Tag Archives: maintenance

Another year down.

More time has passed in this weight loss journey. I think this is my 6th year? I still have my rose.

Funny that I am not all that focused on the time passing. This last year was a little harder for me. More the last 6 months, really, particularly with work stress and the never ending house closing. However, there are some things that have stayed constant all this time. Exercise is really a daily part of my life. Not always all out exercise. Sometimes simple walking. Other times 30-40 mile bike rides. It’s just what I do now. I have gotten a little lax with food, which has always been and probably always will be my biggest sticking point.

Obligatory what I used to look like photos:

I was thinking about pictures and decided against doing the ‘get myself gussied up’ and pose picture and show pictures of me being me. The real me!

I am even willing to post a picture of me from behind – a shot I had no idea was being taken. In the past, I would never have put up a picture like this, but this is me and I don’t hide. I am not a supermodel, but I am pretty super 😀

Losing weight and keeping it off is hard. I have a lot of support through the ups and downs of trying to maintain or when I have to get back into losing mode. I have that support offline as well as very much here with the blog, which I thank you all so, so much for. When I named my blog, I didn’t want to give it a ‘weight loss’ kind of name because I realized that the journey doesn’t start and end with the scale. It’s the whole package of how you live your life. How you live your life and enjoy your life – despite where you are on the scale.

Here to keeping on.

Those lifestyle changes

Thanks so much for all the nice comments on my maintenance post! I laughed a bit at the comments on my small waist. Some of that is how I am standing and when you have wider hips, your waist looks smaller 😀 However, strength training can define that much more for you.

Colleen had asked in the comments if I would elaborate on some of the changes that I have made permanently. You hear a lot about not dieting and making lifestyle changes, but I don’t know as I ever really understood what that meant until the last few years. When I was younger, I always thought a diet was something you went on and off of. Dieting was a special way of eating and only temporary. And you know what? That also means the weight loss was temporary.

These are the things that are different for me now.

Exercise and activity. I never was really lazy, even at my heaviest, but I did not go out of my way to do a lot of exercise. I always had the WATP videos and the like, but it wasn’t until I really tried sports-type exercises that I found things I looked forward to doing instead of just doing because I was supposed to. (cue rebellion). Biking and lifting fit that bill very nicely. While I used to run pre back injury, I never really loved it like I do the others. I bike totally for fun and the health benefits are secondary.

I also try to make a point to be active at times where I will eat more food. Like on Thanksgiving or Christmas. We like to take a walk that day now and not just lay around after eating. Never used to do that.

Measuring food. I know some people hate to do this, but it is such a habit with me that it doesn’t bother me. The scale sits on the kitchen counter (we both use it). I weigh out pretty much everything except fruits and veggies. I don’t sweat too much, though, if I get 17 grams of peanut butter instead of 16. It’s never an exact science. I have portion distortion and if I try eyeballing things all the time, I will start to lean onto the more generous side of portions. I also record my food pretty much every day on My Fitness Pal. Again, I don’t mind recording. I try to record any binges, overeating, extra snacks, etc., as well to the best of my ability. It keeps me pretty aware of what’s going on.

I choose small sizes of things when eating out. John and I split entrees or sometimes I will order an appetizer and salad as my dinner. I don’t really like to take restaurant leftovers home because I don’t want 2 meals. I just want one at the time, you know? Especially if it is a rich meal. When we go for regular ice cream versus yogurt, I almost always get the kiddie size. If I get the bigger sizes, I will likely eat all of it. That’s just the way I am, so better to limit it from the get-go.

Less processed food. Pretty self-explanatory.

Changing my beverages. This was one of the first changes I made eons ago. I used to drink sweet everything. Sugar in my coffee, regular soda, syrups in my lattes. You know that talk about liquid calories? Well, I had my share. I read the Sugar Addict’s Recovery book and decided to start eliminating a lot of sugar from my diet. I have always despised artificial sweeteners, so that pretty much meant cold turkey. To this day, I don’t put any sugar in my coffee or tea. I have unsweetened lattes (other than a honey or caramel drizzle on the top). I drink seltzer water at home and water in restaurants. Sometimes unsweetened ice tea or seltzer in a restaurant. I also don’t drink much any more. I love me a good mixed drink or beer (always hated wine), but it’s pretty rare for me nowadays.

