One Down One to Go.

Well, I completed week 1 of the PINK Method reset. Only one more week to go until I start phase 1. I thought after the first 3 days last week my cravings were gone but they hit hard yesterday.  I wasn't craving anything in particular I just wanted something  that wasn't plant based (vegetables). I spent 4-5 hours with my internal dialog "get a bowl of cereal. No, you can do this. One bowl wouldn't hurt. Just a little longer and I can go to bed." Well, I'm happy to say I didn't cave. I think the cravings came out of frustration for not losing any weight for 3 days straight.

I am happy to say that I got on the scale again today and I have lost another pound. That is a total of 7 lost since I started last Monday. Not only that, I have already lost 1.5 inches from my waist and .5 inch from my thigh. The bust and Hips stayed the same.

I am still tired of veggies but I am looking ahead to next week when I can start adding whole grain and fruit back into my diet. Plus, the workouts start next week. I'm looking forward to being sore. Sore means progress.

Confession #4

I am really lousy at blogging about weight loss. I haven't written since October. This is because I don't like to write about my failures. I admit, I fell of the wagon and got run over by it. The holidays were good and not too stressful. I just indulged in my love of food too much. So much so that I gained back all but 10 lbs of my initial 30 lbs lost via Weight Watchers.  I stopped going to my WW meetings because they were so far away from my house and with my kiddos involved in after school sports I just couldn't get to them. I needed the meetings. I needed that support group.

Well, I am happy to say that I am back on the wagon and sitting comfortably right now. I started a new weight loss program called PINK Method. Don't get me wrong, I loved Weight Watchers, I just needed a change to re spark the drive I had at the beginning of WW. Plus, PINK method fits my budget better. A one time fee instead of a monthly one.

So, what is PINK Method? Well, it is a weight loss plan the incorporates healthy eating with exercises. Alot of the dietary stuff is similar to WW but I'm not counting points. It lays out a blue print of what you can eat and what you should avoid. There are several phases to it which vary what you eat as well as what level and type of exercises you do.

Before you begin the phases though your body needs to be "reset". So right now I'm currently on Reset. It is pretty much eating unlimited veggies, 8 oz protein a day divided between lunch and dinner, and a Pink Smoothie for breakfast.  The first 2-3 days were the worst. Partly because I was so hungry as my body adjusted to eating less. I had headaches going through carb withdrawals. They were also rough because I was at the end of the month and I had already spent the food budget so all I had to snack on was celery. Hurray for pay day though because now I have a fridge stocked to the brim with raw vegetables. I found out I actually like to nosh on yellow and orange peppers. Grape tomatoes are still my favorite snack though. It is like having a little explosion of flavor hit your mouth when you bite down.

I have so much more energy now then I did last week. Last week all I wanted to do was take naps. I had no motivation for anything. This week I am like an energizer bunny. I started on Monday and since then I have lost just over 6 lbs. My cravings for sweets and carbs has pretty much gone away (if I smell it though the cravings come). I am no longer hungry all the time either. My wedding ring spins on my finger and my face is less puffy.  I no longer have a bloated feeling.  I have my husband doing it with me even though it is a diet designed for women. He has lost 8 lbs. Of course, I gave him a jump start by unknowingly giving him a smoothie that contained whey (dairy product) and he is lactose intolerant. Sorry for your tummy ache sweety but you are welcome on the 4 lbs lost in one day.

As of right now I am very happy with the way things are going. I have 9 more days on reset and then I move onto phase 1 and I get to start the first work out videos.

Weigh In Day

I used to have my weigh in day be on Mondays. Seems like a good way to start the week. Then I discovered I weighed the least on Wednesday and Thursdays. I think it has to do with the weekend. I usually use my extra weekly points on the weekend making my total weight lost not seem as great. I am aware that in the whole scheme of things it doesn't matter. For instance, if I weighed 2 lbs less on Monday than the previous Monday I still weighed 2 lbs less on Thursday than the previous Thursday. I just want to see the lower numbers.

I have made Thursdays my new weigh in day. I started last week but forgot to report my numbers last week. I find it is so much easier to talk about past numbers instead of current numbers. But, if I'm going to be honest with myself and accountable then I need to report current numbers.

Last week I weighed 178.6 lbs.

This week I weighed 177.6 lbs.

That is a 1 pound loss for the week. I'll take it.

