Jan 14, 2011

Resolutions and Losing Weight


I didn't make any resolutions this year. Sure, I want to be conscientious about being more organized and be better about watching my moolah and saving, but those have been constant personality change projects I have been working on since becoming an adult.

Tron's resolutions were "to accessorize more, and to buy clothes of higher quality fabrics."  These are the kind of resolutions I can get behind!

The dawning of January brings then end of the holidays, the promise of spring, and resolutions to lose the weight.  Emily and I were talking the other day about her white dress-wedding diet.  What I did before my wedding (and still do today) is a really simple way to lose weight without dieting.  Em said I should put it on the blog, and Shelley concurred.  I'm sure I will regret telling y'all my secret instead of making moolah with a best selling diet book, but here it is . . .

Eat 7-9 servings of fruit and veggies a day.

Easy peasy right?  Do it (and a little walking or my personal favorite- JAZZERCISE), and you will lose weight.  Only 14% of Americans eat five servings of fruit and vegetable a day.  That's kind of gross really.

You have to consciously pack all those vegetables in, so you don't have stomach room to eat a large amount of crap.  I eat whatever I want, exercise 4-5 times a week, and stay about the size I want to be.  Don't get me wrong, I'd love to lose five pounds, but then I would have to diet.  Blergh.
Example- pizza, and a ton of sauteed spinach and roasted broccolli.


Y'all know I love to eat and cook (and eat some more), so this really helps me keep everything in check.  For example- yesterday I had

3 eggs and 2 clementines for breakfast (2)
Big bowl of homemade gumbo for lunch and a couple cookies (2)
Wasa crackers with marinara and cheese for snack (1)
Smoked salmon pizzetta with arugula and tomato soup (3)
hmm, another cookie and a couple of Hubs' fries.

Every meal or snack, I have to get in some vegetable or fruit. And apparently some cookies (I'm nipping the cookie thing in the bud, as I do have all these weddings coming up).  If my pants are getting snug, or I want to slim a little, I just tighten up on my junk- like ht cookies and the fries.

Another positive aspect is that making sure I get seven to nine servings of vegetables and fruit means that I am eating more "whole".  There aren't a lot of processed vegetables.  You can't get asparagus in a cardboard box on the cookie/cracker aisle. 

I always fought against my enormous appetite and tried to starve it into submission, leading to late night cookie and brownie raids.  I started getting my act together in law school when I started lifting weights- more muscle- I could eat more!  With the 7-9 "lifestyle" (hee), I eat tons, yet have gone down a few sizes!  My skin has cleared up a lot too. 

I'm not counting calories, points, carbs, or anything that makes me nuts and obsessive.  I just keep a little tally in my head- "Okay, had chick-fil-a for lunch, so I need a veggie plate for dinner to get up to my 7-9".

Also, I snack on veggie soups a lot.  Next week is soup week on the blog, so get ready!

Anyway, that's my effortless weight loss tip.  If you are wanting to drop a few or "get healthier", give it a shot!  Let me know how it goes- I love vegetables, but I'm sure it's harder if you don't.

What's your way of fitting in your clothes?  I do have a number of bridesmaid dresses in my future, so I am all yours!



8 comments:

  1. Great post, because Lord knows I'm not getting my share of fruits and veggies each day. I'm trying to get in shape through portion control and walking on the treadmill each night. I'm going to try a Pure Barre workout with girlfriends on Sunday. We'll see how that goes!

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  2. I need to do better about this! I'm not really a fruit fan, but, i do love veggies, I just have a problem of them going bad before I can eat them all. Must resolve to eat more veggies! And soup, love soup! Soup is one of those fabulously sneaky things--you don't realize you're getting so many veggies--love it.

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  3. I absolutely love fruits and veggies- pretty much all of them, except I'm allergic to citrus, which nixes some of them. However, I know that I fail miserably in getting that many servings a day, but you've inspired me to try. My main problem is knowing what exactly constitutes a serving- can you help?

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  4. Samma that is genius! I may be trying this out. I like fruits and veggies but I'm bad at getting them in. And, this baby weight is just not going to lose itself (I've given it plenty of time to try just in case).

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  5. I have been trying this for the past few weeks and I have to say-it's working! I love fruits and veggies so it hasn't been too hard for me, it's mostly just about keeping track of how many servings I'm actually getting. I'm trying to drink more water too because I KNOW I don't get enough throughout the day. Thanks for the inside scoop :)

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  6. Great post! Your eats sound yummy and I hear you on the cookies. hehe

    I've actually not been tracking lately - i've been more counting in my head... not sure if it's working for me. I typically swear by writing things down, especially in times of stress. I love that you love jazzercise!

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  7. Well I'm stealing this idea. It's high time I fit back in some of my pre-baby clothing! Thanks for the tip!

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  8. Hello! I found your blog recently and love this idea. I am getting married this summer and can definitely handle eating more fruits and veggies instead of trying to monitor everything I eat. I would love to hear how you determine serving sizes!

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