Planning Paid Off - But Here's AF!

So, it turns out that all that planning on the camping trip paid off. Although I appeared to gain .6 lbs when I returned from the trip, this last Sunday, I weighed in at -2.5 lbs. That means that in two weeks, I lost 2-1/2 lbs, which isn't bad when you throw a camping trip in there.

I haven't crunched the numbers, but I think this week is PMS week. If my hollow leg and craving for food that I don't usually miss at all is correct, then I'm burning those extra calories preparing for AF to show up. If that's not what it is, then I'm a little worried. But, seriously, I have other clues too, but that's not this blog...

So when I'm not feeling like THIS ^^,

I'm feeling like THIS ^^.

Turns out that Weight Watchers and my period (actually, just the PMS week that proceeds it) don't get along. At 28 points, I feel like I can't eat when I want to eat EVERYTHING in my house. I just wanna pig out and go nuts when this week comes along and at this new 28 points, I feel like if I eat another piece of fruit or one more carrot, I'm going to turn into a vegetable!

This is where I really rely on my hypnosis. If you aren't up to date with what I'm talking about, let me fill you in. I listen to self-hypnosis recordings on my iPod at night, especially when I'm having a hard week. I'll listen to them all week. I have a Weight Loss one, a Weight Loss Supplement (part 2, basically), a Fat Burning one, a Fitness one, and a Procrastination one. I listened to all of them wide awake to check them out and make sure they weren't wacky. 

 

I had a bad experience with hypnosis once - I paid $1000 to join a hypnosis program that used aversion tactics such as "imagine your favorite splurge food in your mind. Now bring it to your lips. Take a big bite or large drink of that amazing food or liquid. Now, as you feel it in your mouth, imagine it suddenly turning into maggots in your mouth. Spit it out. This food disgusts you. You find this food repulsive."

I didn't know the contents of the hypnosis tape (as it was a supplement to the live hypnosis) and was horrified at that technique. As a result of that experience, I was VERY critical of the ones I downloaded. The speaker has a soothing, well, hypnotic voice and I am extremely pleased with the content. I think it keeps you very much in control of your body. It encourages safe and consistent methods of healthy eating and exercise. 

If you're interested, here is the link to their website. After enjoying the free downloads, I DID donate to the site in order to have greater access to all of their downloads.

http://www.free-hypnosisdownloads.com/ 

 

Okay everyone. It's time for me to get to my son's hearing test, so I have to run. Please enjoy my link and wish me luck with this difficult week! Until next Wednesday!

So Close, I Can Taste It

I'm fast approaching "onederland." Onederland is that moment when I can say my weight is ONE something something. This week, I'm within 9 pounds of being able to do that. I'm SO close. Maybe a month or two and I'll be there, if everything goes well. I will celebrate when I get there. I'm not sure how I'll reward myself yet, but I have to. It's been YEARS since I've been ONE hundred and anything.

This week, I lost 2.8 pounds making me 208 pounds. I've still got a long way to go, but every week brings me closer to a healthier weight and a healthier body. This is SO exciting.
This week, I tried a new recipe. My husband, Steve grilled up some salmon that I'd seasoned with salt and pepper. When he flipped the fish, I put on a mixture of fresh herbs (a seafood medley), lemon zest and lemon juice with some olive oil. This created a sort of Lemon Herb Crusted Salmon. It was delish.

My husband had much to celebrate (and what better way than to grill yummy food) because this week, he lost an amazing 6 pounds. For the previous two weeks, he'd gained weight and was frustrated. I convinced him that by not eating his points for the day, he was eating far fewer calories than his body needed. I suggested that he cut out some of the simple carbohydrates he was eating and bump up his protein and fat. In the morning, he ate a breakfast sandwich with one egg, three pieces of real bacon, two sausage patties, and american cheese on an english muffin. EVERY DAY. The rest of the day was packed full of protein and fat with some carbs. I made healthy dinners and he handled managing his lunch. He ate twice or better what I did for dinner. He lost SIX POUNDS! When Weight Watchers says you have 71 Points Plus Points, EAT THEM. He thought he was doing himself a favor by eating 50-60 points a day and he NEVER got to his weekly points allowance. In reality, he was starving his body. That would have been like me eating about 25 points (below the Weight Watchers Points Plus minimum for anyone). I'd starve. My husband NEEDS to eat his daily points value to succeed on this plan. He sees that now.

As for me, my 30 points has been a struggle, but I find I eat a heck of a lot of veggies and fruit (mostly veggies, as I'm not a huge fruit fan). That's not a bad thing, so no big deal. It's better than my old habits of eating half a tub of cookie dough from Papa Murphy's for breakfast or frozen chicken with nothing else for lunch and then ending up really hungry and binging on sweets or chips. I really had some seriously bad habits that I didn't even see until I starting eating right.

Just because you like sweets or junk food, doesn't mean you can't eat right most of the time. I still have chips. I still eat chocolate. I still have strawberry shortcake and cheesecake. I just use my brain to eat in moderation and now those foods are more special. They're a treat rather than my every day indulgence. Everyone can do this. If  I can and my husband can, you can.

Weight Watchers is saving my life and I'm SO grateful.

