weigh-in #3

Yesterday was another weigh-in. I was a little careless the first half of the week, but I tried to make up for it in the last few days before facing the scale. I journaled everything I ate and made sure to drink a lot of water. It’s pretty amazing what water can do, really. It helps keep me feeling full, it’s great for the skin, and it flushes out salt to keep the bloating in check.

Anyhow, week 3 and I’m down 1.2 for a total of 7 pounds lost. This isn’t easy, but it can be done!

Beware of the 100 calorie snack packs

It sounds like a great idea. 100 calories for delicious Reese’s or Oreo treats?! It seems too good to be true! Well, it really isn’t. For the most part it’s just portion control. The fact is that it is still junk food. They have no nutritional value and contain sugar. Personally, when I eat sugar it just makes me want more sugar. That means when I eat a delicious Resse’s 100 point snackster I just want another…and another.

Last week I made the mistake of going to CVS Pharmacy to get a snack when I was hungry. I wasn’t prepared with a healthy snack at work like I should have been. So I’m in the store, hungry, and with limited (non-existent) healthy food options. So my friend who was with me told me how great these snacksters are and she said, “They are only two points!” Well, I bought them and yes, they were good. That’s why the next day I ate three of them in one day! I finally decided to give the rest away. Having a box of these in my desk was just asking for trouble. It’s like having a carton of ice cream in my freezer. Dangerous!

One day I hope I can be surrounded by things that are bad for me and easily resist them, but I’m not ready for that yet. One step at a time.

Friday Weigh-In

It was a rough week. Last weekend I gained a couple of pounds due to not controlling myself at family gatherings. What I gained back in one day took me a whole week to lose again. I worked out hard this week to lose it. I think I over did it. I strained myself a little bit, and therefore couldn’t make it to my running group this morning. I may take today off, and then try the run I was supposed to do with the group, on my own tomorrow. Anywho, when it was all said and done I lost the weight I gained last weekend plus one pound I believe, and am now at a total weight loss of 27 pounds.

weigh-in #2

-.2.  I lost two tenths of a pound.  Honestly, I was fine with that.  I went into my weight watchers meeting thinking I was going to have a gain.  It was a rough week.  I ate out a lot and had family events all weekend.  During my past experiences with weight watchers I’ve learned that the important thing is to face the scale no matter what you are expecting.  As someone who also had a rough week (she was on vacation) said in my meeting, “I weigh what I weigh whether or not I get up on that scale.  I might as well face it and know what I stand.  It’s like starting at zero.”

My thinking is that if I didn’t go to the meeting I’d not only be unsure of where I was, but when I was to step on the scale next week I would have no idea how this current week actually went.  It’s important to know what is working and what isn’t.  For example, If I would have gained a pound this weigh-in and next week it says I stayed the same (as two weeks ago) I wouldn’t have known for sure that I actually lost a pound.  I’m sure this sounds confusing, but in my mind it makes perfect sense.  Ha!  And let not forget the support and inspiration the meetings provide.  Success is more likely when you don’t go it alone.  That’s why I’m glad I got miss hollyhop too.  She inspires me on a regular basis.

My Workouts

As promised, here are the workouts I have been doing over my hardcore summer of training. I am not putting days or how often I do this. I do at least one of these each day (sometimes if I’m really into it I will do more than one of these in a day). It all depends on the weather and my mood, which I find is key. You will notice I have a lot of options, which I recommend. It keeps it interesting. If I get bored with one thing there are plenty of others to do. Setting a schedule DOES NOT work for me. If anything it discourages me because if I don’t feel like doing what I had scheduled, I feel like a failure. In short, keep it fresh and fun.

My Workouts:

Short Gym Trip= 15-20 minutes of weight training, 30 minutes on the Elliptical, 5 minutes bike cool down

Long Gym Trip= 30 minutes of weight training, 60 minutes on elliptical, 5-10 minutes on bike for cool down (the bikes at my gym are right under a ceiling fan which feels great after such a long time on the other machines).

