The Drevitches, Week 33: The Now Normal
Filed under: Healthy Families Challenge
The Battle Rope is exhausting, but kind of fun, too. Credit: Victoria Gallagher, YouTube
Our Healthy Families Challenge finish line is within sight, but we're not easing up on our goals. Why would we? We intend for the changes we've made to become permanent.
I've dropped 49 pounds since Labor Day 2010, and continue to consciously consider my food choices as I downshift from diet mode to maintenance mode, keeping the guidelines I got from nutritionist Marissa Lippert of Nourish in mind. These days, instead of denying myself starches, snacks and desserts, I've learned to find satisfaction in small portions, to find the right thing -- instead of the closest -- to satisfy my hunger, and to shop for the new me, not the old.
The other day, I had a big bowl of strawberries and low-fat cottage cheese on rice cakes for lunch at the office and it was great. And then, for dinner, Lynn, my wife, made lamb chops, carrots and Israeli couscous with raisins and leeks. Delicious.
And as I spooned out scoops of all-natural Breyer's ice cream for the kids, I took and savored a couple of small spoonfuls for myself. And that was all I needed. Days like that are increasingly the status quo, and having healthy be the norm was the goal when! we star ted all this back in October.
Lynn, while maintaining her own weight loss and exercise regimen, is still working to get the kids eating healthier, homemade meals. She just took a one-evening cooking course at the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan called "Salmon Six Ways." Among the ways: salmon cakes with lemon mayonnaise; poached salmon with dill creme fraiche; and salmon fillets with honey-mustard sauce, all recipes that our children should enjoy.
How is the Drevitch family doing? Check in on their progress!
In fact, our kids have all been eating heart-healthy fish dishes lately. Natalie, 8, has developed a taste for bluefish prepared with fennel seeds -- she's a sophisticated girl with a palate to match.
Meanwhile, I continue to work out at New York Sports Club with Master Trainer Victoria Gallagher. We've been working together for months, but like any good trainer, Victoria keeps things fresh, and has gradually been introducing me to more of the toys that the gym staff keeps on hand.
Last week, for example, I used the Battle Rope for the first time. This is a 30-foot-long, heavy, thick rope that you stretch out (with its middle turned around a metal gym bench for anchoring) and hold with one end in each hand. And then, for 30 seconds or more, you stand in a squatting position and raise and lower the rope ends, as fast and hard as you can, making sure to use enough strength to cause the rope to make waves. It is a tough, hard-core 30 seconds (we did four sets), but it's also kind of addictive.
With new wrinkles in the gym, new recipes at home, and a new attitude all around, this family might just be able to keep our momentum going all summer long.
Who's the rest of the competition? Check out all the challengers' latest updates here.
Check out how the other families are doing!
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