If you think I'm going to put a single toe on the scale in the next two weeks, you're one drumstick shy of a full turkey.
No, I'm not going to pig out, but I'm not going to count every calorie either.
Yes, I'm going to have a lot of greens and veggies. And turkey.
Yes, I'll even have some starches and dessert.
I also plan on walking a lot since I won't be working for at least two days this week, and three afternoons will be free as well.
This week I'm not planning anything drastic, or learning any significant lessons. If I gain, I gain, if I lose I lose. I hope the latter happens. I will reboot next week.
One thing I will say is I plan on adding a few extra veggies to the table, other than the typical mashed potatoes and corn (which are more starchy than veggie). I want to add sauteed spinach, maybe some broccoli, and definitely some carrot coins into the mix. The carrots if nothing else. I have to see what I have time to make!
I will restart my reports again next week. I might even reboot this whole plan after my big birthday dinner in January. That will be a year since I started!
Hmm...six months eating plan, six months to maintain....I might be on to something!
Monday, November 23, 2015
Monday, November 16, 2015
Week Forty Four: The Dear-God-I-Fed-The-Chip-Monster New Eating Lifestyle
Two pounds forward, one pound back.
This weekend was a weekend for relaxing. Part of that relaxing was taking a day trip to Lancaster to get the things we needed for the holidays. Lots of potatoes and pumpkin squash, and a trip into the Bad Lands- otherwise known as the Amish Bulk Food Store. We saved money on lunch by buying junk at the bulk food store. When there's five people in the van, that can be a significant savings.
Savings in money- not in calories.
Two of the snack items were chips. My favorite.
I fed the chip monster and it bit me in the butt.
The scale showed I'd gained a pound. Had I not eaten those chips, maybe the numbers would be different. Sigh.
Not much walking this week, though I worked a lot. Also, I didn't get a chance to buy anymore spinach, cherry tomatoes and rotisserie chicken, so breakfast sandwiches have been the go-to food until I can go shopping. The sandwiches are at least 200 calories more per sandwich, so that is also going to take part of the blame.
I don't like skipping meals, but I am considering having a piece of fruit for lunch on those breakfast sandwich days.
Lessons learned:
Don't feed the chip monster. Ever.
When sandwiches are the only breakfast go-to food, plan lighter lunches to cut back the calories. Salads and fruit might be the best choices.
Make sure the fridge is stocked with good stuff before the week starts!
Plan shopping trips better when pressed for time- especially when you notice you're running out of something.
Cold salads for breakfast might also be a good option- just put the dressing on the side!
This week has been crazy busy, and I don't expect it to slow any time in the next few months- especially for the holidays. This has to be the hardest part of weight loss- finding that balance between 'time' and 'healthy' where you can have both. It might also help if i organized my low-cal recipes a bit better- maybe even write a cookbook! At least then I'll know where they are! :)
This weekend was a weekend for relaxing. Part of that relaxing was taking a day trip to Lancaster to get the things we needed for the holidays. Lots of potatoes and pumpkin squash, and a trip into the Bad Lands- otherwise known as the Amish Bulk Food Store. We saved money on lunch by buying junk at the bulk food store. When there's five people in the van, that can be a significant savings.
Savings in money- not in calories.
Two of the snack items were chips. My favorite.
I fed the chip monster and it bit me in the butt.
The scale showed I'd gained a pound. Had I not eaten those chips, maybe the numbers would be different. Sigh.
Not much walking this week, though I worked a lot. Also, I didn't get a chance to buy anymore spinach, cherry tomatoes and rotisserie chicken, so breakfast sandwiches have been the go-to food until I can go shopping. The sandwiches are at least 200 calories more per sandwich, so that is also going to take part of the blame.
I don't like skipping meals, but I am considering having a piece of fruit for lunch on those breakfast sandwich days.
Lessons learned:
Don't feed the chip monster. Ever.
When sandwiches are the only breakfast go-to food, plan lighter lunches to cut back the calories. Salads and fruit might be the best choices.
Make sure the fridge is stocked with good stuff before the week starts!
Plan shopping trips better when pressed for time- especially when you notice you're running out of something.
Cold salads for breakfast might also be a good option- just put the dressing on the side!
