You have DECIDED! Maybe you have decided to start Calorie Restriction, maybe you have decided to go vegan, or maybe you have just decided to live a healthier live. You are EXCITED about your decision. But, now what? If you don’t have any prior knowledge or experience about your recent decision, putting your decision into practice as a lifestyle may be overwhelming. This is where your NDE (New-Decision-Energy) comes into play. With a little perseverance and self education, you can be on the way to living the decisions you believe in.

With any problem that needs solving, making the transition from just being firm in your decision to living your decision is a step by step process. I’m going to go through some brief steps that can make your transition easier, whether it be CRON or veganism, or just a healthier lifestyle.

Today, I am going to talk about the decision to start CRON (Later will be veganism). You’ve heard about it. You’ve been thinking about it. Then something inside you just snaps and you have DECIDED: You want to Practice Calorie Restriction with Optimum Nutrition!

#1 Nutrition Education and Tracking! While CRON is all about “Calories, Calories, Calories” to quote Michael Rae (coauthor of Ending Aging), this would not be the first step. First you need to make sure you are getting proper nutrition. If you are eating low calories without proper nutrition, you are not going to be healthy! DOWNLOAD CRON-o-Meter or use some other nutrition tracking software (there are many free ones online), to not only see how many calories you are eating, but also your total nutrition. You will also need to buy a food scale….or two (I have one that weighs in 1g increments, and one that weighs in 0.1 g increments….but that’s me).

And, try to get starting blood with if at all possible. You will be glad you did later on.

#2 Calories, Calories, Calories! Once you are able to get optimum nutrition, then move on to cutting calories. There is no “exact” calorie goal, but you should aim for a calorie level were your weight stays stable at 15% below your normal set point as a young adult. Don’t lose weight too fast, and read all the material you can during this transition phase. Educate yourself, and then educate yourself some more! :-p

I’m a 5’8″ female, and I aim for around 1300-1400 calories a day. Sometimes I go over or under, but I try to make it average out over a weeks time.

#3 Find Your Style! Every practitioner of CRON has a style that works best for them. Play around with new foods, and recipes. Learn to cook if you don’t already know how -or at least learn to cook a few favorite dishes. :-) Remember, you are making this a lifestyle, not a diet, so you have to be happy about how you are eating! If you are eating what you consider to be boring and bland foods, even if you are meeting your nutrition and calorie goals, this won’t work long term. Find a routine, and a way of eating that works for you.

#4 You Aren’t Perfect! And That’s Ok! First of all, there is no one way to do CRON, and no one practicing CRON claims to be doing it perfectly. Maybe after a week of eating low calories, you have a really high calorie day. Guess what? These days happen to all of us. Being on a long term low calorie diet isn’t easy, and sometimes temptation or just plain hunger can get the best of us. We aren’t mice in a controlled box. Just be careful to not let imperfection be the norm because at that point the lifestyle you want to live is only in your head. :-)

#5 Don’t Over Compensate for Imperfections. This is so important that I made it it’s own step. One mistake some new followers of CR make is after a large calorie day, is they may try to have a very low calorie day or even fast the day after. Now, if you really aren’t hungry and don’t feel like eating, that’s ok. But sometimes, even after a high calorie day, I will wake up ravenous the next day. Just return to eating your usual CRON way. If you start over compensating for these high calorie events, you start to allow a dangerous mindset to creep in. Over time this mind set can not only hurt your CRON goals, but allow for unhealthy habits to form. Learn from your mistakes, move forward, and try to make better choices in the future.

#6 Seek Community! I’ve never met a vegan or a CRONie in real life (I will one day….probably at the next CR Conference). Neither of these lifestyles are common, but CRON is especially rare. I’ve found the support from online sources a great motivational boost. Even if I am just reading other CR blogs and not directly chatting with people, just reading about others’ CR experiences helps me. I learn about how they are eating, I read how they have overcome some problem, I’ve read about mindset changes, and I have learned that while we are all different CRONies we all have the same goals. If feels good to surround yourself with people with similar goals, even if they are online.

#7 Keep records of some kind! Heck, start a blog! :-) I love the fact I have all my recipes at my finger tips. Ha. I can look up what I ate on what day. I can see changes in how I approach CR. Even if you keep it for your eyes only, keeping records of some kind can help keep you focused because you can see your progress easier.

#8 Educate Your Family. You don’t have to convince them to join you (although that would be too cool…except for the kiddos, CR is for adults), but letting them in on all the educational “whys” of CR will help them understand why this new lifestyle change is important for you. After all, deciding to practice CR is a big commitment. It takes time and dedication, and continual self education. Even if they aren’t joining you, you need their understanding and respect.

