Evolution of a successful diet plan

After posting my pics from a year ago, I wanted to go back and compare some specific things, to see not just how my body has transformed, but also how my LIFE has transformed. I'm starting with diet.

Last year, I joined a site called Gyminee (now DailyBurn.com), and started tracking my food intake and exercise.

On June 19, here's what I ate (and sadly, this was typical):
Breakfast: Attain shake with skim milk
Snack: Half a chocolate chip muffin
Lunch: Half a small roast beef hoagie w/ cheese, apple, coke slushee
Snack: Bag of mini cookies (6)
Dinner: 1 slice cheese pizza

The awful menu continues, with a same attain shake (my so-called "diet" breakfast) and 22 oz Coke slushee each day. On the one day where I was eating somewhat healthy, the only thing I had in addition to these two items was steak (7-8 oz) with corn on the cob and roasted potatoes. Back then, I used to complain that I had a really hard time eating the amount of protein I was supposed to eat without blowing my fat and carbs for the day. (I was trying to hit a 30-40-30 ratio of Fat, Carbs, and Protein daily.)

If the me of today met the me from back then, I'd point out that it's really no mystery! If you get all your protein from pizza and hoagies, you're going to blow your fat limit. And if you indulge in a 22oz soda, frozen or otherwise, your carbs will be through the roof as well! Amazingly, I was losing weight, although slowly, thanks to the regular exercise and calorie restriction (even if the calories I was eating were crap, they were still fewer than I had been eating before).

So let's flash forward about a month:

Monday, July 21, I had the following:
Breakfast: Attain shake with skim milk
Snack: 1 oz almonds
Lunch: Grilled chicken breast with baby spinach and 1TB of ranch dressing
Snack: 14 baby carrots
Dinner: 1.5 Buffalo-style chicken tenders with jasmine rice, soy sauce, and ranch dressing
Snack: 1/8 C mint chocolate chip ice cream (basically a big spoonful at bedtime)

Big plus? I was actually getting vegetables, and not all my protein was coming from fatty foods.
The downside? I was still going overboard with fat (all that ranch dressing didn't help), and my sodium was off the chart at 4000mg or more.

And, of course, it's quite likely that my portions weren't perfectly estimated, so I was likely eating more than I thought. But it was certainly progress. In the interest of full disclosure, I'll tell that I was still having those Coke slushees. But they were less frequent, and I cut back from the 22 oz. size to the 18 oz. size. And the weight kept dropping off.

We're going to skip forward now to October 6.

Breakfast: Attain Shake with skim milk
Lunch: Hummus, mushrooms, broccoli in mini whole-wheat pitas (2 small); 14 baby carrots dipped in 2TB Skippy Natural peanut butter
Snack: Stonyfield farm fat-free strawberry yogurt (6oz); 20 almonds
I was actually fasting that day after lunch, so I'll give you the October 7 dinner instead:
Dinner: Grilled chicken w/ bowtie pasta and red sauce, w/ low-fat mozz cheese
Whole wheat garlic toast (bread, butter, garlic powder)

I also reported right around this time that it had been a week since I last had a Coke Slushee. As you can see, my meals were getting healthier and healthier. I was getting fewer sugary treats, more vegetables, and more "whole foods." However, I was still using sugar-sweetened peanut butter, a "diet shake" for breakfast, and my day was a little skimpy on protein.

So now let's see where I am today. This is actually what I ate on Tuesday, June 9:
Breakfast: Mango, blueberries, lowfat no salt added cottage cheese, cinnamon, walnuts
Lunch: Homemade chicken salad on a honey wheat wrap with baby spinach; celery and carrots with natural peanut butter (made without sugar or salt - just peanuts)
Snack: Sliced nectarine, nonfat greek yogurt, granola (low sugar - only 6g per 1/3 C)
Dinner: Chicken stir-fry - chicken, mixed veggies, 1/2 TB soy sauce
Snack: 8oz skim milk w/ 1TB Ah! Laska choc syrup
Unplanned eating: 1 C popcorn (OR "simply salted" variety), 6 almonds

I've ditched the processed foods, and I feel like my brand choices are really great for the prepackaged items I DO buy. I'm focusing my meals much more around fruits, veggies, and lean protein - whole foods all. I get my macronutrient ratios pretty close to my targets (tend to end up around 25-50-25 instead of 30-40-30), and those extra carbs are primarily coming from fruits and veggies. AND, I still haven't had a Coke Slushee (or a soda, for that matter) since October 2008.

