Flabs & Abbs - The Diet Beginnings
About a month ago I thought it was time to start focusing on my diet again, really cut out the foods making me sluggish and get more energy out of the day. So here I am, 4 weeks later trying to get motivation to start that journey. I looked this morning where we all look for motivation beginnings, the Pinterest quotes section. The first quote hit me right in the muffin top with, “It’s hard to get fit, but it’s harder to look in the mirror and dislike what you see.” If that didn’t make me put down the spoonful of Cheerios, nothing would.
Now that I’m sitting here thinking about how I want to do this, I’ve decided to ditch the self-hate along with my daily chocolate bar. Self hatred isn’t how I want to hit my goals, nor do I think it’s the type of motivation that is sustainable. I’m not going to hate my body until I hit a certain number on a scale or even set a weight goal. So listen up my fellow honey bunches, this isn’t a transformation and you’ll never see me in a sports bra telling you that losing weight makes you ride into a sunset on the back of Idris Alba. I’m as optimistic about this being an easy process as I am about my family not fighting during the holiday season. I just hope that hearing/seeing me struggle/fail/succeed to make some changes that I’ll get some new friends to try it with me.
To start this very slowly, I’ve given myself rules to follow. If I completely cut out carbs and chocolate, you’ll find me in a tub of Blue Bell before I finish up one salad. These are some things I learned in life and nutrition classes, so it’s where I’m starting:
Eating is on a schedule, no snacking between these times. I eat when I’m bored but the fruit roll-ups can only tempt me now when I go to the pantry for actual foods and the rest of the day, avoid it like that racist family member who wants to tell you about “the good ole days”.
Breakfast is 8 a.m., lunch at noon, snack at 3 p.m. and dinner at 6:30. This can and probably will change daily because I have a life and things come up. It’s just important that every day I say “when will I eat today” and stick to that schedule.
At least, one of the three meals should be meatless/primarily vegetables. Lean protein keeps the appetite at bay and me from turning into Hulk (Mark Ruffalo or Eric Bana ONLY). However, 4 oz. of meat has more calories and fat than a large bowl of vegetables that have essential nutrients for energy.
Work to earn a cheat meal. I’m active in terms of… I’ll walk my dog while watching Golden Girls on my phone and call it a “run”. I’ll be documenting my struggle through weights and exercise as well but give a girl some time to dust off the old yoga mat. On days that I successfully use my leggings for the purpose of exercise and not comfort, those are the days I can eat something not linked to my health goals. The purpose is that if I’m burning calories that day, I won’t be falling as behind as a would on a day that I wasn’t active but still ate poorly.
Limit cheat meals in terms of size and frequency. If I had the ability to eat one potato chip and walk away, this entire blog wouldn’t be necessary. Since I have the resistance level of a 6 year old on a leash cleverly disguised as a backpack, that cup of ice cream needs to be measured and then written down so it doesn’t happen until I’ve earned it again in a week.
I’ll keep adding to the rules as I go but these are just a few things that I’ve decided to adopt. If you got something from them, great. If you couldn’t relate but thought “she’s a mess, lets see if she fails” then that’s okay too. Let’s find out together. The hardest part for me is starting so lets prove we can still like ourselves and make modifications to only further our self content.