#9 Plan Ahead. Yes, more planning. Take into consideration what you might eat if going out before hand. Look up restaurant options online if available. Pack a small food baggie to go (you should see me on road trips..I practically pack the whole fridge…..just in case). I rarely go out without some idea of what, if anything, I am going to eat. When I went to the Rally to Restore Sanity, I packed hummus and peanut butter wraps in my bag (although we ate Thai food instead….I always try to be prepared). Just try to be generally more conscious about your food situation. What is my food plan for today? Where/When and I getting my next meal? Am I going out to eat? What options do I have at the restaurant? Normally, people just eat when they feel like eating. Well, now you are eating (or not eating) with intent and purpose, which often requires a little more forethought.

#10 Have Fun! During all this newness, learning, and transitioning, have fun with it and don’t get overly stressed if the details overwhelm you at times. After all, stress isn’t good for us. :-p Even I have trouble falling into stress patterns at times. If you catch yourself getting too stressed just ease up some, try to be positive, and look at all the things you have learned along the way. When you get discouraged, stop and look at how far you have come. Sure you may not be where you want to be yet, but that’s life! You are now on a CRON journey. It won’t always be easy or fun, but don’t let yourself dwell too much on the negatives. This is another reason for community! Going solo with anything in life is hard, so help yourself out and find some CRON people -even if they are only online contacts.

These are some steps that can help you begin a healthy CRON lifestyle. This is definitely not all inclusive, or meant to be a replacement for any of the wonderful Calorie Restriction books that are available. All these things are steps that helped me, and I’m sure they can help others too.

Happy CRONing. :-D

Now, you will notice my food is once again, almost identical to yesterday. Ha. This is just easy for me and how I do my CRON. If you need more variety, great, but I like routine. Once I find foods I enjoy eating that fit with my CR, it’s just easy to eat the same thing for a few days in a row. Especially since I work 12hr shifts. :-\

Food for November 6 2010.

————————————-
Brazil Nut (21)
Hempilicious Berry Sorbet (330)
* 120g Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
* 240g Unsweetened Vanilla Hemp Milk
* 240g Strawberries, Frozen
* 120g Blueberries, Frozen
* 15g Hemp Protein Powder
* 5g Flax Oil
* Stevia
Beet Lemon Carrot Kale Juice (163)
Thai Red Curry & Vegetables (254)
Simple Balsamic Salad (142)
* 120g Escarole Lettuce
* 40g Spinach
* 60g Balsamic Vinaigrette (low cal->10 cals)
* 14g Olive Oil
Seasoned Scrambled Tofu (242)
Peach & Pumpkin Chia Pudding (234)

Supplements:
3 Bone-Up Capsules
5000IU Vit D
1/8 Tablet Vit B5
500mg each L-Carnosine/Tyrosine (I alternate these each day)

===========================================
Nutrition Summary for November 6, 2010
Report generated by CRON-o-Meter v0.9.7
===========================================

General (88%)
===========================================
Energy               |  1386.6 kcal   104%
Protein              |    55.9 g       98%
Carbs                |   172.8 g       89%
Fiber              |    48.7 g      195%
Starch             |     4.3 g       29%
Sugars             |    71.3 g      143%
Fat                  |    60.0 g      128%

Vitamins (100%)
===========================================
Vitamin A            | 88666.9 IU    1773%
Lutein+Zeaxanthin  | 41720.7 µg     834%
Folate               |   679.6 µg     378%
B1 (Thiamine)        |     1.8 mg     162%
B2 (Riboflavin)      |     2.4 mg     182%
B3 (Niacin)          |    20.1 mg     134%
B5 (Pantothenic Acid)|    17.2 mg     344%
B6 (Pyridoxine)      |     2.9 mg     181%
B12 (Cyanocobalamin) |    52.3 µg    2614%
Vitamin C            |   544.3 mg     907%
Vitamin D            |  3712.1 IU    1856%
Vitamin E            |    22.2 mg     185%
Vitamin K            |  1155.3 µg    1284%

Minerals (100%)
===========================================
Calcium              |  1920.3 mg     192%
Copper               |     2.1 mg     106%
Iron                 |    17.6 mg     117%
Magnesium            |   696.4 mg     218%
Manganese            |     5.8 mg     145%
Phosphorus           |  1156.2 mg     165%
Potassium            |  4282.3 mg     122%
Selenium             |    92.0 µg     167%
Sodium               |  1583.3 mg     317%
Zinc                 |    13.5 mg     113%

Amino Acids (100%)
===========================================
CYS                  |     0.7 g      312%
ILE                  |     2.5 g      216%
LEU                  |     3.9 g      175%
LYS                  |     2.9 g      168%
MET                  |     0.7 g      124%
PHE                  |     2.5 g      264%
THR                  |     2.7 g      316%
TRP                  |     0.8 g      344%
TYR                  |     1.8 g      385%
VAL                  |     2.7 g      159%

Lipids (70%)
===========================================
Saturated            |    14.4 g       72%
Monounsaturated      |    15.2 g       61%
Polyunsaturated      |    23.8 g       95%
Omega-3            |     8.6 g      780%
Omega-6            |     9.9 g       90%
Cholesterol          |     0.0 mg       0%