Still doing it!

Wednesday January 31, 2013

Still on plan!! 6 Days!! Somebody pinch me...lol.

Seriously though, when I was struggling so hard to get back on plan, and feeling like I was spiraling out of control, I think I began to fully realize that I can't do this in my own strength. That's when I began, in earnest, to seek the Lord's help in my weight loss journey. Oh, I thought I was relying on Him before. But, I found myself saying things like, "This week I WILL do better." Rather than saying, "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." I realized I was relying on my own power to change me, which, when I think about it, is really quite prideful of me! So anyway, I would be remiss if I didn't say that I have been praying daily that God, through the power of His Holy Spirit, would strengthen me to do this journey and help me to have temperance and self control. I am thanking and praising Him for His faithfulness in helping me this week. :)

I made pork sirloin cutlets for dinner. I had a small, lean pork sirloin roast in the freezer. Remember, I'm using up the foods in my freezer. So, I cut it into cutlets and just fried them in a TBS of olive oil, with a little sea salt. I made macaroni and cheese for Vern and Shiritaki noodles and cheese for myself.

Here's my recipe for Shiritaki Mac & Cheese:

1 Pkg Shiritaki
1wedge laughing Cow light Swiss
1 slice kraft Fat free sharp cheddar
(Kraft Singles)
1tbs Brummel and Brown Spread.

Rinse Shiritaki noodles really well I hot running water, drain and add them to a hot skillet that's been sprayed with nonstick spray. Stir them on med-high heat until all the water is absorbed and the lose that transparent look. I cook them for about five minutes. Turn of the heat and add the cheeses and the spread. Cover it and allow the cheese to begin to melt for a couple of minutes. Stir it all together, blending everything as the cheeses continue to melt. I add some salt and an organic seasoning mix from Costco. That's it...simple, ready in a few minutes...and 3 PointsPlus for the whole thing. I use the shiritaki that doesn't have tofu in it. If you use the tofu ones they are 1 Point. You're welcome :)

I did a WW 30 minute workout, from a DVD, in the morning. I'm typing this on Thursday morning...and I am so sore!! Hurts so good, right?

Day 5 Completely on plan!!!

Tuesday January 29, 2013

Day 5 of eating within my points target!! I am so happy with the way this week is going. I know that this feeling will wear off and there will be times when this is hard again...but this week has been almost magical! I can't remember a time when I've gone 5 days without using my extra weekly points allowance or my activity points...and I'm eating good and feeling quite satisfied. This is the good stuff!

I'm enjoying cooking dinner every night. I think Vern is enjoying it too!
I created my own version of Peanut Butter Chicken and it was so delicious! A little point heavy but oh so worth it!

I'm not really much of a recipe person but I'll tell you what I did..

1 medium onion, sliced
3 large cloves garlic, diced
Cook in a skillet sprayed with cooking spray until cooked and a little bit browned.

Add diced, raw chicken. I used boneless thighs because that's what I had in the freezer. Next time I'll use breast meat to save some points. My package of chicken was just under 2 pounds. Cook chicken for a few minutes, until it begins to looked cooked.

Add 2cups water, 1 can 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup, 2TBS taco seasoning, 6 Tbs PB2 powdered peanut butter (this was all I had. I don't keep real peanut butter in the house..too much Temptation! But you could use a TBS of real Peanut butter in place of the PB2)

Simmer it all until fully cooked and the flavors have merged.
8 servings at 10 PointsPlus each

I served this with rice for Vern and Shiritaki noodles for me. I use the Shiritaki noodles that don't have tofu, so they are zero points. Steamed broccoli on the side.

This was so good. It was rich and creamy and just a tiny bit spicy.

I did a 3.74 mile walk/run in the morning. It's in the 30's here in the early mornings. As a San Diego native, I'm a wimp about the cold weather! But I did it. My legs are sore and achy...from the new work out DVD and my renewed determination to work harder with my running...so I intervaled the first 2 miles or so and then walked a lot.

