Weekly Weigh-in

 I had to change my weigh-in day back to Thursday because there are no WW meetings on Wednesday morning.  Since I missed last week's meeting, I was very anxious to see the official number on the scale, and very pleased to report that I'm down 3 pounds! I really think the Simply Filling plan is responsible; I feel more full, and even though I'm (mostly) eating from a limited food list, I feel less restricted.  If I find myself hungry in the afternoon, I'll have some brown rice & beans which are always present in my refrigerator.  I am jokingly calling this the "potato diet" because I'm eating a lot of them! Roasted potatoes (with 1 tsp of olive oil) every day for breakfast, baked potatoes with veggies for lunches &dinner, etc.  I feel like what Dr. McDougall calls a "Starchivore!" Though I am eating my share of carbs, I'm focusing on the whole-grain, brown variety.  What I have not been eating: white flour.

Yes, I've said it before and I still believe it to be true - for me, bread, at least the fluffy white variety, does evil things to my body! When I remove it from my diet, I lose weight, no longer feel bloated, and don't have the crazy food cravings.  The only "bread" I've had this week is whole grain Sandwich and/or Bagel Thins a couple of days, and Ezekiel Sprouted grain. No fluffy Italian bread, no giant bagels, no white pasta.  It's been much easier than I thought, and the number on the scale is proof that it works!

Hope you're having a beauty-full day,

Michele~

Re-set

I've decided to reset my goals over at Sparkpeople, using October 31st as my new starting date.  There's just something appealing about a fresh new start, wiping the slate clean, starting over. (If only those do-overs were as easy in other aspects of life, right?) I am, however, keeping my starting weight the same since I think I should be given credit for those first five pounds lost in 2013, don't you agree?

Here's the thing: as noted in the countdown ticker at the bottom of my blog, it is 40 weeks until my 50th birthday. If I lose 1 pound per week, I will easily meet my goal. I would love to greet age 50 with an improved body, and perhaps a new wardrobe. *wink*  I'm determined, I'm capable, I can do this. I've done much, much harder things in my life than lose weight, there is simply no excuse.

So, here we are, weigh-in day, almost a week after vacation, how did I do?

I lost 2 pounds.

To say I'm happy is an understatement. I guess the healthy meals, even while away, lack of excessive snacking combined with lots of walking paid off!

In order to jumpstart my week, I purchased Happy Herbivore's weekly meal plan and intend to follow it as closely as possible for the next 7 days.  The structure will be good for me, but I also have the freedom to add/subtract from the menu to my own liking. I did all of the shopping yesterday, plan on prepping and cooking today, so be sure to visit me tomorrow for an update!

Have a beauty-full day,

Michele

Well, here we are at the end of Week One. I've been following my program about 80% of the time, had a couple of PMS-related Oreo episodes and a glass too many of vino at a certain happy hour, but otherwise I've been doing pretty well.  I guess the scale agrees because I am down 1.8 pounds! Not bad, but I know I can do better. 

I've been thinking back to the last time I lost weight, when I was following Jenny, and pondering what it was about that program that worked so well for me.  Well, duh, it was a no-brainer: Go to meeting. Weigh-in. Buy food. Eat food. Repeat.  I had little to think about, I just heated up the meals, ate the food, and the weight came off.  Though I certainly don't want to go back to that way of eating, and honestly I missed my own cooking, I can't beat the convenience.  So, how to implement that into the way I live & eat now?

I started out by planning my weekly menu, as I've been doing, preparing my meals as usual.  Then, after dinner, I portion out the leftovers into individual containers and label them.  These become lunches for the next couple of days. If there's more left over than I can safely store in the fridge, or if I'm tired of a particular meal (that rarely happens, I don't mind repetition), I freeze those portions instead.  Same thing with breakfast, have a few containers of Tofu Scramble stacked in there.  I also have a big tub of Vegetable Soup to accompany meals or even as a mid-day snack.  Speaking of snacks, I took a cucumber & a head of broccoli,chopped & divided them up into little ziploc bags and labeled each one with the contents and weight so that logging into Sparkpeople would be a breeze.  These went into a handy-dandy Snaptight container (on sale this week at Publix, if you're in my neck of the woods), so easy to grab & go!




Lastly, I mixed up a batch of hummus and divided it into tiny tubs.  Now, when the snack attack hits, I can open my fridge, grab a bag of veggies and a pot of hummus, I'm good to go! You can see there's also a big bin of crunchy apples there, and a fruit bowl of bananas sits on the counter, nearby, perfectly portable health food.  I also have some cooked chickpeas and pink beans in there, easy to toss onto a salad or into a soup for added protein.





