Going with the flow

In my last entry I talked about things I was not doing that many experts tell you to do. Here are a few things they tell you that I feel are very valuable to me.

You have heard it before and you will hear it again, never skip breakfast, and for me it is something I must follow. I have not followed this rule in the past and I know I paid for it. I am just not that hungry in the morning so I often skipped breakfast to save calories. However I very rarely could stop myself from over eating later in the day. I am still not much of a breakfast person and am truly not that hungry when I wake up still, but I force myself to have something anyway, and it really helps! I am much more in control of what I eat later, and my blood sugar seems to stay stable.

With exercise I have always thought, get it in whenever and wherever you can. I still feel this is the case. It used to tick me off when I heard experts say that exercising in the morning maybe more beneficial. I am not a morning person and could not imagine hoping out of bed to vigorously exercise. I knew it was a calorie burned whether I exercised at 6am or 11pm, so what gives? I started doing my main workout in the morning anyway and I see why it is encouraged. I have more energy all day. I can check it off my list first thing, so no matter what the rest of the day brings me, I know I got my exercise in. Some also say you burn more calories all day long; this may or may not be true, I am not sure, but if so I will take it!!

Drink your water! I know you hear it again and again. I used to drink a lot of diet iced tea and diet soda as my main beverages. When I heard my doctor say he wanted me to try and only drink water and one unsweetened tea a day I thought I would be miserable, and I was…at first. Now I enjoy drinking my water. I definitely think I was/am one of those people who confuse the signals for hunger and thirst. Now that I have my water intake up, I am less hungry and get full faster. Even if you hate water and have to flavor it with crystal light, keep sipping those fluids.

The one thing I am on the fence about is weighing. Many sources say to only weigh in once a week instead of everyday. I see pros and cons to this theory. I know weighing daily take s mental toll on many people. I know I have stressed myself out over my daily weight shooting up after I seemingly did nothing wrong. It takes a while to get used to seeing normal fluctuations on the scale. I have gotten to the place where I can ignore it. If I gain 3 pounds overnight, I know it is not fat, it is probably water. I like to weigh myself everyday. It helps to keep me in check. If for some reason I am eating too much and the scale is having an upward trend and not just an upward day or two, I like to catch it early and adjust my eating. How do you guys feel? Do you weight everyday? Why or why not?

Being Real

I am not perfect. This is the first time in the last 2 months I have eaten something that I shouldn't have. I ate a christmas brownie. It had to have had a ton of sugar and a billion calories.

But you know what, it was yummy! What is done is done but I am not letting it slow me down. Back on track tomorrow. In the past this would have derailed me, but hey this is real life, there will be brownies every now and then.

Merry Chistmas!

Peace, love, and joy to you all!

Offical Weigh In

Down 3.5 more pounds!! My new weight is 316; I have lost 46 pounds from my highest weight and 29 pounds in the last 9.5 weeks! J

The next week is going to be the hardest week yet. I have many celebrations coming up including a Christmas Eve party, Christmas day which is full of food and New Years Eve which has always included a lot of drinking. My sister in law is already pouting about me not slinging them back with her at the party. To be honest I am a little disappointed too. I really think getting a little tipsy is a danger zone for me right now and would only lead to over eating and blood sugar issues, so I have to be strong and abstain. What I am trying to achieve is too important. If I can make it to my next weigh in on Jan 1^st without gaining, I will consider it my Christmas miracle!

Going against the Grain

I realized today that there are a couple things that a lot of diet experts tell you to do that I am not doing. I seem to have more success doing the opposite.

The first thing is eating every 2-3 hours. I am a rule follower most of the time and all the other times I have tried to lose weight I did live by this rule. This time I realized that when I ate snacks or mini meals I was eating too much and it often lead to grazing. I am not good at the mini portions. When it is time to eat, I wanted something more substantial. I can also say when I was eating mini meals in the past I did not see an increase in my metabolism, and that was the main reason I wanted to do mini-meals every few hours. I am now eating about every 5 hours…three meals a day and it seems to be working better for me.

Secondly I do not do low fat or fat free. Granted I do not use huge portions of these things but I use full fat mayo, salad dressing, milk, yogurt, ect. I also have been eating avocados, nuts and other healthy fats. I also eats eggs, with the yolks thank you! They have been keeping me full and more satisfied. Some diet gurus are so calorie focused that they recommend the low fat or fat free options. However, when I go the fat free route I am just left unfulfilled. When I eat fats I don’t feel deprived. Eating a smaller portion of full fat mayo is much more enjoyable and satisfying than a double portion of fat free.

I am in no way saying that this is the way to go for everyone. I have heard many people say that the mini-meals and low fat options have helped them. I am no expert and would never say my way is the only way. Although, I can say, this seems to be the only way to go for me.

Offical Weigh In

I pinched myself this morning to see if I was dreaming or if I really did have another successful weight loss week. Yippee, I was awake, but my arm hurts a little from all that pinching. I haven’t been on a roll like this for so long. The day to day is not easy but when I get results it is so much easier to stay motivated. I am 3 pounds down from last week. My new weight is 319.5; this means I have lost 42.5 pounds from my highest weight ever and 25.5 pounds in the last 8.5 weeks. Yes, I feel empowered.

Learning to be Selfish

I haven’t been living for myself for so long, I barely remember how. I have basically been a yes woman since I was a teenager. I never want to trouble you. I never want to make too many waves. I now have to learn how to be a little selfish. I know it sounds bad but being selfish is not always a bad thing. Not being selfish enough has been partly the reason for my weight loss failures. Instead of hurting Grandma’s feelings I smile and have the pecan pie she wants me to eat. Instead of speaking up when lunch plans are made I go to the pizza place when I know I shouldn't eat pizza. When I friend begs me to go shopping Thursday night when I know I have my workout schedule I say yes to the shopping anyway because I don’t want her to have to go alone. I'm scared to order my salad with no croutons, no bacon bits, no cheese, extra chicken, and dressing on the side because I don't want to annoy the waitress. The different scenarios could go on and on.

