Recipe for Health - part 1

So, a few of you have contacted me and have asked the magic pill question. Why is it that you are "doing the same things" that I am, but you are "only losing a pound here or there" or "losing and gaining the same 5 pounds?" I don't know, but I understand that it can be bloody frustrating. Remember, if you're tracking well you can take your journal to your doctor and get professional advice.

What am I doing to lose weight? Nope, no magic pill (unless you count my daily salmon oil supplement). You asked, so I'm gonna be honest...

Specifically, I am:

1. Focusing on living a healthy life and viewing weight loss as a lovely side effect of those choices


2. Tracking/writing down everything I eat in a day to ensure that I am consuming no more that my daily points/calorie allowance


3. Controlling my portion sizes by counting points/calories at each meal


4. Controlling my portion sizes by measuring and weighing my foods


5. Tracking my servings of protein, carbs, veg, fruits, milk to ensure I meet the daily Canada Food Guide suggestions


6. Tracking that 90 percent of my intake is from high quality calories (complex carbs, lean protein, non-refined sugars (ie. fruit), etc.)


7. Drinking water to stay hydrated


8. Eating a variety of fresh foods and trying out new healthy recipes


9. Including 'treats' in my daily points/calorie count (a few squares of dark chocolate, sorbet, etc)


10. Avoiding all sweeteners and most processed foods


11. Planning and prepping foods to ensure easy life style choices


12. Participating in a variety of sweaty activities for a minimum of 210 minutes each week


13. Answering my Little Rat Bastard negative nagging voice every time with a positive, realistic message


14. Reflecting regularly on how things are going and rewarding my efforts


15. Keeping things around me that remind me of why I needed so desperately to make these changes (ie. I keep a backpack full of the weight I have lost to date, I journal, I've kept my biggest fat pants, photos, etc)


16. Asking for help when I need it


17. Practicing patience


18. Living as a healthy person now, not "when I reach my goal"


19. Doing all of these things consistently, on a daily basis

I'm doing what my doctor suggested... following the Canada Food Guide recommendations and surrounding myself with encouragement. I joined Weight Watchers for support and my skinny man eats maintenance points with me to understand my process and to encourage me.

As I have mentioned before, some of these choices came easily for me. I already was passionate about vegetables, fruits, skim milk, whole grains, nuts, etc. before... so passionate, in fact, that I ate a hell of a lot more of them than I should have. Add a passion for chocolate, ice cream and cheese and you've got a deadly combination, literally.

As for the processed foods... for me, this is about health. Processed foods are full of salt, fillers and chemicals and I avoid them to a great extent. As for sweeteners... do your own reading and you decide. They are not for me. Cooking from scratch is time consuming and can be more expensive... two things that I have decided to budget for.

That's the basics... but, yes there is more to it. Like everything else, we all know that it matters how consistently and well you do something. Part II of this Recipe for Health entry will be about the changes I have made to how I think about my life and choices.