Lifestyle Changes and Breaking Habits

[Straight-8]

I'm going to a convention this weekend where the only places to eat in a 10 mile radius are 4 fast food joints and a restaurant so expensive you need a 2nd mortgage to eat there.

How about a fifteen mile radius . Seriously, it can be hard to eat properly on the road: good luck.

I think the thing is to balance the intake with the output. I'd say you are on to something with the granola bar (as long as it is a 'healthy' one). More, smaller meals are better for you and actually reduce the likelihood that you will pack on weight.

I know you are a hockey player. I used to play years ago. I don't think hockey gives you good excercise. I think you need to get fit to play hockey, but playing hockey doesn't make you fit. Try and find some good muscle and cardio activities that you like and maybe can do with your wife (- no, not just THAT one).... and I really think that as you get older you need to hit the gym on a regular basis. I know I do. Start with a punch pass and try for once a week: then work up (a bit) from there.

We're pullin' for you!

 

[eudaemonia]

Actually my wife had a great idea. It's summer time, which means the saturday Farmers' Market is up and running again. I think we'll just make it a Saturday morning ritual.

Your wife is a damned brilliant woman, TBK. Seriously. There's nothing like a leisurely stroll through a farmer's market with your S.O. and having all your senses at attention with the huge variety at your feet (well, eye and nose level anyway), buying whatever fancies you, trying new things and cooking healthful meals together. I think it's one of the most sexy-slash-romantic activities couples can do. Then again, gastronomy is an extremely sensual topic to me.

Well first the good news is I've found a way to help with the convenience thing. I started eating a granola bar about 3 o'clock, and it really does take the urgency off getting home and cooking right away.

That's an excellent start.

At the beginning of each work week (when I had a *real* job) I'd take a bunch of things to stash in my desk (or nearby mini-fridge) for nibbling on during the work day: in-the-shell pistachos, which take longer to eat; a 4-pack of super-sweet baby carrots; Ry-krisp crackers in a zipped sandwich bag for dipping into hummus; some dried apricots or mango slices; etc. Basically, I always had something right at hand so that I never got too far into getting hunger pangs, which leads you to craving carbs. Oh, and I'd always have a 1.5L bottle of water on my desk. Staying hydrated helps a lot, and keeps your stomach full. So, by the time I got home from work and/or ballet class I was never so starving that I'd grab the first thing I saw. Plus, keeping junk out of the house in the first place is everything. It may take several months to wean oneself off of that habit, tho, so don't beat yourself up too much about it.

That said, a week night meal that takes more than 15-20 minutes to prepare ain't likely to happen at my house. Weekends when the farmer's market is happenin' and I'm a cooking fool!

In winter and early Spring, I eat a ton of pre-washed, bagged salad, usually dressed with red wine vinegar, salt and pepper and olive oil. Toss in a little feta cheese and maybe some toasted hazlenuts and dried cranberries, and it's a healthy start. Add in a wine-poached or sauteed chicken breast on top of that and it's a whole meal.

Stir-fry over rice is fast, esp. if you make a batch of basmati or brown rice on the weekend. (Just store in a large Ziplock bag in the fridge.) I buy either pre-sliced lean pork tenderloin, chicken or shrimp, and a small crown of broccoli, a red bell pepper, a handfull of mushrooms and some green onions for the veggies. The veggies take less than 5 minutes to slice or chop (needn't be too small or pretty for stir-fry), and if you use peanut oil you can cook faster and hotter and therefore use less oil to begin with. Mix some minced ginger, minced garlic (I don't mind the jarred stuff in stir-fry), soy sauce, rice vinegar and a little light brown sugar together for the sauce and pour over meat and veggies when they're just about done cooking and -- voila! -- dinner in about 15 minutes. Finish with a juicy navel orange sliced into quarters and maybe some chocolate sorbet or a couple of squares of really, really good dark chocolate. Very satisfying.

If I'm in guilty pleasures mode, I'll let myself have a baked potato with butter, sour cream, fresh chives and melted cheddar cheese all over it, provided there's a truckload of steamed veggies under the cheese. A bit decadent but still relatively healthy. Sometimes you need a little extra saturated fat to keep your inner grouch at bay.

The tricks are to never let yourself get ravenous because primal instincts take over and self-control goes out the window, and to develop a repetoire of simple-to-fix but truly tasty (to you) meals that are nearly fuss-free to fix at home. Maybe try fixing one new type of meal per week and steadily build up enough meals so you have a decent rotation of options without getting bored.

Definitely DO take changes slow and steady to help those habits stick. If you eat fast food 4 days a week, cut down to three and either take your lunch or explore healthier options that may be a bit more of a walk away from your office. Walking is healthy, remember? {edit: oops I just realized you work at home ... nevermind <g>)

Definitely DON'T go sin-free all at once cause you're just setting yourself up for frustration. Eating tastelss food is so soul-sucking ... food should be nourishing for both your body and your senses, IMHO.