That's it...5 full days on plan :)

WhooHoo! I'm on a roll!

Monday January 28, 2013

Another day on plan! I am on a roll!!
I haven't even used any of my extra points yet this week.

I am loving having my dinner menus planned for the week. I don't know why I didn't do this a long time ago. I have always been a person who functions well with structure. So, knowing what has been planned for dinner, when 5:00 comes and we're closing the shop, is huge! It completely takes away that question (that leads to poor choices) of, "What do you want to do for dinner?" Huge, I tell you!

So, I decided to break open the DVD that came in the new 360 Success kit and do the workout. There was a ten minute, beginner workout, so I did that one. It was great! That 10 minute idea is great! I will be purchasing the set at my meeting. This one is a sampler.

Another positive side to cooking every night....leftovers! My lunch was a big taco salad that I made from Saturday night's leftovers.

My plan for dinner was meatloaf but we worked an hour late so it turned into meatloaf patties so it would cook faster. I used half extra lean 99% ground turkey and half lean ground beef 93%. It's a great combination because you get the beefy flavor but the very low fat component of the turkey.

My sweet treat for the evening was a frozen banana, some frozen pineapple chunks and a half of a packet of Weight Watchers Coconut Smoothie Mix whipped up in my ninja blender to the consistency of ice cream...so stinkin yummy!!

So there we go. Four full days of being completely on plan WhoooHoo! It feels good.

Sunday January 27, 2013

Sunday January 27, 2013

I'm typing this on Monday morning and I am so stinkin pleased with myself!! Finally!! A whole weekend on plan!! I can't remember the last time that's happened!

I have my dinner menus planned for the week. I cooked dinner both on Saturday and Sunday. (This is a huge deal!!!) I cleaned out my freezer and took stock of what's in there so I can begin to use up what we have already. I cleaned out the fridge as well and went to the grocery store to pick up a few things to pull it all together. My total from the store was under $60.00. This is definitely going to save me some money.

So anyway...Sunday morning I had cereal before we left for church. Oh, and I had my coffee black with stevia and cinnamon. It was good so I didn't buy any cream :)

I cooked dinner when we got home so we had a late lunch/early dinner. I have a whole bunch of chicken breast filets that are already seasoned with different flavors. I bought them from one of those meat services. They are individually packaged and thaw quickly in a sink of cool water. We will be eating these a lot until they're used up. I've made a commitment to use up what we already have before buying more....except that I did buy a couple of pounds of lean ground beef to mix with the ground turkey breast that I already have.

After we ate we popped in a DVD. I watched about 45 minutes of it and decided I wasn't enjoying it. So I put my shoes on and went for a walk. I walked 4 miles. I can really feel how fatigued my legs still are from the half marathon. I was so tired after my walk! My legs were achy and I was tempted to call Vern to come and pick me up...lol...but I finished!

Throughout the day and evening, I snacked on fruit and string cheese.
I had a bowl of Greek yogurt with cinnamon and stevia, mixed with a half of a packet of WW smoothie mix, with a pumpkin spice VitaTop crumbled on top at around "dinner time." It was so good!

This was a good weekend. I feel good about the direction I'm going with my journey to a healthy and fit lifestyle and I'm ready to tackle the week!

Saturday January 26, 2013

Saturday January 26, 2013

Another on-plan day!! WhooHoo!! I'm on a roll now! I really feel like whatever that thing is, that happens in your head and heart to get you back in the game, has happened. I feel like I'm getting my MoJo back....and I like it!

I started the day with a 3.5 mile interval run. Saturday is usually my longer run day but I'm still a little sore from the Tinkerbell half, and I want to really start working on increasing my run intervals.

