One Month Later...

At the beginning of this blog I told you I am no expert, I am just sharing my own experience. I remind you of it now as I failed catastrophically in my diet the past few weeks. I had dinners with friends, my father's birthday, my birthday...AND my engagement!
So yes all happy occassions and very happy news, but my behind beggs to differ. And the worst part is, I am too happy to care.

So here's advice number one for weight loss; don't get engaged. Or have birthdays. Or have a social life. Basically you need to be alone and miserable to lose weight. Obviously I am not going to make myself alone and miserable to lose weight, so I will just have to get back into a healthy daily rythm.

In all fairness, the damage is not so bad. I broke all the rules; I've drunk alcohol, eaten big meals, eaten late, eaten sugary things between meals, you name it. This lasted for about 2 weeks (possibly 3, I lost count in my sugary haze). I was away for a weekend and was not able to do any sports, but I did get back into in when I came back, even if it was a bit less than before. Despite all this, I gained only 1.8 kg. I find that acceptable.

However, as the weather is getting warming and beach season is approaching, I want to lose those last 2 kg as well as exercise more to have a firmer body, so I will need to pay a bit more attention.

I think this is some of the best advice I can give those of you looking to lose weight; you're human. You're going to be less than perfect, and that's ok. Don't beat yourself up for every piece of chocolate you had, or do 4 hours at the gym because you overate or forgot to do your exercise yesterday. This will only lead you back on the track to gaining weight. I think most of us who are struggling to lose weight are emotional eaters. I certainly am. And I can tell you that this guilt tripping and compensating and pressuring only made me feel worse and want to eat more. Because that's what I do, I eat when I feel bad.

So take it easy on yourself. Instead of beating yourself up over that piece of cake you had or the fact that you lost only a few grams this week, focus on the fact that you are losing, even when you think it is not enough. Not only that, but you are taking care of yourself and creating a healthier lifestyle for yourself. When I first started eating healthier, it was difficult to go with so little sugar (hence the high amount of fruit in my diet). At first I felt energyless and depraved. But after a while you start feeling the opposite - you feel more energized because you are taking better care of your body.

I'll be honest, those 2 extra kilos are bothering me. But in the end it doesn't matter as I am feeling more energetic than ever and more confident in my own skin. On top of that, my weight is now steady between 61-62 kg which is ca. 7-8 kg lower than my starting weight. And it is stable enough to go crazy every once in a while and break all the rules. All in all, a successful journey in my eyes.

Fear is the Greatest Motivator

I wanted to include a post about dieting for the right reasons. The usual message; don't do it out of pressure from someone else, do it for yourself. Of course you should do it for your own well-being (and keep realistic goals!), but let's be honest here, my real motivation was fear.

Part of me was worried about my BMI climbing up over the limits and the health repercussions, but the thin that drove me the most was my mom. Not because she told me I was fat or forced me on a diet she decided, but the opposite. My mother is a rather curvy woman if we want to give it a flattering name. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't reflect upon her personality or how much she is loved, but it does make life more difficult. I see how she is struggling with physical activity or even finding clothes that fit and not to forget self-image. I feel like her weight is ruining a big part of her life. I'm also seriously concerned about her health.

Knowing that we share much of the genetic coding, I was getting worried when I saw that number on the scale rise. On top of that it was exactly in her twenties that my mother gained the bulk of her weight. Seeing my future in her, I decided to take measures. As I'd never dieted before in my life I wasn't sure how to go about it, so I did some internet research and tried following other people's diet. That lasted like two days.

Having seen my mother go through various diets, I decided I'd have to 200% for it and I'd have to do it my way. Now I have a mother-in-law who a fantastic cook and loves to make me happy with her dishes. Despite the sweet intentions behind it, this could be a bit of a problem. But I can promise you that with the image of me as my mother, I was able to say no to that second piece of cake that she offered me more than once. That's how visualisations work I guess. And that's the power of fear.

Losing Weight Fast: The Consequences of Alcohol

Nothing makes you gain weight like alcohol.
I know that is depressing news to all of us who like a glass of wine (or vodka??) every now and again, but I must tell you the honest truth.

