Letting The Air Out Of The Spare Tire

My stomach feels a little bit squishy. It seems to be losing that solid, full, rounded feeling that it has always had. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about? If I poked it, it used to feel no different than part of my calf. I would say it was firm. But now, when I prod my midsection (hmmm... that in itself could be interpreted as a rather odd pastime) it feels less full and more malleable. It also seems like there is a little less elasticity - like the skin springs back a fraction of a second later than it would have before. It's not a big change, but to me it's noticeable.

Edit: I would also like to bring attention to a newcomer to the blogging world. I have received so much support from all of you and I would like to try and give back a little, so if you have time please swing by and check out April's new site. I found her last week when she started commenting on here... she is just beginning this struggle and could really use some encouragement. Thanks, everyone!

Dough Nut

My husband and I went for a really nice, long walk along a strip of beach this afternoon. It was wonderful to be by the sea and to spend time with a great man who has been pretty darned good about supporting me on this journey. We strode along at a really good clip too, basically going faster than almost everyone else on the boardwalk. It’s nice to see that walking more regularly is starting to result in an increased pace.

I hit a small snag though after my husband and I finished our walk. I shared a muffin with him and almost immediately wanted more carbohydrates. I still had most of a big container of chopped vegetables so I was able to eat those and keep from demanding that he pull into a gas station so that I could ransack their pastry section. But, it wasn’t enough… my body wanted something more solid, and I was not going to let myself feel deprived. If I do that, it will just lead to me giving up on my healthier lifestyle when I finally fold and eat my way through a McDonald’s drive-through out of sheer desperation.

So, having cut the edge of hunger away with the veggies, I actually weighed my options and made the sensible decision to have an egg salad sandwich from a local doughnut and coffee chain. Yes, I said doughnut. Sigh. Maybe I should have gone to a supermarket’s deli section instead to avoid the tempting treats? I ordered my sub and my husband got chili and we sat down and ate our meal, but – of course, since I was sitting less than twenty feet from a case full of sugary options – I couldn’t shake the craving for one of those sweet carbs. Did I order a dozen to go? No. Did I ask for one of each? Nope! Did I demand an apple fritter stuffed with sprinkles and covered in powdered sugar? Not even close… I asked for a single doughnut hole. Yeah, I did! I would say that was a win!

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 7 glasses of water throughout the day
- 1 1/2 cups of grapes
- 2 cups of Caesar salad with light dressing and croutons
- 1/2 a homemade blueberry muffin with butter
- 2 cups of a veggie platter with mushrooms, carrots, celery, and cauliflower
- 1 egg salad sandwich with lettuce on a white bun
- 1 honey dip doughnut hole
- 1 1/2 cups of blueberries
- 1 mug of decaffeinated tea with milk
- 3/4 cup of fat free peach yogurt

EXERCISE:
- 1 hour and 15 minute walk

Ho Hum

No really big plans or thoughts for today. I'm hoping that my husband and I may be able to go for a long walk at some point, but I haven't yet mentioned it to him so we'll have to see. If we go out, I will be taking a big batch of my pre-cut veggies to help me over any hunger humps throughout the day. Other than that, I'm feeling a touch uninspired...

Feeling Successful!

I did great at the barbecue! I only had a 1/2 cup of the pasta salad and 1 cheeseburger as treats (and I'm not even sure I would count them as treats, to be honest). I avoided all five different kinds of chips and the hot dogs, and I didn't even go back for a second burger. Oddly, there were no desserts. I thought that was really strange, but I am more than happy that I didn't have to contend with multiple cravings for whatever baked goods are usually laid out at these things. I feel like I was really successful!

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 11 glasses of water throughout the day
- 2 cups of Caesar salad with light dressing and croutons
- 2 mandarin oranges
- 1 1/2 cups of fruit salad with lemon dip
- 1 cup of broccoli salad
- 1/2 cup of pasta salad
- 1 cheeseburger with relish and mustard
- 2 cups of tea
- 2 cups of a veggie platter with creamy cucumber dip

EXERCISE:
- 1 hour playing in a pool

Preparing For Battle

I have a barbecue that I will be attending this afternoon, so I am in full preparation mode to try and get through it with minimal damage to the weight loss journey. My plan for today is to eat vegetables up until I arrive at the get-together so that I can relax a little once I am there. I’m not saying I will go overboard; I just want a little leeway in case I decide to have a couple of treats.

I know that there will be healthy options available so that is definitely a good thing. I will try to load up a plate rather than hang out at the food table so that I can keep better track of what I am consuming. My tendency at these things is to eat because it’s there. It will be a challenge to alter that habit, but I am going to give it my best.

I am guessing that in addition to whatever produce inspired options they have, I will end up having a cheeseburger or a hot dog plus a desert or two. Here’s a thought: would it be rude to take a knife and cut a couple of whatever desserts are there into smaller portions. I seem to do much better when I can simply try something I am craving since it removes the all or nothing mindset that can lead to me completely caving in.

Alright. I have a plan in place. Deep breath… Why am I so nervous? Wish me luck!

Weigh-In For Week 3

It seems like my last weigh-in just passed, yet here we are again! I have to admit, I am finding that having an official day to step on the scale has helped motivate me a touch more. Especially this past Thursday and Friday, I kept on thinking about how I really wanted to continue my downward trend. I didn’t really do more than I have been or anything, but I think it just kept me in the right frame of mind (and probably away from a second blueberry scone).

This morning I was super happy to see that I have lost another 3.6 pounds and am weighing in at 243.2! If this is a dream, please don’t pinch me! I’m so happy with all the progress so far, and I am hoping that the success I have had up to now will continue to feed the desire to have more in the future.

I Will Dream Of Scones

I have no doubt that tonight I will have visions of wonderfully tasting blueberry scones drifting through my sub-conscious. Yes, it was that good. Pardon me while I find something to wipe the drool from my chin.

My Caesar salad turned out well; it’s just lettuce, dressing, and croutons though so it’s not like I could have messed up the recipe or anything. It has always been my favourite type of salad – especially when it has some of those baby shrimp added. I used to order it in restaurants when I was younger, but would think about how I would be better off eating something more like a garden mix. As I have come to understand a little more about what promotes long term success, I realize now that it’s better to have something that I really enjoy that has some nutritional value than something great for me but that I am not as excited over. Otherwise, I am risking a self-provoked revolt during which I would probably head for the nearest pizza joint.

Fortunately my tastes have changed a lot over the years and there is now some variety in the foods that I enjoy. Instead of finding that green mix uninspiring I am looking forward to running out of my romaine so that I can go and buy more ingredients for another Seven Day Salad.

Rounding out this odd discussion on foods that I ate today, I feel the urge to comment on the grapes I had this evening. I pulled out two bunches from the big bag that I purchased, plucked them all off the stem, piled them into a bowl, washed them, and proceeded to munch away. What I failed to initially notice was the size differentiation in the fruits that had grown on the two respective bunches. One group was average and the other was huge.

