Feeling a bit of a struggle these past two weeks. All the festivities surrounding Hannah's birthday and the kids being home for spring break and then Easter has me having a few more 'cheat' days than I would like.
I read something from Isabele at Beyond Diet the other day... if you blow it, take the next few days and do a sort-of detox. No flour, dairy, or sugar...drink more water than normal and walk more. Today was supposed to be the start of that, but the temptation of some Easter bread got to me and I had three pieces, argh!! It was not whole grain and was full of sugar. Not to mention I was in a weird mental place the past few days due to an over indulgence of sugar both Saturday and Sunday. I need to get ahold of my sugar intake again.
So, tomorrow will start my mini-detox and I will be giving up wheat and sugar for two days and drinking extra water/tea.
As far as excercise goes, I have taken up running! Yes, it is as shocking to me as anyone. I regularly go 2-2.5 miles and have made it as far as 3 running with another mile walk! I am still aiming for 6 days of movement per week and am now looking for at least 30 minutes each day with something more intense than walking around the block.
Weight is holding steady. Somewhere between 144 and 146 each weigh-in... although I am giving myself a few days to recoup from the scale from this past week. I am going to make a goal of 140 by the end of May. I really do think I can push through this plateau and get there by really being mindful of my portions and wheat-related items.
I need to get more veggies in the house tomorrow and focus on some plant-based meals!
Showing posts with label Personal Reflection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Personal Reflection. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Weight Loss thoughts...
Last week I was feeling pretty good. I *thought* my weight was down to the lowest it had been, but it turns out that I might have had scale sabatoge...there was a piece of fabric under one side of the scale foot that caused it to read differently, boo! Even so, I did have lower-than-normal real readings putting me down between 9 and 13 pounds on any given day. Success considering I was at a plateau and feeling frustrated about two weeks ago.
I am feeling a little hungry this week compaerd to last week. Last week I felt satisfied with my food intake and was not having/barely having the afternoon cravings. This week they are back a little, although not anything like the ravenous sugar addict cravings I would have in the afternoons before. I am trying to make a point of eating something plant-based and non-sugary when I do feel hungry...an apple, carrots, nuts, or a little trail mix that John made last week. I did break into my frozen stash of 'healthy' oatmeal cookies yesterday.
I can totally tell when I have had sugar or white flour, the crash afterward is terrible. It is bad enough for me to think twice and avoid those foods when possible.
My new normal is to allow a little wiggle room in my eating on Friday and Sunday nights. It's like a conditioned response to the day. I start craving different foods than during the week. Although the feeling afterward is pretty blech!
[I am promising myself that my next post will explain my current eating "guidelines"...not exactly rules, but something I am striving to stick to.]
I am feeling a little hungry this week compaerd to last week. Last week I felt satisfied with my food intake and was not having/barely having the afternoon cravings. This week they are back a little, although not anything like the ravenous sugar addict cravings I would have in the afternoons before. I am trying to make a point of eating something plant-based and non-sugary when I do feel hungry...an apple, carrots, nuts, or a little trail mix that John made last week. I did break into my frozen stash of 'healthy' oatmeal cookies yesterday.
I can totally tell when I have had sugar or white flour, the crash afterward is terrible. It is bad enough for me to think twice and avoid those foods when possible.
My new normal is to allow a little wiggle room in my eating on Friday and Sunday nights. It's like a conditioned response to the day. I start craving different foods than during the week. Although the feeling afterward is pretty blech!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Positives
At the begining of my research, I found a lot of the information to be really depressing. Looking back, it sounds so silly. Yet, despite the fact that I knew a change would be for the best... I went through a little mourning period. I guess we kind of have to do that when it comes to major change. Mourn the loss of what was to really move on to what IS.
In January, as I was really diving into my food research 'eating healthier' was kind of a vague idea for me. I went to the grocery store looking for better quality chicken, shelf-stable products that did not contain high fructose corn syrup, tried to aviod soy and wheat products, and aimed to buy a lot of fruits and veggies. There were several foods suggested, and I readily went searching for them, regardless of the cost. This was a poor decision... and I decided to slow down and make smaller changes.
