Thursday, February 5, 2009

In the Beginning...

There was food. Wait, that's not how it goes. Unfortunately, that is pretty much how it goes in my life. Food. Gotta have it. For most of my many years I have dieted. I've done Nutri-System, Jenny Craig (twice), Weight Watchers (twice), Adkins, Fat Flush, South Beach, Low Fat, Low Calorie, The Grapefruit Diet, and I'm sure others that I cannot remember at the moment. I have lost weight doing ALL of these diets. Every one of them. I've also gained it all back, plus some, every time. So, that brings me back to--

In The Beginning...

When I began my exercise journey nearly two years ago, I had no intention of messing with my diet/nutrition. Thank you very much, but no thank you. I wanted nothing more than to exercise my way to weight loss and to merely attempt to moderate my eating. After all, I am a veteran of all the above mentioned diets and know how to eat, right? Well, not so much...but here is what really happened:

I went to CrossFit OKC for personal training with the owner/trainer (Jason) twice a week. I asked him to send "homework" home with me to do in between. I was becoming afraid that I was going to get weaker and less able to do ordinary things much too early in life. I worked at it...hard. Progress was made. I even began losing a little weight. I started going to regular class time workouts after a few months and then began going to the gym about 4-5 days a week. After 6 months, I looked and felt much better, but progress was tapering. I began following the Zone Diet (Barry Sears) and that changed EVERYTHING. I think I lost about 15 pounds in about 3 months. And, it was really easy. Now I have taken it a step further and I loosely follow the Paleo Diet (Loren Cordain.)

So, why do these diets work better? First of all, they are SIMPLE. Not EASY, but simple. Simple as in you eat meat, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. That is about it. Hard because you don't eat bread, grains, cereal, sugar, and for hard-core Paleo followers-no cheese or milk. The more I stay away from grains and sugar, the better I feel. And by that I mean that I feel better in EVERY way. Less tired, more alert, clearer thinking, etc. I can do workouts better. Plus, I look better. I eat almost no grains anymore. If I do, I immediately notice that I am bloated. It is as if it is an allergic reaction. And...maybe it is.

Yes, I have read most of the Paleo and Zone books, and I have read an infinite number of articles about them online. I know there is scientific data to support their views, but personally, I have no interest in getting bogged down in the chemistry and science. All I know is that it seems to work, and it seems to work for everyone I know who has seriously tried it.

For what it is worth, here is my suggestion to anyone willing to take my advice. Try it. Drop the grains for a while. Just eat meat, vegetables, fruits and nuts for a few days. Eat like a cavewoman! Or, try the Zone Diet--there is a little latitude with the Zone on eating grains. My friend Christi has a great blog with her Zone recipes and meal plans. Check it out!

http://inspiredeating.blogspot.com/

What do you think? Are you ready to give it a try
?

6 comments:

  1. I think that you are awesome, Laura! This is a great blog to do and I will be reading it!
    You really inspire me! Thanks.

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  2. Laura! This is awesome, I am excited for you and love your thoughts!

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  3. Thanks for going forward with this! I'm so excited. Giving up cereal and bread though - not sure I'm on board with that. I just added daily veggies to my diet Jan 1 - baby steps!:)

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  4. Laura ..... thank you for putting your time and effort into this! Its obvious its a passion for you. Diets didn't work for me either. What did work was to eat non processed simple things in MEASURED quantities. I know...I know... everyone HATES to measure and count calories. But it WORKS because the average person has NO IDEA how many calories are in the food that passes their lips. Thats right ladies.... keep the phrase "pass the lips" in the front of your thoughts during the day. Just the simple awareness of what you are passing through your lips forces you to make better choices. For a week...don't even change your eating habits, but when you DO eat...simply say to yourself... "what just passed my lips?" Try it. I lost my weight and guess what...I ate ice cream (light BlueBell), cake (angel), fast food (grilled chicken sandwiches, Subway), etc.... but I did it by knowing how many calories were in the amount I was eating. Read labels!

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  5. Julie--yes on the baby steps! You look so great anyway-you are obviously doing the right things nutritionally on your own!

    Laurie--I know on the eating simple, non processed things. In fact, I am going to try to link a video about MSG in our food on this blog--if I can figure out how to do that! It is amazing what we the dining public have allowed to pass as food! Eat the real things ladies! Sure-treat yourself now and then to some fabulous dessert, but the rest of the time--keep it real!

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  6. Laura, this is great! Just the kick I need to get me back in the groove. I've been doing the gym three times a week for 3 year, but it's getting old and boring. Plus, I just don't seem to feel as excited about it as I used to. I sure am not as committed to my diet as I was and I can tell it!! The ol' pants just aren't as loose!! I'm excited about the class and ready to eat healthy!! Thanks for the motivation.

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