Hello again faithful followers!
So, it turns out writing blogs wasn't the only thing I went on hiatus from recently. I've been having a really hard time motivating myself to exercise this past month. Maybe it was that I was finishing up my last semester in college. Then after that I was "giving myself a break" because it was the start of my summer vacation. Next my excuse was that my brother is home too and I wanted to hang out with him before I start school in the fall. No matter what, there was always something better that I thought I could be doing, when in actuality my laziness set back in. I kept feeling like I was right where I was three years ago, I'd have a spurt of activity and then take it easy because I felt like I earned it. I'm not saying you need to work out five days a week, an hour and a half a day, every week...that's insane. But even doing something for fifteen minutes three times a week is better than doing nothing -- that's something I forgot.
Today I finally broke past whatever mental barrier stopped me from exercising and rode my stationary bike for about half an hour. Admittedly it was probably wasn't my best workout, seeing as I had to stop every four minutes to catch my breath because I'm fairly out of shape, but the point is I did it. I got the dreaded "first workout" after a break done with. Afterward I felt incredible. I would have kept going but I thought being able to move around tomorrow was a pretty good idea. I haven't been eating that horribly either, so I wasn't really seeing any ill affects from my little vacation. That right there is exactly what can lead to a huge weight gain. If you're eating fairly well but not doing squat activity wise, it'll still catch up to you. Good food still comes with calories and sugars that will be stored in your body. If you do nothing to keep the balance between what you consume and what you exert then the pounds will eventually be packed on.
I think that was what my problem was in the past years, and again during this past month. Even in high school I never ate the most terrible things. And let me clarify when I keep saying "terrible things". You will not gain fifteen pounds eating some cookies every once in a while...I promise. But if you find you're eating that a few times a week, that will add up eventually. It doesn't even have to be "bad" in the way that cookies are. Any little snacking between meals can be just as hurtful. If dinner is cooking, don't pick through the cupboards as an appetizer, unless you're truly famished. These are just little calories that can be avoided. Drink a big glass of water or chew some gum in the meantime, I know they don't sound as fulfilling as the Chex Mix in the drawer, but I'm willing to bet you're not even that hungry. You see or smell dinner on the stove and naturally your brain is going to signal hunger to your stomach, so you start the grazing process. Just try to fake your brain out with the water, or the chewing action you get from the gum.
But anyway, that was my little side note. Back to the point! If you do these little things, meaning the grazing or frequent snacking, just try to cut back. I know I'm not all-knowing when it comes to exercise and eating well, I may have really bad times too...but I'm human. It's unrealistic to think you can find a system that works for you and follow it religiously without having an "off-month". The key is not to lie to yourself by saying you have other things to do. Think about your day in your head, there has to be a fifteen to thirty minute time slot somewhere in there where you can bike, run, do some cardio, anything that is better than winding down on the couch. That can come later, but try to do something physical beforehand. And when I fall back in to my old ways of taking it easy again, as I know I will at some point, someone remind me to read this again and take my own advice. The first workout after a hiatus is always super hard and you feel so gross during it, but try to hold on to the feeling you get after and carry that momentum for a few months.
Friday, June 7, 2013
Monday, April 15, 2013
Key Player
I would never take anything away from how I feel about my weight loss. Anyone who has lost a significant amount of weight can tell you that you feel so much more confident in yourself, and it's always fun buying those smaller sized clothes. When I look back on my journey it makes me feel so proud of myself, and more importantly I'm proud that I've stuck to that lifestyle for a solid two years now. One of the hardest parts to think about with my weight loss story is how active my Dad was in all of it.
I mentioned it in my first blog, but my Dad was really the one who helped me make sure I could do whatever I wanted, even with my disability. So when I went home for Spring break and said, "hey Dad, I really want to do something to lose some weight" he didn't question how I would get exercise, he went on Amazon that minute and bought me a stationary bike. Granted he was probably tickled that he got to do some internet shopping (definitely his one of his favorite pass times), but there was never any doubt in his mind that I could do anything I set my mind to. So it was me and my Dad in it together that summer, as it was my whole life. He would get me on the stationary bike and sit with me while I killed myself trying to go a little further than I did the last time I rode, and he was yelling encouragements the whole time. He never gave up on me. Even if I wasn't sure I could do something he was there telling me to push just a little further. I think he still is with me telling me to push a little further, just in a different way.