As I set about eating the grapes I had some of the biggest ones first (not noticing anything unusual) and they were really sweet and tasted wonderful. Then I popped one of the littler guys into my mouth. Whoa! What a difference! I admit that my face is still puckering a bit at the thought of those grapes. In all fairness they were not actually sour, but after the super succulent massive ones I had already been eating they certainly weren’t registering on the old taste buds as sweet. It was such a distinctly different flavour that I had to pick through my bowl and eat all the average ones first so that I could enjoy them before digging into the ultra tasty huge grapes.

Hmmm… I wonder if anyone reading this is looking for a point to these ramblings. I hope not, because I think they’re more the result of exhaustion than pointed storytelling. Okay, how’s this for a moral? Sugar plums are nothing compared to blueberry scones. No? Alright, then try this one on for size: When I confessed my acceptance of mixed greens to the Caesar it asked, “Et tu?” Come on! That’s gold! Fine. Take this one or leave it… You have to get over sour grapes to get to the really sweet stuff!

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 11 glasses of water throughout the day
- 1 1/2 cups of blueberries
- 2 cups of Caesar salad with light dressing and croutons
- 1 wrap on a soft tortilla shell with Tuscan ham, grated cheese, mushroom, carrot, romaine lettuce, fat free Miracle Whip, mustard, and pepper
- 1 blueberry scone with margarine
- 2 cups of grapes

EXERCISE:
- 40 minutes on the recumbent bike completed in 2 sets (10 minutes and 30 minutes)

Water Logged

How much water is too much? I have been upping my water intake in great strides since starting this blog and am now wondering if it is possible to drink too much of the old H2O.

I used to be really bad for having water; I would actually go days without drinking so much as a glass. Combine that poor habit with the severe lack of fruits and vegetables in my diet and I sometimes question how my body was able to function with such a lack of fluids.

For the last couple of weeks though I have been really good. I am eating large amounts of produce every single day and have increased my daily water intake to seven or eight glasses. I have been really pleased with myself and felt like I was right on track with the 'recommended' servings.

Then, last night, I realized that I had drank eleven cups of water throughout the day. Today my intake seems high as well and, in fact, as I am writing this I just paused to finish off the last few drops of a glass of the good stuff right now.

From all the online research I have done, it seems like up to twelve glasses per day is acceptable, but I can't help but wonder if I am veering into a place where I am drinking too much when all the fruits and vegetables are taken into consideration.

The reason I have been getting so much H2O lately has been because I finish a glass and automatically pour another. I don't like eating without something to drink and I'd rather not consume extra calories from a fluid like milk, juice, or (even worse) soda pop. So, straight out of my Brita jug it is. Anyone have any knowledge on this topic? Am I consuming too much water?

HOW MUCH WATER DO YOU DRINK PER DAY?

Prep Work

Contrary to my aversion to cooking, I actually enjoy baking. I still don’t do it very often, but when I do I really enjoy myself and I can whip together some pretty decent goodies too. Tonight, at the request of my husband, I made blueberry scones.

I found a really easy recipe with a Bisquick base online, and I purposefully searched for one that made a dozen so that there wouldn’t be a bunch in the house tempting me with their carby goodness. I even choose to cut the recipe down by another third so that I only made a total of eight.

The best part? I haven’t had one yet. My husband and a co-worker of his chowed down on a couple each, so there are four remaining. They smell and look so good and I am planning on having one tomorrow, but so far I have staved off the desire to try one tonight. I am really happy that I haven’t finished off the entire batch like I already would have in the past. Trust me, this is huge progress!

I also cut up a bunch more vegetables for the week to try and avoid the ‘wanting something simple’ pitfall that usually leads to cookies or a box of macaroni and cheese. Plus, I washed and tore up some romaine lettuce so that I can easily put together Caesar salads over the next few days.

Planning and preparation are key elements to this process that I just never got before – or at least that I never followed through on. I feel like if I keep this up I will be successful. I really hope I can continue drawing on this initial motivation long enough to form these positive steps into habits because, for me, long term success is the real goal.

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 11 glasses of water throughout the day
- 1 orange
- 6 large crackers
- 1 banana
- 3/4 cup fat free strawberry yogurt
- 1 1/2 cups of blueberries
- 2 wraps, each on a soft tortilla shell with Tuscan ham, grated cheese, mushroom, carrot, garden tomatoes, green onion, romaine lettuce, fat free Miracle Whip, mustard, and pepper
- 1 carrot

EXERCISE:
- 30 minutes on the recumbent bike completed in 2 sets (10 minutes and 20 minutes)
- 5 sets of 30 stomach crunches

Super Market Visit

I just got back from grocery shopping and I am really pleased! I did, what I would call, the perfect shop. It was sort of like the perfect storm but with fewer gale force winds.

I ate before going to the supermarket so that I wasn't setting myself up for giving in to a major craving. When I arrived, I steered clear of most of the aisles and focused on the perimeter. That's where all of the fresh baked goods, dairy, meat products, and produce are located. The basic four food groups - the healthiest and purest things to eat - pretty much always line the walls of a grocery store.

I did my best to avoid the middle of the market since that's where they stock the processed, pre-packaged, preservative-filled stuff. I am not committing to eating completely clean - I still picked up some salad dressing, granola bars, and the like - but I am trying to bring simpler foods into the house.

The only wrong turn I made was down aisle 5. AISLE 5. It deserves capital letters to express the sheer willpower that it took to cast my eyes towards the floor and speed my footfall once I realized the mistake I had made in pushing my cart into that particular corridor. Cookies and candy and chips, oh my! The three big C's that get me again and again. But, I persevered and strode past them all, leaving only a very slight ache in my jaw from the firm grinding together of my teeth.

This Week In The Polls

For anyone interested, the poll that I was running on how often you weigh yourself closed today. (Next time I do one I think I'll just set it up for three or four days instead of a whole week.) The results were totally different than what I had anticipated. No one voted for the 'never' or 'other' options, which I had pretty much expected. But the real surprise came in regards to how many of us check our weight on a daily basis. I had really thought that most people were only weighing in once a week, but apparently that isn't the case. For the remaining five options, twenty-two votes were cast with the following results:

1 vote for 'once a month' accounted for 4.5%
3 votes for 'once a week' accounted for 13.6%
1 vote for 'every two to three days' accounted for 4.5%
7 votes for 'once a day' accounted for 31.8%
10 votes for 'more than once a day' accounted for 45.5%

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 8 glasses of water throughout the day
- 1 apple
- 1/2 a wonton
- 2 1/2 cups of stir-fry with green pepper, broccoli, and beef over 1 cup of steamed rice
- 2 cups of celery with 2 Tb. peanut butter
- 1 orange
- 1 mug of tea with milk
- 1 cup of Caramel Kettle Corn Crispy Mini Rice Chips
- 2 cups of steamed asparagus with 1 Tb. margarine melted on top

EXERCISE:
- 35 minutes on the recumbant bike
- 4 sets of 30 stomach crunches
- 2 sets of 5 minutes of weight lifting with 2.5 lbs per arm

Checking In

I didn't post this morning like I usually do, so I just thought I'd write a quick note to let everyone know that I'm still here, still going strong, and still sticking to the plan! The worst thing I had to eat so far today was stir fry from a restaurant; I do, however, need to get my behind moving because it hasn't been a very active day.

