Still plugging along...

I haven't updated here for a while. I'm still concentrating on eating real food, eliminating processed foods, sugar, and white flour. I have had a few times when I've eaten a little if this or that, but for the most part I am eating "clean."

My most recent exercise challenge to myself is to run at least 2 miles a day, every day except Friday. Saturday is still my long run day and I did 8 miles this past Saturday. It's a bigger commitment than I thought it would be, to run every morning! But I'm doing it.

My goal this week, starting today is to write down everything I eat. Sounds simple enough...lol...now for the self discipline to do it!

Almost 2 Weeks in...

13 days since I eliminated processed foods, white flour, and sugar from my diet and started eating simply fruits, vegetables, legumes, eggs, and lean meats.

The first 10 days were brutal with the withdrawal from the simple carbs and maybe a detox effect? Whatever the reason I was tired, lethargic, and headachy for those 10 days. Over the last couple of days my energy has been returning to normal.

Aside from the carb/processed food withdrawal, I almost immediately stopped having cravings to binge eat at night. The bloat in my abdomen is significantly reduced. My pants are fitting looser again, and I had lost 3.4 pounds at my WW weight watcher meeting last Friday.

I am feeling much more relaxed about my eating. I'm not really tracking and measuring, although I am being mindful of my portions as I seek to be more intuitive in my eating. I am simply eating reasonable portions from the foods I listed above.

I had taken a week off from my exercise program because I was so tired and run down feeling. It's time to ramp it back up. Now it's just a matter of finding the time! Thursday evening will be the first opportunity I have to go for a run. I'm looking forward to it.

Just a quick update

Just a quick update: I'm still concentrating on simply eating fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, and lean proteins. I'm feeling more in control and I'm not finding myself having the urge to eat everything in the house at the end of the day. I've taken a short break from my exercise routine to catch up on something needed down time. I've been feeling really tired and run down and I'm hoping a few days of rest will have me feeling better. That's it :) I'm just plugging along

Hungry for Change

I just finished watching "Hungry for Change." Definitely worth watching. It's available on Netflix. Up next in my instant cue, "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead."

I feel like I am moving in the right direction, with eating unprocessed, fruits, veggies, lean meats, legumes, and eggs. Who knows? Maybe one day I'll go as far as juicing and buying organic....but right now fresh fruits and veggies from Costco are a huge improvement over processed crap...lol.

Yesterday I ate:
Breakfast:
Coffee with Half and Half
2 eggs cooked in olive oil
Pinto beans
Corn

This meal lasted me all day until I ate again at 6:00pm
Apple
Extra lean ground beef patties
Bean soup

That's it...no cravings....none!! No desire to eat crap.

I walked/jogged 5 miles in the morning. Still felt "blah"... But that is passing and my energy is returning.

Let's Do Lunch

I tend to isolate and stop talking about my efforts to live a healthy lifestyle when I'm struggling. Anyone who's followed my journal for a while has probably figured this out :) And that explains my lack of updates recently.

Like anyone who is struggling with overeating, binge eating behaviors, or any unhealthy relationship to food, I have periods of time when I just want to quit, to throw in the towel and give up. I dream of a time when I can just eat whatever I want, whenever I want to...lol. The reality is.....that will never happen. Just like an alcoholic....this will be a lifelong journey for me. So, ultimately, quitting is not an option. I'm not willing to go back to the person I used to be...so the only option is to keep going forward. That's where I'm at.

So, I had my Weight Watcher meeting yesterday. I gained another 1.6 pounds. I was expecting it and it is what it is.

I made the decision a few days before my meeting that it's time for a change. Time to switch things up a bit to get going in the right direction.

I've decided to switch from tracking points to tracking the "Simply Filling" way. Along with that, I'm following the "Let's Do Lunch" (LDL) plan guidelines. Sort of the way some people combine low carb and Weight Watchers.

What it looks like is this, I'm eating the foods outlined in LDL, which coincidentally are also the foods listed as "power foods" with WW. Except, I'm avoiding potatoes, pasta, breads, etc. I'm eating my lean meat protein at lunch time, thus the name "Let's Do Lunch." I'm eating eggs, legumes, fruit, and vegetables for breakfast. And fruits, vegetables, and legumes for dinner. I am eating from these food choices until I'm satisfied. That's it.

I've been doing this for three days now. My body is in shock and apparently going through withdrawal from the processed carbs, because I have felt really blah. This morning I feel more normal. Last night I didn't have the urge to eat everything in the house for the first time in a long time.

So anyway, I don't know how long I'll be following this plan but for now it feels right. I'm continuing to go to my Weight Watchers meetings and I do still consider myself to be a Weight Watcher....that's the beauty of Weight Watchers...you can choose how you personally want to live within the guidelines of the plan.

I'm still doing well with my exercise. This week I only got one run in. But I did my PointsPlus workouts in the mornings. Thursday morning I wasn't able to complete the workout because I was too sore...so I gave myself a break...lol. It's Saturday morning now and I'm getting ready to go for a run.

I'm going to try and do better about journaling :)

Have a super great day!!

Just a lil update

I haven't updated here in over a week....time flies when you're having fun! So, here's the scoop. I'm doing really well with the exercise part of my healthy lifestyle. I am trying to learn to enjoy running in the late afternoon because of the time change. It's just too dark in the mornings now for me to feel safe running. So late afternoons it is. One benefit to running in the evening is that I have time to do a PointsPlus workout DVD in the morning. So yeah, the exercise part is good.

As for tracking my points....not so much. I know I need to get my head back in the game but I just am not there. I will get there.

So, that's it. That's where I'm at in this quest for a healthy lifestyle.

"Friday Eve"

Happy Thursday!!! It's "Friday Eve!" Weight Watcher meeting tomorrow. Looking forward to a fresh week. We've been battling colds here at our house. So far I've been able to fight it off with a regimen of Zicam, Emergen-C, and Airborne...plus running. I really believe that running helps me to fight off sickness. I've felt a little under the weather all week but nothing like the coughing, sneezing, achy, stuffy head thing that Vern has had going on.

I have kept up with my running and workouts, even increasing my running intervals and working on my pace. I haven't kept up as well with my tracking and counting points.

Tomorrow is the beginning of a fresh week. I know I say that a lot...lol. But it's true and it beats the heck out of giving up...which, quite honestly, has crossed my mind a couple of times this week. So anyway...onward!