Food

I don't really want to talk about food. I suppose that means it's time to acknowledge I love over eating and hate watching what I eat. I've read enough times that eating properly and exercise will reduce my weight. But I don't like to watch what I eat (unless you count watching it go down and into my waiting belly). But my new personal training regime includes nutrition. The cross fit team seem to be zone diet proponents and from what I've read it looks like something that will work for me. I think it helps get portion control in place which is my definite downfall. Oh well... Maybe if I try both (exercise and diet) at the same time the results will show quicker which will motivate me more.... I still want that pepsi...

Do I Even Dare?

So I've been running since October. I gave up drinking Pepsi at home at the end of December. I stopped eating out so much in January. I gave up pop completely for Lent (starting today!) I started doing crunches and girly pushups after I run. And I may finally, finally be seeing some results.

The scale has been going down in the last few weeks, and I when I first started seeing the numbers fall, I thought it was a fluke. I've found if I weigh myself in the morning, while naked, right after I run, I weigh a lot less that I do at other times! So of course those weights don't count. But I've weighed myself at other times and the numbers are still lower.

Back at the beginning of December my husband started a spreadsheet he called the "Fattie Tracker". Nice, huh? I was weighing in at about 140 back then. Shocking! I have actually weighed that much for a while and never thought I would see the numbers drop. Usually I can manage to hover at 137 or 138, but that's it. But by mid-January I was seeing 136 all the time. Then came the beginning of February-my first 135. I was making progress.

So now, if you can believe it, I have seen a few 133s sprinkled in with the more usual 134.4 (which seems to be my magic number now!) I cannot even believe that and I feel I'm jinxing myself by typing it. I hope that I will keep dropping the weight. Sadly I STILL do not feel like I can see any difference. I feel as flabby and jiggly as ever. I think I am doomed to have muffin top forever. Sigh.

But I got my first compliment today-one of the Moms at Laura's school (who knows I've been running) said I was looking skinny. I think she is deluded since she is pregnant and I guess most women look skinny when you're pregnant (that's how I felt at least!) but still, it was a good ego boost. I just don't want to horrify her when the warm weather comes and all my sweaters are gone and she realizes, nope, she's not skinny at all!

And I just don't have the frame to really ever be classified as skinny anyway. Back when I was 18, yes. I was totally skinny. But not anymore. I have skinny arms so I think that is what tricks people. The rest of me is more solid than I would like, but I suppose I should stop blabbering and just say that I'm happy I'm dropping some pounds, but don't expect me to be all tiny the next time any of you see me. Because I look exactly the same.

Forecast: Summer coming, healthing eating along with it!

Summer will eventually come....and with it, more healthy eating. For today though, I just had to post the fact that I'm dreaming (yes, dreaming) about strawberries and grilled chicken. I'm not sure why, but it might be because I've recently made plans to plant strawberries in one of my garden boxes. Anyway, I can't wait for warmer weather and all of the good eating that goes along with it!

I'm on the Kashi Go Lean Crunch plan as of this morning (why can't I stop eating this stuff? It's a good thing it's good for me!). It was a three-day weekend for Ed (read: bad eating for me), so now that we're back to a regular schedule, I'm eating normally again today. Feels good!

No Pepsi=Weight Loss

I was looking back at my old posts and I saw that the end of December was when I started not drinking Pepsi at home. What a difference in my life! It was so, so tough at first, but I really am over it now. Of course I drink pop if I go out to eat, but I don't even miss it at home anymore. I wouldn't say the weight is melting off, but a few pounds have left me, which is awesome. I was hovering around 138/139 at the end of December, and I weighed exactly 135 this morning when I weighed myself. I haven't seen those numbers in a long time!

Now I'm being greedy though, because I want more weight loss! I feel like I can't feel or see a difference from those few pounds, and I'm ready to feel the change! I hope that with continued running and continued good eating, I'll be seeing the change by the summer. This week is going to be another week of no eating out. Laura and I are grabbing some yummy lunch while out today before we head to the grocery store, and that will be it until next weekend. Maybe 130 pounds by my 30th birthday in December is feasible after all!!!!!

well....

Well....I hate this blog. Anyway....

Mi Casitas is so good - as  a result of the chicken enchiladas (I'm hungry again just thinking about them!), I woke up feeling 100 lbs heavier than normal, which is why I got on the treadmill this morning. So maybe pigging out on Mexican food is good for me in the long run since it guilts me into working out?  If so, I'm going to have to force myself to do it more often! :-)

A Continuation of the Same...

Just a quick post to say this week has been mostly a success - and I even persuaded Ed and Shelby that eating in would be better than going out to eat tonight, as is our "tradition!" Of course, if I hadn't had time to fill up the crock pot this morning, I would have voted "eat out" tonight too - it's been a long week, and I'm usually ready for a cooking break on Friday nights!  

My birthday party streak continues....tomorrow is the fourth Saturday in a row that I've attended a birthday party for someone under age 5....good thing cake isn't really my thing. Tomorrow we're partying at 1PM, so I plan to eat lunch first, so I should be ok. 

BTW, I've skipped out on my Monday morning weigh-ins and bikini testing recently (can you blame me?! :-), but I finally stepped on the scale yesterday and was pleasantly surprised that I'd actually lost a bit, rather than gained. 133.6 lbs....I think it's the Kashi Go Lean Crunch with Almonds and Flaxseed that's helping (seriously!!) - extra protein, and other good stuff, so it fills me up and I don't get so hungry during the day that I pig out. And for some reason, I just love this stuff. Weird, I know, but true.... Oh and one more thing that might be contributing....Ed had his cholesterol tested and it's borderline high, so we've instituted some changes around here, one of which is a nightly glass of red wine per a recommendation from his physician. Well, I'm drinking it, but he's not (he doesn't like red wine and acts like I'm being mean by asking him to drink it)....some plan for HIS cholesterol, right?!  But the result is, I'm waking up feeling a little slimmer - dehydration from one small glass?  That probably isn't right, so maybe it's just a coincidence...

My goal for this weekend is simple: no eating at Mac's Breakfast Anytime....easy to say, but we'll see...the hashbrowns are so good...especially with cheese on them....

Preemptive Strikes!

So I think I've figured out a strategy to handle the "let's eat out" syndrome - the preemptive strike!  It goes something like this.....

7:15 am - Wake up, make coffee 

7:30 am - Tell Ed and Shelby, "Hey you two - how about I make OATMEAL this morning!!!! Won't that be great?  We'll put blueberries and almonds on it!  Doesn't that sound GOOD?!"

7:31 am - They say...."That sounds fabulous. You're the best mother, and cook, on the planet. We're so grateful that you care about us enough to cook us good food that's GOOD FOR US TOO! What would we ever do without you?!"

Ok....so this isn't exactly how it goes, but you get the point. I get them excited about what I'm going to cook before they have a chance to throw the "let's eat out" bomb and ruin my healthy eating plans. 

Just so you all know - the "oatmeal scenario," while somewhat embellished (ok, a lot embellished...and I'm guessing you know which part I'm referring to.... ;-), actually did occur and we all ate oatmeal at the kitchen table this morning.  I pulled the same trick at lunch by suggesting we take sandwiches, grapes and oatmeal cookies to the park so we could have a picnic after I ran. Worked again....check....double-check....

And about the oatmeal cookies ---- I used a combination of white and whole wheat flour, reduced the sugar ever so slightly, and used that new stuff that's 1/2 butter, 1/2 new balance heart healthy spread. Add dried fruit and oatmeal, and I don't feel even the tiniest bit guilty about serving these to my family. Next time though?  I'm sneaking in some wheat germ, and they'll never suspect a thing....