CAN. NOT. STOP. EATING.

What is wrong with me? I can not control myself lately. All I want to do is sit and watch T.V. and EAT giant plates of unhealthy food. Granted, I've been sick today, so it must be a comfort thing, but all this week I've been much hungrier than normal. My gremlin or whatever that is Dr. Oz was talking about is telling me I'm still hungry. I have eaten off the diet a couple times and I'm feeling bad, bad, bad, bad. I'm trying to stay positive, I'm trying to remember that every endeavor encounters setbacks. I'm trying to look back and all my good progress, I've lost 22 pounds for heaven's sake! But, it's hard to keep things in perspective when it's just hard. I'm almost halfway to my goal and that feels good. Maybe I need a reward goal to look forward to, like a new Easter dress. That's a good idea...I'm going to go look at dresses, there was one at Land's End that I really really liked. Maybe I could think about considering fitting into a size 8 by Easter? Could that be doable? We'll see...something like this:



Oh, and the treadmill desk, YES, PLEASE!

Emotional Plateau

Image via Wikipedia

I feel like I've lost a little of the "drive," I had before. I've still been sticking to the diet but I've been "cheating" more than I should, eating more carbs (good ones) than neccessary and my cravings have returned, in FULL force. I'm so hungry for bad carbs it's not funny.

A HOT slice of thin crust pepperoni pizza
Mashed Potatoes with Gravy
Sourdough bread
Chocolate chip cookies
Cupcakes

My mouth is watering! I am down 22 pounds and happy with my progress. I'm hoping to see 144.something on the scale tomorrow. That would be very exciting. I bought some Mini-Eggs but I'm trying to forget about them. For some reason, I've just been tempted more lately...and "bad" things are looking really good.

Good and bad

Yesterday I was so out of it. Some thing was really off with my food, not enough fat or something. I was craving junk food soo bad! So we splurged and got pizza. I ate three slices(!) and salad dripping in ranch dressing. It was so good. However, I held up my end of the bargain and went to the gym this morning and did four miles on the treadmill. I'm feeling really good, still really committed and actually glad I had a little fun last night. Tonight I'm making zucchini lasagna for dinner. I weighed myself this morning and it wasn't too bad but I still feel pretty bloated from all the sodium. I learned this week at potassium helps your body get rid of the excess water retention from salt-so maybe I'll get some bananas when I go to the store.

20 pounds!

Well, I've lost twenty pounds. I am still in disbelief. I was a little worried over the weekend since we ate out for Valentine's Day and then stayed at Mom and Dad's all weekend. I managed to make good choices and control my portions and make good use of their treadmill...I think I did 4 miles while I was there. I did have some really really really good, really worth it toffee ice cream for dessert. It was so good. I was stoked to see the scale hadn't gone up. YEAH! I was hoping to hit 20 pounds at Easter at the big reveal but I'm going to have to set a new goal, I think 25, I have a month and a half left and I would say 30 but I just don't want to disappoint myself so 25 it is and I think it's doable.

One awesome victory was last night at Young Women's I had a couple people ask me how things were going and say they noticed the weight loss. I was starting to feel bad that people weren't noticing...I mean, 20 pounds? Come on-say something!

Wow

Last night we did our Valentine's Date night. Lu was with Grammi, so we went out. I was a little nervous about "splurging." I felt like a recovering alcoholic going into a bar. We went to Outback, one of my favorite restaurants. I had the hardest time deciding where to go because if I was going to cheat I really wanted it to be worth it. So...I ordered the 6oz Outback special and ate 4 oz of it. I didn't eat any of the loaf of bread and I had steamed veggies to go with it (which I could tell were covered in butter) and AUSSIE FRIES, of which I think I ate about half. I drank a lot of water and we went and walked around Home Goods afterward. I was fully expecting the scale to go up this morning and it DIDN'T!!! It was down! A tiny little bit but it was down. Another victory from last night was wearing my "skinny jeans." And by skinny jeans, I mean the ones I used to have to stuff myself into to wear and couldn't eat anything while I had them on or a seam might bust. I wore them comfortably last night for the first time since I bought them. Which was when I found out I was preggers with the Lu and wanted something a little roomier. So---I still have a little ways to go, but I've lost almost 20 pounds in 6 weeks! I don't expect to lose the next 20 that easily but I am ahead of my goal by over a month. I guess I need a new goal.

