Plans always look great on paper (huh, or the computer screen!) but how does it look in real life?
Below is a short explanation of how I am applying "The Plan" to my life:
I have cut way back on the carbs I was eating...not because I think carbs are evil or I think a low-carb "diet" is the way to go, because I believe the complete opposite! Whole grain carbs are great for your body and you really need them to be healthy!! Actually, like most of us, I was unaware of just how many servings of carbs I was eating a day!! I would say that now I eat about 4-6 servings of 100% whole grain carbs a day.
I usually eat a small (again, paying attention to actual serving sizes) bowl of whole grain, low-sugar cereal with skim milk.
A few hours later, I usually have a snack...maybe a few eggs scrambled up with a bunch of veggies or a yogurt, etc.
For lunch I usually eat a sandwich (using reduced calorie bread which is really just bread that doesn't have as much sugar in it and is sliced thinner) or a wrap with some protein and lots of veggies in it or a small portion of left-overs, etc.
A few hours later, I have another snack...probably some fruit and a piece of dry toast with a few teaspoons of almond butter on it.
For dinner, I choose a low-fat protein and add as many veggies as possible to our meal. I am being a lot more careful, again, of portion sizes. Remember that a portion of most lean meats is about the size of a deck of cards. I don't have seconds...unless it's on veggies. :)
Most nights, I don't eat anything after dinner. I brush my teeth at 8pm so I won't be tempted to eat anything else for the night.
I keep a bowl of washed grapes on the counter all day long. I am a grazer....I need something to graze on! :) Sometimes, I will pop a bowl of plain popcorn (air-popped, no butter or salt) and leave it out on the counter too. Air popped popcorn is very good for you. :)
I exercise 6 days a week without fail. It's just what I do....it's how I am going to reach my destination! I do 60 minutes of cardio in my target heart rate each of those 6 days. I strength train with a trainer 2 days a week, and one additional day on my own. I do ab/core exercises every day.
I bake a healthy treat on the weekends.
My goal is to drink 90 ounces of water a day. I am breast-feeding, so this may be an abnormally high amount...I think the average person should shoot for about 60 ounces a day. I use the big water mug that I got at the hospital when my last baby was born almost 4 months ago. I keep it full on the counter all day long.
I make it a point to fill my cart at the grocery store with lots of healthy things....especially fresh fruits and veggies!! As I'm walking through the store, I look at my cart and decide if everything in it meets my healthy requirements...if it doesn't, I put it back.
My husband knows I do NOT want him to buy any junk!! He is pretty good at complying. :)
That's basically what "The Plan" looks like for me! What about you? How are you living a healthier life?
i had a really good jump-start while visiting in colo sprgs for 3 weeks at christmastime. i followed what heidi and dave did, went to the gym with her when i wasn't sick( silly thing to do on a trip, huh?!) and lost my first 9 or 10 lbs while there. then i got home and the next day i joined the gym i had been planning on for the last couple of months and signed up for their "challenge" program to reach my goals in the next 3 months, and hired a trainer at said gym.
ReplyDeletenow, a week and a half later i am on my road of success. i feel better already, i follow my set 1280 calorie food plan with yummy apples, oranges, salads(with Litehouse lite T. Island dressing and other lite ones! yum), steaks as i like them, yams, baked potatoes, lots of spinach(love it cooked!), fish dishes, lasagne(both store bought and homemade veggie), about 70 oz of water a day, made p. butter cookies last night and had my four that i alloted myself beforehand. and just lots of good stuff. actually, my problem right now is eating enough to make the caloric intake i need. my chiroprator and i had a discussion this morning about my program, i learned some things not to do because my lower is a little too sore now, and i'm taking the advice to slow it down a little. i met with my trainer the first time last monday, jan 17, did weights and 20 min of carido that day; went in on my own on tues for the official weigh-in and body comp stuff for the contest and did some cardio; for 30 min of cardio and some weights and stretching on wed; then thurs(yesterday) i went early for a class called COREFIT, which was great except that it was one of those moves that injured my lower back) then on to the cardio machine of my choice(which, by the way, is the treadmill-my knees only allow that right now, we'll see about the elliptical later)and did 40 min at a higher speed and endurance, and them met with my trainer again. today, i'm taking it easy and icing and doing my stretching and assigned exercises from my chiro. my hubby took me to a new little bistro place for lunch right here in our little city. it was good, healthy food and not gucked up with grease or anything. loved it. so, up and on toward that healthy plane of fitness and being able to go thru a normal day of my life and not feel worn out at the end of it. of course right now, i do feel worn out because i am in the middle of my "upwards and onwards" movement to health and being that fit person i always used to be!
oh, and i also am using an online record keeping of my daily nutrition by using a site called dotFit.com. i'm allowed to use it along with the gym's program i paid for. i like it. i've avoided planning a menu, and keeping track of what i eat, but this allows me to do it in a really good way so that i am faithful in keeping at my caloric intake by seeing what i do as the day wanes. i like it a lot. and i think i'll get an "exerspy" which is a little arm band gadget invented by the guy who started the dotFit site. i have to wait as it is rather costly. looking for a used one-we'll see.
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