I had one tiny frustration first thing this morning. As I have mentioned before I have been weighing myself every day (often multiple times between morning and night) to help me gather information on how my recent eating and activity levels are making my weight fluctuate throughout the day. This morning was the only time since I started this blog that my first daily weigh-in reflected a gain from the previous morning weigh-in. It was tiny, so I'm not freaked out or anything, but so far every day my weight has been creeping slowly down and this was the first time it's gone up. (It obviously goes up throughout the day, but I am just talking about my first weigh-in of every morning.) It was just a bit of an annoyance, especially since I did so many physical chores around the house yesterday. Hopefully the number on the scale will inch downward again tomorrow. I better get moving though to make that happen!

Exhausted But Pleased

I have been honoured for the third time since I started this journal by a fellow blogger with the One Lovely Blog Award! This time Enz, from One Of The 4 Walls, passed this wonderful acknowledgment onto me. Thank you so much, Enz! Knowing that there are people out there who read about and appreciate the path that I am on really makes this worthwhile. I have my original list of blogs I am passing this award onto already posted, so feel free to take a peak and visit some of the great sites that I frequent.

I am absolutely exhausted and probably not completely coherent at this point. I'm really bad for keeping up with everything that needs to be done on a regular basis, so it was a day of nothing but chores. I detailed the car, mowed the lawn, watered the garden, swept the sidewalks, hosed the deck, did the dishes, scrubbed the counters, and generally tidied the house. I'm pretty sure I left some stuff out of this list too.

I was famished by the time I was done everything outside, so I came in to take a break and made a huge omelet. Well, I’ll call it an omelet, despite the fact that it didn’t actually stick together. It was really tasty and held me over until everything else was done.

I am only recording the mowing of the lawn as exercise because everything else was sporadic, and I didn't really break a sweat for very long at any of the other chores. I'm happy that I got so much done, but I am beat. I think I need to go and face plant on the bed now.

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 8 glasses of water throughout the day
- 1 cup of pineapple
- 1 wrap on a soft tortilla shell with honey ham, grated cheese, mushroom, carrot, garden cherry tomatoes, romaine lettuce, calorie wise Miracle Whip, mustard, and pepper
- 10 garden cherry tomatoes
- 6 garden strawberries
- 3 egg omelet with honey ham, grated cheese, mushroom, tomato, onion, and pepper

EXERCISE:
- 1 hour spent mowing the lawn

Energized

I have a ton of housework and chores to do today so I am thinking that it will be a good, active afternoon and evening. I am especially hoping that the rain will hold off long enough for me to get outside and do some yard work since I know those jobs tend to require the most effort to complete.

I kind of felt like yesterday was a low key day without a lot of activity. I don't mean the purposeful exercise that I did, but rather the day to day stuff. I just wasn't up and doing things and I wasn't really happy with that. Today will be different. It's strange, but I am actually looking forward to the chores because it means I will be moving. Sheesh, it's like I have energy or something!

Redundant And Repetitive

I realize that I have been eating nearly the exact same type of wrap day after day for about a week. Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t bother me, but what I am wondering is whether or not I should try to vary my foods a little more to prevent boredom.

I’m really not sure how I feel about this. The last thing in the world that I want is to become tired of eating the same foods day after day and give in to temptation just to find a little variety. However, I like my ruts. I am one of those people who are quite content to pack the same lunch each and every day for several months (if not years) and never have an issue with finding it repetitive.

I think it stems from the fact that I used to be a picky eater. I wasn’t a big fan of trying new foods and I had a long list of things that I already knew I didn’t like. As an adult though, tastes change and maturation allows for periodic ventures into the unknown – whether the realms of exploration lead to something simple like cuisine or more complex and personal. Although I’m sure my palate will continue to change, I would say that at this stage in my life I have emerged as a person generally willing to try almost anything at least once, but still very much someone who is happy living off a limited variety of foods.

Another factor to consider here is that I really don’t get much out of cooking. More to the point, I don’t cook. I like easy, and it seems like turning on the stove suddenly makes things a lot more complicated. So, again, the comfort of reducing the number of choices I have for my meals looks very appealing.

The biggest challenge in only making a small number of meals is that I risk giving in to sweeter, more decadent options when they arise. Also, I worry that I will not be getting the full range of nutrients that my body requires if I don’t consume a larger selection of foods. Finally, because of my aversion to cooking, I am wary of becoming complacent regarding prepared foods again. I used to be the queen of the microwave dinners and the prepackaged snacks. I know I will never be a completely clean eater, but I just don’t want to be putting all of those preservatives and chemicals into my body anymore.

My point is that I am at a bit of a crossroads. I am sure that this is just the first of many such decisions I will discover need to be made on this journey, but that knowledge certainly doesn’t make it any less complicated. Okay… I guess in weighing the pros and cons against one another I feel like I am safe in choosing the redundant diet as opposed to a richly diverse one. For me, the start of this path needs to be as uncomplicated as possible. Besides, no one ever said I couldn’t change my mind.

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 7 glasses of water throughout the day
- 1 white peach
- 1 black plum
- 1 wrap on a soft tortilla shell with honey ham, grated cheese, mushroom, carrot, garden cherry tomatoes, romaine lettuce, calorie wise Miracle Whip, mustard, and pepper
- 1 mug of hot chocolate
- 4 Ritz crackers with cheese
- 1 homemade low fat oatmeal muffin with butter
- 1 cup of carrots with light ranch dressing
- 1/2 cup of pineapple

EXERCISE:
- 4 sets of 30 stomach crunches
- 30 minute walk

Minding Your P's And Q's

Okay, so I don't actually have any Q's to watch over, but would someone tell me why the P's seem to be so frequent!?! I know, I know, it's the increase in water consumption, but what a change! Seriously, people are going to start thinking I have a problem. Is this just an adjustment period or is it something that I will need to get used to long term? And, yes, I am aware of the irony of bringing up such a lowbrow topic under a heading suggesting the discussion of manners.

Avoiding The Feeding Frenzy

I used up the very last of my Seven Day Salad today; admittedly it was looking a little rough around the edges, but I think that’s because I pushed it an extra day and a half. I still have some fruits and vegetables in the fridge though so I won’t be doing another shop just yet.

Despite my less-than-perky mood this morning and the annoyance that I felt when dealing with fair food, I think I did pretty well with what I consumed. My biggest accomplishment though was not what I ate, but what I avoided. I passed by mini doughnuts, cotton candy, burritos, deep fried Oreo cookies (no, I am not joking), deep fried mars bars (still not kidding… these I have tried before; pardon me while I wipe the drool from my chin), elephant ears, candy apples (okay I had one bite of a friend’s, but I made sure to have more apple than caramel), ice cream, hot dogs, (did I mention mini doughnuts?), pizza, fudge (so tempting), and - oh, yeah – mini doughnuts. I am proud of me!

The best part of the day was that for some reason it wasn’t all that hard. I don’t know if that makes it less of a victory, but I am still really pleased. Maybe I am feeding my body such great, fresh stuff that it knows it doesn’t need the crap. Or perhaps I am simply getting used to eating better. What I think is really making the difference though is knowing that if I decided to, I could have something I was craving.

