OOTD: Short on change (and thoughts on dieting)
Thursday, June 28, 2012 at 10:01AM I wanted to talk about how shorts are a staple yada yada but I'm sure that everyone else has exhausted the topic. To summarize: we live in a tropical country. Shorts are part of our national identity.
On a completely different note - one phrase has been running in my head repeatedly this morning. "If you want to lose weight, EAT LESS." It's like a freakin' mantra. But how less is less, and at what point do we need to eat more? I've been on a no carb diet for the past three weeks and it's consuming me. I do cheat once in a while, of course, but I make sure to make it up in the next meal.
Ferretti bag / Forever 21 knit top and blazer / Bench shorts / Pinbox headband and bracelets / ZARA heels
It is seriously challenging (as you know) not to eat rice or even bread with meals. But I've sort of gotten used to it already and I want them to remain on the fringes of my life. I don't want to swear I wont eat carbs forever because I know I will have to especially when eating out. But when I cook (which is most of the time) they won't be around.
I actually enjoy eating vegetables with my meat although the preparation part sucks. But hey, if that's what it takes to at least maintain my weight then okay. I just want to strike a balance. It's not smart to over-eat, but it's equally stupid to eat too little.
Anyway, here's an outfit I wore yesterday (the first one was last Saturday):
Nude blazer from Rockwell (forgot the brand) / Forever 21 shorts / Pinkbox bangles and earrings / Pill platforms / Louis Vuitton Monogram Alma bag
Thanks for putting up with my rambling haha. Share your diet stories too, okay? Good morning!
Liz Lanuzo
Hi everyone! Thank you for sharing your inspiring and informative stories! I read all the blog links you posted as well. It's nice to know that we're not alone struggling against our weight. We have different ways to deal with it but one thing is sure: determination is key!
Reader Comments (14)
its super hard to start dieting and harder to maintain a certain diet :(
Liz!!! I have never been to a dietitian or somebody more knowledgeable, but I have been noticing that I actually "look" fat one time then would look thinner next. But I dont really lose a lot of weight, it's always been 140 or a little less, I guess the max weight loss i had was 5lbs (round 135lbs).
i have had the notion that I might have hormonal imbalance, hence the irregular monthly periods. Though honestly, after college, I gained a lot of weight, and it;s been noticeable that I have lost weight. I wasn't sure how much I weigh then.
Now to maintain at least this weight, figure, which is still of course undesirable, I eat super less meat as I have been practicing for more than 3 years now. I eat more vegies kahit nilagang talbos ng camote, and fruits.
I really have no time exercising as to running or jogging or hitting the gym. But i walk a lot everyday!
I have been thinking about buying Carb Trim, I just so want to try them. I have a very busy schedule everyday and I have been wanting to really fit at least a bit of time to really jog everyday..
Thanks for inspiring me Liz!
Hi Liz! I've started counting calories using Livestrong.com. Tracking using their platform may not be super accurate (mostly American food, etc.) but it gives me an idea how much calories I'm taking in and burning. I watched a little documentary "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" and man, it struck me. I've been wanting to lose weight - exercising but not regularly, eating more fruits and vegetables - but until I saw the docu, I hadn't been paying much attention to how much and what I ate.
I've never been this heavy and it has caused me heel discomfort because of the extra pounds my heels have to endure! Most importantly, I have to be healthy since our family has a history of cardiac arrest. My maternal and paternal grandmas and my mother all died of it! Scary! If I don't take action early on, I'd have the same fate too!
I still eat rice, chocolates, and chips but already in moderation. I sign up and run in fun runs whenever I could and jog as much as possible. I'm going to make this a habit so I'll have good, lifelong results! :)
I'm not exactly sure why you're trying to lose weight Liz, your size looks just right to me. :p
I do understand the feeling of wanting to maintain or lose more weight though, especially for women our age. It just keeps getting harder and harder to do it!
From what I remember from Nutrition class, if you lessen your food intake for a prolonged period of time, the body eventually adjusts to the amount of food/calories we take in(eat less, body slows down metabolism to conserve energy). Hence, you may end up eating less and less but not lose as much weight as you want to. :(
That, plus the fact that I cannot stick to a specific diet for long periods, led me to formulate my own get-sexy-plan. I wrote about it here if you wanna check it out: http://chenyl.wordpress.com/2011/05/15/the-non-diet/
Hope this helps. Cheers!
