I have this student who regularly takes my classes at Sweat Therapy. Let's call her Mama Bear. She has a gorgeous baby boy, six months old and a healthy 20 pounds. But six months after delivery, Mama Bear is ready to shed the remnants of her pregnancy.
She wants to lose 40 pounds, ideally by the time Baby Bear is a year old. She came to me last week for advice. I know how much she works out, so my attention turned to her eating.
She conceded she tries but needs to eat better. And like so many new working moms, she struggles to juggle her own nutrition needs with the limited hours in the day that she has for work, baby, husband, and home.
I asked her to keep a food log for a few days and send it to me. I often do this with my clients, for a couple of reasons.
First, eating (not exercise) accounts 85 to 90 percent of the way we look. You can take two classes a day, but if you're consuming too much crap in between, it won't matter much to your scale. Second, the food log is a window into people's habits and tendencies. Do they skip breakfast? Wait six hours between meals? Graze all day? Scrimp all day and Consume most of their calories at dinner?
So Mama Bear sent me her log, and I immediately saw good things (fruit, lots of chicken, almonds) and some not so great things (too many energy drinks, frozen meals, empty processed snack carbs). We agreed to keep her at roughly 1,600 calories a day to start, but also allowing her to get fruit or a low-sugar protein bar if she gets hungry, especially on days in which she exercises intensely.
We'll start from here, see what happens over a couple of weeks while monitoring her energy levels, and tweak from there if needed. I'm sharing this with the Badass Army because it's a good example of how your eating can be improved with just minor tweaks that are manageable and sustainable. No extreme calorie cutting, no extreme food plans. Just real eating, real food.
Here's what I did:
- Cut back on diet cokes and high-caffeine energy drinks: Their is no nutritional value in diet coke, and it will just keep the sweet tooth alive and kickin'. And those empty calorie energy drinks are all about the energy spike and crash that follows.
- Cut back on processed frozen meals and carbs like Lean Cuisines, Cheez-Its, etc.: Amy's Organic meals are the best choice when you must grab a frozen meal for convenience, but they still tend to be high in sodium.
- Added fruits and vegetables: Low in calories, high in vitamins, fiber, and overall nutrition.
If you're going to get sugar, fruit should be the (natural) source.
- Added protein: It digests more slowly, requires more calories burned in digestion, and will keep her feeling full longer. Before I saw too many carbs, many of them processed and empty. (Cheez-Its, soft pretzel, etc)
- Set up a schedule of eating every few hours: This keeps her feeling satisfied all day, and keeps her metabolism humming.
- Retained many of her food "likes":She still gets one diet Coke. She still gets that frozen pizza. She still gets her iced lattes in the morning. Total deprivation or eating foods we hate only leads to bingeing.
- Left room for the "cheat": She asked me, What if I give in and eat fries? So be it, I told her. If she eats clean most of the time and exercises regularly, pizza on Friday night or fries with her turkey burger won't wreck her weight loss.
We still have to "live," and that means having a small piece of birthday cake or a glass of wine or whatever. Just think about balance and moderation.
OK, so here it is: Mama Bear's before and after....
