Lost 10 :-)

Well I completely forgot to update this blog

I thought I would do it after I had reached my goal completely ( 5 more pounds to go )

In August my husband and  I decided that we needed to do something and do something fast

One of our friends recommended the 17 day diet

It a diet based on lean proteins, many vegetables and limited dairy and fruit

We went on it

It was almost horribly difficult that first week

But the pounds started to drop really fast

And a lot of our sugar craving - just went away

I have been traveling a lot these past 2 months and so I have been on a modified version of the diet and also cheating a little bit

But I have kept the weight off

I really need to lose the remaining 5 pounds as well

My own Good Health Guidelines

I am restarting with new resolve and energy

I have only 2 days of travel planned in the next month - which basically means that I will be much more in charge of my schedule than I was this past months

Unfortunately I am back at 164 :-( which is where I was where I started

No matter

I have been here before and I will come back from it

Back to managing and planning my day and following my own good health

1. Only eating when I am hungry

2. Stopping when I am full

3. Drinking a lot of water

4. Eating unprocessed food

5. Eating a multivitamin

6. 30 minutes daily activity

7. 7 hours of sleep

8 only positive self talk

Advice from a messageboard on being on a weight plateu

"If you keep doing what you used to always do , you will get what you always got"

I have been on the weight plateau for several weeks now

So today I got on the messageboard and asked for some advice

They asked me to post a sample menu and so I copied from my journal - what I ate yesterday

BREAKFAST :: instant packet of grits and 1 weight watcher cheese wedge - 4 points

LUNCH :- Chick Fila 8 nuggets - 7 points , Side salad ( o points + 2 points for a few of the kernels + 2 points for 1 serving of the dressing )

SNACK 1
: cup of tea ( 1 point) , thomas 100 cal muffin ( 3) , cheese wedge( 1 point )

SNACK 2 :: chips - 2 points, two chessmen - 2 points

DINNER : Lentil soup + Rice + Cauliflower cooked with 1 tsp oil - 5
Desert - Blue Bunny Dreamsicle - 4

Coolwhip fat free 10 tbsp- 2 points

0 points - 8 strawberries, 2 cups blueberries


The suggestions I got were :

1. Reduce  carbs, 
2. Reduce Processed food
3. Increase  protein,
4. Increase dairy
5. Increase oil
6. Increase Exercise ( 5-6 hours per week )
7. Don't eat any extra points

It was very helpful for me to write it down and share this as I was not aware of how much processed food I was eating !

Quick update

Just a quick update to say that I am seeing no movement on the scale at all
the numbers climbed back up to 162 and that is where they are staying
Last weekend I went to NYC and ate more carbs than I should have and my weight did not increase - which is the only silver lining
I am still doing weightwatchers points plus - really its a very easy and wonderful program to do- for life
The only thing is that I am not losing any weight :-(

Alarming Scale !

Today I stepped on the scale
And got a shock
Somehow between Friday and Tuesday
While following the program ( though I have been dipping into the bonus points and not exercising )
I have GAINED ALL THE WEIGHT BACK
Now when I started this - I had sworn that I would not be scale obsessed and lose these 10 pounds calmly
And now is the time to demostrate this
I did have Thai for lunch yesterday ( Tom Kha soup and Sushi ) but I noted the points religiously
and I am going to hope that its a sodium issue and drink lots of water and see how it goes

2 more pounds down !!!

I went to Weightwatchers and I am 2 more pounds down .

I am signed up for the whole summer( they have an excellent deal going on right now )  and I am really hoping I am able to lose another 6 pounds AND keep them off

 I am trying very hard these days not to not say anything negative about my body

I think I spend all my 20's calling myself fat and thinking of myself as fat

And its only in my 30's that I am realising how important it is to be grateful and appreciative of your body

But I have to say I feel fat

This past week has been a week of excessive work .
DH had his tonsils out and so I have been doing some of the things he usually does - like getting R ready for school , grocery shopping , getting gas etc. And also   all of laundry and cooking which are usually things we do together

And its EXHAUSTING

Plus I have been sleeping very poorly

AND work has been unusually intense

I am hoping things will get a little better this week and I will feel better

Sleep more and Exercise more

Comfort food

One uncomfortable thing I have found out about myself is that I automatically dip into food when I am feeling anxious

I always read about stress eating but it's really kind of unusual when you observe yourself doing it

It's really hard to remember that I cannot do that

Have dipped into my bonus points and am worries I will see it on the scale !!,

Eating Out

That was the topic for this week's weightwatchers meeting !

