Today one of the nurses here taught a class that ended with three bits of advice she told us everyone should know when thinking about weight loss and a healthy life. They really made sense to me so I thought i'd share!
1. No matter what your weight is, you have to accept that the healthy diet we're learning about is a lifestyle and you will more or less eat like this forever.
2. You have to move your body to lose weight and stay healthy...exercise!
3. Health is the biggest reason people give for wanting to lose weight. For people who have health problems due to weight issues, it only takes losing 8-10% of your body weight to improve your health. After that the hard work begins and you have to find another reason to motivate your journey.
Hope everyone is doing well and thanks so much for all of your kind words!
xoxo
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Eats part II...
I began laying out portions in the last post and need to finish with meats and fats.
Meats and meat substitutes are probably the most involved and surprising group, and we get a lot less here that most of us are used to. For a 1500 calorie diet, you should only have about 5 ounces of meat a day, and unfortunately, cheese is grouped into this category. Meats are divided into very lean, lean, medium-fat and high-fat. Some examples of very lean meats are fat free cheese, white chicken and turkey with no skin, Fresh, frozen or canned fish and egg whites. Lean meats include low fat cheeses with 2-3 grams of fat per ounce, lean beef (round, flank, sirloin), and salmon/catfish. Medium-fat meats include most other cuts of beef, cheeses with 4-7 grams of fat per ounce, dark meat chicken and turkey, pork (top loin, chop, cutlets), and tofu. It surprised us to learn that tofu actually had a pretty high fat content, and also that several cuts of beef are more healthy than dark meat poultry! All regular cheeses (that aren't low or non-fat) are grouped into the high-fat meats category. It's also important to point out that egg whites and tofu are not included in the 5 ounce a day recommendation. You can have more of those!
Finally, fats are grouped into three groups: mono-unsaturated, poly-unsaturated and saturated. For heart health, it's important to choose fats from the first two groups, and four or less servings should be included in your daily calories. A serving of mono-unsaturated fats include avocado (only 1/8 per serving), 1 teaspoon olive and canola oil, 2 teaspoons peanut butter and 1 tablespoon nuts and seeds. One serving of poly-unsaturated fats include 1 teaspoon or regular margarine, mayonnaise and corn oil, or one tablespoon of light margarine and mayonnaise. Unfortunately, some of our favorites are included in the saturated fats group which we are advised to stay away from. Per serving, these include 1 slice of bacon, 1 teaspoon of butter, 1 tablespoon of cream and 2 tablespoons of sour cream.
Given all of these portion sizes and quantities, it gets pretty hard to structure your diet to include everything. The basic rule for meals is to have half of your plate taken up by vegetables, 1/4 by starch, and 1/4 by meat. Fruits and dairy are pictured on the side.
Hope you were able to learn something you didn't already know from all of this information!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Eats...
So I've just finished my first week at Structure House and I am officially ten pounds down! Of course the first week of weight loss is usually the most drastic, with so much water weight coming off, but I have already learned so much. Our first week was a mega information overload, and we had a ton of classes to learn the ins and outs of nutrition, exercise and living a structured life. A few days ago, I talked a lot about the fitness regime they recommend and now I thought I'd comment a little bit on the nutrition part. I'm obviously no expert, and the staff here all admit that there are so many different opinions and plans for a heathy diet, but I'll tell you about what we're learning here.
Most people here are on a 1200 to 1600 calorie a day diet, which varies depending on age, weight, how much you exercise, among other variables. For an average, I'll give you their recommended eating plan for someone on a 1500 calorie diet, which should be about right for most of you who are fairly active and trying to lose weight. So here's the sample daily meal plan they have given us:
Starch - 7 servings a day
Fruit - 3 servings a day
Dairy - 2 servings a day
Veggies - 4+ servings a day
Meat/Meat Substitutes - 5 servings a day
Fats - 4 servings a day
This might look like a lot, but before you get too excited, let's talk about what a serving is for each of these categories! One serving of starches is about an ounce, which is a lot smaller than we might think. This comes out to about a half a cup of most cereals, half of a sandwich bun/roll, 1/3 cup of rice and only about 1/4 of a bagel. Now the tears come! One serving of starches is about 80 calories, and starchy veggies, like corn, peas, squash, and most beans, fit into this category as well.
A lot of people have the misconception that we should stay away from a lot of fruits because they are high in sugar, but it's not the case. A serving of fruit varies depending on the fruit, but some of the more useful ones are 1 apple, 1/2 banana, 1 cup berries, 1 cup melon, 15 grapes or 1 orange. Let me know if you have questions about specific fruits. They say to limit fruit juice intake to less than a serving a day, which is only 1/2 or 1/3 cup...not really worth drinking when you get so much more from eating the actual fruit. Also, one serving of fruit is approximately 60 calories, so you can think about that when you work them into your daily plan.
