New Beginnings

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving--full of kids and grandkids and family.  It really made me feel thankful for my many blessings.  Here are a couple pictures we took before everybody went home.

with our grandchildren

all our kids and grands!

All that thankfulness involved lots of food too and, as wonderful as it was, I'm most thankful that all the tempting calorific not-on-my-plan things are finally out of the house.  My weight has been drifting slowing upwards over the last two months so that I now have 7.4 pounds to lose get down to where I was at the beginning of October.  No more.  Did you notice the title of this post?  New Beginnings. That's because today is the day, now is the time that I rededicate myself to reaching my goal.

All this coincides nicely with WW's new program which was introduced yesterday.   The WW website must have been overwhelmed because it took all day before I could finally get to the site.  This is the first major change to their plan in a dozen years.  It is different because they have reconfigured the points system.  I like what they've done.  Most fruits and veggies are no points.  The new points calculator now looks at the carbs, fiber, protein, and fats.  The old one looked at just calories, fiber, & fat.  Things make more sense to me in the new plan.  And, wonder of wonders, they still allow me to follow my "CORE" plan.  They don't call it "Core" anymore, it's Simply Filling, but it's there and that's what I'm going to go back to.  For now, though, I'm doing to regular program.  I get 29 points per day plus the 49 weekly points.  I imagine I'll eat the same things that I'd eat with the Core/Simply Filling, but for now I want the reassurance that I'm eating correct portions.  After I get used to the new way, I'll switch over to the Core/Simply Filling plan, because I don't want to be tied to counting points for every single bite.

They now allow me 49 points per week over and above the 0 point Power foods (skim milk, lean protein, eggs, veggies, fruit, etc).  And they encourage you to use all 49.  My beloved Latte Bars which say 1 point on the box, are now worth 2 points.  So are the Strawberry Smoothie bars.  They will still be on my plan, but I'll save my points to include them.  I haven't been to my WW meeting yet to hear the official explanation, but this is what I'm thinking now.  I'll let you know more about it tomorrow when I understand more.

To go along with the new food plan, I'm revving up my exercise, too.  Back to my good 6 out of 7 days per week with solid exercise each day--half cardio, half strength.  Today I ran 3.5 miles (in the drizzle).  Tomorrow I think it will be the exercise bike.  

My sweet Dad fell yesterday and has a compound fracture of the hip (the top of his femur).  They were able to do the portable x-ray at his nursing home so that he doesn't have to go to the hospital which is always very upsetting to him.  It's hard to see that he's in such fragile health. I'm thankful for the good days we enjoyed with him a couple of weeks ago.

 J&E are napping right now and I need to go take advantage of this time to finish up my Bible study for tomorrow.

I'm feeling strong and confident about reaching my goals.  I'm excited about the new plan and motivated to use it to advantage.  The hardest hurdles (celebration-wise) are behind me.

How about you?  Are the T-giving temptations out of your life and your fridge now??

Post Thanksgiving Hot 100 Update

Hello all.  We had a wonderful, blessed, and delicious Thanksgiving yesterday.  The scale showed only a .2 pound rise this morning vs yesterday's weight.  There are lots of leftovers, but I have a big pot of turkey soup which is very diet friendly and the sinfully tempting things are mostly gone (the pecan pie went home with Johnny, the cranberry jello salad was a big hit with the grandkids, and the Sweetie's sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping is down to just a couple of servings left).

I'm awaiting the big reveal at WW next week when they roll out their new plan.  I hope to find it interesting enough to adopt it for the next big push in my weight loss program.  The nice thing about WW is that they are always sensible.  I'm feeling like I need a renewal in my motivation and hope that this pre-Christmas new eating plan will provide that.

Hot 100 Update

1.  Weight Loss--I did not got to my WW WI on Wednesday as two sets of family arrived that day.  Grandkids not seen in months trump my WI any day!  I will be there "with bells on" next Wednesday for sure.

2.  Exercise--Fail.  I have had 2 rest days  rather than just one this week.  I had 16 at dinner last night and today went sight seeing with Laura and her family in DC.  Lots of walking but no organized exercise.  Running tomorrow.

3.  Chocolate.  Pass--actually I haven't had any this week because I've been too darn busy to go get some!

I'm having a wonderful time with family.  I hope to get some good pix to share with you when everybody is back together on Sunday (Johnny and his gang went to visit the "other" grandparents after dinner yesterday).