I did some comparisons and basically a cocktail contains more or less the same amount of calories as a nice portion of your favorite ice cream. If you have a glass of wine with your meal, that means you probably should be having salad. And my stomach doesn't work that way. I like having salads during the day, but I also like a small sweet snack or a nice hot dinner. More than I like wine.

Another thing I've noticed for me personally is that I can notice the difference in my weight immediately after I have had a nice weekend with a few glasses of that special something. With other things such as ice cream or cakes I can let myself go from time to time without having to face too much guilt from the scale later on.

Don't ask me for the science behind it, I'm sure there is a good biological explanation for it, but all I know is what I experienced. And my experience says you need to stay far, far away from alcohol. Obviously a cocktail also contains sugar, meaning that pure vodka might be less damaging to your weight, but I find all types of alcohol tend to have a very rapid influence on my weight.

Of course you can allow yourself a small glass every now and again, but this is really the thing you need to try to avoid the most. The first 2-3 weeks I would not allow myself any alcohol, but when I was more advanced in my diet I would allow myself a small glass over the weekend. Just control the amount as well as the type of alcohol.

As much as I love beer, beer is not your friend in this situation. Beer and cocktails are the worst culprits and wine and champagne are your friends. or you just go straight for heavy-duty vodka or other pure alcohols.

Be aware that your tolerance may be less as you not only eat less, but you lost weight. You do not wish to be surprised by this. I know my limits very well, but a diet can completely change this and you should be prepared. I do recall going out with my boyfriend and his friend, getting completely slammered after 3 drinks not knowing what I was doing...not exactly what I was aiming for that night.

Picking Up Where You Left Off a.k.a. Damage Control

I've failed. As much as I preach about keeping the weight off and staying healthy, I regained. I'm human and we all have certain periods in our life where we cannot focus completely on our well-being. I've had a stressful period with plenty of distractions, which caused me to feel like it was ok to slip back into old habits. As I was stressed and not feeling good mentally, I decided to make it visible physically.

The biggest problem is that the decisions you make do not quite go like that. If only this was our thought process then we at least made a conscious choice. A conscious choice can be changed if you are convinced of the reasons for change. However, much of this is very unconscious. I don't want to play the woman card here, but hormones play a role too and make it more difficult to suppress those cravings. Somehow we never crave celery during that time of the month...

I was feeling stressed and felt the need to comfort myself with food as I was no longer able to do it any other way. It doesn't help that I got a cold, which meant I wasn't able to go to the gym (still struggling with that by the way). The gym has become a good replacement to me for that rush you feel after finishing a tub of ice cream. In addition, I usually have more energy after a nice workout than after eating a tub of ice cream. However, I was prevented from my workouts due to my physical condition, making me reach for the ice cream again (my favorite is Caramel/Vanilla with caramel bits in it...yum!). Of course approximately two weeks of this will leave its traces.

I've gained back 2 kilo. After all my hard work and effort, being so happy in my "new skin", I gained 2 kilo back...for what? For a bit of stress? That doesn't seem worth it??

And it's not, yet we always succumb.

You could say that 2 kilo is not much and I'll admit it won't make a huge difference, but once you start paying attention to your health and weight you'll notice even small changes. It was in combination with having to stop going to the gym, which of course also changes your appearance.

This means I'll be having another go at a small diet for this week. The problem is that I have organized dinners with work, so it is more difficult to control what I eat. I have my birthday on the 21st so I will clearly not be dieting that day. Say what you want about a healthier lifestyle, but everyone deserves a slice of cake on their birthday.

Update: Keeping the Weight Off

I have a confession to make...I gained back more or less 1 kg.

The hardest part about losing weight is keeping it off. I can manage the discipline when I have a clear deadline, but in order to keep your weight it would require a permanent lifestyle change.

I'm lucky as for me it is usually sufficient to do regular exercise in order to keep my weight stable. I will not manage to lose the weight with exercise, but it will keep me at a stable level. I have been paying a bit more attention that I used to before my diet (i.e. I'm still having some unhealthy snacks or an alcoholic drink now and again, but I won't have them on a daily basis anymore - I now see it as a luxury), but I haven't been putting any real effort into keeping my weight stable. In my mind, the goal was reached and the job was done.

If only it were that simple.

I may have only gained back 1 kg but it really hasn't been a very long time. So it's time to get back on track and realize that sugar is evil. It's really, really tasty, but that's part of why it's evil. i will continue to do regular exercise, but I might have to put some more effort into my dietary habits. It's important not to lose sight of the goal.

