The low down

Just in case my previous post sounded like it was promising any major plan or solution, I’d like to be clear, there is none. It’s just a bunch of healthy eating habits. Eating the way people have been eating for ages I suppose.

However there are a few principles to it and here they are:

1. Remember protein is your main and carbs are your side. By this I do not mean cut everything that has carbs in it and count carb grams furiously. Focus on increasing protein if that’s all you do this week. As a vegetarian this is often the biggest change.
2. Not all carbs are created equal. A cup of fruit, a lentil salad and a slice of white bread are all carbs, but no prizes for guessing which one is least healthy (actually in case you’re a complete newbie to this, the answer is bread ;)). I will put in a future post about glycemic index and where that fits into making a carb ‘good’ or ‘bad’
3. Timing is everything. Lets be real, you’re not going to never eat white bread again (unless you’re me, I hate white bread. Unless it’s smeared in garlic herb butter. Yumm…) So when you eat it, try to do it early in the day. When it’s more likely to burn off. Even if you’re bone-lazy when it comes to exercise.
4. Balance your plate. This is something I learned off of a random infomercial for a diet called the Food Lover’s eating program. Made some sense so I started to look it up and the principle exists. The simplest way to explain it is: Go back to age-old wisdom of splitting up your plate into quarters. If you’re trying to lose a lot of weight and need to kick start things then think 2 quarters fruit, veg and some beans (emphasis on veg). And 2 quarters of a protein. If you’re in it for the long haul then the first part remains the same and then add a quarter of protein and a quarter of healthy carbohydrate (this could be just fruit if that what you choose or you could alternate it with good, whole grain).
5. Be accountable. To yourself first. By this I mean log everything that goes in your mouth. Everything. And no, you don’t have to write reams anymore. There are apps for that if you’re a smart-phoner like much of the world seems to be. And if you’re not, do it online. The one I use, which my cousin introduced me to, is Lose it and it’s awesome! For North America though. It scans bar codes and lets you put in previous meals etc. You’ll be surprised at how much you don’t know. At least I was. And now I’m obsessive about it. I make chocolate for a living (well it’s a pretty poor living for now, but that's what I do) and I log every lick and taste I take. It adds up!
6. Buddy up. Whether it’s doing the plan with someone, if you’re lucky enough to have that available, or being a part of a community or online forum or something. Just somewhere/someone with whom you can obsess about your successes/failures/whatever is on your mind. I’ve been doing my plan with said fabulous cousin (who doesn’t need to lose any weight in my opinion; but I love the commitment to working on staying fabulous). And that quite possibly is the biggest reason that we’ve hit the 8-week mark. And beyond a point it becomes a habit so you let that take over.
7. Really work on kicking up your metabolism. Ok so this is a bigge. Eat more often. Start with eating something every 2-3 hours. Even if it’s just a few almonds. This revs up metabolism. Drink green tea. Eat some spicy food. I’ll explain later.
8. Make a meal plan. It doesn’t have to be fancy but it helps if you know what you’re eating and when and make sure you have something on hand for low moments when hunger strikes. It helps take away the temptation of being caught unprepared.
9. Cheat. No really! Plan your cheats and allow yourself some every so often. It’s never going to happen otherwise. I call it recharging.
10. Reward yourself. Make them non-food rewards. Set a threshold and when you reach that whether its weight or size, do something for yourself. I got a new weighing scale with a fat-loss monitor when I hit 10 pounds and I’m waiting for my 20-pound high-speed blender so I can do proper smoothies.

I will dwell on each of these points at some length as we go along. And for the first few days I’ll write more often if anyone wants to get started. I know these principles aren’t exclusive to being vegetarian. But it helps to lay a foundation.

Good luck resetting your mind. We can do this!

Think happy, thin thoughts. Kiss kiss.