A Day of Food

We went to the Renaissance Festival this weekend.  It was a lot of fun!  Lots of food, too, however!

We had turkey legs, fried pickles, fried mushrooms, curly cheese fries, fried oreos, fried brownies and lots of wine!  I actually didn't eat a lot of all that - so it's not as bad as it sounds!  And we did a ton of walking around the festival, so hopefully that helped some!

The turkey legs were fantastic, and not a horrible choice as the foods there went.  The worst choice was the fried brownie! 

Now I have to work hard this week to make up for it!  But I would say it was worth it.  And it's a part of life.   I'm not going to give up on the fun things just because there are going to be unhealthy food choices.  It's a tradition to go to the festival and the kids have a wonderful time!  I just have to be sensible but for these types of outings and then it will all work out.  If I tried to deny myself this type of fun just because I might eat poorly for one day, then there is no way I could keep on my journey.  I would end up quitting.  And I'm not going to quit!

It was also fun to look at some of the clothing and think that next year, I might be willing to spend the money on those things if I've lost down to my goal weight.  Something to look forward to!

Back to reality today, though.  I have a doctor appointment to check on my blood pressure.  I haven't lost enough weight yet to make a difference there, I don't think, but that's a goal.  It would be nice to be able to get off the medications!  He will test my B-12 levels as well to see if I need to have shots to supplement my levels.  Not a pleasant thought, but if it helps with my energy levels, I'll take it!

So back to my normal routine today.  I rode the bike for 1 hour and 5 minutes and did my usual reverse crunches, leg lifts and butt crunches.  Feel pretty good!

So, don't forget to enjoy yourself on your journey.  It won't last very long if you try and deprive yourself.  Take the time to have fun.  After all, it's for the rest of our lives!

Sleep and Weight Loss

I am feeling so much better today!

I think it has to do with a good night's sleep!  I went to bed around 10:15 last night and, even though I woke up at my usual 5:44, I slept well.  And I made myself stay in bed and I just rested and dozed and relaxed until about 7:30 when I finally got up.  And, man, what a difference from yesterday.  I feel GOOD today!

I have heard all kinds of rumors about sleep being related to weight loss.  Or, more specifically, the lack of sleep being related to weight gain.

I read an interesting article on WebMD about it.  Here's the link:  Sleep & weight gain article.  Really fascinating, and I think there may be something to it. 



I know for sure that this is one of the worst weeks I've had in regards to sleep.  And it was also one of the worst weeks I've had on this journey in relation to food and my mental battle to stay on my journey.

I guess I need to try and make it a priority to get better sleep.  Okay, easier said than done, but definitely worth an attempt just based on what I feel today after one good night's sleep.  The problem is that to find time for doing the things to help me on my journey, sleep is the first thing I sacrificed.  And my journey is too important to give up, so somehow I have to figure out how to get more sleep.  Actually, it probably isn't MORE sleep I need, just BETTER sleep.

One thing that I have changed in the recent past is that I stopped listening to my hypnosis CD as I went to sleep.  Maybe I need to start that back up again.  I may have been sleeping better and just didn't realize it.  I know I was definitely on task every day and had very few issues with my eating habits when I fell asleep listening to the CD every night. 

There are also specific CDs that are supposed to help with sleep patterns and help you sleep a better sleep.  I may have to try those.

Something to think about.  I'm just glad that I feel better. I was worried that they way I was feeling this past week that I might really fall off the wagon and not have the will to get back on. 

So, keep in mind how important sleep is.  We can't stay on our journey to health if we don't have the good sleep.  We've got to make sure we give ourselves the sleep we need or our journeys may take a u-turn.

Tough Times

I'm having a really tough few days here.

I'm extremely hormonal.  I ate fudge last night.  Don't get me wrong - it was worth every bite of it that I ate.  For some reason I was craving it and it hit the spot and I felt better.  I'm not going to obsess about it or feel bad about it.  It was good and that's that.

But I'm so tired.  This month is just kicking my butt. 

I did get up and ride the bike for an hour and five minutes this morning.  And I plan on doing my bowflex today, though I have work that might prevent it.  I'm hoping to still work it in. 

I'm just having a tough time of it.  I assume I will get over it soon.  I sure hope so!

Dinner last night was really good.  I did the shrimp thing and it is amazingly low calorie.

The top picture is the po' boy with the bun.  The side dish is grilled artichoke hearts (10 pieces for 50 calories).  The bottom picture was my plate - I am not a big bread eater, so I just ate my shrimp on the shredded lettuce drizzled with Texas Pete hot sauce.  It was very tasty.  And get this - the total meal (including the bun) was only 180 calories.  Mine was 109 calories since I didn't eat the bun.  It was very satisfying.

Another reason I didn't feel so bad about eating the fudge later that night.

I'll post the recipe on the recipe page. 

Hopefully I'll get through this and be back to my chipper self in a few days.  Maybe I'll get some sleep this weekend and that will help.

I guess we all face tough times now and then.  We just have to work through them without eating through them.

Super Foods

Are there really "super foods" that can help us lose weight?

Well, there might be foods that are smart for us to eat, but I don't think there are any specific super foods that if we eat them we'll lose weight.  There's the grapefruit diet, for instance.  Now, I love pink grapefruit.  And it does have lots of healthy benefits - lots of vitamin C, etc. But any diet where all we eat is pink grapefruit would be dangerous, and would inevitably fail.  Who can eat just one thing for any length of time?

I think the key is to eat lots of the so called "super foods" in conjunction with other foods.  Variety is the key for me.

And there are so many foods that are low calorie and taste good!