In addition, my goal was not just to lose weight (ok, I must admit it was the major thing), but to have a healthier lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle does not include a beer and a bag of chips in front of the TV. Nor does it include chocolate as a self-rewarding system for everything and nothing I do on a daily basis. It's important to keep at it and not get weak or lazy just because you've reached your goal weight. You won't be able to keep it that way.

The Final Push Round 2 End of Week 2 of Diet – 4 kg in 2 Weeks

I won't say it was an immaculate success as I am 60,3 kg today, but I think I got pretty damn close.

I managed to go from 64 kg to 60,3 kg in two weeks without starving myself.

I am very proud of myself. I lost the necessary weight, I lost the weight fast and I stayed healthy. In fact, aside from the occasional cranky day or strong craving, I was feeling better. I had more energy after lunch because I was having a lighter meal. Instead of eating a big heavy meal I was having salad, which kept me going until my afternoon snack. I will continue with this habit as I simply feel better this way.

I don't suffer from a slow metabolism nor from any hormonal imbalance and I am sure this could make things more difficult. However, I am far from an expert on dieting and had no experience in the field. Therefore, if I can do it, anyone can. Technology is now a great help and guided me along the way, but the key is to eat as healthy as possible and as much raw fruit and vegetables as possible.

With modern technology, you can have access to an equivalent to a nutritionist in your pocket, for free. I say let's take advantage of that and improve our lifestyle.

The Final Push Round 2 Week 2 of Diet – 4 kg in 2 Weeks

I am sorry, I had an extremely stressful week at work and was not able to update on my daily progress. It is now Wednesday of week 2 and I will give a short summary of what happened since last Friday.

However, I was able to stay on target, despite the fact that I am an emotional eater and the only way I know how to deal with stress is to eat...I am giving myself a little pat on the back for that.

I have been eating in much the same style as last week; many smaller meals. I continue to log in Noom in order to keep track of what I eat. However, I have had to cut down on sports due to lack of time. I'm coming home late only to continue working. I only went to the gym yesterday, but I did make the most out of it with a 25 minute intense cardio followed by an intense muscle-building group course.

I am now at 60.5 kg and getting closer to my goal. I have only 0.5 kg to go until Friday, but it is getting more and more difficult to keep my sugar cravings at bay. It doesn't help that I didn't have time to do grocery shopping so I am out of fruit. Well, except dried fruit...definitely containing calories...

Nonetheless, I have 2 days left to get those last 0.5 kg off. Friday and Saturday evening I have plans to go out for drinks with friends so I will not be able to keep my calorie budget...

The Final Push Round 2 Day 5 of Diet – 4 kg in 2 Weeks

I had a grapefruit for breakfast, but I recommend preparing your fruit in advance...I'm starting to get too much attention while I am cutting my fruit in the kitchen at work. On the other hand you might inspire some colleagues with your good example. Obviously I was hungry again shortly after the grapefruit so I had a Blevita Forest Berry to sustain me until lunch.

For lunch, I had a broccoli soup consisting of broccoli, 1 onion, 1 potato, 1 carrot and a little bouillon and spices. I then had 2 clementines for desert, but had to refill with some more Blevita (this time Gruyere taste) to last me until dinner.

For dinner I had a healthy salad (lettuce, cherry tomatoes, raw cabbage and some light French dressing) along with a bit of lean ham on the side. In the evening I was hungry again and I shared a honey melon with my boyfriend. I must admit I ate a lot more than my boyfriend...

Still, I am keeping my calorie budget every day and I am now at 61.8 kg. I might go a little softer over the weekend, I think I deserved it.

Select The Final Push Round 2 Day 4 of Diet – 4 kg in 2 Weeks

For breakfast I had two litchi, but we had a brunch organized by work. For once I was happy to have food allergies as it meant that I was not able to eat some of the tempting things that were not compliant to my diet. At the work brunch end ended up having a small fruit salad, which was absolutely delicious. As it was a buffé I could pick and choose what I wanted and it was not noticeable that the fruit salad was all I had, avoiding awkward social situations where you have to refuse kind offers.

