Weigh in day and more inspiration

I need to pick an official weigh in day. I don't do Weight Watcher (but I have in the past and really like it) so I don't have a certain day set as my weigh in day. I usually step on the scale every other day or so. When you do that you see daily highs and lows but it is harder to see concrete progress. I used to weigh on Monday's, but I don't like that because I'm not on my best behavior on weekends (usually). I liked it when I weighed in on Tuesday because I left like I had a little distance from the weekend and my body would adjust back to "normal". Fridays might be good because it would be pre-weekend...hmm that is a thought.

I think I will split the difference and try Wednesdays as weigh-in day. So next official weigh-in day will be September 5th.

Now on to a little more inspiration. I have little sayings or reminders posted all over my office. They serve as little reminders of what I am doing and what I am planning to accomplish.

Here is today's:

Look not mournfully into the past, it comes not back again. Wisely improve the present, it is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy future without fear and with a manly (womanly) heart. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This helps remind me that there will be times I "fall off the wagon" and not eat as well as I should, but every new day is a day to start over....put myself 1st again. This also reminds me to not fear the future. Everything changes over time and I can't control that. I just have to deal with what is before me.

I will be out of town for the weekend and I'm planning to really use my hunger scale this weekend and make the best food options that I can. Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!

Inspiration

Just a few little inspirational thoughts for the day.


Impatience never commanded success. - Edwin H. Chapin


I like this because we can't be impatient about this process. It took me a long time to get to this weight and it won't just fall off tomorrow.


Convenience never built character (another Beth Moore bible study snippet)

This one tells me that this process will build my character because the hard stuff does that to you.

It is easier to be wise for others than for ourselves - Francois De La Rochefoucauld

This ones tells me that I haven't been putting myself first and now is the time to do that.

Many only learns in two ways, one by reading, and the other by association with smarter people - Will Rogers

My new friends in the blogworld are smart people that set good examples, lend support, make me smile and some times shed a tear because you know you have been right where they are.

It is all about Freedom!!!

Tonight I went to my regular Tuesday night bible study. We just wrapped up the Beth Moore study called Living Beyond Yourself. Session 10 was all about the fruit of the spirit that is self-control. How appropriate a topic is that for someone on a weightloss/healthy living journey?!?!!? All I can say is WOW.

It was great. I came home just wanting to pour out everything she talked about right here on this blog.

She discussed that on one side of the spectrum there is neglect. When we "let ourselves go" or when we have given up for awhile and need a jump start again. We are not respecting ourselves.

The other end is obsession. Obsession with fitness, obsession with calories, obsession with food in general.

She suggested we need to find a balance and that balance is RESPECT. Respect for ourselves. To quote her study guide "Deeply absorbing a biblical perspective of our physical bodies would free us from the horrific stress our culture has placed on us." "Therefore honor God with your body." (or in other words...Respect Yourself) I'm not meaning to preach here, but this stuff really spoke to me. In our media and culture today we are bombarded with images that make us feel bad about ourselves. We are wonderful people that deserve to be happy and respected. And if we don't respect ourselves we are telling the rest of the world they don't need to respect us either.

She was saying that we need to find a place of freedom and that is some place between neglect and obsession. We should be attentive to the point of respect and work on "recapturing the lost art of moderation." We can be attentive by paying attention to what we eat and how much exercise we get, but not to the point that it becomes all consuming.

Chubby Chick has a great post today on something very similar to this topic. She mentions being free several times. When we find this balance we will be free to play with our kids without being winded or tired. We will be free to go to any store and shop. We will be free to go to any restaurant and sit in any booth or chair they take us too. We will have freedom.

Your freedom and mine might be two different things. Your freedom might be a size two, while my freedom might be a size ten (I took that from Beth's lesson too.) We need to find a place were we use moderation as our guide.

Victory happens one day at a time. So go out there and find your freedom....you deserve it!!!

food log Monday August 27, 2007

Goal for this week

I am heading out of town over the holiday weekend. This means being away from home and away from my normal foods. The goal this week is to watch my hunger scale. To stop eating when I am hungry, not matter if that hurts peoples feelings or they think I haven't had enough to eat. This also means hurting my feelings by telling myself I have had enough.