Love to you all !

New Do, Hot 100 Update

Did you notice?  I got a new "do" today.  I've had my hair more or less the same style for just about 10 years, but decided to do something different today.  I took some pictures in to my hairdresser and she got it just about how I wanted.  My hair grows fast and I can have my "old do" back in four or five months, but I'm liking this right now.  I also suspect it's going to be very easy to take care of.  I'm not great at taking self portraits--I snapped about 30 and almost half only had part of my face, including the one above.  Here are a couple others.  Not in great focus, but they will give you the idea.  I'll change out my profile picture as I get more shots I like.

I'm doing better at sticking to my plan. Thank you all for your encouraging comments.  No more way off track days this week and I'm feeling more like myself (my good self!)  My results for my challenges aren't going to be pretty this week, but a new week is starting and is, as yet, pristine!  I love a clean slate. 

I grew up hating Brussel Sprouts, but have lately thought they were something I should like.  Sharon (Gains and Losses) shared her method of fixing them (loved by Mr. B.) and I started with that and came up with a couple refinements via the Internet and we all loved 'em.  Not enough to make them every week, maybe, but surely several times during the Brussel Sprout season.  Here's the recipe:

Sautéed BRUSSELS SPROUTS (serves 2-3)
Ingredients:
About 1 ¼ pounds Brussels sprouts


4 shallots


2 cloves of garlic, crushed


olive oil


vegetable bouillon cube/ (I used chicken flavor)

Method:

Clean the Brussels sprouts and cut each one vertically in quarters.  Finely chop the shallots and crush the garlic. 

In a large flat-bottomed frying pan, heat enough oil to cover the base of the pan.  Place the Brussels sprouts in the pan, cut side down, in a single layer.  Scatter the chopped shallots and garlic over the sprouts.

When the sprouts are just starting to caramelize (you will smell them), turn them over and cook for another 5 minutes or so. 

Add enough water to cover the base of the pan with about 1mm of water and crumble half a vegetable stock cube into the pan (I used Knorr bouillon cubes). Give the pan a good stir and then allow to steam-fry until all the liquid has cooked off and the sprouts are tender.  Serve hot.

{sorry, I have no idea why all the little emoticons showed up!}


Okay, now that you've had your veggies, here's this weeks Hot 100 Update:


My goals:

1. Reach my goal weight by Jan 1st by following the WW CORE plan, weigh & record my weight each morning, attend weekly WW meetings.
2. Exercise at least 6 out of 7 days with varied exercise including at least 2 strength workouts and 3 cardio workouts each week averaging 60 minutes per session.
3. Keep my house and my body reasonably chocolate free.  Limit dark chocolate to 1 oz per day.  [amended 10/20]

How I Did:

1. I blew this one pretty badly for the first part of the week.  Did not stick to plan--lots of unplanned splurges.  I did, however, weigh & record my weight each day and attend my WW meetings. My weight was up and I am farther away from, not closer to my Jan 1st goal. [maybe the hair cut will help . . . .] 
2. I get credit for this one, but it was certainly not the best quality exercise on 4 of the 6 days.  Okay, but not great.
3. I blew this one too.  I splurged on chocolate over the 1 oz allowance on a few of those days.  There was also the brownie incident (I made 1/16th of my recipe and had two brownies--yummie, but not on plan--however better than the bad old days when I'd eat a whole batch. . . .) 

Tish has much "room for improvement" in meeting her goals.  


Come back tomorrow to hear about my upcoming "bike holiday."  DH got his full arm cast off today and now sports a jaunty half arm cast and hopes to be able to bike with me.


TAFN,

Biker Girls, Hot 100 Update

About to take off after a nice OP breakfast at our B&B with a nice send off from DH,
our one armed support team.

Wait!  I could be drafting behind Sharon if I hurry.

Evidence that we started before the 34 mile marker on the trail.

Carolina Brothers BBQ stop at the 6 mile point, too bad it was only 10:30 am!

Self portrait.  Still smiling.

Sharon and DH enjoying a lunch break at a trail side Whole Foods.

DH,  our super-duper one armed Support Team.

Trail's end, 34.5 miles later.  Tired but HAPPY and feeling very accomplished.

