I've written before about the great results I've experienced from following the principles of Fit for Life. When followed I feel more energetic and I lose weight. Back in the 90s I lost 40 lbs on it. This time after following the plan for about 18 months I had lost 35 lbs.
But avoiding eating proteins and carbohydrates in the same meal can get tiresome after a long time. Eating out is especially hard since most entrees include proteins and carbohydrates, like spaghetti and meatballs, chicken and rice, steak and baked potato, burger and french fries, and practically all sandwiches and most pizzas.
So last spring, after 18 months on the plan, I gradually went back to 'traditional' eating habits. It was fun to eat what I wanted all summer long without needing to make substitutions. Then the holidays came and I ate lots of turkey with dressing at Thanksgiving, a myriad of sweets and goodies at Christmas, and drank champagne on New Years Eve. Again, I enjoyed it all very much, but I knew I couldn't continue doing that.
After 6 or 7 months of eating what I wanted, my clothes reminded I couldn't continue doing that. So on Mon, Jan 2, I climbed back on the wagon and returned to Fit for Life.
Fruit and nothing but fruit until noon. Any kind of fruit, as much as I want.
Veggies with protein OR veggies with carbs for lunch and for dinner. But never protein and carbs in the same meal. And the veggies should outweigh the protein or carbs in every meal.
Minimal processed foods and dairy.
While this isn't the easiest plan to follow, to me its easier than counting calories, points, or eating 'fake' food from a diet company. And from experience I know this plan works for me, so I'm back on the wagon.
I've written several times about the Fit For Life eating program I've been on since Jan 2015. Its helped me lose weight AND feel more energetic, but I decided to give myself permission to go off the plan between Thanksgiving and New Years so I could enjoy all the traditional holiday foods and treats. And enjoy I did!
But its a new year so on Jan 4 I jumped back on the wagon. It actually felt good to go back on my plan since I definitely notice a difference in my energy level. I haven't stepped on the scale but I imagine I gained a few pounds. I'm not worried though, as I know those extra pounds will gradually disappear with my adherence to my plan.
Its been a while since I've mentioned my continued efforts toward weight loss using the Fit for Life eating plan. Despite going off the plan twice last week (Tim & Randy's wedding and Mother's Day) I did not gain any weight. I didn't lose any last week, but I didn't gain any either which I feel to be a victory. My total weight loss to date is 32 lbs in a little over 4 months. I have 8 lbs to lose to reach my goal weight.
My Fit for Life eating plan involves eating vegetables with either a carb or a protein (but not both) at lunch and at dinner everyday. If you grab a calculator and do the math, that means I eat a LOT of vegetables. So I'm always looking for ways to season and flavor them so they don't taste the same.
Recently I made myself a Green Pizza. Using a pre-made personal size pizza crust, I spread on some Trader Joe's green curry sauce, steamed broccoli florets, salt and pepper, and topped it with some low-fat mozzarella and stuck it in the convection oven for about 5 minutes. Here's what it looked like:
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| Green Pizza |
Oh my god was it good!!! Kudos to Trader Joe's for all their delicious jarred sauces.
I've also made a different version of pizza using buffalo wing sauce, steamed carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli and mozzarella. That was good too. And of course I've made the traditional veggie pizza with marinara sauce, Italian herbs, steamed carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli, kalamata olives and mozzarella - also very good.
Eating lots of vegetables doesn't have to be boring!
So yesterday was a pretty terrific day.
I went shopping for some new jeans. I can't remember how long its been since I bought new jeans, and with my recent weight loss (21 lbs so far thanks to Fit for Life) all my old jeans are just too big. Add to that the fact that several pairs were ill-fitting to begin with. It was definitely time for a new pair of jeans that fit.
I stopped in at the Old Navy outlet store and went to the jeans wall. I was confronted with 5 different fits: slim, straight, boot cut, regular, and loose.
I don't wear boots and I don't want loose fitting jeans, so just for the hell of it I grabbed a pair of jeans in slim, straight, and regular cuts in my regular/most recent size and headed to the dressing room.
To my surprise, all 3 were too big - even the slim cut! So I tried all 3 cuts in the next size down and to my utter shock - the slim cut fit the best!!
This was so shocking to me because I don't think anyone's referred to me using the word "slim" EVER! Even as a kid I was chubby. My mom used to special order my pants and jeans from Sears in order to get the 'chubby kid' ones. I doubt anyone would look at me today and think "slim" either, but the proof is sewn right into the waistband.
Mind you, these are 'slim' cut jeans - NOT skinny jeans. I am a 51 year old man with enough sense to know that 51 year old men should not be wearing skinny jeans.
I washed my new 'slim' jeans yesterday afternoon and decided to wear them to work today. As I was getting dressed this morning and feeling good about my 'slim' fit jeans, I decided to try on a belt I bought last summer on sale that just barely closed then. I put it on today and it fit terrifically!
Its the little things in life, people.
While its certainly no secret that I do enjoy my cocktails, unfortunately I have not had any since Jan 4.
You see, I started my Fit for Life eating plan on Jan 4, and while the plan doesn't specifically prohibit alcohol, I know that it contains a lot of calories. So I have voluntarily given up cocktails since the beginning of the year.
How's the slimming regimen going, you ask? Well, I've lost 18 lbs so far. I lost 5 lbs the 1st week and 5 lbs the 2nd week, so that was great! The other 8 lbs have come off very slowly, but I knew that was to be expected. Doctors actually say that 2 lbs per week weight loss is safe and sustainable.