Breakfast
Coffee, decaffeinated, made from ground ( 10 fl oz ) 6 cals
Milk, cow's, fluid, whole ( 0.25 cup ) 36 cals
Muffin, English, whole wheat, 100% ( 1 muffin ) 118 cals
Cheese, Colby ( 1 slice (1 oz) ) 112
Turkey or chicken breast, prepackaged or deli, luncheon meat ( 1.5 slice (1 oz) ) 47

snack
Beef jerky ( 3 cubic inch ) 148

lunc h
Vegetable beef soup, canned, undiluted ( 1 can ) 220
crackers, saltine ( 8 cracker ) 104


dinner at the Melting pot (I had to plug in items that were as close as I could get)
Cheese fondue ( 0.5 cup ) 246
Mixed salad greens, raw ( 2 cup, shredded or chopped ) 18
walnuts 80
dressing 80
Milk, chocolate, NFS ( 0.5 cup ) fondue 104
Strawberries, raw ( 0.5 cup, NFS ) 23
Bread, French or Vienna ( 3 large slice (5" x 2-1/2" x 1") ) 288
cheesecake pieces 182
pound cake pieces 58
brownie pieces 38
2 marshmallows 38
4 almond cookies 111

total for the day 1864

Total

Sooooo not a healthy eating weekend

breakfast -
2 bacon cheese kolaches
non-fat latte (1 cup skim)

Lunch
Beef brisket and sausage sandwich ( 1 sandwich )
onion rings
sweet Tea

dinner
left over chicken enchiliada's
tortilla chips
queso

Total for the day...approx. 1785 (that is from fitday and I tried to be as exactly with my food as possible, but it has to be more calories than that...it feels like it.)

Keep Walking

Last week I received 3 comments on my weight or better yet, on my size, because they don't know what I my weigh. Three different co-workers/friends made comments. One said that I "was looking skinny", another said, "Girl, you are looking good in those jeans." and yet another asked if I was losing weight because "I am seeing less and less of you when you walk down the hall." My scale hasn't budged so it makes me think that my walking is slimming me down even if the scale isn't showing it. That or the rules I've learned on "What not to Wear" are really paying off.

Lately I have forgotten my ipod while walking. This leaves me with whatever is in my head. Lately it has been a little song that repeats over and over and over in my head when I am taking my walks. It is from a Veggie Tales DVD called Joshua and the big wall. If there is a little kid in your life that likes Veggie Tales, this is one of their cuter songs in my opinion.

It is called Keep Walking. It is sung by little french peas with little french accents.

It is a mean little song actually. It kind of sounds like a Monte Python song. Here are the actual lyrics and little audio. But here is the piece that keeps repeating in my head.

Keep walking, but you won't knock down our wall.

Keep walking. But she isn't gonna to fall!

It's plain to see, your brains are very small..

To think walking, will be knocking down our wall.

When I was walking on friday afternoon I changed up the lyrics to fit my situation a little better. It goes a little something like this

Keep walking, your butt is getting small.

Keep walking. It will be tiny by the fall!

It's plain to see, it is getting very small..

and to think walking, is what did it all!!!

So to all you walkers out there...Keep walking...your butt is getting small!!!

food log August 25

Breakfast - 2 biscuits, 1 piece sausage, 3Tbs gravy
lunch - 1 hot dog, 1 cup mac and cheese
dinner - chips with queso, ice tea, enchilada diavlo (about 6 bites)

I walked just under 4 miles today, about 8500 step just with that walk. I'm sure my steps were over 10,000 for the whole day. I have a little sunburn to show for my walk, but I'm still feeling good. The entire walk took me over an hour. I pushed the stroller and we took a few water breaks because we were walking from 10:45 to about noon and it was HOT!

Friday August 24 food log

Breakfast - breakfast bite (140), blueberry juice smoothie (70),

Lunch - OH BOY! this one was bad. The office catered in Mexican food. I had too much. 1 cheese enchilada, 2 beef fajita tacos with sour cream and guac., chips & queso, 1/2 a brownie

Dinner - 1/2 cup corn, 2 hot dogs

dessert - 1 cup ice cream.

I did get out an do my walk (20 mins) and my steps yesterday were over 6300.

It is hubby's birthday weekend. That means cooking him breakfast of his choice and dinner out with friends and family.
The breakfast he has requested in biscuits, sausage, strawberries and he has requested Kolaches for Sunday . I am planning a 1 hour walk on Saturday to help combat this menu.

Diet Library

I have developed quite the diet/healthy lifestyle library over the last several years.

