Weighty Wednesday-- Another Successful Week

Well, I had another good weight loss week, as I'm down 2 lbs.! This is about 8 pounds down from when I became serious again about my weight loss five weeks ago.

Yay!

In the last two weeks I've been using the Weight Watcher's Simply Filling technique, which involves eating Power Foods and using my weekly 49 points as needed...and trust me, I needed all 49 points last week plus the 9 activity points that I earned!

Hubby has lost 15 pounds in the same time period by simply counting and tracking his points, but I will point out that he has a lot more daily points than I do!

42 vs. 26 points is an entire meal's difference!  

Just proving that you have to use a technique that works for you. Not all programs or techniques are one size fits all, and don't judge your progress against someone else's success.

One of the key factors in this technique working for me is because I still measure and track.

Why?

Because how will I know what I did wrong, if I do something wrong, unless I document it? I also use the Memo spot on my daily tracker to jot down how I'm feeling, where I might have eaten out at, or just a general comment area if I had cravings and what I did to counteract them.

One of the interesting things I've discovered is that  for the most part I've stopped eating sugar, flour-based products, and using artificial sweeteners.

This technique doesn't mean I can't eat them. I can. But the question remains--do I want to pay the price?

And when I look at it that way, the answer is usually no.

Just eating healthy costs me weekly points--in fact, just yesterday, I used 2 points for a little bag of nuts and I counted one point for my chicken tortilla soup. Now, I didn't add the tortilla chips, avocados or cheese, but I figured it probably had enough cornstarch / chicken broth to cost me at least a point.

And the bonus?

Well, I'm not in my size six jeans yet, but I did notice my hips and tummy decreasing in size, which is a good thing!

My goal is to be back at goal by the end of school. If everything continues at the same pace as the last few weeks, I might reach my goal by mid-April.

If you are with me on this journey, I will wish you the best of luck!

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Breathing a Deep Sigh

True confessions here.

Last week after weigh-in, I had some not so good days. Hubby was out of town and I simply had not gained control over my foodie urges. Let's just say Fritos, raw cookie dough and queso were involved.

Not at the same time, or the same day, but the consequences were the same.

When I weighed myself at home on Saturday, I had managed to undo any good that I had done the previous two weeks.

Yeah, not my proudest moment.

So I did the only thing I could do--I changed my Weight Watcher technique from tracking points plus values to Simply Filling.

Two days later, and I feel so in control it isn't even funny.

Why does this technique work for me?

I think because it is restrictive with your food choices.

Here's the deal. When you follow Simply Filling, you don't have to weigh or measure your food. You simply choose Power Foods to keep you satisfied throughout the day. If you eat Power Foods all day, you will notice that you can mark off all your healthy checks for the day, plus you stay satisfied.

In essence, it does keep you from eating non-essential carbs in the form of sugar and flour. You can have whole grain products, but regular grain products will cost you. For example, one cup of brown rice is a power food worth zero points, while one cup of white rice will cost you 5 points out of your weekly points.

Lean meats are always good, but while they are power foods, Weight Watchers also has them listed with their recommended serving size, usually 3-4 ounces. Yes, I can eat a pound of lean chicken, but then again, would I want to? Er, no.

I do take it a step further and actually weigh and measure my food. I do this simply to train my 'eye' for the appropriate quantities for someone of my size. Yes, I can eat a tub of plain Fat Free Greek yogurt, but do I really want to? No.

Just because the Simply Filling technique narrows your food choices down, it doesn't mean I can't eat that piece of pepperoni pizza that's calling my name, or put real fat salad dressing on my lettuce, or use cream in my coffee.

I can.

But there's a price.

The price is in the form of my 49 weekly points. I can easily use up seven of those points on a daily basis even following Simply Filling.

One glass of wine, 5 ounces will eat up 4 points. See? It isn't hard.

So the reason I love the simply filling technique is because it forces me to take control of my food. The choices are fairly restrictive, but I don't feel 'caged' by my food choices.

I wrote this blog on Monday, but I'm setting it to post on Wednesday, which means I hope I have something positive to report from my Tuesday weigh-in.

Addendum: I lost 0.4 pounds. YAY! In other words, I lost the weight I gained last week, plus some!

But here's the deal. Even if I don't have anything positive to report, I still feel Simply Filling the best choice for me.

If weighing and measuring and counting points is frustrating you, or you are on a plateau, then give Simply Filling a shot.

What's there to lose?

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Fighting Apathy

This last year, well, actually two years, I've been fighting the apathy bug in my weight loss, in my writing, and in life in general.

I haven't been excited keeping the weight I lost off, and that my friends, translates into regaining half of the weight I worked so hard to lose.

The apathy bug is insidious. It starts slowly, gnawing its way into your psyche and slowly eroding the good things you have going for you until it has you firmly locked in its deep, dark gaping maw.

Apathy worms its way into your mind, your body and eventually sucks the life out of your soul.  

I guess you could say that it's a mild form of depression, this loss of passion.

If I'm not excited about life, then why should anyone around me be excited?

And then, something happened to trigger the realization that being apathetic is kinda boring, self-defeating, and not fun.

It's funny because my trigger was my hubby deciding to join Weight Watchers online. With trying to help him figure out how to count things, portion control, meal planning, etc, I became excited about something again.

I want to lose weight. I want to be healthy. I want my blown knee to heal.

I want to live a full life again.

Weigh-in was yesterday, and though I was way over my goal weight, I was 0.2 pounds less than my previous goal weight on 11/18/14, almost six weeks ago.

Now, don't go thinking I stayed the same weight during this time, after all it was candy making season. Actually, up to three days before weigh-in, I was FIVE pounds over my previous weight.

In just those three days of hubby learning the WW program, I focused my mind back into weight-loss mode.

Yes, it's hard. Yes, I did chug some eggnog . . . but I measured it and counted it. And, trust me, writing down 10 WW PPV's for one cup of eggnog HURT. Ten PPV's is just under half of my daily allotment of 26 PPV's.

I know the road back won't be easy. I know I'll have tough days . . . but I'll also have days where I feel strong and in control. Soon the positive days will outweigh the negative ones.

