Everyone just wants to lose weight fast. We live in a time that everything we ever want is within our reach with just a few clicks of a mouse. Dieting is not like that and there is never going to a fast or easy way to do it. The rate at which you lose weight depends on the amount of dedication you have to your new lifestyle. Everyone has their slip ups and accidentally eats an entire can of Pringles while their playing Kim Kardashian Hollywood on their phone (or is it just me?), but you can bounce back! As many of you know, I was on vacation over the past week and I am just going to be honest-- I ate like a man. No, not just any man. I ate like Kevin Federline when Denny's has a two for one special.
Since returning from vacation on Thursday, I've been too scared to weigh myself. I imagine that the scale won't even show numbers but instead will pop up the letters F-A-T across the digital screen. After eating carefree over the last week, it is so hard to get back in the swing of eating healthy again. It's almost like getting over that initial hump when you first start dieting. That is the topic I have decided I need to post about. Lace up your tennis shoes and make out your shopping list, we are about to shed our vacation fluff!
How to Get Back On Track After a Dieting Hiatus
When I think of all the junk I ate while I was on vacation, I go between self loathing and wishing I had just one more plate of cheese fries. What do I keep telling myself? I had a really good time, so stop dwelling on the past. So what if I literally ate anything within my sight? It was vacation. Not just vacation from work, but vacation from the mundane life of your average twenty something. Keep looking to the future and don't regret anything if you had a good time and didn't get diabetes in a one week span.
Any weight that you gained during your dieting hiatus is not permanent. Chances are that you ate carbohydrate infested foods and you are holding a lot of water as a result. Get yourself together, it's time for us to create a Plan of Attack. As I have said before this is what works for me and happens to work for many of my readers (keep up the good work, guys!) so chances are, it will probably work for you. Even if you aren't on a dieting hiatus and are just looking to drop a few pounds, you can try this as well :).
1.) As soon as I get my butt up off this couch and away from this laptop, I am heading straight to the grocery store. Click HERE to see some of the things I like to buy while I'm grocery shopping to help me lose weight. As you will see, I pretty much eliminate as many carbs as I can. Counting calories just doesn't work for me. I turn into a hangry (yes, I said hangry) white girl that will dry her dieting tears with slices of pizza. I do much better when I count carbs. I'm not near as hungry and the food I eat doesn't taste like hot garbage. I am cleaning out my fridge when I get back home and restocking it back with low carb Dukan Diet approved foods. This is my first step in getting back to my pre-vacation weight of 135lbs. Another tip for grocery shopping is to wear your workout clothes. I put on my tennis shoes every time I go to the store. Make an effort to NOT park right at the door, and instead park towards the back of the parking lot. Sure it doesn't seem like much, but that requires more energy to walk, which in turn is going to burn more calories. Also, if you're comfortable in your clothing and shoe choices, chances are that you are going to be taking more time in the store. You will be more likely to read labels on foods and you will cover more ground with your walking if you're in your comfy clothes. Some people don't like to go out looking like they are about to run a 5K, but I'm already engaged and my fiance doesn't usually go to the store with me, so I have no one to impress at the deli counter.
2.) Seeing a little bit of a gain on the scale or feeling your yoga pants getting a little tighter can make you feel 50 shades of depressed, but remember all of the successes you have had! Remind yourself of where you've been or where you want to be. There's no snap back to reality quite like when you see someone has tagged you in a fat photo from 2009. Control yourself and do not click "REPORT PHOTO AS INAPPROPRIATE." Everyone will just laugh at you then. Instead, take it in stride, do the Jay-Z and go on brush your shoulder off. Think of how good you look now, or how good you are going to look in the future. When I feel myself slipping into old habits, I like to look back and see how unhappy I was with myself... Then twerk in the mirror and say "Dang Bridge, you've really outdone yourself" even after feeling like poop because I was so careless with my diet. Do whatever will give you inspiration to continue with your weight loss journey, whether it be by reading blogs, Youtube videos, or watching True Blood and wondering if donating blood will give you Sookie's banging bod.
3.) Get started now! Waiting to tackle your chub will probably only have one result-- More chub to tackle. As least in my case, that is what happened. I never want to see the numbers 175 pop up on my scale again, so even though I've probably only gained about 5-8lbs while I've been off the wagon, I don't want to let it add up to 30-40lbs that I will have to lose again. Anyway, everyone has slip ups. Maintaining a weight is full of constant up and downs, so don't be too hard on yourself if you go out and enjoy yourself from time to time. Have that mug of beer or a slice of cheesecake if you feel like it. Everyone deserves a treat every now and then.
4.) Now you may be asking "Well how exactly do I 'get started now'?" Rid your pantry of any temptations. Lucky for me, my cupboard is bare, so I get to skip this step. Go to the store and buy low carb foods that you will actually want to eat through out the week.
Ditch your fast food, which is hard for me because I live alone and work an office job, so more often than not, I grab something from the drive thru. Click HERE to learn how to eat healthy while you are dining out. A lot of people are in to doing meal prep. What I mean by meal prep is that they fix all of their meals for an entire week on one day, like Sunday, and then eat on what they made all week. I cannot do this. I have tried several times and it just grosses me out. I have a weird thing about leftovers and I just can't eat them. If you can do this, then you go, Glenn Coco. You're a better person than I. Instead, I make salads a lot, or I just fix something like steak or chicken breast when I get home in the evening.
Try and pack protein into every meal that you have. I know I sound like a broken record, but most people say they just cannot stick to a diet because they are always hungry. Girl, I'm right there with you. That's why I walked around with a Buddha belly for so long. Protein is what keeps you feeling fuller longer, so when you are doing your shopping, keep in mind to buy things that are high in protein. I'll even put a scoop of protein powder into my oatmeal in the morning to get some extra grams in and keep me from attacking my lunch like a ravenous coyote when 11am rolls around.
Walk everywhere you can. Is there an elevator? Take the stairs. Walk your shopping carts back inside. Try and add as much exercise into your daily activities as you can. I work an office job, so I sit at my desk most of the day. It is very important to try and stay as active as possible, especially before the cooler weather comes. I find it hard to park in the back of the parking lot if it's 15 degrees out. Remember that you control your body, and when you exercise control over your eating habits, then you will start to see progress. The more dedication you show to your new eating styles, the quicker the weight will come off. It may not be easy, but once you get in the swing of clean eating, it will become a habit and you won't even have to think about it.
If you have any more questions about dieting or how to lose weight, feel free to contact me at any time! Follow me on Twitter @Butterybiscuit7, on Instagram @bridgetb2011, and like my Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/BeautyOnABudgetBlog. Talk to you soon :)
--B
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