I’ve been trying to get a handle on my eating habits over the last month or so. I’ve found that my teaching job interferes with my exercise routine (damned job!) and I’m starting to exert a whole lot more force on the planet than I think is healthy. Since I really don’t have a whole lot of time to spend at the gym (at least, not now; that’ll change when I’m down to one class in the summer – and then down to none the term after that…) I’ve decided that it’s high time to have a good, hard look at my diet.
I signed myself up for fitday.com which, if I’m looking at it right, is essentially an online food and fitness journal. It seems to run on the same idea as the Weight Watchers’ online site, but fitday is free. Where WW allots points, fitday counts calories. Either way, the outcome is supposed to be the same.
I’ve discovered quite a bit about myself in the three or so weeks I’ve been keeping track of what I eat. The first, which is not so much of a discovery, really, is that I’m happiest when I’m grazing. If I could figure out a way to have my nutritional needs met and set up a bit of an energy deficit AND still eat something every half an hour, I’d be totally down with that. I also discovered that I don’t care how important breakfast is, I’m just not interested in eating before nine in the morning. My breakfast consists – consistently – of a glass of Ovaltine. Around nine or so, I’ll consent to eat a granola bar (or, my current favorite, Special K Snack Bites), but I’m not ready to eat anything substantial until lunchtime.
I’ve further discovered that, without any fiddling, my diet is not all that terrible. I don’t eat a whole lot of processed foods (the aforementioned Special K Bites notwithstanding) and I don’t eat a whole LOT of food, either – my portion sizes are actually pretty in line with the USDA recommendations. I’m very fond of salads and other low-calorie, high-bulk foods (especially now that I’ve got O’Mama’s salad dressing recipe!). I like healthy food, so I’m not having to alter my eating habits much at all. Really; in the grand scheme of things, I’m a pretty healthy eater.
Which leads me to believe that my genetics are my downfall. I’m not obese (though, according to some of the BMI charts, I’m close), but neither have the words “lithe” and “willowy” ever been applied to me. I’m solid. I’m stocky. I’m an archetypal New England woman; short, with a low center of gravity and sturdy wrists and ankles. My heritage is mostly highland Scot, and I’m sure that those genes are pretty strong; I look like everyone else in my mostly Scot family (though there’s the occasional 6-foot exception mixed in for fun).
What concerns me most, and why I’m undertaking to keep my weight down by whatever means I deem both necessary and attainable (and acceptable – no soy-only diets for me, please), is that those same genes that gave me my stature are also polluted with all manner of disease. My biological family is a medical nightmare – diabetes, high blood pressure, heart and lung disease, dementia, arthritis, stroke, liver problems; literally; you name it, and it’s better than even that someone in my family either has it or has died from it – and I’d like to not follow down the same path that my predecessors tread. Of course, nearly all of them smoked and drank and generally abused themselves. Not only do I not smoke and drink, but I’m also watching my diet and exercising whenever I can.
One can’t be too careful.
Does fitday give you some leeway on calories depending on fiber content?
Hey, you’ve hit the 21 day mark! It’s a habit! Very cool.
I recommend reading The China Study by Dr. Colin T. Campbell largest study ever done on nutrition.
http://www.queersunited.blogspot.com
I wonder if there is an “I don’t like breakfast” gene that we both got? My “breakfast” consists of a couple of cups of coffee, a latte, and a donut. Not. Good. My big problem is I usually don’t have time for lunch, so the donut has to hold me till dinner. I have been trying to get better at scheduling time for lunch these days. With the work I do and being on the road most of the time it is difficult though. Sigh. My other problem is I don’t really like veggies too much.
As far as our family’s health issues, I am pretty sure they all got their respective diseases around the age of 30. I also think some of them were made up.. I feel pretty confident we are both in the clear.
I’m the exact opposite. I’m pretty consistent with my exercise but my diet is horrible. I walk anywhere from 1 to 4 miles a day on my treadmill or in my neighboorhood. I usually do at least two miles but sometimes life interferes. When I’m being really good, I do my two miles twice a day and my weights and ball routines every other day.
The diet part is hard for me. I’d rather eat a cardboard box then a bowl of Kashi cereal. I really don’t like drinking water. I’m not crazy about salads. Doing a food log works really well for me when I’m motivated to behave, though. I find the diet portion of getting healthy way more time consuming – probably because I’m thinking about food the whole time.
Since I quit work two and a half years ago, I have managed to lose twenty pounds and keep fifeteen off. The last five is always an up and down battle. I did manage to get out of the obese catagory on the BMI chart. It will be awhile before I get out of the overweight catagory. Fortunately, genetics work in my favor. I’m probably the healthiest overweight person you know. I’d still like to lose more, though.
Keep up the good work! I know how hard it is!
I am so tired of this eternal struggle that I can’t even think of anything intelligent to say other than go girl.
Hey. Squeeky uses Fitday religously. It’s helped her a lot. She also recently got a book called Eating Clean along with a cookbook of Eating Clean recipes.
She got this after having hit a plateau in her weight loss. Her calorie counts siad she should be losing, but she wasn’t. After switching to (mostly) eating clean she’s started making progress again.
The cool thing about the Eating Clean recipes is that they taste really good. Dudley, Jr. and I like them as well (for the most part). We’re blessed with the ability to garbage down most anything without gaining weight, but we do that when we’re on our own.
If I recall correctly, the Eating Clean program helps you tweak your ratios of protein, fat, and carbs to to help your body use the calories most efficintly.
You may want to look into it.
We can’t do much about aour genetic heritage, so we’ve got to do what we can elsewhere.
I actually recall reading somewhere that, as long as you don’t overdo portions, eating multiple small meals during the day is better than the traditional three larger meals.
Or maybe I just hallucinated that in a twinkie-induced haze.
I’m with Mrs. G on this one…very tired of it. But I’m doing Weight Watchers right now (again), so I should be more excited.
I have the same kind of family history, so I know I really want to avoid an unhealthy future.
You go, Mrs. Chili! So many people don’t realize that the same things are going to happen to them as have happened to their families. Seeing what the family you came from is like can be scary, but if you’re doing all you can to make your life different, then you’re ahead of most.
It will be better when you don’t have a job to fit that exercise in. I think I’m actually more busy without “job” than with, but at least without job, you can make exercise a priority at a reasonable hour of the day.