Stacie's Blog

 

Oh how I miss the fat-free diet days.  Purchase an extra-large bag of Gummie Bears before ENG 200 and eat the whole thing during the three hour lecture.  Dine on an entire box of pasta but top it with caution because spaghetti sauce has one gram of fat per serving.  Eat the meatball?  No way!  But pass that fat-free box of wine.

It was during this “health-craze” that my friend ironically complained, “I can’t lose weight no matter how many fat-free cookies I eat.”  We found it surprising that despite the extra large portions of fat-free snacks, dinners, and alcohol, we had both packed on the freshman 15 and then some.  At the time I chalked this up to the idea that diets don’t work for me.  I decided I was just one of those unlucky people who can’t lose weight.

I had a similar problem when I was pregnant for my first child and gaining weight rapidly.  By week twenty I was up 30 pounds.  My doctor, so rudely, questioned me about my weight gain.  So, I explained to him that I had been eating really healthy: whole grain muffins, full-fat yogurt, lots of cheese.  His response, “Well, if you eat two bushels of apples a day, you’re going to gain weight.  It’s still calories.”  Not the wisest thing to say to a fat and crabby pregnant lady, but I got the point.

As much as I may wish it was otherwise, calories count.  The fat-free diet was yet another example of me wanting an entire fat-free cake and eating it, too.  I want to be able to over indulge without consequence.  If fat was the enemy, then I could gorge myself as long as I avoided it.  Or, when carbs became the problem, I happily lived on brie and filet mignon.   But really, did I honestly think that was the answer?

As disappointing as it is, eliminating any one food group will not magically result in weight loss.  So here’s the TRAINER’S TIP:  EVERYTHING IN MODERATION.  At first I found this punishing. (“You mean I can’t eat this sleeve of reduced fat Chips Ahoy before bed?”)  But now I see this philosophy is actually liberating.  That’s because the word EVERYTHING comes right before MODERATION.  So instead of focusing on the limit, I can choose to enjoy the variety.  A small slice of a homemade brownie is so much better than an entire fat-free one wrapped in plastic.  So the trick is to embrace the joy of really eating whatever you want…just not as much as you may want.

 

Well, after a two week attempt, The 5:2 Diet has failed me…or I have failed it.  I would have thought the failure would be due to my inability to live even for one day on 450 calorie.  But that part, I was able to manage.  What I could not handle was getting on the scale the morning of my fourth fast day to find I weighed exactly the same amount as I did on Fasting Day 1.  My determination instantly disappeared and I headed downstairs for a big bowl of oatmeal instead of the lemon water that would have been my breakfast.

Thus, the day that was supposed to be my fourth fast day ended up being a return to my normal diet.  And instead of spending the day thinking about how to stretch 450 calories across 15 hours, I spent it wondering why The 5:2 Diet didn’t work.

I know the science behind weight loss.  I know that it takes a caloric deficit of 3500 to lose one pound.  I’ve learned that much from my husband.  So this diet, mathematically, should work.  Right? If I only eat 400 calories in a day…and I usually consume 1800…then I’m saving 1400…for a deficit of 2800 for the week…but I figured I deserved to overindulge a tad on my day-after-fast-days…so maybe a 2000 deficit.

Really?  That’s it?  All of this hunger won’t even result in a pound of weight loss in a week?

My conclusion, there are easier ways to create a weekly 2000 calorie deficit.  I consulted the Exercise and Caloric Expenditure chart.  Here are some of my ideas.

• Go for a 30 minute walk five nights a week (150X5=750), do an hour of circuit training on Saturday and Sunday (475×2=950) and eliminate two glasses of wine per week (100/glassx2=200) CALORIC DEFICIT=1900
• Stop having a bedtime snack (250×7=1750) and eliminate two glasses of wine per week (100/glassx2=20) CALORIC DEFICIT=1950
• Do Jeff’s High Intensity Circuit Training YouTube video three times (160×3=480 calories) and only have a bedtime snack one time during the week (250×6=1500) CALORIC DEFICIT=1980
• Do two cycling classes in a week (600×2=1200) and eliminate four glasses of wine per week (100×4=400) CALORIC DEFICIT=1600
• Add ten high intensity running minutes to my treadmill time (110×5=550), do one cycling class (600), eliminate all wine (7 x100=700) CALORIC DEFICIT=1850

Granted some of these strategies may seem extreme, a weekend without wine is not much of a weekend, but a day without solid food is also pretty drastic.  For me, I think small adjustments to my normal routine are more appealing than twice weekly starvation days.

So perhaps, The 5:2 Diet did work.  It gave me a new perspective on a couple of things.  First, I learned what real hunger feels like.  This will be valuable knowledge for the next time someone brings left-over birthday cake to the office and I suddenly need a snack.  Second, I learned that even when I am really, truly, unbelievably hungry, there are things I can do to survive it like drink water or chew gum.  And finally, I learned that an hour of intense exercise is easier for me than a day of intense hunger.  So The 5:2 Diet book is going on the shelf and I’m going to spinning class.

 

My friend and I were recently comparing notes about how we squeeze in exercise between full-time jobs, raising children, and managing a household.

“I give my three-year-old his DS and let him play while I work-out, I know it’s bad parenting,” she confided guiltily.  But she needn’t worry about me judging, I have used electronic babysitters for far less noble causes.

