I lost 5 kg in 4 weeks. The first 3 weeks/ ~4 kg I lost were without any help from any protein bars or other substances. The only thing I used were herbal teas that are supposed to help you lose weight. And I'm not sure they work, but I figured it can't hurt. I pride myself on never having used diet pills or the likes, but honestly I'm afraid of them. There have been so many scandals that I am afraid to touch any of those "miracle cures". If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
The last week I cracked and I tried a protein bar. The last week I used protein bars regularly to replace maximum one meal per day. I tried a protein cream but found it tasted more like iron than like chocolate so I decided to stick to the bars. I assume the shakes are rather similar, but after my chocolate-cream-failure I was not in the mood for experiments.
The irony is that the week I started using protein bars, I lost the least weight. Maybe it was due to the fact that I had already lost a lot of weight and I was reaching the famous "plateau". Maybe I lost motivation and I was paying less attention. Or maybe it really was the protein bars' fault.
Honestly the only reason I had the protein bars was so I could have a sugary taste (my favorites are chocolate and caramel) without feeling guilty and without consuming more calories. "Real" chocolate or caramel does nothing for my hunger, I sometimes suspects it makes me more hungry, so I end up eating normal meals anyway. The protein bars allowed me to replace a meal with a chocolate or caramel subsitute as it made me feel more full.
According to me, the secret with these protein bars is not that they are low calorie and will make you magically lose weight. In fact, when I checked my food logs, I noticed that I frequently consumed meals with a lower calorie content than those I replaced with the bars. Therefore, I recommend no However, the bars can kick that chocolate craving without overdoing it.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Friday, March 28, 2014
Sustainable Slimming: Coping with your Cravings
After a rough first day, I realized I was never going to keep this up for very long this way. I needed to change something. After all, my goal weight was 9 kg away ( well, 8,5 kg after the first day - at least that). What I was doing might be effective, but not sustainable.
My first problem was that I was eating three meals per day. While these were healthy meals made up of vegetables and low-fat meat, I wasn't starving myself and ate normal portions. However, I've always eaten more than 3 meals per day. While my "extra meals" (outside the "normal" three: breakfast, lunch dinner) consisted more of snacking than of real meals, the quantity deserved the title. It used to be due to a high metabolism, making me feel faint with low blood sugar already before the next meal. Habits are hard to beat so I continued doing this throughout the years. On top of that, I absolutely love snacking. As quitting cold turkey was much too difficult along with all the other things I quit (sugar, fat, sugary drinks), I decided I needed a replacement, a safety blanket if you will. A healthy one of course. I kept my three meals per day; breakfast, lunch and dinner, but added two allowed (healthy) snacks per day. I started out with whole grain crackers and vegetables, but soon switched to fruit as I needed a little sugary kick in the afternoon.
Second mistake I made was to watch my portion sizes. Going from an extremely unhealthy lifestyle to fruits and veggies in small portions is a bit hard to swallow. Even healthy food contains calories and as these food items were new to me, I wasn't sure which ones were the most calorific. I therefore used my phone application to determine which foods were most calorific and started eating the low-cal food in unlimited portions (I'll explain more about which types of food in a later post). You should know that I have food allergies that already limit my diet. I'm allergic to eggs, nuts, bell peppers and many fruits apples, pears, cherries, plums, the list continues). As far as the fruits go, I can eat them cooked but not raw. Strange, I know, but I figure it must be related to a protein change when you cook them. This was limiting me to some extent, especially nuts are often used in diets to calm your stomach and supply healthy fats and on top of that I wanted to use fruits to replace my sugary snacks. The point is that even I managed to keep a varied diet using this logic. If I can, anyone can.
By trying to eliminate sugar altogether, I was either skipping my coffee/tea or having it without anything. I can now drink tea or coffee without any sugar, but this is a hard habit to drop and you will need some transition time. I searched for a replacement for my sugar in my coffee and managed a little better. I'll post more on sugar replacers later as there a thousands of alternatives.
Having a small snack and a coffee in the afternoon does wonders, especially since your energy is fading under a low-cal diet, at least in the very beginning. Finally, these small tricks helped level my mood, but as I remain strongly emotionally connected to my stomach, I wasn't a peach neither. But it was bearable, at least for me. And I'm happy to say my boyfriend is still with me so I guess it was bearable for him too.
A little note to the girls; if you don't mind risking pushing him away, this could be an excellent test to see if your boyfriend is marriage material - if he can survive this, he's a keeper!