After I started to see results from all my hard work I really tried to pass my knowledge on to others...the first person was my Dad. He had watched me so closely and played such a huge role in how I was feeling that I was only too happy to help him out. This was right after my older sister got engaged, so I embarked with my Dad on his journey. He would always say, "Chris I'm sheddin' for the weddin'!" I couldn't wait to go home every Friday and find out what his weight loss was that week. It got even better when we started having a race for who would reach their goal weight faster. The most important thing was that my Dad not only got to see me succeed, but that I got to help him succeed too.
So yes, I get sad when I play my workout playlist and hear a song that brings up a memory of riding my bike in the garage with my Dad, but that only pushes me further. I can't help but smile when I think about my Mom and Dad, and I know that they're so proud of me. I'm about to graduate from college, I just got back from traveling to New Orleans without any of my family helping me, and I just interviewed for an amazing graduate school position. Life can be sad, there's no denying that. But as a very wise man used to tell me and my siblings "you can choose to be happy or you can choose not to be happy." I try each and every day to choose happiness...
I mentioned it in my first blog, but my Dad was really the one who helped me make sure I could do whatever I wanted, even with my disability. So when I went home for Spring break and said, "hey Dad, I really want to do something to lose some weight" he didn't question how I would get exercise, he went on Amazon that minute and bought me a stationary bike. Granted he was probably tickled that he got to do some internet shopping (definitely his one of his favorite pass times), but there was never any doubt in his mind that I could do anything I set my mind to. So it was me and my Dad in it together that summer, as it was my whole life. He would get me on the stationary bike and sit with me while I killed myself trying to go a little further than I did the last time I rode, and he was yelling encouragements the whole time. He never gave up on me. Even if I wasn't sure I could do something he was there telling me to push just a little further. I think he still is with me telling me to push a little further, just in a different way.
After I started to see results from all my hard work I really tried to pass my knowledge on to others...the first person was my Dad. He had watched me so closely and played such a huge role in how I was feeling that I was only too happy to help him out. This was right after my older sister got engaged, so I embarked with my Dad on his journey. He would always say, "Chris I'm sheddin' for the weddin'!" I couldn't wait to go home every Friday and find out what his weight loss was that week. It got even better when we started having a race for who would reach their goal weight faster. The most important thing was that my Dad not only got to see me succeed, but that I got to help him succeed too.
So yes, I get sad when I play my workout playlist and hear a song that brings up a memory of riding my bike in the garage with my Dad, but that only pushes me further. I can't help but smile when I think about my Mom and Dad, and I know that they're so proud of me. I'm about to graduate from college, I just got back from traveling to New Orleans without any of my family helping me, and I just interviewed for an amazing graduate school position. Life can be sad, there's no denying that. But as a very wise man used to tell me and my siblings "you can choose to be happy or you can choose not to be happy." I try each and every day to choose happiness...
Saturday, March 23, 2013
The Facts of Fiber
"One good thing to add to any diet is fiber"....this is what weight loss systems promote all the time, and it is absolutely true. Fiber has so many nutritional benefits, but it usually gets a bad wrap as tasting like river gravel. Fiber is found in so many foods that you might not even think of, which raises the question of what is fiber?
Fiber is any part of a plant that your body can't digest. When you eat a food rich in carbohydrates or protein your body can break it down and absorb it; fiber does not work this way which is why it is so beneficial for digestion. There are two kinds of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber dissolves in water and can help lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels. The consumption of soluble fiber slows down the absorption of sugar from the foods you eat and this leads to healthy blood sugar levels. Spikes in blood glucose levels that come from foods high in sugar fall rapidly which makes you feel hungry sooner, then this leads to overeating so you feel full. Soluble fiber can be found in oats, peas, beans, apples, and citrus fruits.
Insoluble fiber cannot dissolve in water so it moves through your digestive system faster and cleanses everything out. The faster food moves through your body also helps in signaling that you're full sooner and then you won't over eat. Whole-wheat flour, wheat bran, nuts, beans and vegetables; like cauliflower, green beans and potatoes, are good sources of insoluble fiber. Another perk of high fiber foods is that if you're eating something like granola it typically takes some time to chew, this delay helps your body process that you're full before you think you are. Many foods like oatmeal and beans have soluble and insoluble fiber, the levels of each just depend on the part of the plant that product comes from. Side note...if you buy the delicious sounding oatmeal packs I can pretty much guarantee you it's loaded with sugar and there goes all the healthiness. Try to get a plain oatmeal and add fruit to it, or look for ones that advertise being lower in sugar.