I do not expect perfection. This is probably the biggest thing. I definitely used to be an all-or-nothing gal. Eat a donut for breakfast? Well, better go out for dinner and have dessert, too! Now I understand that it is all about progress in making changes. Yes, you backslide sometimes, but that doesn’t mean you have to keep going back. You just move on.

I know there are other things I do different now that I can’t think of off the top of my head. It’s really all very non-exciting isn’t it? No magic pills or secrets. Just small changes that stuck over time and each change brought a result.

5 years of radiance!

Here I am 5 years later maintaining the majority of my weight loss! The time goes by pretty fast. Some days it feels like a struggle. Some days it feels easy. There are so many changes that I have made in my life that are permanent now that have helped me to do this.

My 100-pound rosebush is blooming again this year. I think it is so appropriate that it comes into bloom when I celebrate this milestone.

It’s been so long since I looked like this (or John looked like this):

While not at my lowest weight, I have stayed here for the last couple of years. I know there are some people who are where I am at right now and that is their starting point for weight loss, but it’s all relative.

You know what I really like about this picture? It makes me look tall! (Doesn’t it?) I’m 5′ 2”, so I will take whatever makes me look taller.

Sometimes I wish I had the super discipline it takes to get to what would be my goal weight. It’s very hard. It seems to be harder to lose now that I am 45 and have a sedentary job. Yeah, I bike a lot, but I eat back those calories and then sit at my job.

Activity is really a big part of my life now. It never used to be. Exercise was a chore until I found things I liked. Strength training shaped my body big time, too. Check out the difference between my shape above and 5 years ago.

I am heavier in the more recent picture – and yes, the clothing is a little more form fitting, but no Spanx or any kind of control shapewear underneath (in either picture). There was a major change with lifting. I cannot stress enough the importance of lifting the iron!! Cardio alone just doesn’t cut it.

Yes, I have loose skin, some flab and extra weight, but still the strength training had changed my body. I wish I had lifted heavier all along!

I do have to say that life is pretty good. I may never reach the magic number on the scale, but I know that doing that will not make me happy as I am already happy now. Weight loss (or gain) does not define me. I am just going to try to keep living a healthy lifestyle in a manner that I can sustain forever.

Thanks so much for sharing my little bit of the internets with me. I have met so many wonderful people through the blog that I consider friends and hope to meet a lot more of you in person!

Four years and counting

It’s that time of year.

4 years of maintenance (or close to it). As long-time readers of the blog know, this yellow rose was the one that I bought myself for hitting 100 pounds down in 2008. Each year it has come back for the last 4 years and each year I am doing pretty well at maintaining my loss.

All of my rose bushes came up with long and tall canes this year. I don’t know if that had something to do with the winter we had or my pruning skilz.

Each year they are a little different. Each year I am a little different. I have learned many things about maintenance and there are many things still that I need to learn.

I am a little heavier than I was at my lowest.

I am a lot stronger than I was a few years ago.

I am 4 years older 😉

I eat differently now than I did 4 years ago.

There are still some foods that I probably will always struggle with (peanut butter cups, I am looking in your direction). But, that is okay. At least I am aware of that.

Maintenance is hard. I kind of consider myself a wobbly maintainer. My weight does go up and down. I never did reach my ultimate number goal and that really isn’t my focus any more. I want to keep off what I lost and stay strong and healthy. It’s funny how each year I mention that I never did get to my ultimate weight goal. Maybe that is where I am now and I still just haven’t accepted that. Not that I won’t keep working hard – because maintenance is hard work. It really is. It’s a mind game. It’s constant vigilance, which gets tiring at times, but I don’t care for the alternative.

I don’t ever want to go back here again.

My original Superstar pose in 2008:

2012:

You know, lifting has really given so much more shape to my body. I can’t say enough how much lifting is important to health. Not just how it makes you look, but how good it is for cardiovascular fitness, bone health and just confidence.

Here’s to another year!

Maintenance from a man’s perspective – aka the John files.

John lost 43 pounds over the course of 2009 and hit goal in November of 2009. He has maintained his loss for 6 months now.

Before:

Shexsy after!

Here are answers to the questions you (and I) posed to John:

1. What kind of weight issues have you had in your lifetime?

I have had from 20 to 40 lbs to lose ever since I was about 10 years old. I was always really poor in gym class, always picked nearly last for team sports. In adulthood I went through various phases of trying to lose/losing some/ gaining it back slowly; you know the drill.