We are definitely overloaded with veggies here, which I guess shouldn't be too surprising. You can get the most bang for your calorie buck. Generally, one serving is 1/2 cup cooked veggies or 1 cup raw veggies. Most are 25 calories per serving (minus all of the yummy oils and spices we use to cook them). They suggest cooking them with olive oil and using sodium free spices for flavor. We definitely get VERY creative here to add flavor to ours! Some things we like to add are pepper, obviously, as well as garlic or onion powder, and maybe some balsamic vinegar. There are also some veggies that are less than 20 calories per serving, including celery, cucumber, onions, radishes and salad greens. You definitely won't be craving veggies when you have this many every day!
Now onto dairy. Unfortunately they are high in calories for a small serving, so for calorie counters, they aren't the most plentiful in your diet. One serving of skim to 1% milk is 8 ounces, the same with 6 ounces of non-fat yogurt. These have about 90 to 110 calories. Reduced fat milks (8 oz) and yogurts (6 oz) have about 120 calories. We get most of our dairy servings here from non-fat plain yogurt which can get pretty boring. Again, creativity comes in handy, and we add fruit, splenda and cinnamon.
The day starts early here and duties call, but i'll finish up with meats and fats later. Thanks for all of your comments and support, means so much! If you have questions about any specific foods, I'd be happy to let you know what we've learned. Love you all and hope you are all doing well!
xoxo
Most people here are on a 1200 to 1600 calorie a day diet, which varies depending on age, weight, how much you exercise, among other variables. For an average, I'll give you their recommended eating plan for someone on a 1500 calorie diet, which should be about right for most of you who are fairly active and trying to lose weight. So here's the sample daily meal plan they have given us:
Starch - 7 servings a day
Fruit - 3 servings a day
Dairy - 2 servings a day
Veggies - 4+ servings a day
Meat/Meat Substitutes - 5 servings a day
Fats - 4 servings a day
This might look like a lot, but before you get too excited, let's talk about what a serving is for each of these categories! One serving of starches is about an ounce, which is a lot smaller than we might think. This comes out to about a half a cup of most cereals, half of a sandwich bun/roll, 1/3 cup of rice and only about 1/4 of a bagel. Now the tears come! One serving of starches is about 80 calories, and starchy veggies, like corn, peas, squash, and most beans, fit into this category as well.
A lot of people have the misconception that we should stay away from a lot of fruits because they are high in sugar, but it's not the case. A serving of fruit varies depending on the fruit, but some of the more useful ones are 1 apple, 1/2 banana, 1 cup berries, 1 cup melon, 15 grapes or 1 orange. Let me know if you have questions about specific fruits. They say to limit fruit juice intake to less than a serving a day, which is only 1/2 or 1/3 cup...not really worth drinking when you get so much more from eating the actual fruit. Also, one serving of fruit is approximately 60 calories, so you can think about that when you work them into your daily plan.
We are definitely overloaded with veggies here, which I guess shouldn't be too surprising. You can get the most bang for your calorie buck. Generally, one serving is 1/2 cup cooked veggies or 1 cup raw veggies. Most are 25 calories per serving (minus all of the yummy oils and spices we use to cook them). They suggest cooking them with olive oil and using sodium free spices for flavor. We definitely get VERY creative here to add flavor to ours! Some things we like to add are pepper, obviously, as well as garlic or onion powder, and maybe some balsamic vinegar. There are also some veggies that are less than 20 calories per serving, including celery, cucumber, onions, radishes and salad greens. You definitely won't be craving veggies when you have this many every day!
Now onto dairy. Unfortunately they are high in calories for a small serving, so for calorie counters, they aren't the most plentiful in your diet. One serving of skim to 1% milk is 8 ounces, the same with 6 ounces of non-fat yogurt. These have about 90 to 110 calories. Reduced fat milks (8 oz) and yogurts (6 oz) have about 120 calories. We get most of our dairy servings here from non-fat plain yogurt which can get pretty boring. Again, creativity comes in handy, and we add fruit, splenda and cinnamon.
The day starts early here and duties call, but i'll finish up with meats and fats later. Thanks for all of your comments and support, means so much! If you have questions about any specific foods, I'd be happy to let you know what we've learned. Love you all and hope you are all doing well!
xoxo
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
My apartment
Just wanted to post a few pics of the apartment they provide us while we're here. It's pretty nice!
Right beside my apartment is an entrance to a Duke Forest trail. Really pretty setting! It's also about a 10 minute walk from my apartment to the gym and the main building where we have all of our classes and have meals. Making this walk about 4 or 5 times back and forth is a great start to the exercise!
Getting Settled In
So I originally planned to write a blog entry every day, but our first few days have been super busy so I fell behind! So far everything has gone really well. The first week is filled with a lot of information classes on nutrition, structured eating and exercise. We have also had appointments with the nurse, nutritionist, therapist and personal trainer. The nutritionist set us up on our diet, how many calories we should consume a day, and suggestions for foods that are personalized for our needs. There is a planned menu for the different amounts of calories people are put on, usually ranging from 1200 to 1600 a day. I have never learned a lot about counting calories, and it's crazy how many are in some foods! The food here is definitely something that your mind and body have to get used to. There is no salt or sugar in anything so it lacks a lot of taste, which is worse the first week because you are used to eating foods higher in those two ingredients. They've told us that our taste will change rather quickly and meals will be more satisfying. Another thing about the diet here that's new to me is three solid meals a day with NO snacking. I've heard so many times that it's best to eat 6 small meals a day to increase your metabolism, but the logic behind Structure House's plan makes sense as well. They say that if you eat 6 small meals a day, these meals tend to get bigger over time, and it turns into a day full of eating. If you structure your meals to three specific times and try to keep it constant each day, your body will adjust to those times and not have so many cravings at other times. So that's basically how the diet aspect has been so far...