I had an appointment at lunch time and forgot to bring my prepared lunch so I had no time to have a proper lunch so I made do with what I had and ate a make-shift lunch at my desk. It consisted of several snacks: a grapefruit, four clementines and a protein bar. I added the protein bar out of desperate hunger.  In the evening I had dinner with a friend who is also dieting. We had a salad consisting of lettuce and avocado, with some nice, lean bresaola on the side.

I'm starting to feel more hungry and suffering more. Motivation is more and more difficult, but I'm still on track. It helps seeing the results, but today I didn't lose anything. I didn't gain neither, but this is no time for slacking.

The Final Push Round 2 Day 3 of Diet – 4 kg in 2 Weeks

I may have felt frustrated yesterday, but when I woke up today it seemed all worth it. My weight this morning was 62,1 kg! This is 0,5 kg less than yesterday. If I keep this up, I can easily attain my goal in my set time. The problem is not only sticking with it, but your body also gets used to it after a while and you lose less fast...better make the most of this beginning and shock that body to shed some weight!

I didn't have time to have any real breakfast today, but I have stashed some Actimel at work (a drink yoghurt supposedly good for your immune system - again, it's my insurance). These are the tiniest little bottles of yoghurt (I think 100 ml) so you'd have to consume a pack of 6 in order to gain weight from them. However, this is also frustrating as it feels like you put nothing in your stomach. However, I had a coffee (without sugar) with that as well as some water and my stomach calmed down for a little while.

I didn't quite make it to lunch though and had a grapefruit before to silence the worst hunger. For lunch I had a simple salad, but I was hungry again after one hour so I had some cheese flavored blevita whole grain crackers.  I went to the gym after work and did 30 minutes of intense cardio. For dinner I had a carrot soup followed by a smaller portion of what I had yesterday; quinoa with mushrooms.

The Final Push Round 2 Day 2 of Diet – 4 kg in 2 Weeks

As little as I was suffering yesterday, my body decided to make up for it today. On the bright side, I weighed in at 62,6 kg this morning. This is a Tuesday and it was quite a change from last Friday's 64,5 kg. But that's the only positive thing I experienced on day two...

I woke up with an all-consuming hunger. My stomach actually hurt from hunger. I had my tea (supposedly slimming) and a drinkable yoghurt, this time not the healty kind. I had a nice stracciatella yoghurt left and did not have the willpower to forgo it this morning. Especially since my boyfriend so sweetly offered it to me before he left for work.

I tried keeping strong and not eating anything before lunch, but finally I had a few litchi. It helped against the noises my stomach was making as well as the worst of the excruciating hunger. As I share my office with another person, the noises were really too shameful to ignore...

For lunch I had a big sallad with the same light dressing from yesterday. A tad repetitive, but it's my favorite... However, I was starving after one hour so I had a mango. Later in the afternoon I had a banana half an hour before going to the gym. When I came home from the gym, which honestly wasn't that high performing, I was starving again so I had a mandarin and a few slices of pinapple. My boyfriend cooked quinoa for dinner and made it with mushrooms and the tiniest bit of chicken mixed through. It was delicious and even more tasty as my boyfriend did the mushrooms especially for me and had to create something else for him.

However, when I logged my meals, I was way, way over my calorie budget. For some reason Noom considered my mushrooms to be worth 580 calories. I guess with fried mushrooms they mean deep-fried in oil, because I can't believe that simply fried mushrooms would be that calorific. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. All in all, it was a bit of a frustrating day.

Day 2 is definitely the worst...you are still used to your old ways and not yet used to the healthy ways. It's a matter surviving.

Sustainable Weight Loss: Small Pleasures a.k.a. Cutting Yourself a Break

I'm telling you to break the rules and cut yourself a break. No one is perfect and there is no way you can keep the perfect diet. Trying to be flawless is exactly what will make you weak in front of temptation.

Allow yourself a small pleasure. For the first week (after my horrible experience the first day), I allowed myself one little temptation each day. For example, I'd have a small piece of chocolate one day. But when I mean little temptation and small piece, I really mean miniscule, for example the chocolate would be just one square of chocolate. However, if I was a good girl and didn't have any sweets one day, I would add it up so I could have two sweets the day after. it's kind of cheating, I know, but if you're anything like me you'll never go higher than three sweets so it won't completely ruin that day's calorie budget anyway.