 

[vanelane]

Hi Kahuna,

I'm late to the thread. A lot of good things have already been said. I wanted to put in my two cents for the places where you can prepare a months worth of meals in their kitchen, using their recipes, and their ingredients. We love this! The one I use is a local operation, Frozen in Thyme, but this kind of business is all over the place. They have a website where you can see the menus for the month, you just tell them which meals you want to make and how many, show up at the appointed time and put together all your meals, tailoring recipes to your personal taste (extra mushrooms? No cilantro?) in ziploc bags or foil pans with cooking instructions right on them. Go home and put it all in the freezer with a 'menu' to go on the fridge so you know what you have. Makes the whole dinner thing much easier and with just the two of you, you could have instant lunch for the next day from the leftovers.

For the conference/traveling question, my suggestion is to pack some granola/protein bars and some fruit in your luggage to help take the edge off, making the right choices easier if you do wind up at fast food joints and don't beat yourself up. Baby steps.

Baby steps is truly the key here. Sometime around Christmas I decided to start slow; gave up those 3 or 4 Dr. Peppers I was drinking every day. Couple months later I started riding my bicycle three miles around the neighborhood a few times a week. Baby steps. I've lost some weight, had to buy new clothes a size smaller, and I feel better. This week I started doing some light weightlifting because I don't like the way my upper arms look. Baby steps.

Don't try to do it all at once and don't beat yourself up if it doesn't all happen suddenly, just don't give up.

 

[hdlynnette]

So, how's everyone doing on those lifestyle changes?

I got very motivating results at my 2 month weigh in and re-measure this past Monday. I've lost a total of 5.25 inches and 2.23% of my body fat. I've just lost 2 pounds, but I'm getting comments from co-workers asking me what I've been doing. The clothes are getting a little loose too.

What more motivation can a gal ask for.

 

[TBKahuna123]

So, how's everyone doing on those lifestyle changes?

I got very motivating results at my 2 month weigh in and re-measure this past Monday. I've lost a total of 5.25 inches and 2.23% of my body fat. I've just lost 2 pounds, but I'm getting comments from co-workers asking me what I've been doing. The clothes are getting a little loose too.

What more motivation can a gal ask for.

Good for you! Keep it up and don't stress out if you hit a plateau. Your body normally loses a bunch fo weight fast, then slows down. That's normal and can be discouraging, but just keep at it. It's sure good to hear success stories now and again, wish I had one to report.

I'm currently mourning the end of hockey season and trying to find my motivation to keep working out now. It's wierd, am I like the only person on the planet MORE active in the winter than in the summer?

 

[EJFan]

So, how's everyone doing on those lifestyle changes?

I got very motivating results at my 2 month weigh in and re-measure this past Monday. I've lost a total of 5.25 inches and 2.23% of my body fat. I've just lost 2 pounds, but I'm getting comments from co-workers asking me what I've been doing. The clothes are getting a little loose too.

What more motivation can a gal ask for.

isn't that a fantastic feeling? there's nothing quite as rewarding as when someone notices your effort and you have a tangible thing like loose clothes to quantify it for yourself.

congrats! this is awesome!

 

[Guest]

 

[TBKahuna123]

Great News!


as for me, well, I just had a small lean roast beef sandwich for lunch. omitting the cheese was the trade off for having potato chips and ranch dip. (there's nothing like a good potato chip )

I suppose maybe the diet cherry coke helps...well, maybe it doesn't help, but it doesn't make it worse

Thanks for making me feel guilty Scaly. So much for my trip to Taco Bell.

 

[EJFan]

Thanks for making me feel guilty Scaly. So much for my trip to Taco Bell.

ohhhhhhhh... taco bell. mmmmmmm.

 

[Guest]

 

[EJFan]

Oh yeah i forgot to mention that I also had carrot cake.....excellent frosting.

ohhhhhhhh... carrot cake... mmmmmmm.

 

[TBKahuna123]

I wound up at Subway. I even managed to avoid the cheese.

Now if I could just go with the 6" instead of the footlong.

Sorry about that, didn't meant to turn this into a size thread.

 

[hdlynnette]

Have you noticed that when you're trying to eat healthier you start craving things you wouldn't normally be craving if you were eating anything and everything? I've been drooling at the thoughts of a piece of pineapple upside down cake. But now I'm thinking carrot cake with cream cheese icing. THANKS!

 

[EJFan]

Have you noticed that when you're trying to eat healthier you start craving things you wouldn't normally be craving if you were eating anything and everything?

yes.

it's just like anything you try to remind yourself NOT to do... you just want to do it even more. try to sit at your computer and not think of elephants. the more you try not to, the more you think of 'em.