Portion Distortion

Ok I totally stole the title for my post from this picture I found on pintrest.  This picture totally shows one of the biggest challenges for me in weight loss...portions.  I just don't know what a healthy portion size is of most foods.  Everything is super-sized and I just have lost the ability to judge a portion size.  So I spend a lot of my time at home measuring things, reading labels and trying to figure out what a portion should be.  This means that eating out is really hard right now because I just don't have the skills to easily judge a portion and yet I know what they brought me is way way way too much.  There is also a lot of hidden fat in restaurant foods.  I've read that some places put butter on top of their meat before serving to add extra juiciness, if it can be fried they'll do it and there are a lot of sauces with sugars and fats in them.  We are programmed to like unhealthy food and too much of it.  

Good Ole Meat and Potatoes

The second problem I face is that I grew up in a meat and potatoes family, not that my parents were bad, they cooked fairly healthy food and worked on helping us discuss healthy portions and eating.  However, I'm learning that for my body, starch just doesn't work, I am very efficient at turning starch into fat.  So I need to rethink what I put on my plate and how I plan a meal.  So instead of picking a meat and starch and then adding a vegetable, I need to pick two veggies, a lean protein and just a side of starch.  So far this is actually working and feeling pretty good.  I do crave starch but it's not because I'm hungry but because so many of the foods that I am familiar with or find "comfortable" are starchy.  So once a week I give myself permission to have a starchier comfort meal.  In addition I'm continuing my attempt to eat vegetarian 3 times a week, to break my habit of relying on that old meat and potatoes.  I also know that eating vegetarian is actually better for the environment, lowers my carbon footprint and is healthier.  It also can be cheaper in some cases because meat is quite expensive especially when you are buying smaller amounts like I do because there is just me.  A small package of 3 chicken breasts is 3 meals for me but costs more than the super pack of 12 (which is a ridiculous 12 meals) in comparison a can of chickpeas is a lot cheaper :-)

My new plate looks more like this

Also I lost another pound this week, despite a fall of the tracks Saturday, so I'm proud of myself.  I fell off the tracks but got back on and pulled it together again, which is why this isn't a diet so much as a healthy lifestyle.  In a healthy lifestyle you sometimes make bad choices but you realize it, forgive yourself and next time make better choices.  

Wordless no more

I knew the state of having nothing to say couldn't last :D I know some people might wish I would shut up but I seem to always have an opinion or something to say.  So I'm realizing I am an emotional eater...yep...I get stressed I eat.  I get upset I eat.  I get depressed I eat.  I feel happy I eat.  You get the picture, heck I even eat cuz Im bored.  So I need some new strategies, problem is I don't actually know a healthy way to deal with these emotions.  I recognize that eating is just another way of repressing my emotions.  I need to address this if I'm going to have long term success.

So I've put a sign on the fridge and the cupboard door it says "WHY are you eating?"to try to get me to think before I reach for food.  I also started reading the book "The Life You Want" by Bob Greene.  It discusses emotional eating, as well as how to deal with cravings for starches and sugars.  I don't know why starches and sugars are so addicting to me but they are the hardest thing to control.  I grew up on starches and so they are my comfort food of choice.  However, everything I'm learning says that reducing my starch intake is the secret to long term success.  I don't struggle as much with sugary treats since my brain has always recognized that a little goes a long way.

So this is what I'm learning about; it's not just about control but figuring out why I eat and finding other ways to deal with those emotions.

Week 2 weigh in

Hooray down 7lbs. so I'm off to a good start.  However the first few weeks are the easiest.  I'm beginning to really want something starchy so I might save up my extra points this week and splurge on fries from McD's but we'll see how the week goes.  Sorry this is going to be short but I've really got not much to say...hmmm...that doesn't happen often but apparently this is one of those rare moments.

Weigh In Day 1

Well it's my weigh in day and I'll be honest it was good news I've gone down but I didn't work very hard.  I tend to lose quickly at the beginning just by eating a bunch more veggies and cutting out little things like chips/ice cream and fast food.  So I wasn't particularly tough on myself and didn't track really well but I took the first steps and that's important.  I'm addicted to pintrest and I created a board for healthy 2012 for inspiring quotes, healthy tips and recipes that I find.  It's frustrating though because you look up healthy and all you get are pictures of really skinny women usually dressed skimpily.

Typical Fitness Photo...grrr...

Now I know you can be skinny and healthy but having a sister that suffers with an eating disorder makes this a sore subject for me.  She could be one of these women but she is far from healthy.  She exercises obsessively and binges and purges to maintain the physique that we idealize as healthy.  I wish there were more pictures of "real" women who are healthy out there people I could look too for inspiration that maybe aren't super skinny but are healthy. I mean who says that only a size 0 is healthy you can be curvy and sexy.  My goal is to get down to a size 16 this year...still wouldn't be considered skinny by most standards but for me that would be a big deal.  When I get there I will celebrate by buying a new dress; then I'll re-evaluate and set a new goal but I don't think that a size 0 is ever realistic for my frame.

This is better! 

This picture shows the amazing diversity of athletic builds that can be out there so why don't we see and hear more about all types of women.  I hate that our society has come to define beauty as only one thing and something that isn't healthy or attainable for everyone.  I hate that even if I get healthy I might still not be considered beautiful or thin enough.  That's why I set my goal for the year as health not just weight loss.  I may need to loose some weight to be healthy but I don't want to just define this year by how "skinny" I get because I recognize that I can be healthy and not "skinny".  So I'll get off my beauty soapbox but if you like what I'm saying check out a video on youtube called killing us softly (version 4 is the latest).

Well that's what I have to say this week! Let me know how you are doing with your healthy goals.

New Year...new goal

Well I haven't been writing much lately mostly because I haven't had any ideas. This year I'm focusing in on my health. I'm going to add a new challenge each month so by the end of the year I'll have 12 healthy new habits. This blog will be the place where I will share my progress, insights and struggles. This way I can keep sharing my life with all of you but with a reason for writing I will be more consistent in my blogging.

This months goal is to get back on track with my weight loss program so I'm rejoining weight watchers or chubby club as my mom calls it. My weigh in day is Mondays so I'll be checking in for sure on Mondays to report my progress. Even if you aren't doing the weight watchers thing I am sure others will be interested in joining me on this journey.

So what new years resolutions did you make? How are you helping yourself stay on track?