Spouse and Steven & Thad are also on various weight loss plans. We have all experienced weeks when we've only lost 1 or 2 lbs. This can be very frustrating, especially if you've been "good" and not cheated on your plan. But I try to remain positive. I tell myself that if I consistently lose 2 lbs per week, in a year's time I will have lost 104 lbs!! That knowledge really does help me.
I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to avoid alcohol. Maybe I will allow myself just 1 Cosmo per week (on karaoke night) and see if that actually affects my weight loss at all.
I just realized I haven't done a Friday fragments post in a long time, and since I have several small topics to share today, its entirely apropos.
I'm not a person who gains pleasure from cooking, but I recently 2 very easy and very tasty dishes that are compatible with my Fit for Life plan. I made a soup with Great Northern beans, cannellini beans, garbanzo beans, ham cubes and rosemary. It was delicious! I also made turkey chili with beans which was also delicious.
I had a cold/sinus congestion earlier this week. Fortunately Clariton-D took care of that within just a few days. However, now Spouse is starting to have the same symptoms.
On Tues I took both dogs for their vet visits. Marvin was due for a rabies booster and his annual exam. Walter had his neuter surgery, or as I call it his "big boy surgery". Both boys were terrific at the vet - no barking or 'scared' behavior. Walter was groggy for the balance of the day, but was completely back to normal the following day.
I took Big Ella to the DMV to be inspected and have the tags renewed. It was a pleasure to do this since our DMV is so well-managed. There was no line at the inspection lanes and only 1 car in front of me at the drive-thru window, so I completed the inspection AND renewed the tags within about 5 minutes and never got out of the driver seat.
I've been trying to get Spouse to agree to go on a winter trip. I'd love to return to Puerto Vallarta, or go someplace new that's warm. He has been reluctant and has cited every excuse he could think of. "We just went on a trip in July" which is true, but doesn't mean we can't go on another one in Feb or March. "We don't have the money" which is NOT true, because I pay all the bills and manage our finances. He wouldn't know where to begin to find out how much money we have. I haven't given up yet though.
So that's what's going on in my life this week.
I really don't like to use the word 'diet' because I think of a diet as a temporary measure that yields temporary results. Once you stop the diet, the weight usually comes back. I'm trying to make my Fit for Life routine more of a lifestyle; something that becomes a part of my everyday life.
So, last Mon I started following Fit for Life, which works on the theory that proper food combining aids in quicker digestion, more energy, and weight loss. I did really well the 1st week and lost 5 lbs.
The 1st week was kind of rough, I'll be honest. I had some serious cravings for sweets but I stuck to it and didn't cheat. From my experience 20+ years ago, the 1st week was the hardest and then the following weeks got easier. I'm really hoping to keep this 'lifestyle' going indefinitely.
A year or 2 ago in the latter part of June, Thad asked electronics guru Joe P to come over to help him with his cable box and DVR. Joe P said he would, but not until 'after the holidays'. The rest of us burst into laughter, thinking he meant he wouldn't be available until Jan!! But what he meant by 'after the holidays' was after the upcoming July 4th and Labor Day holidays. From that point on 'after the holidays' has been a joke in our circle, reminding us of that funny misunderstanding.
This came to mind yesterday as I was taking down the Christmas tree and decorations, since it is literally 'after the holidays'. Fortunately this task is much easier this year than usual due to the minimal decorations we put up. Within about 1/2 an hour I had the 4' prelit tree undecorated and back in its box, the 3 wreaths back in their boxes, and the mantle candles and greenery removed and the framed photos back up on the mantle. It didn't take long to say goodbye to Christmas for another year.
'After the holidays' is when most people resolve to lose weight, myself included. Honestly, I have been eating like a totally crazy person since early Oct with the justification that I would go on a diet 'after the holidays'. Well, now it is time to pay the piper.
Last time I lost weight on Weight Watchers. For whatever reason, I don't feel like going that route again, so I'm going to do Fit for Life. I followed Fit for Life back in the early 90s and it worked great. I lost 45 lbs in about 6 months and I felt terrific. The concept is that weight loss will naturally occur with proper food combining. Here are the simple rules:
- Eat fruit (and no other food) from the time you get up until noon. Any kind of fruit; as much as you want. Fruit and only fruit until noon, and not after noon.
- Combine proteins with vegetables in the same meal, with a desired ratio of 1 part protein to 2 parts vegetables.
- Combine carbs with vegetables in the same meal, with a desired ratio of 1 part carbs to 2 parts vegetables.
- Proteins and carbs are never to be eaten in the same meal, but may be eaten in the same day.
- Avoid processed foods as much as possible. Natural is always better, even if it has more calories as is the case with margarine versus butter.
- Avoid dairy as much as possible, as it contains fat and calories. The vitamin D people attribute to milk (thanks to the Dairy Counsel) can easily be replaced by leafy green vegetables.
You can buy the book if you're interested in the specific reasons behind these food combinations. As with any every diet or lifestyle plan, its effectiveness will vary from person to person. But I like that the book tells you that you'll get the benefits (weight loss, more energy) to the extent that you follow it. So if you don't follow it 100% you will still get some benefits, unlike others which are predicated on never cheating in order to remain in ketosis.
I'll keep you posted on my progress.
