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 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.

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.

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.