Granola is also a good source of fiber, but the thing to be careful with in store bought granola is that it's high in sugar and fat. This is the case with any food, so just be careful that you don't get suckered in by the granola that have raisins and other things in it because these typically are higher in additives which cuts down the nutritional benefits. Fiber is also what makes brown rice a better choice than white rice; the only real difference between the two is that brown rice still contains the husk. The husk is where essentially all the nutritional value is.
So there you have it, fiber can be more than bran flakes in the morning. Not only does it make you feel fuller and help in weight loss, but you get the added bonus of low blood sugar and lower cholesterol. Now everyone go out and stock up on oatmeal, fruits, and beans!
Fiber is any part of a plant that your body can't digest. When you eat a food rich in carbohydrates or protein your body can break it down and absorb it; fiber does not work this way which is why it is so beneficial for digestion. There are two kinds of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber dissolves in water and can help lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels. The consumption of soluble fiber slows down the absorption of sugar from the foods you eat and this leads to healthy blood sugar levels. Spikes in blood glucose levels that come from foods high in sugar fall rapidly which makes you feel hungry sooner, then this leads to overeating so you feel full. Soluble fiber can be found in oats, peas, beans, apples, and citrus fruits.
Insoluble fiber cannot dissolve in water so it moves through your digestive system faster and cleanses everything out. The faster food moves through your body also helps in signaling that you're full sooner and then you won't over eat. Whole-wheat flour, wheat bran, nuts, beans and vegetables; like cauliflower, green beans and potatoes, are good sources of insoluble fiber. Another perk of high fiber foods is that if you're eating something like granola it typically takes some time to chew, this delay helps your body process that you're full before you think you are. Many foods like oatmeal and beans have soluble and insoluble fiber, the levels of each just depend on the part of the plant that product comes from. Side note...if you buy the delicious sounding oatmeal packs I can pretty much guarantee you it's loaded with sugar and there goes all the healthiness. Try to get a plain oatmeal and add fruit to it, or look for ones that advertise being lower in sugar.
Granola is also a good source of fiber, but the thing to be careful with in store bought granola is that it's high in sugar and fat. This is the case with any food, so just be careful that you don't get suckered in by the granola that have raisins and other things in it because these typically are higher in additives which cuts down the nutritional benefits. Fiber is also what makes brown rice a better choice than white rice; the only real difference between the two is that brown rice still contains the husk. The husk is where essentially all the nutritional value is.
So there you have it, fiber can be more than bran flakes in the morning. Not only does it make you feel fuller and help in weight loss, but you get the added bonus of low blood sugar and lower cholesterol. Now everyone go out and stock up on oatmeal, fruits, and beans!
Monday, March 4, 2013
The "Magic Diet"
One of the biggest issues I faced when I was starting out on my journey was how to change my diet; I had heard of Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, South Beach, the list went on and on. The common theme in all of these was that you could still eat the foods you loved, but they had the solution for helping you keep everything you were eating well balanced. For me though, I didn't want to spend the time (or money) that went along with keeping track of how many points a food was worth. It seemed a lot simpler to just eat less of the bad stuff and more of the good stuff; I know that to anyone who has ever tried dieting this sounds ridiculously oversimplified, but if you think back to when you started dieting, wasn't this essentially what you did?
My biggest pet peeve is when I hear about a diet that is "all juice for a week and then you drop ten pounds" or, my personal favorite, "the Special K Diet". Now I have nothing against Special K products, I eat the granola and pastry crisps all the time, but here's the question you need to ask yourself about sticking to one diet: what happens when you start eating real food again? Great, you just ate Special K products for breakfast, lunch, and your in-between snacks for two weeks and you dropped a jean size....but what happens when you go back to eating other things for breakfast, lunch, and your in-between snacks? It doesn't even have to be bad food that you go back to, anything different is going to be a shock to your system and the weight that you just dropped is going to come back twice as fast. The key that I've found to dieting is to be realistic.
