Made it to 15 lbs just in time! I really needed a pedicure to make up for my dwindling wardrobe. I had to go to a social function with Greg's boss (a NJ Supreme Court justice) and another former and a current NJ Supreme Court justice, and had absolutely nothing to wear (or so I thought).
So the day before I went to the mall and tried on 500 things. For the first time in a long time, I wasn't totally frustrated in the dressing room. Most of the clothes I tried on looked pretty good actually, and a couple of times I even had to get a smaller size than the one I originally selected.
But I didn't buy anything....
Why?
Because I didn't want to invest in this size. I'm not yet the way I want to be, so why spend the money on clothes I'm hoping won't fit in another month?
I went home empty-handed with a shiny new pedicure, and wore a dress I had in the back of my closet. There will be plenty of time for shopping when I'm done...
I am so excited right now because 15 lbs. was my goal for the summer, and I still have two weeks to go. My next challenge will be to lose another 25 before New Year's. At this rate, I should be able to reach that goal. Since 25 lbs. is a long ways to go without a little incentive, I have some fun mini-goals to reach in the meantime.
1) Lose 10% of my original body weight - When I reach this goal I will get a cool new haircut and also try on my wedding ring, which has been sitting in a jewelry box since I got pregnant. I was actually heavier than I am now the last time I wore it, but I guess pregnancy does weird things to your... fingers?
2) Lose 30 lbs. - subscribe to a weight loss magazine. This may seem silly to some of you, but I love magazines and don't usually buy them (in fact, all my reading material is from the library these frugal days) so they are a major luxury item for me. I'm thinking SHAPE. I used to buy it occasionally back in my fitter college days and it always inspired me, and I feel that the monthly reminder will help me stay motivated.
Right now I'm not setting any fitness goals because I'm still not sure how I'm going to approach it. My overall goal with this journey is not to just diet or exercise to lose some weight, but to change my habits to the point where it just becomes a part of my life to eat healthy and be fit. I can't say that the healthy eating is habitual quite yet, and so I'm reluctant to add too much in the way of exercise at this point. On the other hand, I know I would see much better results if I started a workout routine, and I genuinely miss my abs of steel (the video, I'm not sure I ever actually had the abs). One compromise might be to just add a little bit of strength training 3 times a week, and then try to make my long walks with Henry more of a routine and maybe track the miles or time. Hmmm, something to think about.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Six Week Weigh In
Down 12 lbs.
I was afraid I wouldn't lose anything this week because my husband has the week off and we've been eating out a lot, and hanging out with friends which makes dieting a lot harder for me.
I guess the key to eating out for me has been avoiding red meat, potatoes, and salad dressing. I try to order something that avoids those categories but sounds really good so that I don't feel deprived or left out, and then eat a smaller portion. Last night I ordered a gourmet pizza and ate two small slices; the other day at Panera I ate half of the small BBQ chicken salad. I also try to reduce calories the rest of the day if I know we are going out.
Some "superfoods" (very healthy foods I turn to to make up for eating some not so healthy foods).
1) Tuna fish - tons of protein, hardly any fat, no carbs. I make a can with 1 tbs. of low-fat mayo, a little relish, and then eat it with...
2) Wasa crispbread - 45 calories each, giant delicious crackers that put some crunch into every bite.
3) Low-fat mozzerella string cheese - about 5 grams of fat, but so filling that they can get you through until the next meal, and low carb.
4) Grilled chicken marinated in light dressing - so filling and delicious.
5) Jello - no lie, this has no nutritional value whatsoever, but if you have a sweet tooth the little bit of aspartame in the sugar-free cups of jello can take the edge off when really dessert is not an option. Fruit is better, but not always readily available.
6) Along the same lines, Chocolate cocoa mix prepared with water or skim milk. This satisfies my chocolate cravings without the fat and calories of real chocolate. With skim milk I get a way to extinguish the fires of heartburn.
7) Fresh lemons - squeezed into my diet coke, floating in my ice water, spritzed on my grilled chicken, something about having a bowl of fresh lemons is a cheap way to make you feel indulged. Feeling indulged is the opposite of feeling deprived, and deprivation is the diet killer.
What foods do you turn to when you need to make up for too much social eating?
I was afraid I wouldn't lose anything this week because my husband has the week off and we've been eating out a lot, and hanging out with friends which makes dieting a lot harder for me.
I guess the key to eating out for me has been avoiding red meat, potatoes, and salad dressing. I try to order something that avoids those categories but sounds really good so that I don't feel deprived or left out, and then eat a smaller portion. Last night I ordered a gourmet pizza and ate two small slices; the other day at Panera I ate half of the small BBQ chicken salad. I also try to reduce calories the rest of the day if I know we are going out.
Some "superfoods" (very healthy foods I turn to to make up for eating some not so healthy foods).
1) Tuna fish - tons of protein, hardly any fat, no carbs. I make a can with 1 tbs. of low-fat mayo, a little relish, and then eat it with...
2) Wasa crispbread - 45 calories each, giant delicious crackers that put some crunch into every bite.
3) Low-fat mozzerella string cheese - about 5 grams of fat, but so filling that they can get you through until the next meal, and low carb.