2. What made you decide to lose weight?

I was inspired, about 2/3 by Lori’s lasting weight loss, and the other 1/3 by just wanting to not be another overweight American. I don’t have health insurance, so I’ve got incentive to get healthy on my own and reduce my contribution to soaring health costs.

3. What were your strategies to lose?

First, I recorded everything I ate using The Daily Plate (now part of livestrong.com). After four months of that (which really helped remind me of how many calories are in a lot of foods I encounter regularly), I starting using my own take on Weight Watchers points to keep a count. I just let 1 point = 50 calories (never mind about the fat and fiber part of the calculation — they pretty much cancel each other out). It just makes it easier to count. Instead of “gee, I had eaten 775 calories today, and dinner was 460, so… how much have I eaten now?“, I now just round everything to the nearest point and keep track of points in the notepad on my cell phone. So a 485 calorie breakfast is 10 points, lunch of 425 is 9, snack is about 6 points, and I am at 25 points for the day, easy. I’ve never actually been a member of WW, I just like the point system. Now I don’t even write my point total down at all, I keep it in my head. It is nearly always the same or very close because I have a very regular routine (10 points for breakfast, 8 for lunch, 6 for afternoon snack, 10 for dinner = 34 points)

Then there was the exercise part. When I started I was 213 pounds, and allowed myself 2000 calories or 40 points a day. (Today at 170 I get about 1800 cals on maintenance, plus exercise calories). Whatever exercise I did I got a credit for those calories burned. I started Jan. 1, 2009, so for the cold months it was mostly just walking, from 30 to 60 mins per day of fast walking. Starting in late March to early April I began getting in bike rides and running. I had never been able to run more than about 8 minutes at a time in my life, but I worked on it, alternating walking and running and covering 5k. I gradually increased the amount of running in spurts, from almost none, until the end of the summer I could run the whole 3 miles. Biking had been part of my life for many years, but I got more serious about that and took longer and longer rides with Lori. It is great for fat burning, and for burning enough calories to really eat something! I don’t know if it’s technically correct but I give myself 2 points extra food per mile of walking, 3 points per mile of running, and 3/4 point per mile of biking. I find giving myself credit for those points really gives me incentive to exercise.

4. What was the hardest part about losing?

I think the hardest thing for me is controlling what I eat for desserts and snacks after dinner. We tend to eat dinner by 5:30 and be done by 6pm, so that leaves a lot of time there to wander to the kitchen. Lori likes to stop eating after 8pm, but I find it works better for me to try not to eat anything until at least 8pm, then have something which keeps me satisfied until say 10pm and maybe at the most have one more small snack before bed. If I eat before 8 I am liable to keep snacking semi-continuously.

Also to help out my sweet tooth, I started keeping hard candies around. I can pop one or two after a meal instead of wanting a dessert right away. I have to be careful not to abuse them by having 5 or 6, but even when I do, at 20 calories each it is not a big sin. I will never vanquish my sweet tooth, I just have learned to work around it a bit.

5. What would you say is the key to your success in maintaining?

I think a regular day-to-day routine, portion control, and limited eating out have been the most important.
Most restaurants are in the business of making the food as rich and satisfying (to American tastes) as possible without regard for calorie-content or health. Everyone is on guard when it comes to fast food chains, but you also have to worry about casual dining eateries that I call collectively “T.G. McChiliganbee’s” (an amalgam of some places you can probably recognize), and just local mom-and-pop restaurants as well. You have to be so careful if you eat out on a regular basis. I think it is no coincidence that Lori and I reached our peak obesity at the time I was making a lot of money and we ate out daily at least, and often multiple times per day.

6. Do you have to work as hard as Lori does to maintain?

I’d like to say yes, but that could result in divorce. No I don’t. I don’t lift weights at all. She’d go on 5 or 6 mile runs (before her injury) while I do 3 miles max. I get close to 2000 per day, while she does not. It generally seems easier for men, but then again I have 2 uncles with serious weight problems, while my sisters have never had trouble with their weight, so maybe it’s genetic.

7. What has been the best part of losing the weight?

Buying new clothes and looking better in them. Feeling stronger and healthier is its own reward.

8. What do you for fitness? I know you ride a bike, but what about lifting? Do you love it like Lori does? (Editorial note here, Lori laughed and laughed at this question)

No I’m not a lifter at all, I don’t go to the gym. This spring is making me think I’d like to get a stationary bike setup of some kind at home, to stay in better shape over the winter. Up until now I have just switched to walking (outside) during the winter months. But it’s a looonngg winter here and I was surprised how much strength and endurance I lost this year.

