Yesterday marked the start of my second week living the ideas of 2B Mindset. I am not like some of the Mindsetters, folks who, bless them, have lost tens and tens, even 100 or more pounds. I’m just someone who cares about his health and knows there needs to be a better approach toward food and eating.
As a reference, some 8 or 9 years ago, I was tipping the scales at 214 lbs., squeezing myself into size 36 pants and wearing size large shirts. I decided to devote myself – almost fanatically – to my health and fitness and dropped 50 lbs. – yes, 50! – to weigh 164 and wear a size 30, generally wearing a small size shirt. I think my neck went from 17.5 to 14.5.
In the ensuing time, I’ve never gotten back to my starting weight, and I actually don’t think I ever got back to 200, but you know what? All the working out my wife and I have been doing, while it has made me stronger for sure, has not cut the pounds from my frame as might be expected. I always knew why – the food. I just never saw it clearly enough to say, “Enough is enough.”
Well, Week 1 of 2B Mindset has been wonderful. I want to tell you some of the awesome food I have been eating, share some of my new indulgences (contrasting them with the old), and let you know how much weight I’ve dropped despite rarely ever feeling hungry and never feeling deprived. Quite the contrary – the food I’ve eaten in the past week has largely been AMAZING.
Awesome Food I Have Been Eating
I don’t want to sound like a dope, but let me tell you something: veggies are the bomb.
I’ve never had a problem eating vegetables, and there are some I really like and am happy to gobble by the handful (carrots, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms). I also love to roast a big pan of onions, parsnips, mushrooms, peppers, butternut squash…LOVE this in the fall and winter.
But now I see it so much better: veggies are versatile! There is so much you can do with them to make them taste amazing. By accessorizing them, the sky is really the limit.
Here are some things I have eaten devoured this week.
- Hearts of palm linguine with healthy alfredo sauce
- Spaghetti squash lasagna (one of my wife’s specialties)
- Scrambled eggs with sauteed mushrooms, peppers, and broccoli, topped with caramelized onions and a little feta
- fresh from my garden green beans topped with lemon and parmesan; this also works with broccoli
- zucchini noodles cooked in sauteed onions topped with tomato sauce – with a crusty piece of Ezekiel sesame bread and some ricotta
Hey, for having usually gotten my fill of veggies from a salad a couple times a week and shakes made with spinach in them, it’s been an impressive and exciting week. I am so pumped for the next Costco order to arrive with more vegetables.
New Indulgences
I have long enjoyed a nice bedtime snack. Some frozen cherries, a large bowl of SkinnyPop that could feed 5 people (my wife would eat for 1, me for 4), maybe a bowl of cereal, pretzels, graham crackers, or maybe three pieces of fruit. Not all at once, mind you, but still…
I am happy to say I have loved the “Dinner and Done” concept. After dinner, I brush my teeth and call it a night, food-wise. Maybe if I’m feeling adventurous or rebellious, I’ll have a can of flavored seltzer. But food after dinner? Doneskies.
I’ve long been a fruit fiend. I just love fruit. It’s watermelon season and I’m in charge of cutting them. Do you know how many pieces won’t make it into the container because they get sucked up by my face? A cup of watermelon this week was just fine. Same thing with blueberries, little handheld buggers that they are. I’m not so quick to just throw them down my mouth hole anymore. It all adds up.
Saturday has been pizza and wine night for my wife and I for a long time. She makes the sauce and I make the pizza. This week we both looked forward to it and, having been so purposeful and mindful about our eating all week, we both really enjoyed it. The glass of wine on the deck was also sensational. And guess what, for the first time in forever, I topped my half of the pizza with veggies – peppers and mushrooms. I couldn’t eat it fast enough. (Next morning, I had only gained .1 lbs. I guess pizza and wine night is here to stay!)
The Results Are In
At the start of the week, I stepped on the scale and was disappointed to see my weight perilously close to 200. It was 199.3.
As a Mindsetter, I embrace the fact that the scale is a tool, so I didn’t get too upset by it. That made sense as soon as I read about it. So, prepared that the scale’s numbers might rise or fall throughout the week, I dutifully checked my progress everyday. One day, I went up .3. After consulting my tracker, I decided not to have another one of the banana/veggie muffins I made for my toddler (mommy and daddy love veggies – he won’t even sniff one. But he will gobble down those “cupcakes”). The next day I recorded a loss. There’s a lot of power in knowing what you ate and how it may have affected you. Tracking is so important.
All that water, all those veggies, all that mindful eating, and guess what? I lost 6.9 lbs. in the first 7 days. I’m sold. I’m excited to keep shoving vegetables in my mouth. The results are there and it’s a great feeling.
Make It Happen 