This week has been crazy busy, and I don't expect it to slow any time in the next few months- especially for the holidays. This has to be the hardest part of weight loss- finding that balance between 'time' and 'healthy' where you can have both. It might also help if i organized my low-cal recipes a bit better- maybe even write a cookbook! At least then I'll know where they are! :)
Monday, November 9, 2015
Week Forty Three: The Dear-God-I-Have-A-New-Dynamic New Eating Lifestyle
The family dynamic has changed.
I'm now working about 40-50 hours a week at two of the four jobs. One in the morning, and one in the late afternoon and evenings at least 3-4 days a week.
There fore the eating has to change, since I won't be home to cook most nights.
Most nights.
Soups, crock pot meals and casseroles are the order of the day, with my husband cooking once or twice a week to help me out. Good thing he can cook shoe leather and make it tender and tasty! Lucky for me we have chicken in the freezer and not shoe leather.
Breakfast usually consists of a homemade egg sandwich (500-600 calories) or two sandwich bags- one with fresh spinach and grape tomatoes (maybe 50 calories) and the other has a few slices of rotisserie chicken (about 250 calories). When I run out of the fresh stuff, i make the egg sandwiches. Both are eaten throughout the morning and not all at once, which works well for me. I'm not famished when I get home, so there's less chance of me pigging out at lunch time.
Lunch is almost always leftovers. Most are within the 500-600 calorie mark. This is more calories than I should have if I'm eating the egg sandwich for breakfast, so I try to keep it lighter on those days, but not always, and the scale shows it.
Dinners have been late eating, which isn't good for me, but it's a necessary evil. My usual eating time is between five and six, but now it's more like seven. There was a night or two when I didn't eat until after eight- That's late for someone who's up at 4:30 each morning!
One thing that has changed for the better is that our family is starting to go for walks together. Geocaching is something we dabbled in (a treasure hunt using the GPS), as well as long walks on park paths. Fall is such a beautiful time of the year, and the walks are refreshing and desperately needed to keep me active. It's also a good time to rake up leaves- another way to stay active!
This week was a challenge as I started my second job. No weight loss, but I didn't gain either!
Lessons Learned:
I can't do everything. Ask for help when work at home needs more time than I can give.
Park walks feel good and allows my brain to settle down with live conversation- it's nice to not have a screen in my face all the time!
I might have to start cooking in bulk on the days I'm not working, and freeze leftovers individually so we have a choice for lunches- and dinners when I'm late and he can't cook.
Drink more water when eating at night so I don't eat too much before bed.
Do the third job in between the first and second job, when there's a few hour lull.
It's not easy. It especially won't be easy when that fourth job kicks in! But right now I have to do what I have to do, and work things out so I'm losing weight along the way. I always did like a challenge!
I'm now working about 40-50 hours a week at two of the four jobs. One in the morning, and one in the late afternoon and evenings at least 3-4 days a week.
There fore the eating has to change, since I won't be home to cook most nights.
Most nights.
Soups, crock pot meals and casseroles are the order of the day, with my husband cooking once or twice a week to help me out. Good thing he can cook shoe leather and make it tender and tasty! Lucky for me we have chicken in the freezer and not shoe leather.
Breakfast usually consists of a homemade egg sandwich (500-600 calories) or two sandwich bags- one with fresh spinach and grape tomatoes (maybe 50 calories) and the other has a few slices of rotisserie chicken (about 250 calories). When I run out of the fresh stuff, i make the egg sandwiches. Both are eaten throughout the morning and not all at once, which works well for me. I'm not famished when I get home, so there's less chance of me pigging out at lunch time.
Lunch is almost always leftovers. Most are within the 500-600 calorie mark. This is more calories than I should have if I'm eating the egg sandwich for breakfast, so I try to keep it lighter on those days, but not always, and the scale shows it.
Dinners have been late eating, which isn't good for me, but it's a necessary evil. My usual eating time is between five and six, but now it's more like seven. There was a night or two when I didn't eat until after eight- That's late for someone who's up at 4:30 each morning!
One thing that has changed for the better is that our family is starting to go for walks together. Geocaching is something we dabbled in (a treasure hunt using the GPS), as well as long walks on park paths. Fall is such a beautiful time of the year, and the walks are refreshing and desperately needed to keep me active. It's also a good time to rake up leaves- another way to stay active!
