Eating Enough....

Well I've had a bit more time to experiment with fine tuning my nutritional intake whilst on holidays.
I mentioned before that I have bought some new fancy scales that link with my Garmin fitness watch and the Garmin Connect website.  This info has been facinating.  Basically its telling me I don't eat enough.

I've been eating about 1500 cals/day for a while now, and not seeing much in the way of changes.  So I need to change something.  The dilemna is, do I eat more, or less (yes eating too little will actually slow your metabolism and decrease fat loss).  (And I'm only recording all my food at the moment because I seem to have plateaued - and want to work out what needs changing).  To lose "fat" and not "fat + muscle", you shouldn't create a calorie deficit of more than 300 -  500 cals/day.  Every calculator I've used to date says that my maintenance calories (for age, weight, height) are 1800 - 2000.   Hence the figure of 1500 that I''m aiming towards.  However my new scales measure my statistics in a lot more detail - they give readings on bone mass, body fat, hydration, lean muscle mass, visceral (tummy) fat etc.  AND they add that information together with the traditional height/weight/age info and estimate my maintenance calories =  2378!  That of course is related to how much muscle I carry.  So finally I have some guidance as to which way I need to swing the calories - 2300 -500=1800.  It suggests I need to eat more.

So for  two weeks I am aiming for 1800 calories and will see what happens to my body fat.  If it goes up - then I'm wrong - along with the fancy scales!

I have also decided that this year I am going to lose 10% Body Fat - with a goal of 1% per month.  Totally Doable.

BUT - eating so cleanly has meant that it is soooo hard to eat enough.I read somewhere that it is hard to overeat when you eat clean and laughed. 
Yet -  seriously, I eat all day and am yet to manage to fulfill my 1800 cal target.  I keep having to scheme at ways to sneak in extra foods.
Must eat more...

Lastly I found a fabulous vegan no added sugar cake at the health food shop in the mall - it was full of wonderful fruit and took me all day to get through just one piece (i could only eat about a quarter at a time).  Really enjoyed it and would highly recommend it.

The Sugarless Life - 2 weeks on

 

Well its been 16 days since I totally cut out refined or "added sugar" from my diet, and I thought I would update you on how its been going.

Has it been hard?
I'd have to say - no, hardly at all.
I had a clean "ish" diet before, focussing on whole foods, raw where possible, mainly lean meat, fruit vegetables, nuts, grains, seeds and some dairy.  (A whole food is one that doesn't have a list of ingredients attached, because it IS the food eg lentils, carrots, etc).  I would generally eat this 80% of the time and only ate cakes/biscuits etc as very occasional treats (eg 1 x every month or two) so I haven't missed these sugary things.  The only time that has been hard so far was when we went out as a family to see The Illusionist - and the meal beforehand had a set menu that included beautiful little "petit fours" which I passed on, and then after everyone had hot chocolates which was also a no- go (not to mention the cocktail at the performance called The Potion - also full of sugar).  But that was just one night and nothing else has been really hard.

What has changed?
Well - I said the treat stuff hasn't really changed - though no ice cream at Glenelg is a bit of a bummer -  but I have just continued reading all my food labels before eating any thing and now I just have to look  for sugar in the ingredients also

So no things like tomato sauce, or pre-packaged sauces/marinades, only a couple of yogurts are ok, basic cheese like camembert is still ok, (no dry biscuits to have with them though), and I have found some great sugar free chocolate - so the world is still ok.  Oh and Feel Good iced coffee has no added sugar so I can have this if I want, and I do like it because it covers my calcium requirements and has reasonable protein although its no longer a regular feature.

Has it made a difference to my weight?
Many people talk about how much weight they lose cutting out sugar - but for me - nada so far.  But then I didn't eat much in the way of high sugar food or drinks before so its not surprising.   But we will see.

