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Over the course of several summer months, I accomplished my goal of losing twenty pounds. The weight crept on during pregnancy and stubbornly stayed as a result of some unhealthy habits: Friday night calorie-laden hors d’oeuvres and cocktails with my husband, for example. I also love to bake, so the holidays were filled with trays of cookies and desserts I told myself I had to sample.
Like many before me, I’d lost weight before and promptly put
it right back on. Winter was my nemesis – who wants to drink a weight-loss
smoothie when it’s snowing outside? Stew, soup, and huge hunks of bread with
butter sounded much more appetizing, thank you very much.
But the sight of that picture really made me take stock of
myself. Not only had I put on weight, I’d accepted the new version of myself. I'm a mom-jeans person now, I thought
as I shopped in the larger section at Macy’s.
Which brings me to the first and most important item in my
list:
1. Mental attitude
I stopped thinking of myself as over the hill.
When I lost the first few pounds, I hit a plateau. For weeks
the scale simply didn’t budge. However, I kept at it, drinking my damn diet
shakes (Beachbody’s Shakeology in Greenberry) and exercising every day. The
workouts helped me to sleep better, and the shakes weren’t too bad if I added
fresh fruit or veggies before blending.
Before a lunch date with a friend, I went back to Macy’s and
tried my usual jeans on. Lo and behold, the mom jeans no longer fit. Those cute
little boot-cut hip huggers, though, were perfect. Even though I’d hit that
ledge of not losing weight, my body was still changing.
The realization I didn’t have to wear to clothes to hide
behind – that I could actually feel good about my body – was huge. It really
was the turning point of my diet process.
2. No more sugar
It’s really, really difficult to give up sugar – especially
if you’re a chocoholic like me. During the course of several months, however, I
noticed the bloody scale needle stubbornly stayed in one place if I ate sugar
the day before. If I stuck to vegetables and protein, however, my diet
cooperated.
Not only that, I noticed if I ate sugar I went back to
feeling sluggish and bloated. It’s a difficult habit to give up, but in my case
it was necessary.
I exchanged several things for sugar. Agave syrup is still
glycemic, but a squirt on my oatmeal once a week doesn’t seem to have the same
dastardly effect as a spoonful of brown sugar. I also developed a passion for
grapefruit – fresh from the fruit stand, not juice in a bottle. (Alas, fruit
juice is pure, mainlined sugar. Goodbye forever, mango nectar!)
Along with sugar, I had to curb the carbs and cut down on
alcohol. Once a week I allowed myself a few squares of dark chocolate sweetened
with stevia. You gotta have something, or else you’ll go insane from all the
self-denial.
3. Lots of Exercise
I’m sure you already know this one. There’s no lasting
weight loss without good workout habits. For me, the best and easiest were the
Blogilates videos by Cassey Ho, all available on youtube. You can sign up for
her blog and get a free monthly workout plan, with five or six different videos
of under ten minutes each.
Going to a gym simply didn’t work for me. I don’t like
traveling to work out, so exercising at home was much better. Along with the
pilates videos and my own cardio, I added a pair of ten-pound weights for arm
exercises and core strengthening.
4. Lots of Sleep
I noticed if I sat around at night, the desire to go and
live in my pantry with all the forbidden foods overwhelmed me. Also, I found if
I got 8 hours each night, it was a lot easier to exercise and eat right.
And this brings me to my final point. When I went to bed,
instead of surfing the web or playing games, it was soothing to read real
paperbacks for a few minutes before turning out the light. This is why my final
item is:
5. Books
Unfortunately, a lot of books feature mouthwatering
descriptions of food I’d given up. For example, Eat Pray Love was a no-no with
its chapters set in Italian gelato bars and pizzerias. Even classic literature
was overwhelming – did you ever realize how much Dickens writes about food?
For inspiration, I looked for novels about weight-loss. However,
even those were turn-offs. I don’t like to be launched into diatribes on how
slender bodies are so wonderful. After all, some of the most attractive people
I know are on the higher end of the scale.
Besides, I wasn’t losing weight in order to become a model.
I wanted to be healthy, gain energy, and maybe fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans.
So a book beginning with a chunky heroine sighing over svelte women in a
fashion mag just wasn’t for me.
There were a few books, however, that hit the right note.
Believe it or not, Lord of the Rings is great diet fare. Frodo and Sam never
have anything to eat except lembas and a few shreds of tobacco. If a couple of
hobbits could do it and survive, so (I told myself) could I.
I also enjoyed She’s Come Undone. Delores Price is such a
unique heroine, and the book bravely faces issues such as rape, abortion, and
AIDS. Wally Lamb’s writing is engrossing enough to make me forget about the
chips I had to buy for my daughter’s sleepover.
Lady Oracle, by Margaret Atwood, addressed body image and
mother-daughter relationships in a fun send-up of romantic travelogues. It’s
funny and kept my attention through several long evenings of ‘not eating
chocolate cake.’
***
Losing twenty pounds was one of the hardest things I’ve ever
done. If you’re on the same journey, I’m virtually hugging and fist-bumping you
right now. Good luck, friend – and may those abs and quads ever be in your
favor!
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