Second day

Couple of weeks ago I could not fit into none of my shorts I was fitting into perfectly lasts summer. It was probably the strongest motivation for this round. Second day went smooth. Not hungry at all

Starting again

I got Victoria Secret swim suite catalog, very inspiring. I understand that all those girls are under 25. I never has and never will have body like theirs. The sad part: in my early 20s I was size 12. Now I am getting closer to 40, my metabolism slowing down. It is much more difficult to lose anything. I look pretty good for my age, but I would like to get as close as possible to VS beach body. What I have now: 133 lb of weight. I am exercising about 6-7 hours a week. Nothing extreme: ballet, jazz, yoga, pilates. Some crunches at home. People say that I need hard core cardio to lose weight, but I do not like doing it. I believe to be successful I need to do what I like, otherwise I will quit sooner or later. I brought weights to my office and do some weight “moves” actually it works , just 10 minutes here in thee,, those weights are getting too light, will have to buy heavier ones. I eat protein and good carbs, but my weight is stuck at 133. It is time for me to start my Japanese diet again. I am going back this Monday. My goal is to loose 10 lb. Will see if it is possible in my age,, today and tomorrow, I will enjoy brown rice sushi, wine, cheese. Today and tomorrow. Monday is a good day to start.

Weight loss: phase one

Read here about the first phase:

Weight Loss: Traveling and Eating Out.

I was traveling this week. It is so hard to be good, eating out. Unless very expensive eating out. If you go to really expensivesteak houses or seafood restaurants it is pretty easy. You get nice cut of beef and veggies. Small portions for lots of money. But if you go to cheaper places: fun starts. Everything is fried. After one week of eating out I cannot stand smell of fried food. You go out for lunch. You order salad. Sounds healthy right? Salad should be healthy. I am wondering why many places insist to load up salads with calories, and carbs, and fat. They add chips, tortilla strips, bacon, pepperoni, potatoes, onion rings, nuts covered in sugar, ham, and lots of cheese into salad. We have to be really careful what we get, and what we eat. I’ve seen 1000 calories salads without dressing. Also be careful with dressings. Chipotle offers pretty healthy salads, but if you add dressing, which is really yummy, you add about 300 calories and tons of fat and crabs into your salad. I always prefer oil and vinegar. Or I get dressing on the side. And add just a little bit, for taste. I learned not to like salads swimming in dressings. In St Louise I was pleasantly surprised with one restaurant, called Blueberry Hill. It is really a nightclub. Chuck Berry is going to perform there next week BTW.. I wish I could be there. They also serve lunches and dinners. We went there for lunch. It didn’t look like a great healthy restaurant. Not expensive at all. I ordered salad. They brought nice portion not too big, not too little, mixed lettuce (not just iceberg), radishes, celery, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, just a hint of cheese, couple of slices of eggs, grilled chicken, and yogurt and dill dressing on the side. Yummy and healthy. I was very impressed.
In another place, very expensive, modern fusion, tapas. Small portions and all. I ordered artichokes hearts, they brought those deep fried. I just do not understand why they insist to get something that naturally taste really good and fry it to death. You cannot taste any artichokes there, just fried breading. Not to mention million calories breading and oil are adding to dish. Hey were also served it with dipping sauce.
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve sinned during my traveling. I ate staff I shouldn’t be easting. As a result I gained a few, I need to lose those few. I weight 134 Lb now. Will post my progress.

Weight Loss: Scale.

You do not need any fancy scale, but you need one. Many doctors are saying do not do it everyday, I do. Every morning I get on my scale to see what I can eat today. If my weight goes up, I adjust my diet, to avoid carbs. If it goes down I enjoy some bread or cookies. It is only one way for me to stay in the same weight.

Dieting and Traveling.