This week was a challenge as I started my second job. No weight loss, but I didn't gain either!
Lessons Learned:
I can't do everything. Ask for help when work at home needs more time than I can give.
Park walks feel good and allows my brain to settle down with live conversation- it's nice to not have a screen in my face all the time!
I might have to start cooking in bulk on the days I'm not working, and freeze leftovers individually so we have a choice for lunches- and dinners when I'm late and he can't cook.
Drink more water when eating at night so I don't eat too much before bed.
Do the third job in between the first and second job, when there's a few hour lull.
It's not easy. It especially won't be easy when that fourth job kicks in! But right now I have to do what I have to do, and work things out so I'm losing weight along the way. I always did like a challenge!
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Week Forty Two: The Dear-God-I'm-Working-It-Out New Eating Lifestyle
I don't have all of my ducks in a row, but a few of them are in line!
I'm down two pounds! Yay me- 293!
I was very happy to see a smaller number on the scale for a change- it can be so disheartening to not see some progress after so long a plateau. But I'm not done yet.
I'm still plateauing because I'm still not under 290. But I won't be breaking my legs trying to get there either. There's just too much going on.
I now have four jobs, all of them part time. Two are regular and paid, one is regular and volunteer (and important, so imma keep on doin' it!) and the last is sporadic, but will pay well when they call me. And that's on top of the momming, housewifing, writing and crafting.
Yet I still manage to find time to overeat. I amaze me.
Despite the candy craze of Halloween (Mom taxes deducted, then eaten), I managed to lose two pounds. Now let's see what I can do when I'm not eating chocolate. Okay, maybe less chocolate- I won't deny myself completely!
Unfortunately, the gym membership is going to be cancelled. I just don't have time to go to a separate building to exercise and we could use that money elsewhere. So my next goal is to get something small to exercise on, like that little elliptical doojigger I saw in a FaceBook ad or another exercise bike. Treadmills are just too darned big, and to be honest, I like the elliptical better than a bike because I have to stand. I don't need anything else keeping me on my butt, but at this point, I'll get anything that will make me more active!!
Lessons learned:
Having premade meals in controlled portions really helps keep me from bingeing.
Plan healthier meals that can be heated up in a jiffy.
Do more on your feet when home.
Exercise standing up when possible- machine or not. Maybe dance silly dances with my daughter!
This will not be an easy fight- my body likes being big and will do anything possible to keep it that way. So I just have to change the way my body thinks- and that will take a lot more than a year!
What's your story? Share your struggles and triumphs with me!
I'm down two pounds! Yay me- 293!
I was very happy to see a smaller number on the scale for a change- it can be so disheartening to not see some progress after so long a plateau. But I'm not done yet.
I'm still plateauing because I'm still not under 290. But I won't be breaking my legs trying to get there either. There's just too much going on.
I now have four jobs, all of them part time. Two are regular and paid, one is regular and volunteer (and important, so imma keep on doin' it!) and the last is sporadic, but will pay well when they call me. And that's on top of the momming, housewifing, writing and crafting.
Yet I still manage to find time to overeat. I amaze me.
Despite the candy craze of Halloween (Mom taxes deducted, then eaten), I managed to lose two pounds. Now let's see what I can do when I'm not eating chocolate. Okay, maybe less chocolate- I won't deny myself completely!
Unfortunately, the gym membership is going to be cancelled. I just don't have time to go to a separate building to exercise and we could use that money elsewhere. So my next goal is to get something small to exercise on, like that little elliptical doojigger I saw in a FaceBook ad or another exercise bike. Treadmills are just too darned big, and to be honest, I like the elliptical better than a bike because I have to stand. I don't need anything else keeping me on my butt, but at this point, I'll get anything that will make me more active!!
Lessons learned:
Having premade meals in controlled portions really helps keep me from bingeing.
Plan healthier meals that can be heated up in a jiffy.
Do more on your feet when home.
Exercise standing up when possible- machine or not. Maybe dance silly dances with my daughter!
This will not be an easy fight- my body likes being big and will do anything possible to keep it that way. So I just have to change the way my body thinks- and that will take a lot more than a year!
What's your story? Share your struggles and triumphs with me!
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