I had a nice, long entry typed and then lost it. I hate when that happens. So instead of typing it all over, I'll summarize briefly what was in it.
I was unable to get on my computer at all for about 5 days last week, including the weekend. This made it hard for me to stay OP because my points calculator , food lists, and WW recipes are saved on my hard drive. So I was feeling a little helpless, but I tried to stay OP and eat healthy. I was surprised this morning, when I weighed myself for the first time in 5 days, that I maintained at 283.8. This is 0,3 lbs up from my last weight, but that's great.
I have developed a theory that while on the Wendie Plan, my metabolism is "tricked" into never knowing what is coming next. So even when I go a little off program, I'm not experiencing any major gains because my body doesn't even realize that I'm off plan. Just a theory, but it would explain why I haven't seen any major gains, especially on the weekends when it's often difficult for me to make wise food choices.
At the beginning of this eating plan, almost a month ago on March 5, I set a short-term goal for myself to lose 10 lbs in 6 weeks. And then the next day, I weighed in at a gain of 3.6, so I actually had a total of 13.6 lbs to lose in that 6 weeks.
I have 13 days left of that 6 weeks, and I have only 2.7 lbs left to lose to make my goal. That's AWESOME. I have total confidence that I will meet that goal in under 13 days, and that will feel so good. Then I will make another goal of 10 more lbs in 6 more weeks, until I'm finally down to where I need to be to be healthy and feel great about myself.
How good to be on a plan for a month already, to see it working and to feel good about what I'm doing instead of the cycle of shame and self-abuse I was on for so long.
I've been slacking on posling in my blog lately. However, I have still been sticking with the diet and exercise. I'll admit, some days I am definitely more committed than others, but for 3 weeks now I hae been on this plan, and that's longer than I have ever lasted before. And now, even when I stumble a bit, I get right back up and ontrack, instead of just throwing inthe towel like I have done in the past. I guess after a while it does become a habit. And, I am 8.4 lbs lighter today than my highest weight since starting this 3 weeks ago. That is AWESOME. It's so exciting to see the weight dropping off, even if it is little by little. Slow and steady is fine with me, expecially since I know that that is the best way to keep it of in the future.
I have committed to exercising every other day for now. Either on the gazelle, or brisk or uphill walking. I think for me, who is totally not used to any exercise at all, that's a good start. In the future I plan to increase it, but for now, I don't want to burn myself out.
I walked with some people on Saturday in a walking group I helped put together made up of Sparkpoeple.com friends. It was nice, and I'm looking forward to doing it again. It was hard walking for me, because the park that we chose had a path that was pretty hilly. But I walked for 25 minutes, and I was beat. That's good. That's what I want to feel when I'm done walking.
Since I will have the car this afternoon and the weather is supposed to be really nice, I'm thinking of taking the girls to that same park to get more walking in today.
Yesterday was a practically perfect day. I stayed OP, ate al my f/v/d servings, drank enough water, and ate within my points. The only thing that I didn't do was work out on the gazelle. Which I'm not beating myself up over. I'll get on it today and do at least 20 minutes.
I have come to realize that I'm happier on a diet than off. Which may sound weird, because of course it stinks to not be able to eat what you want, when you want. But when I'm eating that way, I'm miserable because I'm so tired and disgusted with being fat, and I feel shame and guilt when I can't do anything to change it. Because I CAN change it. I just need to choose to, everyday. Here's a link to a post on another site that really inspired me. With determination and perseverence, a hard work in the exercise department, I can look like that. I can feel happy with my appearance again. And that's something that has been completely unfathomable for the past 10 years. I can be proud of my appearance. Here's the link: http://forum.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=messageboard.viewThread&entryID=32585201&adTopicID=17&categoryID=0&IsSticky=0&groupID=100003145&Mytoken=D37DA0CC-4654-442E-95442159294CC6E564630928
Also, I looked in the mirror today and I think I can tell my face is smaller. My double chin is shrinking. I've only lost 9 lbs, but I know it's common to see it in the face first. So that's something else I feel good about.
I jumped off the wagon this weekend, but now, on Wednesday, I have strengthened my resolve and am right back where I need to be. I didn't do too much damage- my weight this morning was 288.6, 1.6 up from my lowest weight since starting this.
