Hello! It's been a while since I've blogged but honestly, there hasn't been a whole lot to tell these days.
I have officially started maintenance and no more meds (still injections for energy every week right now, but not taking anything else). Things are going well. Although I am at the point where I can add in "starch" and other things, mentally I'm not there yet. I still pretty much follow the same food program, but I will add other things here and there. I'd say about 90% of what I eat is still right from the original plan.
Some of the things I learned at my maintenance transition appointment I found rather interesting. One of them was about drinking the water. It was told to me that if you take your weight and divide by 2, that's how many ounces of water you should drink in a day. Okay, luckily, that's less than a gallon, so it's been a little easier to handle that! :-)
Also, when we discussed adding starches and all, we discussed potatoes. It makes sense, but never really dawned on me before. Lori advised that if I choose to eat potatoes, I should boil them first. Boiling them removes a lot of the starch (think about the inside of the pan after you boil a potato)...therefore helping reduce the amount of carbs you consume in eating that potato! Makes perfect sense, NOW!
I did also learn that I'm definitely not eating enough or often enough. I need to focus more on eating breakfast. I hate breakfast...it's annoying! I don't get up early enough to eat breakfast, really. I did eat breakfast during the losing part of the program, but it's easy for me to get out of the habit of doing so. I don't do a great job of snacking either. I am, however, getting better at that. It's easier to snack in the summer with all of the fresh fruits and vegetables I buy. So many great choices during the summer months.
One of the pages in the Zone Wellness packet I received that discusses maintenance, mentions this..."Simply fill your plate with a combination of vegetables and fruits. Use breads, grains and starches as condiments." That's pretty much what I've been doing. I made a shrimp pasta dish last night for Todd and I...I ate mostly shrimp and maybe three fork fulls of pasta. It really was just enough of it for me.
Another page indicates the combination for a zone-perfect balanced meal: 1/3 low fat protein, 2/3 vegetables & fruits and a 'dash' of good fat. What is a "good fat" you ask? Keep reading!
Let's talk about fats for a minute...there are some "good fats" that you should incorporate into your diet. There are also some things you should avoid and things you should definitely limit. I've listed them for you below:
Good Fats: Omega 3 oils, foods such as Salmon, Tuna, Sardines, Flax Seed and things with Omega 9 oils such as Olive Oil, Canola Oil, Avocado (yum), Almonds, Cashews & Macadamia Nuts.
Bad Fats: Limit these: Saturated fats, Animal fats/Dairy, Corn Oil, Safflower Oil
Avoid these: Trans fatty acids (found in processed foods!), margarine, fried foods, shortening.
The last of the "rules" for staying in the Zone Wellness was the best one. If you make a mistake, don't worry. No guilt, just get back in the zone with your next meal.
I certainly don't claim to have all the right things to do or say, but I can tell you all that I'm still giving 100% to maintaining the work I put into getting back to where I wanted to be. I'm thrilled to be at goal, and working toward some toning and ultimately living a healthier lifestyle. Is that to say I'm never going to eat another bad thing? No, but I'm not going to freak out when I don't have a choice somewhere, I'm going to make the best choice when given options that are different than what I would do at home, and return to my normal routine as quickly as I can. It's pretty simple in my mind...now to just do it!
Next time, I'll update you on the rest of the Zone Wellness information that I have!
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