9. Which is harder for you, losing weight or maintaining and why?

In the past, maintaining was always difficult, mostly because at some point I’d get at least a bit depressed and just stop caring. But I heard about a recent study that says that exercise is actually more important for maintaining weight loss than it is for losing the weight in the first place, and I am exercising a lot more this time around. Although I don’t much like running itself, I do notice and like the seratonin lift I get after finishing. I think that has helped me avoid the depression (along with an excellent e-book I found a few years ago, called ‘The Way Up from Down’, by Priscilla Slagle, a psychiatrist who suffered from moderate depression herself. It is available for free download at www.thewayup.com. She recommends a regimen of certain standard amino acids, tyrosine and tryptophan, plus vitamins.) This time I’ve gotten through Thanksgiving, Christmas, the SuperBowl, 4 days on a floating 24-hour buffet they call a cruise, and our Mardi Gras and Easter dinners with basically no gain (okay, 1 lb).

10. Favorite foods that fit into your healthy lifestyle?

I love breads, so I guess I will never be a low-carb dieter. Dark chocolate shall be eaten daily, by me, amen.
Love of food should be part of your motivation! If you let yourself go, someday a doctor is going to tell you not to eat this or that anymore. And you are going to be forced to give it up, and probably feel like sh** too. With control you can eat smaller amounts of the foods you love and take care of your body.

11. What are your plans now for future fitness or healthy living?

I have no desire to run marathons, climb mountains, or become an ironman right now, but I’ll let you know.
Eating wise, I will just keep enjoying a variety of foods and avoiding anything resembling guilt.

What is one tip you can give to someone who is struggling to stay on track?

Don’t remove favorite snacks from your house completely. But, never take the whole bag or box with you out of the kitchen (and don’t stand in the kitchen eating from it (ahem, Lori)). Get some very small dishes (we have a set of 4oz ramekins). Fill one up and put the bag away. Set it down and see if you can wait til the top of the hour before you eat it. Drink a big cup of tea or other non-calorie liquid with it. Enjoy!

——————————–

Thank you, John! I am so proud of you. I am glad you are fit and healthy now because I want you to be around for a long, long time 😀

To goal or not to goal.

It’s Monday!Even though it is my 2nd workday of the week, it still feels like Monday LOL! Headed off to the gym. My legs felt really, really tired after Saturday’s outdoor run yesterday and still a little stiff today, so I lightened up the leg weights a bit today.

After treadmill warmup:

Chin ups: 2 sets of 2, 1 set of 1.
Barbell squat: 3 sets of 10 with 65#
Incline dumbbell chest press: 3 sets of 8 with 25# DBs
Cable squat to row: 3 sets of 10 at 50#
Arnold press: 3 sets of 10 with 8# DBs
Reverse crunches: 3 sets of 15
Lower back extension (machine): 3 sets of 10 at 100#

Then I walked for 30 minutes at 3.5 mph with 0.5 incline. I didn’t want to run as my thighs were so tight. I’ll save that for tomorrow 😀

Brekkie was on my mind for most of that walk, or more specifically, protein waffles!

These were so good. Sometimes I am really sad when my meal is done because I enjoy it so much. Guess that’s how I ended up at 250 pounds, right? – kept eating the stuff I liked!

So I have been thinking about where I want to settle up scale wise. I have maintained in a range for the past year and a half right around 145. I am up a couple now post cruise, but generally I bounce around above and below this number. My lowest weight was 139 and that was before my heavy strength training. I actually wear the same clothes now that I did then (testament that lifting does *not* make you bigger, just heavier). There is a part of me that says if this is where I am maintaining, then I am at goal. John says that I am at goal. Makes sense. My body seems to kind of like it here, and I can maintain pretty well and eat a nice amount of food. It might just be complacence, though.

However, there is still that little part of me that wants to see if I can finish up. My personal heart-of-hearts goal. I don’t know as 135 is possible. According to all charts, it is really the top weight I should be at – but charts are lame. It will take a lot for me to get there, and probably I would have to be more restrictive than I want to be. Then again, that might just be the brat in me that doesn’t want to do it. I just don’t know, and my puzzler is sore thinking about it.

After doing the Oz show and this photo shoot, I think that I feel ready to go ahead and try to push some just to see if I can. My initial goal will be to get to 140 and reevaluate again. That’s just a little bit, although it will take a long time as I lose really, really slow. Not sure if anyone remembers my turtle ticker I had for a long time LOL.

