After the holidays, I reported that E and I had talked about some lifestyle changes.
I wanted to share our progress and hope we can keep making small improvements.
Our original goals were:
- no red meat
- chicken and/or fish 1-2 times a week
- mostly vegetarian
- Give up alcohol
- Start walking for exercise
We quickly realized how unrealistic it was for our lifestyle to make commitments to skip red meat altogether. We were invited over to a friend's house and served tri-tip, then nothing sounded better than a fast food burger when we were dealing with our house disaster.
What we were able to do is not purchase any red meat from the store, or eat it at home. Success!
We ate fish/chicken 2-3 times a week and I made a few new vegetarian recipes:
(clockwise, from top left: Grilled swordfish, taco soup, vegetarian spinach lasagna, spaghetti squash) We also ate stuffed peppers, veg. stir fry, and a lot of salads I didn't photograph.
With alcohol we had the same problem as red meat--we avoided it when it wasn't awkward to refuse (of course, I made exceptions when Kim was visiting). I would say we cut back 75%. We haven't had wine or cocktails at home, maybe just 1 beer (also the weekend of our house disaster).
I also joined Jenna's That Weight Loss Challenge (#TWLC) to motivate myself to better watch what I eat, and how I use my calories. Using the challenge site, Daily Burn, I calculate the nutritional value of all the food I eat. I can see much more clearly the impact of my many empty carbs consumed every day.
On a regular day I eat 1/4 the protein I should and almost 3x the carbs. Some slight adjustments and I'm currently eating about 1/2 the protein I should, and only about 2x the carbs. (baby steps!)
This morning I stepped on the scale and couldn't believe my eyes. I've lost 5 lbs in the last 10 days! It seemed really fast, especially since my total goal is 15 lbs, but I haven't really changed how much eat, just what I eat. Like Jenna says, calories are like money. When you use them responsibly, you can occasionally splurge.
scale photo day 1 and day 11
*ps. it takes some guts to show the world my actual weight. I realize this is really low for some people, but my weight goals are really realistic for my situation. Please be gentle in your comments about it!
Working out has been the worst part (as expected). I've gone on two walk/runs on my own and about three good hikes (5+ miles on hilly terrain). I've started listening to podcasts or books while walking/running and I'm feeling much more motivated to keep going because I hate to quit before the program or chapter is finished.
So there's my 6-week progress report. I'm going to share a few of my favorite recipes (including an awesome breakfast smoothie) soon.
If you have any current food/weight/fitness goals--how are you doing?