Also this week, I baked several sweet potatoes in the oven, used two of them for the Sweet Potato Beginnings breakfasts..



the other I mixed in with my Spicy Vegetarian Chili. So delicious, filled with fiber and nutrients. Dr. McDougall would be proud.




So, that just about wraps up Week One.  I have a simple pasta dish on the menu for tonight, will share that tomorrow so hope to see you then!

Have a beauty-full day,

Michele~

Weekly Weigh-In and other Updates

Today marks the one month anniversary of my pledge to go Vegan...and I continuing my commitment for a lifetime.  Not only do I feel good about my decision from an ethical standpoint, I just feel amazing overall! My energy has increased, my skin looks better, and I've lost 1.4 pounds this week.  I'm discovering new foods & flavors (tempeh is delicious!) and learning to be more creative in the kitchen as well as when dining out.

This week I've made do with some less-than-perfect menu options...

This booth at the Native American Earth Festival did not tempt me in the least! Ewww!!

A baked potato & tossed salad were my only options at the diner in Osteen, FL

and have enjoyed a few tasty restaurant meals..

Veggie Stir fry at Dancing Avocado Kitchen, Daytona Beach

Cali-Burger at Surfside, Daytona, FL

And spent a lot of time in my own kitchen, which is definitely the "safest", easiest route.

Penne alla Vodka w/Garlic Bread

Amy's Tofu Scramble

I've also taken a few lovely walks on the beach..

Ormond Beach, FL

and have been resting and relaxing as well, because we ladies do need our beauty rest!

Have a Beauty-Full Day,

My Own Way

I've spent the past month doing intense research on the currently popular diets.  Weight Watchers.  South Beach.  Primal.  Atkins. etc. etc. etc.  Then I did some soul-searching, gave a lot of thought to what works for me, both physically and emotionally, and what it will take to reach my goal weight.

If you've read my blog more than a couple of times, you won't be surprised by what I came up with. Here's what works:

*Journaling my food intake and exercise
*No white stuff. Period.
*Lean protein, fresh vegetables, good fats
*Moving my butt, aiming for at least 10,000 steps per day
*More water, less wine (this one hurts)

And here's what doesn't:

*Too much restriction (I'm rebellious)
*Eating out of boxes (I love to cook)
*High protein that consists mainly of meat (poor cows!)
*Weekly meetings (I can't be bothered)
*Alcohol abstinence (duh!)

So, I sat down and formulated my new plan.  First, I canceled my monthly Weight Watchers subscription. I'm not attending meetings or following the program so there are better uses for that $40 per month. I went back to Sparkspeople where I can keep track of my nutrition and exercise for free. I became a regular reader/poster at Low Carb Friends, made some connections and set up a support system. 

Then..I cleaned out my refrigerator and went shopping.  Realizing that right now, in this phase, I need more protein and fewer carbs, I'm going to integrate chicken back into my mostly-vegetarian diet.  I deeply apologize to my animal friends, but it's the quickest way to get protein into my body.  My refrigerator and freezer stocked with Greek yogurt, non-starchy vegetables, individual chicken breasts & bags of shrimp.  I then spent some time at Netrition, placed an order for a couple of low-carb products as well as my beloved PB2. 

What I didn't buy: my beloved wine.  As much as I enjoy unwinding with a glass of chardonnay each night, I realized that one sometimes leads to two, which often lowers my resistance and before you know it I'm standing in front of the refrigerator devouring cold pizza.  Now, never fear, dear readers, I'm not transforming from party girl to teetotaler, gasp! I've just decided to minimize my alcohol consumption in order to maximize my self-control which will hopefully result in better results at the scale.  If I don't imbibe all week, I will allow myself a small indulgence on the weekend.  What I've discovered is that I enjoyed the ritual of the wine almost as much as the affect, and that substituting a cup of hot herbal tea has satisfied that desire. 

With a plan in place, Sunday morning I tiptoed onto the scale: 174.8. Ouch. Apparently all of that engagement celebrating we did last weekend caught up with me. No worries, I've got this under control. I started my new Way of Eating Monday morning, faithfully logging calories consumed and burned, avoiding white stuff, keeping net carbs under 30, and after three days guess what? I'm already down 2 pounds! Not bad, eh? I also see a definite increase in my energy levels and am sleeping much better. Wow! How can it be that I'm seeing such positive changes in such a short period of time? I don't know, but I'm happy as hell and motivated to keep on truckin'!