Last month, in the process of my reading I came across this blog: 100 Days of Real Food. This blog is the journal of the Leake family and how they went from eating similarly to the way we did to eating nearly entirely "Real Food". (I put that in quotes because I realize that term must be defined at some point.) Through reading that blog I realized that we COULD change our eating habits... it was do-able. The decision they made and the "rules" they made for what to eat were strongly based on a few books and ideas written by Micheal Pollan. <---More on Pollan's writing soon!
Through seeing what the Leake family did, I really started to look at this journey in a more positive way. Instead of what we couldn't eat... I started seeing what we COULD. Instead of hearing about the diseases that might be caused by the horrible way we, as American's, eat... I started to see the diseases that COULD be avoided by eating better. Instead of worrying about the food we were now eating being different from what we were used to eating... I started to actually taste the food we were preparing and really LOVE it.
So at this point I am gaining momentum and excitement for this "Real Food" life.
In January, as I was really diving into my food research 'eating healthier' was kind of a vague idea for me. I went to the grocery store looking for better quality chicken, shelf-stable products that did not contain high fructose corn syrup, tried to aviod soy and wheat products, and aimed to buy a lot of fruits and veggies. There were several foods suggested, and I readily went searching for them, regardless of the cost. This was a poor decision... and I decided to slow down and make smaller changes.
Last month, in the process of my reading I came across this blog: 100 Days of Real Food. This blog is the journal of the Leake family and how they went from eating similarly to the way we did to eating nearly entirely "Real Food". (I put that in quotes because I realize that term must be defined at some point.) Through reading that blog I realized that we COULD change our eating habits... it was do-able. The decision they made and the "rules" they made for what to eat were strongly based on a few books and ideas written by Micheal Pollan. <---More on Pollan's writing soon!
Through seeing what the Leake family did, I really started to look at this journey in a more positive way. Instead of what we couldn't eat... I started seeing what we COULD. Instead of hearing about the diseases that might be caused by the horrible way we, as American's, eat... I started to see the diseases that COULD be avoided by eating better. Instead of worrying about the food we were now eating being different from what we were used to eating... I started to actually taste the food we were preparing and really LOVE it.
So at this point I am gaining momentum and excitement for this "Real Food" life.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
January 4th, the Weigh In, and a Realization
I need to back up a little here.
Basically, I felt like crap. I was in a desperate funk and viscious cycle of sugar dependance that went beyond my control. Yes, this sounds dramatic. Yes, I realize that we probably made better, healthier decisions that 70-80% of the American population... no I don't think I am fat... just fatter than I would like to be. Yes, I am still relatively healthy and this was not spurred by a health scare.
All that being said, looking back, I needed a change.
(Backing up even further, two years ago John and I each lost a substantial amount of weight following the Weight Watcher's POINTS plan. We have both kept it off for the most part... Of the 20 lbs. I had originally lost, I had gained back about five pounds, and after the holidays was up another 3-5 pounds. John had lost around 40, and gained back 5-8 as well.)
So, I headed back through the doors of Weight Watcher's again on January 4th. The official weigh in was 155 pounds.
My goal, 140 pounds. So 15 pounds... totally doable.
The only problem is that Weight Watchers has changed their plan to POINTS Plus. A significantly different plan that I was used to. You still count pionts, but the basis for determining the point value is different... calories don't matter. They take into account Carbs and Protein instead. All fruits and most veggies are 0 points. I was allotted 26 points for each day. This took some getting used to, and truth be told the first day was the hardest with most days getting better after that.
Following the plan for a week, I lost 3.6 pounds! Yay!
About half-way through the second week I happened upon a random web video from this site: BeyondDiet.
The video highlighted 5 foods that you should NEVER eat... artificial sweeteners, whole wheat bread, soy, juice, and foods containing HFCS. While I knew about the artificial sweeteners and corn syrup and for the most part, juice... I was unaware of the harm from whole wheat and soy.
For whatever reason, something in my brain clicked that evening watching that little low-budget video from this site that (to be completely honest) looked pretty hoakie.
From that point on, I have been researching diet myths and truths. Trying to sort the differences between fact and hype is rediculously hard. Manufacturing food companies, the corn industry, big pharma (haha-oh the irony!), fast food chains and countless other industries benefit and profit from the horrible foods that we all eat and have become addicted to. They do their best to make their food sound healthy and safe. The truth, I am finding, is that it isn't.
Our food supply is UNSAFE, UNHEALTHY, and just plain WRONG in SO MANY ways.
