First Goal Acheived!

So, like many who are trying to lose weight, my first goal was to lose 10% of my original body weight. I have done that in just about 2 1/2 months, 11 weeks to be precise. So far, I'm averaging 3.5 lbs loss a week. I cannot anticipate to continue at that rate, although it would certainly be nice. I'm in this for the long haul, and I do not want to sabotage what I've worked so hard to accomplish.

Tonight, I was challenged by a student/family potluck for my daughter, who is a senior in high school. I planned ahead and brought my own meal prep container filled with food I knew I could eat on plan. I did have a few things from the potluck, a few pieces of fruit, a piece of sushi, and a single chocolate crinkle cookie off the dessert table. I decided before going to make sure I made very careful choices. Homemade items I would not get a chance to repeat, and or items that would fit on plan and would be okay. This pre-planning and decision making is what kept me strong throughout.

To celebrate my goal my daughters plan to help me dye my hair, and then my hubby is going to take me to get it cut. I hope to do that tonight, but it may have to wait until the weekend since we have a week busy with graduation events.

My next big goal is to get below 300, that means I have about 25lbs to lose to get there. I'm planning on adding more exercise to my program, and I'm finding that challenging. So, another of my goals is to be able to ride my bicycle to the local co-op, and eventually to the farmer's market. What are your goals?

Memorial Day!

Today, let's take a moment to remember those that have served our country, and especially the many that have died in that service. Those lives are the foundation of this country, they are the people who make our freedoms possible. Thank you!

My grandfather served in World War II, and today I am reflecting on so many happy memories of him. He didn't go overseas, and a part of me is glad for this, because if he had I may not have had the pleasure of spending so much time with him. I am blessed in that as a child we essentially lived in my grandparent's backyard. I spent many days with my grandpa, when he wasn't away working.

It seems that most of my favorite memories of him involve the garden. Growing up, we always had a huge garden. I have many happy memories of both my grandparents in the garden, but with my grandpa I remember picking strawberries, and the long sticks with cans that he made so we could harvest the fruit in the trees without an orchard ladder. (I'm not really sure why we never had an orchard ladder, we had many fruit trees.) I also remember the year we planted corn. We may have done it more than once, but I only remember once. That year my grandfather taught me about how tasty baby corn is, my grandma wasn't thrilled about this!

Ah...The garden. Some of my funniest memories of him are in the garden too. He used to sit out in a lawn chair with his pistol and shoot at the gophers. I think it was somehow therapeutic to him. The thing my husband still laughs about, and teases me about, is that when I was really little my grandfather convinced me that little girls could be pulled down into gopher holes by the gopher. He told me my only defense was to put my arms out so they couldn't pull me all the way down and shout gopher so they could come rescue me. We had many "Gopher Drills". He would shout gopher and I would put my arms out as quickly as I could. There was a part of me that is embarrassed by how silly I was, but I realize more all the time how my grandfather's sense of humor is part of my heritage.

A heritage I'm proud to be part of. It is gratifying to see how it passes down in the generations. I see quite a bit of my grandfather's sense of humor in my youngest daughter. She just makes me laugh, but she has that same dry wit. I see him in myself when I get obsessed with a topic and can't stop researching it, or when I find yet another thing I'm interested in. He had a quick wit, he was well read, and he had a playful side I have really come to appreciate. Thank you grandpa, for being such an important part of my life, and future.

Comfort Food Conversations

As an American, I believe I was raised to comfort myself with food. I've sadly done the same with my daughter's. Some examples are obvious, "You had a bad day? Let's get ice cream." More insidious, are the comfort food cravings that crop up as you are losing weight, and watching what you eat. The voice inside your head (usually this is the deceiver) saying "I've stayed on plan all week, a couple of cookies won't hurt." Half a box of cookies later... We've all been there.

What am I doing about this today? Well, for one thing I'm aware of the types of food I crave. I don't bring them into the house. In fact I've told my husband before that if he wants to buy X, he can keep it in the car and eat it while he is working. More and more he is wanting to stay on plan with me, so he isn't doing that.

Another thing, I try to find ways to feed my craving for comfort, but stay on plan. This morning, I didn't even realize I was in the mood for a comfort food, but as I started to think about my usual breakfast of veggies and egg whites, it just wasn't what I was in the mood for. I was in the mood for a "fried" egg sandwich. Something that a week ago, would have been tricky.

As part of this plan, I have gone gluten free. It wasn't deliberate at first. I was just avoiding carbs, particularly processed carbs, which limited my exposure to wheat. Then I had some pizza on an off day. The next day I was foggy, and tired all day. I realized the gluten was effecting me, and previously I had eaten so much of it that I had never noticed. You may be asking yourself why I went on this bunny trail, my answer is this week I bought myself a loaf of gluten free bread.

