Journey to a Healthy Me

2 months, plus a 10 day vacation = Oh No!

2009-07-05T11:43:00.000-07:00

So it's been two months since I've been eating well or following much of a food plan. I'm still trying to make good choices much of the time, but there have been way too many treats sneaking in. We also just got back from a 10 day vacation where we ate a lot of delicious food, many out at restaurants and loaded with meat. I did eat a fair bit of fish/seafood and chose salads a couple of times too. And I'm giving myself points for getting in two 3o minute runs and a nice walk. So the end result, my clothes are tight this morning, there are rolls showing up in photos where there weren't rolls a couple of months ago and I'm barely back in the heat and my hands and feet feel swollen.

So it's back to what works, it's back to Weight Watchers with a focus on vegetables and lean proteins, and adding low glycemic fruits and high fibre carbs. Drinking lots of water. Journaling and weighing in at Weight Watchers. Taking a daily multivitamin. Continuing to run 2-3 times a week and doing weights at the gym 1-2 times a week. And staying off my home scale, that messes with my head too much. My first weigh in back will be Thursday morning. But I have started back on plan today and will hit the gym tomorrow morning.

Doug has also said that starting tomorrow he'll be doing it with me. I can't tell how what that means and how motivating it is to have someone else working it. I know he'll lose a lot fast, so I'll be extra motivated to stay with it and keep up to him with a loss each week.

Without a goal this is all sort of pointless. So my first goal is 5lbs. I'm not sure what I'm weighing exactly right now, but lets say it's about 180 lbs (gulp, how did I let it get to this?). So goal #1 is getting to 175lbs. After that, it's going to stay at 5lb increments. The ultimate goal is 150lbs. It's not nearly as low as I was before kids, but it's a weight that will be maintainable and will feel good and healthy. I'm visiting a couple of other blogs for motivation and will share them with you as I go here AGAIN!

I know someone that is taking and posting monthly photos of herself in yoga pants and a sports bra and I greatly admire her confidence and although I think I'll do that for myself. I doubt very much I'll be sharing that here. I will share this photo, which is the one yesterday that was my big kick in the arse.

Numbers vs Compliments

2009-05-07T22:03:00.000-07:00

I don't know what feels better to record an official loss at the scales or to get my first comment that I look like I've lost weight. Because I've got some paid ahead passes for weight watchers, I've decided to go to weigh in there for my official weight loss numbers seeing that I don't have a digital scale and doubt mine is super reliable.

Well, this morning I weighed in at a meeting and hadn't weighed in since April 2nd. After that weigh in a month ago I wasn't really doing a whole lot to lose weight and new I may have even been up a bit when I started South Beach on the April 27th, but my loss today was 4lbs from that last weigh in. On my scale I thought is was around 5-6 which may be true from a couple of weeks ago. SWEET!!

Then tonight I stopped at Save-on Foods after work to pick up a few things (being off refined foods and sugars sure is expensive, but well worth it). I ran into the mother of our new baby sitter, who I'm getting to know and last saw a few weeks ago, the first thing she says, "you've lost weight, looks great, I almost didn't recognize you!" SWEET!! Love that feedback.

Of course I'm feeling the difference already in my clothes and my energy level, but I'm so happy that the weight truly is coming off and people will be noticing it too.

Success!

2009-05-04T20:56:00.000-07:00

Weight Watchers is a great weight loss program, it is balanced food and allows you room to treat yourself without guilt and keep right on going. It worked wonders for me 7 years ago (in 2002) when I lost 65 lbs. So what has the problem been the past couple of years when I keep going back with no success. Well, I finally figured it out. I'm sick and tired of measuring, weighing and writing down everything I eat. I don't have the energy, nor the time to figure out points on something and keep it all together, plus I was eating too much junk ... refined foods, chocolate, fruits, etc.

So when I came across some friends chatting about South Beach, I was intrigued. I read a little more into it and it all sounded good. So here I am, one week in and loving it!! I have a ton of energy, feel clear headed, sleeping great, and am losing weight. I am reading the book as I'm doing Phase 1 and I would recommend reading the book before you actually start. It hasn't hindered me, but it would have been better that way.

