Your OmNoms in Black & White

If you aren't logging your daily calories, that may be perfectly fine. I have pals that are succeeding in the battle of the bulge by just making better choices and not worrying about the caloric formula. However, if you aren't losing the weight the way you want, may I make a suggestion? Log everything you put in your mouth for two weeks. No need to find out the nutritional information, just write it all down. And if you do log your food already, step back and look at what you've ate over the last two weeks. Why? you might be making the same mistake I was.

I am starting a health assessment with a Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, who just happens to be my sister. Why? I sort of had a little mini breakdown after stepping on the scale this past Wednesday- I had gained all six pounds back that I had lost since the begining of my diet. I couldn't figure out why and I weighed myself like three times. :::this can't be right. this can't be right.::: People in the gym probably thought I was a spaz. It turns out that it was due to run of the mill fluctuation and was back on track the next day. However, that didn't stop me from calling my sister in a panic. "I've been good! I don't understand. I've been running, I've been eating well, I walk my dog at least 45 minutes a day. What's going on? I don't wanna go back!"



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We talked about fluctuation, the best time to weigh yourself, how often you should weigh yourself (my sister throws the scales out all together), and how just counting calories isn't the most effective or healthy way to loose weight. We also started talking about my motivation for loosing weight and how I was concerned that my hormones and the medicine I went off about three months ago might be contributing to my weight changes. We talked about the hormones and antibiotics hidden in the typical American diet, and a whole host of other health topics.

Long story short, she sends me a health history in the email today- and it includes more than your parent's health histories. It asks things like, "What foods did you eat as a child?" and "What percentage of your food is home cooked?" and "Do you crave sugar, coffee, cigarettes, or have any major addictions?" So this eval got me thinking, "What, really, is my current diet like?" I sat down with my food log of the last 20 days and a highlighter. Turns out I was eating "treats" more often than I thought. I have reduced my intake of that kind of stuff a bunch. And I think if I would have cut them out all together or drastically at first, I would have just given up. But now, after I've had time to wean myself off a bit, I see that there is still a bit too much chocolate and not enough veggies in my diet.
So my point is that even if you aren't using a strict caloric diet, I would suggest reevaluating your diet every so often-just to see if you can make some small changes to up the ante and better your game plan. Just a thought. And, of course, I'll tell you what I learn from the health coach. ;)

Have you ever hit a plateau or'ev become discouraged with slow results? What did you do to recharge your batteries? What did you change to energize your efforts and increase the payout?