I am visiting St Louis. I’ve sinned during traveling before, I’ve sinned this time. I had fired pickles, I drunk OJ in the morning with eggs and bacon, I had little ice cream in the zoo. It is very difficult to avoid food I am not supposed to eat during travel. I decided for myself to kinda relax and just try to do my best. I am surrounded with temptations: fried food everywhere, chocolate indulgence cake was served last night after dinner. I had tiny little bite, it was really difficult to stop but I stopped. I do not have scale here. I hope to keep my weight down. Will check when I come back.

Weight Loss: Finding my way.

It is crucial for success to find your own way. Let’s define success. For me success is to lose weight to the point I feel comfortable. And then keep the result for life. As I mentioned before, to achieve this, I needed to change my life style for good.
I spend couple of months trying different staff.
First I thought to become vegetarian. To get into that slowly I decided to cut off red meat first. I failed miserably as soon as I’ve seen nice filet mignon with blood on the plate.
I tried to cut off portions. Didn’t help me any.
After lots of researching I finished with 2 options: low fat or low carb.
I am a carnivore and a carb addict at the same time, the choice was difficult. I’ve studied few methods and came up with my own ( really combination of few) that allowed me to eat healthy, lose weight and still enjoy my life.
I went with low carb. Let me explain. If I went with low fat, I would have to cu off lots of food I really like to eat, like eggs and bacon, like cheese. With modifies low carb version I can eat pretty much anything at least healthy version of anything. Many people think that low carb means to eat only fatty food and no fruits or bread or pasta. It is true for some methods. I didn’t like those because I like fruits and I believe that fruits are good for us.

Weight loss: Meal Schedule.

During my weight loss journey, I figured out that it matters not only what we eat but also when we eat it. In Russia we say: eat your breakfast your self, share lunch with friend and give dinner to your enemy. This is very true. I you want to eat something that your method does not allow, eat it for breakfast, then you will have no or minimal impact on your routine. It does not mean you can do it all the time, but as an exception, this trick works pretty darn good.
Russian people in general have a little different meal schedule. They have breakfast, dinner and supper. They eat the largest meal (like dinner in the US) for lunch. They do not call it lunch they call it dinner. At night they have light supper. This meal schedule works very well for weight loss routine.

Weight Loss: Second Strong Motivation

I was breastfeeding my daughter until she was about 11 months old. She just lost interest at some point. I was visiting my mother in Russia. My husband was in Ukraine. My mother offered for me to leave my daughter with her for few days, and go to visit my husband, just to spend weekend childfree. It was a great idea.
We went to Crimea. We stayed in the nice hotel on the beach. First time in 2 years, not pregnant… baby was safe with my mom… Romantic weekends by the sea. It was not Summer anymore, but weather was nice enough to walk on the beach or sit and listen to waves. It was really nice out there. We were sitting on beach reading book aloud. He was sitting I was lying down, head on his knees, reading book aloud. Very romantic! Then I had to move. He told me, that I was moving like a walrus or a seal.
It was it! The second huge kick into my fat butt.
Next morning I has salad for breakfast and went to swim in the pool. Well it was strong motivation, it took me couple of months to find my way. At this point I also figured out that my husband will most likely become ex soon. I do not know what thought kicked me better: his comments, or realization that I will have to go on dates again. But something did it. I started seriously searching for my method.

Weight Loss: My Lemon Pie Story.

To start dieting again I needed very strong motivation. I think most of us went through the process of going in and out.
For me the process started with understanding of need to lose weight.
Admitting to myself that I needed to lose weight.
Finding excuses why I could do it later.
Trying to diet and then finding another excuse: holidays, party, birth day, traveling etc..
I tried different methods.
I was trying to cut portions. I decided, I would eat everything, but will go with smaller portions.
At the time I was stay home mom, so refrigerator was dangerously too close. Yes I had smaller portions but was eating those more often, so as a result, I probably was consuming more food.
I really love lemon custard pie. I make it from scratch. Just love it. I was baking that pie and eating very tiny pieces. Tiny piece would not do any harm, right? By the end of the day I realized that I finished the whole pie.