4) Grilled chicken marinated in light dressing - so filling and delicious.
5) Jello - no lie, this has no nutritional value whatsoever, but if you have a sweet tooth the little bit of aspartame in the sugar-free cups of jello can take the edge off when really dessert is not an option. Fruit is better, but not always readily available.
6) Along the same lines, Chocolate cocoa mix prepared with water or skim milk. This satisfies my chocolate cravings without the fat and calories of real chocolate. With skim milk I get a way to extinguish the fires of heartburn.
7) Fresh lemons - squeezed into my diet coke, floating in my ice water, spritzed on my grilled chicken, something about having a bowl of fresh lemons is a cheap way to make you feel indulged. Feeling indulged is the opposite of feeling deprived, and deprivation is the diet killer.
What foods do you turn to when you need to make up for too much social eating?
Sunday, August 7, 2011
What's on the Agenda
Selling our car and possibly buying a van,
Moving Greg into his new office and getting him ready to start his own practice,
Figuring out how to make it through those first few months with no money,
Getting Henry to go to sleep in his new bed without having to drive him around for an hour,
Supporting my sister and parents as they take out a mortgage and completely overhaul my childhood home, with the hope that we will be able to move in once the renovations are done,
Preparing to do Tot School with Henry this year,
Going to training classes to become a certified resource family (foster parents),
Trying to continue to eat healthy and steadily lose weight,
Preparing for Greg's Mom's wedding in September,
Trying to fit in room for my spiritual life in the midst of utter chaos and constant change.
Writing is not even on this list because there is just no way. Sigh.
Moving Greg into his new office and getting him ready to start his own practice,
Figuring out how to make it through those first few months with no money,
Getting Henry to go to sleep in his new bed without having to drive him around for an hour,
Supporting my sister and parents as they take out a mortgage and completely overhaul my childhood home, with the hope that we will be able to move in once the renovations are done,
Preparing to do Tot School with Henry this year,
Going to training classes to become a certified resource family (foster parents),
Trying to continue to eat healthy and steadily lose weight,
Preparing for Greg's Mom's wedding in September,
Trying to fit in room for my spiritual life in the midst of utter chaos and constant change.
Writing is not even on this list because there is just no way. Sigh.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Five Week Weigh-In
(I know I just did the four week, but it was a little late, today is actually five weeks.)
I am down 10 lbs. even. Today I am seeing it just a little, mostly in my face and around my ribcage. I was planning on giving myself a little reward for this, but money is kind of tight right now and I'm still feeling pretty motivated, so I guess when I hit 15 lbs. I'll go get a pedicure.
I cheated too much last week, went out to eat too often, and had too much dessert. Did you know one serving of salad at Olive Garden contains 26 grams of fat? Salad! Eating out is so not worth it. I'd love to recount all the other ways I messed up this week, but I have to go take Henry to the doctor :(
I am down 10 lbs. even. Today I am seeing it just a little, mostly in my face and around my ribcage. I was planning on giving myself a little reward for this, but money is kind of tight right now and I'm still feeling pretty motivated, so I guess when I hit 15 lbs. I'll go get a pedicure.
I cheated too much last week, went out to eat too often, and had too much dessert. Did you know one serving of salad at Olive Garden contains 26 grams of fat? Salad! Eating out is so not worth it. I'd love to recount all the other ways I messed up this week, but I have to go take Henry to the doctor :(
Monday, August 1, 2011
Four Week Weigh-In
After four weeks of dieting, I am down 9 lbs. Not the extreme drop that I would have had on a crash diet, but definitely an improvement. I'm still wearing the same clothes and haven't really noticed a difference in the way I look, but I do feel more energized and when I cheat and eat take-out occasionally it just makes me sick. I haven't had red meat (except for one hot dog at a party right after my facial surgery). I've had very few potatoes or refined carbs at all. I am still working on eating more vegetables and drinking enough water. I still get my caffeine fix with diet coke, but drink a little bit less when I am pushing water. So... so far so good.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Weight Loss Plan
I've never been skinny, except maybe for about five minutes in kindergarten or something. And I've pretty much always felt overweight, even when I was around the normal weight range for my height. I've done weight watchers in the past, the first time I was probably like 16. I've been thinner and heavier in cycles depending on the outside circumstances. It's just been something that I feel like I either have no control over or I just don't care enough about to change. The funny thing is, when I was pregnant I had no problem whatsoever eating healthy food, giving up the junk that I normally feel I can't live without. I could do it when there was a purpose, when it wasn't just about looking a certain way. I actually lost weight when I was pregnant.
Law school, not so much. Hours of studying on the couch and subsisting on take-out led to massive weight gain. A couple of weeks ago I found a picture of myself in Bolivia, it was from four years ago, just a month or two before Greg and I got engaged. I weighed about 60 lbs less than I do today. At the time I felt so fat. But now looking back I wish I could just be that weight again.
After I took the bar last summer, weight started to fly off. I guess just not being stressed helped me shed pounds without really trying. This spring I hit a plateau. I kept thinking the law school weight would just keep coming off since I wasn't there anymore, but the number on the scale was not going down anymore. I hemmed and hawed. I didn't want to spend money that I don't have on weight watchers or a gym membership. I don't want to go on a diet for a while just to gain all the weight back when I stop.
