Weight

Moving Toward A Mostly Whole Food Life

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 4 Comments

I will be 40 in just over 12 months.

I always thought, believed, hoped I would be in better shape and thinner by now. But the truth is I’m not. For the three of you who have been reading my blog for a substantial period of time know that weight has always been an issue for me and I am just now coming to grips with what that means in terms of my life and the choices I make. It means changing the way I see and think about food. It means changing my relationship with exercise (even if it’s 100 degrees).

I committed (finally) to being in great shape by the time I turn 40. That means eating a mostly whole food diet, exercising regularly and shedding on average 7 pounds a month. I am worth it and I owe it to myself and my family to follow the example I expect my children to follow.

Here is my second whole food meal-shrimp, quinoa, poblano chiles, edamame, goat cheese and cilantro.

A New Approach

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 4 Comments

It is no secret around these parts that I struggle with weight and want to lost weight.  There is this one problem–I absolutely love food.  All food.  I enjoy it and I love flavors and textures, etc.  I love it all.  I have worked hard at “dieting” and counting calories and exercising but have yet to find the approach that is best for me.  It isn’t as simple as I want to lose weight–I have PCOS which screws with my hormones and with how I digest foods, etc.  While in theory it is as simple as calories in vs. calories out–not all calories are created equal.  Not all calories are processed the same in our bodies, etc.  So, where is this boring lecture on food stuffs going you ask?  Well, I am adopting a whole food way of eating.

I am cutting out processed foods and most meats–unless they are fish or lean grass fed beef or lean pastured chickens.  I am going eat foods that come in their natural state.  I am giving up caffeine and soda.  I drink only diet soda–but as soon as my stash of soda is gone at home–I am done with it.  I am going to eat better to feel better.  I am going to stop counting calories as the way of losing weight (I’m still going to count to make sure I am eating a good amount of calories).  I am going to treat food as fuel and recognize that the type of fuel I put in my body is important.

This change is going to happen over the next two weeks-so by the end of the first week of March, I have made the complete transition.  I am looking forward to seeing the effects this has on me and my family.  I will be slowing changing the kids over to a whole food diet–they eat pretty good as it is now–but there are some things that are not the best for them and I will be slowing ridding the house of those items.

Any of you out there eat a whole food (or clean) diet?  How did it work for you? Any advice?

Operation Bikini In Hawaii–Week 2

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 5 Comments

Well, this past week had been much better–weight was dropping off pretty good–but then I met Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Caramels and ate the entire box as I sat on the couch the night before my LASIK surgery.  But, I am still down about 6 pounds and well on my way to my goal of losing 50lbs before Hawaii.  I just won’t buy any more chocolate caramels from Trader Joe’s.  But they sure are awesome.

If anyone out there has an iPhone or iTouch and is trying to lose weight-I totally recommend the LoseIt app and if you use it we can be friends–and see each others progress.

On other notes–LASIK went well.  My eyes are still hearing healing, but overall, I am still totally happy that I can see without glasses.

Can someone please tell me how to keep my daughter from sticking her hand into her poopy diapers–especially at bedtime?

Operation Bikini in Hawaii–Week 1 Recap

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 3 Comments

Well, I am a couple pounds closer to wearing a bikini in Hawaii on May 20th.  It was a pretty good food week.  I worked out 5 days this week and overall, did well with food.  My big victory–if one could call it that–was my meal at The Cheesecake Factory on Tuesday.  I ate good all day and made sure that I had a good amount of calories left for dinner.  I use the Lose It app for iPhone to track my calories and exercise.  I ordered the Vegetable Salad.  Who knew they even had such a thing–it weighs in at just under 300 calories w/out the cheese and w/ the dressing on the side.  That saved me lots of calories for wine and a few bites of cheesecake.

Not only can I share my victories, but I need to share my shame as well.  Yesterday, I managed to eat 5–yes you read that right–5 skinny cow ice cream bars.  I just couldn’t stop once I got started.  I am starting to get stressed out about the upcoming semester and how little I have done to prepare.  I have a huge research project I am starting and I am beginning to feel overwhelmed.  This is why I ate and couldn’t stop myself.  When I feel out of control, I have noticed that I lost control over the smallest aspects of my life–this means what I eat.  On that note–the truffle bars by Skinny Cow are really really good.

I’m No Better Than A Cheater

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 4 Comments

So, at the office on Tuesday someone came in to talk to the Dean of the Graduate School (who is my boss) about a doc student who plagiarized their comprehensive exams.  This lead into a long discussion about how stupid that was to work so hard for something and then cheat.  It just doesn’t make sense.  I don’t understand why someone would do that.

Last night as I was sitting on the couch eating a couple pieces of cookie dough, it occurred to me that I am not different from the person who cheated.  I pay a good amount of money to work out with a personal trainer–and I work my butt off when I am with him–but I still am eating a bunch of crappy food and not doing my cardio as often as I should.  I can’t really explain why I do it–this is something that I need to uncover.  I have to wonder if the cheater can explain why they did what they did.  What I do isn’t going to get me kicked out of school but it might force my hubby to say we aren’t paying for the trainer anymore if I’m not going to do everything I can.

This is a hard lesson to swallow and a tough thing to face head on.  I really have to decide what I want and who I am.