With this thought in mind, I'll be beating that worm of apathy into the annals of my mind, locking it back into the deep, dark cabinet drawer where it belongs.

As this is the last day of the old year this epiphany is particularly timely-- New mentality, new year.

Later, Peeps!  

Weighty Wednesday -- New Year, New Attitude

Good Morning!

I have to admit that over the holidays I took a mental break on my weight loss journey.

I had a HORRIBLE weigh-in. I knew I would because I weigh myself at home. I knew what was happening because I weigh myself at home, plus I could feel my size 6 jeans getting tighter and tighter . . . and tighter. So tight and uncomfortable, I moved into my 'emergency' size 8 jeans.

I don't like wearing my size 8's.

When I went to my first Weight Watcher meeting of the year, I decided to wear my HEAVIEST clothes.

Why did you do that, you lunatic?

So the weight loss would be that much sweeter next week. :-)

My previous weigh-in was in early December and I only gained 3 pounds over the Christmas/New Year holidays, BUT the problem started as far back as in July.

So what did I weigh?

146.6 pounds. EEEEEEeeeeeeekkkkkkk!!

Remember my goal weight is 130 pounds with a +/- 2 pound wiggle room. 

This needs to be fixed, and fixed now!

And I wasn't the only one in the room with this issue. Oh, no, my friends, there were at least 10 other ladies at this particular meeting who had been at goal and had wandered from the path. Remember a year or so ago, when I said the journey continues even though one reaches a goal weight. It's true. We will be challenged our entire life with making the right choices.

The key is to realize when you have to wake up, be accountable, and start making those right choices again.

Into this scenario comes Weight Watcher's Simple Start.

Simple start is an expansion on the idea of Simple Filling--a technique that I LOVE--but with the added advantage of meal suggestions.

As I tended to get into a rut while on Simply Filling, the simply, easy menu suggestions really help to get the ideas flowing and gave me the excitement to jump into the program again! I went to the store and bought a bunch of awesome food products and I'm happy to start!

Along with the Simple Start program, my hubby bought a Fit Bit for my daughter and myself---and let me tell you, she is kicking our A$$'s with all the swimming that she does!!

So did I give up my Weight Watcher's ActiveLink?

Yep, totally.

The problem with the ActiveLink is that it was limited in its use. It calculates how many WW Activity Points I earned. I tend to follow a set walking agenda and after a year and a half of use, I knew exactly how many activity points I did or didn't earn in a day. But now I wanted to know my pace and my distance. ActiveLink couldn't provide the information. So I started using Map My Walk (a GPS based tracker). This gave me the info I needed for my walks, but I can't leave it on all the time to get my daily steps because it would suck my phone battery dry. Pedometer's are old school and bulky. I like the Fit Bit, but I'm still fine tuneing my walking pace, since it's calculated according to your height and sex. I KNOW I have a longer stride than someone else my height. So I entered my 'calculated stride length into the equation. It still isn't quite right (in other words, matching the GPS distances, but I'm getting it closer to the 4.25 miles that I walk. Actually the FitBit calculated 3.15 miles, so being off by over a mile is a big deal!

ActiveLink is a tool. Map My Walk app is a tool. FitBit is a tool.

The key is to use a tool to get the result you want, but if that particular tool doesn't work for you it's time to switch it up.

My Fit Bit tracks my steps, activity level and sleep patterns. Do I need all this info?

At this point in my journey--Yes. Will I need to know about my sleep patterns a month from now? Not really, unless I'm having some issues with my sleeping patterns.

Use the tools available that work for you. Not every tool will work for everyone, so be open to change.

Remember, New Year, New Attitude. I'm excited about this new year, are you??

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Insanity is . . .

This is the way many of us approach weight loss.

We eat the same foods, don't change our activity level, and yet we expect the weight to slough off like the snake skin off a snake.

It isn't going to happen, people!

I'm the prime example of this. For months, I've been whining about my 3-5 lb. weight gain, BUT I didn't do anything about it. I simply coasted along and pretended to do something about it while all the time magically expecting something to happen.

This week I had a 1.4 lb weight loss. It isn't much. But considering I didn't have my mental attitude adjustment until Sunday and weigh-in was Tuesday morning, I think this is a fantastic amount! It's because of the way I'm approaching this. I'm finally buckling down and making it happen!

Look--if what you're doing isn't working, then CHANGE IT!

If you want to lose weight you will do the hard work. You just have to want it enough. Many of you talk the big game, but you aren't ready or able to do the hard work. Whether it's the mental block or a physical block, it doesn't matter. You can make change happen if you set your mind to it.

Do you want it bad enough, or are you really happy with the place you're at?

Something is stopping you from losing weight, but I can't fix it for you. Your Weight Watcher leader can't fix it for you. Your spouse and family can't fix it you.

You have to be the one to make the decision.

You have to be the one to make the choice to lose that weight.

You have to be the one to figure out what's stopping you from losing weight.

And don't you dare say, "Hormones."

Hormones don't help, but they aren't the ones that keep packing the weight on--you are.

Yes, losing weight does take some self-control.

You have to WANT to lose weight bad enough to change your habits. Are you ready to take that first step?

It's all about baby steps, my friends.

First you develop an awareness of what you are eating by:

• writing everything down
• thinking about what you are putting in your mouth
• becoming aware of what a real 'portion' size is

Then you develop a plan through:

• limiting certain foods
• increasing intake of other foods
• increasing your activity

Then you follow that plan until you gain the satisfaction:

• of seeing the scale numbers dropping
• of clothes feeling looser
• of compliments about how you are glowing with vitality

As I've said before, we all know what we have to do to lose weight.

The question is, do you want the results enough to do the hard work?

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- It's a Mental Game

Look -- we all know what we have to do to lose weight.

• eat more fruits and vegetables
• drink more water
• eat less protein
• eat less fried food
• eat less refined sugar and flour products
• less salt
• exercise more

It isn't that hard when you see the list, but there is one six-pound item that stops use every time

OUR BRAINS

And no, this is NOT an attack by zombies . . . braaaaiiiins . . .

If you aren't "In it to win it", then you aren't playing the game right.

I had this epiphany at this week's meeting. My brain was telling me that I'm in maintenance mode and not losing weight mode. I was eating to maintain my weight.