We had a great time.  No flats, no unintended pizza stops, no weirdos on the trail,  and only one snake.  We're definitely going to do this again--and we're hoping the fellas get to come with us next time.  My caloriecount.com site tells me I burned 1768 calories on our ride!   

It's time for the Hot 100 Update!


My goals:

1. Reach my goal weight by Jan 1st by following the WW CORE plan, weigh & record my weight each morning, attend weekly WW meetings.
2. Exercise at least 6 out of 7 days with varied exercise including at least 2 strength workouts and 3 cardio workouts each week averaging 60 minutes per session.
3. Keep my house and my body chocolate free.  This includes dark chocolate, chocolate chips, chocolate candy bars and any baked goods that have chocolate in them.

How I did this week:

1. I did not go to my WW meeting (I was out of town on a bike holiday).  My daily morning weights indicate that I am losing, slowly, but regularly.  I will definitely weigh in next week.  I ate OP all week.
2. Nailed this one.  Praise Moves, Hiking, Running, Biking, Strength Training at the Gym, more Hiking, LOTS more Biking.  Averaged more than 120 minutes per day!!!
3. Sharon says I didn't and she was keeping track!  YAY for me.

I'm feeling good about things, EXCEPT I really want to hunker down and get my weight moving down a little faster.  I'm looking forward to a good WI next week.

All for now.  

Hot 100 Update

Thanks for all your thoughtful responses to my post yesterday. It's very helpful to hear what you have to say about these things. That's what I love best about blogging--the exchange of ideas.


I did my Praise Moves (yoga) today and must say I'm really enjoying it. I think it's helping me be much more mindful of my posture during the week and I know that my muscles rebel less from my cardio during the week when I use some of the stretching exercises I've learned. PM lasts an hour and a quarter and it's one of the highlights of my week. I'm going to run out tomorrow and buy myself a mat as I've been using DH's mat for the past several weeks. 

For your viewing pleasure, little E and I had lots of fun playing dress up, assembling  a Lincoln Log cabin, and playing with a very large doll house at the new Mount Vernon education center while our friends toured the rest of the center. Baby J napped in his stroller.

Can you believe that we're already finished with two weeks of the Hot 100 Challenge?  That means it's time for another update.


My goals:

1. Reach my goal weight by Jan 1st by following the WW CORE plan, weigh & record my weight each morning, attend weekly WW meetings.
2. Exercise at least 6 out of 7 days with varied exercise including at least 2 strength workouts and 3 cardio workouts each week averaging 60 minutes per session.
3. Keep my house and my body chocolate free.  This includes dark chocolate, chocolate chips, chocolate candy bars and any baked goods that have chocolate in them.

How I did:

1. I have 16 pounds to lose in the next 12 weeks.  Still doable, but a bit more pressure.  I stayed the same this week.  I ate more or less OP all week, and attended my WW meeting a day late.
2. Yes.  Six out of seven days.  Three cardio, and three strength workouts this week.  
3. Uh oh.DH found some forgotten chocolate that I had stashed away long ago.  Not his fault. But I had a run in with some dark chocolate chips.  I ate them all, fortunately only about 16 chips.  I'm pretty sure that our house now chocolate-free. I will do better.  

Hot100 Update--Week 1

Today is rainy and gray with a tropical storm dropping buckets of rain all up and down the east coast.  I'm going to insert the ultra bright Hot 100 logo to add a little warmth and color to my day.  Yesterday was the end of the first week of the challenge.  There are only 13 more weeks left in the year to reach my goals.

Okay here are my goals:

1. Reach my goal weight by Jan 1st by following the WW CORE plan, weigh & record my weight each morning, attend weekly WW meetings.
2. Exercise at least 6 out of 7 days with varied exercise including at least 2 strength workouts and 3 cardio workouts each week averaging 60 minutes per session.
3. Keep my house and my body chocolate free.  This includes dark chocolate, chocolate chips, chocolate candy bars and any baked goods that have chocolate in them.