So, with my gluten free bread in mind, I decided I could swing a fried egg sandwich, with my usual morning coffee. I planned it all out on Sparkpeople first. It did come out as about 100 more calories than I would usually do for breakfast, but I can work that out throughout the day. Meanwhile it was great to satisfy the craving. What did I do differently than previously? I used to use oversized (standard now) slices of wheat bread, spread with a fair amount of mayo, tons of mustard (this to me is the key to a good fried egg sandwich), two eggs fried in butter or coconut oil. I just ran the numbers, and it would have been about 575 calories. Today's whole breakfast, including coffee came in at 305. Just about half.

I like to find ways to eat the things I want to eat, but stay within my goals. Most days my cravings are not so intense, and when I find something is really too high in calories I just avoid it. Otherwise, I try to plan a way to have it. Most things can adhere to a plan, and I think it is good to eat a variety of foods.  I also think knowledge is power. I think it is powerful to start to figure out how many calories are in the foods you normally eat. Then, you are truly making an informed choice when you eat them. This journey, is all about the small daily choices that add up, in other words it is just like when I gained the weight. I choose to no longer keep my head in the sand, but to be aware of all that I eat, eat a bounty of the good food the Lord has provided, and praise Him as he changes me from the inside out.

if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you Col. 3:8put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and (Rom. 12:2; Col. 3:10)be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you (Rom. 6:4; 7:6; 12:2; 2 Cor. 5:17; Col. 3:10)put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:21-24

Weight Loss Ups & Downs

Today, I'm feeling discouraged. Okay, I know it isn't actually logical. I can look at my weight-loss progress, and see I'm ahead of schedule for my goal, my body is feeling better, and yesterday I fit into a dress a friend had gotten me, but had never fit. It isn't often I have a mood like I do today, and I can actually feel my mood yo-yoing. I'm battling my own self talk.

How am I going to choose to battle this today? I'm going to bring the Lord to the battle first, by getting into scripture, and spending time with Him. Then I'm going to remind myself of the success I've had so far, and keep my eye on the prize. I'm going to take control of these emotions that are making me feel discouraged, and frankly a bit depressed.

I'm not feeling like doing that, but I am not going to let my emotions drive this train. I am having a bit of a plateau, and I know that is normal. I weigh myself everyday, and I know our weight fluctuates, and most of the time I'm content to just wait and actually record my weight when it has gone down, but it has been a few days, and I guess I was hoping for it to continue to go down. On top of that, yesterday wasn't a great day.

I'm going to give myself credit though, my not great day is nothing like even a normal day used to be. On Sparkpeople my daily calorie intake goal is between 1200-1550. I like to stay between 1200-1300, but I don't always succeed. Yesterday I felt out of control of my eating. I went out of town with my hubby, and I didn't really plan. We bought some protein bars on the way out of town, and a bag of air popped popcorn. I do eat bars as part of my normal routine, but not usually two fuelings in a row. So, I think I felt deprived. I ended up binging half the bag of popcorn. In the end, my calorie intake was 1566. I felt out of control, but I guess it ended up working out okay.

The good news, I got a new swimsuit in the mail yesterday, and I'm very happy with it. It is comfortable, I look good in it, and it fits well. The best part? I bought a size smaller than before, and it fits fine. I probably could go even one more size down. I'm really looking forward to the day when I can actually just shop in normal stores, not just online for clothing.

I apologize if this reflects my up and down feelings, but I want to be real, and this is really where I'm at today. As Scarlett would say, "After-all, tomorrow is another day."

Eating Out!

I'm sure this has been said before, but the key to successful eating out is planning. I usually know when I'm going to be eating out, since it is typically something like a meeting with friends. When meeting with friends I generally let them know that I am watching what I eat, and most are understanding. This allows me to set the stage to go eat somewhere that is friendly to my plan. I am very particular about the places I can choose.

Here are the things I look for:
A menu with nutrition information I can look at before going (This does limit me to chains for the most part.)
A place that offers whole/fresh food options
Finally, a place I will enjoy eating at.

Some places I eat here locally are Laughing Planet, Chipotle, & Burgerville. So, now if I know I'm going out, the next step to my plan is to survey the menu. I'm looking for a meal between 200-300 calories, or 400-500 if I plan to split it. Keep in mind that I eat 5-6 small meals a day, each equal to about 200 calories more or less. I look at the carbs, I would not say I'm low carbing, but I'm cautious about my numbers on carbs and making sure that some of the carbs are fiber, not bunches of sugars. Next, I look at protein, and make sure there is sufficient protein for the meal to be satisfying. Finally, and something I'm finding increasingly important is sodium.

Sodium, especially when eating out, has become a pet topic of mine lately. I had hypertension when I started this plan just over 2 months ago, and I'm happy to report I no longer have high blood pressure. I'm quite sure that part of the high blood pressure was caused by all the eating out we were doing when I had the shop. I've been researching this after I discovered the high amount of sodium in some of the foods at restaurants.