Has it had any other effects?
Maybe.  I think I can feel the  effects of much more stable blood sugar levels.  I don't get as hungry as quickly (unless its after a heavy workout which is to be expected) or much at all really.  I'm not sure though whether this is also as a result of me paying closer attention to my nutrition in general (eg healthier eating reduces hunger) or the sugar or a combination of both.
It has also made me want to "clean up" a few other things.
Prior to this decision, I have been focusing on green vegetable intake and last year started taking a greens product called PharmaGreens to boost my immune system.  Its the equivalent of 6-8 serves of green vegies, comes in a powder form and I just add it to my smoothies. Very easy as a supplement (not replacement) to my vegie intake.  But through this I have been looking at Ph balance of our bodies (how alkaline or acidic our system is) as this affects our resistance to disease. Whilst I decided this year to still use artificial sweeteners (otherwise it would just be too hard) these are very acidifying, except for Stevia (we can buy it as Natvia). I'm thinking I might just reduce the other ones as much as possible.
I'm also losing interest in many less healthy foods like Diet Coke (my one true vice) ... watch this space for updates!
And I'm thinking of giving up white foods  - eg white bread/rice completely.  I generally only eat them in the first half of the day now, and not all that much any way - so it wouldn't be much of a push to drop em off all together.

The "Clean Eating" app has  a pantry list of what a clean eating pantry should look like.  I cleaned mine out last weekend and put empty containers back in for the products that I didn't have on their list.  There weren't many but it will remind me what to start to stock up on.  Might post a photo of it later.

I am also watching my calorie intake again for a while, to see if I can pinpoint any over eating, or under eating and how this is affecting my body composition.  The scales continue to be stable, so I've bought new ones!  (LOL) Not to get a different answer, but to understand the changes better.  The new ones will show body fat, lean muscle mass, hydration and a few other things so that I can see the impact of my effort - because as you all know, I dont care about the weight, I just want to know if my efforts are improving the health and fitness of my body by increasing muscle mass and decreasing body fat, and being an information junkie - i want more information!

Cheers for now
By the way -commenting on this blog doesn't require you to have a google account or be registered or anything - I would just love to hear from you.  Add your thoughts to the discussion!

And the winner is...

(I was just playing with you re the commercial break!)

1st Place - Lisa D - with a total loss of 9.77%

2nd Place - Anisa - with a total loss of 8.59%

3rd Place - Maree - with a total loss of 7.25%

CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU ALL!

A few notes - Anisa and Maree did not start till week 3 - learning - its never too late to start
We had 3 women in this challenge who are in their 60's and 70's and between them they lost a whopping 19.77% - learning - age is no barrier!

Well done to all of you who saw it through to the end.  Everyone made great gains
Or maybe you didn't manage to hang in there and would like to give it another go. Its perseverence in the end that makes a difference, not a flash in pan single challenge.

I will be starting another challenge soon, message me if you are interested.

Also - for those of you who are on the Nutrition Complete Meal Planner, your subscription will be ending soon - drop me a line if you want to purchase another 3 months.

Stay in touch, stay strong, and watch my sugar free journey in the meantime!

Lisa

Drum Roll Please......

And the winner of the 2012 Christmas Body Fat Challenge is....


Stay tuned until after the commercial break

"I Don't Eat Sugar"

Read the story in the last post from the Calorie Coach.

January 1st this year I decided to give up refined sugar from my diet. I have been unable to find any value in this nutritionally, apart from energy, and western civilisations just eat far too much of it. As I explored this idea I came with a few "rules" or better clarity of what this means.  I don't want to give up all sugar as thsi would mean cutting our fruit, milk etc. I subscribe the philosophy of clean eating which means aiming for eating whole foods in their natural state and avoiding processed foods, and fruit and milk are definitely "in" this category.  So I decided whole foods are in, anything packaged I would read the ingredients label and any form of sugar is listed as added to product (including all the different forms of sugar), the product would be "out" of my list.  I also decided that "gels" would be in (these are basically all sugar) for fitness endurance events, as they have a very specific nutritional value.

I also decided that artificial sweeteners would be ok. Its not that I think they are good for you, but just that to give these up as well (which would mean giving up things like diet coke) would just make the transition too hard, and not achievable.  Maybe next year.

Its been a week and it hasn't really been hard. I don't eat cakes/biscuits etc very often anyway, and in the last week I only had to turn them down twice. But its been more about discovering what's in the "healthy" food that I eat anyway - and finding alternatives.  Like to chocolate!  I'm really interested to see what difference it might make to my body shape/body fat this year, and I thought I might post my experiences over the next 12 months as to how I am finding it.  And yes, posting this makes me more accountable and more likely to stick to it.