Here's how I did this week:   (hint = :D )

1. I started with 17 pounds to lose.  I lost 1 pound at my WW meeting.  I followed my plan and tracked my weight each morning. Now I have 16 pounds to lose in 13 weeks. Doable, no?
2. I exercised every day this week if you include one 45 minute Wii tennis match (and I do).  I did 3 strength training sessions and 3 cardio sessions and my workouts averaged 60+ minutes.
3. Not that I wasn't tempted by the evil bakery ladies who purposely baked chocolate chip cookies while I was grocery shopping and fanned the air so that a very sinful, come-hither aroma wafted all over the store, but I remain chocolate free.

I'm going to post this early today (10 am).  My posts usually take several hours to appear to you all for some reason.  Don't miss yesterday's post, if you haven't seen it!  UPDATE:  Of course this one shows in the blog roll in just 45 minutes.  Go figure!

Take Care!   Good Luck in the week to come for all my fellow-travelers.

Hot 100 Goals

One hundred days seems like a long time, but I know from experience that without mindful attention those days will fly by.  I don't intend to let that happen.  I am going to use those days, all one hundred of them to further my progress towards my goals.  The Hot 100 count down starts day after tomorrow,  and I have been thinking about my goals.  Here they are:

1.  I will reach my official WW goal by Jan 1st.  My WI is tomorrow and I'll post again to give you the exact pound total I am going to lose.  [Right now it's 19, but I'm expecting that number to go down tomorrow.]  I will weigh myself and record my weight each morning.  I will follow the CORE (Simply Filling) WW plan.  I will go to my WW meetings, weigh in and stay for the lecture every week.

2.  I will continue exercise for at least 6 out of 7 days every week.  I will vary the exercise to include running, biking, strength workouts, Praise Moves (yoga), and Kettle Bells.  I will have at least 2 strength workouts and 3 cardio workouts each week. My workouts will average 60 minutes per session.

3.  I will keep my house and my body chocolate free.  I will not buy, eat, or bring into my house ANY chocolate.  This includes my beloved dark chocolate with orange, chocolate chips, chocolate candy bars (Almond Joy--are you listening?), or any baked goods that have chocolate in them.

It's not too late to join this challenge.  What are you going to do with those last 100 days of this year?

Numbers Game, WI

0         The number of Splenda packets I use on my cereal these days

1         The number of days I will give myself to rest after 6 days of good workouts

1.6      The number of pounds I lost at my WI this morning

2         The number of pills I take each day (1 vitamin, 1 baby aspirin)

3         The number of months since I "got my groove back" in this journey

3.6      The number of miles I ran this morning

4         The number of times I eat fish each week, on average

5         The number of weeks left in the Summer Diet Buddies Challenge

5.6      The number of pounds left to lose to reach my goal in Summer DB Challenge

8         The number of cups of water I drink, at a minimum, each day

10       The number I'd like to see on the label in my clothes

11       The number of weeks until we leave for a vacation in Paris

14       The number on the label in my clothes that fit me easily just now

17        The number of minutes it takes me to eat dinner these days on average

21.6     The number of pounds to lose to reach my official WW goal

23        The number of pounds I'd like to lose beyond my WW goal

23.6    The number of pounds I've lost since I got my groove back

25       The number of followers on my blog (Thank You!)

29       The number of months since I started this journey, at my highest recorded weight

33.6    The number of pounds I've lost from my highest recorded weight

40       The number of pounds I (re)gained in 2009

45       The number of minutes I exercise 6/7 days of the week, minimum

47       The number my heart beats per minute when I get up in the mornings

74       The number of miles I ran last month

184.6   The number on the scale at my WI today

218.2    The number on the scale when I started this journey

911.1    The number of miles I've run since October, 2008

833,930   The number of pounds I've lifted with Fitlinxx so far in 2010


I'm thankful for those numbers and for your help and input in my journey.  


What number is on your mind today?