MAMA BEAR, BEFORE
Thursday, October 14th
IndoRow class
- Iced latte with skim milk & sugar-free syrup: 150
- Oatmeal: 160
- Coconut water: 120
- Apple slices: 120
- Amy's frozen meal: 290
- Peas: 70
- Diet coke: 0
- Yogurt: 80
- Sugar-free Rockstar: 20
- Protein drink: 150
- Cheez-it crackers: 210
- Vegetable soup: 160
- Cheez-it crackers:140
- Diet coke: 0
Total calories: 1670
Friday, October 15th
RealRyder class
- Iced latte with skim milk & sugar-free syrup: 150
- Protein drink: 150
- Apple slices: 100
- Coconut water: 120
- Spring mix salad with grilled chicken, mozarella, roasted peppers, sun dried tomatoes and black olives with vinegarette dressing: 550
- Diet coke: 0
- Monster coffee energy drink: 100
- Diet coke: 0
- Granola bar: 190
- Almonds: 100
- Soft pretzel:320
- Almonds: 200
Total calories: 1980
Saturday, October 16th
Walk around Lake Ella
- Fruit & yogurt parfait: 160
- Cereal protein bar: 140
- Starbucks double shot on ice: 160
- Tomato soup: 250
- Salad with grilled chicken, fruit & vinagrette dressing: 340
- Coleslaw: 50
- Diet coke: 0
- Granola bar: 190
- Almonds: 200
- Chocolate covered raisins: 420
- Diet coke: 0
- Popcorn: 50
- Jolly ranchers: 50
Total calories: 2010
Sunday, October 17th
RealRyder class
- Coffee with fat free coffeemate: 120
- Cereal protein bar: 140
- Monster coffee energy drink: 100
- Almonds: 100
- Granola bar: 190
- Banana: 80
- Almonds: 100
- Cheez It crackers: 140
- Cappucino: 150
- Grapes: 80
- Coconut water: 90
- Smart Ones cheese pizza with olives and feta cheese added: 550
- Diet coke: 0
- Cereal protein bar: 140
Total calories: 1980
MAMA BEAR, AFTER
Thursday, Oct. 14th
IndoRow class
Meal 1
- One egg, one egg white: 100
- Low-sugar oatmeal: 160
Meal 2
- Banana: 100
- Iced latte with skim milk & sugar-free syrup: 150
Meal 3
- Spinach salad with 4 ounces grilled chicken, roasted peppers, tomatoes and black olives with light vinagrette dressing: 350
- Medium apple: 75
- Diet coke: 0
Meal 4
- 15 almonds: 120
- 10 baby carrots: 35
Meal 5
- 4 ounces grilled/blackened chicken or fish: 225
- vegetable soup: 160
Meal 6
- EAS chocolate protein drink (as dessert!): 150
Total calories: 1695
Friday, October 15th
RealRyder class
Meal 1
- Banana: 100
- EAS chocolate protein drink: 150
Meal 2
- One egg, one egg white, hardboiled: 100
- Apple slices: 100
Meal 3
- Salad with grilled chicken, fruit & vinaigrette dressing: 340
- Diet coke: 0
- 15 almonds: 120
Meal 4
- 2 string cheese: 160
- 1 cup strawberries: 50
Meal 5
- 4 oz lean filet mignon: 280
- Steamed or roasted broccoli, 1 cup: 50
- 1/2 Tbsp oilve oil for roasting/cooking: 65
- Small salad of lettuce and mixed vegetables with light vinaigrette dressing: 50
Meal 6
- No-sugar pudding cup or Fudgesicle, or a cup of grapes: 100
Total calories: 1565
Saturday, October 16th
Walk around Lake Ella
Meal 1
- 1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt with one Truvia and 1/2 cup mixed berries: 200
Meal 2
- Banana or apple: 100
- Starbucks double shot on ice: 160
Meal 3
- tomato soup: 250
- One grilled chicken breast, 4 ounces: 225
- Diet coke: 0
Meal 4
- KIND fruit and nut bar or Pure Protein Bar: 200
Meal 5
- Shrimp stir-fry with extra veggies or 1/2 cup brown rice: 400
Meal 6
- One single-serving bag of light microwave popcorn: 100
- Sugar-free lifesavers (3): 25
Total calories: 1660
Sunday, October 17th
RealRyder class
Meal 1
- Coffee with small amount of creamer: 50
- One egg, two egg whites scrambled with tomatoes and 1 tbsp Romano cheese: 175
- One slice whole wheat toast, no butter: 80
Meal 2
- Grapes, 1 cup: 80
Meal 3
- One grilled chicken breast or fish, 4 ounces: 225
- Vegetable soup: 160
Meal 4
- One string cheese: 80
- 1 cup berries: 60
Meal 5
- Smart Ones cheese pizza with olives and feta cheese added: 550
- Small salad of lettuce and mixed vegetables with light vinaigrette dressing: 50
Meal 6
- Cappucino: 150
Total calories: 1660
Coming this week: Choosing wisely during holiday Happy Hours
