I Give Up...

Not on losing weight/getting healthy.

No, I give up on diets in general. Yes, I've hit my breaking point with "you can eat this, but not that", and "you must eat these things together, but not these things". No more carb cycling. No more low carb. 

image courtesy of empoweredeatingblog.com

Of course, this comes with a caveat. I'm still trying to get in a minimum of 25-30 grams of fiber each day, and 110-125 grams of protein. I still believe in eating small, frequent meals, and drinking plenty of water. And I believe in monitoring calorie intake.

For the last point, I've turned to the Harris Benedict Equation, which gives me my basal metabolic rate (BMR...what I need just to stay alive), as well as my total daily energy expenditure (which IIFYM refers to simply as TDEE). Since I work out regularly these days (more on that below), I turned to this article for picking my activity factor in the linked calculator, and chose 1.5. All of this means my BMR is 1552, and my TDEE is roughly 2483. Deducting about 500 calories from that leaves me with a daily goal of 1983. I "cheated" by setting my goals a tad lower, for a minimal level of 1800 calories on MyFitnessPal.

Yes, that seems like a lot of calories, when you compare the number to all those diets that advocate 1200 calories a day. Where did someone get that "magic" number, by the way? Who determined 1200 calories a day is ideal for a woman? Anyhow, stepping back off my soapbox, 1200 calories a day might be enough if you are older and fairly sedentary. I am neither. And there are numerous downsides to cutting calories back that far.

It may well take me longer to lose the weight this way, than if I slashed calories and exercised like a maniac, but so what?

So you might be wondering, why the shift in my thinking, when (if you read any past posts) you can see me jump from diet to diet? Well, long story short, this last weekend, with my son's 15th birthday on Saturday, I enjoyed a delicious cheeseburger, and an order of fries. I had a piece of chocolate cake when we got home. I really enjoyed eating. I wasn't thinking about too many carbs, or too much fat. I also walked a lot that day, as we took in a classic car show. And I felt good at the end of the day! The next morning, I woke up, craving scrambled eggs and [sprouted] raisin bread toast with almond butter. So I had that, and felt good.

I've been letting myself get hurried with this. "I'm not losing enough weight fast enough." But then I took a step back. I've lost, through my own dedication (no pills, no sublingual drops, no pre-made frozen meals, etc.) almost 30 pounds. Sure, it's taken a while, but it has been part of a lifestyle change, not a diet I go on and off of. Yes, I've stumbled through diets along the way, but am allowing myself to move past that, to realize that I can do this through just eating healthy and moving. And that by approaching it that way, I can make these changes last! And to me, eating healthy means real foods, and occasional treats.

image courtesy of belle-fitness.com

As for exercise, I've started doing some heavier strength training. I've decided on lower body workouts twice a week, and upper body workouts twice a week. Cardio on all those days too, plus abs. Again, it sounds like a lot, but it's really very manageable. For example, I did about 40 minutes lower body work the other day, making good use of my Bowflex Xtreme for squats, leg lifts, calf raises, etc. Then I did a mile on the treadmill, alternating running and walking. My upper body workout yesterday, with an 8-pound dumbbell, took maybe 45-50 minutes—because I brought in ab work—followed by 1.5 miles on the treadmill. That means I also get two "rest" days a week, though they will rotate. I don't plan to laze about on rest days—just do something lighter. Today, I might go roller skating for an hour or so!

image courtesy of google.com