It took me an extremely long time to realize that eating a cookie wasn't going to make me gain twenty pounds overnight. As long as you do things in moderation you'll see results, simple as that. It's okay to have a piece of birthday cake at the party, just cut out having ice cream along side. Don't sacrifice the donuts you look forward to every Friday at breakfast, just have ONE instead of three. Try replacing a milkshake with a fruit smoothie. Doing these simple things and trying to do some form of exercise at least three times a week will give results, I promise.
Weight loss is a combination of a good diet and exercise. Even the simplest change counts as exercise; one thing my sister does is use the steps at work instead of the elevator. Go use the second floor bathroom instead of the first. While exercise is a key part of weight loss, it's not a miracle worker. If you go for a three mile run and then get home and eat potato chips all night, everything you just did is ruined; you'll be at a stalemate for years this way. Find a system of diet and exercise that works for you and is easy to manage and you'll start to feel way better about yourself.
My biggest pet peeve is when I hear about a diet that is "all juice for a week and then you drop ten pounds" or, my personal favorite, "the Special K Diet". Now I have nothing against Special K products, I eat the granola and pastry crisps all the time, but here's the question you need to ask yourself about sticking to one diet: what happens when you start eating real food again? Great, you just ate Special K products for breakfast, lunch, and your in-between snacks for two weeks and you dropped a jean size....but what happens when you go back to eating other things for breakfast, lunch, and your in-between snacks? It doesn't even have to be bad food that you go back to, anything different is going to be a shock to your system and the weight that you just dropped is going to come back twice as fast. The key that I've found to dieting is to be realistic.
It took me an extremely long time to realize that eating a cookie wasn't going to make me gain twenty pounds overnight. As long as you do things in moderation you'll see results, simple as that. It's okay to have a piece of birthday cake at the party, just cut out having ice cream along side. Don't sacrifice the donuts you look forward to every Friday at breakfast, just have ONE instead of three. Try replacing a milkshake with a fruit smoothie. Doing these simple things and trying to do some form of exercise at least three times a week will give results, I promise.
Weight loss is a combination of a good diet and exercise. Even the simplest change counts as exercise; one thing my sister does is use the steps at work instead of the elevator. Go use the second floor bathroom instead of the first. While exercise is a key part of weight loss, it's not a miracle worker. If you go for a three mile run and then get home and eat potato chips all night, everything you just did is ruined; you'll be at a stalemate for years this way. Find a system of diet and exercise that works for you and is easy to manage and you'll start to feel way better about yourself.
Monday, February 25, 2013
A Weight Has Been Lifted
Today I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be fun to write my own blog?" Turns out this is a lot harder than it sounds, seeing as I just stared at my computer for twenty minutes trying to come up with a good title. My sisters will be the first ones to tell you that I have some free time on my hands this semester, so why not share my thoughts with all of you? The goal of my blog isn't to fish for compliments from anyone or to make a show of my accomplishments over the past two years; instead it will be aimed at taking what I've taught myself throughout this journey and (with any luck) helping someone who might want a few pointers.
I also don't claim to be fitness expert, by any means. I have found that the key to weight loss is finding a good combo of exercise and diet, but there's one tip to remember: if you hate doing it, you won't do it...plain and simple. Anyone can lie there and do a billion crunches and follow whatever diet is popular that week, but I guarantee you, you'll last at most two weeks before you're back to watching re-runs and eating chips on the couch and claiming the age old "I'll go for a run tomorrow". Trust me, I am most definitely speaking from experience...
Up until two years ago, I made these kinds of statements daily...well, not running per say. I don't know who would be reading this that doesn't already know this, but just in case...I'm in a wheelchair, have been since about the third grade. I was born with a joint disorder that has a long fancy sounding name that no one has ever heard of, but suffice it to say it made walking throughout my school days pretty rough. I'll be the first to admit that as soon as I agreed to go in the wheelchair instead of using my leg braces and walker I got lazy. It was more comfortable and convenient to go in the wheelchair, but I definitely used it as a crutch to be less independent as I could have been. I never ate that terribly, but who wouldn't splurge every now and then? The problem was that those splurges along with being totally sedentary made a recipe for disaster. Around my Junior year of high school I really became aware of how big I was getting, but what could I do--people in wheelchairs are just big. So I did what anyone would do, I started trying to eat a lot better; but when you can't do any exercise it makes it pretty impossible to burn anything off, so naturally I saw no results and became discouraged. Then the weight gain just spiraled out of control.
