Thursday, July 22, 2010

Healthy for Me!

Quite some time ago I took on the Healthy For You Challenge, and then I kind of fell off the wagon.

I sort of got back on a few months ago, and made a half hearted effort to clean my act up. But about a month ago I saw my doctor and it's back on the carb battling diet. I had this about 2 years ago and it was so hard. I love, love, love carbs.

2 years ago it was no potatoes, no white bread only wholemeal, no pasta at all, brown rice only but if I really couldn't face it only long grain white.

This time around it's multigrain bread, which is good because I really really really hate wholemeal bread. No potatoes again, but I can and should be substituting sweet potato in for it when cooking, actually I like sweet potato better than potato anyway so it's all good. Brown or Basmati rice, I always eat basmati rice, and I eat it lots, at least 3 to 4 times a week. It's become my go to carb since I've cut right back on potatoes and pasta on the last couple of years.
And pasta has now come off the no-go list, but only as an occasional.

For the past month I have been really good, porridge for breakfast, wholegrain bread, no sugar in my coffee/tea, eating way more fruit and veg and generally avoiding naughty things like chocolate, biscuits, cake, fast food and even the diet soft drinks.

End result? I'm eating better but less, but I'm not hungry and actually find I eat smaller serves of things now as well. No more insomnia, mid afternoon meltdowns or sugar cravings.
Best of all I've actually lost some weight and my 2-block walk has gone from 30 mins to 15 mins, I need to do 2 laps to get the same amount of time as when I started.

When I saw the doctor this week he was pleased, I was pleased, and better yet there was no more talk of lapbands, which pleased me even more. When I saw him a month ago, I don't know if he genuinely thought the only way I'd lose weight was with the aid of surgery or as I saw it, the gauntlet had been thrown and I've spent the last month out to prove a point.
I'm now to keep up the good work, and see the doctor again in a month. I've started a food diary to keep track of what I am eating so if things start to stagnate a bit I can look back over it and see what needs tweaking to get things moving again and also as a way I can look back and see how much good work and effort I have put in and how I actually can do it.
I can have a Bob the Builder moment, yes I can!