My first problem was that I was eating three meals per day. While these were healthy meals made up of vegetables and low-fat meat, I wasn't starving myself and ate normal portions. However, I've always eaten more than 3 meals per day. While my "extra meals" (outside the "normal" three: breakfast, lunch dinner) consisted more of snacking than of real meals, the quantity deserved the title. It used to be due to a high metabolism, making me feel faint with low blood sugar already before the next meal. Habits are hard to beat so I continued doing this throughout the years. On top of that, I absolutely love snacking. As quitting cold turkey was much too difficult along with all the other things I quit (sugar, fat, sugary drinks), I decided I needed a replacement, a safety blanket if you will. A healthy one of course. I kept my three meals per day; breakfast, lunch and dinner, but added two allowed (healthy) snacks per day. I started out with whole grain crackers and vegetables, but soon switched to fruit as I needed a little sugary kick in the afternoon.
Second mistake I made was to watch my portion sizes. Going from an extremely unhealthy lifestyle to fruits and veggies in small portions is a bit hard to swallow. Even healthy food contains calories and as these food items were new to me, I wasn't sure which ones were the most calorific. I therefore used my phone application to determine which foods were most calorific and started eating the low-cal food in unlimited portions (I'll explain more about which types of food in a later post). You should know that I have food allergies that already limit my diet. I'm allergic to eggs, nuts, bell peppers and many fruits apples, pears, cherries, plums, the list continues). As far as the fruits go, I can eat them cooked but not raw. Strange, I know, but I figure it must be related to a protein change when you cook them. This was limiting me to some extent, especially nuts are often used in diets to calm your stomach and supply healthy fats and on top of that I wanted to use fruits to replace my sugary snacks. The point is that even I managed to keep a varied diet using this logic. If I can, anyone can.
By trying to eliminate sugar altogether, I was either skipping my coffee/tea or having it without anything. I can now drink tea or coffee without any sugar, but this is a hard habit to drop and you will need some transition time. I searched for a replacement for my sugar in my coffee and managed a little better. I'll post more on sugar replacers later as there a thousands of alternatives.
Having a small snack and a coffee in the afternoon does wonders, especially since your energy is fading under a low-cal diet, at least in the very beginning. Finally, these small tricks helped level my mood, but as I remain strongly emotionally connected to my stomach, I wasn't a peach neither. But it was bearable, at least for me. And I'm happy to say my boyfriend is still with me so I guess it was bearable for him too.
A little note to the girls; if you don't mind risking pushing him away, this could be an excellent test to see if your boyfriend is marriage material - if he can survive this, he's a keeper!
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Losing Weight with your Smartphone
I've tried eating more healthy before, but ît never really seemed to have any impact on my weight. I did some online searches to get help and tips, but none of it really suited me.
Being a technology fanatic, I decided to search for applications that could help me. There are plenty of apps out there, free or paid for both exercise and weight loss. I didn't want to pay for an app that might or might not work, so I was checking only free apps. I'm not promoting any specific app as they all have advantages and disadvantages, but I want to share what I used. Personal preferences and tastes differ, so you might find another which is more helpful to you, but I tested a few and ended up with an app called Noom.
I like Noom because it is very visual and easy to use. Basically what it does is replace those old fashioned food logs and then superpowered it. Most apps have the same basics; you create a profile entering your weight, height and goal weight. The app calculates your BMI for you so you no longer have to do that yourself. You then update the app with your meals as well as your weigth and exercise.
The unique feature in Noom is that depending on your current weight, goal weight and desired speed of weightloss (it asks you how fast you want to go), it gives you a calorie budget - i.e. the amount of calories you should eat per day in order to reach your goal. You then enter your meals and exercise as you go along. You can choose to enter the exact amount of calories in your meals, but I didn't want to start counting every calorie and decided that an approximate measure was good enough. For example if you enter that you had yoghurt, you can choose measures like cups (even 1/2 cup etc), tablespoon or even tennisball for certain products. The app then calculates the calories based on this.
As with any app it is not perfect. While I find it to have one of the most extensive cataolgues, there are always items lacking from the list, but you are always able to find a decent equivalent. The food is also arranged by categories; red, green and yellow. It explains what proportion your should ideally have of each category in order to have a well-balanced diet. Please bear in mind that if you let Noom calculate the calories based on amount, it usually gives a rather high estimate (eg. a cracker for 150 cal when in reality it is 101 cal). The good thing is that when you enter the physical exercise you did that day, your calorie budget increases proportionally. It even has forums where people can exchange ideas and experiences.