This was the basic trend up until the Spring semester of my Sophomore year of college. This was when I was truly at my peak weight and was completely conscious of how big I had become. It just so happens that at about the same time I decided enough was enough I became friends with two amazing girls that lived on my floor. They're twins (just like me!) so I felt pretty connected to them; they also happen to be extremely health/fitness conscious. One night I was venting about my weight gain, inability to exercise, and just everything I was feeling; they said they'd do anything they could to help me do what it took to get off weight off, and since that conversation I haven't looked back. I went home a week later for Spring break, asked my Dad to buy me a stationary bike, and threw away all my junk food.
I spent that summer riding the stationary bike in my garage while my Dad kept time, yelled out encouragement, and pushed me until my breaking point. Looking back those are some of my greatest memories with him; it was our thing, and he was so happy to help me lose the weight I wanted to and gain the confidence I yearned for.
Over the past two years my body has undergone some serious changes; it's hard to estimate because I couldn't get on a scale at the start of all of this, but if I were to ballpark it I'd say I've lost about 60-70 pounds. I don't have a "most recent comparison" picture, but this is a picture I posted last year at my one year weight loss mark.
I also don't claim to be fitness expert, by any means. I have found that the key to weight loss is finding a good combo of exercise and diet, but there's one tip to remember: if you hate doing it, you won't do it...plain and simple. Anyone can lie there and do a billion crunches and follow whatever diet is popular that week, but I guarantee you, you'll last at most two weeks before you're back to watching re-runs and eating chips on the couch and claiming the age old "I'll go for a run tomorrow". Trust me, I am most definitely speaking from experience...
Up until two years ago, I made these kinds of statements daily...well, not running per say. I don't know who would be reading this that doesn't already know this, but just in case...I'm in a wheelchair, have been since about the third grade. I was born with a joint disorder that has a long fancy sounding name that no one has ever heard of, but suffice it to say it made walking throughout my school days pretty rough. I'll be the first to admit that as soon as I agreed to go in the wheelchair instead of using my leg braces and walker I got lazy. It was more comfortable and convenient to go in the wheelchair, but I definitely used it as a crutch to be less independent as I could have been. I never ate that terribly, but who wouldn't splurge every now and then? The problem was that those splurges along with being totally sedentary made a recipe for disaster. Around my Junior year of high school I really became aware of how big I was getting, but what could I do--people in wheelchairs are just big. So I did what anyone would do, I started trying to eat a lot better; but when you can't do any exercise it makes it pretty impossible to burn anything off, so naturally I saw no results and became discouraged. Then the weight gain just spiraled out of control.
This was the basic trend up until the Spring semester of my Sophomore year of college. This was when I was truly at my peak weight and was completely conscious of how big I had become. It just so happens that at about the same time I decided enough was enough I became friends with two amazing girls that lived on my floor. They're twins (just like me!) so I felt pretty connected to them; they also happen to be extremely health/fitness conscious. One night I was venting about my weight gain, inability to exercise, and just everything I was feeling; they said they'd do anything they could to help me do what it took to get off weight off, and since that conversation I haven't looked back. I went home a week later for Spring break, asked my Dad to buy me a stationary bike, and threw away all my junk food.
I spent that summer riding the stationary bike in my garage while my Dad kept time, yelled out encouragement, and pushed me until my breaking point. Looking back those are some of my greatest memories with him; it was our thing, and he was so happy to help me lose the weight I wanted to and gain the confidence I yearned for.
Over the past two years my body has undergone some serious changes; it's hard to estimate because I couldn't get on a scale at the start of all of this, but if I were to ballpark it I'd say I've lost about 60-70 pounds. I don't have a "most recent comparison" picture, but this is a picture I posted last year at my one year weight loss mark.
It's definitely been an adventure filled with excitement, sadness, and mixed feelings, but I think that's about all for one night. I plan on putting in some exercises I've had success with, diet tips, and just some of my own crazy thoughts now that everyone is up to speed on "my story". Stay tuned!
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