Discoveries in Dieting

This week is the first week of what will probably be close to a year (if not more) of weight loss, exercise, and fitness. So get ready to hear a lot about it on my blog, because as they say, it's a lifestyle change. And when your whole lifestyle has been eating bag after bag of chips and drinking Coke like it gives you life, it's going to be an interesting journey.

Here are some observations that I have made just in the first five days of trying to be a slimmer person. As a writer by nature, I like to write these sort of things down, because you never know what could make great book material later:

• I like to drink my calories, whether that be in 140 calorie cokes or 230 calorie passion tea lemonades. I just discovered the latter at Starbucks and have no idea what I was doing with my life before that. They are amazing. I have taken to ordering venti teas with light ice so I can get more liquid. 
• I prefer salty over sweet, unless I have the option of salty sweet. I have never much been one for cake, cookies, or ice cream. I can go for the occasional chocolate fix. But what I'm really after is that bag of Lays potato chips, beef jerkey, or bacon. The only thing that can top that is maybe peanut butter pocket pretzels. 
• Speaking of my favorite pbpp from above, in this short journey I have realized you don't need to eat the whole bag in one sitting. I know, shocking realization right? Sometimes, it may feel better, but it's not. Instead, just eat 2 or 4. Or at the most, 11 at a time, which is the recommended serving. But since I am neurotic in an almost Jeff Lewis sort of fashion, I cannot eat them in odd increments. So I'll eat 10 (less calories!) or eat two servings for breakfast (22 pretzels).
• I have no upper arm strength. The second day I went to the gym, I realized I needed to start doing arm machines, instead of just the elliptical and bike, or I'd have slimmed down and slightly muscled legs but string bean arms. I went to a machine and it was set to 50... I shortly realized I had to put it at 10 pound weights so I could do 3 sets of 10. Mind you, the gym I attend has an average attendance age of 55. I clearly need to do some more training to get on their level.
• With weight loss and an active lifestyle, there comes an increased sense of nausea. I began to realize this the second day, when I was driving back from the gym. I drove by roadkill, and I could not even tell you what it was, because it's head had been cut clean off. I made a gagging noise (Courtney and Tara are familiar with it), but instead of just the noise, some bile started rising in my throat (sorry for the graphic details, but this is going to be a true and accurate report of things!). Normally roadkill does not bother me. Then, as the days started to pass, I would get other random waves of nausea even when I was simply lying down or standing still. My father and I have concluded this is probably on account of me shocking my system and taking in only a normal amount of calories for once.
• Things that never sounded good to me before now sound super delectable, like double chocolate chunk cookies, an entire tub of cream cheese frosting, or seven grilled cheeses.
• Eat more in the morning and eat less in the evening. Don't for example, eat a 150 calorie breakfast, then be like "oh well, I guess I can eat 800 calories for dinner now!" You'll just end up overeating that day, like I did. And end up with a fat headache, which does not help your already nauseated state.
• You might have to break up with cheese. That night I overate? Half the reason was I decided to put cheese on my two tacos. Not much, just two pinches on each one. I go to my new bff calorie king, and come to find out half a cup of cheddar is 225 calories! I'm just sayin' some foods for me are just not worth it, and I never liked cheese that much. Well, perhaps I do, but you come to find what your calories are worth (more about that later).
• In general, there are just certain foods you may have to cut out completely. For me, that would be Hot Cheetos. Last night, my father, brother, and I went to Safeway and I walked in just so I could drool at all the food (more about that later too). I saw Hot Cheetos and I realized I wanted em reeaaal bad. But before I could pick them up I just walked on by, because I know a bad idea when I see it. Between the sodium, the calories, and the fat content I may as well say goodbye to eating the day after.  And to think I used to eat those daily! I will probably cave one day in the future, and regret it afterwards, but I'm staying strong for now.
• Other foods just don't seem worth it. For me, that's fried food. Like you know you've been starving yourself all day practically, and then you put what is essentially an oil soaked retainer in your mouth, and you think to yourself, "something's not right". 