Weight loss: After Pregnancy.

There is a mystery, I still do not understand, how it works. I was pregnant, baby inside, surrounded by waters… water supposes to be heavy. I gave birth. Baby was more than 8 pounds, plus water, plus other stuff. I was hoping for at least 10-15 pounds off. I was 3 pounds lighter after giving birth. Mystery. Some lucky people are losing weight just by breastfeeding,. Not me. I could not lose an ounce. Somebody explained it to me. In my case, my body was trying to collect more fat just in case for hunger, so I would have enough supply to feed the baby. I am not a doctor. All I know that I could not go extreme again, extreme diet while breastfeeding could not be healthy for the baby.
I tried to cut calories, cut fat, eat super healthy. Nothing worked. When I was cutting calories, I even started gaining.

Weight loss: Pregnancy.

I was always wondering how stars making it through the pregnancy and stay slim from behind, just having small watermelon in the front. It is huge mystery for me. As soon as I got pregnant, I gained so fast. And it is not only me.
My best friend, as soon as she gets pregnant, she has few kids, every time she stops fitting into her pants. Her thighs are getting huge. I mean next day. Has nothing to do with her diet. I got huge everywhere. I guess it was my fault also. All Russian women including my mother told me, that I had to eat for 2. I had to listen to my body and it whatever it was asking for,,, ahahahah it was asking for lots of yummys. And I was glad to give it to my body. I had great excuse. I enjoyed it. I gained so much during pregnancy. If I was doing it again, I would control it better. At least I would try. It was huge mistake to just let it go. When I was 4 month pregnant I had huge belly, looked like I was 8 moths pregnant by then.

Weight Loss: Slow diets.

If your weight problems are based on your lifestyle, or your eating style, not on hormonal issues or other health problems, you can lose weight. You, probably already done it few times, but those pounds came back, as soon as you switch no your regular routine. If your goal is to lose weight and keep it off for good, you need to change your life style. Sounds hard, but it is possible. The key is to pick new life style you at least like. For example, if you cannot live without steak, switching to vegetarian, would not work for you. After a while you will hate it and quit. You need to start with adjusting your regular diet to the new healthier way. One little example: we all know that yogurts are healthy. There are many adds on TV about different flavors something like key lime pie. And it is labeled fat free. You think: Great I’ll eat it. Not too fast. Those sweet yogurts are full of sugar and starch. The healthier way is to buy plain yogurt with no artificial flavor and sweeten it with fresh fruit and/or honey, or even sugar, but just a little bit. After a while you will not even like those super sweet yogurts. I like whole-wheat crackers. My husband use to make fun of me saying I was eating cardboard. I actually felt the same while ago. But for me it was those crackers or no crackers. So I trained myself to like those. Now I love it! BTW my husband loves those too.
Slow diet probably will not get you in your goal weight right away, but slowly but surely you will get there and keep those pounds off for life.

Weight Loss: Flush diets.

Flush diets are great for fast weight loss. There is an opinion that those diets are not really good for you. They help to lose weight fast, but as soon as you finished and get back to your regular habits, you gain pounds back as fast, maybe even faster. Those diets are usually very monotone. You can eat very limited variety of food. It is unhealthy to stick to this type of diet for a long time. And frankly it is really hard. Common opinion: stay away from those.
I disagree.
Those diets can really help to boost up motivation, if used as a part of larger slow diet. Let me explain.
Let say you decided to start dieting. To lose weight and keep it off you need to change your lifestyle for good. Since your current lifestyle is not working for you, weight wise at least. There are many different ways. Some count calories, some go low fat, some go low carbs, etc. We are all different. We enjoy different stuff. Our bodies work differently. One thing all those diets have in common: they are slow working. When you switch to the diet, it starts pretty good you notice pounds melting away. Your body is tying to adjust to the new way of living. After a while, the process slows down. At this point it is really important not to lose motivation. Here comes flush diet to rescue. You switch to one of those for a week or two. Get rid of 5-6-10 pounds quick, and then switch back to regular routine. Flush diet is a really great way to start the long-term routine also.
Look at my Diet Page for a few examples that really work.