And being very successful at it, I might add.

Yes, it's only five pounds, but if I don't do something different about it, then what do you think will happen?

Nothing.

That's right, NOT A THING. I will remain at this weight and I might even gain MORE weight.

When I first started WW, I lost four pounds the first week. And for the most part, I lost 30 of my 45 pounds rather quickly, within a few months.

I was in game mode. The coach had my back, and I gave 100% mind and body to the weight loss goal. I measured. I weighed. I walked. I planned meals. I had a goal.

Wait . . . what was that last one?

A goal.

Oh. I need a goal. Long term goal is to reach my healthy weight range and stay there. But I needed a goal to get over this next hurdle. So I made one up.

By the time school starts in August, I want to be back at my goal weight.

That's doable, right?

But not if I don't change some of my slacker eating behaviors it won't be doable.

Look, I'll tell you right now that losing this 5 pounds will be hard since I have to think about food and plan my meals. This is something I obviously haven't done in awhile.

Now, I have a goal.

It's a modest goal, but it's a goal I can achieve IF I CAN WIN THIS MENTAL GAME.

We'll see what happens at next week's weigh-in.

If what you're doing isn't working for you as you lose weight, YOU HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR BEHAVIOR.

That is all there is to it. Simple really.

The question becomes, "Are you really in this weight loss game 100% or are you all talk and bluster?"

Let's go, people, you can do it!

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Mindful Eating

A month or so ago, I heard some weight-loss 'name' (can't remember who!) talk about mindful eating . . . as if this was a new concept.

It isn't.

Basically, this concept is the backbone of the Weight Watchers ideals.

Think about it.

When you are a WW and in the process of losing weight or at goal and focused on keeping the weight off you practice mindful eating all the time, through weighing, measuring, and tracking your food.

In other words, being aware of what you eat . . . every single time you put something in your mouth.

How many times have you found yourself sitting on the sofa with an empty bag of chips?

Or a spoon and a jar of peanut butter in your hand and not realize you even got it out of the pantry?
This happened to me just last night!

Or you were at a restaurant with the intention of taking home half your meal only to discover that it somehow 'disappeared'?

The whole premise of mindful eating is to be aware of what you put in your mouth, and to make certain the stuff you put in your mouth is healthy, or if you opt for the unhealthy then not too much of it.

Look, losing weight isn't easy. Throughout life we find that the 'hard choices' are usually the right ones. The easy way out is almost never the right way.

I have a friend--actually numerous friends over the course of years--who've tried numerous weight loss regimens, from cabbage soup, to Adkins, to South Beach, to Nutrisystem, to . . .you get the picture.

Failing at all of them. Oh, there might be a little weight loss, but then the old habits slip back in and the weight is regained.

I've suggested WW, but they don't want to have to 'think about food all the time'.

Well, my friends, NOT thinking about food all the time got you into this pickle and the only way out is to be aware of what you're sticking in your pie hole.

The beauty of mindful eating is that you become aware of portion sizes (double, triple or even quadrupled in the US!), healthy options, and an awareness of how the foods effect you.

I had another friend who I suggested this concept to and it scared her.

This is because many of us tend to gorge on certain foods through emotional eating--happiness, sadness, stress, boredom . . . yes, boredom is emotional eating.
Boredom is my eating downfall. It took awhile before I figured it out, but I did.

So to round this topic off--I need to get dressed and drive the kidlet to swim practice and then walk while she's swimming--do me a favor and think about everything you put in your mouth today.

Yes, even that pizza, or cake, or salad, or whatever.

This is the first step in the process of mindful eating. Let me know if it helps you make better food choices or stop eating when you aren't hungry any longer--don't eat until full, because you've already eaten too much! 

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Housecleaning or Gardening?

I missed my Weight Watcher's meeting yesterday as my hubs needed to take my car instead of his sportier version to a tank farm with all the gravel and dust . . . and yet, he complains that I don't wash my car enough . . . hmmm. . .

While on my regular four-mile walk yesterday, I realized I could have WALKED to my meeting as it's two miles away. The only problem with walking is the first mile a is two-lane road with no shoulder, no foot path and a steep decline into a drainage ditch. The second mile is along a sidewalk next to a busy six-lane road, which does double duty as a state highway.
Walking in this area is not on my list of things to do, though it is doable.

That said, I'm going to take a tangent about housecleaning. Trust me, I will make a full circle back to the topic of walking, also known as exercise. 

Last week, I interviewed Merry Maids for my mom. She's finally admitting that she can't keep her house as clean as she would like, or like she used to. Remember, the woman is 91 years old. Her spinal stenosis was causing some leg issues and she'd received a epidural cortisone shot a few months ago--which is working nicely--plus she was recently told that she is legally blind in one eye due to years of macular degeneration.

Age happens.

Not too surprising she can't see enough to keep the house clean.

Besides cleaning house isn't something a 90+ year old should have to worry about. And no, I'm not cleaning her house, I have my own house to clean, thank you very much.

Merry Maids is a bit on the pricy side, but this will be a busy year for her as many of my brothers and one of my sisters will be visiting, so we signed them up for an every other week cleaning. The nice thing about Merry Maids is that there is no contract, cancel at any time. And Mom can do the spot cleaning the rest of the time.

As I chatted with my bro about this, he wondered if we could change the every other week cleaning (yes, we can). But then we got into a discussion of how often we clean, and he admitted that they only cleaned their house three days prior to Thanksgiving when the family converges on their house.

Really? I never realized this as we've stopped by to drop something off and found their house was tidy, but I didn't do the white glove treatment to verify.

Which brings me back to how often we clean--EVERY. SINGLE. WEEK. And we clean the house the day before we go on vacation, so we have a clean house to come home to .. . plus we have a dog. The house will be dusty and dog-furry even if we didn't clean prior to vacation! We clean the house top to bottom, plus we sometimes get sidetracked. . . this week I dusted the downstairs window blinds. Man, those things were filthy! Now, I need to clean the windows, too!

As I'm writing this the sun is coming through the window and onto my formal dining table--which has a layer of dust on it--I just cleaned this table FOUR DAYS AGO! Can you imagine how much dust would accumulate in a month?? *shuddering at the thought*

Though my bro said they only clean once a year, I bet you money they spot clean all the time.