In the past, with my many attempts to lose weight, I have always made the mistake of being an all or nothing type of gal. Either I don’t ever have chocolate or I eat three candy bars plus twenty dollars worth of other junk foods. Either I work out every single day to the same routine or I sit on the couch like a slug. Either I succeed or I fail.

But this time around I have changed one crucial piece of thinking. This is forever and forever won’t happen without the occasional cookie. I will always have the opportunity to have another piece of cake, another bag of potato chips, and another McDonald’s cheeseburger. I don’t have to treat each temptation like it’s the last chance I will ever have of tasting that particular food again. That knowledge, coupled with the realization that if I do give in it doesn’t mean that the whole experience has been lost, has finally gotten me to a place where I don’t obsess about my cravings and feel the overwhelming desire to eat every bit of unhealthy food that I see.

Then again, those mini doughnut are still rattling around in my brain!

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 8 glasses of water throughout the day
- 1 1/2 cups of pineapple
- 1 wrap on a soft tortilla shell with honey ham, grated cheese, 1 cup of Seven Day Salad, calorie wise Miracle Whip, mustard, and pepper
- 1 cup of fried rice, 1 cup of fried green beans, and 4 fried shrimp in a Chinese food platter combo
- 1/2 cup of Crunchy Cinnamon Fruit To Go Apple Chips
- 1 small bite of a candy apple
- 2 cups of celery with 2 Tb. peanut butter
- 1 mug of decaffeinated tea with honey

EXERCISE:
- 15 minute walk
- 2 sets of 5 minutes of weight lifting with 2.5 lbs per arm
- 4 sets of 20 stomach crunches

Fairs Aren't Fair

Is it just me or are special events just not set up to provide healthy options to the gathered masses? I went to an exhibition fair this afternoon and truly struggled to find anything even resembling whole foods. I actually almost asked the people trying to sell juicers if I could buy some of the fruit they were using to demonstrate their product.

Eventually I opted for Chinese food because it was the only thing that didn't look processed. Normally I would have gotten noodles and a couple of the meat options drenched in sauces, but instead I asked for rice, green beans, and shrimp. Unfortunately, I'm fairly confident in asserting that they were all fried, but at least I am honestly trying. I just find it frustrating - and kind of mind-boggling - when nothing seems to cater to those of us attempting to make better choices.

Grumpy Isn't Just A Fairy Tale Dwarf

I woke up in kind of a poor mood. I didn't sleep very well last night and then we kept hitting the snooze button on the alarm clock so we got up much later than planned. I hate starting the day so late. Anyhow, I'm doing my best to pull myself out of this funk and to change my frame of mind so that I can get on with the day in a more positive manner. But, man, I am craving cheesecake or doughnuts or something sweet like that. Sigh...

I Have Competition

I am feeling so great about seeing that big loss on the scale this morning, and it completely carried me through the day in a wonderful mood! I am really excited about how well this is going so far.

It's funny though... yesterday I was reading a fellow blogger's post about how she has lost enough to weigh the same as their husband and I commented that I am really looking forward to reaching that point myself. Well, my darling hubby weighed himself today and wouldn't you know that he has lost a few pounds too! Now how am I supposed to catch up to him if he keeps losing weight as well?!? I may just start feeding the bugger all the things I normally crave and try to plump him up to make my job easier.

Okay, in all seriousness I am actually proud of him. He doesn't have a weight issue, but he's obviously beginning to shed the few extra pounds that he carries on his midsection. Heck, today he even willingly packed an apple for work!

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 8 glasses of water throughout the day
- 1 1/2 cups of grapes
- 6 large crackers
- 1 1/2 cups of pineapple
- 3 cups of pasta with tomato sauce
- 2 pieces of homemade bread with butter
- 1 banana
- 1 cup of grapes
- 2 cups of celery with 1 1/2 Tb. Tex Mex Cheese Whiz

EXERCISE:
- 3 sets of 20 stomach crunches
- 1 set of 5 minutes of weight lifting with 2.5 lbs per arm
- 45 minutes of walking completed in 2 outings (30 minutes long and 15 minutes long)

Weigh-In For Week 2

Drum roll please... 246.8! Yay!!! I am down 4.4 pounds from my last weigh-in which is not quite 8 pounds from the time I started this blog, and is over 19 pounds from my highest weight. This also means that I now have less than 100 pounds to lose until I reach my goal. I am so happy about this downward trend! Well, truthfully it makes me a tiny bit nervous to think about how my motivation make be shaken when I am out of the just-starting-out plunges, not to mention when I eventually hit a plateau, but for now I am really enjoying my progress.

I am so happy to be out of the 250's - and firmly, at that. I know that my body is loving the mostly healthy foods I've been eating as I have had a lot more energy lately. One of the keys for me so far has been not allowing myself the opportunity to get super hungry. Lots of little meals throughout the day, and especially grabbing some fruit right after I wake up, has been setting me up to avoid cravings which (so far) has been working really well.

What's For Dinner?

I ran into another unexpected food issue today. I went to a friend's place to visit for a while and ended up there much longer than I had anticipated. When dinner time rolled around I was asked if I was hungry and I responded that I was, and then I was offered chimichangas. What was I to say? Okay, the obvious answer here is, "no," but I guess I'm being rhetorical.

My point is that it is really hard to turn down food that someone offers for an actual meal when you are in their home. Snacks are different; I'm getting better at declining treats. But I think it's kind of rude to say something like, "actually do you have something healthier since I'm trying to improve my food choices," when they are ready to put a whole supper in front of you. I especially didn't feel comfortable saying anything because the person offering isn't the sveltest person around either, and I didn't want to hurt her feelings on that level as well as just being picky about what was offered.

I don't know. Maybe I made the wrong decision, but I accepted the chimichangas. On the plus side, she presented my plate with nearly a cup each of salsa and sour cream and I made the conscious effort to use only a very small portion of each one. A small victory, but I'll take it.

As an attempt to pay penance for consuming the deep fried burritos, I walked home from my friend's house. Over an hour of walking to try and burn off some of what took under ten minutes to eat. Also on the exercise front, I tried ice skating for the first time in probably almost twenty years. That was a laugh! I doubt that I burned many calories as I carefully wobbled my way around the rink trying to be nonchalant about the way my hand was hovering an inch above the rail ready to grab it if I went down. I recorded the effort anyhow since I figure I must have used a lot of muscles that probably haven't been utilized since mullets were still in style.

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 7 glasses of water throughout the day
- 1 1/2 cups of grapes
- 1 wrap on a soft tortilla shell with honey ham, grated cheese, 1 cup of Seven Day Salad, calorie wise Miracle Whip, mustard, and pepper
- 1 peach
- 1 mug of vanilla nut decaffeinated tea with milk
- 2 chimichangas with 1 Tb sour cream and 1 Tb salsa
- 1 cup of blueberries with 1 tsp splenda
- 1 1/2 cups broccoli and cauliflower with light ranch dressing

EXERCISE:
- 1/2 hour of ice skating
- 1 hour and 10 minute walk

Learning My NSV's

I would like to thank Amy at The Not So Secret Life Of A Not So Super Together Mom for presenting me with my second installment of the Lovely Blog Award! I just got this award for the first time on Tuesday so my list of 15 fabulous blogs to pass the award onto is already up. I am really touched to have been given a second one already; thank you, Amy!

