It Begins Today

thedietpilot

kristimason3 wrote: »

What a great post. It sounds like you are doing this for all the right reasons which is a major key for success! As a licensed massage therapist who spent 2 years studying medical massage and having a husband who suffered a terrible back injury about 5 years ago I have to ask..are you receiving regular massages? It has drastically improved my husbands quality of life. Surgery leads to scar tissue and adhesions, which can cause mobility issues and ongoing pain. I know it is often expensive, however if you can find a school close to you (much cheaper rate) and make a weekly appointment it might be extremely beneficial. There are also plenty of instructional videos on YouTube if your wife is willing to help. Another great treatment for chronic pain is meditation. There are also many free videos on YouTube for guided meditation. Back pain sufferers often find alot of relief from the combination of massage therapy and meditation. The better you feel the easier this journey will be for you. Good luck! I wish you and your family love, light and an amazing new year to come full of positive change!

My wife has given me back massages... And for those brief couple of minutes, it has indeed made a difference and provided some relief from the back pain.

Yesterday, I tried meditating. (I don't really know how... But I just sat in silence and focused on some distant object, clearing my mind, for a few minutes.... and I did begin to feel relaxed.)

You know what is interesting? I did notice that whenever I get angry, agitated, or stressed, my back pain gets worse!!!!

So I guess it pays to be in a good / relaxed mood at all times, to alleviate back pain.

thedietpilot

144emily wrote: »

Today I am on Day 1 and also doing well - so happy for you that you feel so committed! Keep it up! We can do it!

How did your first day go? Today I am on Day #4.

thedietpilot

It's the weekend, everyone!

Anyone who has ever been to a beach knows that every once in a while, you have to be ready for the "big wave" to come to shore. Weekends (for me) are like that when it comes to the challenge of eating healthy.

It's more like a tsunami.

I come from a big family / community that when we get together, we eat huge feasts of unhealthy foods, laden with rice, breads, food cooked with lots of fatty oil, and tons of spices.

Today is Day #4 of my diet journey... And it is also my first weekend day.

My first three days were easy. (I am getting accustomed to changing my lifestyle to eat more healthy foods now.) I am a huge bread and rice eater, and I am happy to report that I did not eat any rice or bread yesterday. I know this is not sustainable in the long run, because it is inevitably something that I enjoy eating, and I can't deprive myself of it forever... but nonetheless it was nice to go through the entire day without it yesterday.

What is weird about yesterday (Day #3) is that despite not having rice and bread, I still ended up eating about 2000 to 2100 calories!! So good old MFP says that in 5 weeks, I will have only maintained my weight.

But what is interesting is that of those 2000 to 2100 calories, I had at least 8 full serving sizes of fruits and vegetables. I had no bread. I had no rice. But I had some nuts, some beans, and some corn... and some food cooked in fatty oil. (It's AMAZINGLY / LETHALLY deceptive that one tablespoon of oil contains 100 calories.)

But for what it's worth, I did eat very healthy yesterday. Pretty much all natural foods. Very little in the way of processed foods. I even consumed about 40 grams of fiber!

This morning, I decided (for entertainment purposes only) to check myself on the weighing scale. It's one of those $40 digital scales you can buy at Walmart. It had some kind of error... Even with nothing on the scale, it would read 4.4 pounds... After tapping it many times, it finally read 0.

And when I got on the scale, it was within 1 pound of my starting weight.

But who cares. I don't care what the scale says. I'm going to keep moving forward at full speed.

Today, being a weekend... I actually declined an invitation to attend a gathering where they would be serving all kinds of unhealthy foods. It's a shame I had to do that, but being only 4 days into my diet, I feel I would be too vulnerable to succumb to the temptation to "cheat" on the diet.

But I feel pretty good about my decision to decline. Maybe after I have lost 10 to 20 pounds, I'll feel more confident going into a party and making smart decisions to eat... or maybe by then I can afford to "cheat". But not yet. I feel too vulnerable to put myself in a situation where there is a lot of good, unhealthy food at my fingertips.

How about everyone else? Do you guys face any challenges on weekends (or at any times you get invited to parties or peer pressure from colleagues to eat out with them)?

srcurran

Weekends can be a challenge for me, too, but I try to eat less during the week to make up for the slight increase on Saturday and Sunday. Still hungry all the time, but liking the results. We'll see how my blood work comes back shortly after the new year.

DeWoSa

I need to see a lot of food in front of me to keep me feeling undeprived. So, I eat a bag of Bird's Eye Steamfresh vegetables every day -- for a grand total of 136 calories. If I just had a little 3 oz piece of chicken on my plate and a dab of potato, I would feel sorry for myself indeed. But pile up the veggies, and that plate looks full and is filling.

I also eat a snack before bedtime (Cheerios, applesauce, yogurt), so I don't graze after dinner. I know I have a snack still coming!

Ditto what other people have said about motivation. Motivation comes and goes. Committing to eating according to your food plan, even when you don't want to, contributes to success.

To deal with weekends, eat a little bit less during the week so you have more calories for the weekend. It's like money. If you have $100 to spend every day, and you only spend $90 for five days, then you have 50 extra bucks to spend the sixth day.

Best of luck to you!

thedietpilot

So was everyone's weekend? Did you survive? Did you go through any challenging situations?

I survived. Today, I survived on a banana, an apple, and a cup of sliced oranges until 3:30PM... after which I ate a salad and some chicken wings. Later in the evening, I was a little hungry, so I rewarded myself with a little taste of rice, and a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup... (I think a little bit of a treat can go a long way in keeping the momentum going psychologically.) And I still came in at only 1400 calories for the day.

What is ABSOLUTELY ASTOUNDING is how LOW a HUGE BOWL OF SALAD is in calories!

When you think about the sheer volume of food that is contained in fruits and vegetables, compared to other foods, it is mind-boggling how low in calories they are. I ate two cups of salad and I was full / satisfied... and when I checked the calories on it, it was barely 100 calories!

A cup of oranges took me a few minutes to eat, and I was good to go for the next couple of hours... Clocked in at less than a 100 calories as well.

I am ready for Monday! :-)

And I hope you are too.

If you ran into any roadblocks over the weekend, don't give up. Just get back on your feet and start anew on Monday!

Oh, and yesterday, I decided to work some cardio into my routine... My bad back is finally starting to feel a little bit better, so I decided to push myself, take a chance, and do some cardio...

I did Day 1 of the Beach Body "21 Day Fix".... (I did all the "modified moves" since my back was still not well enough for me to do anything too aggressive.)

And boy did it feel good. I hadn't done aerobic exercise like that in months.. (I've been walking, and I used to ride my bike during the summer time, but nothing as intense as an actual exercise DVD!)

Talk to you all Monday!

thedietpilot

I look forward to Mondays. You know why? Because I feel like I am in better control of my eating habits, due to the predictability of my daily routine.

thedietpilot

Man... It's important to stay strong.... We have a guest staying over at our house for the next few days, and they obviously aren't dieting. So we have to balance being accommodating while maintaining our own diet. We've already made it clear to them that we are dieting. So let's see how this goes.... So far so good.... Maintaining a balance...

techinteaching

Remember to Earn what you eat... exercise first... I have a "date" at my gym Thanksgiving at 9AM... then I can have my stuffing (single serving) with my bird!!!