My little library currently includes:



Bob Green The Best Life Diet

You! The owners manual

You! on a Diet

Superfood Rx: 14 Foods that will save your life

Beck Diet Solution

South Beach Diet

South Beach Diet Cookbook

Omega Diet

Ultimate Fitness

Secrets of a Former Fat Girl

My 2 cent reviews
South Beach Diet/South Beach Diet Cookbook (purchased spring 2003)
This jump started my healthy eating lifestyle. I feel like I learned a lot about how my body processes foods. I lost and kept off about 15 lbs while exercising and following South Beach. I went from about 183 to 165. I was slowly gaining the weight back, then I got pregnant. Post pregnancy I haven't been able to drop back down to my pre-preg. weight (172), just about 5 lbs shy of that goal. But just before I got pregnancy I was 7 lbs higher than my lowest post South Beach weight (165). My ultimate goal weight is 140 to 145, so I have a way to go.

Omega Diet (purchased summer 2003) I found this book to be very informative and had some great recipes. They have a wonderful healthy granola recipe. I would eat 1/4 cup with some yogurt and it would keep my satisfied until lunch. I came across this book when my father in law was having heart surgery. The hospital was advertising this book. I thought that if a book a hospital advertising it, it must be healthy. It taught me a lot about the benefits of canola oil and eating whole grains, veggies and fruits. It also helped explain why when we eat meat from grain fed cows we are just getting more Omega 6's but if we buy grass fed beef we get more of the good Omega 3's. There was so much good stuff in this book for me.


Superfood Rx: 14 foods that will save your life (purchased sometime in 2004) I think I heard about this book on Oprah, as you can tell I did with many of my other selections. It was very insightful on the health benefits of eating certain foods. I learned how good for you blueberries, pumpkin, nuts, wheat germ and spinach can be for you. I have tried to incorporate more superfood into my diet ever since.

You! the Owners Manual (2005?) I have to confess, I don't remember too much about this one. I read most of it but I think it is more of a reference book for me now. If something is wrong with me I go to this book to see my body should be working. I do like to learn about how my body works and why it does the things it does.

You! on a Diet (2006?) I think I need to go back to this one more. I have tried to eliminate the bad ingredients this book mentions. Most notably high fructose corn syrup and enriched flour. Hubby and I threw out most of our pantry after reading about this stuff. We are label readers now. One thing this book suggests that I liked and need to follow more is repetition. Dr. Oz suggests eating the same breakfast and lunch everyday and then changing things up at dinner. I also liked that they focus on your waist measure and not just the scale. It was something else I could use to see if I'm at risk for certain chronic diseases. The part of the You! books I didn't like were their use of silly pop-culture references. In ten years those jokes will not make any sense.

Bob Green's the Best Life Diet (2007) I liked parts of this book, but didn't like the way it would always refer to his website and pay eating plan. It turned me off. I do believe that stopping eating 2 hour before bed time can make a big difference. I still try to follow this rule. I like the idea of being active by just taking more steps in a day. I bought a pedometer and wear it all the time now. It helps me gauge how active I have been on any given day. I've only hit 10,000 steps twice, but I do feel a sense of accomplishment when I hit over 6,500. A normal day at the office barely gets me 3,000.

Beck Diet Solution (April 2007) This one really helped me. It was like a breakthrough. Finally a book not about what to eat, but about how to change the way I think about eating. I really think that is the key for me. If it was as easy as just saying no then I would be a size 2. But why can't I seem to say no! that was my question.

Secrets of a Former Fat Girl (Summer 2007) SFF for short. SFF was very similar to Beck Diet Solution, but it was one girls personal journey. I could identify with what she had to go through to lose her weight. The changes she had to make forever in her life. She has been able to keep habits forever that I have tried to establish in myself. Her ideas parallel the Beck Diet Solution so I think these book compliment each other well.

I'm always looking to read more and learn more about healthy eating and living. If you have any book recommendation, please let me know.

Why I want to lose weight

In the Beck Book one step is to write down why you want to lose weight/live a healthy lifestyle. She calls them Advantage Response Cards (ARC). I have my list as I'm sure others have theirs. We are supposed to review them often and remind ourselves WHY we want to be thinner.

Here are mine.
1) Be a health example for my children.
2) Not develop gestational diabetes again when/if I get pregnant again.
3) Feel better about my body
4) Live a long time, long enough to see my grandchildren grow up.
5) To accomplish something BIG!
6) To win the battle of the bulge!
7) To be more healthy
8) To break family history
9) My clothes will fit better
10) To feel better in my clothes
11) To be a smaller size
12) To lose my tummy

So I am trying to retrain my brain to think like a thin person. I keep thinking there is something I am blocking. Some repressed memory that will make my weight issues all make sense to me. Something I am not realizing, other than I seek comfort in food. One think I do know is I have it in my genes.

