The last few days in Chicago have been gorgeous – 80 degrees and sunny, which means one thing – I’ve been spending a lot of time at the beach. And time at the beach means bathing suits.
Last summer, I did my best to get bathing suit ready and lost 45 pounds. I maintained all winter (yay!) but didn’t quite reach my goal. Now that it’s nicer out, I am ready to get back to it. Goal this year: another 20, 25 if I’m on a roll.
I used five simple strategies last year to lose the weight:
1. I tried to be as active as possible, even if it was tiny things like taking a walk around the block when I got home, I tried to do something active every day.
2. I grazed on mini-meals (150-300 calories per meal) throughout the day instead of eating big meals and tried to eat as many fruits and vegetables as I could.
3. I tracked what I ate and did on the loseit app for iPhone. It made it seem like a game. I also planned and portioned ahead and added my food choices in at the beginning of the day, so I knew how much flexibility I had for spontaneous snacks and drinks with friends.
4. I drank as much water as I could handle and kept water with me all the time.
5. This last one was the driver for me: I asked myself two questions before I ate or did virtually anything. The first question was: How does this contribute to your long term goals? And the second was: Is this nourishing? These questions are very simple, but they kept me focused. Sometimes the answers were: this isn’t nourishing and it doesn’t help contribute to my long term goals, but that was OK as long as I knew it and made a conscious decision to make that choice. I also didn’t define ‘nourishing’ as only physical nourishment (as in the kind you’d get from vitamins, minerals and major nutrients), it could also be social, mental, emotional or spiritual nourishment.
These strategies worked well for me. I’m excited to refocus and get back on track. I’ll let you know how it goes.
What strategies do you use to get bathing suit ready? What works for you? What hasn’t worked in the past?
Eat protein and vegggies, little to no carbs, and absolutely no dairy!
Is it nourishing? Great question to ask!
I love the “is it nourishing?” question too. I’m guessing that the cookie I just finished was not really.
For me, it’s all about fresh ingredients, lots of fruits, as many veggies as I can stomach and lots of protein, fiber and food like yogurt. Grazing throughout the day on mini meals is also winning – it keeps me full all day long which keeps me from overeating later.
ron – sounds pretty paleo to me
great article emily – i like the tips on asking yourself the questions. however, i struggle to find a single instance where i would answer “no” to wine being nourishing…..
Em–I do several of those things too. The water thing is a huge help. I also plan for 6 small meals a day. Avoiding a really large lunch helps me stay awake during the afternoon. Ron had a good point about protein too–it makes you feel fuller so you don’t want to eat as much. It also helps you to stay awake. Nuts, edamame, hummus, boiled eggs, and yogurt are non-meat protein options. As for the questions you ask, love it. I tend to tell myself, “you are what you eat.” Do I want to be a greasy, fatty, low-grade hamburger patty? Not really.