I must admit that in its most simplistic form, my meeting was basically "eat less, move more". It would be very easy for me to fall into the mindset of "I learned nothing new, so why bother trying to change anything???"...
I will be focusing on the positives, the things that I hadn't thought of before, the things that will be easy to do, and then I can focus on the harder things...
What it boils down to is this:
Calories per day 1800 - 2200 (low end on days when we do "nothing", high on days when I'm running around and really working hard)
I'm going to be cutting back on full-fat cheese (which I admit I eat a LOT of), and replacing 1 or 2 beef meals with fish or chicken. Thankfully, I like fish!
I'm going to be getting rid of anything "snacky" that we may have in the house, so all 4 of us will be snacking on more fresh fruit and veggies than pretzels and crackers.
I thought I was doing ok, until BB offered to be the one to write down everything that I ate for my 3 day food journal...and let me tell you, he was sneaky! Not that I was trying to hide anything, but he saw every little thing I popped into my mouth. And it was a lot! More than I expected it to be...I'm a bit embarrassed about how much I didn't count for that went into my mouth during those 3 days. It would be really east for me to say "it was a weekend. it was a holiday, it was an open house" and chalk it up simply to that, but the truth is, I probably eat like that all the time. If I didn't, I wouldn't be struggling to lose weight, right???
In addition to monitoring calories in general, I'm also going to be working towards insuring proper portions and number of servings of the food pyramid...you know, grains, fruits & veggies, meats, dairy...it's a bit more complicated than what I remember from 6th grade health class, but a lot of time has passed since then.
I learned my resting metabolic rate (which I'll be learning to calculate later in my studies!), and how to adjust roughly for actual activity versus perceived activity.
The Nutritionist was great, really nice, sweet, totally friendly, but not soft when it came to following the rules...hearing a medical professional tell you "if you want chocolate, eat a piece!" was a relief...obviously, that comes with the caviat of "have one piece".
I am very comfortable with my role, and my new goals...and am hoping and praying that I'll change the cycle I've had the last 15 months since Tiny Princess was born, in which I sit and "rest", telling myself it will only be for 15 minutes...that then stretches through all 3 hours of NCIS on USA, or through several hours of Days of Our Lives.
I have a host of DVDs to workout with, my bike, a backpack carrier, a double stroller, a Bowflex, a treadmill, 2 flights of 17 steps, and the better part of 1/3 and acre. Summer is right around the corner, so we'll be getting gardens ready, spending time outside, enjoying the heat and the sun...and this summer, I will not just be a watcher, but will, instead participate in the games and fun on as many levels as I possibly can.
I have a goal of 30 pounds by Thanksgiving, when my brother and his family come home for their furlough from Ethiopia. I think that the motivation of being able to mentally thumb my nose at some of the comments that were made last Christmas, and knowing that I'm closer to a weight goal, and working towards being fit and healthy will be enough to spur me on to getting out of bed early enough to work out uninterrupted, and that, while the kids nap, I'll be spending time on the treadmill, outside in the gardens...
And don't worry...the cord for the laptop power will reach from the outlet to the treadmill, so if I'm walking inside, I can still blog! hee hee...
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