 

Here are the tips

1. Plan before going
2. Know you intention - are you going out as a treat and so you can use your bonus points and dont feel deprived. On the otherhand if you are simply going out because its convenient - use really good judgment  
3. Have something before you go - so you are not weak with hunger  
4. Do not touch the bread basket at all
5. Exercise in the morning so you are already in the proactive mode

First weigh In

2 down
8 more to go
Enough Said
:-)

Day 6

Today is Day 6 of Points Plus

On the Plus Side

1. The program is very easy to do - you really do not have to go hungry
2. It really pushes you to eating good for you food - the focus is :

                          - Eat fruits and veggies

                          - Eat low fat, low carb

How can this not be good for you ?

On the minus side - I do not know if it helps you lose weight - I will get on the weighing scale tomorrow and see if it has made a difference

My resolution is to do it for 6 weeks and I am determined to do that

Weight watchers First weekend

SO I just had my first weekend after starting the Points plus program and it went very well

One of the things I like best about the program is that you really never have to go hungry

And the more you eat real food.. the more you crave the real food

And my cravings for the bad stuff are reduced

The bad part though is that the new Points Plus Program is very point heavy for some of my old Favorites

Example my Chick Fila Spicy Chicken Sandwich used to be 8 points and so was quite a standard lunch item - now its 13 points !!

My Kind Bar  which is a staple break fast for me is 6 points !

My Kashi hot cereal is 4 points

My fat free yogurt cup is 3 points

The points are bascially steering you towards low fat and low carb foods and to fruits and vegetable

I am planning on planning out the whole week today so I can do it planfully -

Instead of thinking I am hungry - what should I eat

Do you plan ahead ? How detailed do you get ?

My weight loss goal

I am hoping to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks – with that I will get into the normal range again

I am currently 164 pounds ( 74 Kilos ) and if I lose 10 pounds ( 4.5 kilos ) – I will be in the normal range for my height –

I went to my first weight watchers meeting yesterday – I am going with my friend Julie – the meeting was full of unadventurous looking people

The meeting topic was how not to get bored with the food you eat- because when you get bored out of eating the same old thing over and over again – you can easily get tempted to “blow “ your diet

One lady raised her hand and said that she was trying to create excitement by eating salsa I thought she was being sarcastic – till everyone in the audience clapped

That is how unadventurous this group is !!

The Points Plus Program

My friend and I went to our first weight watchers meeting

I really like the Points Plus Program

The idea is this

Based on your personal profile you eat a certain amount of points

A point plus is calculated with the following formula -

Take whatever food you are having and then look at

1. Fat
2. Carbs
3. Protein
4. Fiber

Yes they dont look at calories

Then apply the formula of ( everything in Grams )

Fat/3.9 + Carbs/9.2+ Protein /10.9 -Fiber/12.5

This would mean that my Luna Bar - white chocolate macademia would be

7/3.9 + 25/9.2+ 9/10.9-3/12.5= 5 points plus !!!
Now obviously I dont make this calculation each time - I simply use my nutrition app that I purchased for a one time fee of a dollar and I put in the formula in the Settings of the program

In addtion Fruits and Vegetables are free !!! - They have no points and can be eaten in unlimited quantity

This is what I love about this program

That you dont have to ever go hungry and when forced to make a choice as with my travel schedules I frequently am at airports etc - its going to force me to choose the raw stuff !!!!

I love this !

Joining Weightwatchers ...

All three days of mindful challenges last week were great
As in I remembered to eat less, to stop when full and write down when finished

Problem is that those three days ended and then I again forgot !

Yes I actually forget that I am trying to lose weight , I forget to plan in the day, I forget to carry the food that is healthy

Now this is not surprising

Work is extraordinarily busy , I have a child with Autism that we do hometherapy, plus all the usual busy-ness of taking care of home, laundry meals etc

I dont mean to complain - I really have a beautiful  and happy life really 

But its no wonder that there are so many things on my mind - that I keep forgetting

Well me and another friend are joining Weightwatchers today

Mindful Eating Challenge Day 1 - completed

Successfully !!!

( well sort of - I absentmindedly downed R's leftover Chessmen but then I did not have the desert I was planning on - so it worked out )

I really can do this when I put my mind to it !