Have a Beauty-Full Day,

Marvelous Monday!

Yes, I can say that now: today is indeed a marvelous Monday because even after a fun weekend..




I still got good news from the scale this morning: 165. It's not much but the numbers are finally moving down once again. Yay! The key is, of course, moderation. I chose a veggie pizza, and I certainly didn't eat all of it in one sitting. I had wine, but only one glass, and I shared that pretzel with my sweetie. I also did tons of walking, logging my Activity Points+ via my pedometer.

I'm looking forward to what the rest of the week brings, how about you?

Have a Beauty-Full Day,

Time for Change

Those of you who read my other blog know that Beren and I are out of town for an extended period of time. While Beren spends most of the weekdays, and some weekends, working, I putter around the house, shop, do crafts, read, basically whatever the heck I want to do. It's really lovely, having all of this time to myself. But having so many hours in the day to spend on just me, I have absolutely no excuse for not taking care of myself, for not exercising, for not cooking and eating properly, for not staying on my eating plan. I've decided to take this opportunity and use it for some serious self-improvement, some extreme self-care. I've been taking my vitamins, applying my moisturizers, deep conditioning my hair, expanding my mind while exploring the city...all wonderful, positive things. But I have not been exercising enough, or eating even 50% On Program. So it should be no surprise to me that my jeans are a little bit tighter, that I'm not as happy with what I see in the mirror, or in photos...



So today I got up and logged on to Weight Watchers, found a local center and attended a meeting. I bought the Monthly Pass, a program which is not available down south. Weigh-in wasn't pleasant but it wasn't a complete shock either: 166.4. I have gained back 10 of the 20 pounds I lost last year. Rather than beat myself up over it, though, I took a deep breath, smiled and re-committed to this weight loss journey.



Interestingly enough, today's meeting topic was about time management. And, coincidentally, most of the other attendees (older retired folks) are in the same boat as myself; they have plenty of time to take care of themselves. No children or jobs to use as reasons/excuses. Our leader Barbara talked to us about that, asking what, other than lack of time, prevents us from doing what we know we have to do to achieve success. For me it's a combination of laziness and a little bit of anxiety that leads to overeating. Being up here, while a luxury, is also taking me away from some of the things I love at home: my kids, my cats, my house, my friends. Even, though I can't say I really miss it, my job. I'm sorting through these emotions, coming to terms with the touch of homesickness, learning to detach from my grown daughters just a bit in order to create healthier (less dependent) relationships. Now I just need to add the next component: finding other ways to deal with the emotions other than stuffing them down with food. Smarter choices would be:

* Taking Loki for a neighborhood walk
* Taking myself for a long stroll on the beach
* Exploring, by foot, the museums and local attractions nearby
* Visiting the health food store and farmers market for fresh fruit & veggies
* Distracting myself and/or talking myself through the anxious, sad times
* Sharing my feelings with Beren and asking for his support, and not in the form of a fried mozzarella stick *grin*

Do you all have any other suggestions? Thoughts?

I'm going to read through my WW pamphlets as if I'm a new member, starting fresh for the first time, then plan a new recipe for dinner. I'm looking forward to hearing from you all..

Have a Beauty-Full Day,

The Horrors!

Well, all good things must come to an end. Days of snacking on junk food to appease the PMS monster along with 4th of July feasting finally took their toll. I stepped on the scale this morning and shrieked in horror at the number displayed. I don't even want to reveal it here because I even though I "earned" it, I know that a couple pounds are due to *TOM* and water weight and won't be here for long. Irregardless, I'm definitely up a few pounds and need to take care of that, pronto.

So, yesterday I went back to Jenny Craig and purchased a week's worth of meals, made an appointment to meet with my counselor next Thursday. My budget couldn't really afford the full week of JC but it's the quickest way to get back on track; I'll figure it out somehow. Fortunately I have a full freezer and pantry so no one's going to starve if I don't do a big grocery trip this week.

It's interesting, after being away from Jenny for a little while, I actually appreciate "her" more. The food tastes fresh & tasty, and I'm enjoying the new meals they've introduced. I already had my "dessert" for today, Key Lime Pie. Heavenly, and guilt-free. Along with a cheese omelet for breakfast and mac & cheese for lunch, it was just what I needed today.

