Being Lent and all I thought now would be as good a time as any for a progress report on my Whole Foods Diet Initiative. I think I started this late last year to stave off holiday/between training cycles weight gain. To review, here are the rules (as I play the game):
Minimize/eliminate processed foods i.e.: anything in a box, containing ingredients I cannot say let alone spell, etc.
Maximize/focus on foods my great grandmother would recognize/have had in her pantry.
Pretty simple yes?
Goals
Drop 5 to 10 lbs. Lighter = faster
How I did: Fail. I’m a pound or 2 above marathon weight, so I’m not really “up” but I didn’t lose either.
Lose belly fat
How I did: PASS!!! Not sure how/why this worked but the old bread basket is a tad leaner and meaner. I don’t mean just because it growls sometimes. And no I’m not gonna show you.
Achieve better health overall
How I did: PASS!!! I didn’t really have “before” numbers to compare to but I can say that my cholesterol, BP, triglycerides, etc were all excellent at my annual physical in January.
Minimally processed foods I eat regularly:
Protein Powder
Larabar
Flax Cereal
Challenges
Unless you eat loads of raw stuff you need to COOK. Or be lucky enough to have someone cook for you.
Eating Out: I eat out hardly at all, although a salad would be pretty simple as long as you don’t go hog wild on some weird dressing. Lean protein and veggies would also be fairly safe bets.
Going to parties, I think I went to a few (aren’t I the socialite?). I hung out around the crudites and hummus. Or I ate before I went. Or both.
Fast Food: I’m proud to report I’ve had none.
Sugar: My nemesis. My great grandma had sugar in her pantry but that doesn’t make it ‘good’. The processed foods we have today are often jam-packed with it. It’s hard to find a cereal with less than 10g per serving. As you probably know, sugar is refined and is basically a wolf is sweet clothing. Pay a visit to the IlaxSTUDIO for a great discussion of the many horrible things sugar is responsible for.
My Waterloo
Too much of a good thing: I did a decent job of getting back to basics. But I unintentionally became a dense calorie-seeking machine.
Calorie-dense whole foods I eat way too much of:
Avocado
Nuts
Chocolate covered nuts, hello dark chocolate almonds rolled in cocoa
Chocolate covered berries, cranberries, goji berries, pomegranate seeds. I’d show you these if I actually had any left in the house. But I don’t because they’ve all gone down the pie hole.
I fall into the trap of rationalizing that these are phytochemical filled and therefore healthy. But then I lack the off switch and inevitably overeat.
Sure dark chocolate is good. So are nuts and berries. Dark chocolate covered nuts and berries are good. But a circus-train-load of them = not so good.
I’ve been cited by the Food Police for lack of proper Portion Control. Guilty as charged.
Next Steps
If I truly want to drop weight, I’ll need to control the mass quantities I’m putting down my pie hole. Maybe I don’t need to eat like a lumberjack after all. Rome wasn’t built in a day right? Stay tuned for the next chapter.
Sounds like you are doing really well overall. Way to be victorious at Trader Joe's! (I would love to have a Trader Joe's close by.)
My victory is that I told myself to stretch all.day.long – and I have! And my heel isn't killing me and my calves are looser than they would have been otherwise. Yay me! 🙂
great job with your challenges and goals. sounds like you know what's working and what isn't.
my victory is that i'm going to be handing in my physics lab report in a few minutes. the victory is that it will be BEFORE the 5pm deadline haha
LOL! I'm addicted to avocados, too. But they are just so yummy!
My victory? Passed up the easy #8 for me and Happy Meal for my son and came home instead. Mac&Cheese and a chicken hot dog for him, a sandwich and a cup of tomato soup for me. 🙂
Lost body fat but not pounds- sounds like too much weight training. You've gained muscle, perhaps?
I say dark chocolate is good for you, but portion control rules still apply.
And red wine…
Our local health food store sells these little bags of dark chocolate covered almonds that are like crack. I just can't even go in that place without getting some!
My victory today was that I can breathe without taking 15 different types of drugs!! Now my chest still hurts but at least one of my nostrils is not clogged! Woohooo!!
I am totally envious of only your 2 lb weight gain. Since my hiatus from running any type of speedwork, I have gained 6 lbs. SIX!!! For cying out loud, I need to go have lyposuction!!!! I now have 10 to lose before Boston…and fat chance at that because I'm lethargic at work and to compensate for that, I eat. ERRR!
Have a good weekend, girl! How does the Achilles look for getting in a run soon??
xo
Way to go!! I really need to work on the belly fat! That is my biggest problem area right now 🙁
You said pie hole – he he he. I am having the same problem with nuts. You are still rocking it – lets keep on going
How on earth do you get rid of belly fat? I've been trying all my life and even thought the rest of me is lean I still have a little tummy.
No eating victory today.
I didn't have a cupcake at the birthday party we went to. A small victory, but a victory nontheless …
I totally need the food police!! They would arrest me and throw me away with no bail….and I would not get out early for good behavior!
My victory today was….not tossing 6 four year old girls out of my mini van. on the way to dance class, as they sang "part of your world" from the little mermaid to the top of their lungs! on the way to freakin dance class, holy ear pain when we arrived there!
Thanks for sharing this! Steven and I are in the process of planning our Whole Foods diet and this is really inspiring. I think many of us struggle with portion control, and the fact that you have been doing this well (and are healthier!!!) is great!
Thanks for the link 🙂
Back to the foam roller. I have piriformis and maybe hip flexor issues which is why I bought it. Can I ask how often do you use it? Any hints? Thanks.
I'm a bit lazy when it comes to not using processed foods. For now, I'm just impressed if I plan my meals for the week. I've been more mindful of not using so many processed foods, but this is coming from someone who sprays PAM on her toast each morning!;-)
Great job on meeting your goals, I'm needing to work on the whole pie-hold-intake too… Have a great weekend!
Loved your post today. To reach our potential, we have to sometimes give up what we love. Not that I have given much up in the way of dieting, but I have been consuming more water of late. Have a great weekend.
You did really well, I try to eat like that a lot, chocolate covered things are my downfall too!! Waitrose is a cool shop, I hardly ever go there cause it's so expensive but they have loads of cool veggie treats! I'd love to go to a Trader Joes or a Wholefoods shop we don't have stuff like that over here I don't think, closest thing I guess would be Holland and Barret, did you shop there when you lived in England?
I forgot to say I'm nominating you for a gorgeous blog award!
Your funny! Love the goals! I'm always cautious of processed foods and sugar-not to say I don't ever eat them:) It's only 6:31 AM but my victory thusfar today is passing on the peanut butter cookie (my son's hockey team is having a party) with my coffee!!!
You are doing great! Keep up the good work. With such great focus I am sure you are going to have them all in the PASS column soon.
My victory today was getting to run. Single parenting this weekend + bad weather/ cranky little = few runs over the weekend. But today I added a factor of determination to change the equation!