My Dad was overweight all his life. In my lifetime he average about 320 lbs and was 6 foot 4 inches tall. I remember as a child my parents talking about he once weighed 400 lbs, his heaviest. He has his stomach stapled, something like the bypass surgeries you hear so much about now. He busted his staples by over eating.

He died at 52, when I was only 21 years old. I know some of my food issues go back to his death, but not all of them. I gained 30 lbs the year after his death and gained another 20 the following years. Morbid obesity was listed on his birth certificate. I never saw him that way. I loved my Daddy and that was it...no matter what his size. I never thought of him as MORBIDLY obese, but that's what is said. I wonder if I knew then, what I know now, could I have helped him? Could I have been supportive and encouraging of his weight loss goals? I think I would have.

My Mom was just 98 lbs when she got married at 18. She gained her weight slowly, about 10 lbs with each pregnancy (3 children) until at 38 she had a hysterectomy (sp?). Then her hormones were out of whack and it took more and more effort to keep weight off. Plus she was married to a man that loved to eat. She the pounds kept coming. She is now about a size 18 and she doesn't like it either. But she has health issues now that make it even harder to lose the weight. I love my mom, but that is why I want to start doing something now. So I can set the habits in place before it gets harder and harder and harder, because Goodness knows it is hard enough right now.

food Log 8/23/2007

Breakfast:

breakfast bite 140

blue berry juice smoothie (4oz) 85

stick of string cheese 70

coffee 50



Lunch

Lean Cuisine Roasted Veggie Pizza 330

carrots with cheese 55



Brittle 100

Dinner - homemade panni with wheat bread, provalone cheese, roasted red peppers, salami and zuchinni (approx 750)

small salad with dressing 50

Total about 1500 calories today.

Goal Review

So to review my goals from last week.

They were
1) exercise at least 3 times this week
2) start working on a work related charity event
3) be more conscious of what I eat
4) fast one day a week

1) Success....I walked Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Today if grocery store day, but I plan to walk again tomorrow.
2) Success again...I have set up a team from work for the Race for the Cure this year. We have 11 people on our team so far and are 1/2 to our donations goal. We have 2 more months.
3) I have done well with this one too. I have been tracking my food with my food log and adding up my calories every day. I have eaten around 1400 for the last 3 days.
4) I did this easily last week, but having done it again. I need to plan for this.

What makes a bargain??????

Really what makes something a bargain?? Are pants a bargain if they only cost $6.80 but don't fit that well or look that great.

A few months ago I bought a pair of capris for $6.80 (size 14). I have something similar in a different brand that fit really well and look good. But $6.80...how could I pass that up. That is a steal. Well my steal turned into a tortue device yesterday.

I finally decided it was the day to bring out the new pants. I should have known...they were pretty tight when I put them on in the morning. But my bargin shopping head said, "they will stretch out during the day and feel fine!!! Plus they were only $6..what a bargain." "Oh SURE THEY WILL" my rational mind says...but the bargin shopping head one out and I wore them.

OMGoodness. I thought I was going to be cut in two when I had to sit in my chair all day. It was muffintop to the tenth power....IT was awful!!!

So were my bargain pants really a bargin??? NO WAY ! They are going in the Goodwill bag.

Food log 8/22/2007

B-fast
breakfast bite 140
blueberry fruit smoothie 170
string cheese 70

Lunch
Chick-fil-A chicken strips salad (with lite ving. dressing and sunflower seeds) 500 approx guess

Dinner
3 oz baked chicken with shake n bake 200
1 cup brown rice 220
1/2 or less broccoli and cheese 70

Totals for the day 1405 approx.

Steps taken 6375

Waist Ratio

There is another weight related measure to be taken now. Along with BMI, body fat percentage, waist measure and weight...we now have the Waist to Hip ratio. Something to chew on recently discussed the same topic.

I actually like this one, because finally I am not in the "bad" range on something!!!!! (edit....great I just found another site that says I am not in the good range...oh well, that didn't last long. )

I took mine and it turns out to be .75. The idea being are you an apple or a pear? I have always thought I was a pear, just look at my buttttt. Apples carry more weight around their middle (waist) while pears carry more weight around their hips. The apple weight is more dangerous because the fat is being held around your organs and leads to heart disease along with increased risk for diabetes and ovarian cancers.

