Where is Vicky now?

I realize it has been a long time since I've posted. But for those of you who have read this blog, I will let you know that I did end up reaching my goal weight loss of 15 pounds. Well, actually my goal was 16 pounds, but I lost a little bit more than 15, which was close enough for me ! :)

Funny thing is, I got sick over Thanksgiving, which turned out to be a blessing, since I couldn't overindulge! And by Christmastime, I had reached my goal. So needless to say, the holidays were extra fun and rewarding since I had some wiggle room to eat all my favorite treats.

Today, I am continuing to exercise, though I'm not watching what I eat too carefully. There is a medical reason for this, but I won't share why until I see more of you in person and get to tell you for myself.

Until then!

Forty Days Come and Gone

It has already been one week since I made it through forty days. Total weight loss is 11 pounds! To celebrate, my husband and I went out for dessert where we split a piece of decadently dark chocolate mousse cheesecake. Yum. With a cup of coffee, it was heaven on earth! The weird thing was, after I had eaten about three quarters of my portion I was very satisfied. I finished it anyway, and I felt really full...like bad full. Six weeks ago I would have polished that thing all by myself! It's amazing what happens when you really change your habits.

Other changes: EVERYTHING tastes good to me. And this is such a blessing for someone who was such a food snob! I take simple pleasures in peanut butter smeared on a graham cracker. Or cheerios covered with my favorite fruit yogurt. Potatoes, cut into wedges, seasoned with salt, pepper and herbs and baked till their a bit crispy on the outside, are wonderful tasting "healthy" fries.

Beyond these forty days I plan to continue eating right, but I'll indulge in a dessert now and then, or go out to dinner. Just this past weekend I enjoyed dinner out with some friends at a Japanese restaurant and had the tempura (battered and deep fried vegetables and shrimp). But because I ate sensibly all week and worked out at the gym, I still managed to lose another pound. COOL!

Why is it...

that I can buy a frozen pizza for less than two bucks, but a bunch of grapes costs four?

that candy bars are 10 for $10 at my local grocery store?

It just makes me so mad! I go to the grocery store every week and pile my cart with healthy eating. And then I pass aisles and aisles of convenient, cheap, junky food that just makes my taste buds tingle. I haven't had a hershey bar in I don't know how long...

Since it's been forty days, I've loosened up the reigns on my diet. I know, we really shouldn't call it a diet, because it should be a lifestyle change, right? But I tell you, today, I was really sick of eating my salad at lunch. I started craving again and indulged by having a few extra wheat thins when I really shouldn't have had any at all...

Most days I'll prepare a lean cuisine or other diet frozen meal, paired with salad and piece of fruit. The convenience foods get pretty expensive though, so I've started trying to get realistic about what I'd be eating EVERYDAY. I've discovered the peanut butter and jelly on toast with a glass of skim milk is by far one of my favorite breakfasts. For lunch, however, I would usually eat a sandwich because I wanted to eat the chips. Now, I eat a sandwich with a salad and fruit. Not so yummy. I've got to find a healthy, salty alternative!

Wait...I've got to go...my boy is crying for me...

The end of the road

I'm almost there. It has officially been five weeks since I've started, which means my forty days are up this Saturday! In five and a half weeks I have lost just a few ounces shy of ten pounds!

I feel great. Even though the forty days are here, I'm still going to slowly work towards my ultimate goal, which is actually another five to six pounds away. At this point, it's getting kinda hard, since all the "easy fat" is lost. Now it's those last tough ones that have been hanging on for so long.

The best feeling of all is pulling out all those "skinny", pre-pregnancy clothes from the storage closet and putting them on, only to find that they fit great. REALLY great! And the skinny jeans are back :0 Even my husband is wondering if I'm leaner than when he married me three and a half years ago. Whoopee!

YOU CAN DO IT, LADIES! You really can....

Day 23

I can't believe I'm over halfway through my forty days!

And I'm halfway to my weight loss goal :)

Last week was really hard, and now I know why: that time of the month. No wonder I had the cravings and the crabby feelings and the seeming lack of weight loss. Funny thing how water retention works. A couple of days after I was supposed to weigh in, I checked my weight again, and I had indeed lost some weight. I just had to get past that whole "bloating" period!

I did learn a few things though... Lean Cuisine frozen entrees are WAY better than Smart Ones or Healthy Choice. They just taste better and make your taste buds a bit more satisfied. This is a big help when all you're eating is one little entree, a side salad and a piece of fruit.

Weight loss to date: 7 pounds!

Not so fun

I've decided this is getting REALLY old.

I'm just a few days shy of completing three weeks, and already yesterday I had a meltdown. I'm still trying to figure out if motherhood stresses me out, which causes me to eat, or if my NOT eating is stressing me out and making motherhood nuts. I'm really cranky these days, which leaves me little patience. And that's not a good place, you know?

It doesn't matter. Last night I definitely threw the diet out the window and snacked and nibbled after dinner without any regard for the mealplan.

Which leads me to tonight. At this point, I have eaten ALL the food I am allotted for today, and all I want to do is eat. Eat something really yummy. To top it off, tomorrow is going to be one heck of a day. In the morning I've got a scrapbooking event to go to, so there's going to be all sorts of snacks, and in the afternoon we're having people over for our annual football and chili event. Translation: a full day surrounded by friends and food. And you know that's a lethal combination!

As of today, I've lost a total of 5.5 pounds. My husband congratulated me and said I was doing a good job and that I need to keep going. I know this. But I hate it. I hate it! I hate it! The sad thing is, I'm pretty sure this weight will come back, especially after the holidays. But I'm praying that won't be the case. I'm praying that I can adopt some good eating habits and exercising habits to at least maintain a healthy weight.

This week I'm studying Chapter 4 in Matthew which deals with the temptation of Christ. He fasted for forty days and forty nights! I'm just trying to eat healthily and sensibly for forty days and can't even do that!

Day...?

I'm hungry.

Today is an interesting one...for the past week and a half now I haven't had too much trouble with the cravings. But today, for some reason, I'm having a harder time.

I had a delicious breakfast: hashbrowns with green pepper and onion and turkey sausage. Even during my outing this morning when I was surrounded by sweet, baked treats I didn't budge. I reached for my allotted portion of fruit (carried over from breakfast) and some carrot sticks. Good job, Vicky! Lunch was yummy, too. I think it was a enchilada entree from Smart Ones and a side salad. I was supposed to have some fruit, but I decided to wait to eat the fruit later. But instead I had a cucumber salad.

As I was eating that vinegar-y mess, I just got really frustrated. I really want to eat some macaroni and cheese! Or, I just really want a thick slice of bread with a smear of butter. I could probably eat any one of those things, but I don't want to measure the calories and fit it in somewhere, plus it's loaded with fat, and of course I'm trying to control all that right now. So, I reached for a graham cracker. I hoped that would satisfy my "bread/carb" craving without tipping the scales too much.

So, I'm sitting here 30 minutes later still feeling a bit hungry. It's probably because I don't have too much to do right now. My son woke up early from his nap, I don't feel like taking him out anywhere since I'm a bit tired, and dinner needs to be on the stove in a little bit over an hour. Which is the other hurdle: two dinners. One for me, one for the rest of the family. I suppose I can make enough of my meal to feed all three of us, but I have a feeling they're not going to like eggplant parmesan . Especially with fat free parmesan and plain, low-sodium tomato sauce! Not to mention eggplant...