And then on my writer's loop, the topic came up here. One writer friend said it had been years since they did a top to bottom clean. And another friend commented the same thing--that some rooms hadn't been touched in a year.

Wow. I never thought I'd be one of the weird ones who cleans house weekly.

And now, we travel to the backyard. If you've seen my pictures (sorry, can't find any current ones), you notice how neat and tidy our yard looks. The last couple of days, the hubs and I have been trimming, weeding and turning the mulch in the garden beds, resulting in two huge bags of green waste (no, I don't have or want a mulch pile), and the yard is only half done. This process needs to be done a couple times a year to keep the perennials under control.

So why am I telling you to clean your house and work in your garden?

Because you can earn Weight Watcher's ACTIVITY POINTS!

Look, you don't have to go to the gym, walk on a treadmill, or attend a Pilates class to get some exercise. Keep moving. Do a little cleaning. Weed the garden. Trim the plants. Pick up the dog poo. Every little bit DOES count!

Get moving, people!

Later, Peeps!
 

Weighty Wednesday -- WW 360 concept

I tried. Really, I did. I tried to like the concept of the 360 program from Weight Watchers.

But I don't like it. Not at all.

The idea behind the 360 part of the program--as I understand it--is to work on an area of your life for a month to make that part of your life--to bring it full circle, if you will.

To me, it's like beating a dead horse.

Up until January--when this program started--Weight Watchers and I had been psychically connected in a weird way. When I needed a certain concept in my life--they presented it during the meeting. This happened for over a year and a half worth of meetings and 50 pounds of weight loss.

Now, they are talking about different forms of a particular subject ad nauseum for an entire month!

I feel like I'm a kid again . . . and you know what kids do when parents lecture them?

They tune them out. They do the opposite of what the parent wants.

I'm having a hard time with dropping this little bit of weight that I had gained, because the meetings aren't inspiring me or motivating me to push through my obstacles. And don't tell me that they have a gazillion researchers discovering that this is the best way.

Because, for me, it isn't. I'm one of the blips outside the core research subjects.

Think about all those scientific studies that "proved" one thing or another only to have it vilified ten years later?

Food 'pyramid' anyone?? I knew this was a bad idea from the get-go.

Though I love my leader and my group, I don't love the program, which means I'll have to go through my old blogs to find the incentive to get back to goal.

In my mind, the 360 program is a PROGRAM FAIL . . . so I guess it really was a good thing that I decided NOT to be a Weight Watcher leader, because I'd have a hard time selling something I didn't fully believe in.

Right now, I feel as if I'm alone in this weight struggle and I don't like the feeling. I wish Weight Watchers would return to the way the program was set up the last two years. I understand the need to change and keeping it fresh.

But like what's happening with Facebook--new and changed does NOT always equate with better.

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Prodigal returns to meetings

Over the last month or so, I've missed my Weight Watchers meetings. I've missed them more ways than one. Physically, been skipping them, and figuratively, I've missed the friendships, camaraderie, support, and my totally AWESOME leader, Julie.

Sometimes I have to become the returning prodigal daughter to realize what I have been missing.

On a side note: I also returned to my SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) meetings last night with a similar feeling. It wasn't as overwhelming of a 'welcome back' of my Weight Watcher's crew, but being warmly greeted and recognized was a nice feeling.

And I weighed in . . . officially.

This was the reason I missed last month. I knew I was over. I knew I was starting to slowly increase my weight in Jan, Feb, and March. I wanted to 'fix' it before I returned. But now, I was resigned to being over goal and was back because I knew I needed the support from the group.

But you want to know what missing those April meetings really did?

It helped me gain more weight.

I posted last week that it took a 2 X 4 against my head in the form of seeing 140 pounds on the scale for me to have a serious reality check. I buckle down and went 'no flour, no sugar', along with Simply Filling for about 8 days prior to weigh in.

With clothes on, I weighed 134.8 pounds.

The 'no flour, no sugar' didn't help as much as I'd hoped, but my clothes fit better and I feel less bloated.

I had to pay the meeting charge of $13. But my wonderful leader reminded me that I would have had to pay because I didn't weigh in during April. So, I guess, you could say I got a 'twofer'. Two for the price of one. I also had to pay because I was 0.8 pounds out of my goal weight range.

Lose 0.8 pounds by next week? I can do it.

Once I get back to my goal range, I can set my sights to a lower number. It helps that summer finally returned to Oklahoma. I'm not looking forward to the storm season, but I'm very happy about the warm weather. And there are loads of fresh fruits and veggies to eat!

The one thing Julie reminded the entire group was that though we were "losers", we were all winners. All of us have been in each other's shoes. We might have different food struggles to deal with, but the core of the matter is that we have started dealing with them--successfully.

We cheer our friends when they succeed. We commiserate when they gain. But ultimately, we are there for each other during the tough times.

This is what a support group is all about.

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Walking the Walk

Did you ever hear the saying, "You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?"

For the last two months I've been talking a good game, but I haven't had my heart in it. Now, I'm finally walking the walk.

Sunday night I weighed in at a whopping 140 pounds--8 pounds OVER my goal weight. True, it was at night after foraging all day, but it was the wake-up call I needed.

Monday morning I went cold turkey--no sugar or flour products. I have been focusing on fruits, veggies {raw and cooked--asparagus (YUM)}, fat free dairy products, and  . . . yes, bacon. Sorry, but I had to have a few crispy pieces of sodium nitrite-ladened yumminess of BACON!

I know with Weight Watchers you can eat whatever you want. This is true. But I need the focused discipline of no flour or sugar products to flush them out of my system and rid myself of cravings. This isn't a one day process, but instead will be a long term one.

Except coffee. I must have some sort of sweetener in my coffee. That stuff is just nasty to drink black. Uck! I usually use some of the 'pink' packaged stuff. Yes, it's probably the worst stuff out there, but I like it in my coffee. *lifts cup of coffee and takes a sip*

And how has it gone in two days?

Pretty darn well. This morning--actually 20 minutes ago--I weighed myself and I came in at 133.8 pounds! Which is technically within my plus two pound padding.

