I'm so thankful for my mom. She is always there to listen to my groan and gripe about my struggles with weight, stress, busy schedule and lack of sleep. While my dad has always been my huge motivator when it came to softball, getting good grades and being an overall good kid, my mom has always understood me and my healthy living goals. I think it's so funny when she says that I'm the one that motivated her to get healthier when really, she is the reason I stay on track. No one is dedicated to fitness and eating healthfully like her.
About two weeks ago, after seeing a couple photos of myself that I was not so happy about, I had a long conversation with her about my personal struggles I was currently having. Like always, she listened and offered advice and told me how much she loved me. The next morning, she called with an idea. With the goal of my happiness in mind, she gave me a challenge.
For everyday that I could eat 1500 calories, no more and no less, she would pay me $5.00. My dad even threw in an extra $10 if I only weighed myself once per week. There was a catch though. If I went over one day, I lost it all.
I'm happy to say, I have accomplished 13 days, and at the end of today I will have completed the challenge! My mom's hopes to jump start my motivation to stay on track did the trick. Here's some tips I used to help me reach this goal:
Journal dietary intake and keep track of calories.
Plan meals ahead of time.
Work out accordingly. I didn't workout super hard these two weeks because I likely would have needed to up my calorie intake a little more. I took 2 off days and settled for 1 hour in the gym on the other days. On days I did something like the Color Me Rad 5k, that was all I did workout-wise.
Avoid eating out. It's so hard to track your calories when you are eating out and the portion sizes are always much bigger than we really need. Plus, restaurants add in things like sugar and butter to make their foods taste better which can really add up calorie-wise.
Measure serving sizes. I measured before hand if I could with things like produce and nuts. Other foods like salad dressing and earth balance I measured out while preparing my meal.
Focus on nutrients first, then treats. If I really wanted something sweet, I saved my calories for it and enjoyed it in moderation. If I had less than 100 calories left for the day, I'd have an oreo or a cup of kettlecorn.
Eat a filling breakfast. To avoid the desire to snack in the early morning, I ate a bigger breakfast than usual. At first, it was a hard feeling to grasp when I already had taken in 1/3 of my calories by 8am but in the end, a bigger breakfast held me over better than eating 150-250 calorie snacks here and there.
Close the fridge after dinner. Sometimes just because I'm bored I'll snack on unnecessary calories after dinner when I really don't need them. Once I got to 1500, I had no choice but to make some tea or drink water for the rest of the evening. I found that going to a restorative yoga class or walking on the treadmill during a favorite TV show was a much more productive way to spend my time and keep my focus away from snacking.
Tomorrow I get to weigh myself. Though I'm hoping to have a lost a little, I know that my clothes are fitting better and I feel great to be back on track regardless of what the scale says.
THANKS MOMMY!
Plan meals ahead of time.
Work out accordingly. I didn't workout super hard these two weeks because I likely would have needed to up my calorie intake a little more. I took 2 off days and settled for 1 hour in the gym on the other days. On days I did something like the Color Me Rad 5k, that was all I did workout-wise.
Avoid eating out. It's so hard to track your calories when you are eating out and the portion sizes are always much bigger than we really need. Plus, restaurants add in things like sugar and butter to make their foods taste better which can really add up calorie-wise.
Measure serving sizes. I measured before hand if I could with things like produce and nuts. Other foods like salad dressing and earth balance I measured out while preparing my meal.
Focus on nutrients first, then treats. If I really wanted something sweet, I saved my calories for it and enjoyed it in moderation. If I had less than 100 calories left for the day, I'd have an oreo or a cup of kettlecorn.
Eat a filling breakfast. To avoid the desire to snack in the early morning, I ate a bigger breakfast than usual. At first, it was a hard feeling to grasp when I already had taken in 1/3 of my calories by 8am but in the end, a bigger breakfast held me over better than eating 150-250 calorie snacks here and there.
Close the fridge after dinner. Sometimes just because I'm bored I'll snack on unnecessary calories after dinner when I really don't need them. Once I got to 1500, I had no choice but to make some tea or drink water for the rest of the evening. I found that going to a restorative yoga class or walking on the treadmill during a favorite TV show was a much more productive way to spend my time and keep my focus away from snacking.
Tomorrow I get to weigh myself. Though I'm hoping to have a lost a little, I know that my clothes are fitting better and I feel great to be back on track regardless of what the scale says.
THANKS MOMMY!
I love your Momma. She is super awesome.
ReplyDelete