What have I learned (and what do I hope you can learn) from this retrospective? Well, there are a few things:

• Even small changes in your nutrition can yield results. Back when I was eating the worst foods, logging my intake and sticking to 1200-1400 calories still helped me start losing weight.
• You might not be ready to make (and stick with) a dramatic change right from the start. But if you keep making continual adjustments and improvements, you will end up with a diet that IS a dramatic change from the one you started with.
• As you progress, foods you thought were healthy might end up on your "banned" list. Keep an open mind and be willing to consider change. It was very hard for me to stop relying on the convenience of a "diet" breakfast shake, but now that I've done it, I've found it actually isn't any more trouble to make and eat a real breakfast.

I hope you've found this retrospective interesting. I'll continue to look at the transformation of my physical fitness, personal health, and other factors over the past year. For those of you beginning your journey, PLEASE take measurements and pictures. You will really value having the opportunity to compare your final results when you reach that finish line!

What a difference a year makes!

I've been feeling a bit reflective lately. I've come up on the one-year anniversary of the start of my fitness and health quest. The past year has, quite literally, changed my life. Just look at the pictures above. In the first one, taken June 9, 2008, I was clearly overweight. The shorts I was wearing were size 10.

Now look at the second picture, taken on my 9th wedding anniversary in the same tank top. This time, the shorts are size 2, and the remainder of the changes are pretty obvious! (Is it just me, or am I also taller? Hah! Just kidding.)

When I started on this journey, I had no idea how far I would come. In fact, my own husband made a bet with our neighbor that I wouldn't last 3 weeks! Fortunately, my friend and neighbor Carolyn was a great workout buddy, and helped get me going each morning. Now, not only am I completely transformed, but I'm using my experience to help motivate others. You can't get much better than that!

Thinking about this, I think I'm going to go back to some of the earlier workouts I did, so that I can see how my weights and stamina compare to what they were then. I'll be sure to report back what I find out. More to come!

A Test in Meal Conversions: Pizza

A few weeks back, I did a post where I explained that it's often possible to take a food that is traditionally unhealthy and/or fattening, and make a homemade version that is healthier and has reduced fat or saturated content. In my first post, I made a low fat and healthy chicken salad, saving hundreds of calories over a comparable sandwich from the local store. I thought now might be a good time to share another meal conversion I enjoy making, this time for a bit more of a decadent item - pizza!

The pizza we're going to use for comparative purposes is a Sbarro Chicken Vegetable pizza. Since my pizza will use chicken and vegetables, I wanted to choose something as similar as possible, but be aware that my recipe will save you even MORE calories and saturated fat over a pizza that uses red meat, like a supreme pizza.

Sbarro Chicken Vegetable Pizza Nutrition Facts:

Serving Size 1 slice (280.0 g)
Calories 530
Calories from Fat 153
Total Fat 17.0g
Saturated Fat 8 g
Cholesterol 45mg
Sodium 1260mg
Total Carbohydrates 69.0g
Dietary Fiber 5.0g
Protein 24.0g

Now let's make a healthier version at home. We're going to make a southwestern-flavored pizza with chicken and vegetables.

First, instead of using pizza dough or a pizza crust, I'm making my pizza on a wrap. For this recipe, I'm using a Flat Out multi-grain wrap, but you can certainly use whatever brand you like. The key is to make sure you don't overdo it on the size. The wrap I'm using is only 53 grams in weight. Compare that to a Mission 12" tortilla, at 104 grams, and you'll see that portion size is important! Whole wheat is ideal, but sometimes the whole wheat varieties are much higher in sodium, so weigh all factors when choosing your wrap. As an alternative, if you want to make your own crust, a healthy alternative is this spelt pizza crust recipe I found on another blog.