So one full week in (half way through Phase 1) and I've lost 4-5 lbs, my clothes are feeling looser and I'm not craving sweets and carbs. I've always known that I have a problem with carbs, if I eat some, I have to eat more and that's just not right. So what I've learned, is that my eliminating them, I am actually retraining my brain/body in it's relationship with carbs

So far I'm finding it pretty easy, other than I seem to be spenidng a lot of money right now as I figure out how to feed me and the rest of the family this way, also I'm actually cooking three full meals a day for myself, but no longer snacking on junk or hitting Starbucks regularly. Because I'm paid up at Weight Watchers for a while, I'm going to continue to go to meetings for the weigh in because my scale is not digital and crappy, so it's hard for me to know exactly what I'm weighing and how much I'm losing. So I'll let you know.

and here we are again

2009-02-28T20:04:00.000-08:00

I didn't share what I did two week ago with you all, I don't know why I didn't, I just didn't. So I'll share it today. I went back to Weight Watchers. I hadn't weighed in since November so I knew that it might not be pretty and well, with Christmas, my birthday and Valentines all during that time, I was up 6.2 lbs. YIKES! It's amazing how fast it comes back on. But let's not focus on that. Let's focus on today.

So during the past two weeks I had my good days and not so good days of following the plan, hitting the gym and drinking my water. We've had a few stressful days as we've started to feel the effects of the recession on our bank account, but something clicked a few days ago. I realized that I have no control over the recession, and I could either continue to eat with the stress, or chose to control what I could and that's my food intake and activity. So I journalled, I drank my water, I ate yummy healthy filling foods, and I exercised. And today I was down 3.4 lbs from two weeks ago.

Doug and I went out for dinner at Boston Pizza (thanks to our Christmas gift card from my seester Erin and her fiance Garett) and before we went, I checked out the nutritional info on-line and came up with a few options. I ate the Ribber meal (8pts) with steamed vegetables (1pts...the website said 2 pts, but there is no way there was more than a cup of veggies and butter/oil on them) and garlic bread (3pts). Then Doug and I shared the Chocolate Brownie Addiction....YUMMO...and the 6 pts that used up was worth every bite.

I have a lunch date with my girlfriends tomorrow at Earl's (notorious for their HIGH FAT food...did you know that more than half of their meals are over 1000 calories). But again, I've scoped out their nutritional info on-line and written down my favs, the points values and some other lower point options too. I'm going to hit the gym in the morning to earn a few extra points and keep supper lean. It helps to tell myself that lunch with the girls isn't about the food, it's about the company. I'll enjoy a soup and salad with them as much as I'd enjoy the Chicken and Brie Ciabatta, and I'll feel less guilty afterwards too.

Slow and Steady

2008-11-15T18:46:00.001-08:00

They say slow and steady wins the race and I'm holding on to that thought. I weighed in today and since my last weigh in two weeks ago, I lost 1.4 lbs. Now there are some hormonal factors (sorry if that's too much information) that may be affecting that number a wee bit too.

I worked for that loss this past week, the week before was here and there, but this past week, I wrote down everything, hit the gym twice and drank lots of water. I'm still feeling strong and loving the way my body is feeling already, just feels a little less toxic. I'm looking for a new recipe to try this week and am planning on making another big pot of soup this week. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thai One On

2008-11-11T19:33:00.001-08:00

So I said I'd share the soup recipe and after eating the soup again for supper tonight, which tasted just as good as the first day, here are the cast of characters:

2 tsp butter or olive oil

1 cup each chopped onions and red pepper

3/4 cup chopped celery

2 tsp minced garlic

4 cups peeled, cubed sweet potatoes (about 2 large)

1 tbsp grated ginger root

3/4 tsp each ground cumin, ground coriander and curry powder

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

2 cups chicken broth

1 can (14oz/398ml) light coconut milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

3 tbsp each chopped fresh cilantro and fresh basil leaves

2 tbsp light peanut butter

1 tbsp brown sugar (which I just realized I forgot to add to mine oops)

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

1 lb (454g) cooked medium shrimp, tails removed (thaw first if using frozen)

And now here's what you do with all that yummy goodness:

Heat butter/olive oil in large soup pot over medium heat. Add onions, red pepper, celery and garlic. Cook and stir until veggies start to soften, about 4 minutes.