184.6

Onward and Downward

I'm still in the midst of my re-charging, bachelorette long weekend and, let me say, it's great!  I took DH and B to the plane on Friday morning.  Note--Jay is still home, but he's pretty self contained and very undemanding.  That day our weather turned great (much lower humidity, lower temperatures too).  I did a leisurely shop at Whole Foods, concentrating on their wonderful produce section.  My meals have been wonderful--and delicious.  The best, so far, was pan-seared scallops with a splash of lime, mango-avocado-cilantro salsa and corn on the cob.  I've been able to  avoid former alone-in-the-house pitfalls (such as buying a big bag of lime tortilla chips)--thanks, Patrick (Responsibility 199), for the idea of working for an "A" on my report card--I always was a grade-grubber.  On the exercise front, I biked 14 miles on Friday and I scored an 8 mile run (with a generous sprinkle of walking) on Saturday.  I took yesterday "off."  Who was it that posted over the weekend about the "newbie tendency" to try to work out every single day??  I may be ready to tweak that goal of 7/7 days of workouts in favor of a 6/7 schedule.  I ran an easy 3 this morning and, if the thunderstorms hold off, I may bike this evening, too.  I've gotten about half way through my new book (To Defy a King by Elizabeth Chadwick--really good historic fiction) and plan to hop into bed early-ish again tonight so I can read in bed again.   Tomorrow I get the babies again and I'm ready for them!  We're going to walk to the Farmer's Market and get some tomatoes.  I'm craving great, "real" tomatoes.  Our two plants gave us a good first harvest, but slacked off on production when the weather was so hot last week.

It's hard to believe it's already August.  A new page on the calendar, full of possibility.  This August I'm going to take advantage of all 31 days and move ahead toward my weight loss goal.  Like Karen (Waisting Away), I'm going back to my basic diet plan for a push start.  I use the WW CORE plan (yes, I know, WW doesn't acknowledge the CORE plan anymore, they call it Simply Filling, but I still have the book and the CORE plan is a plan I can use to lose and continue to use for life).  I'm going to re-read the book today and look for any areas  I need to tweak.  I still have 7.2 pounds to lose by September 7th to meet my goal for the Summer Diet Buddies Challenge.  I'm gonna do it.

I am adding one goal to my list this week.  This one is guaranteed to make me look slimmer, younger, and better.  I don't have to change any of my eating habits to accomplish it.  I don't even have to add anything to my exercise routine.  The goal?  I want to work on my posture.  Head up, shoulders back, tummy in.  I always admire people who stand up without slouching.  I practiced in front of the mirror this morning.  I look way better when I stand up straight.  Like a before and after picture.  My goal:  I will leave a note on my bathroom mirror to remind me.  I will use good posture on the walking bits of my runs.  I will walk around my block (1 mile) every other day using good posture.  Maybe I'll throw in a bit of my Wii Yoga, too.


How's your August shaping up?

The Next Step

I keep learning things from my young'ns.  This is my granddaughter, E. She's J's big sister and she'll be three in October. She's looking at her bowl of cereal with a skeptical look because I've just told her that she doesn't need me to pour on some of the "sugar" from the little yellow packets that I always use on my cereal.  Those are Whole O's (basically plain cheerios from Whole Foods), a diced, ripe peach, and some skim milk.   (I know her parents don't add sugar, and certainly not artificial sweetener, to her food) She's into all things "grown up" now.  She wears "big girl" panties,  uses a spoon and a fork, loves sunglasses, uses the "grown up" toilet in preference to a potty chair, and eats her hot dogs whole, and not chopped up like "baby J" does.  She wanted to indulge in what she saw as another "grown up" habit--using artificial sweetener on her food.  I had to use my best persuasive skills to talk her into enjoying her cereal without Splenda.

I've known about my excessive love of sweets for many, many years.  My parents didn't buy the sugared cereals, but I knew where the sugar bowl was and always added three or four secretive spoons full to my plain cereal.  When I first began to try to lose weight (my HS years), I started using artificial sweeteners.  I've changed brands over the years, but I've always had them close at hand to give my foods the sweet-sweet taste I love. I use them on cereal,  in my coffee or tea, on grapefruit, and sprinkled on popcorn.  I tried Stevia, but didn't like the aftertaste. I buy Splenda packets in the biggest size (1000 packets/box) and always have an emergency ziplock-stash of them in my purse when we travel.  About eight weeks ago, in this post, I included a picture of a breakfast we had on a trip.  I was proud of the planning I'd done to eat a good healthy breakfast every day on our trip.  When I look at that picture today, I see a good breakfast with, probably, eight packets of added Splenda (on the cereal in a white heavy snowfall and, surely, sweetening up that Starbucks skim latte).  Even then, I noticed the obvious over-indulgence in Splenda and noted that some day I'd work on that bad habit.

