Day 1

The fat stops here.  I will no longer allow myself to continue on in my current lifestyle.  I have used food to help cope with the stresses in my life and as a result I have gained 25 pounds.  Not only do I feel worse emotionally, but I feel worse physically.  Instead of solving my problems, I am making them worse.  Well today that changes.  Today is day one of my diet. 

I am no stranger to diets.  I have been dieting all my life.  Unfortunately the minute I allow myself to relax and not care about what I put in my mouth or how many calories I eat, the pounds start adding on.  My weight has gone up and down over the years so I know what I need to do to lose weight, but this time I want to keep it off for good.  I don't want to allow myself to fall into my old habits of using food as a coping mechanism, or a reward, etc.  Hi, my name is Paige and I am a foodie.  I love food, but that can become a problem for me, because I love it a little too much.

Now for my stats:  I am a 28 year old female living in the South (no wonder I love food so much).  I am 5'1 and currently weigh 164 pounds.  I have a BMI of 31, which I just realized puts me in the obese category.  Sigh...  Anyways, I am a naturally curvy girl and have never been truly "skinny", but I would like to be considered "healthy".  So, my goal weight is 130-135.  I have been this weight before and I feel healthy and comfortable in this range.  In order to reach my goal I need to lose 30-35 pounds.  That is a lot of weight and I know that it is not going to happen overnight but with diet and exercise it is completely feasible.

Now to the diet...  I am a vegetarian and have been for 3 1/2 years now.  I decided to change my diet after reading John Robbins' The Food Revolution.  In the beginning it was more for my health than for the animals, but over the years (and after one too many PETA videos) I have changed my opinion on that as well.  I don't claim to be perfect, but I do try to stay away from all meat products with the exception of seafood.  I don't normally eat seafood, but for the diet I am going to make an exception.  Protein is a necessity so I will be adding fish and shrimp to my diet (Pesceterianism).  I usually try to keep my dairy and egg intake to a minimum, but for this diet I will also be adding these for protein.

The diet I will be doing is a low-carb pesceterian diet.  I will try to keep my carbs below 20 each day by eating a variety of seafood, vegetables, cheeses, and nuts.  Since I enjoy soy products I will be using them to add to my protein intake.  I will also be working out at my local gym and using Zumba DVDs to break up the monotony.  I plan on sticking with this diet for the next 6 weeks and will chronicle my efforts through this blog.  Recipes, workout tips, anything and everything that helps me-- I will share.  Why six weeks?  I was told that you should not do 20 carbs or less for more than 6 weeks.  When you only eat 20 carbs it is also hard to eat a lot of calories.  That being said, I in no way recommend this diet to anyone, I am just chronicling my experience.  I will also be using a natural appetite suppressant/thermogenic to help me in this process, and of course taking a whole food multivitamin and an omega-3 supplement.  Even though alcohol is not reccomended on this diet, I am a wine enthusiast and will indulge my self once a week.

So what is on the menu today:

Breakfast:  Atkins Protein Shake
Snack:  Pepper Jack Cheese
Lunch:  Spinach and Cucumber Salad with Balsamic Vinegar Dressing and a 100 calorie pack of almonds
Snack:  Celery with Laughing Cow Cheese Spread
Dinner:  Sauteed Shrimp with Asparagus
Drink:  Plenty of WATER

I find it much easier if I go ahead and plan out my day that why I know what to expect.  Normally I will be adding more protein, but I need to go shopping this afternoon to stock up.

Stay tuned...