Several times a week I get an email to articles on the Livestrong website. Lately, one of my favorite authors on that site is Adam Bornstein who happens to be their Editorial Director. In fact, he authored the new year article I linked you to that had been so motivational to me. This recent article I read has left me really questioning that maybe we need to be careful thinking that there is ONE secret way to losing weight and being healthy (click here to read the Bornstein article The Dirty Diet Lie).
For those of you that want the abridged version, he basically shares that he has know for a while that he was wrong in telling others that in order to lose weight they MUST eat breakfast, but waited to share this because it was hard to admit he had made a mistake. But the article is much deeper than that. The point, as I see it, is that anytime we set rules for exactly what we must do to lose weight, we run the risk of breaking those rules and then feeling guilty, which can then lead to frustration.
So, his suggestion is that you listen to your body and what it needs. For example, I have added breakfast to my day, but I do not do so in the conventional way. Many experts will say you must eat within one hour of waking up or risk being ravenous. My body is different. I find that if I eat that early, and remember I am up by 5:30 AM on most days, I am starving the rest of the day. Therefore, I pack my breakfast and eat at 9 or 10 when I am actually hungry. Now this might not work for you, because you might be someone who needs the fuel first thing in the morning. Listen to your body, and over time you will get a feel for what works for you.
I will say, when you are first starting your journey toward the healthier you, you may have to read and follow the advice of others until you actually have your eating under control. I know in the beginning I was pretty sure I was starving all the time, but once I realized how much food I actually needed to survive, I was better able to tailor my eating to fit my needs. Now, I eat three meals a day, have two snacks (well I try to be good, but this one is challenging), and I have been able to maintain my current weight loss for over a year now.
I think this goes for your exercise too. As you all know by now, running is my go to way to get my body moving and pump that blood through my body. Now, many of you do not feel like I do about running. If you try to do something you hate, it is difficult to maintain that for very long. You do need to move your body, but what you do is up to you.
In fact, today we started our day, not by running, but jumping rope by the beach knowing that our big exercise would be later in the day. When the teacher conference finished, the entire family jumped on our bikes and rode 4 miles over to Cannary Row for lunch and another brief trip to visit the sea animals at the aquarium. The scenery along the way included sand dunes, the waves breaking on the bay, sea lions and otters, and gorgeous landscape both man-made and natural. What an amazing way to spend the afternoon with my family!
Today we were also able to head out to Santa Cruz for a dinner on the pier and a trip to our favorite ice cream place in the world. I think once you figure out how to spread your calories out over the day, and how to fit some exercise in as well, you can have the occasional indulgence like a scoop of the most delicious Oatmeal Raisin ice cream. After all, life is too short to not eat some of the things you love. Remember it is about balance as stated in my Day 1 blog. You want to live life to the fullest, but you want to live long enough to live a full life.
For those of you that want the abridged version, he basically shares that he has know for a while that he was wrong in telling others that in order to lose weight they MUST eat breakfast, but waited to share this because it was hard to admit he had made a mistake. But the article is much deeper than that. The point, as I see it, is that anytime we set rules for exactly what we must do to lose weight, we run the risk of breaking those rules and then feeling guilty, which can then lead to frustration.
So, his suggestion is that you listen to your body and what it needs. For example, I have added breakfast to my day, but I do not do so in the conventional way. Many experts will say you must eat within one hour of waking up or risk being ravenous. My body is different. I find that if I eat that early, and remember I am up by 5:30 AM on most days, I am starving the rest of the day. Therefore, I pack my breakfast and eat at 9 or 10 when I am actually hungry. Now this might not work for you, because you might be someone who needs the fuel first thing in the morning. Listen to your body, and over time you will get a feel for what works for you.
I will say, when you are first starting your journey toward the healthier you, you may have to read and follow the advice of others until you actually have your eating under control. I know in the beginning I was pretty sure I was starving all the time, but once I realized how much food I actually needed to survive, I was better able to tailor my eating to fit my needs. Now, I eat three meals a day, have two snacks (well I try to be good, but this one is challenging), and I have been able to maintain my current weight loss for over a year now.
I think this goes for your exercise too. As you all know by now, running is my go to way to get my body moving and pump that blood through my body. Now, many of you do not feel like I do about running. If you try to do something you hate, it is difficult to maintain that for very long. You do need to move your body, but what you do is up to you.
In fact, today we started our day, not by running, but jumping rope by the beach knowing that our big exercise would be later in the day. When the teacher conference finished, the entire family jumped on our bikes and rode 4 miles over to Cannary Row for lunch and another brief trip to visit the sea animals at the aquarium. The scenery along the way included sand dunes, the waves breaking on the bay, sea lions and otters, and gorgeous landscape both man-made and natural. What an amazing way to spend the afternoon with my family!
Today we were also able to head out to Santa Cruz for a dinner on the pier and a trip to our favorite ice cream place in the world. I think once you figure out how to spread your calories out over the day, and how to fit some exercise in as well, you can have the occasional indulgence like a scoop of the most delicious Oatmeal Raisin ice cream. After all, life is too short to not eat some of the things you love. Remember it is about balance as stated in my Day 1 blog. You want to live life to the fullest, but you want to live long enough to live a full life.
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