When Johnny Met Rosie--Women in EMS Part 10: The Weight of the World (is on my hips)

PARTNERS: Even if they aren’t joining you on your journey, enlist the people closest to you as back-up. Discuss it with your spouse, children, your partner or your team. Explain what your rules are. Sure some will try to sabotage you, but in the end you may find they’re a great motivation. And you might influence their behavior without even trying. It can be difficult to keep eating badly when your partner isn’t. My co-workers have been great; they help however they can, from modifying recipes to finding exercises to do. One of my girlfriends is a marathoner who plans to drag me through my first 5K in the spring, at my side every step.

PREPARE: Learn to make your food in advance. We do not always do this, and unfortunately our food options at work are simply not ideal or always in our control. If you bring it with you, then that takes those choices out of the equation. Yes, it takes you more time to get ready for work, but the benefit outweighs this. READ EVERYTHING that you’re eating—learn about labels and how to decipher them. You will figure out recipes that you like and that work best for your schedule. On average I eat much better than my co-workers, practically gourmet, and I do not spend a fraction of the money that they do. The people that I know who have been successful do this religiously, they do not go anywhere without a cooler or lunch bag. Not to work, classes or when traveling. By doing the same thing I not only control what I eat, but it’s good for my budget as well. I’m rarely seen without my green cooler.

PHYSICAL: Changing your eating habits is not enough, even if you have great success in the beginning. It’s only one component of your overhaul—you need to move to get those muscles in shape, so do it. Don’t want to join a gym or find a class? Then take a walk or ride a bike. Do it with friends, so you can pretend an activity isn’t exercise. I know friends that do entire stretching routines using the truck, followed by lifting regimes with the equipment. Make the best with what you have.

PATIENCE: There’s one thing I’ve found doing all the research and with my personal practice, and that is true and sustained weight loss just does NOT come quickly. As much as I would love for it to be faster, it isn’t. As my doctor so lovingly put it, “You’re over 40 sweetie—welcome to it.” I lose approximately 2 pounds a week, which I am told is pretty ideal if I want to keep it off. So I keep at it. I choose a side salad instead of an appetizer, vegetables instead of potatoes, I put real cream in my coffee and I skip the dessert. My reward is to put uniform pants on where the insides of the pockets don’t show and the waist is a number size I haven’t seen in a decade.

We just navigated through the diet danger zone known as the holiday season, some of the most decadent weeks of the year. With my regained fortitude “go on a diet” doesn’t have to be a 2012 resolution.

For 2011 my best moment was when the cardiologist said to me, “You’re down 40 pounds and your numbers are great, what have you been eating?!?”

My response was, “Bacon.”

(My next goal is “Couch to 5K,” and I’m looking to run my first 5K in the spring. Check back with me in a few months to see if I actually manage it.)

"Wealth of Health" Waffles
Source: "Real Food, Real Easy" by George Stella

Ingredients:
Non-stick cooking spray
1/2 cup soy flour
1/4 cup bulk sugar substitute (i.e. ,Splenda)
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 large eggs
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:

1. Spray electric waffle iron with nonstick cooking spray and preheat.

2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients until a thick, but smooth consistency is reached. (If the batter is not smooth and more like a thick dough, add small amounts of additional water until smooth.)

3. Pour 1/4 cup batter in the center of the waffle iron and close the lid. Cook for about 5 to 6 minutes, or until steam is no longer visibly coming out of the sides of the iron. Repeat until batter is used up. (Note: 1/4 cup is the perfect amount for a smaller waffle iron and should make about 6 waffles. Larger irons will require 1/3 cup batter, 1/2 cup for Belgian-sized.)

4. Serve hot with butter, or with your favorite toppings, such as fresh fruit, whipped cream or sugar-free syrup. These waffles are already sweet and do not need much help. You can mash up some berries as a topping, or add cinnamon for a cinnamon toast flavor.

Yield: 6 waffles
Serves: 3

Per Serving:
Calories: 150
Fat: 9g
Protein: 11g
Fiber: 1.5g
Net Carbs: 6g

Plan of Attack

So what goes in the infamous green cooler on an average EMS work day?