First Class, Tuesday, November 28, 2023 via ZOOM
Hi Everyone! I'd like to give a warm welcome to everyone here, whether you're watching in class by zoom, or on facebook live, or reading my new Plate by Zumba blog online.
This is Plate by ZUMBA, the Holidays version. It will run from this eek for the following weeks.
Why? I wanted to encourage others to get on track with their healthy clean eating, and I for one, want to definitely stay on track during the holidays in the month of December.
We just finished Thanksgiving, and there was apple pie in the house! (Gasp, imagine!) I probably gained about two pounds or so from the Thanksiving traditional foods, even in small portions. So, this December, I'm not doing that again. I'm so glad you'll be joining me for this 5 week time period. Goals are a lot easier when we have mutual support. So, I hope that we can encourage each other to eat clean in any kind of season.
The outline for today's 1st session will be as follows:
- I plan to talk for about 20 minutes
- Then I will give you an in-class activity
- I'll allow time for questions a the end
Today I'll share a little bit about my background, and my own personal journey of weight gain, eating journey, and weight loss.
My hope for you is to encourage and support your own food and health journey. I'll be your "rah-rah" girl, or your shoulder to cry on if needed, and say you can do this.
My motto is: one, try your best, two, be kind (both to yourself and to others), and three, to honor yourself.
So let's get started, and I'd like to begin by sharing my story.
My Story~
Growing up I was very thin; skinny. I had no weight problems until my early-to-mid 20s. My 1st few working jobs were in the fast food and hospitality field, and we would get a short, 10 minute break. I'd try to eat a cheeseburger and I'd scarf it down on my 10 minute break. Or, if it was a 30 minute break, by the time I ordered my food and it was ready, I'd barely have 15 minutes to eat it. I ended up eating a lot of food in a short amount of time. And, I was eating restaurant or fast food foods. My last year of college I lived at the dorms, and ate in the cafeteria. It was all you could eat, and every night a slice of pie, or another kind of dessert. If I wanted two desserts, no problem, I could indulge in two. I thought nothing of it.
Suddenly, that year, my clothes started to not fit me anymore. That's probably when I gained my college fifteen, and each year after that I probably gained around 5 pounds more a year.
Sadly, I wasn't doing anything about it, and neither was I understanding how the pounds were packing on me, on my body. One day, at 5 foot 2 inches, I stepped on the scale at a friend's house, and it said I was 3 pounds away from hitting 200. What? I was shocked. Sad. And worried. I was almost 200 pounds; how could this be? I'm the girl who never had any weight issue growing up.
Well, I got sick and didn't eat for 3-5 days, and lost around 7-10 pounds. (I don't recall exactly the amount and numbers, but I am recalling to the best of my memory.) Still, up in the 180s, maybe 187.
And, suffering depression, but not ever telling anyone about it. Suffering in shame and silence. One day at church, a friend invited me to go with her to her zumba event. ZUMBA? What's ZUMBA? So we went, and then she offered, if I wanted, to help me lose weight. And, I told her yes. I knew I was overweight, but I had no idea how to lose it. So, I met with my friend every week for a couple of hours together. She made me watch the hit show, "The Biggest Loser", that being her favorite show later I would learn. But, those weekly meetings, and her informal coaching me through our friendship, are what led to my dropping from 180-something down to 140-something. Almost 50 or 60 pounds total, thanks to my friend. And, I kept it off for almost two years before I slowly regained some of it.
She taught me what to eat, and what not to eat. I did pretty much everything she taught me. But, like I said, after around two years, I began to regain because I began to slack on my eating plan. And, it's been a constant battle ever since that time for me.
Fast forward to 2020, when the whole entire world changed. While many people were gaining weight, I was maintaining whatever I had, not gaining but not losing either. Fast forward to this year, in 2023, and I began to seek God more, because of the trauma of lockdowns of 2020. And, in my seeking God, I learned about fasting for spiritual reasons. So, I did different kinds of fasting from 2022 and 2023 (or maybe it was 2021, I'm not sure). But, one thing I did notice, is that when I fasted, for example, for three days, I suddenly lost 5 pounds! What? I liked that. And, it didn't return on me, either. So, I began experimenting with different kinds of fasting, intermittent fasting, one meal a day fasting, and so on. My most recent experiment has been eliminating the sugar, wheat and grains from my diet, and I've been having much noticeable effects from that. I want to keep going in the right direction, and, if anyone else wants to also, then I thought it would be fun if we did it together.
There's so many different kinds of eating plans these days. How do we know which one is the correct one? My disclaimer is, that I am not a medical doctor, and any medical decisions or health and eating decisions you make should always be in consultation with your own physician.
