As of May 1st I've started a diet.
I'm following Michi's Ladder's food plan (see blog below)
I'm drinking tons of water (zero carbonated beverages)
I'm working out 5 + times a week - trying to do a minimum of 30 min (shooting for 60 min - but still working into it before passing out on the floor in a puddle of sweat and tears)
--- since I prefer the privacty of my home I do differnt things I find OnDemand or dvd's I've purchased - Tae Bo, Jillian Michaels... hoping to start doing some P90x
(Here's Michi's Ladder - from what I've found online to explain it)
Michi's Ladder is not a diet. It's a simple substitution plan. To lose weight, try swapping the foods you eat for similar foods in tiers 1 and 2. The more you eat in tiers 1 and 2, the more you'll increase your chances of losing weight.
There are some healthy foods in lower tiers, but they're either calorie dense or nutrient deficient. To lose weight, you want to maximize the nutrients in every calorie you consume.
Note on frying: Foods should be eaten raw, steamed, grilled, poached, baked, or broiled. Frying automatically drops even the best foods into tier 5.
A quick reference or handy guide can be helpful, when you have made a decision to eat right.
A reference could be a grocery list of low fat foods, a chart or a meal plan.
I use a chart called Michi's Ladder with five tiers. It is a grocery list of low fat foods, a list of carbohydrate foods and a list of protein foods that you can choose from.
This list is just a guideline, but it allows you to decide from a variety of food. This list is also separates all of the foods that listed into five groups called tiers.
If you only ate from tiers 1 and 2, you would have a near-perfect diet.
Here are items from tier 1 and 2
Apples, with skin
Artichokes
Arugula
Asparagus
Avocados
Beans
Beets
Bok choy
Boysenberries
Bran
Broccoli
Broccoli sprouts
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Cereal, whole grain
Chard
Cherries
Citrus fruits
Collard greens
Cottage cheese, nonfat
Cucumbers
Egg whites
Endive
Fish, cold water (salmon, mackerel, sardines)
Fish, freshwater
Flaxseed
Garlic, fresh
Granola, raw,no sugar
Hemp seed
Kale
Lettuce, romaine, green or red leaf
Milk, nonfat
Milk, soy
Muesli, raw,no sugar
Mushrooms
Mustard
Nectarines
Oatmeal
Olive oil
Olives
Onions
Pears, with skin
Peas
Peppers
Plantains
Prunes
Radishes
Raspberries
Refried beans, nonfat
Rice, brown
Salsa, natural, no sugar
Seitan
Spinach
Squash
Strawberries
Sweet potatoes
Tea, green or black
Tempeh
Tofu
Tomato sauce, no sugar
Tomatoes
Vinegar
Water
Yams
Yogurt, nonfat, no sugar
Tier 2: The Happy Tier
Apples, skinless
Bananas
Blueberries
Bread, whole grain
Cantaloupe
Cheese, nonfat
Chicken, skinless white meat
Coffee, black or cappuccino with nonfat milk
Corn
Cottage cheese, low-fat
Cream cheese, nonfat
Duck, free-range
Eggplant
Fish, farmed
Granola or energy bar
Grapes
Hummus
Juice, fresh-squeezed with pulp, no sugar
Kiwifruit
Mangoes
Meal replacement bar
Melon, honeydew
Milk, 1%
Nuts, raw
Ostrich
Pancakes, buckwheat
Papayas
Peaches
Pineapple
Plums
Raisins
Ricotta cheese, nonfat
Soy nuts
Soy sauce
Squid
String beans
Sunflower seeds
Tortillas,whole wheat
Turkey breast
Vegetable juice
Veggie burger
Venison, free-range
Watermelon
Yogurt, no sugar
Zucchini
There are fats that you will want to avoid. Here are some tips.
More about Fats
Avoid saturated and trans fats in red meats, full-fat dairy foods, and processed foods. Learn to read labels.
Avocados, raw nuts, flaxseeds, and olive oil are great sources of essential fatty acids. Just keep portions very small. Fat is extremely dense and has more than twice the calories per gram as protein and carbs.
What you eat has a direct effect on every thing from the way your body works to your mood to the amount of fat your body burns or stores.
There are fats that you want to avoid and are located on tier 5 of Michi's Ladder. Here are a few.
Bad Fats
- Bacon
- Baked beans
- Regular ground beef
- Chicken a la King
- Chidken, buffalo wings or nuggets
- Chips, potato or corn
- Chocolate
- Cinnamon bun
- Coffee, mocha, frapp, etc.
- Cookies
- Cream cheese
- Creamer, nondairy
- Doughnuts
- French Fries
- Gravy
- Hamburger, fast food
- Hot Dogs
- ice cream
- Nachos
- Onion rings
- Pastries
- Pies
- Potato skins, fried
- Potpie
- Refried beans, w/lard
- Creamy Salad Dressing
- Sausage
- Tater tots
- Toaster Pastries
Here is a great tip that Michi's Ladder says that is sure to speed up your metabolism. It is only two rules long. It only works if you are eating foods from the top two tiers of Michi's ladder.
- Never let yourself get hungry
- Never let yourself get full
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I know this is loads to take in.
Basically I keep a printout of the food list from Michi's Ladder on my frig, at my desk and in my purse. And I try to eat foods from Tier 1 & 2. Since I like many of these foods, it's not hard.
The key is to eating 5x's per day. Breakfast within an hour of getting up. 2-3 hrs later is snack. 2-3 hrs later is lunch. 2-3 hrs later is snack. 2-3 hrs later is dinner. And you have to stop 3 hrs before bed. ** the key is eating every 2 hrs!! And eating small amounts!! You're re-training your body on what a portion size should be AND you're speeding up your metabolism.
And I make it a point to work out. Either at 5am (when I get up) -- or at 3pm (as soon as I'm off work).
I started on May 1st & I've gone from 192 to 184. I'm going to stick with it and see what happens!