So I started researching to find a diet/nutrition plan that I could do for the rest of my life. I found this little 8 week diet plan on a website that sells workout dvds. The high protein, fewer carbs thing hadn't worked for me when I tried to crash diet before my wedding, but I decided to give it a try now that my life is not as stressful. I found that the diet really "worked". That is, I'm not hungry, I don't feel resentful and deprived, I'm getting good nutrition, and I lost 4 pounds in the first two weeks without even doing the workouts.
My initial plan was to do the workouts too, but with some of the health issues I've been having lately I'm not supposed to raise my blood pressure. I also didn't always eat as many veggies as you are supposed to and generally cheat on the weekend. Even when I cheat and have dessert though, I keep track of all the calories on fitday. The reason I'm trying to stay flexible with it is because I don't want to keep the diet perfectly for a while and then decide it's too hard. I want to genuinely change the way I'm eating so I can maintain a healthy weight forever.
So what do you think? Anyone want to join me?
Law school, not so much. Hours of studying on the couch and subsisting on take-out led to massive weight gain. A couple of weeks ago I found a picture of myself in Bolivia, it was from four years ago, just a month or two before Greg and I got engaged. I weighed about 60 lbs less than I do today. At the time I felt so fat. But now looking back I wish I could just be that weight again.
After I took the bar last summer, weight started to fly off. I guess just not being stressed helped me shed pounds without really trying. This spring I hit a plateau. I kept thinking the law school weight would just keep coming off since I wasn't there anymore, but the number on the scale was not going down anymore. I hemmed and hawed. I didn't want to spend money that I don't have on weight watchers or a gym membership. I don't want to go on a diet for a while just to gain all the weight back when I stop.
So I started researching to find a diet/nutrition plan that I could do for the rest of my life. I found this little 8 week diet plan on a website that sells workout dvds. The high protein, fewer carbs thing hadn't worked for me when I tried to crash diet before my wedding, but I decided to give it a try now that my life is not as stressful. I found that the diet really "worked". That is, I'm not hungry, I don't feel resentful and deprived, I'm getting good nutrition, and I lost 4 pounds in the first two weeks without even doing the workouts.
My initial plan was to do the workouts too, but with some of the health issues I've been having lately I'm not supposed to raise my blood pressure. I also didn't always eat as many veggies as you are supposed to and generally cheat on the weekend. Even when I cheat and have dessert though, I keep track of all the calories on fitday. The reason I'm trying to stay flexible with it is because I don't want to keep the diet perfectly for a while and then decide it's too hard. I want to genuinely change the way I'm eating so I can maintain a healthy weight forever.
So what do you think? Anyone want to join me?
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
No News Is...
So I did have the procedure done on Friday. I was totally fine when the pregnancy test was negative, it was what I was expecting. I did almost pass out when they were putting in the IV. I'm usually fine with anything medical, but the nurse was talking about my veins and blood. A lot. As she was poking around inside my wrist. I don't get upset when something hurts, but sometimes thinking about it too much makes me a little queasy. The first IV didn't work and the nurse must have seen my face because she got someone else to do the second one.
I went in to the surgery room, blind because I had to take my contacts out, laid down, and the next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery. There was a young girl in the little curtained cubicle next to me, and she was crying. I don't know why she was there but I heard the nurses say her name. I told her it would be ok, that they would bring her mom back soon, and prayed for her. Lying there praying I wondered if this whole mess wasn't just an incredibly complicated way to get me next to her.
Eventually they let Greg in and he told me that they had found nothing.
No polyps, no fibroids, nothing strange at all.
They took a tissue sample to test and that was that. The doctor was already gone so I didn't get a chance to ask what the next step will be. I'm not even sure what they are testing for with the tissue sample. Hopefully I'll get some more answers when I talk to the Dr. on Thursday.
I'm nervous because I'm not sure how good my insurance will be come September, so I want to try and get everything figured out before then. On one hand, it's great that they didn't find anything that could mean life-long issues for me. On the other hand, now we have no idea what is causing these problems.
I went in to the surgery room, blind because I had to take my contacts out, laid down, and the next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery. There was a young girl in the little curtained cubicle next to me, and she was crying. I don't know why she was there but I heard the nurses say her name. I told her it would be ok, that they would bring her mom back soon, and prayed for her. Lying there praying I wondered if this whole mess wasn't just an incredibly complicated way to get me next to her.
Eventually they let Greg in and he told me that they had found nothing.
No polyps, no fibroids, nothing strange at all.
They took a tissue sample to test and that was that. The doctor was already gone so I didn't get a chance to ask what the next step will be. I'm not even sure what they are testing for with the tissue sample. Hopefully I'll get some more answers when I talk to the Dr. on Thursday.
I'm nervous because I'm not sure how good my insurance will be come September, so I want to try and get everything figured out before then. On one hand, it's great that they didn't find anything that could mean life-long issues for me. On the other hand, now we have no idea what is causing these problems.
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