That "some day" has arrived.  I could wait to announce a new goal for the new week of the Summer Diet Buddies challenge, but I'm not a "wait-until-Monday" person.  As of now, this minute, I will begin to give up my dependence on  Splenda.  I mostly use unprocessed foods, but I know that a few of my regulars  (like my beloved WW latte bars) use Splenda or Sucralose, I'll work on those later.  For now, I will reduce my added Splenda to two total packets per day.   I don't like coffee without sweetener, so this means that unless I'm willing to eat my cereal "au naturel" like E, I give up coffee.  I really like sweetener in my tea, too--aaak!   Maybe 1 packet for cereal and one for a hot beverage.  I can do this.  Watch me!

OT:  Head on over the Sharon's latest post for an interesting discussion on the challenges of weight loss for the "more mature" loser.  Lots of great comments.

Do you ever fall back on the "do as I say, not as I do" excuse in regard to food?

AWOL Blogger Returns, WI

I think I'm really back now.  We flew overnight Sunday night (DH loves the idea of the red-eye, and he made these reservations) and arrived home early Monday morning.  I had the two little ones that day and my sister, who had gone with us, stayed here until this morning.  We also have our 8 yr old grandson, B, for the next three weeks.  (The west coast grand kids get to visit here for a few weeks when they are 8, 11, and 14--it works out to one kid per year and we all love it).  Here a picture of B (8), R (6), and J (10) with our sparkler fun on the 4th.

In retrospect, I did pretty well staying with my plan while we were away.  As is always the way with traveling, meals were a bit tricky.  My lovely daughter, Laura,  knows I'm "watching it" and cooked fairly reasonable meals while we were with her.  She even stocked up on my favorite WW Latte Bars!  The eating up at the beach (west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada) was full of land mines--homemade molasses cookies, long cocktail hours with fancy drinks for the grownups, at least 5 bags of chips on the shelf at all times, 2   s'more cookouts,  high fat beach burgers, and not one, but three birthday cakes (for me) in different flavors they know I like.  I did have some of those goodies--half a cookie, No chips (!), small slivers of each type of cake, none of the fancy drinks--totally not worth the calories!,  a beach burger on a lettuce "bun," and . . . NO s'mores.  It was easy to resist the first time.  I just told myself I could have them, if I wanted to, on my birthday.  Then, on my b-day, I'd just had small pieces of cake and decided to go on a sunset beach walk with DH, instead of having a second dessert.   Here's the dinner I cooked.  That's Pacific salmon straight off the boat, corn on the cob, and new potatoes.  No greens as there was nothing green (even frozen) except iceberg lettuce at the little local co-op.  The cherries in Seattle were awesome, and also about half the price of the ones I bought here, today.   

I was also able to keep to my goal of exercise.  DD took my sister and me along to her Zumba class twice, I ran on the gorgeous Seattle area bike trails several times,  we hiked, and, when all else failed,  I walked laps on the 3 hour ferry ride and at the airport.  These beautiful ferns were about 4 miles into our July 4th hike through a gentle rain to the gold mining ghost town of Monte Cristo.

This visit was not without excitement from the local fauna.  This young bear was happily roaming on the beach, about 20 feet from the hiking trail we were on in the Pacific Rim National Park.  He posed very nicely for pix.  He was not there when we returned and we kept the children close while we wondered where he might be!  I failed to snap a picture of the wasp that decided to sting me on the arm as I tried to make my way through a very narrow path through some wild rose bushes.  All things considered, I decided to leave the path to the wasp.

I went to my WI last week (in Seattle) and had another stay the same week.  Disappointing.  Today, though, I scored a 2.8 loss!  Down 30 from my starting weight of 218.2.  Nothing like a little success to fire my burners!   

I joined DietBuddyDaily's Summer Diet Buddies--see logo at right.  Join us, we've just started!  My goals for the next 8 weeks are:

I'd like to lose at least 12 pounds in this 8 weeks. I'll measure my weight by my WW weigh-ins, which are on Wednesday. 

Other goals are to keep up some of the habits I've developed over the last two months-
*Drinking 8+ cups of water daily
*Exercising 45+ minutes daily (running, walking, hiking, Zumba, biking, & weight lifting)
*Eating more slowly--taking at least 17 minutes to finish dinner and never again being the first "clean plate kid" when in a group.
*Keeping my portions in control
*Eating small meals a breakfast and lunch, with a major meal at dinner time.
Not eating pasta, rice, or potatoes at lunch time.