I was perusing blogs today and came across the term NSV. I had no idea what this meant (although in the context I could surmise it's meaning to some extent) so I googled it. Non-scale victory is what I discovered the abbreviation stood for. Brilliant! Thoughts of running for the bus without wheezing afterwards, throwing away loose fitting jeans, and feeling confident that the safety bar on that carnival ride will close the entire way all came to mind.

I look forward to experiencing my own NSV's. I would say that the one I can celebrate so far is that I haven't had that much trouble sticking to a healthier diet. Pizza pockets, cookies, chocolate bars, and the like have not had a place in my home nor in my body for over a week, and I am pleasantly surprised at how little I miss their company.

Was That A Workout?

I'm not sure to what extent I should record doing chores and errands as exercise. I was on my feet for nearly an hour watering the plants in the garden and around the house, but because it's not an activity specifically meant to be exercise (it needed to be done) should I make a note of it? I was definitely sweating when I was done from walking back and forth with the hose and then a watering can. I did record just walking around the fair the other day, but that was because it was for six hours. If I were to go shopping at a supermarket for an hour should I make a note of that? What about washing windows or mowing the lawn? I don't want to write down something if it shouldn't be there, but I also don't want to fail to give myself credit for something that counts towards burning calories. Anyone have any thoughts?

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 7 glasses of water throughout the day
- 1 pear
- 2 cups of Seven Day Salad with low fat blueberry and pomegranate dressing
- 1 toasted English muffin with peanut butter
- 1 1/2 cups of grapes
- 1 wrap on a soft tortilla shell with honey ham, grated cheese, 1 cup of Seven Day Salad, calorie wise Miracle Whip, mustard, and pepper
- 4 prune plums, 1 yellow peach, and 2 apricots cut up for a fruit plate

EXERCISE:
- 20 minutes on the recumbent stationary bike
- 3 sets of 20 stomach crunches

Intimate Details

My husband and I made a difficult decision yesterday. We are currently facing the deadline that we had given to ourselves for when we wanted to have the conversation about trying to have children. We both have the normal nerves surrounding the subject, but we also really want to be parents sometime in the near future.

So after my fears about the whole low blood pressure thing flared up my husband gently recommended to me that when I do get pregnant that I should not go anywhere near the internet since my hypochondria will likely be fed to an astronomical degree. As soon as he said it, all of the anxiety that I've been feeling on exactly that topic came rushing to the surface.

He's completely right. As a mother-to-be, in the shape I'm in now, I would be the worst for experiencing paranoia over every hick-up, heartburn, or morning sickness experience. I would automatically assume the worst and probably do more harm through my worrying than anything that could have occurred with all my imagined symptoms combined.

I am ready to have a child - as ready as any person can be, that is - but I am absolutely terrified that my weight and poor fitness level will bring harm to either myself or the baby I would have inside of me. Concern over diabetes, risk of stroke, and birthing complications come into my mind regularly when I think about carrying a child. At the very least, I suspect that the nine months of pregnancy would be a time of fear and anxiety rather than joy and expectation.

So, with tears running down my cheeks, I told my husband all of this. And he kissed me and told me we could wait. I suggested just a couple of months until we talk again... long enough for me to feel like I have put a dent in my weight loss journey and like I am a healthier version of the me that is typing this now.

My current goal is to weigh 150 pounds by the end of next July. If at that time I have a baby growing inside of me, I will happily and with great joy re-adjust my vision. In the meantime, my husband and I have made the very difficult choice to hold off on trying for a little while, and I now have a new reason to work hard at getting in better shape. I'm not only doing this for me, but for the beautiful baby that I want to hold in my arms sooner rather than later.

A Hypochondriac Moment

I think I’ve freaked myself out a little with the low blood pressure thing I mentioned in my last post. I can’t seem to find information on having just a low diastolic pressure with a normal systolic one. All the sites that I looked at seem to talk about both being too low at the same time. Does anyone out there know something about this?

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 8 glasses of water throughout the day
- 1 pear
- 2 cups of a mushroom, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrot platter with light ranch dressing
- 2 wraps, each on a soft tortilla shell with honey ham, grated cheese, 1 cup of Seven Day Salad, calorie wise Miracle Whip, mustard, and pepper
- 6 large crackers
- 2 glasses of peach juice
- 2 shortcake biscuits
- 1 glass of milk
- 2 apricots

EXERCISE:
- 30 minutes of walking completed in 2 outings (10 minutes long and 20 minutes long)

Lose A Pound In Fifteen Minutes!!!

This is no joke! Are you excited to know the secret? Ready?!? Here it is... go donate blood!!! Arghh... I can hear the groans of disappointment coming to me over the electronic miles. Anyhow, I'm pretty sure that that's what a pint of blood ends up converting to. I'm also fairly certain that any temporary loss is quickly evened out by consuming the two cookies they give out afterwards to raise blood sugar levels.

Something that I discovered while giving blood today is that my blood pressure is a little off. The nurse who did it actually told me that it was really good and that the way it is means that my heart doesn't have to work as hard as most, but I've done a little research online and it seems that my diastolic reading (the second number) is a bit too low.

120 over 47 was the first reading that they took. A perfect systolic reading, but a diastolic pressure too low to donate. They had me drink some juice and then sent me outside to walk around the block to raise it, and the next time they put the cuff on it was 120 over 62 which is back in the normal range for both numbers. I'm not sure whether to be worried about this or not. I think I'll be looking on the internet to see if there are ways to raise that second number.

Thank you!

I just wanted to take a moment and let everyone know how much I appreciate their support! For those who are on or have been through similar weight loss journeys, I am certain that you can understand just what this degree of encouragement means. This is a hard path to walk, and I feel like I am going to be successful this time around because of all of you.

Accountability is one of my biggest issues. Plus, like so many women I am much more concerned with what I can do for others than with what I must do for myself. But guess what? This type of forum provides the secret recipe for the perfect balance of sating the desire to be successful in both spheres.

Here, I can write about me. That's a concept that is really quite foreign, to be honest. Concentrating on myself is not something I have ever been very good at. And at the same time, I have been fortunate enough to gather a very lovely group of people to whom I now feel personally responsible. This community has afforded me the luxury of doing things to create the results that I know others want to see, while all the while focusing on my own health issues and weight loss.

I really can't say enough about how lucky I feel to have all of you. I am aware that this is a new journey and that there will be inevitable bumps along the way, but I think that it is the knowledge that you are somewhere out there - ready to cheer me on, kick my butt, and generally offer support - that gives me the confidence to say that I can finally do this!

Scaling It Back

How often do you weigh yourself? I find that I will actually get on that blasted device a few times in one day if I feel so compelled. I’m not completely sure why. I’m not altering what I eat based on what it says throughout the day, and I understand that the numbers can fluctuate greatly given a variety of different factors. I know that for myself I have seen as much as a six pound increase from first thing in the morning to a post dinner weigh-in. So why do I do it?

I think that right now, I am all about discovery. I am filing away all the tiny pieces of information that I gather when I stare down at the bathroom floor from my one inch perch. I am investigating the finer nuances of what my diet and exercise patterns are doing to my body on many different levels, one of which is the way their results reflect in those red digits on my scale.