It was a drizzly morning so I put my phone in a ziplock sandwich bag and head out. I live directly across the street from a shopping center. The sidewalk around the center is just a little over a mile for each lap around. I decided to just loop around and around and stick closer to home. It's not a route I can use during the week because it's dark when I run on the weekdays and the back side of the center is spooky and doesn't really feel safe at that time of day. But it's perfect on a Saturday. So anyway...it was an eye-opener to realize how lax I have become with my running. A while back I settled on intervals of running for 45 seconds and walking for 30 seconds. I was working on total distance rather than on longer running intervals. I settled into that set and apparently got complacent. So yesterday I changed it to run for one minute and walk for 45 seconds....and I didn't allow myself extra walk breaks. Oh my goodness!! I felt like I was working so much harder!! I'm newly inspired to work hard at running for longer intervals! I used "MapMyRun" for this run but I'm disappointed in the coaching aspect of the app. It's not very customizable so it's back to "JogLog" for me. I'm planning to create a Saturday run set with the run intervals varying in length and gradually lengthening the run intervals as I get in better shape.
I'd really like to finish my next half marathon in under 3 hours.

Okay, so food-wise I did great!! I've committed to cooking more and planning menus for the week. I played around with some menu planning while I was working,
but then I forgot to bring it home with me...lol. So as soon as I finish this post I'm going to go through the freezer and plan this week's meals according to what I have in there. That will also help me in making a shopping list. I've never ever been a menu planner before and I'm excited to see how this goes. I have a feeling it's going to save me some money as well as helping me to stay on track!

Okay, I think that's all I have to say for now :)

Oh wait...one more thing. I was kind of excited to find this photo of myself on the Team Sparkle Facebook page! I wore a Team Sparkle skirt for the Tinkerbell half marathon and they had photographers there! How cool is that!?

Friday January 25,2013

Back on track yet again!

This was a good, on-plan day. I am always amazed at how good just one good day makes me feel! I am determined to keep this up for the rest of the week. I'm actually determined to just keep it up, but biting it off in small chunks of time seems less daunting.

I still need to go to the grocery store but I'm making it work with what I have in the house. I may use up the wealth of frozen vegetables and fruits I already have before buying very much fresh stuff. But I need some stuff from the store to pull it all together.

I'm typing this on Saturday morning. I need to go to work for a few hours. I want to find the time to plan menus for the rest of the week and then go to the store. Speaking of work...I'd better get moving!

January 25, 2013

Friday morning weigh in.
Up 1 pound...sigh.
I am going to have an on plan week!!

Tinkerbell Half Marathon Weekend!!

I participated in the Tinkerbell Half Marathon Weekend this past weekend. I did the 5K on Saturday and the Half on Sunday. We went up on Friday and returned home Monday afternoon. I had a blast!

Tomorrow is my WW meeting. I haven't really been tracking this week. I'm looking forward to getting back to tracking and back to a normal routine. Tonight will be grocery shopping!!

Tuesday January 16, 2013

Tuesday January 15, 2013

Finally!! A pretty good day!

I stared the day with a 3.5 mile walk/run. It's so cold outside!! 30 degrees...Brrrrr!! I don't know how people, who live in places where it really gets cold, are able to exercise outdoors!! I can't breathe. My muscles ache. The cold freezes my feet. My eyes water and my nose runs. It's miserable!! Thankfully this cold snap is supposed to be ending in the next day or so.

I'm happy with my food choices for today. My points total is with a reasonable range. I'll take it!!

This weekend is the Tinkerbell Half Marathon weekend. We'll be driving up to Anaheim on Friday to attend the expo and pick up our race packets. Then we'll be doing the 5K on Saturday and I'll be doing the Half on Sunday. I am nervous about the half. I am not as well trained as I would like to be because of our crazy schedule in December. I am a little afraid of being picked up by the golf cart that sweeps through to clear the streets of slower runners who don't keep pace. Oh well, all I can do is try my best, right?

Monday Morning...

Once again, it's Monday. Once again I am choosing to start fresh. I don't know why I am having so much trouble staying on track. But I am not giving up. I will not quit. Today is a new day. There is a blank page in my tracker waiting to have healthy choices journaled onto it. Here we go...