I haven't been perfect this last week but I am making improvements. I have cut my sugar intake way back and have increased my fruit and vegetable intake. Unfortunately the cooler weather makes me crave warm carbs like toast and pasta. I'm working on changing that though.

It still amazes me what a conscious effort I have to make all day everyday to make good eating choices. I know once I break the bad eating cycle and replace it with healthy habits it will get easier. I've been there before. 

Planning my meals ahead really helps. I have put forth the effort and have made a menu of 1 month of WW friendly dinners. This makes staying with in my budget grocery shopping so much easier too. What about breakfast and lunch? well, I'm working on those still. I pretty much eat the same breakfast every morning: one egg scrambled (nothing added) on two pieces of Sara Lee 45 Calories & Delightful Wheat bread spread with 1 wedge of lite creamy Swiss Laughing Cow Cheese wedge. I have found this to be the most satisfying breakfast that holds me over till lunch. I will have a fresh piece of fruit with it too. This is a 5 point plus meal which I think is a good deal. I usually try to not go over 7 points for breakfast. For those unaware, I'm talking about Weight Watcher points. I have 29 points a day to spend. My typical day the points are balanced out like this.

Breakfast: 5 pts

Snack: 3 pts

Lunch: 8 pts

Snack: 3 pts

Dinner: 10 pts

I love that the point system is flexible. I get to pick when and how I spend my points. If I know we are going out to dinner I will switch point snacks for fruits and veggies (0 points) and cut out points maybe at lunch. This gives me enough points for dinner out. Plus, I get 49 points to use anyway I want. I can use them all in one day or spread them out. I don't have to use them all either. So, if I go over one day it is no big deal.

Stress = Bad choices

The last couple of days I have had a lot going on and I have been stressed. I eat when I'm stressed and I usually grab carbs. So,. between yesterday and today I have consumed so many that I have a little carb hangover. You know, that yucky bloated feeling. I tried balancing it out with smoothies. Yesterday I had my first green smoothie and it was pretty good. Today I did a fruit smoothie. There is something nice about taking in all your daily fruits and veggies with one meal. I did however eat other vegetables with my meals so I did have some that didn't convert to sugar immediately.

I went back to swim laps today. I'm happy to say I swam more then I did Monday night but I still felt light headed and nauseous. I think  the light head could be due to elevated heart rate and low iron count. I forgot to take my iron pill yesterday and today. The nausea was from swimming on a full stomach. I've got to not eat a full meal right before I go swim. Tomorrow should be a more relaxed day. I'm taking my bestie out to lunch for her birthday. Here's to making good dining out choices.

Confession #3: I'm out of Shape

I know it is hard to believe but I'm out of shape. Apparently chasing after 4 kids and cleaning house is not enough to give me the cardiovascular excercise I need. Tonight my family went to the pool. I love the water. There is something so relaxing about being able to float in water or go under it and have all the noise muted. I love swimming so much that my desire to swim out weighs how awful I feel I look in a swim suit. My freshmen year of college I took a swim class and was able to swim a mile in under 30 minutes. I think I was in the best shape of my life that year too.

It has been years since I have swum? swam? laps in a pool. It's like riding a bike right? You just get in and go. So, that is what I did. I got in and I went. I think I managed to do 10 laps before feeling like I was going to pass out. I got out of the pool and was very light headed. I had to sit on the side for a little bit before I could re join my family. I had a little nausea the rest of the time I was there. I'm already looking forward to Wednesday evening when I get to go back. Tomorrow I might try Yoga if I can be organized enough to get my grocery list completed before the class starts so I can shop afterwards. Anyway, here is a break down of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of my day.

The Good:
   Took an iron pill today to help with my anemia.
   Tracked 98% of my food intake (didn't know the point value of the homemade bread)
   Got my 8 glasses of water in
   Ate at least 3 fruits/veggies today
   got some exercise

The Bad:
   Ate too many slices of homemade wheat bread with out tracking it.
   Stayed up too late to post this post.
  
The Ugly:
   Ate 6 cookies just before lunch because I was in the middle of making applesauce and couldn't grab anything else. Surely I could have grabbed an apple but by this point they were all already peeled and pureed. I haven't been shopping in over a week and my shelves and fridge are depleted of all things good.

Confession #2: I Don't always Track

I have found over the last several months that tracking is one of a couple of keys to my weight loss success. When I am diligent and track everything I eat I am more aware of what I have eaten and how many points I have left. It helps me make better choices too.

