Update: 230.6 lbs, 27.6 lbs so far, 10.2 left to reach goal.When I first start the 'calorie cutback' 46 days ago, I was *really* hungry a lot of the time, probably because I was adjusting to...well...not eating! As I've progressed along those times of hunger haven't been as bad, or often, but they still come along, especially if I wait too long between eating.
In previous efforts, I've always felt like I have to deprive myself of anything great tasting in order to lose weight. This time around I've found that to not be alltogether true--we've enjoyed pizza, burgers, fries, ice cream, enchiladas...just lighter versions, or smaller portions, so that we're not going overboard.
Still, I get cravings, especially later in the evening -- I should just go to bed earlier, but those that know us, know that's really not us. A few things that have helped me in general are drinking water througout the day, keeping busy so I'm not just sitting around thinking about food, drinking coffee, exercising, and making sure that more of my snacks are protein like string cheese and yogurt, rather than just granola bars and low cal cookies.
I found this article on MSN Health that says cravings are all about blood sugar and that your blood sugar can fall too low after just 4 hours of not eating. This makes sense if we have dinner at 6...I'm gonna be hungry by 10 or 11 -- definitely the time I feel it. (In the past, that would have been called Nacho Hour.) The article goes on to mention cutting out foods that are higher in added sugars or high in starches. You should also eat every 3 hours, have protein and fat at every meal, and eat whole grain. They then list 8 ways to 'tame your hunger' in the rest of the article, including making sure to eat breakfast, recognizing real hunger, and not dwelling on mistakes. You can read the full article here.
On another note...I wish I the 27 lbs so far was all coming from the gutteral area. Went out to buy pants this weekend, still too much ice-cream-coned body shape going on to really feel good about the smaller sizes. Smaller waist, legs, and butt...check. Gut still spilling over...check. Still not loving shopping for clothes...check.
Hasta.
So far this year I've ridden:
960 miles.
2 comments:
1.) I read that same article. Pretty good.
2.) My danger zone comes betwen the 3:00 - 7:00 time. My day starts at 6. Which is usually a handfull of cereal, and my coffee, that (plus some water) takes me to about 10:00AM and I have some instand plain oatmeal with raisins added. That takes me to around 12:00 and I have my lunchtime sandwich which takes me to around 2:00. At this point I ususally have a banana or an apple in my lunch box, but neither of those leaves me feeling "full" or satisfied. And dinner isn't til around 7:00. This is my danger zone. A bag of chips, or vending machine cookies can do me in easily. Plus they're not really "filling" so an hour later I'm hungry again. Which leads to a repeat or it leads to me pigging out at dinner. So I've started packing a 1/4 cup of smokehouse salted almonds with me. As a caloric total they're not great, but nuts are good for you. Plus they make me feel full, and carry through my darkest hours til dinner.
3.) Do sit ups. Gotta tighten up the slack in the stomach muscles to help with the beltline overflow.
You might want to think about throwing in some more protein earlier in the day..like at that 2 pm snack, eat yogurt, or some string cheese or some sliced meat or something. A couple almonds, like you mentioned, also works wonders from time to time for me.
I've also started in on situps as well...hoping to curb the ice-cream cone body shape a bit.
Paul
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