Yup, Now we're working it!

Here's the update - I'm down 6.4lbs in total and here's how I'm doing it. I am following the detailed plan provided by my dietician. There are three suggestions that I have incorporated that are making a difference:

1. I have a small, simple carb (like 4 oz of fruit juice added to my water bottle) before my workout. I had been working out on a fast because I'm in the gym at about 6 am when I have NO appetite for food.

2. I have more protein early in the day - 10-12 gr for breakfast and another 9 grams or so by mid morning. This keeps my appetite satisfied 'til well into the day.

3. I am learning to have MORE fat - OM*!! I was raised in a home with a parent who was diagnosed with high-blood pressure early in my childhood; I grew up on low sodium/low fat and have never really liked sauces/gravies/dressings/etc. I've been experiementing with flavored oils in my cooking to add flavor and stuff and I'll admit that one night when I sauteed onions in butter, I had butter nightmares that night! LOL

It's weird but my story is upsidedown compared to what you hear on tv and read in magazines (lower your calories, cut out the fat, etc.) But no matter how you cut it, CHANGE IS HARD! I have committed to the process of asking for help, following those suggestions and guess what - it is working, WOW! :) :):)

Thanks for your input and I hope that my feedback is helpful to others who are struggling to make the changes that lead to health.

All the best,
Glynis

Okay, now I'm scared

I'm down 4.5lbs since I started Jan 2, 2009 - this also means that I'm down one pant size already! I feel good and I think it shows...so now the hard stuff starts.

I met with my dietitian Celeste this week and she's made a couple of observations right off. I don't eat enough and I don't nourish myself well enough to fuel my workouts. I have four goals that I've been working at this week and they are:

1. Because I've been out of touch with my appetite for so long, I'm working on tracking hourly my appetite both physically and emotionally - am I hungry or emotional or tired?


2. Because I've been starving my workouts, Celeste has me increasing my 6am workout carbohydrates by taking in 8 oz of fluids {4 oz juice plus 4 oz water};


3. To support better caloric intake, Celeste is suggesting taking in more protein in the morning which increases my calories and takes a bite (pun intended) out of my hunger later in the day. We are increasing my morning protein to about 20g at my 7am breakfast by adding things like soy milk or yogurt to the meal and to about 5-10g at my 10am snack;


4. Again because I'm so out of touch with my hunger and satiety cues, I'm to monitor how full I feel at the end of each meal - am I hungry? over hungry? over full? or satisfied? The funny thing is that I could not give ANY answer to the question of what does hungry feel like except in the extreme - like "I feel pain in my stomach, a headache, or I feel faint". These are apparently feelings of over hungry...who knew!!!

I start tomorrow morning with my personal trainer and friend, Jackie. We are looking to incorporate fat burning, lean muscle defining exercises in two day splits (that's working all muscle groups over two weight training days as opposed to working the whole body twice a week) in addition to my current 3 days of gym cardio and 2 dance workouts per week. I'm already logging 10.5-12 hours of activity each week for which I am very proud. I'm looking forward to seeing great results in the coming weeks.

Emotionally, I'm aware that I am scared - scared of getting out of control. I have a problem with weight loss that is not talked about much. I don't eat enough calories for my active lifestyle. As I've been logging my food and activity this first month on MFD (MyFoodDiary.com), it became apparent that my food intake was consistently under my caloric needs for the activity that I do. Now I'm terrified and feeling out of control for eating. For most of my adult life I've tried to limit my calories believing that that is what has contributed to my climbing each year to my current weight. Now that I have to change, I'm scared of getting out of control. Has anyone else ever had this problem? How does one make the changes to one's internal conversation that will help turn fear into success? I'm hoping that even one person can relate since I've never heard anyone indicate this is a problem before. Thanks for any and all input...