I
recently lost almost 15 kilos on the Michelle Bridges 12WBT program. Here are some before and after photos that show my progress.
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| January 2013 |
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| June 2013 - I am the same weight now as in this photo |
However, I seem to have reached a point where I am unable to lose anymore weight. This could have
something to do with the fact that I indulge in lots of naughty treats like
chippies and chocolates just about every night. Hmm…maybe.
I
know how to eat well; I just don’t always do it. I am a Taurean you know. Those
that know Taureans will understand.
So
the challenge for November (and hopefully for life) is to eat clean 80 % of the time. Simple right? This isn't just about losing the last 5 kilos, it's also about setting myself up to eat for health.
The Plan
- Eat clean for 4 days and have 1 treat day
- Plan treat days around events (dinners, parties)
- Don’t go mental on your treat day
and go downtown on junk food – it just means you can treat yourself to a
few un-clean things on those days (for me this will likely be a pub meal
out or some Kettle chips or Sushi Train)
- You can still have little treat foods every day, they just need to be clean treat foods
So what exactly is clean?
There are a lot of people out there on the inter web that will explain this a lot better than me. One blog I found particularly interesting is The Gracious Pantry. I have put links below to the pages on clean eating that were the most useful to me.
After reading several clean eating blogs, here is what I understand clean eating to mean.
- Loads of vegetables and fruits.
- Unprocessed Meats from the butcher (chicken breast, unmarinated chops and steaks etc.) – organic and free range if possible.
- Eggs.
- Whole foods like quinoa, buckwheat, brown rice, and millet.
- Legumes like kidney beans, chickpeas and lentils (although not sure how these will go with my IBS).
- Nuts, avocadoes and healthy oils like olive oil, coconut oil and macadamia oil. Also nut spreads with no added sugar or salt.
- Fresh herbs and spices.
- Almond milk.
Which foods do I avoid?
- Junk/fast food (obviously)
- Foods high in refined sugars –
cakes, chocolates, biscuits, lollies
- Foods high in salt – chips/crisps,
salted nuts
- White bread, white pasta, white
rice, white sugar
- Gravies and most seasoning mixes
(probably these contain gluten also)
- Dairy – this is a personal choice as
I have IBS, however I still will have a bit of cow’s milk (lactose free) in
my tea.
- Gluten and Wheat – same reason as
the dairy. This one is quite hard for me to cut out, I have been trying
the past couple of weeks, so I am going to try and cut this out as much as
possible.
- Caffeine and Alcohol – I already have cut these from my diet so this will be easy peasy
Preparation
I
think that it will be real important for me to plan the week ahead and then on
shopping day I will be able to prep a lot of my meals and snacks.
I
plan on keeping a diary and using it to record/schedule my red flag days (days I have something
on - my treat days) and a meal plan for the week.
I
will roughly be sticking to 1200-1400 calories per day because this is what my
experience with 12WBT taught me and it helps control my serving sizes which can
creep if I don’t monitor them.
As an
extra incentive, I have decided to reward my efforts at the end of the month.
So
can I reward myself with chocolate? I don’t think so! I was actually thinking I
would reward myself with something that can be used for the next months challenge.
The
December challenge will be Meditation so I was thinking of a special meditation
candle. I will burn it only when I am meditating.
This
is the one I have in mind.
Glasshouse
Sistine Chapel Candle RRP $39.95
In case you are wondering what challenges I have thought up for
the coming months, this is roughly what I have worked out.
December – Meditation challenge
January – Yoga challenge
February – Early morning walks before work challenge
March – Daily affirmations challenge
April – Pinterest challenge
Wish
me luck and I'll keep you posted with how I go.
Liv x
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