Went to Maddox yesterday and it was FABULOUS. I'm sorry to say that after eating a salad with blue cheese dressing, two big rolls and 3 cornpones (muffins) with raspberry dressing, a large baked potato with trimmings, a large steak, a side of carrots and 1/3 of a large piece of cheesecake I was not overfull. I really do have a big appetite.
I didn't plan out either yesterday or today exactly. That is to say, I didn't write anything down. However on Maddox day I ate a breakfast exactly the same as other days this week and for lunch I had leftovers from Thursdays stroganoff dinner. For snacks I had preztels and yogurt--both well under 20% fat. Today was similar. It was the RS party. Nowhere near the orgy of Maddox of course, but I knew it wouldn't be a fat friendly meal. I did the same sort of thing. A bowl of cereal an milk for breakfast with fruit. Enjoyed the luncheon and had turkey burgers with oven fries for dinner. The presidency gave me a loaf of whole wheat bread from the Harvest company as a thankyou for presenting. WOW!! Delicious and virtually no fat at all. I will rave at a later date about american bread--blech. But this stuff has body and substance and flavor. I will be buying more of it for sure. Yet one more blessing for attending relief society.
Exercise at least, has been on track. Yesterday I walked to and from work. And today I walked to the library--a good hour of exercise. I need to improve on walking briskly not just strolling--but at least I'm out there.
Tomorrow presents another challenge. I'm back to writing my food plan out. But tomorrow we will be in virtual Saudi Arabia. Let me explain. About two years ago I was bored silly at work and decided that if I couldn't go on vacation in reality I could at least go mentally. I typed out every country in the world and every state in the US--put them in an envelope and drew out a country at random. The first one was Madagascar. I checked out books and videos and at the end of the month looked up Madagasy food and made as authentic a meal as I could. It was so much fun we (my family) has been doing this ever since. Every month we pick out a place--sometimes we do a lot, sometimes a little. But since I love food, I always manage to make at least one meal usually at the end of the month. By the way, I keep a blog (a much more interesting blog than this food one) about our adventures at travelenvelope.blogspot.com.
So, like I said, tomorrow we'll be in virtual Saudi Arabia. I was worried about having a third uncontrolled meal in as many days, but Catherine found a wonderful web-site caloriecount.about.com. You can track all kinds of things, but the great thing is that you can put in your own recipes then click a button and Wallah! There is a nutrition label! Fats, calories, fibers, sugars. It's wonderful. Much faster and more informative than trying to look up individual ingredients in my clunky calorie guide. It isn't perfect--slightly weird ingredients tend to be offered in grams rather than ounces, and I was asking for dates and hummus and the like. Still, a tremendous help. So I know what the Saudi dinner will cost me---too much fat. But not crazily too much fat! Either 26 or 29% depending on how much of the cake I eat, and the calories are right on track.
I find it easiest to plot out what I think I'd like to eat on a given day for all the meals--I write out each item and its calories and fat, but don't total anything up until the end--it's the sum of the days and weeks that matters not any one choice. Happily, calorie-wise eating what I want is relatively stable between 2,100 and 2,600 cal. Keeping the fat in line is where the challenge is, but it hasn't been too burdensome--Mostly because I've been keeping pretty much full with food that I like and eat anyway. The big changes are having fruit at dinner and far fewer desserts and high fat snacks. Normally, I would resent not eating these things, but I think the book is right--I've been fully nourished lately, so my body isn't demanding anything extra. It's only my mind that's in the habit of wanting goodies, but even my mind is calmer because my stomach is full. And, anyone who's reading this blog knows that I've hardly been depriving myself! When I can keep my fat percentages in line as easily as I can the calories in general, then I'll think about easing up on planning every little thing. Until then, I think I'd better stick with writing things down as much as possible.
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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