The Un-Diet

I've been un-dieting for about 3 months now and it's finally clicking. Yes, I'm still watching my carb intake,but that's going to be a life long process, so it's now become a habit. The act of flipping over every product in the grocery to see the carb/serving grams has led me to this: people, we eat a TON of sugar.

My un-diet is very much mental. I'm not feeling deprived, my cravings are lower and I'm feeling better (and sleeping more!) each day. I can go to a restaurant. Or eat a fiber festival. Or work a conference (thank you, Whole Foods Whey protein & shaker bottles). Nothing is off-limits. NOTHING. I can eat cake. I can eat cookies. I can eat meat. (though, I've reduced my meat-based protein intake to once per day)

Today, I'm sharing with you a few things that are getting me on-board with the diet. As you know, this blog is my dumping ground for my life...we'll get back to knitting tomorrow.

1. My nutritionist. Honestly, if you had told me a year ago that I would look forward to hauling up 3 flights of stairs to see Paula (at MetroWest Nutrition in Newton) every few weeks, I would have called you a crack monkey. Every experience I've ever had with a nutritionist has been "this is a small apple. This is a medium apple. They are different." Seriously? I've been on Weight Watchers, TOPS, jenny craig, nutrisystem, Atkins, South Beach and  you think I don't know a small apple? I've never NOT weighed my food.  

Paula's different. She's encouraging, full of ideas and really wants you to succeed. And she doesn't let you get away with anything. Don't like broccoli? Find something else. Set limits. Be strong. She talks about having a "bank of self control" and to identify who's trying to rob the bank! Like the well-meaning co-worker who offers to pick up take-out. Every. Day.  Or the relative who pushes the chocolate pie toward you after you've said no.  (Or the wretched people at Stop & Shop who comment on our produce-laden grocery cart and tell me all about Nutrisystem and packaged foods. Okay, maybe that's just b/c I hate people who try to publicly humiliate me.) We're working through some of my food issues and she's helped me be more aware of me, my body and my health. Thanks, Paula!!!

2. My endocrinologist. Dude, he's awesome. Every lb gone gets a high-five. Every minute decrease in hA1C gets a "way to go." And, he hates the treadmill too, but he does it. Every night. And he tells you : he hates it, but he does it and he has to work at eating healthy and staying in shape. He's a great doctor, has helped me truly believe that I can and WILL beat PCOS.  He's current on all the research, loves the ideas my nutrionist has and is dedicated to working with me, not against me.

www.myfitnesspal.com or download the app 

3. MyFitnessPal. A kick-ass app for my android phone that is also a website. I can scan the barcodes of food to enter them. The database is extensive and my nutritionist can log in to see my diary.  You can learn more at their site, but wow... has this made tracking and eating so.much.easier.

See? Kicking things!

4. Steve, from BlackBelt Fitness. Steve's a fairly non-traditional trainer... more like a nicer weekly version of the trainers from Biggest Loser. We do a lot of martial-arts based workouts and I get to kick him. Well, the pads, but seriously? How good does it feel to kick something after work on Thursday? Amazing! Lots of stretching, weight stuff and cardio... it doesn't get boring and I've never had to run on the treadmill.  A weekly personal trainer? Well, someone must be made of money right? Nope. Steve's reasonable and you can buy packages that reduce the cost as well. Both PC and I see him and we agree: Steve's pretty great.

Siggi's is the lowest carb, fewest ingredient yogurt I can find. No HFCS, no aspartame..just milk, agave,  vegetable rennet and  good "bugs"

5. New foods. New food choices are keeping me going. Last week, I roasted brussels sprouts. I never liked them, now I love them! And tonight, we're having seared endive with our dinner.  We're boosting our options at home, getting creative and embracing new recipes. PC's been grilling up a storm too... which is nice because grilling reduces the oil that we use for our foods.

So, keep an eye on the weight loss ticker in the corner there. It's going to be moving and I hope to hear you cheering me on!!