One Inch at a Time

Remember when I whined on about not being happy with my current "flubbiness?" I actually planned on responding to everyone with my next steps sooner, but I had to really sit back and think of things for a while - take in your advice from the comments, as well as really think of what hasn't worked for me in the past and what I really want to get out of things.

When it comes to dieting, I always get a case of the Tomorrows, when I try to specifically limit myself or make it so I have to do something. Like, well I already had a bad breakfast, so I might as well eat whatever I want for the rest of the day / give up the idea of exercising today since I'll never work that off, and start over tomorrow. And repeat. And again.

I am obviously no expert at this healthy eating thing but I know I've tried enough times to lose and obsessed about my weight enough. I need to make it easy for myself without it seeming restrictive - though I know that I still kind of have cut out some things or nothing will ever change.

 

So after some thought, this is what I've come out with as my (no diet) diet:

• No calorie or food tracking. I can attest that apps like MyFitnessPal are awesome - you can track what you eat and look up calorie and nutrition counts. But, for me, the novelty of tracking Every. Single. Thing. that passes my lips wears off after a week and usually I give up. Which typically means the diet stops with it. So this time, I am trying not to obsess.
• It's OK to feel hungry.
• Eat as much whole food as possible - cook at home more using real (not ready-made) ingredients, stay away from fried foods, sugary treats. Eat loads of fruits and veg. Yep, this means no fast foods and no sweet treats unless it's fruit.
• No more than two servings of carbs a day - loose interpretation is that if I eat a roll during lunch, that is one of my servings. I am going to aim for whole grains as those carbs but won't beat myself up if I have sliced white bread as part of my lunch. For a girl who used to eat carbs all day long (I can eat a whole baguette by myself in less than a day - no, really) - this is a big change.
• No diet foods.
• No calories in my drinks - no sodas, juice, sweetened drinks, etc. Water or tea only.
• Make sensible food choices - no extra sauce, no double servings, no eating something just because it's there.
• Try to eat some sort of protein with every meal or snack.
• Drink more water.
• Put everything I plan to eat at a time together on a plate - make a meal more of a thing, not just something that happens in passing. Also, this will give me a better visual of all that I am eating at one sitting.
• If I have a piece of cake - it's OK. Breathe. Continue with diet.

I don't think I am doing anything more than what most people already know. There's nothing revolutionary or quick even. But hopefully this will help lead me on a healthier path with food, make me obsess less, and overall help me lose a few LBs and be able to actually keep them off without making any drastic changes.

I've been doing this for about a week now and my scale says I'm down two pounds. I'm not really going to count those because it may be water weight or whatever else, but I am feeling hopeful. Cutting out a lot of carbs seems to have limited my belly bloat feeling and I am not feeling deprived because I am still eating loads of yummy foods loaded with good fats (just made my first batch of these sans crème fraîche - delish!)

Maybe there's hope for me yet.

Top: LEC gingham poplin (worn here - sim, deal, sim)
Skirt: J.Crew boardwalk (same solid or striped, sim chambray, more dressed up, as dress)
Bracelets: F21 (sim), Asos spiked pack, ON (sim)
Shoes: Keds spright (worn here - sim, sim, printed)
Bag: J.Crew tillary (worn here - sim, horizontal, cas)

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