Now on to exercise. When we have free hours in our schedule, we choose an exercise class to take or swim in the pool. (which is a saline pool and absolutely amazing!) They offer most of their classes once or twice a week, and have everything from martial arts, yoga, Zumba and boxercise. They also offer different water classes and stretching classes more often. One interesting thing i've learned is that it is most important to stretch AFTER you work out. Apparently there has been debate on this topic, but a few months ago, things changed, and cooling down your muscles is more important than the warm up. A lot of this might be common knowledge to some of you, but they are things that are good to know. They recommend doing cardio 5-6 days a week for 60 to 90 minutes (you should always give your body one day to rest). Also, strength training is just as important, as muscles help burn fat. You should do some type of strength training 2-3 times a week, but not on consecutive days as your muscles need that day in between to rest and recover. Stretching is also an important part of any workout routine and should be done in some form every day. So much information! Now on to the more personal experience...
Today I did something called Nia, which I had never heard of before, and it was so much fun! The way the instructor described it was dance with a little bit of martial arts and a little bit of yoga. If you get a chance, check out a video on youtube, it's really cool! We all felt a little cooky at times because of the free movements, but in the end it was a blast and great exercise. There are about 45 people here now, which is a slow time for Structure House. Their capacity is about 80, which is more common during the summer. I think I am the only person from North Carolina here! It's funny that almost everyone is from up north, either New York or Connecticut. That being said, I have met some amazing people that are going through a similar journey to me. Most of the residents here are older, but there is a huge range in ages. There were 10 people who started on the same day as me and we're in a group for at least the first week. Two others are around my age, but I get along well with all of them. It's nice to have the support system here to help you along the way.
So it's been super busy and I will try better to make more entries! I appreciate your support so much, it means everything to me to hear from you all! Hope everyone is doing well and we will talk soon!
xoxo
Now on to exercise. When we have free hours in our schedule, we choose an exercise class to take or swim in the pool. (which is a saline pool and absolutely amazing!) They offer most of their classes once or twice a week, and have everything from martial arts, yoga, Zumba and boxercise. They also offer different water classes and stretching classes more often. One interesting thing i've learned is that it is most important to stretch AFTER you work out. Apparently there has been debate on this topic, but a few months ago, things changed, and cooling down your muscles is more important than the warm up. A lot of this might be common knowledge to some of you, but they are things that are good to know. They recommend doing cardio 5-6 days a week for 60 to 90 minutes (you should always give your body one day to rest). Also, strength training is just as important, as muscles help burn fat. You should do some type of strength training 2-3 times a week, but not on consecutive days as your muscles need that day in between to rest and recover. Stretching is also an important part of any workout routine and should be done in some form every day. So much information! Now on to the more personal experience...
Today I did something called Nia, which I had never heard of before, and it was so much fun! The way the instructor described it was dance with a little bit of martial arts and a little bit of yoga. If you get a chance, check out a video on youtube, it's really cool! We all felt a little cooky at times because of the free movements, but in the end it was a blast and great exercise. There are about 45 people here now, which is a slow time for Structure House. Their capacity is about 80, which is more common during the summer. I think I am the only person from North Carolina here! It's funny that almost everyone is from up north, either New York or Connecticut. That being said, I have met some amazing people that are going through a similar journey to me. Most of the residents here are older, but there is a huge range in ages. There were 10 people who started on the same day as me and we're in a group for at least the first week. Two others are around my age, but I get along well with all of them. It's nice to have the support system here to help you along the way.
So it's been super busy and I will try better to make more entries! I appreciate your support so much, it means everything to me to hear from you all! Hope everyone is doing well and we will talk soon!
xoxo
Monday, January 9, 2012
The Beginning...
Over the past several years I have developed several bad habits that have affected my weight and my health. With my parents' help, I have been given the once in a lifetime opportunity to stay at a wellness/weightloss center for a month and am so excited to begin my journey to a healthier life. While I'm here, I hope to learn life skills that will help me develop better habits with nutrition, exercise and hopefully smoking as well. I know so many people can relate to my situation, when we are in college and begin working full time jobs, our health is often put on a back burner. I have reached a point in my life where it needs to become a priority and I am ready to dedicate the next 28 days...and years to come...to making myself a better person both inside and out. I am going to try to write as much as I can about my experiences here at Structure House in Durham, NC, and hopefully include some tips and information I learn as well. Thanks to you all for supporting me in my journey and I always look forward to hearing from you all! Let the journey into Destination Fitville begin!
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