For Example, if I tracked my points today I probably would not have had a cup of hot chocolate with 4 pieces of buttered toast for breakfast. It was a cold morning though and the hot chocolate called out to me. I probably would have settled for the hot chocolate and one or two pieces of toast.  If I had tracked my points today I probably wouldn't have had cookie dough and would have had an apple instead.  Good thing there is always tomorrow for me to start over and track my food.

Confession #1: Admitting there is a Problem

Hello, my name is Julie and I am an emotional eater.

I don't know when it all began. I can't say it was a particular incident. I just like to eat. Any time I have some sort of emotion I want to eat.  Sometimes it is to reward myself and other times I think it is to fill a void. I eat when I'm happy, bored, sad, lonely, stressed etc. It is time to gain control of my life and not let my emotions dictate my weight. This blog is one way I can keep track of my journey.

Like most women, I have never been completely satisfied with my body shape or size. I have always had bigger hips and thighs. In high school and college I had to buy pants that were a size bigger just to fit my hips and thighs but then the waste gaped. At least during this time I was in pretty good physical shape. I played soccer in H.S. and in college I didn't have a car the 1st two years so I walked, a lot. I got married just before my JR year of college and I weighed 128 lbs.  This weight was with in normal weight for my 5'4" height. I was a size 8-10.

Halfway through my senior year of college I gave birth to my 1st child, a girl. I honestly can't remember what I weighed right before I got pregnant or at delivery. I just know I never got back below 140 before getting pregnant with baby #2, a boy, two years later. I gained oodles of weight with my 2nd pregnancy. At delivery I weighed 214 lbs. 2 weeks after delivery I was back into my pre pregnancy pants which were a size 12. I think I weighed around 160 lbs. Most of my weight gain was water retention because I had pre-eclampsia. It could also have been from the pan of brownies I ate almost every week of my pregnancy.

When my son was 10 months old I got pregnant again. I was somewhere between 160 and 170 lbs. I was 199 lbs when I gave birth to baby #3, another girl.  There was a period of time when my husband was gone for 3 months straight doing medical rotations out of state. I took this time to try losing weight and  I tried my first diet plant: the South Beach Diet. I lost 20 lbs and got down to a size 12 again. As soon as I went off the plan I gained the weight back. When baby #3 was 16 months old I was pregnant yet again. I was 174 lbs at the time of conception. When I delivered my 4th child I was 198 lbs. I remember losing that weight rather quickly in the beginning. In fact, I think after 2-3 weeks I was down to 165. However,  over the next 3 years that followed I gained weight. I was eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. My biggest hangups are baked goods:  breads, brownies, cookies, cakes. And we can't forget chocolate. Portion control is also something I battle. I can't stop at just one cookie.

I hit my breaking point in December of 2010 when after the Holidays I got on the scale and weighed over 200 lbs. I was wearing a size 18 in clothes but was pushing moving onto a size 20. I refused to buy size 20 clothing. I had to do something. I didn't want and still don't want to do a "diet". I don't want a quick weight loss solution. I don't want to have to take a special pill, shot, or drop. I need to change my lifestyle. On December 28, 2010 I walked into my first Weight Watchers meeting.

This was exactly the plan I needed. Weight Watchers is not a fad diet but a lifestyle change. I admit for the first couple of weeks food consumed my thoughts almost every minute of every day. As I adjusted to smaller portions, more veggies and fruit, and less refined carbs I felt great. The weight was coming off. I was losing 2-3 lbs per week. I had energy.

Then life started happening. In March we went to Florida for spring break. I didn't gain any weight while I was there but I didn't lose any either. I let my guard down and old habits started sneaking back in. I remained the same weight for about 6 weeks. During this time we had some life stresses associated with finding a new job, selling a house, purchasing a new home, and moving 4 states away. I was so stressed my hair was falling out and I started emotionally eating again. In May, just before the moving stress started, I was 172 lbs.last week I was back up to 178 lbs.  I have tried getting back to WW meetings but I now live in a small town and the meetings are not at convenient times.  I know the plan works so I'm going to give it a go by just doing it online and skipping the meetings. I think I may try to go to one once a month or every other month to get my weight "officially" measured.

So, here we go. I'm starting again and I'm asking for your support. I hope to write everyday about my successes and failures. I plan on sharing things that help me as well as recipes. I would love any tips and advice you may have as well.  I am Julie, and I am an emotional eater.