So. Thanks very much to a sparkpeople buddy who really played a pivotal role in turning me around and giving me focus again. I vowed to do 10 minutes on the gazelle yesterday (due to her prodding) and I ended up doing 20, because of her motivation.
NEVER underestimate the power of accountability. If you don't get it at home, find an online friend. It really helped me dig myself out of the rut I had dug myself into.
I only have a few minutes to update. Sorry I haven't had time to visit anyone's blogs or reply to comments. :) But I really appreciate the encouraging words left on mine.
Yesterday, I was beating myself up again for again not getting in my fruits/vegs/dairy. I ate below my point range, but I only got one each fruit, vegs, and milk.
Praise God, this morning I stepped on the scale and I weighed 1.8 lbs less than yesterday. Which I really needed to strengthen my resolve and re-motivate me to do everything right today.
I did get quite a bit of exercise in yeaterday, which must have contributed to my loss. My husband, daughter, and I went Geochching (www.geocaching.com) which is great fun and great exercise. I was truly BEAT after all the walking and climbing up hills and stepping over and under branches... But like I said, tons of fun.
I stayed within my points today. I was allowed 32 (this was a low day) and I ate exactly 32. I feel like I didn't do well, though, because I didn't follow the guidelines exactly. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and I don't see the point in doing the plan if I'm not going to do the plan. I'm in this to lose weight, in the quickest and most effective way possible. And that means working the plan perfectly. And I'm a little disappointed in myself because I didn't do that today. Again, I didn't have fruit with breakfast. And I didn't have any all day. I ate out for lunch and dinner, which made it hard for me to accurately guage my points At lunch, I went to a coney-island type diner. I ordered a turkey sandwich on wheat toast with lettuce and tomato and without mayo. I took half of the turkey off of the sandwich because it was pretty thick. I estimated about 3 oz of turkey, and two wheat bread points from DLWZ. I also had a salad, I asked for just the romaine lettuce with nothing on it and feta on the side. I put what I estimated to be an ounce of feta on my salad (I weigh it every day at home, so I think I was pretty accurate on that). And I also had a cup of chicken noodle soup (it came with the meal and I thought it wouldn't be too bad, point-wise. I stopped eating the soup before it was gone and left some noodles in the cup. We also went to Chilis for dinner. DLWZ has point values listed for this restaurant. I knew I had a lot of points left for the day, and I knew Dotti's has the bottomless chips and salsa listed at 10.5 points, so my husband and I shared a basket. That was my guilty pleasure. I simply couldn't find the will-power to resist. And then the waiter brought a second basket, and I couldn't resist those, either. But I counted the full 10.5 points. But what a waste. They were good, but I wish I hadn't. And I am not completely confident that Dotti has the points right for those. I hope she does. For dinner, I ordered the guiltless chicken platter, and I only ate the chicken and rice, because the corn had too much pepper on it, and the veggies were all broccoli, and I hate cooked broccoli. And when I got home, I felt somewhat defeated for not having more will power, I knew without adding that I still had points left, so I ate 2 fiber one bars. I figured the day had already went to hell, so why not. Bad attitude to have, and I hate feeling self-defeated like that. But I got it together, and looked all my points up and added them all up. I was 5.4 points below my 32 for the day, so I decided to use those remaining points at least trying to get my dairy in. I drank 16 oz. of skim milk, which brought me to 32 exactly. So I got all my dairy in, but I only got in 2 vegs, and no fruit. So I feel like I messed up. My rule is that I won't use any of my points on food I don't need (snacks or desserts) until I have all of the food that I need finished (fruits, vegs, and dairy). I broke that rule today. Good news is, after typing it all out and looking at it, I don't feel as badly about it as I did. Good things are: I stayed within points, and I got in my dairy. Bad: I wasn't 100% sure about my point calculations, and I didn't get my fruits or vegs or water requirement. Not the end of the world. And it only strengthens my resolve to get back up on the horse tomorrow and do better. I know I shouldn't put much stock into mid-week weighing, but the last two days my weight has been the same. So now is the time to really get myself together and do what I have to do to show at least a 2 lb loss by Monday.
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
Can't believe I made it till Day 10 already, and haven't "cheated". Very unusual for me. But I'm still feeling just as motivated as I did on the first day.