Next, we're going to saute some vegetables: mushrooms, broccoli, spinach, and red peppers. You can use whatever vegetables you enjoy best. If you have some scallions, I recommend throwing those in as well! In the picture I included above, I've used carrots instead of red peppers. But veggies are veggies! Use what you like. I throw mine on a nonstick griddle and cook them without any butter or oil. You can also cook them in a wok.

Now it's time for the chicken. If you're like me, you typically will make a batch of chicken over the weekend, and then reuse it throughout the week. In this case, I have a number of grilled chicken breasts. So, let's take one of those, slice it into pieces until we've used up about half the breast (3 oz or 85 grams), and throw it on the griddle to warm it up and give it a little crispiness on the outside. If you're a vegetarian, black beans might be a good alternative to chicken, since this pizza has a bit of southwestern flair.

Put your wrap on a baking stone or cookie sheet, and spread it with about 2TB of your favorite salsa (mine is made by restaurant On the Border, and has a good kick to it!). Why do I use salsa instead of pizza sauce? Well, I've found that pizza sauce is usually filled with a ton of sugar and sodium. Salsa is just as tasty (if not more so), and is healthier to boot!

Top the wrap with your chicken and vegetables. Then take about 1 ounce (28 grams) of grated part-skim mozzarella cheese, and sprinkle it over top. Don't go overboard with the cheese, as even part-skim is calorie dense. You can substitute a mexican blend of cheeses, or if you're a vegan, just skip the cheese all together!

Put the wrap into the oven, warmed up to about 400 degrees. Now is the hard part - watch it closely! Wraps will crisp up quite quickly and you don't want yours to scorch. The idea is to get it crisp and melt the cheese without burning the sides. So turn on the oven light and watch it the whole time. Remove from the oven after about 5 minutes, or whenever it appears done.

I'll list our ingredients, and then the nutritional information, so that you can compare.

Ingredients:
Skinless Grilled chicken - 1/2 breast (3oz, 86 grams)
1 Multi-Grain Wrap (53 grams)
2 TB Salsa (30 grams)
1 oz Part Skim Mozz Cheese (28 grams)
1/4 C Mushrooms (48 grams)
Half stalk Broccoli (57 grams)
1 C Spinach (21 grams)
1/2 Small red Peppers - 1/2 small (37 grams)

The total weight of the pizza ends up at 360 grams, which means it's actually 30% more food than the original. Keep that in mind and let's see how the nutritional facts stack up for my healthy pizza:

Calories: 367
Calories from fat: 103
Fat: 12 grams
Saturated fat: 5 grams
Cholesterol: 88 mg
Sodium: 785 mg
Carbohydrates: 27g
Dietary fiber: 10g
Sugars: 4g
Protein: 47g

Okay, so with a serving size that's 30% larger, I've reduced the calories, fat, and saturated fat by 30%. Sodium is high for a single meal, but still 40% less than the original. Using a wrap and ditching that sugary sauce drops the carbs by a whopping 60%! Meanwhile, we've nearly doubled both the fiber and protein.

If you want to make an even MORE dramatic change, use just a sprinkling of cheese or skip the cheese altogether. Do that, and the final product will have just 287 calories, 6 grams of fat, and only 1 gram of saturated fat.

Is there a meal you'd like me to convert from high fat and high calorie to healthy? Let me know your ideas and I'll use it in a future post.

Resistance Isn't Futile

Many women (and even some men) that I know have figured out how to lose weight by eating healthy. They might be using Weight Watchers, or a program like Jenny Craig, or maybe they're just being successful counting calories. But once they lose the weight, then the really difficult part starts: How do they keep it from coming back?

Well, first, let's look at how things change during weight loss. Using a general formula (the Harris-Benedict formula), we can estimate that if a 30 year-old woman is 5'6" tall, exercises 3 times per week, and starts off weighing 200 pounds, she needs to eat about 2150 calories per day to maintain her weight and 1650 calories per day to lose weight. Once she hits her goal weight of 135 pounds, she now needs to eat about 2175 calories per day to maintain her new weight.