For me, I do hope to eventually move away from being so concentrated on what the number says, but I am content to continue with my current trend for now because I think that data gathering is a good idea. I believe that one of the mistakes I have made in the past is that I didn’t keep a detailed record of my weight loss efforts. Obviously with this blog I am attempting to fix that, but it extends further than online journaling. I need to be conscious of changes as they happen, be they the weight gain that I have between breakfast and lunch, the increase in energy after taking a walk, or a feeling of satisfaction when choosing a vegetable over a cookie.

I know this is a controversial topic with supporters on both ends of the spectrum. My understanding is that studies have been done to both support regularly checking the scale and only weighing once a month. My guess is that many people trying to lose weight work towards the happy medium of weekly weigh-ins. What are people’s thought on this?

How Often Do You Weigh Yourself?

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 7 glasses of water throughout the day
- 2 bananas
- 1 1/2 cups of blueberries
- 2 wraps, each on a soft tortilla shell with thin sliced smoked ham, grated cheese, 1 cup of Seven Day Salad, calorie wise Miracle Whip, mustard, and pepper
- 1 toasted English muffin with peanut butter
- 2 cups of a mushroom, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrot platter with light ranch dressing
- 1 large mug of decaffeinated tea with milk

EXERCISE:
- 2 hour and 10 minutes of walking completed in 2 outings (2 hours long and 10 minutes long)
- 1 set of 5 minutes of weight lifting with 2.5 lbs per arm

10 K.

There is a 1,000 acre park about a half hour drive from where I live and it has a wall that runs the perimeter of it mostly along the coastline. Today, I convinced my husband to walk it with me. What a guy! I know that he wasn’t thrilled with such a huge undertaking, but he did it without complaint because he knew it was important to me. It's not the type of thing I will be able to do every day, but I'm hoping to start doing it twice a month or so. It was a really nice day, and the walk took exactly two hours. There are distance markers along the path so I am able to report that I walked ten kilometers today. I’m exhausted, but elated! I have done the trek before, but never with my husband and not for a couple of months. I wasn’t sure I wanted to plod through to the finish at a few points, but I stuck it out and am feeling proud!

Now That's Motivation, Baby!!!

I sat down to cruise the blogosphere, not sure what I would write about today when, lo and behold, look at what I have been awarded! I'm so excited! I know I'm probably being a bit goofy, but this is a huge boost on the old self-esteem and motivation for me! Thank you so much, Jo, for recognizing my blog amidst all the amazing ones that I know are out there!

Now, the best part about getting this award is that I have the opportunity to pass it on and bring attention to a handful of the other incredible online journals out there. But, to be official, the exact guidelines for receiving this citation consist of the following:

1. Acknowledge the giver.

2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that I love.

That's not terribly complicated, now is it? Jo at 282.5 was the fabulous person who choose my blog for this fun acknowledgment, so to her I send out a resounding THANK YOU!!! As for the list that I have the honour of compiling to pass this award onto, I present it in alphabetical order:

1. 282.5

2. Am I Really That Fat?

3. Bigger Than My Body

4. Ethereal Endeavor

5. Fat Girl Dives In

6. Fat [Free] Me

7. Finding Radiance

8. Heather's Weightloss Journey

9. Just For The Hell-th Of It!!

10. Katie J Is On Her Way

11. Kazz's Journey

12. My Journey To Onderland!

13. Sephgirl's Weight-Loss Journey

14. The Hungry Little Caterpillar

15. The Not So Secret Life Of A Not So Super Together Mom

Wrapping Up The Day

I ate the most delicious wrap a couple hours ago! My plan was to buy pita bread and cut the pieces in half horizontally to end up with two whole circles but only fifty percent of the calories, but my mind went to mush after staring at all the nutritional information on the different packages and I came home with soft tortilla shells instead. Anyhow, I laid one out, slapped on a couple condiments and put some deli ham onto it, and then made two really good decisions. First, I took out my prepared Seven Day Salad and used a cup of that for the greens and then I grated up the cheese I wanted. Since the grated cheese was easier to sprinkle over the whole wrap than arranging sliced pieces evenly, I’m pretty sure that I used only a quarter of what I normally would have. It was so good! I am writing this just to stay glued to my chair and not get up to make another one.

I did well with the planning ahead today. I knew that I was returning to my friend’s house that I talked about a few posts back - the one who usually brings out the snacky foods - so I packed up a container of cut veggies before I left and took it with me. I mentioned to her when I got there that I had brought them to try and avoid the stuff she usually provides as sustenance and she was great about it, just like I knew she would be. She even offered to cut up extra carrots when she put out the inevitable crackers. Speaking of which, I avoided the crackers and some homemade cookies that she had laying around. I think I get extra points for turning down the cookies though, because she gave me some as a Christmas present last year and I still remember how wonderful they were and how much I loved them.

Great, now I’m thinking about those cookies. Plus, I’m still drooling for another wrap…

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 6 glasses of water throughout the day
- 1 1/2 cups blueberries
- 2 cups of Seven Day Salad with low fat blueberry and pomegranate dressing
- 2 hard boiled eggs with calorie wise Miracle Whip
- 1 glass of milk
- 3 chicken strips
- 2 cups of pasta with tomato sauce
- 6 cherries
- 2 cups of a mushroom, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrot platter with hummus
- 1 wrap on a soft tortilla shell with thin sliced smoked ham, grated cheese, 1 cup of Seven Day Salad, calorie wise Miracle Whip, mustard, and pepper

EXERCISE:
- 30 minute walk

WTF Was That?

So I was cruising through all the blogs I follow, leaving comments here and there, when all of a sudden I have a message thrown up on the screen saying that I've been detected as some sort of weird automatic requester. And it quickly became apparent that it wasn't going to let me view ANY blogs at all! Okaaay...

I'm a real girl! (Sorry, but the Pinocchio reference was unavoidable).

So, anyways, I click on the appropriate links to get the problem cleared up, decide my husband will probably be better suited to deal with the likes of installing virus protection programs, and so I call on him. About 45 frustrating minutes later, we shut down the computer to restart it since the upload didn't take, and I find that all is somehow well.

Hmmm... not sure what to make of this. I guess I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, but why is it suddenly working again? Oh well, at least I am back to being able to peruse the pages of my fellow bloggers.

Sobering Thought

I was just catching up on reading 282.5's blog at http://282point5.blogspot.com/ and was finishing her most recent post about BMI ratings and I started to wonder where the line between 'morbidly obese' and 'obese' lay. I looked it up and, for anyone who doesn't already know this, it turns out that a BMI or 40 to 50 classifies as morbidly obese. Plus, I had no idea that there is actually another category that is for those with a BMI of over 50 known as 'super obese'.

So that's when I realized that I started this particular journey - blog and all - with a BMI of exactly 39.9 and am just skimming below the dividing line between obese and morbidly obese. I suppose in a way this is good news, but it made me realize that about four months ago, for the first time in my life, I was categorized as being in the higher category. To me that is a scary thought and one that I hope will continue to motivate me down to the 'overweight' listing and eventually 'normal'.

