Do you believe in your body?

Last week I went to see the dietitian at the surgery center.  I spent an hour talking with her about eating.  As it turns out, I know much of what I need to know.  I know to keep portions small, eat balanced diet with all the food groups, low fat, protein first...  In essence, I have a good base to start out with.  Then we talked about what I need to do in the time that I have prior to the surgery.  She explained and gave me a 1200 calorie a day meal plan.  1200 calories.  When you think about it, 1200 calories is sufficient to live.  And there are many days that I eat around 1200 calories.  However, it's not always a balanced 1200 calorie day.  And example of the plan is that for lunch I would get 1 ounce of lean protein, 1 cup of green beans, 1 ounce of cheese, 1/2 banana and water. 

1 ounce of protein.  It's not much.  About the size of half of a small deck of cards.

I walked away from that appointment and gave the meal plan a try for 2 days.  Eating that way only got me to about 600 calories the first day and 800 calories the second.  That's not even enough to sustain me. I was hungry All.The.Time.  And while I need to lose weight and limit my calories, I also don't want my body in starvation mode, clinging to every calorie I consume.

So I went back to eating the way that I was eating before.  Clean eating with the fewest amount of processed foods I can.  Lean protein at about 4-5 ounces for lunch & dinner.  Lots of fresh veggies at lunch & dinner.  Lower carbs, but whole grain or multigrain carbs.  Lots of water (75-100 oz).  When going out to eat, make healthier choices, halve your portions and limit sweets/alcohol.

I didn't work out this weekend, but I stayed busy the entire time.  Wrapping presents, running to and from stores, walking with Pete.  We went out to eat twice.  The first time I shared an entree with Pete - sirloin with  mixed veggies of zucchini, squash, carrot, onion and peppers and mashed potatoes.  Prior to the meal I ordered a salad with no dressing.  The salad filled me up and I ate less of the meal and when I did I concentrated on the veggies and the meat.  The second time we went out to an Italian place for my Mom's birthday.  Again I had a salad of beats and arugula and that helped to fill me up first.  Then I ordered a half portion of pasta and ate about 3/4 of it.  I still felt indulgent both times, but made better choices.

This morning I got up at 4:30 am to get ready to hit the gym when it opened at 5 am.  I weighed 231.  This is the lowest I've been since high school/college.  And I don't feel like I've done anything different in the last 2 weeks to lose weight.  But I feel like I am starting to believe in my body.  As though it knows what I have to do and is helping me along the way.  I went, overjoyed, to the gym and pumped out 30 minutes on that treadmill.  No stopping when my left foot started hurt, but pushing through the pain and reaching the mental goal I set.  And again my body got me through it. 

I believe in my body.