In my first post I shared with you I had resolved to make changes in my family’s eating habits in hopes of becoming healthier, as well as losing weight. My primary reason being that I had set a goal of accomplishing this before reaching my 50th birthday. (Go HERE for the first post)
Well, through the past week, I drank my water as I was asked to - yes, 8 glasses per day. I found myself constantly in the bathroom. I kept wondering to myself, "How in the world am I going to deal with this when school starts and I go back to work?" There would be absolutely no way I would be able to just walk out of my classroom and head to the restroom once I felt the urge. So, at my next consultation, I asked the question. The answer? "We'll cross that bridge when we get there." What?! OK, I guess we wait to find out.
So, let the consultation begin. The first step: Weigh-in. As you can imagine, I was very nervous stepping on the scale. And I soon found out I actually had reason to be - I gained 1 pound! How was that possible? On the upside - My Total Body Water had increased. Hmmmm, I wonder why?
Although I had not been specifically instructed to do so, I had started watching my caloric intake and I had begun exercising at least 6 days a week for 20 minutes each day (something I had neglected to do for quite some time). So, I really couldn't figure out why I had gained weight rather than lost. Of course, the nutritionist was very kind and explained that this happens at times. He also shared that due to my age (yes, he said age) my metabolism would most likely have to be kick-started.
Looking at my food diary together with the nutritionist, I learned that I was really driving my system crazy. To begin with, my carb intake was nearly 200 grams per day. Plus, my calories were dramatically different from one day to the next. One day it was under 1,200 and unfortunately my date night with my husband the next day was nearly 2,000 calories! Yikes! I guess that means I need to make better choices rather than give up date night with my husband.
So, we set some goals. I would use my account on My Fitness Pal to continue tracking my caloric intake. My goal was to ensure that I took in approximately 1400 - 1600 calories per day, increase my vegetable intake to ensure 2 to 3 servings per day, and keep my carbohydrate intake somewhere between 100 to 150 grams daily.
Wow! This sounded like a major challenge. I wasn't quite sure how to go about this. I had to keep track of both my caloric intake as well as the carbs? I didn't even know where to begin. I think the biggest challenge I was facing was the fact that it sounded as though I had to completely revamp what we ate. And how was I going to do that on the small food budget I had set up for my family? Well, there was only going to be one way to find out. Keep on logging!
I love to cook, so I also realized that I'll need to look up some recipes that will help me meet both the caloric and carb levels that have been decided upon. Do you have any links that you'd like to share?