Thursday January 10, 2013

Thursday January 10, 2013

Weekly Wrap-Up

All in all it's been a pretty good week. I had some moments that were less than stellar, and there's definitely room for improvement, but I feel like I'm making good progress.

I'm typing this on Friday morning as I get ready to go to my Weight Watcher meeting....so we'll see how this went :)

Wednesday January 9, 2013

Wednesday January 9, 2013

This was a good day. I stayed on plan with my food, I drank lots of water, and I put my fork down between bites and sipped on water.

I didn't accomplish enough movement to earn activity points. I need improvement in that area. It's a challenge to stop what I'm doing and get up and move around every hour. I could have walked home from work but I didn't have a jacket and it was cold....excuses, excuses, excuses...

I monogrammed a bag for myself, to use as my "be prepared" bag. I'll post a photo of it tomorrow as I forgot it at work. It's a large canvas tote bag with enough room that I can pack a bottle of water, some fruit, etc., when I'm out and about. There's even room for a small crochet project!

When I got home from work I wanted something easy and points friendly for dinner. So I grabbed my bag of Kale salad and tossed a couple of handfuls in a skillet that I sprayed with nonstick spray. I stirred that around and let it cook and brown a little while I rinsed a package of Shiritaki noodles. I zapped the noodles in the microwave to cook and dry them a little and then tossed them in with the kale mix. I had a leftover rotisserie chicken in the fridge so I weighed out 4 ounces of chicken breast, diced it up and tossed it with the noodles and kale. I sprinkled it with teriyaki sauce and added canola oil for my healthy oil servings. It was so good! It made a big plate full and it was 8 PointsPlus. Score!!

And there we go....

Monday & Tuesday January 7 & 8, 2013

Monday & Tuesday
January 7 & 8, 2013

It's been a busy couple of days. Every once in a while there is a week when my home fellowship group and my bible study group meet in the same week. This is that week.

One of the areas where I struggle REALLY hard with compulsive eating is any time I come home late. Any activity that brings me home later in the evening is a huge stumbling block for me. My food journals are evidence of this.

I'm realizing, even as I type this, that losing control and overeating when I come home late is a HABIT!! Or as we're learning in Weight Watchers 360....it's a routine I've developed over the years and its deeply ingrained in my behaviors.

I'm finally realizing that I am not powerless to change this. I'm not doomed to keep repeating this behavior. I can develop a new habit....a new routine.

I need a plan....a routine to follow when I arrive home late in the evening. I think a cup of tea with cream will be a good substitute.

I'm sure it won't be easy. It will take effort. But I can do this.

What I did right....I tracked everything. I used my weekly points allowance to cover my night time eating. I exercised. I drank my water. I haven't had any diet soda for weeks. It's so easy to focus on the failures and the struggles....but I have made significant progress with my lifestyle changes.

It's Wednesday morning as I type this. It's a new day. There is a blank tracker ready to record today's choices.....onward

Sunday January 6, 2013

Sunday January 6, 2013

I feel like this was a really good day. Sundays can be a challenge for me as we usually go out for lunch after church. And we usually go to places that challenge my self control!

This was no different. We went to Hometown Buffet, to face row after row of fattening, all-you-can-eat foods! So many comfort foods gathered in one place!!

I had skipped breakfast as I dinked around too long getting ready for church and ran out of time. (Note to self....boil some eggs) so we get to HTB and I'm hungry. The first thing I did was hit the salad bar and fill a plate with zero point goodies. There wasn't a salad dressing that appealed to me so I sprinkled it with vinegar.

Then I made a plate with chicken, roast beef, yams, and broccoli. I topped the yams with butter. I ate about half of the chicken and a few bites of the roast beef. The yams were to die for, so I had a second serving. It's not pictured here but I also had a cheese enchilada.

