately though, I haven't even been able to make it through one drink w/o getting queasy. This has really helped with getting my drinking under control. I can have a lighter beer with food, but that's about it. This has definitely cut a lot of calories from my diet. In a similar vein, I don't drink ANY soda and very very little juice. My primary drink is water, followed by tea and the occasional coffee drink. The latter are always black, no sugar. Then again, that's nothing new. That's how I always took my drinks. And woe to he who gives me milk tea for they will see the unholy wrath... ask Chris. He knows.
2) Eat smaller portions. This seems to be the key. I read about this concept from French Women Don't Get Fat. Basically, eat smaller portions of more filling and real foods. Real foods are key. I still occasionally have the pack of ramen or box of mac and cheese but it's now in much smaller portions and far less frequently. Now it's more pasta, veggies and rice in smaller portions. At first, it was sheer will power and realizing, "o.k., I'm about to be full. It's time to just stop. I can pack the rest up and eat it later", but now it's second nature and my stomach's adjusted to wanting less food. Unless you're an alcoholic, this will be much more difficult than the first one. But, you will adjust. I promise.
3) Do a smidge of exercise. Don't kill yourself over it, but find something you like and do it on a regular basis (like daily here folks). I don't do a lot of yoga, but I do it regularly. That's key.
Mind you, YMMV, but this is what worked for me. I'm still able to eat whatever I want, whenever I want and mostly sit on my ass while doing it. Heck, I even have chocolate as often as I want. Then again, I'm still working on a 30 piece dark chocolate box from Godiva I got before Xmas.
Honestly, a lot of this I got out of French Women Don't Get Fat. Mirelle tells you straight up how to do it: eat smaller quantities of real and delicious food and do some exercise. You're not going to lose the weight fast and you may not get as skinny as you idealize yourself being, but eventually you will get to your body's "proper size". A big part of it is accepting yourself and being able to say, "wow... I look good!!" when you see yourself in the mirror despite what the scale says. Perhaps that's why it worked so well for me. I finally seem to have grown out of my "poor self-image" phase around this summer (now I just have to get through all my other neuroses!) But reading the book really puts it all in one package where it makes sense. If you're looking for someone to tell you straight up that you're going to need to change your life, don't mind weird Frenchy stories or interpersed French words and don't want to be model-thin, this may be the book for you too.
P.S.: You don't need to be a lady to use the book. I'm sure the gents would get just as much good out of it.
P.P.S.: And I'll agree with a lot of the reviewers on Amazon. The book is based on a flawed concept. Yes, a lot of French women smoke. Yes, a lot of French women starve themselves to keep their weight low. However, the information presented in the actual book suggests neither of these options and is a lot more realistic and straight-forward than most would suggest. Sure, there's the crazy soup weekend at the beginning, but I never did that. I did cook it though. You better like leeks is all I have to say. Eww.