I have always been blessed with high metabolism and staying thin wasn't hard. In college I did put on weight (probably mostly because of age) but was still thin and really didn't work that hard to stay that way. It wasn't until I was about 25 or 26 that I really started to notice that I had to watch what I ate as well as exercise. I made a few minor changes in my diet as well as joined the city rec and that's about the extent of it. I did a boot camp at 29, but even then, I never had dramatic transformations and I know it was because of diet. I did little fad diets here and there, losing some weight for one event or another but nothing stuck.
At 29, I became pregnant with Mikaela. I was sick and queasy for the majority of that pregnancy so I only gained 9 lbs total and she was 8. Needless to say, I came home from the hospital weighing less than when I found out I was pregnant. However, as with pregnancy, your body shape changes so I decided to start running to combat that change. I ran my first 5K when she was 4 or 5 mo old. I really enjoyed it. I started to eat better (a little) and the busyness of being a mom helped keep the weight off. I was adding muscle and really feeling great.
Then we had a car wreck. I was laid up for 8 weeks and would take time to get my strength back. I lost a lot of weight, but of course lost muscle too. Once I could, the workouts started again and overall so did the eating, though still not spectacular.
Now 32, 33, we were on track to have Nicholas. Fortunately, Nicholas didn't make me feel as sick so I gained the typical 20-25 lbs. After the initial loss from a baby, I was only about 10 lbs over where I started but absolutely no tone. I did workouts when I could, but 2 kids and working full time (outside the home) is hard. There are a ton of mothers who do it better than me, and I marvel at their success, but most days over the past year it was enough to just survive.
Well, Nicholas is almost 14 months, Mikaela is 4, I'm 34 and fighting the demons that tell me I'm not pretty. The ones that tell me I"m fat. The ones that tell me I can have one cookie because it won't really affect me, but the one turns into several. I was trying as much as I could, but nothing seemed to work. I was frustrated and feeling a little hopeless.
So... I started searching. My main problem with food is know what the good food is. I think I'm eating something healthy but then come to find out there was something better I should have eaten instead so I'm not really going to lose weight. All the diets, fads, etc were seemingly contradictory and confusing. I was overwhelmed. I looked into Slim for Lilfe, and while I think it's a valuable program, I really had no interest in spending that kind of money to lose 20 lbs. But, it helped me search more intently.
I came across this book about doing a 10 day detox. I picked it up, read it, and really got into it. I decided to do it starting this past Monday. I won't say it's a failure, but it's not working for me.
1. The supplements are too much. I have trouble swallowing pills as it is, especially if I have to take them with water (which is all I can drink on this detox) so let's just say they all didn't make it. That was day one.
2. In addition, the breakfast smoothies are disgusting. Mike and I got a vitamix a while back and have found some really great recipes full of fruits and veggies. We've made adjustments here and there to reduce sugars (from juices or yogurt) but have been great. The ones from the detox taste nothing like these. So, 3 days have past with no breakfast because I just couldn't stomach the shakes. So.. I know that not eating breakfast isn't going to help in the long run. And after two days without it, I'm felt a difference in my body (and not in a good way).
3. The meals are delicious. There are some good recipes and I am finding out some new foods I like that I didn't realize before. However, they take a long time to prepare and make (even the "quick" ones) which means I spend more time in the kitchen cooking and/or cleaning which takes away all my time with my kids and my husband in the evenings. Oh, and my kitchen is not clean, which drives me bonkers. Isn't the detox supposed to relieve stress as well? This is why I always did crockpot meals. I even just recently picked up a cookbook full of "skinny" recipes for slow cooker because that appliance is how I survive these days (and keep from eating out).
4. The detox urges getting sleep for 7-8 hours a night and then waking up in the morning to do 30 min of exercise. I'm on board with the get up early to exercise (I was doing that 3 days a week anyway). However, in order to get up in time to exercise, shower, get ready, get the kids ready, and get out the door, I'm up at 4:15. For a seven hour sleep (and detox urges 8) I have to go to bed at 9. Not that hard normally. That's what I do. But that was before I spent my evening in the kitchen cooking and cleaning so couldn't really start to do other normal evening things required to get ready for bed (after the kids have gone down). Oh and did I mention I'm supposed to take a nice 30 minute relaxing bath before bed, too? Sure, let me just fit that in. Oh wait, there's a mountain of laundry that needs to be done. A lot of good a detox does if I have no clothes.
So.. I'm a quitter. I can't do the shakes or the supplements (without a glass of milk to choke them down) and I don't want to spend my entire evening in the kitchen.
But here's what I've learned:
I need to eat clean. This failed attempt taught me a lot about foods that I should or shouldn't eat, how to prepare them, and what spices/oils to use. Some of this I knew, but overall a good refresher with some new bonus info. It's really helping me look at labels and ingredients and what goes into it all.
I still have questions and confusion though. My detox was basically the Paleo diet (with almost no fruit). I have a couple of friends on that diet and they look and feel amazing. At first I was skeptical but in searching for healthy alternatives (especially in light of the fact that there is potentially diabetes in my genes) I got a little more on board with it.
I've also looked at other clean eating resources which have a few conflicting reports (in addition to things like what Slim for Life and places like that advertise).
So I'm still learning. I don't need gluten free nor do I have a lactose intolerance so those issues are non-issues for me. I'm not trying to consume or avoid them, it's just not something I have to really watch out for (in terms of discomfort from celiac's or intolerance).
I've also found a good bit of research on effective (and short) workouts. Because let's face it, this mama don't' have time for the gym or big trainings or what not that keep me exercising and away from family for hours at a time. 30 minutes in the am and maybe 30 minutes in the evening is about all the time I have (at least during the school year).
Questions I still have:
What's the verdict on cheese? I've seen reports that say string cheese is a healthy snack. Some that say only eat cheese when you can really taste it. Otherwise, don't waste the calories. And then there are some that say, never eat it, it's dairy.
And what about legumes? Some say yes, some say no.
And whole grains? Personally, I'm not really a fan of them and would much rather eat a bread-less ground turkey or chicken patty than to eat a sandwich with whole grain bread. So, taking that out of my diet wouldn't be all that tragic to me. I would miss cereal though.
So if any of you have actually read this entire thing and have any tips/pointers/websites to share, I'll take them. Here are two pictures taken recently that show some progress (before starting detox or anything like that). The scale hadn't shown any difference, but looking at these, I guess I was doing something right. So.. if you stuck with me through this long and monotonous post, thanks. Through this all, I'm learning to view this in a Christian way. My body is a temple for God and I want to treat it as such. But I also don't want my food choices (good or bad) and my exercise regimen to become my idols. I need to take care of myself and be healthy for me and my family, but my focus should be on Him.
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| January 2014 |
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| May 2014 |
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