Thursday, October 6, 2011

The "Newlywed 15" diet & Steve Jobs

Remember in college when almost everyone gained the "freshman 15"? Well, I have gained the "newlywed 15." In the 5 months I have been married I have definitely put on some pounds. I have not been eating good and pretty much stopped working out/running so I completely understand why I have gained wait. Well, last week I went to a doctor appointment and got my yearly blood work done. First I got a call on Wednesday morning that my Triglycerides were really high...they were 280. Normal is 150. BUT, luckily they were only that high because I had eaten about 5 hours before the blood work. I had not fasted because I had forgotten I would have blood work done. SO, that made me feel a little better but they still wanted to re-do my blood work after I had been fasting for at least 8 hours so, I got it re-done and got the results back yesterday...my triglyceride levels are 186. They are still high, but not nearly as high as the first test. This was a pretty big wake up call for me. Having high triglycerides greatly increases your risk for heart disease and other health issues. The doctor said they were high but not high enough for them to put me on medicine or take any drastic measures. He said I just need to get back to exercising regularly and cut back on the carbs, sugars and high fat foods. Thankfully this is a fairly easy fix. I have known I needed to start eating better and start exercising again but I just have not done it. Now, I am going to do it.

I read something yesterday really stuck with me... I don't remember the exact quote but it was something saying that when you worry about something, that is pretty much all you do about it- worry. But, when you are concerned about something, that is when you take action. Well, I am officially concerned. I am a healthy (minus this issue), newly married 29 year old who wants kids eventually and a long life. So, it is time to make some serious changes.

Here are some of my goals:
-Exercise a minimum of 3 times a week, but my goal is 5 times
-Cut out the sweets bigtime. I eat entirely too much bad sugar.
-Cut back on the carbs...especially the white ones. I am not going to be unrealistic about this. I am still going to eat bread and pasta here and there. But, I am going to limit it when I can and instead of 2 pieces of bread at dinner, have 1. Stuff like that.
-Stop drinking a Dr. Pepper or Red Bull in the mornings. I usually have one or the other in the morning...I need caffeine and I hate coffee. I know everyone is going to say' "Drink more water". Well, I literally can not drink more water...I drink about 10 bottles of water a day, every day. I drink more water than anyone I know. I have that going for me :)
-Consistently take my vitamins. I have always been good about taking vitamins but I do tend to forget to take them sometimes or will not take them for a month or so, then start again. I need to consistently take them every day, every week.
-I drink alcohol a couple times a month and usually only have a couple drinks because I get sick easily so when I do drink, stick to low sugar options.
-Eat A LOT more chicken, fish & veggies!!!

Have any of you ever been in a similar situation? What did you do?
My hubby is on board too so that will make it easier. So, that's my story & my plan :)


Next, I saw these quotes from Steve Jobs on Facebook this morning and love them so I have to share....

"Your time is limited so don't waste it living someone else's life"

"If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on."

5 comments:

Britney said...

You go girl!!!! I did the exact same thing...Got married and gained weight. The easiest way to loose it is eating healthy! You can do it!!!!

Sarah said...

I'd say make healthy smoothies and eat tons of veggies. I don't think that could hurt! Hope you're doing well!

e@thisnotedlife said...

i gained 14 lbs in 3 months (to the day) of my wedding day and it took me a good 8 months to get it off through changing my diet but now I've managed to lost 20lbs and maintain it for the past 2 months! i actually just wrote a post about it a couple weeks ago :)

Anonymous said...

newleywed 15!? i havent heard of that, but i just recently gained the "i moved to a different country 15!" i will have to use some of your strategy here to see if i can shed the 15 too!

have a fantastic weekend!

MrsKT said...

Hey Les! A good option to look into (if you've never done it before) is My Fit Foods. The meals are low glycemic index, which is definitely what you need... Really convenient and easy, AND they recently moved into Houston area HEBs! They are fairly expensive, but if you just replaced one meal a day during the week, you could easily get on the right track. I use them for lunch with protein shakes and greek yogurt in the morning, then apples/string cheese/ granola/ nuts as snacks during the day. =)