Tuesday weigh-in

No change this week -- which is good since I ate out a lot over the weekend (but I don't know how long it takes for that to process. :) )

I have been going up and down with the same four pounds since the challenge started -- I am hoping this next week to break through and lose more.

Tuesday weigh-in

I have a confession to make. I weighed myself last week, but I was so discouraged, I didn't log in to report my results. It just felt lame to make excuses.

I know that's wrong -- we need to be honest and report both the ups and down. I know it can be encouraging to me to look down the names recorded on "Mr. Linky" and see both pluses and minuses -- encouraging because it tells me we're not alone in having up and down weeks.

So -- I apologize for that.

I knew I had not been on track, but last week I was up by over 5 lbs. It was also "that time of month" (again! Only 23 days since the last time!) and I knew that was a factor, but I didn't realize how much of a factor.

This week I am down by 5 from last week, but I am not going to ask for my - 5 lb. button because I have only lost 4 since the beginning of the challenge. I've been up and down with those 4, but I am hoping this week to progress. A big event and some other busy-ness are over now, so I will be able to get back to tracking what I eat and focusing on what I need to do.

Works For Me Wednesday: Salads aren't always the best choice at restaurants

My son sent me this article comparing several restaurant salads with their burgers. For example, amazingly, Wendy's Garden Sensations Mandarin Chicken Salad has more calories, carbs, sugar, sodium and fat than their 1/4 lb. Double Stack.

Many restaurants have nutrition information on their web sites, easily found by G**gling the name of the restaurant. It pays to check out the details if you're dieting or having to watch any of those elements in your diet.

Visit Rocks In My Dryer for more works-for-me tips.

Tuesday weigh-in

Well, last week I was discouraged about being unexpectedly up 4 lbs. The very next day I was down by 3 lbs., so there must have been some kind of water retention or something going on.

This week I was dreading weigh-in because I had blown it a couple of days, but besides that 3 lbs., I was down another 1 and 1/2 lbs.

So I am a happy camper with a total loss this week of 4.5 lbs.

One (of many) things I still need to work on is feeling like I am entitled to a "treat" at certain places. For instance, yesterday I went to lunch at Fuddruckers with my oldest son -- he and I like it and no one else in the family does, and we were out at lunch time and decided to stop there. I know hamburgers aren't the greatest things to eat when trying to diet, but it is one of those things I am going to allow myself from time to time. :) But besides the hamburger, which I was allowing for, I got a brownie from the bakery because I "always" get a brownie there. So I need to change those rituals in my mind and stop looking on those things as a treat and rather as an obstacle.

I am within half a pound of passing one of those milestone weights that ends in 0 -- I haven't been on the other side of that number in years, and I am hoping to do that this week. Back on track, Barbara!!!

Works For Me Wednesday: Portion control for chips

I know it is cheaper to buy big bags of chips and put lunch-sized portions in little plastic bags for school lunches. But once when I bought a big bag of different types of individually packaged chips just for variety, I noticed something. When any of us at home wanted to snack on chips, we stopped after eating the individual package, whereas when we had a big bag of chips, someone would take them down to the family room and watch TV while munching through half the bag. Not only was that unhealthy and hard to limit, but then I'd come near to running out of chips for lunches. The individual serving sizes made our chip supply last longer plus limited our snackage.

See Rocks In My Dryer for more tips.

Back down

Well, there must have been something going on with water retention or something yesterday, because I am back down 3 pounds this morning. That's a relief!

Tuesday weigh-in -- Week 3

I am up by 4 lbs. :(

I knew I was blowing it over the weekend. We went out to a restaurant Friday evening that we only go to once or sometimes twice a year. I got what I usually get there -- half rack of baby-back ribs, baked potato, salad, and rolls (about 3 -- they were small. :) ). I did save a portion of it for lunch the next day, though, so I don't think that was that bad. But then Sat. night I got pizza -- more than I needed. Everyone else was gone and I was thinking I'd get extra so they would have some to snack on when they got back. But I didn't limit myself at all, and even got a little apple pizza dessert and had one slice then, two on Sunday, and 1 on Monday. (Blush!) Part of the problem Sat. night was kind of feeling sorry for myself over a frustrating afternoon; part of it was just wanting something good.

Yesterday wasn't too bad even with Memorial Day weekend except I had too many starches and an extra slice of pound cake (we'd had pound cake with strawberries and whipped topping -- kind of a shortcut strawberry short cake -- and I had an extra sloce of the pound cake.)

So -- in the spirit of learning from my mistakes:

1. I need to learn not to reward or soothe myself with food, or at least the wrong kinds of foods.
2. I need to be careful about having more than I need on hand for a meal because it makes it too tempting to eat more.
3. I need to be careful about little slices of "extras." The extra pound cake had started as just an extra couple of bites, then I sliced off another little bit when I was putting it away. Before I knew it I had consumed another whole serving.
4. I need to get over feeling depressed about not eating sweets and such and munching on carrot sticks. Maybe those feelings will change the more I change my diet habits and get used to them and the more weight I lose. I probably ought to look at those high-calorie sweets as the enemy and not mourn them as a lost friend and make excuses to have them.
5. I need to START EXERCISING!!

Even with all of that, 4 lbs. seems like a lot -- I used to eat indiscriminately all the time and had a steady weight gain over the years, but not 4 lbs. over one weekend. So I am wondering if there is something else going on--water retention or whatever.

But I need to get back on the bandwagon in any case.

Summary:

Total weight lost to date: 3 lbs.
Total weight gained: 4 lbs.
Difference in weight today from starting weight: +1lb.