Re the story below, I automatically started with the concept of "I don't eat sugar" rather than I can't.  Because I certainly can, I just don't want to.  It does make a difference.
What don't you want to do anymore?

How to Say NO to Unhealthy Foods - from The Calorie Coach

How to Say No to Unhealthy Food and Mean It

Written by Deanna Schober · 10 Comments

The typical person decides that they are FINALLY going to do something about their extra fat or unhealthy eating habits. They pick a start date, usually Monday, and spend every minute up until then eating the foods they won’t be able to eat after Monday. They say “goodbye” to them, making sure they get one last indulgence of everything they will miss. They buy all the food that they think is healthy for them and stock their pantry with it in preparation for the big life change. They go to bed dreading eating a vegetable omelet for breakfast instead of their usual sugary cereal. They shiver at the thought of salad at lunch instead of take out. But it must be done! It will be for the best and all the struggling and starvation will be worth it in the end. Right?

The I Can’t Diet

But then Monday comes, and they sit down to their vegetable omelet. Yuck. All they think about is the cereal they can’t have, and that is all they want. This tastes nothing like cereal, I don’t care how healthy it is, they think to themselves.

By lunch they have spent the entire morning grouchy and angry. “Why can’t I just eat the foods I love and lose weight? It’s so unfair!” They pick at their lunch salad. Disgusting. They think fondly of this past weekend, when they so freely enjoyed pepperoni pizza. It was so cheesy and wonderful. They can’t believe that they’ll NEVER get to eat pizza again.

When co-workers ask them to come enjoy birthday cake in the break room, they say “I can’t. I’m on a diet.” They grumble to themselves how this diet is ruining their lives and how miserable they are. They complain to anyone who will listen about how all they want is a freakin’ ice cream sandwich! But they can’t. Ice cream sandwiches are in the “never again” column. They can’t eat them or they’ll never lose weight.

Read here for 21 ways to stay healthy at work.

Somehow, the foods they can’t eat seem to smell even better than before, seem to look that much more delectable. They’re up on this illustrious pedestal, and only the lucky people get to eat them and not gain weight.

This continues for a bit. Some might give up after a day, maybe a week, maybe they even force themselves to lose some weight. But it’s never permanent, because they are always faced with the foods they “can’t” eat at parties, social gatherings, restaurants, and stores. It’s a completely negative experience that they can’t wait, subconsciously, to get out of.

The mentality of “can’t” creates a perspective from the dieter that they are missing out on something great. They can’t join in the fun. They aren’t worthy of it. They’re left out.

The Power of “I Don’t”

Now change the phrase from “I can’t” to “I don’t”. Suddenly, the phrase takes on a completely different philosophy. “I don’t eat that” implies control, leaving something behind that isn’t good, a belief that you abide by.

Instead of feeling like you’re being left out of a big party that everyone else can participate in, you feel like you’re making the choice, like you know something that the rest of them don’t know and are in full control of your habits.

So now, when breakfast time comes, you’re not thinking about the things you can’t eat. You can really taste the vegetable omelet for what it is, because you’re not comparing it to the cereal on the pedestal (which didn’t actually taste all that awesome, now that you think about it). Maybe it’s not so bad, and I bet with some added spices or even some chicken, it would be even better! You are now able to focus on the things you CAN eat that you actually enjoy!

Read here for tons of healthy recipe ideas.

At cake time, when asked to join in on the birthday celebration, you join but bring your ownhealthy snack. When the cake is passed around, you say “Thanks, but I don’t eat sweets”. You feel in control of your choice, you feel intelligent, and the person who passed you the cake wonders what you know that they don’t.

The memories of the junk food you left behind are fading because you aren’t focused on them as something you want but can’t have. They’re beneath you. You only treat your body with respect and feed it the foods that make it healthy. The Can’t mentality makes the junk food positive and the diet negative. The Don’t mentality achieves the exact opposite. Don’t is a definitive statement that won’t be questioned by you or those around you.

Changing from “I Can’t” to “I Don’t” puts YOU in control and gives you a belief system to abide by rather than a rule to follow. Try it with a habit that you are trying to change and see how it feels.