Stir in sweet potatoes, ginger root, cumin, coriander, curry powder and cinnamon. Cook and stir for 30 more seconds. Add broth, coconut milk, salt and pepper. Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes, just until sweet potatoes are tender.

Transfer half the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Return pureed soup to pot with remaining soup. Stir in cilantro, basil, peanut butter, brown sugar, and lime juice. Mix well. Add shrimp and heat for about 2 more minutes, just until shrimp is hot.

Makes 6 servings

239 calories, 8.2 g total fat, 3g fibre

If you make this, let me know what you think of it. Oh and be like me and just slop it in the bowl, I'm losing marks for presentation. Oh well, at least it tastes good.

Confessions

2008-11-10T18:34:00.000-08:00

So last week didn't really get back on track and I was out with girlfriends for nibblies, drinks and a few bites of dessert Friday night, so weighing in on Saturday morning was not my idea of a good time. I don't like paying for a gain and I was pretty confident I'd be up a little, if just from the night before. But that didn't stop me from getting back on plan and I've journaled every bite the past three days, including the delicious supper including dessert and drinks at Horizons last night.

One of the things that I love when I'm on plan is that I get an increased interest in cracking open my recipe books to cook new things. Tonight I made a delicious soup from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry called Thai One On. It's described as an "exotic sweet potato and coconut soup with shrimp. It has quite an extensive ingredient list, but it was easy to make and was ready in half an hour. It works out to 5 points a serving and serves 6, so I have four more servings in the fridge and freezer for upcoming days. I should have considered making a big salad or buying some chewy rolls to go with it, but we had a slice of bread with butter with ours.

Doug wasn't a huge fan of the flavours, but he didn't dislike it either...me, I loved it and can't wait to eat another bowl. I'll try to get the recipe up on here in a day or two. Oh and I also hit the gym this morning for a quick 20 minute bike ride and some weights. I usually go to the gym Monday nights, but can't because of a doula meeting, so I fit it in somewhere else (I am appearing to becoming more committed to this change).

Anyone else making any changes out there? Is anyone else out there? Am I in this alone?

Damn Halloween Candy

2008-11-05T07:29:00.000-08:00

So I was on track yesterday, eating fruits and veggies, took my vitamin, drinking water, had a healthy supper, then I got into the treats again. I know why, it's because I was soooo tired. I should have gone to bed, but even my children weren't in bed yet.

I know that my weak times are when I'm tired. If I'm tired I eat high sugar foods, so how do I resolve that? I have to get more sleep at night. So last night I climbed into bed just after 10pm thinking I'd read for half an hour and be asleep by 11. My alarm was going off at 6:30 this morning and 7 1/2 hours of sleep would be great. However, I started reading my November book club book The Book of Negroes, by Lawrence Hill, and couldn't close it for the first 100 pages. It was an easy read, but gut renching and I couldn't close it until I found some peace (and little peace it was, but it was some).

So today I'm back to journaling, eating my fruits and veggies and will hit the gym again tonight. I'm sore from my Monday night work out, so I don't know how much I'll do weights wise, but I'll be doing some cardio for sure.

Officially Back

2008-11-04T08:25:00.000-08:00

I weighed in at my meeting on Saturday morning and realized I hadn't been there since the middle of September. Although I hadn't been journaling, I was making conscious decisions to eat better and getting a little bit of exercise, so I was down .6 from my previous meeting. So I officially weigh 168.8lbs.

You'd think that that loss would have really motivated me to keep it up and start journaling, but nope, instead I ate halloween candy for three days. I did get to the gym with Jacq and Leanne last night and that felt great. I know that when I'm active, I eat better, so now I'm committed to journal again today. Again I'm keeping my pts low to make up for the treat intake the past few days because I'm weighing in on Saturday I want to see a loss again.

Sitting here ...

