I am so excited to write this post today. I had an Epiphany and it was awesome. Bear with me, this is going to be a long one.
Kate's bachelorette party was last weekend in Chicago. I spent most of the evening lamenting the fact that I was the biggest girl there and feeling very woe is me and bad for myself. I'm pissed off that I have allowed myself to gain so much weight and to do nothing about it. I am self-consious all the time. I absolutely hate seeing myself in photos and I am uncomfortable in almost everything I wear. There is nothing worse than that feeling. This weekend, I over-compensated with a LOT of liquid confidence. So after a horrendously hungover drive home, I had a seriously enlightening heart-to-heart with my personal patron saint, my mom.
Have I ever told you about my mom's weight loss story? I remember her struggling with her weight almost all my life, which is something I have unfortunately inherited. But a few years ago, my mom had a lightbulb moment and found Weight Watchers and walking. Over 115 pounds and countless miles later, my mom has become a great example of what diet and exercise can do for a person. So when she read
In Defense of Food and started integrating unprocessed and natural foods in her diet, I took notice. Seester MOH, Smarty Pants Food Scientist, also backs the principles outlined in the book: you are what you eat and what you eat eats. Since The Fiance and I already try to eat as much natural, local, and organic as we can, this was not a stretch for us.
I have done some significant soul-searching and realized that it was doing incredible harm to my mental outlook to weigh myself everyday, so I started with vowing to step away from the scale. Once a week is all I get, or less, if I can handle it. I also realized just how much processed crap I was eating. I am sick of diets. I am sick of counting points, calories, carbs, fat grams, whatever. I just want to live my life. There has to be a way to be healthy and lose weight without being chained to a diet.
Enter one of the best pep talks my mother has ever given me and Monday morning I drafted a plan. It revolves around annoyingly simple things: eat good food, be active, and be mindful. So obvious it's painful. It's one of those "why didn't I think of this sooner" plans. It's a compilation of everything I have learned from years of dieting and failing, of turning myself inside out to lose weight and gaining, of banging my head against the wall and wondering why I can't seem to do this. I'm sick of trying, I just want to do.
So here's the plan:
- Drink water, coffee, and milk. At least two liters a day, more if a workout is planned.
- Eat lean protein, grass-fed if possible, and white meat is preferred.
- Fruits and veggies, and lots of them. The more colors and variety the better. Think ROYGBIV.
- Choose whole grains that are low in preservatives, not made with enriched flours, and do not contain corn syrup.
- Avoid pre-packaged and processed foods with more than 5 ingredients or unpronounceable chemicals. The more layers of packaging between you and the food, the less inclined you should be to get to it. Better for you and the environment. Win-win.
- Choose hormone-free or organic dairy. Watch fat content and additives. Low-fat and no-fat are not always the most healthy or satisfying option.
- Pay attention to hunger signals, signs of fullness, and portion sizes. Satisfied = full. You can be full even if what you’re eating is delicious.
- Incorporate activity daily and do what you love. Don’t waste your precious free time doing something you hate to do.
- Meditate on weight loss and positive thinking every day. Yes, there's an app for that.
- Save treats, take out, and splurges for the weekend whenever possible. Order with thought and eat with awareness. Eating out is not an excuse for bingeing.
- Weigh in no more than once per week and no less than once a month.
- A bad meal is not the end of the world. Keep going.
- Choose health. You are worth it. The long term goal is worth it.
- Reward every five-pound loss with an item or activity that promotes fitness and self-love.
So that's it, in a nutshell (Mom calls it the Meagan Plan ... cheeeeese). I have read and re-read these points countless times this week. Some are easy, some are a work in progress, but that's ok. Knowing these things, I can just live my life.
And the result? I started out Monday morning just a quarter pound from my all-time highest, scariest, most disturbing scale number. It was terrifying and just seeing it made my hands shake for an hour. But this morning?
I lost six pounds. And that felt pretty good.
How was your week? Any major revelations to share?