This is where it got tricky. The splurge of having a second helping of yams and a cheese enchilada put me at the edge of a dangerous place. Feeling like I had blown it brought me to that place where I'm tempted to throw caution to the wind and hit the dessert bar. ( After all, I can get back on track tomorrow with it being Monday and all...right?) I took a deep breath, pulled out my phone, and started calculating and tracking PointsPlus values.....while sipping my water. Calculating the points and putting them in my tracker was the action that backed me away from the edge. 22PointsPlus...almost my entire day's worth of points but still a salvageable day. All was not lost ....I was still "on plan." So we gathered our things, left a tip for the waitress, and left....without a trip to the dessert bar!!

Later, at home, I had some zero point WW soup and some grapes. Later still, I had mandarin oranges. And my night time snack was frozen bananas and milk, whipped into an ice cream-like concession.

At around 7:30 the urge to binge and eat everything in the house hit really hard. So, I went to bed. (It's not as crazy as it sounds. I get up at 4:00am)

So anyway...I managed to stay within my points range and I'm calling that success. I kept telling myself that I needed to go for a walk but it was cold outside and I was warm and cozy in the house....warm and cozy won out.

So....onward...

Saturday January 5, 2013

Saturday January 5, 2013

I started the day with a walk/run. I did 10 miles. I interval ran the first 6 and then walked the rest. I learned that 32 degrees is very cold!! I dressed in layers and I thought I would warm up from running....I didn't. The cold made my muscles ache and cramp. 32 degrees is very cold.....duh! I live in Southern California ...I am not used to cold, and yes, I don't know how to drive in real weather...lol. Anyway, I did 10 miles. My pace was very slow. I am more than a little bit concerned about how I'll do in the Tinkerbell half marathon in 2 weeks. I'm really not ready for it. I'll be happy if I can finish it in the time allotted. We'll see...
My 10 mile run earned me 13 ActiveLink points.

After my run I soaked in a hot tub to thaw out and then got my day started. This was a day of running a few errands and visiting my mom.

I had a snack before I started my walk/run, of some Greek yogurt and half of a banana.

My day was rather late getting started after I got back so I had breakfast at about noon. I ate at my shop while I was there catching up in some paperwork and banking.

I spent a couple of hours visiting my mom. I had black coffee and ONE cookie! I'm rather proud of only having one! Yay me!!

Dinner was chicken breast, leftover from a rotisserie chicken, a baked yam and mixed veggies. It was good...I was hungry.

My snacks were fruit, milk, cheese, and a bowl of beans. I really probably didn't need the beans. It was a small serving though and I tracked it.

I worked on putting my fork down between bites and sipping on water...and trying to be mindful of slowing down and savoring the bite I was chewing. I'm amazed at how much I have to work at this simple action. It does not come naturally to me at all!

All in all it was a good day.

Onward....

Friday January 4, 2013

Friday January 4, 2013

I stated on plan. I stayed within my PointsPlus range. I worked on my "healthy routines" that I hope turn into healthy habits and become second nature.

I earned 2 ActiveLink points. I am trying to get up and go for a short walk around the building every hour but its proving difficult while trying to run a business. I did go for two short walks and I'm going to keep trying for more.

We had chili dogs for dinner. I used Hebrew National 97% Fat Free Beef Franks...so good and only 40 calories/1 PointsPlus each.....Hormel Turkey Chili with no beans, Kraft Singles Fat Free Cheddar Cheese, and regular hot dog buns. It was 13 PointsPlus but it was soooo good!

I probably had a bit too much fruit yesterday but it's helping me to stop snacking on junk so I'm okay with it.

Okay....onward...

Friday January 4, 2013

Happy Friday!! And Happy first Weight Watcher meeting/weigh-in of 2013. I am up .4 of a pound this week. it could (should) have been a lot worse. I'm ready to start the new year strong and move toward my goal of being healthy and fit.

My weight this morning was 184.2. That is up 8.4 pounds from my weight on October 12, when I hit 50 pounds lost. It is quite eye-opening for me to realize just how quickly the weight comes back when I slip back into old habits.