Hi, Liz! I don't know if you've tried using a food journal. I made a livestrong account and I have been using their food journal since March. It's very difficult for me to give up carbs so a carb-free diet is totally not an option. Having a food journal helps me be aware of what, and how much I eat. Hope this helps. :) Your brown shorts look great, btw.
Avoiding carbs is the way to go! I'd been working out at a gym for several months but only when I stopped eating rice and pastries did I actually start to burn fat. I'm not a rice or pasta person so that wasn't too hard to give up, but letting go of sweets and avoiding pizza was a lot tougher, especially when I'm at a party or something and the people there don't really care about eating healthy. I also had to cut down on alcohol and uh, other substances, because I tend to binge uncontrollably when I'm inebriated.
If you have the time for it, I also recommend getting a gym membership or finding some other way to get regular exercise. I haven't tried dieting without exercise but I imagine it's a far less efficient than doing both at the same time.
dieting has been extremely hard for me lately because my stomach is really acidic (?) as in i end up with heartburn if i eat less... so what i do i just try to eat a balanced meal everyday and everytime i give in to temptation (sweets,junkfood) i make sure that i jog/run for atleast 30 mins... yung iphone/itouch app which is called couch to 5k has really helped me in starting out a kinda-simple exercise routine! i remember i read somewhere that by 30 you should already have an exercise routine aside from ur beauty regimen.. so im 25 may 5 years pa ko hehehehe
geesh, i feel you. it's really hard to diet...not unless i have a goal like what i had during my bday month. i had to lose 5kgs in less than 2mos, though i was able to do so, it was really hard. crash diet talga. i only eat suha for days hahaha, then i cheat on a weekend. im so tamad to exercise, i have a gym membership at gold's which is so near my place but still so tamad. as soon as i get home from work, all i want to do is lay down and watch tv.
also after i lost weight, i am starting to go back to my usual food intake. so yeah, i feel like im gaining back those lost pounds. i try not to eat too much carbo since i sit all day at work, i try to drink a lot of water pero i still end up being gutom. hahaha you are still young, mabilis pa metabolism mo. unlike me, even if i dont eat ata i'd gain weight pa din.
hay.
hi liz!
so true!! it is SO hard to not eat carbs! but well, we have to sacrifice something so we can look good in shorts right? hehehe...
I can really say that not eating rice does wonders to your body. I've read that unlike other kinds of carbs, when you eat rice ALL of it gets absorbed by your body that's why its fattening. I'll share my story.
When I saw a picture of me with my bf and I saw how HUGE my tummy was, it made me swear to lose weight.(Plus the fact that I met his ex and she was so skinny, good thing mejo mas maganda ako..hehhe)
Anyway, I did not want to work out because its too hard(in my mind). So i tried belly dancing instead. ANd avoided rice. (Actually what really motivated me was our belly dancing costume which of course bares your belly for evryone to see!! I had to lose my tummy fat or face embarassment!! )
I lost 8 kilos in about 4-5 mos. I know that seemed long but it was ok, healthy even rather than losing all of it in a month..
But boy it was so so HARD!!!
So liz, I feel you.. I really do.. Just continue doing it and eventually you'll get used to it. I still feel the urge to eat more that 1 cup of rice at times ( this is my limit because there was a time I ate 6 cups in mang inasal...heheeh). I just think of that pretty little costume I have to get into and it immediately cuts my appetite..
Anyway, you actually look fine to me..hehhehe.
GOD BLESS!!
Hi Liz, I agree with Chenyl that your body's ok and in my opinion is in an ideal state. So, congrats on managing your weight. :)
It's been 3 months since I finished a weight management program that's focused on fat loss and muscle gain. What I like about it is that not only am I maintaining my new body successfully but I've lost additional weight just by maintaining the 3333 meals.
3333 means I eat a filling portion each of fruit, veggie, protein and carb in all my 3 meals. So, I never go hungry and I have the energy for the whole day. :) I don't even feel that it's a "diet." I know that my body needs the right nutrition so that's what I give it.