I'm Still Here

If anyone is reading this, they know I've dropped off the blogger earth for two weeks. The first week I was missing was simply a "whoops!" I got very busy on Sunday and forgot to post anything. Honestly, by the time I remembered, it was Tuesday of the following week and I thought, I'll wait until next week.

That Sunday, the 15th I believe, I lost 2.4 pounds. I was thrilled! It was a good week, but busy. I've been dealing with having my son enter into the evaluation system to discover if his language delay is due to some medical reason or if it's just him taking his sweet time to talk. That week was busy thanks to loads of phone calls and yet another meeting and my own things going on as well. I was just overwhelmed with stuff to do.

Fast forward to the second week I didn't show up. I should have. I probably had a responsibility to post SOMETHING. I didn't lose any weight that week. I was shocked. I'd been OP (On Plan) all week. I hadn't been "bad." I hadn't cheated myself by not measuring or by not tracking snacks or candy or ANYTHING. I'd been amazing in fact. So, I was, well, pissed. And I was in NO mood to post a whiny poor little me post. I came around, though. Eventually, I let it go. In fact, I did more than that.

Since I didn't lose last week, this week I dove into those weekly points that are over and above what you get daily. I even waited until late in the week to do so. I had ice-cream, pizza, Subway, curry and rice (twice!), Doritos, chocolate candy (which I didn't track...). I did this with some trepidation, but also with strategy. I know when you eat with a calorie deficit, your body can get used to only eating that many calories and it becomes very efficient. Sometimes it gets so efficient, it doesn't allow you to burn the fat you're intending to. It's actually a very good system; our bodies are amazing things! However, I don't want my smarty-pants body to get used to burning only those calories. So, I threw loads of calories it's way to jump-start my metabolism. It doesn't always work, but I was hoping for the best.

Getting on that scale this morning was a little scary. I was pleased to see I'd lost 2.2 pounds. It had worked. This week, I'll just play my meals by ear. If I go over my new point limit (30 from 31, due to my new weight), I won't sweat it.

Perhaps I'll start off the week with steak, shrimp, and a baked potato with fat free Greek yogurt and butter. Mmmm.....Yeah, you can eat that and still lose weight. Isn't that wonderful?

Met My 1st Goal Today!

Today, I met my first "Goal." Weight Watchers asks you to set small goals, like so many weight lost strategies. The whole idea is that if you set your only goal as your total loss, especially in cases like mine where I have SO much to lose, then you will have a hard time actually reaching that ultimate goal. By breaking your weight loss into segments, you can take it one step at a time and reward yourself for the smaller, but meaningful, accomplishments along the path to success.
I don't remember what my first goal was, but I took Weight Watchers advice and simply accepted the first goal they set for me. 21.4 lbs lost and I've reached that first goal. The next Weight Watchers Goal they asked me to set was 214 something. I chose to set my own goal. I chose 200 lbs. It's less of a jump than my first goal and I feel like I'll feel very accomplished once I get to 200. 38 lbs lost will be really something awesome to celebrate. I'm looking forward to it.
Until then, I sure hope my body continues to be THIS predictable. I lose on the average of 1.5-2 lbs for two weeks. Then PMS week hits and I start retaining water and eating like a horse. I lose about .5-1 lbs for that week. Then, the actual period week hits (sorry if this is TMI, but it's not MY fault - talk to Mother Nature), and I loose about a pound. Then, the next week (this week, for example) I make up for it and dump the water weight and get my actual weight loss (3.8 lbs this week).
I know there must be plateaus coming and I'm sure I won't ALWAYS lose at this rate (although, it would be great if I would), but I'll be happy if I lose at the rate I am. Losing more than 20 lbs thus far is pretty dang incredible. I'm REALLY HAPPY! I'm praying that Steve keeps up his losses too. So far, he's losing much faster than I am, but I'm excited for him. He's lost over 20 lbs already! YAY for him!
If you have weight to lose, I don't think it's WHAT program you use or whatever, but it's the mindset. Although, I DO like Weight Watchers and the idea that 1. I eat what I want so long as I don't go over my daily points (so essentially, my calories for the day), and 2. That food I eat comes with consequences. If I want to eat more points (calories), I have to work them off that week. If I eat cheesecake, I'd better swim for a few hours or dance my rear off to make up for it. Surprisingly, perhaps, is that I've NEVER thought about food in this way. I NEVER have accepted the concept of calories in = calories out and that the remaining balance means weight gain. You'd think I'd get that, but it's never stuck. I've never felt in control of my food. I've felt like food controls me and that I had no hope. Weight Watchers has changed that and if there was any reason to recommend it, that would be it.
I will attempt to post my first photo set today (hopefully a before and after (-20lbs)). Other than that, until next week friends! Easter is coming! I'll try to come up with a healthy recipe to share for that indulgent holiday before next week!

Okay, I'm updating this post with news of the first before and after photos. Unfortunately, I didn't take a starting photo, so I had to find my best "before" picture that I could. In May, I'll be able to get a more "comparison worthy" photo set for you. Please check out the Photos tab at the top of the page under the title for the new additions and look for more to come in May! Thanks for being patient and waiting for these!