Festive Foods

I did okay at the fair. There were no mini doughnuts or cotton candy to try and tempt me, but I still managed to avoid the worst of what was there. I purposely looked at all the options from the vendors before making my decision on what to get for lunch so that I could choose what was healthiest. Plus, during the road trip part of the excursion I managed to find food that I felt was not too bad for me... sort of.

I have to confess though, I just sat down and was all ready to write about how well I did today, but the truth is I had forgotten that I started the day with McDonald's. So then I was ready to report how it was okay because I only ordered a breakfast burrito and a parfait and that I thought they were both pretty reasonable on the fast food scale, but then I actually looked up their nutritional information and realized that the burrito was really high in fat and sodium. Definitely not as great as I initially thought.

Well, to finish out the confessions, the one thing I treated myself to at the actual fair was a snow cone, but it was because it was so hot more than because I wanted a treat. The last item I feel a tinge of guilt over is that when I had a sandwich made at a delicatessen on the way home for dinner I completely went on automatic and asked for sourdough which I don’t think is the best choice I could have made.

The day was a lot of fun and I had such a great time with my husband, but I am absolutely exhausted. I got a bit sunburned and have that tight skin feeling all over my face and neck… ugh. I need to crawl into bed. Someone remind me tomorrow to reprimand myself for the burrito, okay?

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 8 glasses of water throughout the day
- 1 McDonald’s breakfast burrito
- 1 McDonald’s yogurt and fruit parfait with granola
- 1 banana
- 1 1/2 cups pretzel crisps
- 1 small skewer of grilled pineapple
- 1 small skewer of grilled mushrooms
- 1/2 grilled pita bread round
- 2 bites of grilled steaks
- 1 large snow cone
- 1 ham and cheese sandwich on sourdough bread with lettuce, tomatoes, onion, mayo, and mustard
- 1 bite of Lucky Charms
- 1 mug of hot chocolate

EXERCISE:
- 6 hours of walking around a fair

Coping With Special Events

I attended a friend’s birthday party today; there’s always a risk of overeating at those types of functions. I think I did pretty well though. I ate pretzels instead of chips (and slowly, at that) and took half the skin off the single piece of fried chicken that I had. I made sure to put ice in the glass of pop I had and I drank it really slowly so that it lasted pretty much the whole time we were there. I even turned down a slice of cake and just had a few bites from my husband’s piece.

My real issue came as a surprise later in the day. I went to a different friend’s for dinner and a movie and had no plan for when the snack foods came out. She rarely serves anything totally unhealthy, but there are often a lot of munchy, snacky type products put out when I am over there. They are those types of things that are difficult to keep track of how many you’re cramming into your mouth. And they taste good… double whammy! Anyhow, I did my best to eat slowly and thoughtfully, but I wonder now if I would have eaten anything at all if it wasn’t put right in front of me.

I think I’m actually more disappointed in how I was this evening rather than at the party earlier this afternoon. I’m not beating myself up or anything; I actually still think I had a pretty good day over all. It’s just that I was prepared for the party food but didn’t even think about the movie munchies. I really struggled with not slipping into my usual comfortable eating pattern tonight. On the plus side, this particular friend that I was watching the movie with is really easy to talk to about my weight issues, and will likely be very accommodating if I talk to her about providing healthier alternatives to snack on the next time I’m over.

Tomorrow my husband and I are going on a day trip to a fair, so I probably won’t be posting until later in the evening. I am hoping that I will be able to find healthy options to eat on the road and at the festival (we are crossing the border, otherwise I’d pack fruits and vegetables). I am fairly confident that my exercise quota for the day will be easily met and exceeded with all the walking I'm anticipating, and then it will be back to regularly scheduled programming by Monday.

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 6 glasses of water throughout the day
- 2 bananas
- 1 glass of gingerale
- 1 teaspoon sized taste of whiskey
- 20 pretzels
- 1 chicken breast from KFC with 1/2 the skin removed
- 4 bites of chocolate cake
- 2 cups of Seven Day Salad with low fat blueberry and pomegranate dressing
- 1 beef dip sandwich on a hot dog bun with butter, roast beef, and broth
- 1 cup of a blueberry, raspberry, and cherry platter
- 1 pita bread round with hummus
- 10 cheddar rice thin crackers

EXERCISE:
- 55 minutes of walking completed in 3 outings (30 minutes, 10 minutes, and 15 minutes long)

Questions For The Panel

1. What is the verdict on whether mayonnaise or Miracle Whip is healthier?

2. Is the purple writing on this black background too difficult to read?

3. If you could offer just a single piece of advice on what works in the struggle to lose weight and lead a healthier lifestyle, what would that one nugget of wisdom be?

Weigh-In For Week 1(ish)

Even though I weighed myself just three days ago on Wednesday when I started this blog, I can’t help but feel like the best day for me to be doing a weekly weigh-in will be on Saturdays. I know this is a common weigh-in day for others and I think that - given what my week and schedule looks like - it will work for me too. So, without further ado… 251.2 lbs! I am down nearly three and a half pounds! Woo hoo!

Veggie-Rific!

I spent some time using the fresh produce I bought today to make a huge salad that I’m hoping will last me the week and to cut up some veggies for when I feel like munching on something. One of my biggest issues with vegetables in particular is that I find they take more time and effort to prepare than my stomach wants to allow, so I’m hoping that doing the prep work ahead of time will help with this. Unfortunately, one of the other issues I have had in the past is that I can be wasteful when I decide to bypass the healthier options when I am crazing something else. I’m hoping that cutting everything up - and risking that it will all spoil a bit faster - doesn’t backfire and leave me with a lack of produce when I want it.

Something worth noting here is that I am far from a domestic goddess. It’s not that I couldn’t cook to save my life, but I just don’t do it… call it laziness, lack of training, disinterest, or a combination of those reasons and others. I am perfectly capable of following recipes on the odd holiday or gathering when I do prepare food, but I’m not much of a creative force in the kitchen. Anyhow, the reason I’m going on about this is because I figured I may as well post the ingredients that I put together for my salad since it is possibly the closest thing to a recipe that anyone will ever see on here. Plus, hopefully I will enjoy what I made and refer back to what I put in it at a later date so that I can make it again.

SEVEN DAY SALAD:
- 1 head of lettuce, shredded
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1 sweet pepper, chopped
- 1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped
- 1 broccoli crown, chopped
- 10 chive stems, chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
- 5 mushrooms, sliced

A couple of green onion stems could be substituted for the chive, but I used what was growing in the garden for now. I am hoping that the tomatoes and mushrooms keep their freshness throughout the week, but I purposely cut them up today because I’m trying out a produce storage container that I bought a while ago but haven’t yet used. I’m also thinking that it might be nice to grate a little cheese or to slice a hard-boiled egg into the mix when I am ready to eat a bowl of the salad. Hmmm… maybe even a few blueberries would be good to add.

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 6 glasses of water throughout the day
- 2 toasted English muffins with peanut butter
- 3 hard boiled eggs with calorie wise Miracle Whip
- 1 1/2 cups Caramel Kettle Corn Crispy Mini Rice Chips
- 3 garden strawberries
- 1 crown chopped broccoli and 1 sweet pepper with light ranch dressing
- 8 large crackers with 2 Tb. Tex Mex Cheese Whiz
- 1 glass of milk
- 1 cheese sandwich on white bread with lettuce, tomatoes, mustard, calorie wise Miracle Whip, margarine, and pepper

EXERCISE:
- 15 minutes on the recumbent stationary bike
- 1 set of 5 minutes of weight lifting with 2.5 lbs per arm
- 15 minute walk

I Think I May Have Gone A Little Overboard...