Anyway, in order to do this, all I really have to do is quit the snacking between meals. And I’m not talking about planned snacks, but those snacks that don’t make it onto the blog, like a dip into the peanut jar here, or a couple dates there, or a few extra bites of cheese while making dinner. The *nibbling* stuff. Those things probably give me an extra 200 calories or so a day. If I stick to 1500 calories, I can lose. That’s not so bad. Of course, I do eat more on longer run days, but I have such a sedentary job that I don’t burn more than 70 calories an hour for my work day and not much I can do about that. That is one reason why my workouts seem intense – it’s because they have to be to make up for the all-day sitting.

So that’s the plan. I am going to update each day on how I am doing and take it 1 week at a time. My goals for this week are to curb the extra snacking, eat enough protein, and make sure my meals are balanced. Exercise is always a given 😀

Anyway – in the spirit of the balanced meal – here was dinner!

Chicken with sauteed broccoli and a kiwi. The anatomy is this: 3 oz of chicken breast, 2 cups of broccoli, 1 whole kiwi, 1 tablespoon BBQ sauce, plus 1 tsp of coconut oil (that the broccoli was cooked with). This kiwi was awesomely perfect. Just the right amount of juiciness, tart, and sweet. This is a nice light dinner and allows me a snack later on 😀

I am also thinking about going on the Q&A band wagon again. Start thinking if there is anything you want to ask me at all about whatever.

Black Friday and no shopping here!

I ruminated a little on Jinx’s comment about whether or not I ever let my guard down. The short answer to that would be no, not ever completely.

I actually ate a good amount of food yesterday. I did not record the food I ate (except what showed up in picture form 🙂 ). In fact, I even took off my GoWear fit for the day when I got back from my run. I just wanted to enjoy the day. With that being said, I have learned some things. I despise feeling stuffed. I don’t like it when I am so uncomfortable after eating that I can feel my stomach bulge (something that I could not notice at 250 pounds) or that I wished I hadn’t eaten something.

That last part is so important to me. I have made it my mission to not feel guilt or remorse over food anymore. To do that meant to conquer the part of me that would just eat and eat because it was the holidays (or whatever occasion) and the food was there. I don’t have to eat 5 slices of cranberry bread because 5 slices are available to me. I don’t believe in deprivation, but I also know that is is okay to *not* want something. I didn’t have any pumpkin pie last night because I didn’t want any. I certainly could have had it because it was there, right? What I really wanted was the cheesecake. I knew that if I had both the cheesecake and the pumpkin pie, I would have been stuffed. So, I didn’t have the pie. I loved everything I ate yesterday (okay, the moose was a little overcooked, but anyway…) I nibbled on the cashews and chocolate pieces probably more than I should, but that happens.

As you all know, enjoying food on a daily basis is important to me to keep the weight off. That way I don’t feel the need to gorge on particular days of the year, especially since I don’t restrict my calories to the extent that I feel the need to do that. That is just what works for me. Everyone is different in how they need to approach these things.

Maybe that is what is meant by everything in moderation? I don’t know. That phrase is pretty relative 🙂

Anyhoo, I woke up this morning and thought a nice walk was in order. It was so foggy that I decided to go to the track for safety sake. Crazy Black Friday shoppers and all that! I couldn’t keep from a little running, though. I did 3 miles and jogged one lap out of each mile. Nice and easy.

Came back to protein pancakes!

brekkie1127

Full of ‘cleansing oats’ as John said this morning

John was off today, so it kind of feels like Saturday! No shopping on Black Friday here. I don’t like crowds and pretty much avoid the mall from here on out. I will be participating in Cyber Monday, though!

I won the football picks last week, so it was my choice for a meal out. I decided that I wanted some pizza for lunch! We went to East End Eatery, which I lurve! John and I split a calzone (I so love that he splits meals with me!). Side salad to start:

sal1127

And then the calzone.

cal1127

Fresh out of the oven and delicious!

Now is the time to get into the spirit. Time to put up the Christmas tree! Pixie wanted to help:

ptree1127

The rest of the afternoon was spent assembling and decorating!

tree1127

I love real trees, but John is allergic – so we have had a fake one for many years. I would like a nicer one, but the ornaments are the important part! I think I will showcase one a day via pictures starting in December.