This app has been magical to me. I didn't follow it by the letter, but I logged everything very seriously and it helped me realize my weak points. I can't stress enough that you must log very seriously and honestly in order for it to work. I even logged the sugar in my coffee. This will show you even the hidden calories in your daily life.
Being aware of what you eat is the first step to weight loss. With this information, you can improve and create a more balanced diet.
Being a technology fanatic, I decided to search for applications that could help me. There are plenty of apps out there, free or paid for both exercise and weight loss. I didn't want to pay for an app that might or might not work, so I was checking only free apps. I'm not promoting any specific app as they all have advantages and disadvantages, but I want to share what I used. Personal preferences and tastes differ, so you might find another which is more helpful to you, but I tested a few and ended up with an app called Noom.
I like Noom because it is very visual and easy to use. Basically what it does is replace those old fashioned food logs and then superpowered it. Most apps have the same basics; you create a profile entering your weight, height and goal weight. The app calculates your BMI for you so you no longer have to do that yourself. You then update the app with your meals as well as your weigth and exercise.
The unique feature in Noom is that depending on your current weight, goal weight and desired speed of weightloss (it asks you how fast you want to go), it gives you a calorie budget - i.e. the amount of calories you should eat per day in order to reach your goal. You then enter your meals and exercise as you go along. You can choose to enter the exact amount of calories in your meals, but I didn't want to start counting every calorie and decided that an approximate measure was good enough. For example if you enter that you had yoghurt, you can choose measures like cups (even 1/2 cup etc), tablespoon or even tennisball for certain products. The app then calculates the calories based on this.
As with any app it is not perfect. While I find it to have one of the most extensive cataolgues, there are always items lacking from the list, but you are always able to find a decent equivalent. The food is also arranged by categories; red, green and yellow. It explains what proportion your should ideally have of each category in order to have a well-balanced diet. Please bear in mind that if you let Noom calculate the calories based on amount, it usually gives a rather high estimate (eg. a cracker for 150 cal when in reality it is 101 cal). The good thing is that when you enter the physical exercise you did that day, your calorie budget increases proportionally. It even has forums where people can exchange ideas and experiences.
This app has been magical to me. I didn't follow it by the letter, but I logged everything very seriously and it helped me realize my weak points. I can't stress enough that you must log very seriously and honestly in order for it to work. I even logged the sugar in my coffee. This will show you even the hidden calories in your daily life.
Being aware of what you eat is the first step to weight loss. With this information, you can improve and create a more balanced diet.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Slimming Sports
I will get straight to the point: sports will not make you lose weight.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a great fan of staying fit, both for mental and physical well-being, but it will not make you lose weight. However, you will have a nicer shape as you become more firm with increased muscle mass.
When I first started to gain weight, I thought I would just start exercising again and it would all go away. Instead, I gained even more weight. With the help of technology (something I will explain in my next post), I understood that I was compensating for my calorie burn with extra calorie intake. Excercise makes you more hungry, so you eat more. To some extent perhaps you also need more, but most importantly you need to eat right.
The bottom line is, no matter how long you slave away on that treadmill, it is extremely hard to achieve a calorie deficit with exercise. In fact, you might gain weight as muscle tissue is more heavy than fat tissue. However, you will feel more energetic, healthier and firmer with exercise so it is a vital part of the transformation.
Be careful however, not to starve yourself while starting an exercise regime. Make sure you nourish yourself sufficiently to be able to perform in the gym. The key is not to overdo it; not to overdo the exercise nor the diet.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a great fan of staying fit, both for mental and physical well-being, but it will not make you lose weight. However, you will have a nicer shape as you become more firm with increased muscle mass.
When I first started to gain weight, I thought I would just start exercising again and it would all go away. Instead, I gained even more weight. With the help of technology (something I will explain in my next post), I understood that I was compensating for my calorie burn with extra calorie intake. Excercise makes you more hungry, so you eat more. To some extent perhaps you also need more, but most importantly you need to eat right.
The bottom line is, no matter how long you slave away on that treadmill, it is extremely hard to achieve a calorie deficit with exercise. In fact, you might gain weight as muscle tissue is more heavy than fat tissue. However, you will feel more energetic, healthier and firmer with exercise so it is a vital part of the transformation.
Be careful however, not to starve yourself while starting an exercise regime. Make sure you nourish yourself sufficiently to be able to perform in the gym. The key is not to overdo it; not to overdo the exercise nor the diet.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Know Your Enemies - Unctuous Urges
I love cookies. I don't love them, I adore them, I'm infatuated with them, I'd marry them if I could - though I'm pretty sure it's illegal and I'd end up having A LOT of husbands...