Exercise DVDs= I have a ton, but my favorites are Taebo and Yoga for Abs

Running Group= I run with a group of runners on Tuesdays, Thursday, and Saturdays. The distance varies. This week it was one mile (walking 1 min./run 30 sec.)

Trail Run/Walks= I do these by myself on the trails by my house (I usually do 3 miles and walk more than run)

Park Walk= I go to the park and walk by the lake. I do not keep track of time or distance when I do this. This is just relaxing for my own enjoyment.

Pool= I do whatever I want in the pool, but the rule is I can’t have fun until I do 20 laps first

The Little Extra= When I go places I purposefully park farther away, and when possible I walk to the store (if I go to the one right buy my house and I am only buying a couple of things).

Weigh-In Uno and How I did It

Fridays are my weigh-in day, and I have lost 5 pounds this first week for a total of 26 pounds. Now for those of you just starting, this is not typical. You should lose 1-2 pounds a week. I am on summer vacation and decided to take the opportunity to do “Biggest Loser” type workouts, exercising at the gym for over an hour a day, and on some days I did a morning workout and an evening workout. I plan on exercising every day over summer vacation unless I am out of town. I have the opportunity to make my summer about nothing but working out and I know not everybody has that opportunity. I will explain some of my workouts in a later post.

As far as eating, it has been easy. I have been counting and weighing NOTHING. I have been eating three meals a day and usually one snack, and I have just been making sure those three meals are somewhat healthy. I am all about small changes. For example, when I used to make tea I put 2/3rds cup of sugar in the pitcher, and now I only put 1/3. Last night I had a garden burger for dinner and after finding out that the mustard in my fridge and 45 calories less than my ketch-up I used it instead. Instead of going to The Dairy Queen for those ice-cream cravings, I go to the other ice-cream place in town that has fat free, sugar free frozen yogurt on their menu. Those small changes add up big time. Anyway, good luck to everybody and I will post more about my workouts soon.

About Your Co-Host

I guess I am co-captain of this ship, so here is my little intro. Like many, I have been overweight all of my adult life, and most of my childhood. I remember one distinct summer evening (I was probably 8 or 9 years old) standing up in the kitchen eating my dinner, because I wanted to hurry and get back outside on my bike. I remember my mom saying to our neighbor who was in the kitchen, “This is why she is so skinny. She never sits down to eat.” Well, needless to say I sat down, and still haven’t got back up so to speak. I went on my first diet when I was in 5^th grade in order to look hot in middle school. When that didn’t happen, I tried again in 6^th grade, 7^th grade, 8^th grade, and I think you get the point. Now well over a decade later I am still trying. Yes, yes, yes, I want to be happy, healthy, and have a long life. Those are all going to be wonderful benefits when (not if) this happens, but it’s not my main motivator. I am going to be honest and just say what so many are thinking, but won’t say. I want to be hot damn it! I want to know what it feels like to not be overweight. I want to know what it feels like to be able to walk into any store in the mall, and know I will find something that fits me. I want to walk into a party, and for people to think I am beautiful. My whole life I have felt like the lonely wall-flower and this must stop.

I joined a gym last fall and have been working out. I have lost some weight (23 pounds), but the weight has not been coming off like it should, because I have just been excersising and not dieting. This summer my goal is to kick it up a notch. I should have no problem excersing since I belong to the gym, joined a running group, and now have access to a swimming pool. Now I just need to stay out of the Dairy Queen. I look forward to sharing my adventure with you. Toodles!

Short-Term (this week):

1. Drink 2 Liters of Water a Day (I drink hardly any now)

2. Go out to eat no more than once (I eat out a lot)

3. Exercise at least a little bit each day

Medium-Term (end of summer) :

1. Lose 15-20 pounds

2. Fit comfortably in these two shirts and a dress that I bought and are a little snug

3. Run a mile without stopping to walk

4. For someone who doesn’t know I’m doing this to say, “Your lookin’ good kid.”

Long-Term (Before I turn 30):

1. Run 3 miles without stopping to walk

2. Lose 122 pounds (that may change I haven’t weighed that since middle school)

3. Look hot in a little black dress

4. Finally be happy the way I am

weigh-in week 1 and some ramblings

So today was the big day. My first weight watchers weigh-in. I’ve done weight watchers before so I knew I could expect a decent loss since I did follow the program. Well, I got it. I’m down 5.6 pounds! I know next week is likely to be a smaller loss, but this feels like a great start.

