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...

Still plugging away---yay!

I weighed in this morning, and despite my time off from the "meal plan" I lost 1.5 pounds over the course of last week. Yippee! Tracking my progress, I've lost a bit over 5 pounds since the beginning of September.

Today was good. I am glad to be back to my fruits and salads. Tonight's dinner was especially good. Asian Beef with rice. It was basically beef stirfry with green peppers, snow peas and green onion served with white rice, side salad and a kiwi. I was full by the time I ate my entree and salad, so I passed on the fruit. Not only am I trying to stick to the meal plan, but I'm also stopping when I'm full. I need to learn to stop eating when I am satisfied! Some diets encourage you to finish the whole portion of food alloted for a meal, and I've done those before. But I feel like it didn't teach me to listen to my body. Therefore, even if I'm entitled to more food at any given meal, I'm stopping anyway. Hopefully, I will be able to learn to hear my body's signals more clearly the more I do this.

off the bandwagon already???

Not really, but kinda close. This past weekend I worked at the Hearts at Home conference in Minnesota. I was determined to eat as best as I could. Our carpool van picked me up at about 3:45 Thursday afternoon loaded with cookies, krispy kreme donuts and bags of candy.

Yes. Cookies, donuts and candy.

I had brought a healthy snack with me for the long car ride, and knew we were going to stop for dinner. And I was able to order a fairly tame dinner....one hamburger and two side salads. But the rest of the weekend was definitely a challenge.

I am proud to say that though I couldn't follow my meal plan, I was able to watch my portions and avoid the obvious sweet treats. I didn't go back for seconds (unless it was salad), stopped eating when I was full, and on the last day after a hard day's work, I had a small slice of apple pie after dinner to not completely deprive myself. I have to admit, though, that I did have a hershey kiss here and there.

Glad to be home and hopefully back on track for this week....

big temptation!

Last night we had our Bible Study group come over and one of the members had brought some yummy chex mix. It was kinda like puppy chow, but better. There was chex, candy corn, raisins, m&m's, pretzels and maybe one other thing, all smothered and coated in melted white chocolate. YUM-O! The entire two hours of our study I watched others munch out of this bowl of delight with envy and longing.

Puppy Chow is probaby one of my most favorite treats. Needless to say, at the end of the night I indulged at took a few pieces of the chex mix, and a pretzel or two. I had to forgo the candy corn and m&m's altogether, otherwise it would have been the point of no return!

I am happy to report, however, that since I've changed what I eat I am actually less hungry. It's kinda nice...

one week

Alright, one week under my belt! Today I weighed in and have lost a little bit over two pounds in the last week. But compared to my last doctor's visit in August, I've lost about four pounds. Yay for progress!

I've printed out my meal plan for the week and the food substitution guide. There's this category of "free foods" that I didn't notice. It's not all that yummy, but I can have unlimited raw veggies, and a few servings of sugar free gelatin everyday if I really get hungry. I find that I have felt pretty comfortable all along, though (except for those first few days when all I wanted was something rich and sweet, or savory and fatty!)

This morning's workout was pretty good. I find that music is probably my biggest motivator right now. I usually plug my earphones into the tv on the treadmill or elliptical at the gym and watch the Today Show, but lately I've enjoyed listening to the XM radio stations that they also have. A nice, steady, house or techno beat can egg me on to running just a little bit longer. Then I have to play these mind games with myself, "C'mon, Vicky! One more minute!" "Keep going!". Then I do the "C'mon, Vicky, just thirty more seconds!" Before you know it, you've burned hundreds of calories...

You just have to do what it takes to get you to do what you have to do to, you know? Distraction, imagery, maybe just keeping really busy so you don't think about your sweet tooth. "Yes, I can see myself 10 pounds lighter!" Actually, no, I can't. I have no idea what I'd look like...

Day 6

Today was really good. No big struggles about food or waiting for the next "fix" :) It's kinda like it's taken a few days for my body (and mind) to adjust to the new portions, new tastes, new habits. I'm really glad. In fact, breakfast was too big, so I had to leave some of it for later. I'm just so glad that I have some more control now, and that I'm not being controlled by my tummy.

It's weird. I've always equated motherhood and being a wife with cooking good food. They say the kitchen is the heart of the home, right? I always imagined myself making hearty meals, delicious desserts. I guess I can still do that, but it's gotten us to the point where all we eat is rich food and sweets. Yes, we eat vegetables, but not that much. And portions? Goodness me... I'm the queen of seconds, and thirds. While it's not that much of an issue for David (he will forever remain slim) it's important for me to understand portion size. I think I'm getting it now.

So, I'm thankful for a struggle free day :)

breakfast: 1 scrambled egg with 1 oz low fat cheddar, two slices whole wheat toast, 1/2 cup lowfat yogurt, 1/2 medium banana.

lunch: we went out to Wendy's. One jr. cheeseburger deluxe and one side salad with 2 tbls fat free french dressing

dinner: chicken spinach pasta, 1 cup mixed fruit

snack: 1/2 toasted pita with 1 oz. melted low fat cheddar and two tomato slices.

60 oz of water--yay, I'm increasing my water intake!

Day 5

This is the start of yet another attempt to lose some weight!
I know I'm like a lot of other women out there, so that is some comfort. But it is REALLY hard to CHANGE.

And the thing is, I'm not even doing this as a permanent change. I mean, I'm doing this for about 2 months, or at least forty days. Eating differently, exercising harder. Following a set out meal plan that is drastically reducing my normal amount of calories, and is making me eat the good stuff that's bad : fruits and vegetables. Ha ha ha. Actually, I like fruits and vegetables, it's just that I would rather have a cookie, a piece of bread, or something fried.

This is Day 5. It gets easier. Today was definitely easier than Day 1.

My Workout: 3o minutes on the treadmill, alternating walking with running. 4 sets of crunches.

Breakfast: PB&J on whole wheat toast, 1 cup skim milk, 1 cup of melon. Mind you, PB&J means 1 tbls low sodium peanut butter, and J means 2/3 tbls low sugar preserves. I've never even measured out 2/3 tbls....

Lunch: we brown bagged it since the family went on a picnic. 2 slices whole wheat bread, 2 oz lean deli meat (I had chicken breast), 2 slices tomato, some lettuce, and mustard. 1 cup salad with 1tbls low fat dressing. That's it!

Dinner: bbq pita burger. 3 oz lean ground beef grilled, topped with two slices tomato and 1 tbls bbq sauce in half a whole wheat pita. 2 cups spinach salad with 1tbl grated carrot and 2 tbls low fat dressing. 1/2 cup fruit.

Snack: yet to be determined, but I think I'm going to have an english muffin melt: 1/2 english muffing toasted, topped with 1oz melted low fat cheddar cheese.

unlimited sugar free, decaffeinated beverages...yuck!