Tonight I'm going to make shrimp po' boys.  I am going to marinate my shrimp in some Texas Pete for a bit and then I'm going to grill them.  I'm going to use Texas Pete hot sauce for my sauce (rather than mayo or remoulade sauce).  I'm going to pile on shredded lettuce and maybe some sliced tomatoes.  I might even forego the bun (not a big bread eater here) but even if I didn't, that's a very low calorie meal - and it's comfort food!

I'm also going to try microwaved potato chips tonight.

If all this comes together, I'll post it on the recipe section.

But, my point is, any diet that tries to concentrate on one "super food" just isn't going to work.  At least not long term. 

But there are a lot of foods that are "super" for our diets:  apples, eggs, berries, melons, avocados, kiwi, and more.  You know what all those have in common?  They are natural foods - not processed.  And they are packed with vitamins and nutrients.  And the avocado??  Oh, so decadent!  Full of the "good" fat!  Way to feel like you are eating rich!

One thing I have not tried yet is quinoa.  I keep hearing good things about it.  I'm going to have to check it out.

In other news, I dropped to 196.6 yesterday!  However, I tend to fluctuate before I stabilize at a weight, so I'm waiting to see if it will stick or not.  I sure hope so! 

Of course, last night I ate another 3 bags of 100 calorie snacks.  Not the best in choices for me!  I guess it could be worse!

I need to hang in there and try to get more of the "super" foods into my diet. 

Here's hoping that all of you have a "super" day!

Triggers.

A trigger can be defined as:  a factor caused by the environment.  It is also:  the mechanism that sets off a firearm.

In the world of dieting, I'm more inclined to think the second definition is more accurate.

When I hit a trigger, it's most definitely like a firearm has gone off as I ricochet around the kitchen from cabinets to pantry to refrigerator like a wild bullet. 

So what are my triggers?  Sometimes, I honestly don't know. 

Mostly though, I can track them because of my logs and tracking.  I can usually pinpoint what it is that set me off.   Those types of triggers I can fix, or at least understand and try to avoid.  Like the celebration triggers.  I can see those coming from a mile away and attempt to plan around them.

But what about days like yesterday?  What the heck was that all about?  I actually did pretty well.  But there was definitely something going on.  Something that made me want to eat and eat and eat.  The good news is that I didn't.  I was actually pretty good, but I sure WANTED to eat.  And we did end up eating out last night, but that was mostly because of timing - daughter's physical therapy session, my work schedule.  We ate at Tanner's but I ate an appetizer rather than a full meal, so that was not so bad, diet-wise.

Hopefully today will be a day without triggers. 

I guess as time goes on, the more I log and track, the more I'll come to understand my triggers.  There are emotional ones, celebration ones, time-factor ones, stress ... and I just need to learn to get through them without exploding like a bullet.  I need some kind of bullet-proof (trigger-proof) vest that can keep me from damage when a trigger is ... well, triggered.

If I can't have a vest, then maybe I'll have to hope I only get shot in the leg ... that would be damaging, but not fatal.  I guess that was what yesterday was - I was damaged, but didn't keel over.  I was able to get through it, though it was a yucky, icky, grumpy day.

So, be on the lookout for triggers.  Track them, understand them.  Survive them.  At the very least, try and keep the safety on.

Lost that Pound!

Finally!  I got that nasty pound off!

I was down to 197 yesterday - lower than the 197.4, which was my lowest point until yesterday - AND 1 pound plus down from the 198.4 that I've been stuck at since Easter weekend.  Now I'm just one more pound away from being "overweight" instead of "obese" according to WebMD and my BMI.

Little steps.  I'll take them!

Of course, for some reason I am ravenous today.  I think I am going to have to make sure I make a lot of veggies for dinner tonight so that I can fill myself up on something healthy.  If not, I'll end up eating like a pig.  Last night I had 3 bags of 100 calorie snack foods ...

Either I'm about to lose a bunch of weight or I'm not sure what's up.  Of course it's just about TOM so that might be it, too ... (though that is usually chocolate related, and I'm not really hungry for any particular thing - I'm just HUNGRY!).

I'm tired today too.  I REALLY didn't want to get up and ride that bike this morning.  But, once I was on the bike, I was good.  I rode longer than usual - about 1 hour and 5 minutes and I rode faster than usual, too, so I burned more calories.  My muscles are all sore from doing the bowflex yesterday, so that's a good thing, too!

I think my next challenge for myself is to make myself drink more water.  I like water.  I actually love ice water.  And I try to drink it, but I come nowhere near the amount I should be drinking.  Maybe that is one of the reasons my weight loss is slower than some other's around me.

I did try my trick of drinking ice water last night while watching TV, but I still ended up eating the three bags of 100 calorie snacks ...

I'm feeling a little "bleh" today. 

Which is okay.  We all have those days.  I just need to get through this one without eating my way through it.

Hopefully I'll report a weight loss come tomorrow!

Fun Day.

Yesterday was a really fun day.

I took the girls (all four of them!) shopping for shoes, exercise clothes, etc.  Had a lot of fun!  Came home and made a wonderful dinner on the grill!

I was planning on shish-k-bobs, but didn't feel like doing the skewer part, so I used non-stick grill pans to cook everything in.  We had beef and shrimp as well as mushrooms, broccoli (mixed in with a little fresh asparagus from the garden), and peppers & onions!  It was a lot of food and it was really good!  And because it was grilled with very little oils involved, it was healthy as well as tasty!

It was a really good dinner!

And then, we found a kitten in our yard!  There is a wild cat that breeds constantly and no one can catch her.  So we now have a new kitten - Oreo.  She is very cute!

So after a great Sunday, I'm hoping that my re-focusing will mean that I can get rid of this stubborn pound that hasn't come off (plus more!).  I feel good.  I feel strong.  I feel ready to do this!

How about you?