Okay, that's a general formula. But let's consider two scenarios:

In the first scenario, our friend started off with 46% body fat. She lost weight and reduced her body fat percentage through dieting and cardio, but is still "skinny fat," meaning that she's slim but has a high percentage of body fat - say 30%. Well, if we consider lean body mass (using the Katch McArdle formula) instead of just total weight, our calculations change. After making the adjustment, she should only be eating 2000 calories per day to maintain her weight. If she's using the more general calculation above, she'll be eating 175 calories a day too much. That leaves her gaining more than a pound per month!

In the second scenario, our friend again started off with 46% body fat. But this time, she lost weight and significantly reduced her body fat percentage using a combination of dieting and exercise - both resistance training and cardio. So now she's slim AND she's maintained some of her muscle mass so her body fat percentage is just 20%. When we consider her lean body mass, she can eat 2200 calories per day to maintain her weight. So she can enjoy an extra 200 calories per day, compared to the first scenario, without watching that hard lost weight creep back on. Isn't that the kind of advantage you'd like to enjoy?

So how can you apply this knowledge for yourself? If you're one of the (many) women who loves your cardio, aerobics classes, and the like, but runs FAR away from the weight room, it's time to take a second look. It's important to maintain your muscle mass while you lose weight so that it won't be as easy for the weight to come back when you stop dieting. Resistance training, also called weight training, is an essential part of a successful weight loss plan.

And resistance training doesn't have to use weights. The important point is to stress and challenge your muscles, so that they respond by growing. You can do this with bodyweight exercises OR with weights, as long as you keep your workouts challenging. In fact, you can get a complete bodyweight resistance training workout for free by signing up for my email list (on the right).

To get the biggest benefit from a resistance training workout, you should focus on large movements that work multiple muscle groups. That means you should not consider bicep curls and tricep kickbacks with 5 pound hand weights as your "resistance training" workout. Some of the best exercises are those that work your lower body. That includes squats, lunges, and deadlifts. All three of these exercises can be done both with weight and without, and each uses multiple muscles so you're working efficiently AND buring calories. Kettlebell swings are another great way to work the muscles in your lower body. For your upper body, focus on various types of push-ups, work on doing your first chin-up, and doing either inverted bodyweight rows, or bent-over dumbbell rows with weights. Want to work abs? Check out my popular article about how to get great abs.

If you are an exercise class junkie, never fear! You can get resistance training in a class setting. Many gyms now offer group weightlifting classes with an aerobics feel, but using barbells and weight plates to add resistance. There are also "boot camp" type classes that use bodyweight exercises to coach participants through resistance training workouts that can be done anywhere, without any equipment!

Still feel lost? Find a good personal trainer and ask them to design and help you learn a resistance training plan that you can do without having to use exercise machines, and will give you a good basic workout. Specifically mention the exercises I listed above, so they understand you want a serious workout and not 20 minutes of lifting tiny pink dumbbells over your head.

And feel free to ask me, too, if you need ideas on how to get over your fear of resistance training. Remember, resistance ISN'T futile!

7-Minute Weight Loss Circuit

I recently read a summary of a very interesting study regarding energy level and quality of life in women. In the study, healthy sedentary women (average age around 57) were put into one of four groups. Three groups did exercise at varying levels of intensity, from light exercise (The amount of time spent exercising ranged from just over one hour weekly in the light intensity group to three hours weekly in the high intensity group.) The fourth group was a control group - they didn't begin an exercise program.

The result? While the groups doing more exercise lost the most weight, all three exercising groups showed marked increases in vitality, and reported improved quality of life in mental, social, and physical respects. What can we learn from this? You don't need a long intense gym workout to gain the psychological benefits of exercise. And when it comes to mood and staying on track with your weight loss plans, even a short, light workout may be all it takes to keep your momentum up.

As I've mentioned before, missing one workout can often lead to two or three missed workouts, and it can be difficult to stay on track. But if you are pressed for time, having a short workout that you can do at home may be what it takes to help you make it to the gym the next day.