After finishing up, we had lattes and a slice of sweet potato cheesecake. How thin can you slice cheesecake and still have the slice hold its integrity? This thin 😆 :

cc1127

I’ll have to get the link for the cheesecake recipe from John. This is the real deal, though! Good thing there isn’t much left.

I realized that yesterday was sorely lacking in fruits and veggies! I had 1 banana and some cranberry sauce and a few green beans. Ooops. So, I decided on another salad for dinner. 2 in 1 day – that is pretty rare! I had something similar to the other day:

sal1127-1

Turkey (you think??) with BBQ sauce, feta cheese, and sliced almonds on hearts of romaine. It really tasted so good!

Making more ornaments tonight. These things take forever! Staying warm and snug tonight. Rain is moving in with likely some sloppy snow by morning. Think I will be going to the gym in the morning to run!

Question: Black Friday shopper? And if so, did you score any great deals?

Challenges in weight loss and maintenance

I was going to title this something like struggles in weight loss and maintenance, but I really want to focus on reframing that word.

Debby wrote an eloquent post on this subject the other day, and she commented to me about how it was good to hear someone else with the same issues.

I get emails or comments from time to time about how I stay so focused and determined. Here’s the secret – I struggle, too! I really think being a successful loser and maintainer is understanding that you are going to face tough times and you won’t always win. Put me around certain foods or in certain situations and I will face plant into enough food to make me uncomfortably full – even when that was not my plan.

Sometimes it is just the urge to let up and eat. When that happens, I refer to it as the old me having a temper tantrum.

Old me: I want to just eat without thinking about it. It’s not fair that other people can eat food and not gain weight. Why can’t I just eat what I want when I want?

Following cues from the Beck book, I try to reason with said self with things like: You know you don’t need to eat 6 servings of cereal, 1 is enough. Of course it isn’t fair, but you just have to accept that and move on. You can eat whatever you want when you want, but you have to be prepared to weigh 250 pounds again.

The old me sounds pretty petulant, right? That voice pops out from time to time and sometimes reasoning with it just doesn’t work. It’s much easier to give in. We’ve all been there.

I have learned that when I do give in, it isn’t the end of the world. I won’t gain back 100 pounds with 1 day of bingeing. I do seem to be able to stop it pretty quick these days, though, and I think that is the result of years of practice. I am not like a lot of the bloggers or people on forums I read that charge on down to goal losing a large amount of weight and keep it off. It’s been such a long process (years) for me both physically and mentally. This blog has actually been a useful tool for me to ponder things and get feedback (so thank you, gentle readers!).

I do win sometimes, though. And all that good food you see on my blog is the result of learning to love different foods and making them taste good. If you haven’t read my food philosophy, you can here.

I guess I would leave you with the thoughts that even when you get down to a happy weight, don’t expect to magically stay there, or that you are completely changed. Heck, the journey down is the same way. As imperfect beings, there will always be challenges, but what will make you successful is how you cope with those when they arise and learning how to speak to yourself with kindness.

My food philosophy

I wanted to talk a little bit about my food philosophy now. I do blog about food a lot and thought I would share what drives what I eat and how I view it.

1. First and foremost, I have to like the food I am eating and that food has to be good. If I were to have to eat dry toast, plain egg whites, lettuce and sugar free jello, I just would not be happy. (Not knocking anyone who loves these, it’s just not me). Yes, the scale would probably plummet down, but I would be miserable. I figure if the food I eat is satisfying to my taste buds, it will be satisfying to my mind. That means if I want a cookie, it’s the best *one* I can find, not a whole sleeve of Oreos to try to satisfy a craving. You really only get so much food in a day, so make it worth eating.

2. I don’t consider anything off-limits. Now, that doesn’t mean that I am going to eat a pound of chocolate a day or dive face first into cookies (although that has happened before), but I never tell myself that I cannot have something ever again. That is a sure-fire way to send me on a binge of said item. What I do is to give foods a nutrient cost, so to speak. More fat/calories gives the food a higher cost. So if you think of your daily foods as a bank balance, if you have a higher weight item, then the other items need to be of a lower cost (ie lean proteins, fruits, veggies, etc) to balance out. I think this way over a longer period as well. So, if I know we are going out for dinner one night, that means I need to rein it in a little bit a couple of days prior. This eliminates the guilt factor. This reason is why you see me eat bagels a couple times a week. I love them, I plan for them, I enjoy them. Yes, this requires thinking about food, but mindless eating got me up to 250 pounds.

