It's all in the numbers

This morning I had my highly anticipated first meeting with Barbara, the dietitian at Covenant Weight Management Center. I went to the appointment with mixed feelings of nervousness, excitement, fear, and anxiety. My teammates who had already had their initial appointments had come away with varying experiences, so I really had no idea how the visit would go.


The visit was wonderful. It was eye opening, and the perfect refresher course on nutrition that I needed. For a long time I've viewed carbs as the enemy, and have tried to limit them. For the simple fact that I am a carb addict I've always felt that if I kept them under control I would be healthier. Well, today was a big wake up call.


Let's rewind a little back to the summer. I started limiting my calories and my carbs. While I've seen some weight loss from the change, I didn't make any changes when I increased my activity level. So, instead of adjusting my diet appropriately a month ago when we started walking & working out, I kept up my old routine. 


Well, today Barbara explained to me that my body has been trying to protect me from myself. Since I haven't been fueling it properly (kept my diet around 1000 calories a day with only 2-3 carbs), and I have increased my activity by like 500%, my body is thinking that it needs to keep my fat around so that I don't die. The good news is ... I have enough fat to keep me alive for awhile. The bad news is ... I have enough fat around to keep me alive for awhile! :) 


My new food plan ... no counting calories. Really?! Nuh uh!! Yup, when you're reading everything else on the label and eating what you should the calories should fall into place. The only calorie rule is that a meal should have no fewer than 200 calories (my breakfasts and lunches for the past several months have been around 180 calories each). 


My ideal fruit, veggie & protein portions are all pretty much in check with my current eating habits. And Sodium goal 1500 mg or less a day. 


And now for my new carb plan ... 3 for breakfast, 3 for lunch, 1 for afternoon snack, 3-4 for dinner, and 1 for bedtime snack. 12 servings of carbs a day?! I'm still in shock. I'm actually still planning on how to work that all in! 


Barbara's review of food labels with me was absolutely the most helpful part of our appointment. I'm sure I'll carry this handout around with me the next few times I go to the store ... but it's a huge help. 


Some important things to look at when reading food labels:

• How big is the serving size? This can be sneaky! I spot-checked a few things in our pantry when I got home ... and Barbara was right ... some of them are sneaky! I even had my husband reading labels at dinner, when he realized 1 serving of club crackers was only 4 crackers. 4 crackers?! Sheesh.
• Total Fat: Ideally for me with weight loss (and probably a good rule of thumb) 5 grams or less a serving
• Saturated fat: Ideally 2 grams or less
• Trans Fat - 0
• Sodium: Ideally 300 mg or less
• And -- the more fiber, the better!!  More fiber gives you some credit with your carbs. For example If something has 30 grams of carbs, and 6 grams of fiber ... you only have to count the 24 carbs (30-6)!

Today was also my first weigh-in, exactly a month from our intro day when we did our publicity shots and first met each other. The good news is that I'm down 1.5 pounds. The even better news is that with the proper fuel, and new food plan, hopefully next month it'll be a greater weight loss.