Need more mental secrets to stay on track? Read here.

What are your “I Don’t’s”? Do you have a rule for food?

The last weekly leaderboard before the finale!

Week 8 and Week 9 Results

 

Week 8

1st:  Fiona - 1.91%

2nd: Anisa - 1.6%

3rd: Georgina - 1.49%

 

Week 9

1st: Melissa - 1.03%

2nd: Georgina - 0.65%

3rd: Tracey - 0.49%

 

And the last roll count before showdown

 

Overall so far:

1st: Lisa D - 9.43%

2nd: Anisa -  7.89%

3rd: Fiona - 6.45%

 

Congratulations to all these winners and I look forward to seeing the final chase to the end!

Rome Wasn't Built in a Day

 We are nearing the end of the challenge.  Results go up tonight or tomorrow morning, and then you have just one last week to go.  Its time to start planning how you continue your journey.
Rome wasn't built in a day, and its unlikely that you have completely transformed your body in just 10 weeks.  The trick now is to work out how you tie in your commitment and keep you eye firmly on your goals as we approach Christmas and the New Year

I suggest you set your next plans in place now, and do something to tie yourself to them. I know of someone who has booked their next block of personal training sessions, even though they will be away for 4 weeks, as then there is no choice, no way to avoid or rationalise not getting back into it.  What can you do to drive that stake of commitment and anchor yourself to your goals?
For some of you, your 3 month subscription to Nutrtition Complete is ending - do you sign up again to make sure you stay on track?
Do you book in for some PT Sessions or a Fitness Assessment
I will be running another challenge in the new year - you could sign up now.
If it involves money - my experience says pay up front and you will feel financially committed. (Who wants to waste their money?)
Perhaps you want to run/walk the City to Bay this year - we could create a training group just for this.
So?  What are your plans?  Make them now.  Put them in your diary.   Tell someone publically so you can't back out. Time frame them.  Training in 2 -3 month cycles is great as it keeps you fresh and you can keep changing things up. 

Stretch yourself, you are capable of more than you think.  And you are so worth it.

PS big congrats to Maree who made my day today, in a PT session.  Impressive achievements indeed!

Here's the thing....

I live a double life....
Well kinda - I seem to live out of two places, one in Crystal Brook, and one in Adelaide, and I spend a large amount of time packing and unpacking between them, sometimes several times a week.

Which is the case this week.  And I dutifully packed the Challenge paperwork and took it with me on Sunday. I then ran out of time to do it Monday, and headed back home via Clare today.  Except - no paperwork.  After being so good at remembering to take it with me Sunday - I've forgotten to bring it back again.

The short of it is - no results yet - will have to wait until at least Thursday before I can get there again, and put the 2 hours of work into calculating, analysing and feeding back.  Very sorry.

Week 7 Results

Here they are
Slowly but surely, those that persistently achieve small wins each week, are gaining momentum and seeing great results.  When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Week 7
1st Place:  Kathryn - 0.85%
2nd Place: Georgina- 0.84%
3rd Place:  Tracey - 0.32%

Overall:
Lisa D: 9.72%
Anisa   5.81%
Maree  5.4%

Well done to everyone - stay focused and have a great week!

It is far better to have Tried and Failed, than have Failed to Try

Week 7 Results are in, but before I post them I'd like you to reflect on the title of this post.

Even the biggest failure beats the hell out of never trying.  Do you think that elite athletes have never failed?  How many times do you think they have to fail at a skill before they succeed?  That perseverence is what sets them apart.

With only 3 weeks left in the challenge, I want you to think about setting yourself a challenge, a goal that stretches you. I'm not talking about weight loss, I'm talking about achieving something you don't know if you can manage.  It might be to enter a 5 kms walking race, or to work towards running a particular time, or to cycle further than you ever have before or for longer. Pick something, anything and set your sights on training for it. tt should be something that you couldn't go out and achieve tomorrow if you tried hard, it should be several steps away from the "currently achievable" Perhaps you'll fail, but you will never know if you dont try.

It will keep you motivated for those last 3 weeks, and hopefully its a big enough challenge to keep you working on it over Christmas and the New Year. For me, in 2002, it was to walk the 12 kms City to Bay.  It took me 3 months to train for it, and even then I was scared that everyone would have packed up and gone home by the time I finished.  But I did it, and I run it every year now.  Your body transformation shouldn't stop in 3 weeks, neither should your goals.