Tomorrow: back on the treadmill. Wish me luck!

Have a Beauty-Full Day,

Soup's On!

No change on the scale this week, my friends, still 154.2. I'm sure part of that is the minimal exercise I've done, just haven't found the motivation to hop on the treadmill! No excuses, I know it's something I've got to do and feel so much better when I'm moving my body!

We are at the Ormond Beach house this weekend, actually drove up after work yesterday 'cause Beren has meetings up here today. He's already out the door..yawn...and here I sit, planning my day. Since he has the car, I'm pretty much housebound unless I want to put on my sneakers and use my own little feet to get somewhere. Hey, what a great idea! Once the sun comes up I'm gonna grab Loki's leash and take us both on a walk to the park!

In the meantime, I'm planning today's menu. A good friend of mine is feeling a bit under the weather and I told him I'd love to make him a pot of chicken soup..if only he didn't live hundreds of miles away! That got me craving chicken soup...hmm...I just happen to have all the ingredients to make this yummy-sounding recipe from Hungry Girl! Even though it's hot as heck here in the Sunshine State, you can never go wrong with a nice bowl of warm, comforting soup. Here's to you, my friend Franco; hope you're feeling better soon!

Hungry Chick Chunky Soup

PER SERVING (1/10th of recipe, about 1 cup): 150 calories, 1g fat, 570mg sodium, 15g carbs, 4.25g fiber, 5g sugars, 20.5g protein -- PointsPlus® value 3*

Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 3 - 4 hours (high) or 7 - 8 hours (low)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breasts, halved
1/2 tsp. salt, divided
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 small onion, finely diced
2 carrots, chopped
2 cups dry coleslaw mix
Two 14.5-oz. cans (about 3 1/2 cups) fat-free chicken broth
One 15-oz. can cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained and rinsed
One 14.5-oz. can stewed tomatoes (not drained)
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme
1 bay leaf

Directions:

Evenly season chicken with 1/4 tsp. salt and the pepper. Place all ingredients in the crock pot and stir. Cover and cook on high for 3 - 4 hours or on low for 7 - 8 hours, until chicken is fully cooked.

Remove and discard the bay leaf. Remove the chicken and place in a bowl. Shred each piece using two forks -- one to hold the chicken in place and the other to scrape across the meat and shred it. Return the shredded chicken to the crock pot and stir into the soup.

Season with remaining 1/4 tsp. salt. Serve up and enjoy!

MAKES 10 SERVINGS

Have a Beauty-Full Day,

Cheers!

At last, the numbers on the scale are moving in the right direction. My weigh-in yesterday showed a tiny loss, I'm back down to 154.4. I still have a long way to go if I'm going to meet my goal by my birthday, but I'm relieved to see some progress after weeks of nothing.

Jenny introduced a couple of new meals this week, Mesquite Chicken and Beef & Cheese Slider.




I tried both of them, was thrilled with the Mesquite but not-so-much with the Slider. You know I'm not a big fan of beef anyway, would much prefer a Boca burger over the real deal any day. Since JC doesn't offer such things, I'll stick with the Turkey Burger for now.

In other news, I was forced to participate in the most-hated chore of the season: bathing suit shopping. *groan* Other than my beloved pin-up models, is it possible that any woman truly enjoys this task? No matter how accepting you are of your figure, once you get naked in front of those dressing room mirrors, any prior self-confidence you once had slips quickly away. Here's what I've learned: don't bother with the discount stores. The suits are poor quality, cheaply-made and do nothing for your figure. Head straight to a high-end department store, suck it up (along with your tummy) and pay the big bucks for a good bathing suit. I personally love Macy's and if you have a credit card they give you nice little discounts which help immensely. I personally paid about $100 per suit, and painful as it was, I've gotta admit that the end result was worth it. Bo Derek I'm not but I was able to purchase a smaller size than last year (yay!) and walked out with two figure-flattering suits that I'm comfortable wearing to the beach as well as around my own pool. If I get brave enough I may have Beren take a picture for you. *wink*

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend so far, have a beauty-full day!

Catching Some Zzzzz's

Yesterday's weigh-in was not as bad as anticipated, I lost a couple ounces, bringing me back down to 155. I expect that once I get rid of this nasty cold and can start exercising again, I'll drop the pounds in no time flat.

