Success.  At last!

I’m happy to report success on the clothing front.  It’s been 4 months since I last checked in and shared with you the beginning of my venture into the world of healthy food and clean living.

It’s been nothing short of a stunning success.  I’m down 20 lbs, which is 5 lbs short of my goal, but enough to open the doors of my closet to almost everything inside it.  Except for only the smallest sizes, which aren’t many, and still in reach.  Maybe by Christmas.

The Eat-Clean® diet has turned me into a food evangelist.  The tiredness I spoke of in my last post lasted only for another day or so, then it seemed like things clicked and my energy level has increased daily.  I can’t remember the last time I was actually hungry.  Last weekend I cleared out my closet and drawers of clothes that are now TOO BIG.  I packed them in a box and shoved them into the back of the closet.  That felt good.  Although I did feel a twinge, a pang, perhaps, of guilt at discarding my old friends so quickly and with such glee.  How many times have they come through for me, as I stood helpless in my closet, looking for something, anything that fits.  I stretched our friendship to its boundaries, for sure, and the least I can do is give them rest for their valiant efforts at keeping me well-dressed.  It’s time for others to step into the breach.

And step up they have.  These past four years shirts and skirts have been just hanging around while pants lay patiently in their drawers waiting to break out of the darkness of their confines and seek expression in the light of day.  It’s been fun, playing Barbie these past few weeks.  I step in and think… I’ll try this on and see if it fits…. And what do you know but it does.  I try this on, I try that on.  I have a couple of looks I particularly like.  Getting dressed in the morning is fun again.

And that’s a big deal because it’s the first thing I do in the morning and if it doesn’t go right, my day doesn’t either.  Can’t escape the clothes you’re wearing once you put them on and clothing regret is a sad thing to have to deal with all day long.  Stepping out of the closet in clothes that fit and look nice is a good way to start the day.

As I reflect on how I managed, this time of all the times that I’ve tried before, to regain some form of control over calorie consumption, this is what I’ve come up with as key elements:

1. Find or create a plan that you can give yourself over to without even thinking about it while you’re on it.  For just a little while – a week is all you really need to see results but it’s not a bad habit to continue – don’t give any thought to what you’re going to eat or how much except for what the plan states.
2. Buy only food on the plan.  This is crucial.  If you don’t want to eat it, don’t buy it.  Your new lifestyle starts in the grocery store with good food that feeds and supports the foundation of your active life.  This is tough if you live with other people.  If they want to change too, great, if not, don’t be tempted by what they eat and meditate on #5, below.
3. Keep to the portions allotted per meal.  Just because something is good for you doesn’t mean you get to eat endless amounts of it.  You can have anything you want as long as you keep to portion control and not let tasty food take its toll on your resolve.
4. Pack a lunch.  The Eat-Clean diet advises that you buy a thermal lunch bag and use it daily.  Take your measured portions with you where ever you go so you’re not tempted to eat what’s offered in the world.  There’s a lot of sugar out there.
5. Treat food as fuel.  We need food to live like a car needs gas to run.  Food research is daily uncovering new facts about what we eat and the way food feeds our bodies.  Love your body from the inside out and give it the right fuel in the form of nutrients so that it can run efficiently.

There’s lots more to say on the matter as I think over the last 4 months and consider the significance of food on maintaining a healthy body.  I went to the gym, on average, twice a week so it wasn’t the exercise that really made the difference, although I did start walking home from work and I have started running again.

The difference came from the diet, from a focused attention on fuel in rather than energy out.  Time to focus on building strength and endurance with exercise.  There’s a secret stash of dark chocolate in my locker at the gym, a sweet incentive to fuel my workouts.  Maybe I should re-name this blog – it’s all about the food?  Nah…

I’m off to have some delicious oatmeal and fruit sauce, just a small bowl, packed with good stuff to fill me up for a couple of hours.  Secret recipe I’ll share with you one day…

How do you stay on the right path when faced with difficult food choices?