I am saying “No” to people now. I am saying “Yes” to myself and my goals. This is a time for me to focus on me. I have to make work outs and healthy eating my top priorities over the feelings of others in my life. Honestly it felt really bad to do it the first couple times. My friends and family seemed shocked that I stuck to my guns. I don’t want to ever go overboard and be completely self centered. I know that there are still important people in my life that I will take time out for, but I need to be wiser about it.

Offical Weigh In

I am delighted to say I have lost weight this week. Since the long plateau, I keep thinking another one is just around the corner, but I seem to be losing steadily. (At last!) Since last Wednesday I lost 2.5 pounds. I now weigh 322.5, have lost 39.5 pounds from my highest weight ever and 22.5 pounds in the last 7.5 weeks. For once, my goal of being less than 300 pounds is feeling like a reality. I want this so badly and I am willing to kick ass to get there!

Is a thinner wallet making you fatter?

On the Today Show a couple days ago one of the on air nutritionist’s did a piece on the economy and how it has or will affect our waist lines and it got me thinking. I brought it up with co-workers the next day and one said “I guess everyone will get thinner because they have to buy less food.” That’s one theory, however I tend to agree more with the Today Show nutritionist who said that people are just going to buy cheaper food such as fast food, and food they can stretch which is mostly non-nutritious carbs. You can feed a lot more people for a lot less money if you give them Kraft Mac-n-Cheese instead of grilled chicken and veggies. In fact will most businesses reporting loss after loss, the fast food industry is seeing growth. In McDonald’s case it was reported they grew 11% last quarter. People are even more attracted than ever to that dollar menu. When you are worried about feeding your kids, I doubt you think too much about the nutritional facts.

Also, I thought about how stressed everyone is about the economy. Not only do they want cheaper food, but maybe comforting food. I for one know when I am down and out I have definitely turned to a bowl of ice cream or piece of pizza for comfort. Hey, if you don’t drink, grab a couple hamburgers to numb the pain.

I can honestly I am still spending a lot of food. I am buying mostly organic which has upped my bill. I am buying lots of fresh berries, veggies, eggs, cheese, raw milk, chicken, fish, and lean steak. I used to use rice, pasta, or bread as fillers in my meals to make them cheaper, but now I fill up on the most expensive ingredients organic lean protein and veggies. We have had to slash our budget because of the economy but high quality food could not be one of the line items slashed. Instead we choose to use less money on entertainment & eating out. My health is just too important to me now and I blessed to still be able to afford the food I should be eating.

What is happening in your household? Have your grocery shopping habits changed? Do you think you will have to change them in the near future if things don’t turn around?

Offical Weigh In

As of this morning I weight 325. I broke the plateau and have been slowly losing ever since, even some during thanksgiving which has never ever happened before. So, I have lost 37 pounds from my highest weight ever and 20 pounds in the last 6.5 weeks. The short term goal I am looking most forward to is getting under 300 pounds. I have been talking about it for the past 2 years on this blog but have never been close. I know this is the time I will achieve it. I would love to make it before my next check up with the endocrinologist which is Feb 17th. I will have to ramp up some speed if I want to make it.

Creating an Arsenal

If you have been reading this blog long, you know that I have had several failed weight loss attempts. Today I was trying to think of the biggest reasons why I failed and I found one that seemed to be most common. I started to lose control when I wasn’t prepared and didn’t plan ahead. Let’s face it, there are going to be days that I run into problems. Plans won’t always go how I would like, and things will slip through the cracks. Usually the thing that I have trouble with the most is packing lunches. It is my least favorite meal mostly because I can cook anything here at work, so I can barely even bring leftovers unless I want to eat it cold. Most mornings I through together a chicken salad or tuna and veggies, but other times I run out the door and forget to pack something. There are a couple restaurants near my work that have healthy choices and in one case even organic. However I am trying to avoid eating out, so I created an arsenal of healthy foods to keep at work that I can grab at a moments notice at work in case of forgot my lunch or am feeling tempted. I actually had to use one today when my co-worker was trying to push cookies in my face. I had some dried berries instead.

My Arsenal:

Organic Soup

Raw Almonds

Organic Dried Fruit

Organic Food Bars

Protein Powder Mix

Organic Cheese Sticks

What would you or do you keep in yours to keep you on track?

Surviving Thanksgiving Overload

Well, I did it. I ate 4 thanksgivings in over a weeks time and I did not gain weight, in fact I lost a little. (I will not post my weight until I officially weigh in on Thursday.) There were a bunch of ways I had to choose from to handle this not very diet friendly holiday. I chose the a couple of strategies to get me through...here they are:

1) I slept in on the days I had a thanksgiving. Why? Because sleeping in helped me have breakfast later in the day, which kept me satisfied until the 4'o clock dinners. That way I only ate two meals but wasn't hungry and had extra calories to spend on Thanksgiving food.
2) I did an hour on the elliptical each morning and pushed myself really hard to burn extra calories.
3) I filled my plate mostly with turkey and veggies. I did have a couple tablespoons of stuffing and sweet potato...but skipped the mashed potatoes, bread, and dessert.
4) I did a 30 min bike ride in the evening. It was fun and burned even more calories.

However, I think the biggest key to success was planning ahead and knowing that failure is not an option. Thank God I will only have two Christmas dinners to go to!!