Yesterday went well--largely, I think, because I know I won't always have to be so rigid. The planning is taking WAY too long. I will have to dig out the old WW cal guide--it's much better organized than the big cal guide so I can actually find stuff--that alone will cut down on the time.
Last night's sandwich--once I finally got to have it--was REALLY good and REALLY satisfying. I think I'll plan something similar on the menu more often. I'm sure I can find a bun that works just as well with less than 340 calories though! I think I will also plan in at least one chocolate treat while at work everyday. Everyone has candy on their desks--I'm sure resentment will strike fast and deep if I think I always have to pass these up. Otherwise, a great day.
Today the weather is against me. I'm going out to the Wildcat room here on campus for lunch with a friend. I was going to ask her if she'd mind going to subways, but there was a storm, and I didn't want to ask her to drive. Happily, the food there is mediocre except for the salad bar. My plan is to have a big salad with diet dressing but with blue cheese crumbles. I don't mind skipping the main meal, but passing up the blue cheese dressing (and no, I can't limit the dressing to 2 TBLS or whatever) is a deprivation. One that I don't mind today, because motivation is high, but not something I'd always want to skip. I brought a fruit cup in case the salad bar is missing fruit, and also a can of Progresso lite Beef Soup in case the salad alone doesn't fill me up. This is giving me a great sense of security. Dinner will be BBQ chicken with a potato and peas, and I saved room for Catherine's brownies (300 cal for only 2 inches worth!!).
Rewards: I LOVE the center cut bacon I had for breakfast today--3 slices = only 70 cal. I also love blue cheese crumbles. I like feeling in control--not as much as I usually like overeating--but a really good feeling for now none-the-less. I also slept well last night--not something I can take for granted anymore at a peri-menopausal 46 yrs old. I don't know if that specifically had anything to do with eating well yesterday, but what the heck--I'll put a point in the "eating well actually makes a noticable difference in my life" box.
Losing weight in spite of myself.
I began this blog in February 2011 as a way to help me not quit trying to lose weight, and to learn a few things. It's been an interesting and powerful experience. It certainly confirms what I've long suspected--that although I am a genuinely happy cheery person in the main, I am NOT a happy cheery dieter. I DETEST losing weight. I resent being overweight in the first place and I am a virtuoso in the art of self-sabotage. And YET--I'm doing it! I'm fighting and kicking and EATING all the way down, but the weight is finally going down. The plan I was following in February was a half-baked one largely based on wishful thinking. I gained a little weight and decided to get real. I knew I couldn't just join weightwatchers or count calories or do any one plan and expect to be successful. I decided if I was going to bother to make the effort to lose weight I was going to throw everything I could think of at the problem. And so I do. My real "Day One" for this blog is April 1, 2011. I joined weight watchers, I joined caloriecount.com (awesome website), I read the blog losingweighteveryday.blogspot.com religiously, I keep this blog faithfully, I joined the health programs sponsored by my insurance, I use the principles from overeater's anonymous, I use my church's 12 step program as well, I subscribe--and use--Healthy Cooking Magazine.
The result of all this? Painfully slow progress (About 20 lbs in 10 months). But it IS progress and like the little engine that could I keep on trying in my rebellious way. I have no intention of quitting. This is by far the longest sustained weight loss effort I've ever made in my life. Successful I think, because for the first in my life I've done this MY way--which I've discovered, involves a lot of pizza and restaraunt food. I'm convinced this is the only way to lose weight. For me it must be MY way. For you it MUST be YOUR way. Not weight watcher's way, not your doctor's way, but YOUR way. Any plan or idea I use is only a tool.
The latest plan to lose weight my way began on Oct 29, 2013. It really is my own crazy plan. As you'll see if you read that post. I've implemented the best ideas of all sorts of eating plans and thrown out the scale. A couple of months in and I'm definitely healthier. I'm actually enjoying myself. I won't weigh until April 1, 2014, so I'll see then if this works the way I hope it will.
There is no magic weight loss bullet. But there IS a great deal of magic in the discovery of what I can happily live with (very different from what weight watchers tells me I can happily live with) and still have the body and health I want.
Good luck to all of us on this journey. It's quite a trip!
The result of all this? Painfully slow progress (About 20 lbs in 10 months). But it IS progress and like the little engine that could I keep on trying in my rebellious way. I have no intention of quitting. This is by far the longest sustained weight loss effort I've ever made in my life. Successful I think, because for the first in my life I've done this MY way--which I've discovered, involves a lot of pizza and restaraunt food. I'm convinced this is the only way to lose weight. For me it must be MY way. For you it MUST be YOUR way. Not weight watcher's way, not your doctor's way, but YOUR way. Any plan or idea I use is only a tool.
The latest plan to lose weight my way began on Oct 29, 2013. It really is my own crazy plan. As you'll see if you read that post. I've implemented the best ideas of all sorts of eating plans and thrown out the scale. A couple of months in and I'm definitely healthier. I'm actually enjoying myself. I won't weigh until April 1, 2014, so I'll see then if this works the way I hope it will.
There is no magic weight loss bullet. But there IS a great deal of magic in the discovery of what I can happily live with (very different from what weight watchers tells me I can happily live with) and still have the body and health I want.
Good luck to all of us on this journey. It's quite a trip!
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