2008-10-27T14:52:00.000-07:00

eating ice cream. Not exactly weight loss friendly food, but when it's one of the few things I've eaten in two days, I don't think it's going to break me. Granted it's my favorite low-fat one, but still not the best choice for weightloss or for an ill belly. I've been fighting the stomach flu the past few days after a week of taking care of Morgan and this is the first food that looked appealing to me. So I'm not quite back to journaling, but I am eating a few pieces of fruit a day because the juiciness tastes so good. Other than that, it's ginger ale, water and sleep. I'm not dropping off this plan, it's always in my head, but getting better is the priority here.

I'll be back tomorrow

2008-10-21T20:28:00.000-07:00

So sorry I haven't been around....I've been dealing with sick kids and although I'm keeping my food in check, making good choices as often as I can, I'm not journaling, getting through the days as well as I can and drinking good wine in the evenings. I'm also playing the Wii and know it's working my body.

I'm journalling tomorrow...promise (me and you).

Bump in the Road

2008-10-20T09:39:00.000-07:00

I attended a birth on Friday night and all day Saturday and boy does that ever mess with a food plan. At midnight on Friday I was so hungry and thought I'd be hanging out for several hours, so I ate some delicious food that some of the family brought in. But then just an hour later, I figured it was better to go home to get some sleep, so I decided that midnight meal was a part of Friday and my new week started Saturday anyway.

Then Saturday I attended the birth all day and didn't get home until almost 8pm. Although the kids had eaten, Doug and our guest, Dan, hadn't and I was starving too. I had eaten a lunch the dad had ran out to get (delicious Tawainese food). But then we just ordered in a pizza and Greek salad from Pegasus Pizza. Sunday was way lower points with pretty much a latte, apple, some crackers and baba ganouch, two pieces of licorice and then finally a nice little steak dinner with grilled peppers and a salad. Yummy!

The scale is a bit lower today and I'm back to journaling.

Ack!!

2008-10-17T16:55:00.000-07:00

I'm hungry....and do you know why I'm hungry because I chose to eat a big ass cookie today! It was yummy and well worth the points (still trying to guess exactly how many it was), but it gave me a sugar high and crash that made me hungry. It also means I'm left with very few points for supper tonight. I know that I haven't used any of my extra allowance points in the past four days and that's because with Thanksgiving Sunday and Monday I figured I'd already used them and my week ends today so I had set out that I didn't have those 35 points because I ate them all over the holiday.

Since I believe in eating when hungry and I had planned on a oven baked pizza and salad for supper, I'm still going that route and will acknowledge that I will choose the less point item (like the 2 bite brownie for 2pts that was also on the plate) next time and move on. It means that I will probably have a deficit of 3-4 points for today. Tomorrow is the start of the new week for me and I will be starting with all of my points available. It'll all make more sense and be easier then.

Thursday

2008-10-16T22:11:00.001-07:00

The third and fourth days are often the hardest for me when I start back at plan. I don't know why, maybe I question if I can really do it and get weak under the work that is ahead of me or convince myself that one blip won't really matter. But today wasn't like that, I feel great, I feel strong about what I'm doing. I'm thinking 10 lbs really isn't that hard to lose if I just keep eating well. Then it's just another 10 lbs and an assessment of how I'm feeling and my fitness level.

I've reconsidered that maybe nobody is going to be interested in exactly what I eat everyday, but maybe I'll just share a few bits of meals and a points summary. I ate exactly 25 pts today and although I was busy doing laundry, cleaning the kitchen (again) and dusting, I didn't do any formal activity. I think WW considers house cleaning activity, but I don't count it. I've drank all my water and eaten 6 servings of fruit and veg. And still need to get out to buy vitamins (I'll let you know when I get them). I've had one sweet today and I'm finding my craving for them is waning already, so I hope that continues.

At lunch I had a bowl of this yummy Knorr Tuscan Bean soup (1pt for a cup) with a bagel and 2 tbsp of low fat salmon cream cheese (5 pts total). That salmon cream cheese on a bagel is so delicious and satisfying. For supper I made a meatloaf from one of my fav cookbooks (Eat, Shrink and Be Merry) with mashed potatoes (it's a traditional pairing) and some delicata squash that I baked and topped with 1 tsp butter and 1 tsp brown sugar (mmmmm).

I'm hoping that people will see that getting healthier doesn't mean deprivation. I'm eating the same foods I was eating before just in smaller portions and once in a while rather than everyday.

