The Weight

This week, I am 202.4 lbs.

To be transparent with you, I don’t have a target weight. Right now, I am running a little experiment to see if I can still lose pounds without drastically changing my diet or dedicating hours to the gym everyday. I don’t enjoy the gym and I do not want my food options to be limited. All of the gurus and books talk about discipline, but I know myself and I don’t have anything to prove to anyone. Besides, there are biological reasons why “yo-yo dieting” happens. Who really wants to work hard and deprive themselves so that they can lose the weight just to gain it all back, plus some?

Good Eating

My plan is to try some swaps, substitutions, and more balanced plates. For example, popcorn instead of chips. To prepare myself, I have purchased seasonings specifically for this. I have a tangy BBQ, a spicy seasoning, and a cheesy powder.

Here’s the logic. I think that I eat chips because I enjoy the crunch and the saltiness. A lot of people are into sweets, but I’m a savory girl. Know what else has a crunch and, usually, salt? Popcorn. But popcorn also has fiber and less calories by volume, so we’re already improving the diet. If you really want to get into it, you can always pop your own and control how much salt and butter or oil you’re consuming. I like convenience, so I’m probably going to grab microwavable popcorn or bags of Skinny Pop. Then I’ll sprinkle a little flavored powder on them based on what I’m craving. Easy-peasy!

Let’s talk about substitutions and balanced plates. Substitutions are different than swaps. You are still eating the same thing. You’re just substituting some of the ingredients. Just the other day, I made this delicious fettuccine alfredo using half-and-half instead of heavy cream. You can also make it with milk, using the same recipe. It will still taste great, but it’ll be less rich. The reason that I chose half-and-half is because I wanted the sauce to still look and taste creamy, but with a little less fat. My goal is to make my substitutions nearly undetectable.

To give the meal more of a nutritional balance, I had the alfredo with chicken and a good-sized serving of steamed broccoli. It seems obvious, but I’ve never gone out of my way to make sure that I’m having veggies with every meal. Here’s where I’m going with this. Vegetables provide vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants. That’s great for your health. All of that wonderful fiber also helps you to feel full. If you feel satiated, you eat smaller servings. If you eat smaller servings, you consume less calories. Less calories = more weight loss. Generally. So, I am eating the exact same thing that I was going to eat anyway with less fat and less calories.

No Pain, Lots of Gain

Like I said, I do not like the gym. I dislike the gym so much that, the last time I tried a weight-loss journey, I bought a stationary bike, dumbbells, and weights to use at home instead of just getting a gym membership. Now they’re sitting there getting dusty.

But I’m going to fix that. Except for the weights. I’m probably never using those again. By “fix that” I just mean spending 30 minutes a day, 4x a week, on the bike or walking. You can walk, or bike, outside if you want, but walking at home is equally valid. This is where YouTube comes in.

If you’re looking for a real workout that’s quick, then I have great news! You can go on YouTube and look for Walk at Home. They have fun, high-paced videos that will have you sweating in 15 minutes. Some days, I’m all motivated and totally into that. It’s a great time-saver if you’re just to busy to dedicate a part of your day to getting in shape.

Other times, I feel lazy. I am not the biggest fan of exercise, to be honest. On those days, I still open up YouTube. Instead of Walk at Home, I go to Walks of Wonder, RunVirtual, or Virtual Cycling Workouts depending on if I want a slow walk, moderately paced walk (the run isn’t fast and works for a quicker walking speed), or time on my stationary bike. The fun thing about this is that I can do a short 30 minutes while viewing places all over the world. That really keeps the exercise from feeling like a slog. This week, I have been enjoying RunVirtual’s Running in Italy series. I’ve gotten to see Riva del Garda and Limone sul Garda right from my bedroom.

All of this is customizable, with no pressure. You don’t want to do 4 days a week? That’s your business. Do 3. Do 5. Don’t want to do 30 minutes like me? Go longer if you want. Hell, do 15 minutes if you’re really not feeling it. Look, some movement is better than no movement. Anything that you do beyond whatever you’re doing now is an improvement.

Wrapping it Up

Sure, all of this won’t get the same results as going to the gym for two hours a day. It won’t get the same results as a fad diet. I know that. But that isn’t the point. The point is to see if I can get any results at all from making very minimal changes. Ones that are so small that they don’t disrupt my life and I can maintain them long term. Whatever goals that you have, consistent incremental change is going to get you there. So Yo-Yo Dieting is out. Doing what I want is in. Let’s see how it goes!