However, her situation did bring to mind all of the people I know who go to great lengths to stay fit.  My sister, mother of three, full-time Law Professor, told me recently she had to choose between keeping up her gardening and running.  Running won.  I was certain my brother would ease up on his competitive bike racing training after his daughter was born.  He did for a few months.  These days he logs hundreds of miles after his daughter goes to bed instead of right after work.  Another friend fell and injured her knee.  As soon as she could, she strapped on a knee brace and went back to her interval classes.  She focused on upper body training and treadmill walking.  And my best friend who, like me, used to consider herself a non-runner is preparing to run a half-marathon along The Great Wall of China.

So admittedly, I get a little bitter sometimes when I wake up at 5:00 for my solo work-outs.  It’s easy to assume that people who are fit simply have more time for exercise than me.  But I know that’s not true.  We all have busy lives.  There is always something else to do other than work-out.  We all have to squeeze in the precious time it takes to stay healthy.  So I will not hit snooze tomorrow.  I will drag myself out of bed and get on the treadmill and join the ranks of the people I admire:  all who make fitness a priority when it is oh-so-easy not to.

But just in case I do hit snooze…and need to do some cardio after work instead…that idea about the DS is a pretty good one…

 

“Could this be the one?”

No, I wasn’t reminiscing about early dates with my husband, this is what I was thinking driving in to work today.  “Could this be the one I’ve been waiting for?  A diet I can stick with?” A new diet approach was being discussed on Doctor Radio (Sirrus XM 81).  Perhaps it is too soon to post this because my fitness-basics-devoted husband may still be reading my blogs, he’s not a fan of my quest to find the “easy way” to loose weight and stay in shape.  But I have to admit that as they were discussing The 5:2 Diet Book, I was instantly intrigued.  Who wouldn’t be excited with a subtitle like The Part-Time Diet With Life-Changing Results?

Since January 2, I’ve started and stopped my New Year’s Resolution several times.  Even with my 40^th birthday looming in less than two months, I can’t find the motivation to lose those annoying five…okay, 7…pounds that are lingering after a really fun Summer 2012.  Methods that worked 10 years ago when I was preparing for my 30^th simply require more dedication than I can muster these days.

So, I can’t help but think that two days of watching what I eat and five days of “feasting” could be the inspiration I’ve been waiting for.  It totally fits my current fitness motto, “Minimal Effort/Maximum Results.”  I wonder if wine is part of the feast?  I’ll let you know, I ordered the book the minute I pulled off the highway.

Even though I’ve had numerous failed weight loss attempts this year, I have been successful with one thing.  Surprisingly, it is a TRAINER’S TIP and it fits my fitness motto.  I have been able to stick with INTERVAL CARDIO TRAINING.  It’s cardio for those of us who hate cardio.  Here’s the idea, you spend 30 minutes on the treadmill.   Of those 30 minutes, you spend about 5 minutes warming up at a nice, easy pace, 20 minutes of intervals, and 5 minutes in a relaxing cool-down mode.  During each interval you increase your speed every minute for five minutes.  Don’t start too fast because you won’t make it to minute five.  This is not an easy workout.  Sometimes minimal means the shortest possible amount of time but with maximum effort.  So while the fifth minute is torture, it saves me from spending 30 more minutes on the treadmill and actually produces better results.  I’m all about efficiency.

So could this be the answer?  The key to being forty, fit and fabulous?  Part-time dieting and high intensity cardio bouts?  I can’t wait to find out.

 

Today, like many days, someone heard that my husband is a personal trainer.  “Wow,” she says.  “You’re really lucky.  Does he train you?”

I can tell from the look in her eye that she is picturing me enjoying invigorating early morning work-out sessions.  She sees my husband leading me through an intense series of exercises, praising my effort, gently pointing out a break in form.  She imagines that afterward we sit down to a breakfast of egg whites and spinach and green tea.  We plan our meals for the day and how we’ll squeeze in some lunchtime cardio.  Then, with food journals in hand, we head out to take on the day.

If that were reality, I might actually be as fit as my husband’s clients.

Unfortunately, my husband leaves first thing in the morning to train other people’s spouses.  I am left to face the treadmill on my own.  On a good day, I can muster the motivation to put in a couple miles of interval training before going through a series of upper body exercises.  On a bad day, I sit on the floor sipping coffee and watching The Real Housewives between sets of crunches.

“Better than nothing,” I tell myself as I fold my work-out clothes and put them back on the shelf.  No need to wash them when I haven’t come close to breaking a sweat.

But despite my often uninspired work-out efforts, I have been able to maintain a reasonable level of fitness…especially considering my age, my motherhood, my sometimes sedentary job and particular fondness for wine.  Somehow, maybe my husband has “trained” me.  But it is not the way you might think.

Living with a health professional creates a focus on fitness probably not found in all households.  Being married to my husband, with his intense passion for his work, probably elevates that focus.  So I do learn from the programs he has made for his clients.  I do learn, sometimes begrudgingly, from the comments he makes about the meals I create.  And having a mini-gym in my home has made working-out, if not easier, at least more accessible.

So this is my blog, my journal, my lessons from my life as The Wife of someone who lives a really fit life.