I am not on a diet!!!
As I travel along on my fitness journey lots of things have been happening. As you all know, because I told you, I work out about 5 days a week some days I work out twice. I've been making much better food choices and doing the whole portion control thing, limiting processed foods. I'm not saying I've mastered this whole thing but I think I've finally gotten into my stride after about 3 months of really doing this. The weight is coming off and my muscle tone has increased along with my endurance and stamina.
And people are really starting to notice now. I can't tell you how many compliments I'm getting from friends, family and co-workers. I love that all my hard work is paying off and people are starting to notice. But of course with all this new found exposure people start asking me questions. How much weight have I lost? What have I been doing? Are you on some kind of diet?
This question sort of drives me crazy! I'll tell you why.
I know in our microwave society everyone is looking for the fastest way to do everything, fastest way to get to work, fastest way to get dinner on the table, fastest way to get on the Internet and of course the fastest way to lose weight. We're bombarded with billboards, pop-up ads, informercials with pills, creams and gizmos and gadgets that promise you instant weight loss and fabulous muscles in 30 days!
And this is why I hate when people ask me if I'm on a diet. When they ask me and I say no it's like the light goes out in their eyes. It's like they are waiting for me to hand over the holy grail in a form of a pill or a 30 day food regimen and all will be right in the world.
When I start telling them how I workout 5 days out of the week and have tried to eliminate all processed foods( Pizza will be my downfall) and eat clean and smaller portions their eyes start to glaze over and I get the whole "well you're doing good keep up the good work" before they run off without their magic potion.
I have a student of mines that comes into my office to shoot the breeze from time to time and she's always talking about some fat burner pills she wants to try. I try to tell her that she could take all the pills she wants but the minute she stops using those pills she's going to gain all the weight back and her liver will not be a happy camper. But you know 18 year olds you can't tell them anything! LOL Every other week she's in my office with a new diet or new weight loss scheme she's going to try. She claims she's lost some weight but then she comes and sits in my office and chows down on a hot dog, corn chips and a can of ice tea. As far as nutrition goes that meal was a D-, the only reason she didn't get an F was because at least the hot dog had ketchup on it. Tomato. Ha! lol
I tried to tell her that she can't eat like that and expect to lose weight or be healthy. She laughed and told me she'd do better for dinner. I can only take her word for it.
I've come to realize that no one wants to hear it takes hard work, dedication and discipline to get your body into shape. Those people who sell those pills, creams and the shake weights know this and make millions of dollars a year off of this mentality.
Since last year I've lost 20 pounds and I am for sure not giving the South beach diet, the grapefruit diet, cookie diet, smoothie diet or whatever the newest craze is any credit. I read a lot of nutrition and fitness blogs. I follow nutritionists on twitter, I've read Jillian Michael's books and cookbooks that have been written with nutritionists. And they all agree, in order to lose weight and keep it off successfully and be healthy you have to cut out processed foods. I've mentioned in my earlier blogs my philosophy on what I should eat.
If it didn't grow out of the ground or have a momma then you shouldn't be eating it. I try to keep this philosophy in mind when I make my food choices. But sometimes the stomach overrules the mind. It sees food and doesn't care what it is, my stomach just wants it in the belly! lol
Slowly and steady is how I'm going to win this race. It's not easy and it's not quick but it's the safest way to do so it and the most guaranteed way to keep the weight off. Like I told one woman who asked me just last week about how I lost weight, then she came back to me 2 days ago and asked me if I was still on my diet.
I told her that it wasn't a diet. It was a lifestyle change. I don't plan on losing all this weight and getting into the best shape of my life only to let it all fall by the wayside and try to do it all over again in a year. I plan on conquering this battle of the bulge and never looking back. Once I get down to the weight I want the plan is to maintain it. I won't be able to do that if I go back to my old mentality which was if it tasted good I don't care what was in it I was shoving it down my throat.
But that doesn't mean I let an occasional oatmeal raisin cookie go to waste.
And people are really starting to notice now. I can't tell you how many compliments I'm getting from friends, family and co-workers. I love that all my hard work is paying off and people are starting to notice. But of course with all this new found exposure people start asking me questions. How much weight have I lost? What have I been doing? Are you on some kind of diet?
This question sort of drives me crazy! I'll tell you why.
I know in our microwave society everyone is looking for the fastest way to do everything, fastest way to get to work, fastest way to get dinner on the table, fastest way to get on the Internet and of course the fastest way to lose weight. We're bombarded with billboards, pop-up ads, informercials with pills, creams and gizmos and gadgets that promise you instant weight loss and fabulous muscles in 30 days!
And this is why I hate when people ask me if I'm on a diet. When they ask me and I say no it's like the light goes out in their eyes. It's like they are waiting for me to hand over the holy grail in a form of a pill or a 30 day food regimen and all will be right in the world.
When I start telling them how I workout 5 days out of the week and have tried to eliminate all processed foods( Pizza will be my downfall) and eat clean and smaller portions their eyes start to glaze over and I get the whole "well you're doing good keep up the good work" before they run off without their magic potion.
I have a student of mines that comes into my office to shoot the breeze from time to time and she's always talking about some fat burner pills she wants to try. I try to tell her that she could take all the pills she wants but the minute she stops using those pills she's going to gain all the weight back and her liver will not be a happy camper. But you know 18 year olds you can't tell them anything! LOL Every other week she's in my office with a new diet or new weight loss scheme she's going to try. She claims she's lost some weight but then she comes and sits in my office and chows down on a hot dog, corn chips and a can of ice tea. As far as nutrition goes that meal was a D-, the only reason she didn't get an F was because at least the hot dog had ketchup on it. Tomato. Ha! lol
I tried to tell her that she can't eat like that and expect to lose weight or be healthy. She laughed and told me she'd do better for dinner. I can only take her word for it.
I've come to realize that no one wants to hear it takes hard work, dedication and discipline to get your body into shape. Those people who sell those pills, creams and the shake weights know this and make millions of dollars a year off of this mentality.
Since last year I've lost 20 pounds and I am for sure not giving the South beach diet, the grapefruit diet, cookie diet, smoothie diet or whatever the newest craze is any credit. I read a lot of nutrition and fitness blogs. I follow nutritionists on twitter, I've read Jillian Michael's books and cookbooks that have been written with nutritionists. And they all agree, in order to lose weight and keep it off successfully and be healthy you have to cut out processed foods. I've mentioned in my earlier blogs my philosophy on what I should eat.
If it didn't grow out of the ground or have a momma then you shouldn't be eating it. I try to keep this philosophy in mind when I make my food choices. But sometimes the stomach overrules the mind. It sees food and doesn't care what it is, my stomach just wants it in the belly! lol
Slowly and steady is how I'm going to win this race. It's not easy and it's not quick but it's the safest way to do so it and the most guaranteed way to keep the weight off. Like I told one woman who asked me just last week about how I lost weight, then she came back to me 2 days ago and asked me if I was still on my diet.
I told her that it wasn't a diet. It was a lifestyle change. I don't plan on losing all this weight and getting into the best shape of my life only to let it all fall by the wayside and try to do it all over again in a year. I plan on conquering this battle of the bulge and never looking back. Once I get down to the weight I want the plan is to maintain it. I won't be able to do that if I go back to my old mentality which was if it tasted good I don't care what was in it I was shoving it down my throat.
But that doesn't mean I let an occasional oatmeal raisin cookie go to waste.
Wise wise words!!!
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