If you've read this far, sorry for this long post! I'll be better about posting shorter posts more frequently.

How are you keeping yourself on track this summer??

188.2

Spring Focus Update

Sarah started this timely challenge at the beginning of May.  Her timing was perfect.  I challenged myself to lose 12 pounds in two months and have set myself several behavioral challenges as well.

Weight Challenge:  I have lost 15.8 pounds (at my Weight Watcher weigh-ins on Wednesdays) since May 4th.  This is an astonishing rate of weight loss for me.  I attribute it to, surprise, surprise, diet and exercise.  Things are looking good to lose a bit more before the end of the challenge.

Eating:  Believe me, I AM eating.  Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I'm using the WW CORE (Simply Filling) plan which I understand is quite similar to the South Beach plan.  This is the way I plan to eat--forever.  It makes a lot of sense and DH likes it too.  We have eaten this way for two years.  It's very "doable." Each meal, for almost two months has been basically on plan.  I have vacationed away from home and celebrated family occasions and eaten out occasionally during that time.  It took planning, but I feel like I ate like I wanted to eat.  A very "clean" diet.  There have been a few 'off-plan' things during that time--like a shared dessert on our anniversary and a handful of almonds on a cross country plane ride, but by and large, I have stayed OP (on plan).   I have deliberately eaten more fish than I used to (cutting down to 1 or fewer red-meat meals/week).  I also stopped having dinner left-overs for lunch the next day.  Instead, I plan a lighter lunch, without a starchy food.   I normally eat 6-7 fruits & vegetables/day and I eat plenty of fiber (from the fruits & vegetables, whole grain cereal in the morning, and whole grain pasta or brown rice with dinner).

Portion Control:  I spent a couple weeks checking on my portions by weighing and measuring.  I found that I was (surprise, surprise) over-estimating.  I think this was a good exercise, but I'm back to estimating--I hope more realistically.   I'll repeat the portion checks occasionally in the future to keep myself on track.

Drinking Water:  I started this at the beginning of the challenge.  I regularly drink 8+ cups of water a day now and will continue this.   I benefit from feeling full.  I especially need this in the summer as I need to rehydrate after exercise.

Exercise:  For the past two weeks I've challenged myself to exercise every day.   DONE!  I run four or more miles 3-4 times a week (if it's very hot, like today, there are some walking  bits interspersed).  I bike 13+ miles two or three times a week.  If I've run very early (like today) I may bike after dinner.  I also lift weights (resistance) at my gym two or three times a week.  If I haven't done any of these things (it's happened once in the past two weeks), I will exercise with my Wii (tennis or yoga). 

     This Week:

     Mon--Run--4 mi

     Tues--Gym--20K lbs

     Wed--Run--4 mi

     Thu--Gym--21K lbs

     Fri--Run--6.2 mi

     Sat--Bike--14 mi

     Sun--Gym-22K lbs,  Walk--2 mi

     Mon--Run--5 mi

Eating Slowly: A little over a week ago, I decided to try to eat more slowly.  I'd heard the suggestion before and was quite aware that I was a speed-eater, but I'd never really tried.  I limited my challenge to eating dinner.   This has been a real eye-opener.  It was hard, at first, but I have been able to increase my average eating time (10 minutes is a generous guess of how long I took to eat dinner).  For more than a week, I've taken 15 or more minutes to eat dinner.  The benefits are 1) I feel more "normal" eating more slowly, 2) I enjoy the food more--savoring flavor, texture, mouth-feel, and taste,  and 3) I have more of a chance to hear my own signals that I am "full."

Last Place

We were having dinner tonight and I happened to glance over at my son and I noticed that he was finished with his dinner. DH was taking his last bite. I still had about 1/3 of my meal on my plate. YES! Score. I came in last in the race to eat slowly. And it really did take me by surprise. You might remember that I set a goal this week to slow down my eating at dinner. I've been doing that. At first I kept watching the clock and intentionally setting down my fork for long spells. The first day, I stretched things out for 15 minutes; then 17; tonight I took a pokey 20 minutes to eat my spaghetti and salad. Yay me! I don't claim to have conquered this bad habit of mine, but I now know that I can eat more slowly if I try.