To start off with, just how much sodium should we be taking in on a daily basis? According to the American Heart Association no more than 2400 mg a day, but recommended no more than 1500 mg a day. ("How Much Sodium Should I Eat Per Day?", 2017) Multiple sources say most of that comes from processed food. In fact "the watchdog group Center for Science in the Public Interest found that 85 out of 102 meals at popular restaurant chains contained more than a full day's worth of sodium. Some of the meals had four days’ worth of sodium."("Low-Sodium Diet: How to Eat Less Sodium at Restaurants", 2017). 

What does it all mean? It means eating out, and keeping sodium low is challenging. I will give you an example, I like Chipotle, and I know they try to offer healthy options. The great thing about their website is you can enter your choices and then see how it effects your meal. If I were to have 3 crispy chicken tacos with black beans, pico de gallo, guacamole, and romaine lettuce the sodium is 1440 mg. Well, that is pretty close to the day's recommendation for sodium in one meal. (Actually, I wouldn't eat this particular meal, because it is too high in calories, but I thought it was a decent example.) There aren't really many choices that don't exceed the daily recommended maximum. Last time I went I had a salad, with chicken, black beans, fajita veggies, and salsa, no dressing. The calories were a bit high at 365, but I adjusted through the day for that. The sodium was 1225 mg. More than I like to do for a meal, but workable.

Long story short, make your choices carefully, and thoughtfully. Keep eating out to a minimum since you cannot control the amount of sodium in the foods you are consuming. If you are eating in a mom & pop type of establishment that can be great, depending upon what it is. I guarantee that if one of their suppliers is Sysco or similar national restaurant suppliers, you are at risk of eating high levels of sodium. Just making you aware, as I have become aware.

Citations:

"How Much Sodium Should I Eat per Day?" Sodium Breakup. American Heart Association, n.d. Web. 21 May 2017.

"Nutrition Calculator." Chipotle. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2017

.Zelman, Kathleen M. "Low-Sodium Diet: How to Eat Less Sodium at Restaurants." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 21 May 2017.

Wow! Victorious Breakthrough

I was stressing about a number, and my past experiences with that number. The number was 330, a place I've plateaued several time. I really believe drinking 64 oz. of water before eating, and within the first half hour after waking up, have helped me break through this typical plateau. Today, I weighed in at 329, that puts me at 34lbs lost, only 3 lbs away from having lost 10% of my body weight. I'm really excited about how things are going.

Further great news, everyone in my family has lost weight. My hubby has lost about 20lbs, I'm not sure what my oldest daughter has lost, but her prom dress was too big, and she had to go with a different one because she had lost weight, and the youngest wouldn't weigh herself when we began, but since she has noticed a real change she is weighing herself now. We had been keeping our bathroom scale under the sink, none of us really wanted to know what it said, but now it is out in the bathroom and we all weigh in frequently.

Okay, so I'm excited about scale breakthroughs, but I have to tell you, I try not to obsess with the number on the scale. I'm being honest, if I step on the scale, and I don't like the number, I don't track it. In other words my weigh ins look far between when I'm plateauing. It is a mind set that the number I don't like is not permanent, and tracking it would make it permanent. 

So, non-scale victories: yesterday I walked quite a bit around downtown and it wasn't terribly strenuous like it used to be, and I stayed on plan yesterday, even with eating out and having a busy day of meetings. Perhaps tomorrow I will talk about eating out strategies that work for me.  Also, yesterday I got to wear this great dress that I had bought a few months back at the thrift store. I really like it, and it makes me feel sassy. Finally, a huge non scale victory yesterday, I have a denim jacket that I bought quite a while ago, but it never completely buttoned, yesterday I was able to button it, easily. Now how is that for sassy! (Below is the sassy dress, not on the same day, but....)

Mother's Day Blessings

Everyday I'm learning, little by little, that the little steps matter. Today, my husband got me a great Mother's Day gift, that really helps me pursue health. He bought me a kite. It is important to find things you enjoy, and I enjoy kite flying. I haven't done it in years, but I can't wait to go to the park around the corner from us and fly my kite. Yesterday was a bit cold for such things, but as spring is finally springing here in Oregon, I'm looking forward to outdoors pursuits.

There was still food at our Mother's Day celebration, but I decided I wanted spring rolls. It is a meal I adore, but don't really love making because it is a lot of prep. The family got together and did the prep, and I just helped direct. It was an awesome time sitting around the table making spring rolls and talking. A small thing that blesses a mom's heart.

Today, I finally remembered I wanted to start drinking the 2 quarts of water before I eat anything. Since I try to eat within an hour of getting up, and I want to drink the water in basically one sitting, it was a challenge. The thing is now, I feel great. Drinking that much water helps get things moving, plus I know that all the rest the water I drink throughout the day is kind of bonus water.

Finally, the best mother's day I got was when I stepped on the scale yesterday I finally dropped that pound that had been stubbornly hanging on. Right here, where I am now, has always been a place that my body wants to plateau. I'm going to have to work to shake things up so I can continue to lose about 15 lbs a month. My plan is to incorporate more exercise, and of course adding the water in the morning. I hope it is enough to shake it up, because I'm done fooling around. This weight is going to go.