So, as I sad yesterday, 2013 is my year to REALLY begin the transformation from the inside out. My year to REALLY begin to deal with the mental and psychological reasons for my overeating. This year I am going to follow the WHOLE Weight Watchers plan, rather than just doing the diet.

So, one thing I have begun is the suggestion of putting my fork down between bites and sipping on water. If you were to ask me if I eat fast I would probably tell you no. But I have started to notice that I am usually the first one done eating whenever I sit down to a meal with others. So apparently I need to slow down! I am not having 100% success with this habit yet. Sometimes I am several bites into a meal before I remember to get my water....but I am making progress.

One more thing I am going to be intentional about doing this week is to ask myself if I really want to eat this or that, before I shove it in my mouth. Just a way to be a little more mindful of my choices.

These are small steps but I think they will add up to a change in my behavior, eventually.

Lastly, I don't talk a lot about my spiritual life here, but it is very much a part of who I am and I'm realizing more and more that I need God's help in dealing with all of this. So, I am being very intentional about my quiet time in the mornings. Time of reading my Bible and asking God to help me in my journey. Lately I've been thinking a lot about how much of the sin in the bible revolved around food. The original sin in the Garden of Eden involved Eve eating something that God had told them not to eat. So anyway, I'm not sure what sort of insight I will gain from that but I feel like there's something for me to learn there.

So there we go! Happy New Year....let's DO THIS!!!

onward :)

Wednesday January 2, 2013

Wednesday January 2, 2013

I did it! I stayed on plan and tracked every bite. I drank 10 glasses of water. When the urge to eat everything in the house started I went to bed. It was tough. I felt like I was starving even though I knew I couldn't really be hungry. It's just tough to rein it back in when I've been out of control.

I didn't follow through with my plan to get up and move every hour. I got busy trying to get back into my routine at work and each time my alarm would remind me I would think, "I'll do it in a few minutes."....yeah, not so much. So I hope to do better with that today.

I'm relieved that the holidays are over. I know that staying on track will get easier as I get back into the swing of a healthy routine. This year I really hope to change enough on the inside so that the holidays aren't an excuse to indulge in another long feeding frenzy.

This year I plan to take a photo of myself on the first of each month....sort of a photo journal of my progress. I'm hoping it will be an encouragement to me.

January 2, 2013

Getting Back On Track

The holidays are finally over!! Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed every minute of the season...even the crazy busy month at work! But there's something comforting about life settling back into a normal routine.

I've slipped way out of control this holiday season and its causing me to really think about some things. Things like; Why do I do the things I do? What needs to change in order for 2013 to be a better year in terms of my health and fitness goals? I ultimately settled on a couple of things. ...

First, while I SAY all the time that Weight Watchers is not a diet, it's a tool to help me change my lifestyle, I very often live like it's a DIET. What I mean is this...if I simply follow the food plan without actually doing the work of changing the way I think, the way I react to circumstances, the ways in which I comfort myself, then Weight Watchers is simply another diet.

A few weeks ago, when Weight Watchers rolled out the "Weight Watchers 360" plan, I purchased the new member kit. I set it on a shelf with the intention of going through the materials later. It set on that shelf until a few days ago. When I finally opened it up, I found a "Success Handbook" among the items included in it. As I began thumbing through the pages I realized that THIS is different!! This is a handbook designed to help one to make the very changes I am seeking to make! So that is where I am starting on this day, January 2, 2013. I have begun working through the handbook. There are some fun, scrapbook type things in the beginning if it that I will need to go back and do over the next few days...but chapter one is about "Master Your Motivation." So that us what I will be working on this week, starting with "3 steps that kick motivation into gear."
1. Take action
2. That action can be very small
3. The action doesn't have to be about following rules.

So, here's the actions I will be starting with. I will drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. I will set my alarm to remind me to get up and move every hour. And, I will track my food.

There we go! A plan for finding my way back to my healthy lifestyle that got lost in the shuffle of the holiday season. I can do this!! WE can do this!! 2013 is going to be a great year!!