3. I know where my food comes from. I am not a vegetarian, and am really not interested in becoming one (although I had thought about it for a while). However, I do care how the meat I consume is processed and raised. So, we purchase our meat locally from small farmers. We are pretty lucky that we are able to do this here and have a wide variety of products to choose from. It does make eating out a little difficult at times, but we do try to stick to those principles. There are other things we try to get locally, or at least make sure it is from the US. It’s apple time, but interestingly enough – a lot of apples in our store (Pink Ladies) come from New Zealand. ???? So we do a lot of label reading, even on produce.

4. Never feel guilty about eating. Ever. Foods are not inherently good or bad. Food does not have morals. It doesn’t judge you on how much you eat of it. We do that all by ourselves. I have those days where I eat more than I should of those costly nutrient foods, but you know what? There is always the next meal to be back on track again. I think it is worse to beat yourself up about it because then it makes what you ate not worth it (see #1), which compounds the problem.

Following these guidelines for me has helped me keep off over 100 pounds for more than a year and still enjoy food, because it really is worth enjoying!

I don’t know if you need to have a personal philosophy about food, but it really wouldn’t hurt you to take a hard look at why you eat what you do.

7-miler, new doctor and chilly weather.

Woke up this morning somewhat early as per usual. Wanted to sleep more, but it was not to be. Checked temp – it was in the low 40s! So chilly. I wore a jacket over my trisuit. It was also very foggy out, so I nixed any street running in favor of the safer track. Fueled up with this:

p9010003

I love these. I only get them when we shop at Price Chopper, since that is the only place I can find them, but we only go there once a month, maybe.

I also took some coconut water with me. This stuff is absolutely amazing!

coc The plan was 6 miles. I was going to do 3 and 3, but I was in a groove after 3 miles, so actually ran 4 before taking a break. I drank 1/2 the coconut water and did 2 more miles. Then I drank the rest of the coconut water. It was like a shot in the arm and I decided to go around 1 more mile (I must be nuts). So, 7 miles down today. I don’t know how long it took as I didn’t wear a watch. Probably 1:20 or so.

It was still cold enough to see my breath walking back home and I wanted something warm for brekkie in my favorite bowl:

brekkie

Oat bran made with a bit of brown sugar and topped with blueberry sauce. I actually layered it in the bowl with sauce on the bottom, then oat bran, then the rest of the sauce. It was so good!

[insert much working here]

Had a quick lunch before my doctor’s appointment:

lunch Chobani low fat (not FF!) plain yogurt, strawberries, and Kashi Cinnamon Heart. This is new and tasterrific!

So, I met with this doctor for the first time. I also found out that I am not 5’2″, but 5 1-1/4?? WTF??? When did that happen? I don’t think that is right, because John said he was about 3/4 inch shorter than he thought, too.

Anyway, I was discussing with the doctor about how I had lost some weight and was having some trouble getting off the last 10 pounds. She basically interupted me and said “Exercise more.” Hmmm…. So I started to say that I did already exercise a lot and she cut me off with “No, you must exercise more.” I was really irritated at that point. Especially as I had run freaking 7 miles this morning! So I asked if I could tell her what I did for exercise and listed everything. She was writing it all down and then said “We’ll check a thyroid.” Not that I really expect anything to be up with my thyroid, but it won’t hurt to have it checked. It just irked me that she automatically dismissed my efforts as not enough. Helloooo…. I trained and did a triathlon! Then we actually talked about how much weight I have already lost and she was very surprised (and impressed). She actually didn’t say I really needed to lose any more weight, but she didn’t discourage me from it, either. She was just happy that I have kept off 100 pounds for more than a year, as she said how that was the real accomplishment. She also said that eating healthy, maintaining my weight loss, and exercising were better than any pill could be to stay healthy!

So, with the initial exam over, now I get the over 40 treatment in the next month: Bloodwork, mammogram (squish), Pap, skin check – the works! Wheee……

Dinner was like a little clam bake in spirit. Grilled corn, clam strips and broccoli!

dinner

The corn was a little immature and not the best.

Going to my sister’s house tonight for a little get together for my niece’s birthday. She is 10 today – a tween! Look out world! Need to maintain cupcake control tonight. Wish me luck! That’s a way to start out the September challenge LOL!

Finding Radiance

Trying to live a fit life loving food, cycling, gardening and everything in between!