The problem is that I weighed in too late for me to keep my FREE WW lifetime membership . . . unless I make my goal weight of 132 again. There is no +2 pound wiggle room if you don't weigh in every month, and I messed up.

My goal is to be at goal by the time my Tuesday morning meeting rolls around. Since they don't let me weigh buck nekkied, like I did in the bathroom this morning, I'll probably have to drop to 130 pounds to account for clothes.

I want to state that I'm making it sound easy to stop eating flour and sugar products.

It isn't.

I went to the store yesterday to buy fat free cottage cheese, and came very close to picking up a Prima Pepperoni deep dish UNO's pizza from the Target deli section--conveniently placed next to the fruits and veggies! I also had to walk past the endcap of summer yumminess of Birthday Cake flavored Oreos, Mega stuffed Oreos, and assorted M & M's.

But I did.

None of that stuff made it into my cart. It was hard, but will power won out.

Then there was last night after swim practice--yes, I walked for almost an hour. My second walk of the day.  I did come home and poured myself a glass of a nice Shiraz--hubby's wine, and seriously craved pretzel crisps, I mean, seriously. It took an incredible amount of will power not to crack that bag open.

I've been told that I do have decent will power when I want to exercise it. If you can't NOT eat something, then you find a way to hide it, or remove it from your presence until you get a handle on the cravings.

The same goes for eating out. If you have a problem eating too many tortilla chips at a Mexican restaurant, forgo eating Mexican until you can get a handle on it. When I was pregnant, we stopped eating at all our favorite restaurants for a month. Why? Because I had gotten into the habit of ordering an alcoholic drink at those particular places.

I did what I had to do. You can do this, too!

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- You ARE What You Eat

News Flash, right?

Think about it.

Gary, credit to AllAmericanGuys.com

Jillian Michaels

Those studly bodies that we oogle (male or female), with the clear-cut muscles, well-defined abs and totally toned, are NOT produced when eating copious amounts of refined carbs.

True, many high performance athletes eat numerous high-carb meals for the surge of energy to perform in the Olympics or whatever.

But time to get real here . . . that isn't you by a long shot. Even if you are active and exercise daily, you don't even come into the same class as the high performance athletes. Very few people do. And they don't eat like that every day, only when they have to perform.

Heathandnaturalcure.blogspot.com

 There were so many seriously obese people on Google Images. that I didn't have the heart to use them as an example!
Now look at those pictures of the lumpy, dumpy obese people, with ill-fitting clothes and their own zip codes on their butts. What food group do you think they eat the majority of the time?

Carbs.

Granted, not all carbs are bad. The problem with refined carbs is they make you crave more of them. They are as addictive as nicotine. Once you fall into their doughy grips, it's hard to get a handle on them--they get a handle on you, the original 'love' handles, which then grow larger and larger.

But this blog isn't about carb-bashing, it's about the reality of losing weight.

If you want to lose weight you have to change your habits. You have to make new habits. New habits don't happen with the wave of your wand.

Julie, my Weight Watcher leader, made a comment that resonated with me. This is paraphrased, of course, since my memory is a sieve, but I think this was the gist of her comment. "You can do this program without changing your habits, but you will be consuming about 1/4 of the amount of food you used to consume. You will be hungry. Why do this to yourself? The program is designed to change your poor eating habits into healthy eating habits, along with the side benefit of losing weight."

You have to want this to make it work.

In Weight Watchers, they have points-system based tracking. Depending on your starting weight, you are allotted so many points. You can do whatever you want with those points. You can eat that one point-filled meal, or you can spread your points throughout the day.

BUT word of warning: If you decided to eat a fast food hamburger, french fries and a shake, you will eat up your daily (and maybe some of your weekly points). You will be one very hungry, hungry hippo if you don't find some other way to nosh.

Many fruits and vegetables are considered zero points, eat them with abandon! Add them to every meal. Eat them for snacks. Eventually, your meals will start evolving into well-balanced meals. You will soon see the difference on the scale and with the way your clothes fit.

Will it be easy?

Sorry, no.  The cravings, the headaches, the grouchiness, etc are part of the withdrawal symptoms, but once you are over the hump, it's easier to ignore the white stuff carbs are made of.

Something I need to remember to get back into the 'comfort zone' of my goal weight. I'm still legal, but barely. I'd rather have four pounds of wiggle room instead of 0.4!

The sun is starting to come up, so it's time for me to put on my brand new walking shoes and break them in!

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- The Truth

When I started this Weight issue part of the blog, I promised you that I would tell it like it is.

Well, I lied . . . just a little bit.

I have managed to gain some weight. I'm currently at 135 lbs, which is three pounds OVER my goal weight (132) and one pound OVER Weight Watchers + /- 2 lbs range. Personally, I mentally make my unofficial goal weight (130), which makes me 5 lbs over my goal weight.

So, I've hit the weight wall again. I have until the end of March (for my official weigh-in at a meeting) to get my act together or I--

• lose my AT Goal Weight status.
• lose my free E-tools
• fail in my goal to maintain weight loss for 1 year
• disappoint myself along with a myriad of others who trusted me to tell it like it is 

I don't want to do lose these things as this blog and goal are very important to me. But this is just a reminder that all of us are human. We make mistakes. And sometimes those mistakes can snowball out of control.

And the only person who is to blame for this is . . . ME.

It's time for me to be accountable for my actions. No one is shoving food in my mouth, except me. I know what I've been doing wrong:

• spoonfuls of Nutella and peanut butter are EVIL
• though I'm trying to do Simply Filling, which allows an unlimited amount of specific foods, I need to start measuring and weighing food again.
• making poor food choices at restaurants
• NOT marking my daily Healthy checks off.
• NOT eating enough fruits and vegetables
• NOT eating enough fat free dairy products
• eating until stuffed and not 'full'

Here are a few things that I'm doing right:

• walking--though I have noticed with the cold wind I don't walk as freely, which reflects on my Activelink. The one day that was nice and warm, I earned 6 activity points, whereas on most cold days I only earn 3 activity points. Daylight savings time is this weekend, allowing for light in the evening, so I will be walking instead of crocheting while my daughter swims.
• water--I'm keeping hydrated. I ALWAYS drink three cups of water on my walk, even on cold days. I fill my aluminum can with hot water and by the time I need a drink it's cooled to a comfortable temperature. The other three cups are easy to drink during the rest of my day.
• take a multi-vitamin daily

What I've learned over my years of weight loss and maintenance is that when you get all the healthy choice foods in your diet, you don't want to eat the high-carb, high-fat stuff.