Not going to post what I ate today, because it's late and I have to get up early. But it was a hgh point day, I was allowed 36 points, and I ate 35.2. I only ate one fruit today (I peeled an orange to eat with breakfast, but it tasted bitter, so I threw it out), but I got 3 vegs, and I ate 4 servings of dairy. I read an article about studies done where one group of people consumed three servings of dairy a day, one group didn't consime any, and one group took calcium supplements. The group the consumed the dairy lost twice as much weight as both the other groups. So I'm really going to try to get those dairy servings in. I found someone on SparkPeople who wants to walk with me at a park closeby on the weekends. We both agree that it would be nice to get a group of us together. I'm glad to have someone to walk with though, it'll motivate me to get off my butt and get moving.
The weather is 60 today, and it has beennice out for the past couple of days and I've just been cooped up in the house, so I decided to get out and walk. During the winter, I complained about being overweight because I was stuck in the house all day (husband is gone at work with our only car) and I must have said a hundred times that if it were nice outside, I could get out and walk at least. Well, after two days of nice weather and sitting around in the house, I figured I had no excuse not to get out and get some exercise. Plus, I really did want to breathe in the nice weather after months of yucky cold and snow. So, I put Zoe in the stroller, Cujo on the leash, and off we went. I walked for about a half an hour, and I really enjoyed it. Cujo REALLY enjoyed it, sniffing every bush and running back and forth in front of the stroller till he nearly drove me crazy. He lived the first 6 years of his life in FL, so he really isn't used to winter and I think he hates being cooped up for months while it's too cold to hang out outside. Zoe also seemed to like the breeze in her hair and looking around at the neighborhood while we walked. I'm looking forward to making a habit of the three of us taking morning walks. It isn't spring yet, so I expect more cold weather to get in our way for a while, but that's almost over, and then we'll have months to spend outdoors.
The weather is GORGEOUS... I actually put my AC on for a bit today, it got so warm in the house. I hope this means spring is on its way! I'm officially tired of the cold and snow. I figured out the menu for my daughter, Zoe's first birthday party on Sunday. I was going to order Mr Pita, or pizza or pasta from Palermo's, but my hubby didn't want me spending $100 on food for other people. So my MIL and I decided we would make the food. On the menu is Mostaccioli, Grape-chili meatballs, small ham and swiss, and roast beef and cheddar sandwiches, and salad. I will figure out the points for everything, and eat accordingly. If I can't eat much of the other stuff, I'll stick to large servings of salad. I mainly chose the things I did because they are fairly inexpensive, and with the exception of the mostaccioli, they're pretty easy to make. Even the mostaccioli isn't hard, just takes more time.
(and just wanted to say, the Chocolate Chip FiberOne bars are the BOMB! Better than a chocolate bar, and only 2.3 points. WELL worth the points!)
It's still early, but I will post our menu's for the day. I stayed OP, and will for the rest of the day. Today was a low point day, I was allowed 31 and hubby was allowed 30.
First, hubby's:
b- 1 cup choc soy milk- 3.9 3/4 cup raspberries- 0.4 2 crumpets- 2.8
l- small chili- 4.1 2 cups spinach- 0 1 oz feta- 2.1 FF dressing- 0
d- 4 cups chili- 6
s- 100 cal reeses- 2.1 fiberone bar- 2.3
dessert- popcorn- 0.6 small light lemon sorbet- 3.6 1 oz. M&Ms- 3.1
fruit- 1 vegs- 4 dairy- 1 water- 50 oz
---------------------------------------------------- And mine:
Today, again, I was able to stay OP. That makes 8 days in a row! I also did 10 minutes on the Gazelle. Sure, ten minutes doesn't sound like much, but for me, who never gets any exercise, it seemed endless. But it was only my first day doing it, and I waited till evening. Tomorrow, I'll start early, and if I can only do 10 mins, then I'll do it again later also. Baby steps, progressing.
today was a medium high day, I was allowed 33 points.
Here's what I ate:
b- WW Bagel- 2.2 L. Cow- 0.8 orange- 1
l- 3 eggroll wraps- 3.2 1/4 cup pizza sauce- 0.4 1/4 cup mozzarella- 1.7 17 turkey pepperoni- 1.9
