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Weight Loss Exercise

Consistent weight loss and health



Consistency is the key to weight loss. I was reading through an article today and thinking about exactly what it is that really stops people that are looking at a real solution to weight loss. I believe that the key to healthy weight loss really is consistency and not trying to lose lots of weight in a week.

Consistent weight loss and health

Consistent weight loss and health

Consistency for Weight Loss

Consistent meals – One of the most important things that you can do with your health in general is to keep a nice even keel with respect to your blood sugar. When you eat a donut and coffee for breakfast and then nothing until lunch then you will get a big blood sugar spike and then a drop soon after and be just dragging your way until lunch. If you eat consistently small but evenly spaced meals every couple of hours during the day then you will not have this blood sugar problem.

Consistent meal sizes – If you make sure that you eat 200 – 400 calorie meals then this will go hand in hand with the point above. Having even sized meals will mean that you are not bloated after one meal and then hungry after the next. Of course there may be a problem with dinner being a little bigger and an evening meal being a little smaller but overall this consistent eating will make you feel much better and your weight losses will be more consistent.

Consistent exercise – I know some people that will exercise a lot on the weekend but get nearly no exercise during the week. This is really quite dangerous. If your body is not being exercised at least somewhat on a daily basis then these big events on the weekends can be damaging to your muscles and also lead to more injuries because of the stress you are putting the muscles through. Much better to have a quick workout in the morning and evening and then still push it on the weekend, then to takes four or five days off in a stretch and not get any exercise until Saturday.

Consistent rest – I have hit on this a few times in the past and rest is important to your well being as well as the healing of your muscles after exercise. Stretch daily, sleep well most nights and if you need it a hot tub, heating pad, or massage can do wonders to get rid of those little aches and pains that may not be going away quickly and holding yopu back a bit from going all out when you want to.

Remember that consistency is the key. Weight loss is something that often people want to see those big losing weeks but it really is much more healthy and possible to be consistent. Losing two or three pounds a week is much better then losing six pounds one week and losing nothing the next couple weeks.As we get ready for Christmas and then make new years resolutions later this month we are always looking at pushing ourselves or pulling back so try to think about this and make sure that you keep your consistency

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General Weight Loss Tips

April Continues

Last week I was swamped. Catching up on projects, sending out jewelry, and doing a lot of cooking. I took photos of my food, but before I knew it I was going to bed. I just didn’t have the time and energy to post last week, but there was another issue going on.

This could have been preventable as it was a pattern and I see it now, but at the time I was annoyed and I let it get the best of me. The week before last when I was posting photos of my food everyday, I was also doing something else secretly: I was weighing myself everyday. This is a bad habit and it doesn’t consider the big picture. Logically I know this. But, I was losing. Every day the scale was lower and I was like a moth to a flame.

So Saturday in DC came and we ended up walking close to nine miles. I don’t walk a lot and it just about did me in. The next day I got on my friends scale and noticed that my weight was up. Water retention. And then the next day we walked some more and I ate a very salty Thai meal. And on Monday we drove home. Which caused another spike in my weight. When I travel, I blow up. I KNOW this about myself.

But when I got home and stepped on the scale all I saw was work undone and I was upset and annoyed. I know the lesson of this is: I retain water and that is the stage I’m in: losing water. I also know that exercise and travel always causes my weight to fluctuate.

Instead of being healthy about it, continue doing what I was doing (which was working) I just said “f this” and stopped. Everything. We ate out almost everyday last week and didn’t exercise until this past Sunday. If that wasn’t sabotage I don’t know what is.

Looking back, I wish I would have just shrugged it off, stopped weighing myself, exercise and watch what I was eating, and drink lots of water. It would have gone away and things would have evened out again. So this is my calling myself out on destructive behavior.

This is also me continuing what I set out to do this month: kick ass. And so it continues. Fluctuations are not the big picture. Five pounds up or down is not the big picture. Doing good consistently is.

And now I bring you my eats from yesterday (monday):

I was not hungry until about noon yesterday. Instead I drank lots and lots of water. I came home for lunch where I prepared a plate of rice, onions in masala sauce (trader joe’s), spinach (with dressing and a little feta), and half a slice of tandoori naan. Total calories: 535

Later on in the afternoon I was hit with the baking bug. I purchased a bag of Sucanat over the weekend and was itching to try it. You can read more about it here. What I miss most about being sweet-free is baking. I also miss having a muffin for breakfast and so I’ve decided to add natural sugars into my diet (I’ve been eating honey for awhile).

I loved getting in the kitchen and figuring out a new, healthier recipe for muffins. I can’t describe the satisfaction really, but these are quite good. I used whole wheat white flour, sucanat and my own apple sauce. They are a bit higher in calories than I had hoped, I used vegetable oil and filled the muffin cups pretty full- I like muffin tops, what can I say?

I followed Krissie’s advice and froze the rest for reheating throughout the week and to avoid eating too many. I ate two at 166 calories each.

For dinner I made a pepper, onion and spinach stir fry in a Chinese sauce over rice. This was surprisingly filling and low in calories. I actually calculated it several times to make sure I was correct. Calories: 300 (maybe a little less)

And for a night snack I made smoothies with bananas, milk, frozen mango, frozen cherries, a splash of vanilla and walnuts. About 250 calories

Total calories for the day: 1,417

Exercise: 45 minutes of Insanity, burned about 400-500 calories

Earned my sticker for the day!

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General Weight Loss Tips

Hiit: High Gi Carbs Right After?

hey ive been wondering. . . ive read that you should treat your post HIIT meal the same as after lifting. so my question is does that mean you should get high GI carbs asap after HIIT like when after lifting? it doesnt logically make sense to me to eat high GI carbs just after HIIT, where you are trying to burn lots of fat.
currently i am 5-7 and 138lbs, skinny arms and not much muscle. i want to build as much muscle as possible, but also shed the fat thats already currently on me, mainly my abs. and since i dont have much muscle to begin with, im worried that HIIT will eat away at my muscles if i dont feed them sufficiently after, but also worried that if i do start an insulin spike after, that it will hinder the fat burning. any insight on this?
replies much appreciated.

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