In Dr. Oz and Dr. Rozen's book You on a Diet. They recommend a waist measure of 32 inches or less in women. I just have an inche to go to be there...but oh so close.

steps walked 8/20/2007 - over 6000 (I am not showing an exact # because I put my pedometer on at about 9am, so I'm just giving a general #)

Today's food log:

Breakfast - english muffins with almond butter (130 + 70)
2 cups coffee with cream (50 cals)

Snack - granola bar (140)
Lunch - vegetable soup (180)
carrots w/cheese (55)
diet DP

Snack - veggie crisps (130)

Dinner
Meatloaf with ketsup(300)
Mac & Cheese (270)
Salad (70)

Hot tea

Wrap-up - I ate around 1400 calories... I had to total them up to see if I could have a little after dinner treat...no such luck ; (

Monday Aug. 20th

B-fast - 1 piece breakfast bite (homemade) (130)
1 fat free yogurt blueberry (100)


2 cups coffee with cream (50 cal)


snack - granola bar (140 cal)


Lunch - lean cuisine spanish rice (290)

bag of carrots (25) & wedge of laughing cow cheese lite (35)
2 diet DP

Dinner
leftover veggie spaghetti (1.5 cups)
salad with vingerette dressing (1 Tbs)
1 slice whole grain toast with smart balance spread

hot teas

Weekend wrap up

The weekend had its good points and bad ones.

Good points
Nutty Brown Salad at the Nutty Brown Cafe
english muffin with almond butter for breakfast both days
I was pretty busy on Saturday so I didn't notice the length of time between lunch and dinner
eat soup for lunch on Sunday
Dinner from HEB, chicken cutlet, couscos and tomato and mozarella salad.

Bad points
rootbeer float at Sonic
ice cream on Sunday evening


hmmm.....when I look back, it isn't as bad and I thought.

Food Log - Friday August 17, 2007

B- blueberry yogurt (99% fat free)

2 cups coffee w/cream

L - Weight Watcher's roasted veggie pizza

diet DP

Snack - 1 kiss of chocolate

Dinner - Zocalo tostada salad
dessert - shared churros & scoop of Amy's mexican vanilla.

did pretty decent until the dessert...oh well tomorrow is another day.

Put the brittle down and step away slowly

Wow, talk about falling off the wagon.

I did so well yesterday until the evening.
B - English muffin with almond butter
2 cups coffee with cream
L- Jason's deli slimwich turkey sandwich with baked lays
D - 3 Turkey meatballs and spaghetti with salad with Ranch dressing.

Not too bad really, until I had to go to Walgreens. Then I was drawn to the cashew brittle...99 cent stuff and beef jerky. How random is that...beef jerky.
Then my mom stayed over and brought home pineapple upside down cake. And what did i add to the cake. Whipped cream....like I needed that!

Geez. Okay, climbing back in the wagon now..

Time to pick up the Beck Diet Solution book for a re-read.

Food Log 8/16/2007

B- whole wheat english muffin with almond butte4
2 cups coffee with cream and splenda

L - Jason's Deli slimwich
turkey on whole wheat with mustard and spinach
baked lays

s - equivalant of 3 herseys kisses

Goals for Elvis Week....August 13 to August 19th

This weeks goals are

1) exercise at least 3 times this week
2) start working on a work related charity event
3) be more conscious of what I eat
4) fast one day a week

Starting out...again

So here we go again. An effort to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle. To set a good example.

That is what I plan to accomplish. No matter how long it takes and so far it has taken a lifetime and I'm not there yet... still growing, still learning.

So that is why I'm here. I have gotten inspired by other bloggers to start my very own "fat blog".

I have recently read a couple of books that have helped me change my way of thinking. They are the Beck Diet Solution and Secrets of a Former Fat Girl. Both have good insight and a good message. If it was just about willpower and eating right we would all be a size 2. It is about rethinking why we eat and overeat. That is what I am working on.

Today I'm planning to fast over lunch. Just a way to test myself and my determination. As the Beck Diet says...hunger is not an emergency.

I have a list of blogs that have encourgaged me to step out on this platform and see how I do.

http://southernfriedfatty.wordpress.com/
http://myfoodtoday.blogspot.com/

Then there are just other blogs I like to read.
http://jbblogosphere.blogspot.com/
http://bloggersandy-sandy.blogspot.com/
http://livingproofministries.blogspot.com/


Food log:
B-fast turkey sandwich (397 cals) - 2 slices whole grain toast (200 cals) , 2 slices cheese(140), 5 slices deli-select turkey breast (57 cal), little mustard, little green and red romain.
2 cups coffee with cream (30 cals)

L (fasted over lunch)- Large V-8 (70 cals)

Dinner

D -3 piece garlic bread
chicken casear salad
ice tea

snack
2 malt balls
small bowl of veggie crisps