I really need to have a good weigh-in next week, because I'm going skiing soon and I know I'll be enjoying an apres ski beer!

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Teach an Old Dog

Have you ever noticed that I seem to have to keep learning and writing the same lesson over and over again?

It just goes to show that this isn't just some diet you go on to lose the weight and then amazingly you can eat whatever you want again . . . not if you want to keep the weight off.

I'll confess that even with my good intentions last week, I went through a bout of carb-loading. It had to do with fact I went shopping and the store had Raisin Bread and Caramel Apple Bread prominently displayed. I hadn't had raisin bread in a long time, but the Caramel Apple Bread sounded divine . . . and it was. I ate the small loaf over three days. Some days it was soaked in butter and added cinnamon for flavor, and other days I took Greek yogurt, mixed with brown sugar Splenda and cinnamon and smeared it on top--that was actually the best. It almost tasted like cream cheese spread!

Well, that indulgence weighed me down, figuratively and literally. For me, carbs are evil. Maybe I should clarify--refined carbs are evil, namely white flour and sugar enhanced products.

I had to cut them out to get this excess baggage off before weigh-in.

Now, I didn't go to my WW meeting--long story involving slushy weather and my husband's car not designed for nasty weather, so he took my car for the day. Anyhoo, I weighed in at home, and barely made my cut-off again. I'm not a fan of weighing in on the heavy side of the scale. I like the extra wiggle room of being 4-5 pounds UNDER my goal weight for the occasional indulgences.

But I have to get back into fighting shape.

I've been talking the talk of Simply Filling, but now I'm managing it. Sometimes, those of us who are overweight or struggling, realize for some odd reason we have to feel full--stuffed actually. I'm sure there's some psycho mumble-jumble that can explain this phenomena, but I'm not here to analyze it, I'm here to help us through it.

The last two days, I've seriously focused on Simply Filling. The technique allows you to eat as much as you want of some very specific items. Fat Free dairy products, lean meats (mainly chicken, fish, etc), fresh fruits and veggies, and lots of water.

How do I prepare for this?

I buy a roasted chicken and strip the meat off the bones. I make sure I have large containers of Fat Free cottage cheese and 0% Fat Fage Greek yogurt. And I buy plenty of fruit and veggies that are easy servings--lettuce, tomatoes, bananas, apples, cutie oranges.

Many time when we troll through the cabinets it's because we need protein. Instead of going for the chips, crackers, bread or scoops of peanut butter, then eat a piece of lean chicken or drink a big glass of water.

Yes, it takes planning.

Yes, it takes focus.

But, I've done it before, I can do it again.

How about you? Ready for the challenge?

Later, Peeps! It's time for walkies!

Weighty Wednesday -- Why to Join WW

I had a good weigh-in yesterday, even wearing clothes! For a few weeks, it's been touch and go. I could weigh nekkid and I'd squeak by on my weight, but throw on a pair of jeans and oops! I'm over my weight limit.

Though I managed to keep my weight below the +2 pounds allowed by Weight Watchers and still stay at Lifetime Goal, it's been hard going since December.

I don't know what it's been, whether it's the weather, the lack of consistent exercise (that bronchitis last December didn't help!), the lack of interest in fresh fruits and veggies, or not drinking enough water.

It probably was all of the above.

Thank goodness, I'm over that hump and sliding into the easy-to-keep-under-my-goal-weight territory of spring and summer. The light will be lasting longer and I'll start getting a second walk in the evening with my hubby. I always like those walks. We get the physical exercise, and he exorcises his work demons. Plus, plus for both of us.

For those of you who are frustrated with your weight, trust me, I know what it's like to be in your shoes. You know what you have to do--eat healthier, exercise, portion control--but for some reason it isn't working. You're getting frustrated beyond measure and are about to throw in the towel and give it all up.

Here's a little story (paraphrased) a WW member told the group at our meeting yesterday.
This lady started gaining weight when she was in her early fifties, and for ten years tried to get it off, but couldn't, then she gave in and joined WW and lost 10 pounds.

But that's not the important part of this story. This is--she's a NUTRITIONIST.  Teaching people how to eat right and keep their weight under control is her job. She was having a tough time being a role model to her clients when she couldn't keep her own weight where it needed to be.

Sometimes the reason to join WW isn't because you need lessons in how to eat right or portion control. We already know what we need to do to lose weight.

It's for the camaraderie, commiseration and accountability.

I know that's why I continue to go to weekly meetings, and probably will continue to do so for the rest of my life. Sometimes it takes hopping into a couple of different meetings to find the right match, but when you do, it's wonderful.

That's my public service announcement for the day.

Gotta write. Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Map My Walk

Many, many years ago, when I was young and naive, I joined Weight Watchers. I didn't have as much weight to lose at that time, but I had realized that I wouldn't lose the weight without exercise. At that time, I belonged to a gym and used the elliptical machine after work and then rode my horse.

Then there were those days when the weather was lousy and I didn't ride or drive to workout.

I asked for a Billy Blanks Tae-Bo VCR tapes (see how many years ago it was!), and a Weight Watcher's walking tape. Though I did use the Tae-Bo tapes--until I clonked my previous dog in the jaw because she thought I was playing with her, I NEVER used the WW tape.

Fast forward to current technology available on every iPhone and Android phone out there. The problem is now there are too many choices that you don't know which one to pick! Last week at my WW meeting, a lady suggested the Map My Walk app. When she was talking about it, I liked the idea of the GPS mapping, tracking activity, and how fast you are going.

When I scrolled through my phone's free walking apps, it was about 15th on the list. They also have Map my Run and Map my Ride for those of you who run or bike. Here's the website link to make it easier for you: http://www.mapmywalk.com/  There are tons of options with this app, but I'm simply not interested in utilizing them at this time.