• I have realized, however, I cannot completely let go of Coke. I am reassured by the fact that I once read what Carmen Electra eats daily in US Weekly, and she said she couldn't let go of Coke either and couldn't stand diet, so she just drinks one a day. Taking a leaf out of her book, I have one a day now instead of like seven (ok, I'm exaggerating slightly, but on a bad day I could have up to four cans, and that can't be good in the sugar or calorie department), and I have it in the middle of the day instead of the morning (weird) or in the evening (harder to work off).
• Writing it down seems to help. I don't mean these witty observations, but what you eat, and when you exercise. For one thing, it makes you more aware, because some days I am proud of whats there and some days there are entries that say, "Chinese pancake - too many cal" both because I have no clue how many calories that was and because regardless there probably were better options on the menu. So I keep my trusty Moleskine by my side and write everything down.
• You can't watch TV or look at magazines without drooling. The first night of my diet I watched new episodes of Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory and Real Housewives of New Jersey. FF was all about making the most expensive grilled cheese, and I spent 30 minutes waxing poetic about the bread-butter-cheese combination. Then on RHONJ Teresa and Joe eat a huge steak and huge baked potato for dinner and I wanted to jump through the screen, devour both their dinners in 10 seconds, wipe my mouth on the tablecloth, and peace out homies.
• It's terrifying going out to eat. It's one thing where you can control your calories at home, eat that Smart Ones that has the calories on the front or that hundred calorie pack of almonds. But when you go out, there is slightly less control. You either faced with a separate calorie menu, sweating to try and find something that will fit into the amount of calories you have left to eat, or even worse, there is no caloric content and you're left guessing. 
• When you start exercising, you start wanting to eat better so you don't waste it. You think you didn't spend 30 minutes on the elliptical for nothing, so instead of wasting 300 calories on that donut that will be eaten in 30 seconds, you save it for something else. 
• It's nice that after only a few days, your pants start to fit better. They're not quite falling off your butt, yet!, but there is much less of a struggle to get them buttoned. It's nice having a slightly smaller, but not completely gone, muffin top. Oh yeah people, we ALL know what a muffin top is, and I told ya I'd be honest!
• I look forward to new clothes shopping now, but I also know once that begins in earnest, it could get annoying getting new clothes every time the old ones don't fit. I know of one girl who, as she got serious about diet and exercise, went from a size 16 pants to size 14, and eventually a size 12 that was a little loose. I have 4 pairs of jeans right now. If I lose serious weight I don't want to replace all 4 pairs until I reach my goal weight, but that also means I don't want to only wear one pair of jeans until that time.
• Even if you can't stick to a specific calorie intake, you know enough to make conscious, healthy decisions. Like even if you are eating breaded chicken and pasta, eat 2 instead of 4 chickens and a smaller portion of pasta if it's not whole wheat.
• For me, a day feels like a lifetime. Because I keep waiting for myself to mess up, not exercise enough or eat too much. But you can't mess up when you're asleep.
• THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A PERFECT DAY. This has been by far the hardest thing for me to learn. Day 2 (sidenote tangent: This is the day you go crazy. Your muscles hurt the most out of every other day. You start to wonder how many calories are in toothpaste and gum -but then you let it go, your nausea starts, and resolve may crumble a little before being built back up) I was upset because I had not been able to do everything. Unlike Day 1, where everything went swimmingly, Day 2 I forgot to take my green tea supplements 1/3 times, I went to the gym but didn't go to the track (at the time I thought I'd go to the gym and the track every day, until I realized I'd only go to the one or the other), and I ate 200 calories over my suggested intake. But as I told my friend Janet, I have to remember two things: The fact that I am at least trying this much is a vast improvement over the last 20 years of my life, and I can't have a perfect day every day.

Sorry this is such a long, word filled post, and sorry about the shortage of photo filled posts lately. I'll aim for that next.

I know many of you readers have either grappled with a attaining a healthier lifestyle before or may be now, so any advice you can offer will be well received!