Weight Loss: Exercise when to start?

Have you ever watched Biggest Loser, Extreme Makeover (weight edition) and other programs related to weight loss? They like to show very huge people performing high impact exercise, sweating, crying, breathing heavily, face is red,,,
If you are overweight do not repeat it at home. Extreme like that should be happening under doctor’s supervision, and even then it cannot be good for your health. When I was very heavy it was very difficult for me to even go upstairs. I could not even imagine doing high impact back then.
Recently we visited New York City. Have you ever noticed that New Yorkers are slimmer? I had same impression being in Paris, Rome, and Moscow. People who live there are slimmer. I mean there are more slim people around there. You know why? They walk. Every day. As a part of their everyday routine, they walk to public transportation, to stores, to restaurants. Many people who live in Manhattan, or downtown Moscow do not have cars. It is more convenient to walk and use metro, then sit it traffic for hours. When I lived in Moscow. I had to walk 15 minutes to metro, after taking metro I had to chaise bus (you have to chaise bus in Moscow, derivers will not wait for you on the bus stop: they stop on the bus stop, let people go in and out and leave. If you are not at the stop at that time, they leave. Even if you are few yards away and they perfectly see you. You have to run to be on time. Otherwise you might need to wait for another bus for an hour. They also do not have schedules. You should see girls on 5-inch stilettos or grandmas running to catch the bus.
The main point I was walking everyday. Walking helped me to keep my weight down. Walking is a good exercise with low to medium impact.
Later while I was very big, walking was only one option to exercise for me. So I started slow. I also brought my dog from Russia. She was motivating me take walks every day.
When you are heavy any physical activity is harder. You have to carry all that weight with you. It is hard on your joints, bones, heart, lungs,, When I was dieting walking was only one type of exercise I did until I’ve lost about 80 pounds. I think swimming and water aerobics are pretty suitable for heavy people also. Water takes weight off and provides resistance for muscle toning.

Weight Loss: Exercise

I hate gym! I get bored on machines. I do not like aerobics or step, or cycling. It would be nightmare for me to get up 2 hours earlier to hit the gym before work. I don’t enjoy Yoga or Pilate’s (too boring). I cannot run. I am afraid to go too fast on bicycle. I am allergic to chlorine of swimming pool. I do not like playing sports. Or watching. Rock climbing and I are not compatible (I value my nails too much).
I did go to gym for few years. Kicking my butt in. I was lucky for 6 months I was working in the building with gym in the basement. That gym offered boot camp during the lunch hour. I didn’t need to spend my after work precious time on disgusting gym. I did it for 6 months straight 5 times a week. I’ve never been in the better shape. (I’ve lost weight by then already). I didn’t enjoy it at all. I enjoyed feelings I had after. It was also very refreshing to exercise during lunch.
I am lucky. There is one type of exercise I like. I love dancing. While I have to kick my butt to gym, I would dance myself happily to the dance class. I just love it!
I think the key to successful exercise regiment is to find something that suites you, something you enjoy. It is much easier to stick into routine if you enjoy it. Dancing is a great exercise: ballet helps with muscle toning, posture and core, tap is a greatest cardio ever (I had no idea, it does not look like that at all), Jazz gives you combination of muscle training, cardio and it is also lots of fun!
Dancing is good for you butt and it is also really good for your brain!

Weight Loss vs. Quitting Smoking.

My husband is trying to quit smoking for few years. It is very difficult. I was trying to motivate him. He got mad at me at some point, saying: “You do not understand addiction! You never smoked!” I told him: “I quit eating. So I understand.”
Is food addiction is really as bad as smoking addiction? Can we even compare quitting smoking and losing weight?

