By posting twice in 1 week! If only I would get better about having more exciting things to post about... Sadly it seems that as my mind is less stimulated and challenged through literature, my writing skills seem to go to crap :( I'll wrack my brain this next week to come up with something fun!
Well, today is Day 4 of the South Beach Diet...and it is not going well. Today for lunch, I had a burrito from Chipotle, and Jared had cereal (remember the "no grains" thing?) Sadly I'm not sure how closely we are going to be able to stick to this diet as a whole. However, I do hope that maybe we can continue to follow the Dinner menus for the next 6 weeks. That in and of itself I think will make a significant change both on our metabolisms and bank account. And the gym - we need to go.
Ok, for something slightly more thoughtful - I have had multiple conversations with multiple people just over the past few weeks regarding how ridiculously difficult it is to be a single adult living in Lubbock, TX. It seems that the culture of the city just is not conducive to such a lifestyle, which is completely ludicrous to me. It's a college town: once people graduate, if they stay in Lubbock, it is to get married and settle down. Otherwise, most people move away. Either to graduate school somewhere else, or to pursue a job in a bigger city, etc. But this continues to build an ugly pattern, so that due to the lack of singe community, it drives out the few single people that do get left here. It's hard to meet other single people (for friendship or dating), and the conservatism of the South still carries some stigma for an adult to be single.
When you're single here you feel isolated, like you don't have a place, and sometimes even shamed by others because you're not doing "what you're supposed to do." There is something seriously wrong with that. Here in Lubbock we live in our own little bubble - we are isolated geographically, and somehow that has created isolation in many other intangible ways. The culture of the city has not changed in 100 years because it has not been forced to. There has been no "invasion" of newcomers, or significant outside influence strong enough to take hold of the city to help it progress and grow. Therefore, it continues to remain as it is, with people who want to keep it that way, and those who disagree just leave. Good for them, bad for the city. Can you imagine if everyone who "disliked" Lubbock actually remained here and made an effort to help make change for the better? It could probably develop into something similar to the greater Austin or DFW areas...but instead of "investing" we just bolt. Strength mostly comes in numbers, and here that will probably never be the case.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Fad Diet
Everything that I have read in the past several years (and especially the past several months) has completely slammed any and all "fad diets" due to their unhealthiness and ineffectiveness to provide long-term results. Just about EVERY source that is not endorsed by a specific diet system has die-hard facts to prove that these things just don't work. What DOES work is a reduction of your daily caloric intake (specifically fats and sugars) and an increase in physical activity. Period.
Fad diets are a quick fix, but once the diet is over an overwhelming majority of people eventually gain it all back because they fall back into their previous lifestyle pattern. Changing WHAT you eat for 6 weeks does not necessarily mean a change of HABITS. Losing weight and becoming more healthy entails an entirely holistic approach - your ATTITUDE about food and exercise has to change, and the motivation for that becomes a large influence of how successful one can be at it.
All of this said, Jared and I are starting the South Beach Diet this week. I am not super crazy about the idea, mostly for the reasons I just mentioned, but also because the whole first 2 weeks are JUST lean meats, vegetables, and a little bit of dairy. NO FRUIT ALLOWED?! Being vegetarian, this severely limits my protein intake per day, along with snacking options (I typically eat 1 apple every day). I do eat fish and shell fish (which is allowed) but they are expensive, and let's face it, who really wants to eat fish EVERY day for 2 straight weeks? Whole grains are a major source of protein for me throughout the week; now, I will admit that I am pretty good at packing in plenty of the bad carbs and sugars so I know I shouldn't be complaining too much about it, but I just don't trust this drastic change in food choices for 2 weeks. Yes, after the first 2 weeks the second 2 weeks do incorporate fruit, and a FEW whole grains...I still just don't know how the hell my body is supposed to get any kind of REAL energy from eating mostly lettuce every day. Like today, I had a MASSIVE salad for just - just greens and balsamic vinegarette dressing - and within an hour I was almost falling asleep at my desk (I ate half a protein bar and feel much better now.)
However, since Jared and I are doing it together it's more of a jumping-off place for us to make each other accountable, so that this accountability WILL last once we finish the 6-week diet and we'll continue to motivate and encourage each other in making healthier food choices and working out more often. Therefore, we are doing this together, and hopefully it will be just the first step of many more progressive steps later. I will definitely be sure to keep you updated on how the next 2 weeks of half-starvation continue to unfold.
Fad diets are a quick fix, but once the diet is over an overwhelming majority of people eventually gain it all back because they fall back into their previous lifestyle pattern. Changing WHAT you eat for 6 weeks does not necessarily mean a change of HABITS. Losing weight and becoming more healthy entails an entirely holistic approach - your ATTITUDE about food and exercise has to change, and the motivation for that becomes a large influence of how successful one can be at it.
All of this said, Jared and I are starting the South Beach Diet this week. I am not super crazy about the idea, mostly for the reasons I just mentioned, but also because the whole first 2 weeks are JUST lean meats, vegetables, and a little bit of dairy. NO FRUIT ALLOWED?! Being vegetarian, this severely limits my protein intake per day, along with snacking options (I typically eat 1 apple every day). I do eat fish and shell fish (which is allowed) but they are expensive, and let's face it, who really wants to eat fish EVERY day for 2 straight weeks? Whole grains are a major source of protein for me throughout the week; now, I will admit that I am pretty good at packing in plenty of the bad carbs and sugars so I know I shouldn't be complaining too much about it, but I just don't trust this drastic change in food choices for 2 weeks. Yes, after the first 2 weeks the second 2 weeks do incorporate fruit, and a FEW whole grains...I still just don't know how the hell my body is supposed to get any kind of REAL energy from eating mostly lettuce every day. Like today, I had a MASSIVE salad for just - just greens and balsamic vinegarette dressing - and within an hour I was almost falling asleep at my desk (I ate half a protein bar and feel much better now.)
However, since Jared and I are doing it together it's more of a jumping-off place for us to make each other accountable, so that this accountability WILL last once we finish the 6-week diet and we'll continue to motivate and encourage each other in making healthier food choices and working out more often. Therefore, we are doing this together, and hopefully it will be just the first step of many more progressive steps later. I will definitely be sure to keep you updated on how the next 2 weeks of half-starvation continue to unfold.
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