Wednesday in Summary

2008-10-15T22:10:00.001-07:00

It's amazing what can be accomplished in a quiet house when kids are at preschool and napping and I don't sit on my rump snacking. I got some laundry done, bathroom cleaned, and the kitchen tidied up. I felt so tired today and had no patience with my little people, so I'm heading to bed early, the more rested I am the easier everything is. And now to my food journal...

Breakfast:
Grapefruit (I'm slightly addicted to these): 1 pt
Piece of toast (I eat high fibre Healthy Way bread): 1 pt
1 tbsp light peanut butter: 2pts
1/2 banana: 1 pt

Lunch (special treat at McDs because Morgan completed speech therapy this morning):
Side salad with low fat dressing: 1 pt
Chicken McGrill: 8 pts

Afternoon:
Grande Caramel Frapp Light (darn that addiction): 3 pts

Supper:
2 WW whole wheat tortillas: 3 pts
2oz chicken and mixed peppers: 2 pts
1 oz low fat cheese, ff sour cream and salsa: 2 pts

Post-gym:
Pear: 1 pt
1/2 cup (it's a really little amount) light Mocha Almond Fudge Ice cream: 3 pts
(this ice cream is delicious and is my favorite in a low fat version, it's Lucerne and available at Safeway)

And yes, I hit the gym tonight. I used the Cybex machine for 25 minutes, that earned me 2 activity points and then I did the Group Centergy class for an hour for 3 more points. So today I ate a total of 28 points, leaving me with 2 not used. The activity points can't be used for another day, so it's just a bonus to my weight loss. I also drank all my water plus a little extra, ate 6 servings of fruits and veggies, and still need to buy some vitamins.

Tuesday in Summary

2008-10-14T22:17:00.000-07:00

Pretty busy day around here with the election, errands to run and some house cleaning to do. I almost skipped part of breakfast as I wanted to get out to the polls early before it started to get busy seeing I'd have the kids with me, but I poured a quick bowl of cereal because I knew that if I didn't eat something then it would catch up with me later and I'd be grabbing sweet things later in the day.

So here is my food journal:

Breakfast:
Grapefruit (1 pt)
40 g Honey Almond Crunch (2 pts)
1/2 cup 1% milk (1 pt)

Lunch:
Szechuan Veggie and Chicken (4 pts)
1/2 cup raw carrots (0 pts)

Mid-afternoon:
Caramel Frappucinno Light (3 pts)

Supper:
2 cups salad (0 pts)
1 1/2 tbsps Calorie wise dressing (2 pts)
Olafsson's whole wheat toaster bagel (3 pts)
Drained can of tuna, light mayo (1 1/2 tbsps), light cheese whiz (1 tbsp) (5 pts)

Evening:
1 cup mango (2 pts)
Skinny Cow Caramel bar (2pts)

This totals 25 pts. I also earned 1 activity point for walking to the polling station and home. I chose not to eat it because I feel satisfied and it was low intensity exercise. My sugar intake is a little higher than I would like having the frapp and the ice cream bar, so I am going to aim to lower it and I have to confess I have a huge Starbucks addiction that is also being worked on. I managed to drink 6 glasses of water, ate 6.5 servings of fruit and veggies, got in my dairy servings, exercised a bit, and forgot to take a vitamin. Need to get into that habit again.

I want to add that I do weigh and measure my food, I find I need to in order to be accurate, especially in the beginning months as it is really easy to fudge the amounts and end up eating more than I'm recording. I also find that my kitchen scale is easier than measuring cups because it is more accurate, and I can quickly add other things to it by weight rather than dirtying multiple measuring cups/spoons.

How Weight Watchers Works

2008-10-14T22:03:00.000-07:00

Before I start sharing my days and how I'm going to get my food intake on track, I need to share how the Weight Watchers program works. There are currently two food programs with this program, one is the Core Program in which one can eat any foods from a Core Food List that keeps the person with a satisfied feeling of fullness, that is not overly hungry and not stuffed full. The other is the Flex program, which assigns a points value to every food based on the calorie, fat and fibre content of food. This program allows a person to eat whatever they want as long as they do not go over their allotted points for the day. I have always followed the Flex Program because I like a wide variety of food, feel that I may end up making two meals sometimes to cover my families likes and my own and feel that some of my favorite foods (ie sushi) don't fit in the Core Plan easily. So what you'll get from me is going to be information based on the flex plan, however, if the Core plan is interesting to you, please check out Weight Watchers for more information.