The first day I tested this app--after spending some time inputting information into the phone--I was astounded! Yes, I was, I'm not simply using a big word. I thought my normal walking route was about 4 miles, considering it takes me roughly an hour to walk. I thought I might walk around a 15 min mile, which translates to 4 mph.

My stats for the first day were 4.35 miles walked for 57 minutes at a speed of 4.5 mph!

Wowzers!

I like this app. It has a pause button if you want to stop and chat with someone and it can send the info to your Twitter or Facebook or keep it private.

--Which reminds me, I need to remove my twitter feed. Though it posts and I've have people comment on it, it takes the joy away from the personal touch of my pithy comments about my walkies.

The only disadvantage to this particular program, and many like them that use GPS tracking, is the fact that it eats up your battery power. The hour long walk will drain my battery to about half.

Though I usually walk when the weather is bad, it's a good idea to have a backup option. I have the Wii Workout and I still have those Billy Blank's tapes . . . hmm, now I have to see if we still have a VCR to plug them into.

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Willpower

How many people do you know who say, "I know I need to lose a little weight, but I'll just do it by willpower." Or "It's easy to lose weight. All it takes is a little willpower."

Sorry, my friends, but the cards are stacked against you.

1. You wouldn't be overweight if you had the willpower to resist those cookies or chips or {pick your nom, nom of choice}. It isn't that easy when you've spent years ignoring those little voices telling you not to eat something, or telling you that you're full.
2. Remember the Weighty Wednesday topic last week about Flavorists? Companies are out there to sell their products . . . and they will use every dirty trick in the book. They will take what looks like a single serve bag of something, but make it two or three servings just to get the calorie count in the 100-200 range. Who looks at the number of servings?
3. And I think most of us have forgotten how to eat a balanced meal.
4. FYI: You might have to forgo your favorite restaurants until you can go there and make a more educated food choice. Yes, I love Mexican food--Cheese chile rellenos and margaritas. Chocked full of greasy melted cheese on the inside, fried goodness on the outside, and sometimes queso on top! And the margaritas, well, a fishbowl of tequila, lime and sugar is easily 20-24 points. Erm, I was only allowed 26 points/day when I was losing weight, did I really want a margarita that badly?? Sometimes yes, but most of the time no.

I'm sure I could come up with 4,5, and 6 if I wasn't writing this blog at 6:15 AM and the post should have gone up 15 minutes ago!

Yeah, I'm late. So sue me. It's not like I'm getting paid to post these little tidbits of wisdom.

Here you are overweight with zippo willpower, so what do you do? How do you get started?

As I've mentioned before, and so have reporters, that the weight loss industry is a billion dollar industry and they are there to help you . . . spend your money AND lose weight. But you have to realize a couple of things.

1. You need to admit that you can't do this by yourself.
2. You need to investigate all the programs out there to find the one that works for you at this point of time in your life.
3. You need to start the program, but don't just go through the motions. You must commit to learning the reasoning behind the program. If you decide the pre-purchased food programs are for you, then you need to learn portion control and balance from the size of meals you are provided.
4. A magic pill won't work. If you read the side of the 'magic' pill bottle, they will say you will have success when you implement their product along with "a healthy diet and exercise". It's not the product that works, but the healthy diet and exercise.

As you know, I'm a lifetime fan of Weight Watchers. Yeah, it's a pain-in-the-butt measuring, weighing and tracking every morsel of food that enters your mouth. BUT this is where you re-learn how to eat properly. It doesn't happen overnight. It takes time, but it's worth it.

I can eat out at a Mexican restaurant and eat that cheese relleno, but give up something else . . . usually the margarita/chips and salsa, and I take the fried crust off the relleno prior to adding the ranchero sauce, not queso! This is still packed with calories, but not as many as it could have been!

I think I stopped tracking and weighing months ago. Periodically, I'll measure or weigh something as a reminder to see if I'm still eating the correct portions.

After 16 months--five months at goal--I think I can keep the weight off simply by using willpower.

But you have to remember that without the knowledge, the accountability, the hard work of tracking, weighing and measuring, I wouldn't have the tools to be successful at losing weight.

And just because I'm at goal, it doesn't mean that I don't stumble and overeat, or eat the wrong foods, or binge on peanut butter. It happens. But I have the tools to get back on track.

My lows don't go nearly as low or as dramatically as they used to because I know when I've made bad choices and when to get back on track. I don't beat myself up about it, or simply give up for the rest of the day.

I simply go back to my healthy guidelines and eat a nice salad with some protein, or a Greek yogurt smoothie, or whatever.

And how do I do it?

Well, I now have the knowledge, which gives me the WILLPOWER to do it.

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Flavorists

A few weeks ago I was watching a 60 minutes story that talked about flavorists.

Now, I knew there were food chemists in the world whose job it was to enhance flavors, but I didn't know they were paid to go to this extent in their endeavors. I've slept since then so I might have some of my facts wrong, but for the most part I think I remember enough to get this story right.

The story started out with a group of chemists going into the field to sniff and taste Mandarin oranges. Their job was to recreate the flavor in the laboratory.

Okay, fine.

I don't have a problem with them enhancing the various flavors of things. You did know there were no peaches in that peach tea you were drinking, right? Or the powdered pink lemonade you mixed with water actually had no lemons.

Flavorists are needed for a variety of jobs. And I totally support them and what they do, but then the story got ugly.

The ugly part of the story was where companies hired flavorists to not only enhance the flavor of a product, but to cut off the satisfaction of enjoyment triggering the need for another bite or drink to reach the endorphin release of happiness.

In other words, the flavor dissipates from your palate almost as soon as you finish a bite or drink.

This is the reason you can't eat just one chip, or cookie, or whatever, which results in the demolishing of the entire contents of said bag. Then you are depressed that you ate the entire bag and go eat something else.

No wonder this country is obese. Yes, over 60% of all Americans are overweight or obese.

Food producing companies are manipulating you!

They are using the knowledge that bar owners have had for a long time and taking it to the next level. For centuries, bar/pub owners used to serve salted peanuts, pretzels or other snacks when their clients drink beer. Why? Because you crave food when you drink and eating salty things will make you drink more.

Win-win  . . . for the bar owner.