Portion size is key for this. I sometimes found this more difficult that refraining from sweets altogether, so remember to stay in control. When I got more settled in my good habits I would decrease the number of sweets allowed even further, but going cold turkey can be really difficult. For the worst addicts, like myself, you'll suffer from severe withdrawal symptoms. This little technique helped me to keep those at a bay and prevented me from losing my mind completely.

The Neverending Story and the Diet Cliché

As much as we hate to admit it, clichés often become cliché for a reason; it is common sense and useful.

Most nutritionists and weight loss coaches worldwide will agree on one thing; fruits and vegetables are good for losing some weight. I don't ignore diets like the Atkins diet where one should avoid carbs at all cost, but let's be honest, fruits and vegetables is the key to lose weight the healthy way.

Fruits or vegetables are both loved and hated. Some hate spinach, others don't like kiwis, we all have fruits or vegetables we dislike and cannot stand the sight of. I've tried to force myself in the past and eat the things I know I don't like, but this will never work. Although it may at times feel that way (at least to me), a goal of a diet is not to torture yourself.

Find healthy things you like and incorporate them into your diet. I experimented with different things for a while. Some of us grew up with healthy habits and know our fruits and vegetables very well and therefore also which ones we like or dislike. I on the other hand, started from scratch and found out what worked and what didn't.

I'm not huge on vegetables, but I decided to have some type of salad for lunch every day. However, I don't particularly enjoy snacking on vegetables as it just doesn't seem to hit the spot for me. I'm more into sugar than salt though, so if you like salty snacks vegetables might work better for you. I personally am now addicted to fruit and am able to replace my unhealthy sweets.

As you may already have read in my previous post, I also have food allergies that limit me in my choice. I wanted to eat as much raw food as possible, but I am allergic to many fruits in raw form. All the usual fruits such as apples, pears and plums (etc.) were not available to me as I would have to cook them before eating them. For a while I had mostly bananas and mandarins, sometimes switching it up with an orange or a melon, but it was very boring. That's when I got into more exotic fruits. Some I didn't even know how to eat, but you can ask a friend or search online. I now regularly eat mango, litchi and grapefruit. Normal grapefruit is a bit too bitter for me, but if you get the pink grapefruit it has a lovely sweet/sour/bitter taste which really peps you up.

Aside from being healthy, full of vitamins, and helping you to feel full, fruits are also perfect to replace those sweet snacks you take between meals. Bear in mind that even fruit contains calories, so don't overdo it. However, it's hard to eat the equivalent of the calorie content of a chocolate cookie in fruit; the quantity would be too big to be enjoyable.

Losing Weight Fast: The Big Secret - Stay Healthy

Here's my biggest secret to losing 5 kg in 4 weeks is really simple: go back to basics.

There's plenty of material out there about raw food diets. There are theories about processed and cooked food being unhealthy for us in a variety of ways. Cooking rarely improves the quality of food. Ok, I admit the taste is often better, but you lose a lot of vitamins when you cook your vegetables. Even with a pressure cooker, vitamins get lost in the process, even if it is less.

It makes sense to me to lose weight with raw food. Not only do you keep more vitamins, making it more healthy, but you will also keep more fiber, making you feel more full. Therefore, you eat less, get more vitamins, and feel more satisfied. The things you cannot eat raw usually have more calories (e.g. meat or even rice).

There are people who have made a lifestyle out of raw food. I personally am unable to go that far. I have to eat something cooked for dinner. I tried to eat raw even for dinner from time to time, but it was an exception rather than a rule. However, I tried to eat raw for all other meals of the day (note: trying is not always the same as achieving, but it's a good goal to strive towards).

A lot of people eat big, warm meals for lunch. I skipped this and went for cold, raw meals. I love salads, so most of the time I would eat some type of salad for lunch. Yes, I sometimes get hungry quickly, but I cannot resist snacking on something in the afternoon anyway, so I figured I might as well eat less and snack guilt-free in the afternoon. Obviously a healthy snack. Another advantage is that you no longer feel stuffed and tired after lunch.

I have as a general rule to eat as much raw food as possible. You'd be surprised how good that feels. A useful guideline to staying slim is to eat as much raw food as possible in order to lose more weight and gain more vitamins. For weight loss: when in doubt; go raw.