- 2 bunches of celery
- 10 carrots
- 2 corn on the cobs
- 2 sweet peppers
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 3 crowns of broccoli
- 1 bunch of asparagus
- 1 head of green leaf lettuce
- 4 yellow potatoes
- 10 mushrooms
- 1 tray of blueberries
- 1 bunch of green grapes
- 1 lemon
- 1 pineapple
- 4 bananas
- 2 pears
- 2 oranges
- 8 braeburn apples
- 2 golden delicious apples
- 2 white peaches
- 1 yellow peach
- 1 nectarine
- 4 apricots
- 4 prune plums
- 1 black plum
...and a partridge in a pear tree!

Producing Good Habits

I am getting ready to head out to the produce store. Maybe this is not a terribly exciting activity for some, but for me this is actually a big step. I have never been very good at getting my daily allotment of fruits and vegetables.

As I mentioned in my very first post, I recently had a stint of 'good behavior' where I was indeed adding these essential, nutritious foods into my diet and was successful at losing some weight. Well, of course, I stopped that and gained back part of the weight I had lost, but my point is that it works for me. And there is another reason that I am hoping that this particular habit I am trying to form sticks with me this time.

Again, I find myself looking to when I quit smoking, and I can't help but note that the thing that finally seemed to work was long term application - and, more pointedly, reapplication - of the behavior I was trying to utilize to replace the one I wanted to be rid of. In the case of cigarettes, I cut down for months - not just a few days or even weeks - before my body was ready to let the smoking go for good. I'm hoping to apply this principle to my eating habits too. I already had a bout of eating better and being (slightly) more physically active, so my hope is that this will continue and improve as I enter this next chapter in my weight loss journey.

I think that makes sense.

Anyhow, the long and the short of it is that I'm going out to purchase some produce and I'm hoping that this is the start of a fairly regular regimen that I can stick to. Hmmm... that was simple. Why do I always make things so complicated?

Down But Not Out

My wonderful husband worked his ever-patient magic and coaxed the stationary bike back to proper working order. I am annoyed that I got so frustrated with everything; it’s definitely a pattern that I want to break. I think it’s similar to how I would react to things all the times I tried to quit smoking before I actually managed to stop for good, and I would find myself stressed out over the smallest things. It’s like some sort of ‘mountain out of molehill’ syndrome. On the flip side I am really proud that I didn’t order the pizza I wanted when things weren’t going my way. Plus, I took Jo’s (and Fat Free Me’s) very good advice and did try and do a couple of activities that didn’t require the cooperation of finicky machinery.

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 5 glasses of water throughout the day
- 3/4 cup peach yogurt with 1 cup Maple Nut Oatmeal Crisp
- 2 toasted English muffins with peanut butter
- 3 1/2 cups celery with 2 Tb. Tex Mex Cheese Whiz
- 7 large crackers
- 1 glass of milk
- 2 cheese sandwiches on white bread with lettuce, tomatoes, calorie wise Miracle Whip, margarine, and pepper
- 1 1/2 cups canned pears
- 1 1/2 cups peach yogurt

EXERCISE:
- 2 sets of 5 minutes of weight lifting with 2.5 lbs per arm
- 12 sets of walking up and down stairs (not all at one time)
- 20 minute walk

First Frustration

I spent the afternoon building up enough motivation to get on my stationary recumbent bike only to just find that it is adjusted to a setting that is too long for my legs and the adjuster is tightened too much for me to loosen and reset it (and my husband won't be home for hours to help me). So I fumed for a minute, but than decided to try and find a solution to the problem rather than let it beat me. I propped two pillows behind my back to move myself the couple of inches I needed to be able to pedal properly, but then immediately found that the button used to set the resistance is not working and is set to the highest level! What am I supposed to do?!? I don't have enough strength yet to pedal for any length of time on this setting and I was relying on the bike since we don't have money for a gym membership nor new exercise equipment. I am feeling SO frustrated!!!

Great Start!

I am feeling so great right now! I logged in for the first time today and found a whole bunch of encouraging comments on my first two posts. I even have a few 'followers'! I think that with this type of encouragement I am really going to be able to make this happen. Admittedly, I have always been one of those people who excel when their efforts are being recognized, so I believe that finding all of this online support could really end up paying off. To anyone reading this, please remember that I am happy to hear all of the good stuff (and it's definitely having an impact already) but don't be afraid to tell me to pull my socks up when I am having an inevitable backslide into poor habits. I need to stay accountable. Thank you all!

Keeping Track

I'm going to try posting what I eat and what exercise I do. I'm hoping that recording this will help me to stay motivated as well as assist me in really seeing with accuracy what I am doing to my body. I have always been really bad for not eating enough fruits and vegetables nor drinking enough water, plus I think that I consume too many carbohydrates. Unfortunately, I also believe that I live a very sedentary lifestyle. I'm hoping to change these habits starting today. Perhaps seeing it all written down will be a useful tool that I can utilize during this fresh start to my weight loss journey.

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 4 glasses of water throughout the day
- 1 banana
- 6 inch ham and cheese sub on a honey oat bun with lettuce, tomatoes, onion, light mayo, mustard, and pepper
- 2 toasted English muffins with peanut butter
- 1 glass of milk
- 3/4 cup peach yogurt with 1 cup Maple Nut Oatmeal Crisp
- 8 large crackers with 4 pieces of cheese
- 2 hard boiled eggs with calorie wise Miracle Whip
- 1 mini bag of microwave popcorn

EXERCISE:
- 25 minute walk

266

The 266 that names this blog is the ugly truth that stared back at me from my in-laws bathroom floor one evening a few months ago after a typical home cooked holiday feast. I was sure the scale was broken. I knew I was tipping two fifty, but I couldn't actually be two hundred and sixty-six pounds, could I? Sure, it wasn't the stark naked, first thing in the morning, right after finishing that time of the month 'ideal' conditions for weighing myself, but I was flabbergasted that it could possibly be that high. What could I do about it?!? There was only one solution... I went and had dessert. Yup. That pretty much sums up my eating pattern for the last decade and a half.

Beginning this journal I weigh in at a smidge under two hundred and fifty-five pounds - eleven down from my highest number, but seven up from where I was at the end of June. I thought I had finally found my groove, but I'm right back where I was such a short time ago. It's so frustrating! I've played this game too many times and I don't want to continue coming up short. I want a long term solution and I need to ditch this stereotypical yo-yo'ing that I've been doing.

I am starting this blog to help keep myself on track. My plan is to advertise the URL on a website or two to try and attract some followers who will help keep me in check. One of my main failings in my past weight loss efforts has been that I don't hold myself accountable, so I am hoping that some nice people out there will basically stay on my tail, encourage me when I'm doing well, and kick butt when I have been letting things slide. I am not looking for abuse, but guidance, suggestions, wisdom, understanding, and advice are more than welcome!