It is my biggest food pleasure. I can have it for breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner. Anytime. It is my biggest weakness. This is why I chose not to have any cookies at home during my diet. When in the grocery shop, I quickly skipped the cookie isle with my eyes closed and a horrible pain in my heart.
Know your weakness. We all have our favorite food sin that we indulge from time to time (usually too often). Avoid this by any means. And don't think you can eat "just one" because we all know that "just one" means "just one packet" (or insert relevant packaging method for your personal weakness).
This will be your most forbidden food until you have reached your goal weight. We all have to make sacrifices in life. It's like breaking up with that boyfriend you know is bad for you because of his bad influence. You don't want to, but you have to. You then proceed to delete him from your life. You remove photo's, memorabilia, clothes...some even choose to do a ritual burning of his belongings. We then proceed to live our lives as if he never existed. Should he dare to beg for forgiveness, we pretend we don't remember who he is.
You have to break up with your favorite munchies. Throw it out, burn it, do what you have to do to get over it. With time, just as if you broke up from a relationship, you will forget what it was like and stop missing it.
It is my biggest food pleasure. I can have it for breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner. Anytime. It is my biggest weakness. This is why I chose not to have any cookies at home during my diet. When in the grocery shop, I quickly skipped the cookie isle with my eyes closed and a horrible pain in my heart.
Know your weakness. We all have our favorite food sin that we indulge from time to time (usually too often). Avoid this by any means. And don't think you can eat "just one" because we all know that "just one" means "just one packet" (or insert relevant packaging method for your personal weakness).
This will be your most forbidden food until you have reached your goal weight. We all have to make sacrifices in life. It's like breaking up with that boyfriend you know is bad for you because of his bad influence. You don't want to, but you have to. You then proceed to delete him from your life. You remove photo's, memorabilia, clothes...some even choose to do a ritual burning of his belongings. We then proceed to live our lives as if he never existed. Should he dare to beg for forgiveness, we pretend we don't remember who he is.
You have to break up with your favorite munchies. Throw it out, burn it, do what you have to do to get over it. With time, just as if you broke up from a relationship, you will forget what it was like and stop missing it.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Hungry and Grumpy - Food Management and Mood Management
I often get cranky when I'm hungry. Well, those are my words. My friends and family tend to use words subject to censure. I've never been on a diet, but nonetheless my mood would drop drastically if I didn't eat immediately when I was hungry. Needless to say my loved ones were a bit...nervous... at the idea of me going on a diet. My boyfriend was torn between being delighted and supportive in addition to being worried. Verbally he was being encouraging and positive, but I could see something in his eyes: trepidation.
While I didn't go cold turkey, the first day was just a cloud of hunger and crankiness. All I was trying to do at that stage was eliminate as much sugar and fat as I could from my diet and watch my portion sizes. This is when I realised that sugar is truly addictive. I was experiencing withdrawal symptoms as if I was in rehab. Headaches, dizziness, exhaustion. On top of that I am an emotional eater and I was experiencing a particularly stressful day at work. Handling stress without food is like an alcoholic handling stress without alcohol; you're feeling everything so much more intensively and are incapable of handling the emotions. I was close to tears several times that day and having some sever anger management issues.
I was at 69 kg and had set my goal at 60 kg. As I had such horrible food habits, simply trying to cut down fat and sugar in my diet had drastic effects. I lost 0.5 kg already my first day (needless to say I spent half the day emptying my bladder - adding to my stress at work) and the results motivate, but I was suffering. How could I possibly lose 9 kg when I was experiencing such hardship after just one day?
While I didn't go cold turkey, the first day was just a cloud of hunger and crankiness. All I was trying to do at that stage was eliminate as much sugar and fat as I could from my diet and watch my portion sizes. This is when I realised that sugar is truly addictive. I was experiencing withdrawal symptoms as if I was in rehab. Headaches, dizziness, exhaustion. On top of that I am an emotional eater and I was experiencing a particularly stressful day at work. Handling stress without food is like an alcoholic handling stress without alcohol; you're feeling everything so much more intensively and are incapable of handling the emotions. I was close to tears several times that day and having some sever anger management issues.
I was at 69 kg and had set my goal at 60 kg. As I had such horrible food habits, simply trying to cut down fat and sugar in my diet had drastic effects. I lost 0.5 kg already my first day (needless to say I spent half the day emptying my bladder - adding to my stress at work) and the results motivate, but I was suffering. How could I possibly lose 9 kg when I was experiencing such hardship after just one day?
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