(This is when I started to realize that Weight Watcher's is not the healthiest choice for me. I will go into this on another post, but as of right now I have decided to continue going to weigh in each week for the accountability.)
So basically this is the story of where I am at, trying to sort out what foods will be healthy and safe choices for my family without being thought of as a snobby food freak. I need to be able to live and socialize in the real world, but make good decisions. I need to know which foods are healthy and safe and which are horrible...all the while trying to lose the weight.
~W
**As of today's weigh-in... I am down 4.6 pounds!!**
Basically, I felt like crap. I was in a desperate funk and viscious cycle of sugar dependance that went beyond my control. Yes, this sounds dramatic. Yes, I realize that we probably made better, healthier decisions that 70-80% of the American population... no I don't think I am fat... just fatter than I would like to be. Yes, I am still relatively healthy and this was not spurred by a health scare.
All that being said, looking back, I needed a change.
(Backing up even further, two years ago John and I each lost a substantial amount of weight following the Weight Watcher's POINTS plan. We have both kept it off for the most part... Of the 20 lbs. I had originally lost, I had gained back about five pounds, and after the holidays was up another 3-5 pounds. John had lost around 40, and gained back 5-8 as well.)
So, I headed back through the doors of Weight Watcher's again on January 4th. The official weigh in was 155 pounds.
My goal, 140 pounds. So 15 pounds... totally doable.
The only problem is that Weight Watchers has changed their plan to POINTS Plus. A significantly different plan that I was used to. You still count pionts, but the basis for determining the point value is different... calories don't matter. They take into account Carbs and Protein instead. All fruits and most veggies are 0 points. I was allotted 26 points for each day. This took some getting used to, and truth be told the first day was the hardest with most days getting better after that.
Following the plan for a week, I lost 3.6 pounds! Yay!
About half-way through the second week I happened upon a random web video from this site: BeyondDiet.
The video highlighted 5 foods that you should NEVER eat... artificial sweeteners, whole wheat bread, soy, juice, and foods containing HFCS. While I knew about the artificial sweeteners and corn syrup and for the most part, juice... I was unaware of the harm from whole wheat and soy.
For whatever reason, something in my brain clicked that evening watching that little low-budget video from this site that (to be completely honest) looked pretty hoakie.
From that point on, I have been researching diet myths and truths. Trying to sort the differences between fact and hype is rediculously hard. Manufacturing food companies, the corn industry, big pharma (haha-oh the irony!), fast food chains and countless other industries benefit and profit from the horrible foods that we all eat and have become addicted to. They do their best to make their food sound healthy and safe. The truth, I am finding, is that it isn't.
Our food supply is UNSAFE, UNHEALTHY, and just plain WRONG in SO MANY ways.
(This is when I started to realize that Weight Watcher's is not the healthiest choice for me. I will go into this on another post, but as of right now I have decided to continue going to weigh in each week for the accountability.)
So basically this is the story of where I am at, trying to sort out what foods will be healthy and safe choices for my family without being thought of as a snobby food freak. I need to be able to live and socialize in the real world, but make good decisions. I need to know which foods are healthy and safe and which are horrible...all the while trying to lose the weight.
~W
**As of today's weigh-in... I am down 4.6 pounds!!**
A decision, and a new blog
Because of my insane need to compartmentalize my life, I have started this little seperate blog. I am so hyper-obsessive. I know this about myself. Sometimes I HAVE to indulge my obsessive tendancies and let them run their course.
I hope a healthful lifestyle and this way of living is not just a fad of mine. I hope this blog becomes a real journal of my thoughts, struggles, and triumphs in losing weight and changing my lifestyle.
Really, I am in the zone and on the brink of a pretty major lifestyle change and I am feeling a little like a kid lost in the woods. I know I will make it out safely...or learn to survive...
So, hello new and personal blog. I hope you become a document of a serious lifestyle change.
~W
I hope a healthful lifestyle and this way of living is not just a fad of mine. I hope this blog becomes a real journal of my thoughts, struggles, and triumphs in losing weight and changing my lifestyle.
Really, I am in the zone and on the brink of a pretty major lifestyle change and I am feeling a little like a kid lost in the woods. I know I will make it out safely...or learn to survive...
So, hello new and personal blog. I hope you become a document of a serious lifestyle change.
~W
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