Lina’s Progress Report

“I’ve lost about 3 pounds in the past three weeks and 2.7% body fat. My strategy has been to adopt and maintain a realistic combination of habits. Full disclosure: pre-challenge, from Thanksgiving through New Years Day, we were eating pretty poorly and IC attendance was sporadic. But since the challenge started, we decided to take a middle of the road approach that is both healthy and enjoyable. Food and drink are very important to us, and we couldn’t be to extreme or we’d break after a week. Also, we have frequent visitors from the east coast, and everyone who comes here wants to partake of the great food and wine the region has to offer. To offset that, we began to see our daily meals as fuel: something that should be tasty, but primarily service our needs for nutrition and convenience.

Foodwise, we haven’t done anything radical. We turned to fresh herbs and spices, veggies, fish, and chicken. We use a good non-stick pan and pump spray with olive oil. I ate legumes and lentils pretty regularly, but recently I’ve started eating more chicken, fish, and the occasional steak. I reduced the amount of carbs from bread and pasta. (Mind you, reduced, not eliminated!) We try to get more of our carbs from whole grains and things like basmati rice, wild rice, and potatoes. When we make a grocery run, we get fresh everything, but we also have lots of frozen stuff (primarily vegetables, chicken, and fish) on hand so when we run out, we don’t use that as an excuse to order out. Portion control is a big challenge, and sometimes my husband thinks of Maya’s post and why we eat which helps bring back perspective. We are more aware of calorie content, and we might try and cancel out a “bad” meal with a “good” one. For example, if we know if we are going out to dinner, we might have a light breakfast and lunch of mostly fruits and veggies.

For snacks, we keep fresh fruit that doesn’t require much work: Grapes, clementines, bananas, and blueberries. For breakfast, blueberries work great with low fat yogurt and flax-granola flakes. If I want more protein, I might have an egg.

Of course, IC attendance is also key. I’ve been trying for 4 days a week. It’s not just burning calories and increasing muscle mass, it’s also the sense of well being. The support and motivation that we have found here is playing a major role. After a great workout, binging on burgers is the last thing on my mind.”

-Lina