A Wavy Standstill

So I have been noticing a trend in my weight loss. I will lose a couple of pounds, say like 4, and get really excited, but then a day or two later I have gained back 3 pounds. I stay at or about that weight for the next week or two (or three) and then suddenly, I've lost four pounds, bringing me one pound lower than before, only I'll gain back an additional three right away. I guess in the end, I am still pursuing that downward movement, so it shouldn't concern me too much, but it is really weird to watch my weight fluctuate.

However, I have a new low: 184...awesome!!! I am less than 20 pounds away from my temporary goal weight, however, I am really only 10 pounds away from my lowest weight since getting pregnant...actually, it's less than that. The lowest I've ever been since getting pregnant is about 180. So, only a few more pounds to go and I will actually be lower than I've been in (almost) five years. Wow. That might just be the motivation I need to add some motion to my day.

I've been doing well with my water intake. I have a polycarbonate bottle that holds over 36 ounces of water and I fill it with a tray of ice cubes and then to the top with water or Crystal Light (thank goodness for the standard American diet or that would be a BIG no-no), repeat three times. Oh yeah, I have a wonderful curly straw to sip through. Fun.

As for the actual diet...eh, fair to middling. I'm starting to consider adding components of the Perfect Weight America diet plan, but I am not going to stress about it. In the end, I can do what I want when I am on my own. No sense rocking the boat when you've got waves enough.

The bottom line is: ugh, I need to exercise, double ugh.

A New Report

Along with many other changing conditions in my life right now, my weight is also changing! My sister's wedding has come and gone and now I look to my other goal of getting into a safe range from which to get pregnant. I am becoming a big fan of this "standard American" diet because it's easy, even though I know it's not healthy. I don't have to read much past the fancy labels claiming that it is "healthy" or "low-fat" or "high-fiber" and I don't ever have to worry about the manufacturing process or the ingredient list. How pathetic! To know what's right and not do it because it is different and difficult is wrong. However, with my current financial situation (that is, rely on my mother for 100% of the grocery bill) really does preclude me from adopting a different lifestyle.

Plus, it's working...I am now at 188.5!!! It's hard to believe because I really haven't been diligent about my exercise routine. I have, however, cut out 99% of my fast food intake and I have severely limited the snacks (mostly because they are not in the house). Having my mother constantly around really is trying at best but I am learning to appreciate the accountability, but don't tell her that... :) I know that I would not have come this far without my mom's help.

So my goal? I am still aiming at 165 to "remove the goalie" so to speak because I think that it is a pretty safe weight. I want to begin taking pre-natal vitamins because of that all-important folic acid. My vitamin really is a good one to take and I like it! Outside of that, I want to start feeling good again. Lately, I have been really low on energy and I think that it is a lack of water, so that is also a goal, I think that 84 ounces of water should be easy to consume and with practice, I'll get there! We have been teaching the kids about nutrition and why they should eat their vegetables and proteins and so on, so that has been entertaining.

Yeah, all in all, I think we are doing well and though I am not losing weight fast enough to set any records, nor am I even losing at a "healthy" rate, I am satisfied when I see progress and lack only the motivation to kick it up a notch (or two).

So how are you doing???

Cheerful Outlook

I went ahead and changed the blog background from the "heart motif" into something a little springy. Along with this outlook is a new weigh-in result, 191.5, and I am desperate to get out of the 190's...soon!!!

Along with some other news, I have ordered the bridesmaid dress in a size 16 and it fits!!! Though it doesn't fit well, I know that every pound I lose will only make the dress look better. I really do need to lose weight along my thighs and my preggo-belly flab but the most important is my bust. I will probably be wearing some form of "support" for the other two, but the bust is hard to conceal and since I fill out the bust portion of the dress, it looks slightly different. Oh well...I will keep trying to lose the weight and I get what I get. I still have about 6 weeks left to lose weight; that should be about 12 pounds which would put me right at 180 or so...a good start!

My goal is ultimately to get down to a healthy weight so that I can get pregnant, and I plan on halting all forms of (hormonal) birth control around mid-July, which would allow for another 10-12 pound loss and puts me in a much healthier category for pregnancy. I would hope to wait a month or two before getting pregnant, which allows for even MORE weight loss and there you have it! The other thing that this waiting period does is allow my husband and I to figure out the finances and work out some of the lingering issues.