With that in mind, I wanted to share a short weight loss circuit designed by Craig Ballantyne, the author of Turbulence Training and a frequent contributor to Men's Health Magazine.

7-Minute Weight Loss Circuit

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

www.TurbulenceTraining.com

One thing we have to lose from our workout mindsets is the idea of this "60-minute workout". Forget about spending that much time in the gym. Instead, choose better exercises that are more efficient. This will allow you to get your workout done faster, eliminating the "no time" workout excuse.

To do so, you need to eliminate irrelevant exercises. I know you want to do an exercise for shoulders, and one for arms, and one for abs, and one for this and that. But before you do, ask yourself, will these really get me to my goal, or have I just been convinced by bodybuilding magazines that I need 40 sets per workout to get results?

Now, taking those lessons, we can then create some pretty incredible bodyweight workouts as well. And these bodyweight workouts can get finished fast!

In fact, here is a 7-minute bodyweight circuit that can help you lose weight, burn calories, and blast your metabolism. You don't need machines or weights. You can do this anywhere!

Bodyweight squat (10-20 reps)
Pushup (10-20 reps) - do it on your knees if you must
Reverse Lunge (10 reps per leg)
Plank (30 second hold)
Close-grip Pushup (10-20 reps)
Side Plank (20 second hold per side)
Mountain Climber (10 reps per side)

Do this with no rest between exercises. Rest 1 minute at the end of the 7-minute circuit and repeat up to 3 times.

If you are a beginner, do fewer reps and take longer rests.

It's a tough, tough bodyweight circuit, especially the combination of two exercises late in the circuit. This combo literally exhausted me to my knees...twice...before I was able to finish the circuit.You can do the circuit up to 3 times.

Another weapon in your fat loss arsenal. Now you'll know how to train efficiently and eat effectively for fat loss.

Don't wait any longer to get started! Get all of these bodyweight exercises, and more, in the Turbulence Training workouts that you can do in the comfort of your own home. No more annoying drives to the gym, waiting in line for machines in an uncomfortable environment, or being intimidated by the super-buff gym bunnies. Lose fat, get fit, and workout your way - at home with only a bench, a ball, and dumbbells.

Sincerely,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com.

Do you REALLY know how much you're eating?

If you're trying to lose weight or get fit, I'm sure you've heard that sage advice to keep a food journal. And believe me, having to write down what you ate will help you when you're considering whether to finish that half a cookie someone left in the kitchenette at work. But is it really enough? Not always.

While journaling will help most people avoid poor food choices, it doesn't really tell you how much you're eating from a calorie perspective. And the one time-proven way to lose weight, whether you cut carbs, cut fat, or follow some other type of eating plan, is to eat at a calorie deficit. For most people, that means eating about 500 calories less than what is required to maintain their current body weight. Adult women shouldn't eat fewer than 1200 calories, and adult men shouldn't eat fewer than 1800 calories. Teens, particularly teenage boys, actually need even more than that. So if you haven't taken your food journal and calculated your calorie intake, I challenge you to do so for at least three days, although a full week is preferable.

Now you might be sitting there confidently, saying, "oh, I already count calories." Maybe you're logging your food at sites like Fitday, SparkPeople, or DailyBurn. Well, you still might not know how much you're eating, depending on how you measure your food. Maybe you "eyeball" your portions. As shown in the picture above, our standards today have set our expectations far above where they should be. Even if you measure them with a measuring cup or spoons, you might be underestimating your food.

Let's take one of my typical breakfast meals:

• Half a mango, sliced (about one cup)
• 6 blackberries (about 1/4 cup)
• 3/4 C lowfat no salt added cottage cheese (1.5 servings)
• 7 walnuts (half of a one-ounce serving of 14 nuts)
• cinnamon

Using USDA values for the whole foods, and the package information for the cottage cheese, this meal should be 349 calories, with 24g of protein, 11g of fat, and 42g of carbs.

