Climbing Off the Plateau--Stepping up Exercise and Retooling Nutrition

Ah no! I reached 32 pounds of weight loss and am now on that dreaded plateau! I've been sitting here for about two or three weeks. I lose some, go back up some. I've sloughed off a bit with the walking and yoga--I'm sure that has contributed to this plateau. I keep reminding myself that my cholesterol has dropped 22 points--it is one point away from being the "normal range"; I am now taking half of my metaformin dose I have been taking for pre-diabetes; in addition, I have gone down one dress size and no longer have to shop in "women's plus-sizes".

So what am I going to do about this plateau? I really don't want to stay here! The health goals I want to reach are just to important to my quality of life in the long-term.

So here's what I know I need to do:

* Step up the cardio. Walking every other day isn't enough anymore. It is helpful, but I need to go farther. Treadmill, here I come. When the weather warms up, I'll be walking/jogging outside. I don't know how far I can  go into jogging because of my knees. I won't know until I try!

*  Start strength training. Lifting weights--which I've done in the past and enjoyed immensely. Building up muscle tissue will help me burn calories more efficiently. I've got a DVD from the South Beach Diet Recharged that has a weight-lifting routine for those who haven't been physically active for a while. I hope that starting off on yoga first--stretching and loosening my muscles--will prove beneficial as a precursor to weight-lifting.

* Re-examine some of my eating habits. Yup, soda. I don't drink the enormous amounts I used to, but I still have too much of it. I feel better drinking water, teas, and vegetable juices.

* Retool my nutrition. I've been listening to lectures and reading up on nutrition the past two months. Increasingly,  I have come to believe that for me and my particular health issues that eating a primarily plant-based diet with a high portion of raw foods would be best. (I am not saying that everyone should eat this way; this is a highly personal decision.) My best friend told me about a book, Eat to Live, by Dr. Fuhrman. This book makes sense to me and tied up many loose ends in my research.

Dr. Furhman advocates a basically vegan diet--free of  not just meat, but dairy as well. His food pyramid has  meat and sweets at the top, to eaten "rarely." At the base are vegetables, half of which should  be raw. The next layer up is fruits and beans and legumes. Above that are fat sources--seeds, nuts, and avocados, and starches such as potatoes and whole-grains. The top two layers are dairy, meet, poultry, fish, and sweets. Dr. Furhman recommends getting your protein primarily from legumes, beans, nuts, and seeds.

When I follow this nutritional pyramid, I feel better, have more energy, and lose weight. My daily menu will look like this:

Breakfast:  Oatmeal cooked in almond or soy milk, topped with fruit, some nuts, ground flaxseed, a dash of maple syrup and cinnamon. Or, it might be a green smoothie or a bowl of fresh fruit and nuts with a dollop of plain yogurt.

Lunch: A big salad with a homemade vegan dressing made from nuts or a plate of vegetables with homemade dip made with beans.

Dinner: Vegetarian or regular dinner with some meat.

 In his book, Dr. Fuhrman claims that patients who follow his eating plan not only lose weight, but are able to come off medications for diabetes, cholesterol, high blood pressure, and heart disease. I hope to see how I will do following this eating plan. I'd really like to get off my expensive medications and reach a point at which food and exercise is the only medicine I need to keep me safe from diseases. I also found extremely helpful books and YouTube lectures by Dr. John McDougall and Neil D. Barnard. The Vegetarian Society of Hawaii has an excellent YouTube channel of its monthly lectures that I found extremely helpful.

There is a spiritual and environmental benefit to eating primarily plant-based diets as well--but that is a subject for another blog post of by those much better educated in these matters than I am.

Calories and Carbs, Oh My!

If you've tried to diet in the past, did you feel overwhelmed with trying to track calories, carbs, fats, and so on? It can be very tedious and frustrating. Seems like the best approach is for each person to find out what system works best for them. A few years ago the South Beach Diet worked really well for me. I'm sure it would again, but I'm not up to doing the restrictive Phase 1 right now.

So how does one take the fear and tediousness out of this dieting thing? "Keep it simple, stupid," is what works best for me. I suspect it works  best for most of us! Because I'm pre-diabetic, I have to count garbs as well as watch my fat and calorie intake. Tracking what I eat each day using the "My Health Tracker" feature at prevention.com makes me aware of what I'm eating and what the nutritional content of each food is. Many of us are probably overeating in ways we don't realize until we start to track what we eat. Another spiffy feature of the "My Health Tracker" is that you can track your physical activity and how many calories you burned and you can log your weight and measurements. It's very motivating to see those numbers changing over time.

I read a great little article recently over at eatingwell.com that makes calculating the calories you need to maintain or lose weight very simple.  (Eating Well is a magazine that I like very much--it emphasizes cooking with fresh, seasonal ingredients.) The article contains link to sample menus to give you some ideas to make a lower-calorie diet tasty and interesting.

As of today I've lost 16 pounds over three months. This week, co-workers commented that I looked thinner and asked what I've been doing. There is no magic pill here--the tea regimen I'm on is helping, but I've tried to be more active and to be mindful of what I eat.

I've taken a slow start--first I implemented the tea regimen. Then I started tracking what I ate. Slowly I began to add more and more physical activity. I cannot emphasize how important it has been for me to stretch every morning and evening. Am I consistent? Usually--I'll miss a day here and there and when I do I know it. A talented chiropractor I went to for my back problems taught me some simple stretches that keep me free of back pain. I can do yard work and barn chores and not wake up in pain the next day.

Because I am older, out of shape, and now have a back problem that will never go away, I have to pace myself.  Just two years ago I could work all day in the yard--I could mow, then prune bushes, weed flowerbeds. Now I have to decide what I'll be doing that day--do I need to mow? Or do  I need to weed? I can't do both anymore.  I have to pace myself. Maybe next year when I'm in better shape I can run a marathon, mow, and weed in one day. (I can dream, can't I?)

If anyone wants more information on the tea regimen I'm following, please leave a comment below with your request and I'll devote a post to it.

Remember, you are worth taking care of! If you don't take care of yourself, you'll have nothing left to give to your family, friends, co-workers, or anyone else in your life.