My husband clams: it is very difficult to walk on the street and smell smoke. He immediately wants to light up. Well. Imagine you are on strict diet; you walk on the street with restaurants. You smell something fried yumm, something grilled, very yumm,,, Pastries,, OMG,,, You walk on the mall, you smell cinnamon bun, French fries,, is it more difficult, or I am imagining it?
My husband says: It is very difficult to go out or to the party where some other people smoke. He wants to join them,, ahahaha have you ever being on the party dieting? Especially on the party with really good food! Everybody, not just some people, are eating. Right in front of your face! And again…. that very delicious smell of food awhhhh…. It gets more tempting when I am dieting. Have you ever noticed this phenomenon? I’ll tell you one story later of my unbelievable self-control on one reception. I am still very proud of myself.
My husband claims that he always wants to smoke, when he has a drink,, well drinking is usually going very nice with hors d'oeuvres or cheese. Not to mention that driking it self can pack lots of weight on us.
When people have kids, they normaly do not smoke at home. But they cook. They cook yummies that are not compatible with any diet, Smiley face pancackes, cookies, fries, mac and cheese,,
And finally: Nicotine stays in human body for 2-4 days, in very rare cases it can stay for 2-3 months. After that addiction is in our heads.
Smokers can go cold feet, we do not need to smoke to survive, but we NEED FOOD to survive. And for me:
The appetite comes during a meal. (The Russian expression)

Weight Loss: Stress

There are some lucky people out there who stop eating while they are in stress. All of us know somebody under stress losing crazy pounds. Not me. Not me. When I am under stress, I am eating. I need comfort food. My ex was historian and political scientist. Logically we came to DC hoping for him to find a job. We tried to rent an apartment first. Nobody wanted to rent for us, since none of us had jobs. We had some savings, but no job means no place to live. The Internet didn’t exist back then. Cell phones were really rare beasts only for rich people,, so we had to use pay phone, or just popup into apartment buildings. Everything was so slow back then. We could not find anything. I will remember this moment for the rest of my life. Hopefully I will never have this feeling again, ever again! We were sitting at the gas station in the car, trying to figure out what to do next. Our condo in Boston was rented for another few months. We had no place to go. I felt HOMELESS. My reaction: I went into gas station store and bought couple of hotdogs.

In the end it all turned out good, with one exception: I gained another size.

Weight Loss: Food Addiction

Is obesity is as dangerous and smoking? Are we risking our health or life by not watching our weight?
Lets look at statistics:
Approximately about 444,000 people die because of smoking related diseases every year in the US. Additionally second hand smoking kills about 50,000 people in out country.
Main smoke related causes are: smoking-related cancers, cardiovascular disease emphysema and other chronic lung diseases.

In the US obesity related illnesses kill about 855 lives a day, which means more than 300,000 lives a year.
Overweigh people in high risk for: diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cancer, heart diseases, stroke, arthritis, joint problems, sleep apnea, gallbladder diseases, and fatty liver.
Looks like being overweight is as dangerous as smoking. The problem is that many of us finding it out hard way.

Weight Loss: Gaining

I spent few months in San Francisco. My ex had temporary research project with University of Berkley. One day that project was over and we had to find other possibilities. We went back to east coast. With no job and no leads we had to conserve money. We decided to use campgrounds instead hotels. We bought inflatable bed, tent and hit the road.

We took different road to see some more places before we came back to the reality. We went through Nevada, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Florida and along east cost up to DC. I eat lots and lots of junk food while we were traveling. By the time we came to DC I couldn’t fit into my favorite dress anymore. I was size 16-18.
It was the first time I started to think about my size. I really liked that dress. I didn’t think about my health back then,, I was very young and didn’t event think that I might have health problems one day. You know, when you are young, you think you will live forever healthy and happy.. And I was happy, eating as much French fires as I wanted,, I was eating waffles in Waffle house, pancakes in IHOP, I was ordering 2 cheeseburgers meal with extra large fries for dinner,, I has desserts every day,,, and I WAS HAPPY. Food made me feel happy. It still does.