Saturday, March 28, 2009

Clean eating....I don't even know what that is!

Over Valentines weekend my brother and his wife and baby stayed with us which I was so excited about because I love visiting with family. My sis-in-law lives in Utah so I don't know her really well. I know she's sweet, a great mom, and healthy. Healthy in that she doesn't eat processed foods. No white flour, no sugar. WHAT?

So in order for her to feel more comfortable, I threw out the molding veggies in my fridge and picked up new fruits and veggies and some wheat bread and wheat pasta. That's all I knew to do.
I couldn't even comprehend how to live that way! We went to fast food pretty much every day. And me....sometimes twice a day. So I decided to browse the internet to see what things to fix for dinner.

What I read shocked me ----> having a lean physique is 80% what you eat, 10% fitness and 10% genetics.

Whether it was absolutely true or bloated statistics to tout a diet plan, I figured there had to be something to it. And that something meant that no matter how much I work out, if my diet is mainly consisting of chocolate chip cookies and diet coke (not kidding I'd have that for breakfast and lunch if I could) then I would NEVER reach my weight loss/fitness goals.

When I saw my sweet sis-in-law I believed the numbers. That girl is stick skinny...and not in an unhealthy way...she ran like no-one I've seen....I was trying to keep up with her on my bike (my no gear, pedal backwards for the break bike that I recently replaced - more on that later :)

So since she's been gone. I haven't had even one diet coke. I'm drinking only water. I've replaced all breads with whole-wheat breads. I've gone through the giant Costco sized containers for grapes and strawberries and broccoli etc. My fruits and veggies haven't gone bad before I had to buy more! I've cut out sugar. No cookies! I switched to Adam's Peanut butter and I've packed healthy lunches for my kids everyday this month.

I'm trying to learn the basics of eating clean. It's a big change for me because I've never liked cooking. Now I cook almost every meal. We've gone from going out almost every day to going out almost once a week. I still haven't cooked with whole grains. It literally scares me to see a picture of a wheat berry (which I didn't know what that was until about a week ago).

It's been a little over a month, and the weight loss seems a little slow. I can't watch The Biggest Loser because my 1.5 pounds a week feels like nothing in comparison. But I FEEL a lot better. A LOT BETTER! The first 3 weeks without caffeine....whoa. I would fall asleep anywhere, anytime. But now I feel great from morning to bedtime. My running has also improved. I've gone from dying if I ran for 10 minutes to being able to keep a fairly steady pace for 35 minutes.
I tell myself I get a cheat day, on Saturdays. This helps me deal with the cravings. Sometimes I take it, sometimes I make it one cheat meal. Maybe I'll have to stop this if I want the weight loss to go quicker....but for now I'm afraid if I do, I'll give in to weekday cravings. I also recently read that it can take 3 months for your body to realize you're eating clean and then the weight will come off. I must admit I haven't been calorie counting or WW Point counting. When I do that I start to feel like if it's only about calories then why can't I have the same amount in a cookie then in a banana.
Well, if you've read through this long post- thank you. And I'd love to know of any blogs or websites you refer to for healthy eating.

6 comments:

Bennett Family said...

GREAT JOB!!! :) Keep your ideas comiing.

Vicki said...

Eating is my downfall too... I have been trying to lose weight this year and the first month I did really well and ate really well... but now I am giving in all the time again. If it was all about working out I wouldn't have a problem because I like to exercise... but I LOVE to eat. I am impressed you are able to eat clean... come convince me to do it too... or better yet... make it a competition with me :) I always need extrinsic motivation.

Sarah J. said...

Way to go, Shannon! Now that baby girl is here, you've motivated me to jump back on the bandwagon. BTW, my friend set up a weight-loss blog for everyday moms like us that has lots of really good info. and support. If you want to join, send me an email and I'll send you the link.

chiccam said...

Good Job Shannon!

Kara said...

Impressive! Keep it up : )

Unknown said...

I can't believe I missed this one, but I am so proud and impressed. For the record I have to tell you this....last week the hotel we stayed at had a soda fountain with cups and ice and the whole bit....free in the lobby. I drank Diet Coke evry day- sometimes two a day, and honestly, I felt so sick by the end of the week I wanted to cry. My stomach and gut was so bloated. I guzzled water all weekend!

I still miss it sometimes, but the evryday thing I think I am over. Finally.