Update

I'm officially in the 140s!! 149 yesterday and today.

The Silent Partner

So this is my first post on Anna's fitnesss blog. It couldn't really be called Trim Down Together if I didn't contribute something. I likely won't be contributing as often as my skinnier half, but I thought I would a least say hello. Update on me: I won't be as generous with my info, at least not until it is really something to brag about. I have, thanks to all the work Anna has put in, lost about 15 lbs to date. To be fair, I haven't changed anything except my food intake. I will be adding exercise soon. I also have been a bigger cheater than Anna has. (I won't list my offenses as they have been many.) I will say that if you make a change, there are rewards and it does work.

This isn't my first foray in to weight loss. Shortly before I met Anna, I lost 70 lbs over 18 months. I was on the Atkins diet and working out 8-12 hours a week. What I didn't do, and what I am determined to do this time, is make a permanent change in my diet. I am acquainted with, and have been, the type of person who commits only to the short term fix of extreme exercise and crash diets. They can't be sustained and so they don't last. I turned 30 in the fall and I wanted to make some real change that will endure. I have confidence that the changes we are making will help me in that goal.

There are a lot of things that have gotten better in the last 6 weeks. I feel better, I don't have the energy highs and lows as much, and I am sleeping better. I have also stopped snoring as much. Part of the reason I am taking the change slower is that I want this to last. I'm thinking of this more as a long distance race. I want to set a pace of change I can maintain. I don't want to get burnt out. Right now, all I have done is committed to eat a high protein breakfast (quiche cups or boiled eggs) a good salad (no cheese or fatty dressing) with some protein for lunch and a snack of fruit in the afternoon. That's all I have done. No exercise. So give that some thought. I can echo Anna's sentiment that knowing what I am going to eat each day has made it so much easier. If I had to choose each day, I wouldn't have been able to. Most of the credit goes to Anna for all the work she puts in.

I don't know how long it will be before you hear from me again. I will check in when I get to -20 lbs.

TO

1 month

It's been a whole month! Only two more months until this blog is available to the public. It is great motivation to see that ticker at the top of annadotes. I thought I'd give you the numbers:

Days on the program: 33
Days I've worked out: 28
Meals I've splurged on: 3-Tony Packo's, Dinner party at my cousin's, and Mac and Cheese while we were sick.
Inches I've lost:
Bust: 2.5
Waist: 5
Hips: 3.25
Bum: 2
Thigh (widest part): 1.5

On days where my weight fluxuates (today!) it really helps to look at the measurements because even if I feel, "fat," I know I'm still making progress.

Pounds lost: 15!!! It was sixteen yesterday, but 15 again today.

I feel really good, but to be honest, I really didn't want to work out today. I've been sick and not sleeping well and I was just tired. I exercised anyway and I'm glad I did-I knew I would be.

A word about automation

This past weekend we were all sick, we're all still a little sick but at least functioning. Lucy seems to be the best of us. Being sick prompted major cravings for comfort food. I thought I couldn't live without cinnamon rolls...but I could. They still sound soooo good. However, I couldn't withstand temptation for a big plate of macaroni and cheese. My body has retained a little more than I would have liked and I spent the day Sunday, parked on the couch, hardly moving a muscle. It was frustrating (to say the least) to see a higher number on the scale, but I know it's just temporary. Here is where automation comes in. If I hadn't already had my meals planned for the next week and had some things prepared, it would have been so easy to give in and say, "well, I messed it up, I guess it's over." But when I know exactly what I'm going to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner the next day, it's much easier to get back on the horse. Even if the horse weighs more than I want it to.

On a positive note, I made really low carb, low fat pizza last night and it turned out great.