Very few bar owners can afford freebies any longer, but they do have a limited menu of fried food stuffs that do the same thing.

I know I've wondered why the stuff I make at home doesn't quite have the same oomph as bought items. Now I know the trick. I always thought it had something to do with the preservatives but it was the other chemical stuff on the ingredients list. But I know that it has to do with the last item on many lists, "and added flavorings".

This is playing dirty pool, my friends. In other words, THEY'RE CHEATING YOU.

I've always been a fan of making baked goods from scratch, now more than ever before. I know what I use as the ingredients: butter, yeast, flour, sugar, etc. When I feel the urge to bake, I make it myself. Yes, the raw dough is ready for me to eat, but I would have eaten the raw dough from pre-packaged ready-to-bake products, too. And this time, I can limit my raw dough eating and actually have some baked products to show for my efforts.

This story simply topped off the concept of taking the time to make your own happiness.

If you don't know how to cook and bake, now is the time to learn.

Do it before it's too late and you become a statistic.

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Food Addiction cont.

Yesterday's blog was a tad disjointed. That's what I get for writing it without drinking my first cup of coffee, and when I need to wake the family up to get ready for work and school, and the dog manages to puke on herself. Yeah, good times.

"Onward, Teb!" (Galaxy Quest)

When a person is addicted to something: alcohol, drugs or gambling, the goal is to totally cut those behaviors out of the equation through rehab programs, therapy, and non-association with the addiction. 

People with food addictions CAN NOT cut out the problem causing the addiction. We need food to eat to survive. Temptation comes  every single time we open our mouths and place something in it.

This is why we have to modify our behavior instead of cutting it out.

Learning to put the appropriate types of food and quantities in our mouths is a big step in the right direction.

Even after we 'succeed' in our weight loss goal, we must face food challenges every single day. Some days are good days and some days are not so good. We must be honest with ourselves and acknowledge that if we backslide, we must do something about it.

When I joined Weight Watchers previously, I had an end goal in mind--my wedding, vacation, etc. I didn't have my end WEIGHT in mind. And when that weight started creeping back up, I thought I could deal with it on my own. I had the knowledge, right? I discovered the magic elixir and knew the answer.

Sorry, but it doesn't always work that way for me and many others.

This time around, I decided that the only way I would be accountable for my eating habits was to continue going to a Weight Watchers meeting after I reached goal. And that didn't mean just once a month for my official weigh-in to keep me on their free etools.

I needed the honesty and accountability of weekly meetings. And yes, I will say I needed the FEAR, too. Fear that I'll revert to my old behaviors. Fear that I'll have to pay for the meeting. Fear that I will have failed.

And I'm not the only one who does this. One lady has been a Weight Watcher for over 30 years. I think she's been at goal since the days when you had to eat liver once a week on the program back in the 1970's and '80's. Trust me, that program was starvation mode. My total daily points were 18 and I had to count fruits and vegetables. Now, I have a comfortable 32 points (maintenance level, 26 points when I was losing) daily with most fruits and vegetables a zero point value.

Liver, Yuck!

Donnie knows the secret. And so do I.

You have to be honest with yourself to realize that your food addiction will not disappear. Every time you open your mouth, you must make the choice. Periodically, your trigger foods will trip you up, or special occasions, or simply eating out. Constant vigilance is the name of the game.

For me, that means attending weekly Weight Watcher meetings.

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Food Addiction

Just an weight update. I've been lifetime (again) since mid-June. Every month I have to weigh-in at the first meeting I attend to make certain that I'm still within 2 pounds of my weight goal. Sometimes I face this day with dread and other times, I'm know I'm in a good place.

But I weigh-in weekly, not just once a month, as I've become a big fan of accountability.  This week was the one that counted. The previous week I was 0.2 pounds OVER my allotted +2 pounds, which scared me.

Monday night hubs and I had a beer and an appetizer instead of walking. It was raining and we needed to go to the mall to look for shirts for the kidlet. To kill the rest of the time until her swim practice was over, we went to Twin Peaks. I had a 'man' size (20 ounces) of Dirty Blonde. Hubs and I split some really good quesadillas. Beer makes me retain water, which worried me.

At weigh-in, I was 133 pounds. Only one pound over my goal weight. YAY!

Which brings me to the topic of food addition.

Don't ask me how I managed to get to this topic in a roundabout way, but I did!

We didn't end up fat/overweight/obese because we know how to eat, we eat right kinds of food, and know that a serving is about half of what most restaurants give you.

The equation is simple really. We overate and under exercised.

Everyone has different danger foods and different triggers, but we didn't get fat simply by overeating one meal. It's the steady amount of larger portions and poor food choices that did it.

After losing weight on WW, you know what the magic elixir is--Knowledge. We know portion control, how to eat our healthy guidelines foods and to move more.

Many of us hit our goal weight and go on our merry way only to eventually discover we are in even worse straits than before. As I've mentioned, this is my fourth time on Weight Watchers. In between my WW stints, I tried numerous other 'diets', but I never could succeed.

I had the knowledge, right? So how come it wasn't working?

When you belong to WW, you should attend meetings. I know you can do it all online and many people have success with it. But the support and camaraderie of an in-person group is incredible! Some meetings might fit you better than others. Hop around find one that works you.

The reason I'm stressing the meeting aspect today is because of  the word addiction.

Programs that treat alcohol and drug addiction have meetings, lots and lots of meetings. The attendee will have daily meetings then they will go to a couple times a week and then once a week. And if the addicted one is smart, they realize aren't 'cured'. They are basically in remission. And they attend meetings every week or month for the rest of their lives.

Something could set them off on the downward slope at any time. It doesn't have to be much--having dinner with friends, a moment of weakness, or a location--restaurant or bar.

The key to keeping an addiction in remission requires constant vigilance and accountability.

When I rejoined WW in the Summer of 2011, I decided that when I reached my goal weight I would continue to attend meetings.

And I'm proud to say that I do.

Just because I lost the weight doesn't mean there isn't something new to learn. Every week, I learn something from the meeting whether it's from WW, my leader Julie, or one of the many ladies (and couple of dudes!).

The feeling of belonging is priceless.

Later, Peeps!