Funny enough (or evil, one might say) a coworker came up to me at 9 am and gave me a red velvet cupcake from one of the most notoriously delicious bakeries in Chicago. I stared at that damn cupcake for 3 and a half hours before my weigh-in. It was a showdown between me and the cake. I had too much respect for such a magnificent creation to throw it away, yet I had to test my will power to avoid it. I decided that I would wait until after the weigh-in and then I would find someone to split it with.

Now some people might think if I really had willpower I would have just said no to begin with. However, I look at it this way: If I constantly say no to things I love like cupcakes, ice cream, red wine, and chocolate (red wine pairs excellently with dark chocolate, by the way) I’m just setting myself up for failure. There is absolutely no way I can live the rest of my life without consuming the things I love. If I deny myself completely I will one day go crazy and eat 12 cupcakes in one weekend. I’ll be found passed out on my couch in a sugar coma with frosting smeared all over my face. Also, totally making foods 100% off limits contributes to that dangerous “all or nothing” mentality. It’s not “all or nothing” or “off and on.” If one eats something that could be labeled “bad” she/he shouldn’t throw the rest of the day away. Throwing one’s hands up and saying “I blew my diet” gives that person carte blanche to pig out the rest of the day. So instead of eating an extra 300 calories she/he end up eating an extra 1300 calories. That’s dangerous thinking. And dumb, really.

This is something I have to do for the rest of my life. I’ve accepted the fact that I am unfortunate enough to be one of those people with a slow metabolism who has to work really hard to lose weight. Now I can either bitch and moan about it and feel sorry for myself or I can take steps to get the weight off and keep it off. If it takes awhile, so be it. As many people struggling with their weight have heard before – I didn’t gain the weight overnight, so I can’t expect to lose it overnight. The important thing is to be honest and reasonable. I must adopt a lifestyle that I can maintain for the rest of my life, not something that is going to make me suffer.

Restaurants are tricky

Or I could say weekends are tricky. This was my first weekend back on the wagon and it was a little tough. I went to a Thai restaurant and ordered pad thai with tofu. After the fact I thought about the things I should have done to make it a little healthier. First of all, I could have ordered it without egg because it seems like an unnecessary ingredient to me. It’s just extra calories, fat, and cholesterol. Secondly, I should have said “light on the oil.” The good news is that I only ate about a third of it and took the rest home to eat for lunch the next day. I also ate at Corner Bakery Saturday. I ordered a salad, but everyone knows most restaurant salads are just as bad as sandwiches, sometimes worse.

What I need is to shift my thinking. I was raised to think of eating out as a treat or a reward. e.g. “If you kids are good we’ll get Burger King for dinner.” So when I eat out I don’t have much control. I always feel like it’s a time to splurge. Well, it doesn’t need to be a disaster. Those little things make a difference. Like asking for the dressing on the side and just dipping my fork in it before I take a bite of salad. That can save on so many calories. What’s important to remember is the little things that add up. That works in both directions. The little things that we nibble here and there that seem insignificant can really add up after awhile. On the other hand, a few small changes can also make a huge difference. For example, for many people just making the switch from coke to diet coke (or even better – water) can mean many pounds lost over time. Or in my case, drinking my tea without sugar. I’ll have to wean myself off it, but I’ve done it before. I can do it again.

That being said, this week the small changes I’m going to focus on is weighing and measuring my food. Portion control is a huge deal for most people struggling with their weight. Sometimes when I measure out my food I’m shocked to compare what I think a serving size is vs what it actually is.

You are beautiful!