What I am hoping to do:
I am hoping to meet in the zoom classes twice a week for brief 30 minutes. For the participants, I hope it can be like a time of checking in, and re-committing oneself to their own clean eating goals. I will teach for a little bit from the Plate by ZUMBA guide. And, I plan to share my life with you as well. My successes, my failures, and my rise agains.
Activity #1
Do you know your number? What is your starting weight? (You don't have to tell me, but do you know where you're currently at?) And, do you have a target number? What number is your goal? For me, my starting number is 149 (point 5) as of this morning, so I'll just start there. My target is to see what my body will do as I continue to nourish it properly and feed it what it needs. (Insert happy face here). I'd be happy with another minus 5 pounds. I'm "working on" my visceral fat. I'd like to get rid of the excess visceral fat around my belly, because that kind of fat is not good for the organs. So, what's your starting point, and where do you want to go?
Activity #2
What other eating plans, fad diets, or meal works have you tried in the past? For me, one of the 1st groups I ever joined was the Nutri-system, way back in the late 80s or early 90s. I had to buy the food, and only eat their food. It became very expensive, so I had to stop.
I tried what I call "the old-fashioned way". This is the one I told you about, where my friend taught me what to eat, and what not to eat, and we watched "The Biggest Loser" together. I did a lot of learning with my friend. I kept a diary food log. I learned about carbs, fiber, protein and fat. I learned to eat portion controlled meals. And, I learned to eat the right foods in the right amounts, and drank a lot of water. I've dubbed this way as "the old-fashioned way". I ate only a moderate amount of carbohydrates, and kept it down to a minimum (one or two servings per day).
During the covid 19, maybe in 2021, I also began Optavia. Another friend from social media was coaching Optavia, and I began that for about six months or so. It was great to have that program, but again, it was costly for the food, and I had to stop due to funds.
Activity #3
On a scale of 1 to 10, how committed or determined are you to learn clean eating, and follow through with it? Are you leary or weary of "trying again" but fear of failing? Or, are you gung ho, one hundred percent all the way in? Or somewhere in between? Where are you at? And, brownie bonus points if you can identify why you are in the mental place with eating that you are? This is a no judgment zone. This is more about your own relationship you have to food. I'm just trying to help you understand yourself more, and hopefully you can use your self-understanding, and your self-awareness to help navigate you closer to your own goals.
For me, I'm around an 8. I'm pretty committed to staying the course. That's one reason why I'm starting our zoom calls and this blog right here. I don't want to get side-tracked by sugary sweets around the holidays. I remember my 2 pound weight gain around Thanksgiving time. Two pounds, so what; it's not a big deal, I could tell myself. And, there's some truth and validity in that statement. However, on the other hand, had I not given in to the apple pie, I'd be further down the road, closer to my goal. Okay, now self-talk is super important here. What I ate around Thanksgiving time is over and done with, and I accept and I own my own choices, and my own behaviors during that time. No one was shoving pie down my throat; I did that of my own free will, on my own accord. Now, I will just dust myself off, and get back on track. I've already seen the scale move in a more favorable direction. (However, it's not all about the scale, but I'm just using that as an example).
I'm super excited that some of you might be joining me on this journey towards health and fitness, and specifically towards clean eating for the next 5 weeks during the holidays in December (2023). I hope our time together might spark something in you that says you want to continue clean eating even after our 5 weeks together.
Activity #4
What are some thoughts, or misconceptions, or questions you may have regarding food? For example, do you still believe or wonder something food related? And, if so, what is it?
For me, I am truly wondering which eating plan is the correct one? Because there are so many different kinds of eating plans out there, how can I know which one is the correct one? What are the pros and cons of different diets?
Activity #5
Consider getting a food diary. It could be a journal or notebook, or a very specific food diary for recording what you eat. There are different thoughts on this habit. Some people say don't bother writing down what you eat. Other people say it's a good thing to do. In my opinion, keeping a food diary, and logging in the foods intake, helped me see what I was doing well, and where I needed to make adjustments. I actually liked keeping a food diary, so that I could see my progress on the scale.
There's different kinds of food diaries out there. One diary I had had a list of the nutritional content at the back index. I enjoyed learning more about the foods I was consuming. Another diary gave a place to do meal planning, so I liked that feature, as it was "pocket sized" making it very convenient. I think the main thing is make it work for you. You could try having a food diary, and see if it helps you or not. If it helps you, great. If not, you don't have to use it. Nowadays, they have digital diaries (I am guessing, here) and online /apps for food tracking also, most likely. I will admit, I am very "old school" and prefer the paper and pencil food diaries, but you may use whatever works best for you.
Thanks for taking time to be with me here today. I hope you have a blessed day. See you again, in the next zoom call, or here online, or live in person in our ZUMBA class. Enjoy your day! You are fabulous and amazing!!
ZUMBA love from me to you!
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