My Nutrition Plan aka "The end the World as I know it"

Okay, based on my previous blogs, you know that I am severely challenged when it comes to sticking to my nutrition plan. Now I specifically am not using the word diet as my trainer would say...

"This is a way of life rather than a short term fix. "

Honestly, if this were for life I would seriously consider ending it. Lol! Apparently, once I drop the excess fat that my body has become so efficient in holding on to, my life will be alot easier as the maintenance phase is not nearly as grueling. Meanwhile, however, I need to live through the first phase. :) So this is it...

I am currently eating 1300 calories 4 days per week and 1600 calories 3 days per week. Simple enough. This is the complicated part....

My 1,300 calorie intake breakdown
Protein: 114g
Carbohydrates: 146g
Fiber: 25g
Fat: 29

My 1,600 calorie intake breakdown
Protein: 140g
Carbohydrates: 180g
Fiber: 30g
Fat: 36g

It's like a fricken word problem. Thank goodness for www.fitday.com. If you are logging your nutrition it is a great free program that calculates everything for you. www.fitday.com My trainer must have some additional access which allows her to view my data. You should see my first month. lol! Yes, I put down cinnamon rolls, donuts, ice cream, butterfingers, 100 Grand candy bars.... She had to know what she was dealing with. lol! I think her biggest issue has been my not logging consistently.

I'm working on it Lanell, I'm working on it. I think I have two solid weeks now. :)

Back to nutrition.....

Even though I was given specific guidelines for each level of caloric intake, (protein, fiber, carbs, fat) I just focused on the calories for the most part. You know the old saying...Calories in...Calories out. That's what we've all been taught. You burn more calories than you take in and you'll lose weight. So why can't I take a multivitamin and eat my calories in Butterfingers? I'm still burning MUCH more than I'm taking in.

Unfortunately once you're down to those last stubborn pounds, at my age, there is no wiggle room whatsoever. So I played around. Ate pretty good last month for the most part. Would drop 3 or 4 pounds then have a day or two where I stayed within my calorie budget but ate junk. I worked out as usual. (again, same caloric intake) I gained the stupid weight right back within ONE DAY!!!

If the human body were a product, it would be recalled and the consumer would not only get an upgraded model, but a class action settlement for emotional distress!

So what is happening? Why?......WHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYY????????!!!!!!

Granted, some of the weight gain is from salt and not drinking enough water. But come on!!! This is absolutely nuts. How on earth can I handle all the stresses of my normal day, feed my family and not have a little somethin' somethin' sweet when I want it? This is just so very very wrong. In addition, everywhere you turn someone is trying to throw a $1.00 Double Cheeseburger at you. For example, today I got the kids up and out, checked email and voicemail, returned a few calls, did my cardio, ate a healthy breakfast then started my day of meetings, errands etc...

As I must eat every 3 hours to keep my metabolism up and stop me from binging due to hunger, I decided to find something healthy to eat 3o minutes in advance of my next feeding. :)

Sidenote: If you think about it, babies are fed a small amount every 2-3 hours. It makes sense that the human body functions well with that feeding schedule. It's natural. I remember giving my kids larger and larger meals and slowly stretching out the times between feedings so that they wouldn't eat so often. 3 large meals plus a late night bottle with extra cereal at night to help them sleep longer. Bad bad bad. I realize now, that it's more for convenience than their health. Oh well. How do you know what you don't know right?

Back to the story....

I was traveling from one meeting to another and could find nothing quick and healthy to eat. Then I saw Jack-in-the-Box. Believe it or not they have a chicken fajita pita that fits the bill. Whole grain pita, grilled chicken, vegetables and tastes good. Great!! Ordered my Fajita.

" Would you like the Fajita meal Ma'am?"

"No, thank you. Just the Fajita." I had my water with me. Carry a case in my car.

"You'll get fries and a large drink for just over a dollar more Ma'am. It's really a great value."

Through gritted teeth, I replied,

"No, thank you. Just the Fajita. Please"

Okay, she's just doing her job. If she were on my staff, I would reward her for attempting the upsell. However, as a junk food starved patron, who had just been called Ma'am...twice, I was ready to come through that speaker and choke the living heck out of her!!

In any case, I pestered Lanell (my trainer) with questions about WHY it mattered if I ate junk or not. But Why? Why? Why? Why? I finally understand why my kids keep asking the same question over and over. They understand the answer, don't like it and think that it will change with further discussion. It doesn't. :(

We know that too much salt is a given. It will bloat you within an inch of your life. Too much fat. Sure... you'll get fat. What many of us don't know is the effect of sugar other than the increase of calories and carbohydrates. Well let me tell you. I'm still in shock.....

As it turns out, sugar/simple carbohydrates spike blood sugar levels causing excess amounts of insulin to be released. Okay great, more energy right? Ah..no. Apparently the excess "energy" is stored as fat!!!! So basically, our bodies can only handle so much insulin and when there is too much, it goes strait to fat to be stored for later use. It doesn't matter if you worked out all day long. Nice....

I DEMAND A RECALL!!!

So when I hit the right amount of protein, carbs, fiber, calories and fat, get at least 8 hours of sleep, eat every 3 hours and drink 64-96 ounces of water, I'm great. Lol!!! All I can say is Planning, Planning, Planning. In order to be successful, I've got to not only plan my work day and errands, but my meals, exercise, sleep etc...

Lord help me.