Results tomorrow morning - dwell on this now.

Don't You Dare Give Up On Me!

Haha - discovered why I didn't have more people knocking on my door asking about their results over the last two weeks - it was because many of you did not post your measurements!  Now don't you dare give up on me, let alone yourself!  Yes it is a difficult time of year for eating well, but did you know there is ALWAYS a reason to eat a little more - its the reason why most Australians gain about 1kg/year.  At the moment the excuse is - "but its all the Christmas functions,"then its "but its Christmas", then its the new year, then its a long weekend, then its someones birthday (a few times over) then its Easter, then its the school holidays, then its another long weekend, then its winter (everyone uses winter as an excuse to keep eating) then its school holidays, a birthday , a long weekend, your holidays and.... Christmas again!  There is always something happening to provide an excuse to relax the eating.  You've worked hard for 5 weeks, DO NOT LET the next 5 weeks cancel this out.  Be honest.  Measure up. Don't bury your head in the sand. The difference between successful people and those who aren't is that even if they have a bad day/week, they pick themselves up, get straight back on that horse, and work harder than ever.  They don't run away from the truth and put off the hard work for "later".  Be a successul person in transforming your life and your body.  Dig Deep, Train Hard, Eat Well and Love Life!

Now that you've been good and told - here are the results from the last two weeks:

18th November:
1st Maree  - 2.61% (awesome work)
2nd Barb - 1.11% 
3rd Anisa  - 0.92%

Overall
1st Lisa D - 8.86%
2nd Mikayla - 7.41%
3rd Maree  - 6.76%

25th November
1st Lisa D - 0.86%
2nd Georgina - 0.62%
3rd Melissa - 0.25%

Overall
1st Lisa D - 9.72%
2nd Mikayla - 7.41%
3rd Maree - 5.89%


Well done to everyone.  Last week was a bit lean on fat loss -lets make this week a bumper one!

Its been a Mystery Week!

Its been a mystery week hasn't it - "what's going on with the body fat challenge?"  "what are this weeks results?"  "how did I do?".  Yep, totally intentional - not.  I've just been ridiculously busy and haven't been able to sit down and do the calcs.  So this week will be a double whammy of results.

But having said that, you don't really need to see those magic numbers to know how you are doing, do you?  Deep down you know.  You know if the clothes feel a little loser or tighter this week, you know HOW your body is feeling (feeling the after effects of working hard, or feeling sluggish from doing nothing) you know if your tummy looks a little flatter etc.  Look for these cues that help you monitor how your body is reacting to your lifestyle - these are the long lasting sustainable ones that will help you maintain your body transformation in the long run.  You need to be well tuned in to your body on a daily basis to adjust your exercise and nutrition and give it what it needs.

Keep it up guys, not long till Christmas.  Today would be a good day to plan your attack for all the Christmas activities.  Sit back outside with a tall cool drink and your calendar, and look at what's scheduled in for December.  If you think its likely you might be tempted to eat a little extra, you absolutely MUST get your exercise in, and preferably a little bit more.  Where is it going to fit?  How are you going to achieve it?  Do you have to be a bit more flexible and do some different things to fit in with different time slots for exercise?  Do you need to get up an hour earlier for the next 4 weeks to fit it in, or plan to exercise later in the evening at home?  You have worked so hard so far DONT LET IT GO TO WASTE, and be cancelled out by the festive season.  Enjoy the season, enjoy your body changes so far, but make sure that every day is still progressing towards your goals, and not away.

The Amazing Race TONIGHT!

Its on TONIGHT - 6.30pm Port Broughton Foreshore.
Its a team game not a workout (I lie, its really both) for all fitness levels.  $10/participant.
Obviously if you complete the race you end up looking like two of the previous contestents as per bottom photo.
PS - If you would like this to come to your town, as a special event - contact me.

This is Soooo True

Dont ask yourself which days you will exercise this week, ask yourself which day will I have off?
Make it a daily habit, and you will feel deprived when you miss out.  Every day doesn't have to be intense  - just get out there and do it!