Allow me to empower others through my personal sharing here >> tinjavier.blogspot.com/search/label/therightapproach
Hi Liz =) I'm no diet expert and have been struggling with my weight my whole life. I've been through an endless cycle of yoyo dieting and I got tired of it. So went to a nutritionist and learned a few things. The reason why no carb diet doesn't work for long-term is because our body needs carbs. Eliminating this from our diet may temporarily help shed some unwanted pounds but eventually our body will signal the need for carbs thus the craving. The ideal diet is actually the food pyramid because it supplies the body everything it needs in the proper proportion. I also believe that diet should always be accompanied by exercise. But whenever I cheat or over eat I just make up with some more activities to burn the calories. =)
Hi Liz!
I have a story too! Recently, I've been doing a no rice diet, but all other types of carbs I eat :) We'll it was supposed to be Dukan diet but I can't seem to find the time to prepare all the stuff, considering that I live alone and I have a day job, I can count on no one but myself to clean the house and prep my food. So there, I decided I'd skip rice as much as I can even when I eat out, as long as I have a choice I will not order rice. I started this diet somewhere like 4 weeks ago and last week I came to realize that I could be doing the wrong actions again. In 2006, I hit 98 lbs and I was the happiest girl alive! But when I look back at my photos, I look like an anorexic and exhausted girl with a very big mouth. That's when I decided to change my plan. Even as a child, I've always been bigger than the rest and struggling with my weight has always been an issue, so now I thought I'd embrace my figure. When I think about it I actually am more blessed than others because my body is proportional, (I've seen girls whose upper body are way, way bigger than their legs it looks like they borrowed it from someone else). I learned that I simply need to lose some weight here and there but the goal should not be to hit 98 lbs again. I am still on a no rice diet but I eat everything else, I eat pasta, I eat icream, chocolates etc. But in the morning and at night, I eat either cereals or the ABC (asparagus, broccoli and carrots). My goal now is to embrace my shape and create a figure out of it rather than to try to shape my body differently. I eat veggies because I know they're good for me and I make it a point to go to the gym 4x a week, minimum because I know my stamina will get better. I'm already seeing results (yay!) but I promised myself that the veggies and the exercise will both be part of my lifestyle from now on. :)
Good luck to us in getting into better shapes :)
For 2 straight weeks (no cheating) I took the ff to heart:
1. No Rice
2. No flour (pasta and bread)
3. No Sugar including fruits
4. No Liquor
5. Water Water Water
6. Yes to Egg, Cheese and Tuna and any ulam my nanay cooks for me including Pritong Lechon(thank God).
7. And no hanging out with friends for 2 weeks.
I lost about 8 pounds in those 2 weeks, no exercise cause Im lazy like that.
(The program is atkins, I printed out the guidelines and list of food that I can and cannot eat and brought it with me everywhere just in case I'll be eating out, you can find it in atkins.com).
I initially thought I wouldnt be able to do it, but knowing na 2 weeks lang ang titiisin ko I went ahead with it.
The first 4 days were nasty, I was popping Ibuprofens. But once you get past the 4th day you are in it for the long haul!
When I saw the Diet really working (and so did everyone who saw me), I continued with the next 2 phases (which includes being able to eat rice and everything you sacrificed for the first 2 weeks)
It's been 2 years since I last followed the program, and I've lost a total of 35 pounds, from 167lbs to 132lbs.
And I still haven;t exercised...unless you count household chores and shopping as exercise.
I've always wanted to start dieting but I like eating out. I'm not really into meat, rice or bread, but my sweet tooth could be a little hard to control. This year, I have lost so much weight but I wasn't even aware of it.
I lost 5kg in 2 weeks last December because I got brokenhearted. I spent the vacation sleeping so I really didn't get to eat much. When I started working, I lost more weight. I usually skip dinner or eat just fruits at night because I'm too tired or lazy to eat. After a month I have lost a total of 10kg.
I've been trying to maintain my weight since then. I work out when I have time, and I try to avoid drinking too much or skipping meals. I still eat out every once in a while :)