Let me see what Day 2 brings

Mindful Eating Challenge Day 1

One of my biggest challenges with planning and control and dieting is that I actually forget I am controlling what I eat

I then proceed to log the days's eating at once and then will be mortified at having gone over my calories by so much
Of course the colition is to pre-plan which is what I am doing

So here is a three day challenge that I am setting for myself  with 3 goals

1.I will eat nothing standing up
2. I will plan for the whole day in advance
3. I will log everthing I eat in my "Lose it " ( has an app if you have an Iphone ) or you can use their online tool- both are free

Here is Monday

Breakfast : Kashi Oatmeal ( 140 ) + 2 cups coffee ( 40 )

Snack : Grapes ( 60 cals)

Lunch: Vegetarian Sushi ( 250 ) and Miso Soup ( 60 )

Snack: Grapes/yogurt - 100

Evening Snack : Whole grain muffin ( 100 ) and Cheese ( 30 ) and tea ( 30 ) =160

Dinner : Spinach Salad with Chicken Sausage fruit and low fat dressing = 400

Gaining focus back without guilt feelings

I have lost focus on fitness and myself this past month and I can feel it (though I have not really dared to climb on the weighing scale )

I did keep up with generally eating healthy (though while eating out even things that feel and look healthy are frequently high in calories )

And I did keep up with 3 hours + of exercise per week  + getting 6-7 hours of sleep per week

But there is no denying I have gained weight as I can feel it

However even getting back on track feels different as I am doing it without any feelings of guilt

I was reading a New York Times Article recently which talked so clearly about what I was thinking

They talked about a virtue called Self Compassion as a key tool to weight loss

Self compassion is not to be confused with Self Indulgence

Dr Neff talks about it here

“I found in my research that the biggest reason people aren’t more self-compassionate is that they are afraid they’ll become self-indulgent,” said Dr. Neff, an associate professor of human development at the University of Texas at Austin. “They believe self-criticism is what keeps them in line. Most people have gotten it wrong because our culture says being hard on yourself is the way to be.”

Imagine your reaction to a child struggling in school or eating too much junk food. Many parents would offer support, like tutoring or making an effort to find healthful foods the child will enjoy. But when adults find themselves in a similar situation — struggling at work, or overeating and gaining weight — many fall into a cycle of self-criticism and negativity. That leaves them feeling even less motivated to change.

“Self-compassion is really conducive to motivation,” Dr. Neff said. “The reason you don’t let your children eat five big tubs of ice cream is because you care about them. With self-compassion, if you care about yourself, you do what’s healthy for you rather than what’s harmful to you.”

So I am getting back on track with resolve but without guilt

Good things first

Here is what I am focusing on this week

Eating good things first

I think our environment constantly forces indulgence on us - encourages us to "just give in to temptation"

How do fruits and vegetables stand a chance in this environment ?

When I have an option - I will eat the good thing first

Then wait

Then eat the less good thing

So today for breakfast - a banana instead of a cereal bar

For snack - an apple instead of cereal

For lunch - today was date lunch with DH - we went to TGIF - I had salad with very little dressing for lunch - though I did indulge in a 1/3rd of the Brownie Obsession ( which I am sort of regretting as it has a 1000 calories and I ate close to 400 !!)

For dinner - I plan on a lentil soup with some cauliflower stir fry

Reaffirmation

The busy-ness of life is causing some lack of focus

I am back in another crazy blitz of travel and want to remind myself of some ways to  prevent weight gain when I travel

1. Eat only when hungry
2. Eat slowly
3. Eat good for you things first
4. Stop when full
5. Walk as much as possible  

How did I do the first week ?

I did pretty good

All things considering

All things being,  going  back to work - and a TON of work awaiting

Plus after the very relaxing 2 weeks of just being home and ( 10 days of that staying in a hotel - read , no cooking or cleaning ) - it was just a shock to get back to get back to the routine

In spite of all that - I did pretty well

I had 2 -3 bouts of mindless eating - where I ended up eating chocolate covered nuts ( my weakness ) mindlessly

But somehow I feel very forgiving - because for the 2 bouts of mindless eating - I avoided many bouts of mindless eating by simply asking myself the question before eating

Do I really want to eat this ?

And that is the real question -

I think the calorie-counting blinds us and changes our mindset to Can I eat this?

Wrong question .

This is my challenge for myself for the week

Ask myself before I eat -

Am I hungry? Do I really want this ?

If I am hungry, Out of all my choices - what is the best thing I can put in  my body ?

Will you ask these questions too ?

Happy New Year

A very very Happy New Year to you

Gretchen at the Happiness Project asked what our intent is for the year in one word

Her word was Bigger

My word is "Simplify"

I want more simplicity in every apect of my life- work , family and of course fitness

So here are my simple fitness goals

Avoid mindless eating

Ask myself - why I am eating before I eat anything . I don't know about you but its amazing how much I manage to eat unconsciously

Write down everything I eat in my free  "Lose it App" and stay within 1500 calories when I can

Eat when hungry , stop when full

Eat good food first ( as in if I have an urge to snack on a cookie - eat an apple first  -and then reevaluate my urge to eat the cookie )

Walk a lot

Make sleep a priority