As a child, I used to see my brother consuming sandwiches and cakes and stay as thin as a match. I had only one a day at school and looked somewhat stout. To lose weight, I did the “Weight Watchers” Diet, and I’ve lost the “roundness” (who said bikini?) Before going to the university, I went on a diet, again, this time a quick one – no time to waste before finally starting life.
With every child’s birth, I went from stout to fattish. Thus, after each birth-giving, I struggled, lost some pounds and went back to being chubby. When I stopped smoking, I started to lose the weight battle, and with age, I reached the point where everyone said that I look great, but I couldn’t breathe because of that “roundness.” After so many years of struggle, I would like to share with you four insights that help me nowadays not only to maintain my current weight so that I would not gain any but lose some. I’d love to hear your tips on the subject in the comments.
Caution – Carbohydrate
Over the years, I felt that the food that causes me to feel swollen and gain in weight is bread (who talks about sugar? I stopped that at “sweet sixteen”). Therefore, I stopped eating bread, pastries, etc. Having a Celiac girl in our extended family, I did the Celiac test too. This test is double folded. To be diagnosed as a Celiac booth results have to be positive. But only one of my tests had a positive outcome. So, I don’t have Celiac. I do have something, go figure what.
As I continued to gain weight, I started to watch carefully every bite that passed my lips and found that food that contains starch, like potatoes or even rice, make me gain weight and what’s worse – feeling overstuffed. Therefore, I took pasta and other dishes where it was clear that they had starch, like potatoes, rice, corn, soups that have corn flour, and so on. In my misery, I searched the Internet for food without sugar and starch (alias carbohydrates, aka carbs), and found that there were certain types of nutrition that matched this need, to mention only one: ketogenic diet. Meaning that I was not alone in my distress 😊.
You are invited to check out the “low carbs nutrition” search to discover a new world full of fantastic recipes. Not only that, but there are different groups, in Hebrew and English, whose purpose is to share low-carbs recipes, insights gained over the years, and a lot of sympathy and encouragement. You can ask questions and get answers from group members that help (where can you get flax bread? Low-carb chocolate mousse recipe etc.). So today I am between a low-carb diet and a ketogenic diet. The Ketogenic diet is the strictest (so low that I cannot keep it for long (only 20 gr carbs a day).
Exercise
Who has the time? Boring! Hate it! I know all the arguments, the excuses, and the “reasons.” No, I was not born an athlete, I’m pretty lazy myself. Give me an orthopedic chair (well, just a chair will do), and I’m fine. But the realization that without exercising my body will quickly deteriorate motivates me (grudgingly) to reach the gym (at least it’s air-conditioned). Twice a week aerobics (walking Darling, walking) and two Pilates’ reformer’s lessons a week.
I discovered Pilates only recently after I got bored with exercising in the gym with weights by myself. First, the group is tiny. Second, the cost is shared by all members of the group, so it is not expensive. Third, the method combines strength exercises with yoga exercises. Thus, you work on your muscles and your elasticity and balance at the same time. Every member is working according to his abilities, and it has a reputation for shaping the body. So, I recommend, and if you are not convinced then at least walk. After each birth giving, I walked in the afternoon with the stroller and the other kids to visit friends or to the park. (At first, to my friends, and later to the children’s friends, Darling). So, I was walking a lot, and it helped lose all that maternity weight quite amazingly. It is sufficient for a quick short and consistent walk several times a week to improve metabolism, weight, and health (also possible in the mall 😊).
Learn from the Japanese
I saw on television a program by Mickey Haimovitz, who is an Israeli reporter, which tried to track the causes of the global obesity epidemic. The fascinating story was about the Japanese. As the Japanese discovered western diet, they started to get fat too and turn into obese. But now obesity in Japan is on the decline, they got wise and dumped the western nutrition! Micky tried to understand why they were thin to start with, and she concluded that they ate little, did not load on the plate and the body. In a Polish mom translation: “A good boy leaves on a plate.” 😉
And in the evening
In front of the TV, make do with cold or hot drinks, coffee/tea or water (sparkling or plain). If necessary – a few cucumber sticks. And if you really have to – 8 Pecan nuts, but you do not have to, it’s just a habit. Since we no longer employ energy (T.V. programs do not require thought even), what we put into our mouth becomes excess calories that turn into human fat!
The last word: “Successful weight loss takes programming, not willpower.” Phil McGraw
Please, share below your tips and tricks on the subject.