As it turns out, though, this meal was actually 449 calories. I found this out by weighing all my ingredients and adjusting the portion size accordingly, as detailed below:

• Half a mango, sliced - I thought this was one serving of 165g, but it was actually a whopping 250g! I suppose a typical mango is much smaller than the ones I bought at the store.
• 6 blackberries - These fit in a 1/4 cup, but by weight were 1/3 of a (one cup) serving
• 3/4 C lowfat no salt added cottage cheese - 3/4 Cup should equal about 170g. However, depending on how I pack the measuring cup, I found I could put up to 200g in the measuring cup. That's another 25% of a serving.
• 7 walnuts - My walnuts must be larger than normal, because it turns out I had half an ounce at only 6 walnuts

So, by using USDA reference statistics (such as 14 walnuts to a serving) and measuring cups, I ended up with a breakfast that was 100 calories (nearly 30%) higher than I thought - and that was with doing careful measuring and tracking of what I was eating! Once I weighed my food, I realized that the portion sizes I thought were accurate were actually far from it. Why did I try weighing my food to begin with? I did so after watching this video:

Can you imagine what would happen if you underestimated your calories by 30% at EVERY meal? Let's say you needed 2000 calories a day to maintain your current weight, and you thought you were eating 1500 calories per day - a deficit of 500 calories per day. However, if you underestimated your calories by 30%, you'd actually be eating 1950 calories per day. You could do this for weeks and you wouldn't lose any weight at all, getting more and more frustrated as each day went on.

I'm not suggesting you weigh every single item you eat. Most of us don't have the time or inclination to do that. But I do recommend you take some time to learn what about proper portion sizes. One way to do so is to to read up on some of the online resources available. One I've found is checkyourhealth.org, which has some great visual references you can use to determine proper portion sizes on the fly.

Even so, as the video above shows, it may behoove you to purchase a kitchen scale and keep it handy. As time goes on, occasionally measure and weight the items you eat most frequently, so you start to recognize what the correct portion size actually looks like on your plate. You may have to retrain your mind, and it will take time, but you'll have the benefit of having better control over your calorie intake, which should lead to weight loss success!

Beware of Acai berry scams!

Do you know this woman? Oh sure, she's that girl who lost all of that weight on the Acai berry diet, right? WRONG. According to Nutrition Action newsletter (see Nutrition Action's Press Release ), she is a beautiful young German model named Julia. This is the original picture that was digitally altered in order to create those amazing "after" pictures where she looks so thin.

Don't take my (or their) word for it. Her portfolio is available online here, and if you look through it, you'll find the original versions of all the pictures you may have seen on ads and even as the supposed author of over 70 fake blogs touting Acai berry products, each calling her by a different name and giving her a different history.

Well, wait a second, what about Oprah, and Dr. Oz, and Rachel Ray, and others? Didn't they recommend Acai berry products? Not at all! Dr. Oz mentioned Acai berry in a long list of healthy foods (such as tomatoes, blueberries, and broccoli) in an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show. Rachael Ray never discussed Acai at all. In fact, it was a guest on her show who mentioned an Acai berry drink. All three have made public statements condemning the unauthorized use of their images and names.

We had a discussion about Acai berry on Gyminee last month and one of the "Pro" members shared the following response:

I’ve had this fruit quite alot since a large part of my friends and extended family are brasilian (and i just came back from there earlier this year, hehehe). I’ve never heard them touting the weight loss benefits of it, mostly it’s eaten like a treat and said to have a sort of boost in energy effect.

Also, Brasilians don’t eat it in a processed juice or packaged. The most common and best way I’ve had it is “açai na tigela.” where they freeze the fruit and sprinkle banana slices and granola on top.

If you’re really interested in the fruit, I bet açai na tigela is probably less calories and healthier for you. At worst, they add a bit of chocolate syrup on top and serve it as a desert mmmmmmmmm!

Interesting perspective, for sure!

If you're still curious about Acai berry, I highly suggest you buy pills or juice (or frozen berries) from a reputable local store. (My sister decided to try it out and picked up some pills for a reasonable price at our local GNC.) But in my opinion, you should stop looking for your weight loss answer in a miracle pill or a single super food, because none of them will help you be healthier, happier, and more fit over the long-term. You'll be better off saving your money and sticking to a well-balanced diet of whole foods.