I got very little rest last night, up & down with the sniffling, sneezing and sore throat. Ugh! I decided to stay home from work and rest today, am sure my co-workers appreciate me not spreading my germs all over the office. I have a pile of books & movies to entertain me, have no doubt I'll be back to myself in time for the St Patty's Day festivities tomorrow! *grin*

Have a Beauty-Full Day,

Bad News

I have rotten news to report today, friends; at my weigh-in this morning I was disgusted to see the numbers climb up on the scale - 2 pounds worth. Ack! I'm obviously disappointed and frustrated, but only with myself. It's not Jenny's fault, or my skinny-can-eat-whatever-he-wants boyfriend, or my kids who bring goodies into the house, or my stressful job, etc. etc. It's me. I know what I did "wrong" the past couple of weeks and need to own up to them before moving forward.

For instance, I stopped planning as carefully..



Didn't exercise enough...



and, silly as it may sound, I put down my crochet needle! Keeping my hands busy, doing something productive instead of eating, was a really big key to my success.



So, now that I've confessed to what I did "bad," next up is making the changes necessary in getting that scale moving back in the right direction!


*I went back to Week One Planned Menu and will follow it to a "t."

*I asked my JCC for my weigh-ins over the last two months so that I could see where the struggle started; as suspected, it was right about the halfway point. Something in my mind shifted. I'm not sure what that's about quite yet, but I'll be pondering it.

*Hearing great things about the Linda Spangle book, I ordered it from Amazon. I had previously borrowed it from the library but didn't have time to really work through the exercises.

*Planning, planning, planning. I'm going to log onto Sparkpeople every night and log my meals for the next day. I'm also getting up 15 minutes earlier (and staying off the computer) every morning so I can get 30-40 minutes on the treadmill before work. Saving it until I get home is not working, there are too many distractions that can turn into excuses.

*REST. I have not been sleeping well and we all know that factors into weight loss.

Off to implement some of those changes now, hope you're all having a beauty-full day! TGIF!

Pop Open the Bubbly!

I finally, finally reached my 20-pounds-lost-goal! I know it's "only" been 4 months but that seems like forever! The last month especially has been rough as my weight loss has slowed down a bit, need to rev that back up just a bit.

Say tuned for pics/details of what I gifted myself for this occasion..we're in Ormond this weekend so it'll have to wait until we return home.

In the meantime, hope you have a Beauty-Full Day! TGIF!

Slackin'

After small but steady losses, even through the holidays, this week's weigh-in was a disappointment: No change. Even though it's that time-of-the-month and I'm sure there was some water weight involved, I was disappointed. After all, I'm only 2 freakin' ounces away from my 20-pound-lost goal! Come on, already!

I know that I can't blame the scale, so I did some honest thinking about what went "wrong" this week and it didn't take long to figure it out: I slacked on my exercise, and wasn't drinking enough water. Oh, and I threw in a couple of extra 100-calorie snacks to feed the ferocious PMS monster, am sure that didn't help the situation. After a stressful day at work, it was much easier to come home, curl up with a book, and just relax. It may have felt good at the time, but it wasn't good for my weight loss or even my mental health in the long run.

So, this week I need to get my butt back on the treadmill, faithfully track all of my food on Sparkpeople, and stay 100% on program. I'm halfway to goal, now is not the time to start slacking!

Here's today's plan:



And in addition to Saturday house-cleaning and errand-running, I am going to log some exercise time on the treadmill. No excuses!

Have a Beauty-Full Day,

Post-Yule Blues

Feeling a bit blah today, guess it's the post-holiday blues setting in. Yeah, I know, it's still technically the "season" but once Christmas is over I'm pretty much done with the holidays. *shrug*

How was everyone's Christmas? We all had a fabulous day, filled with family, friends and, of course..presents! Santa brought my whole family Snuggies, now I'm just hoping the weather stays cool enough for us to use them!



After breakfast the kids went off to visit their respective dads and Chip and I headed to the beach. Nothing says Christmas like Mojitos oceanside!



Things have been so busy around here, I forgot to tell you that I lost almost 2 pounds again this past week! I'm less-than-one pound to halfway which means that JC starts weaning me off their food and onto my own. Yikes! I admit to being nervous about this but I'm sure I can handle it, especially since I have 100% support from Jenny through maintenance and beyond. I need the accountability, no doubt in my mind that's the main reason I'm succeeding this time!

I'm going to do some shopping this morning, maybe getting out and spending a few dollars on myself will restore my cheer, what do you think? *wink*

Have a Beauty-Full Day,