Based on my gender, age, height, job, and current weight, I am allotted 25 daily points. Every day I need to eat all of those 25 pts. I also get 35 Weekly Allowance points that I can use or not use at my own discretion. These points are usually used for extras like a glass of wine, a special occasion, or just weeks when appetite is a higher. And lastly any activity earns you extra points. Activity points are calculated based on level of intensity (low, medium, high), time spent exercising and current weight. It is recommended that these points be eaten because the energy spent in activity can leave one drained if we don't refuel our body. You'll see some days I choose to eat none, some or all depending on how I am feeling and how much activity I do.

I hope this explains the program I am following. I choose Weight Watchers because it is a program I know well and it was the program that I originally lost all of my weight on. It is also a program that is highly supported and regarded by medical professionals as safe and most likely to bring lasting results.

A New Beginning

2008-10-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

Friends and family that have known me for a long time (6+ years) know that I have battled with my weight for most of my life. Seven years ago I married Doug probably around my highest weight of just over 200 lbs. Wow, when I type that, I can hardly believe it, it seems so far from real for me. Then on January 11, 2002 I decided to do something about it and joined Weight Watchers. Although the timing of it coincided with New Years and resolutions, it wasn't a resolution for me, it just felt right. By the end of November I had reached my goal of 140 lbs (I'd lost 65 lbs) and was strong, fit and full of energy.

I kept the weight off until the summer of 2003 when I got pregnant with Morgan. Although I gained at the higher end of normal I did manage to lose all but 12 lbs of it before conceiving Tess in the summer of 2005. I gained about the same as I did with Morgan and again managed to lose all but 10 or so lbs of the second pregnancy, but that meant I was still 20 lbs over my previously lowest weight. In the past two and a half lbs I've put on an extra 10 lbs and here I sit 30 lbs over my Weight Watchers goal.

Now my goal isn't necessarily 140lbs again, a dear friend has said that she thought I looked too thin then, really drawn in the face. So I'm setting an initial goal of 150 lbs. Christmas is 10 weeks away, I have set an initial goal of a 10 lb weight loss by Christmas. So that's a pound a week (slow and steady wins the race).

When I did this journey before I was newly married, working full-time, living in Kits in Vancouver and kid-free, so it was easy to hit the gym 4-5 times a week and add a couple of runs in there too each week. Fitting in exercise has been my biggest struggle over the past couple of years and this past couple of weeks I've been feeling the aches and pains of carrying this extra weight. I feel sluggish, tight and, well, blah. It's an awful feeling and I'm going to change it.

My exercise plan includes a hike, walk or bike ride on the weekend and hitting the gym at least twice a week (Monday and Wednesday evenings). Anything else I can add is a bonus, but I'm not putting expectations on myself. I will also return to my weight watchers meetings on Saturday, September 25th (this Saturday I'm not here). I will journal what I put into my body and the energy I expend as well. AND I will post it here for all to see, you will see the good days and the bad days (hopefully there will be more good than bad). And of course I'll post the results each week of my progress. Although I won't have an official weight until my next WW meeting, I did step on my mom's scale yesterday and weight 171.2lbs. So I'm using that number for now.

Included in my plan is to:

1. Eat at least 5 servings of fruit and veggies daily (aiming for 7 most days)
2. Drink 6-8 glasses of water daily
3. Increase my milk/dairy consumption
4. Take a multivitamin
5. Reduce my sugar intake to help stabilize my blood sugar level so I crave less sugar
6. Cook more family meals
7. Discover my food triggers and learn to deal with them again.

Feel free to share your thoughts, ideas, and your own weight loss journey if you are on one too. I know that it will help me to succeed and give me the push I will need some days. I will post in the next couple of days a summary of the Weight Watchers point system so what I post will make sense to you all. Now I'm off to walk to the election polls.