The benefits of eating slowly are manifold. I have actually had a time or two when I didn't want to finish my dinner in the past few days--that's unheard of. Last night, when we ate out at a fancy restaurant, I was a bit alarmed when my order of grilled scallops came and I found there were only 4 scallops! [you know that feeling you get when the other person's order comes and his/her plate is overflowing and you get one of those tiny 'artistic' plates with a bit of food in the center and lots of colorful dribbles of sauce filling in all the white space on the plate?] First I was disappointed because there wasn't very much food and I was hungry. Then I worried about how in the world I would drag out eating 4 scallops, 3 red potatoes, and 4 leaves of spinach [yes, I counted] for 15 minutes. But you know what? The food was wonderful. I cut my scallop into several pieces and savored the flavors. It was perfectly cooked. I probably gave DH at least half a scallop to taste. I cut pieces of the spinach leaves and tasted the fresh bitter flavor. I noticed the herb (tarragon?) on the potatoes. DH and I had a good time remembering our first married dinner 37 years earlier. Before I knew it, the waitress was refilling my water glass for the 4th or 5th time and it was an hour later. I was perfectly satisfied with my meal and enjoyed every bite--slowly. I had a skim cappuccino and a few bites of DH's creme brule for dessert. I have a friend who is a proponent of the "slow food movement." I'm going to borrow a page from her book and declare myself a member of the "slow eater movement." Next, maybe, I'll tackle eating slowly at breakfast and lunch. Maybe.

The answer to the question in my last post. The photo was taken at The Cloisters, overlooking the Hudson River in NY. The pink buttons are from the Metropolitan Museum in NY to show that we had paid for our admission. If you've never been to the Cloisters, I highly recommend it. They built a medieval cloister/monastery in NY city from the remains of several French and Italian monasteries. It's incredible. They have authentic gardens in each of the five cloisters. Here are a couple more pix:

Wednesday Round Up

I've got quite a few irons in the fire, goal-wise, on the diet and exercise front. I'd thought I'd bring you up to date on how things are going.

Exercise: Two weeks ago I set myself a goal to exercise seven day a week. I've been able to do this. Sometimes I had to work around the weather--can't bike in a thunderstorm, but I have some options and use them when I need to. Most of my exercise takes 45-60 minutes. Here's my exercise for this past week:

Wed--Ran 3.7 miles, C25K Week 8 Day 3

Thu--Gym, Lifted 18,000 lbs. 11 resistance machines, 2 sets of 15 reps.

Fri --Ran 4.1 miles, C25K Week 9 Day 1

Sat --Ran 2.6 miles, C25K Week 9 Day 2

Sun--Wii Tennis, Singles, Grand Slam, 90 minutes (rained out of bike ride)

Mon--Ran 4.2 miles, C25K Week 9 Day 3 -- Last Day!

Tues--Gym, Lifted 20,000 lbs. 11 resistance machines, 2 sets of 15 reps.

Wed--Ran 4.1 miles

Water: One of my first non-scale goals with the Spring Focus was to drink 8 or more cups of water each and every day. I have pretty much aced this one too, except for a few days when I was traveling, at a concert, or otherwise knew I would be unable to get to facilities. I love this one. I think it has helped tremendously. Not only to keep me well hydrated, but also to keep me feeling fairly full. I think many times I probably ate because I mistook a thirst signal for a hunger signal. This one is definitely a keeper.

Portions: Another recent goal was to really check out my portions. I did, by measuring and weighing, and found that I was overestimating serving portions. I cut down my portions, especially of whole grain carbs (ww pasta, brown rice, ww orzo, ww couscous, corn) and think I've reached a happy place in my portion size. I've stopped measuring and weighing, but think this is a good thing for me to check up on every once in a while.

Weight: I was hesitant to set a goal weight loss for the Spring Focus, but finally allowed as how I'd love to try to lose 12 pounds in the two month challenge time, between May 4th and July 4th. I'm pleased and amazed to report, that, as of my weigh in today, I've lost 15.8 pounds. If you haven't read Charlie's

(Back to the Fridge)

post about the Stupid Switch, go there as soon as you finish this post. I firmly believe he's right. My switch is definitely in the "on" position right now, and I'm going to tippy toe around so as not to accidentally toggle it to "off!." So today, I was down another 2.6 pounds. YIPEE!!!

Is your switch "on" or "off?"

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