First, hooray for the expansion of human (in this case, gay human) rights.
Second, is it gauche to talk about what I’m doing to get my body to be how I want it to be? I mean, I’ve talked before about my terrible body image, the mantra I mutter to myself in front of the mirror every day that I can bring my lips to form the words (“You look fabulous. You are pretty.”), my annoyance with my terrible complexion, and the grueling workouts I endure, but I don’t think I’ve outlined the steps I take when I really want to buckle down and lose five pounds. Which I want to do right now. But maybe that’s tacky… like, do you really want to know? Are you going to be pissed off at me because it’s simple?
I am five-foot-five and weigh 146 pounds, seven more than when I got pregnant with either of my boys. Of course, I have a bunch more muscle now than I did then. I am a size six, which you might think is inconsistent with 146 pounds, but you would be wrong. I’m still pear-shaped, though, which can bump me to a size eight in some form-fitting dresses, at which point I have to add a padded bra to fill out the bodice.
Our family eats well. We enjoy moderate amounts of dairy and we are all eating gluten (though I have personally cut back on pasta and bread in an effort at calorie reduction). We don’t eat a lot of processed foods and we rarely eat out – both because of the expense and because my children are holy terrors whom I am unwilling to inflict on the restaurant-going public, unless that restaurant happens to be Five Guys or the local pizza joint. We get a farm box every week throughout the summer, and our diets are heavy in fruits and vegetables.
But I’m a girl, and as such, I can’t just eat healthy most of the time and hope to stay thin. When we went to Williamsburg, I basically ate whatever I felt like for a whole week (vacation!) and then didn’t so much curb my appetite when we got home. My biggest weakness? Snacking after the kids are in bed. I had developed rather more of a belly than I like to see and my jeans were feeling a bit tight.
So here’s my weight-loss plan, and it always seems to work for me: don’t eat or drink anything (caloric) after eight and cut back on the alcohol. No wine and cheese in front of the TV, no ice cream before bed. Just water or herbal tea. After a few weeks, the belly blub is mostly gone. Maybe I’m down to 143 pounds now. I don’t own a scale, so it’s hard to know.
So yeah, simple. But also not, because I work out all the time (two workout classes a week, down from three because of summer scheduling conflicts, and at least 15 miles of running each week) and I make every effort to eat small portions at meals and light, healthy snacks throughout the day.
Other than depriving yourself of chocolate (something I will never, ever do), what do you do to stay thin?
4 comments:
Since you shared your numbers, I'm gonna share mine too. A year ago, I weighed 165 pounds. I know it's a lot, but I'm 5'9" so it wasn't to bad. I wore a size 12 and felt like I needed to loose 10 pounds but never did anything about it.
Then I got super sick, had a couple internal organs revomed, and spend weeks at a time on the IV-only diet, followed by months on a liquid only diet. So last November, I was down to 135 pounds, and wearing a size 8.
I hadn't weighed 135 pounds since junior high and knew I looked like a refuge. Serious illness is not a good weighloss plan, so I was actually relieved when I started gaining some of the weight back. And once I was aloud to eat solid foods again, I never said no to chips and ice cream.
Now I'm back up to 160 pounds and feeling like I really should start dieting. I looked awesome when I weighed 150, and wish I would have stayed at that weight longer than a few weeks.
I've started trying to watch what I eat a little more, but I'm still not really dieting. I have started doing sit-ups though. A couple of crunches was all it took to convince me I have no stomach muscles at all right now. They were all cut in half during my surgery, but that was way back in September. So I'm now telling myself 200 crunches a day is physical therapy. Hopefully, it will also help me get back down closer to 150 pounds.
But even if I do stay at 160, I'm a lot more worried about being healthy than being thin. And somehow I don't think loosing and then regaining 30 pounds all in the course of a year is anywhere near healthy.
Kate, healthy really IS the most important thing. What has made all the difference in how I feel are the fitness classes I attend. I used to do aerobics at Whitman and then stopped for a loooong time. I don't know what convinced me to try fitness classes again, but I'm glad I did. I never exercise as much or as hard as I need to on my own, without someone encouraging me and pushing me harder. Maybe it would work for you, too? The other thing for me is that I am terrible at dieting. Like, terrible. Not eating after 8 pm works for me because I don't really deny myself during the day, I just limit caloric intake before bed. I probably cut out 500 calories a night this way! Which is totally scary when I think about it.
I kind of do your evening abstaining plan whenever I feel like I'm beginning to get on the heavier side of my weight fluctuation. Generally this means cutting back ice cream consumption to only a few times per week. Seems like summer is an easier time to shed weight since more skin is shown. Nothing like regular swimsuit wearing to make one more aware of food consumption choices. Like you, I don't own a scale and don't go by numbers, but rather how I feel and look.
Ah, weight and weightloss. A neverending battle, isn't it? I'll tell you my numbers because you told me yours: I'm 5'8". Before I got pregnant with #2, I was around 155. I would have liked to be 150, but 5 lbs from goal weight isn't too bad (although there was a lot of baby #1 flab. not surprising given I delivered at 225 or so only 15 months prior). I was almost comfortable in a 2 piece in public though, something which seems will never be the case again...
I got pregnant and... gained a TON. I'm using 215 as what I think I was when I delivered. So, about 60 lbs gained (although I think I lost 5 in the first several hell-weeks).
Now I'm at 183. I hate the way I look, but I do give myself some credit for dropping 32 lbs in 10 weeks. I know I'll continue to lose weight (breastfeeding for the win, and lots of water, and no dairy, and no time to eat), but am terrified that I'll never have a decent body again, given that I have about three minutes to myself every day. (right now doesn't count, because I have a baby attached to my boob). I want to look good again, but equally I want to feel good, and set a good example about body image for my kids.
Ask me again at the end of the summer where I stand. Keep me accountable!
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