All in all, when I am thinking clearly, I have a positive outlook for this year, despite the myriad challenges we face, and I would love to glorify God in my life regardless of my circumstances.

199.5!

I haven't exactly been pursuing weight loss as much as I could. Moving has invaded my life and I feel like we are all in a tunnel with no light at the end. However, I have steadily been losing weight during this process. All I have been doing is eating slightly less than before (less snacks!) and we have been doing physical work like moving boxes, stripping paint, and scrubbing this FILTHY house. Just in general, I have to walk up and down the stairs which is something I've never had to do before, so this is an improvement.

As you can probably tell by my title, I finally got down to 199.5 which is so significant because I have not weighed this little in a very long time! I really want to step up the weight loss efforts and really consider what is going into my mouth. I think the key is to enjoying your food. This way, when I am feeling tempted by something to eat that I don't really like but would normally snack on, I can just say no because there are things I'd rather eat. For example, my mom made some cookies for the kids the other day. She sampled a cookie and said that they were not very good, so I didn't even bother trying one. I would much rather find a cookie that I really like and eat that one. The key is to not actively pursuing a replacement...I am sure that is all muddled, but the idea of turning down snacks and desserts (particularly for me) when they don't look or taste completely appealing. This has cut down on some of the snacking I would have done just because they were present.

So, I have about 40 pounds to lose by May 30th, which is probably too much, but I want to keep going until that wedding date. I don't know what weight I need to be to fit into the dress, but I would guess around 175 would cut it, so the least amount I need to lose is around another 15 pounds, which is still a 30 pound weight loss. It just doesn't feel like I've lost any weight...know what I mean?

Sugar Rush

Lately, I've been feeling ill in the evenings. We have also been busy trying to get our house packed and ready to go for this weekend. So what do I do? Grab a Monster or a soda of some kind or another...preferably with caffeine. I thought the ill feeling was the caffeine, but after having the same exact feeling after having a root beer (caffeine free, see?) I began to think that I wasn't reacting to the caffeine but the sugar! So like any other person who has WAY more to do than humanly possible in the time allotted (read article here) I ran around the house collecting samples and reading labels of things that I (or my children) have consumed in the last week. Talk about an eye opener!!! This is only a partial list. 

The standard teaspoon of sugar is "a mere 15 calories" say the commercials. And they are right, one teaspoon (level) of sugar is equal to 15 calories, but how many times do you consume only a tsp of sugar? I put FOUR in one (large) mug of coffee alone! One teaspoon of sugar is equal to 4 grams so each cup of coffee I drink has 16g of sugar in it, but wait, there's more! I also add a serving (or two...) of flavored creamer with a price tag of 7g of sugar. So for each cuppa joe that I consume, I will have eaten the equivalent of almost 6 sugar cubes! PER CUP!!!

Here's my list (in no particular order):

Raw Honey (1 tbsp) 16g of sugar (but at least its all natural...)

SlimFast Optima, Creamy Milk Chocolate (11 oz can), 18g sugar

ChexMix Bar "Turtle" (1.2 oz bar), 11g sugar, including High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

Monster Green (16 oz can= 2 servings...yeah, right!), 27g/servings for a total of 54g sugar per can

A&W Root Beer (12 oz can), 45g sugar, HFCS is the SECOND INGREDIENT!!!

Mountain Dew, Live Wire (12 oz can), 46g sugar, HFCS is the SECOND INGREDIENT!!!

Costco Gourmet Chocolate Covered Raisins (20 pieces), 23g sugar incl. corn syrup

Multigrain Cheerios (1 cup), 6g sugar

Walmart Brand Traditional Jar Spaghetti Sauce (1/2 cup ), 12g sugar incl. corn syrup

100% Juice Box, Apple (6.75 oz box), 23g sugar

KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce (2 tbsp), 12g sugar, incl HFCS

Heinz Ketchup (1 tbsp), 4g sugar, incl HFCS

Jif Creamy Peanut Butter (2 tbsp), 3g sugar

Kirkland Fruit Snacks (.9 oz pack), 13g sugar, corn syrup and sugar are the number 2 and 3 ingredients, respectively.

Let's be clear here. Every time I drink a soda, I'm eating the equivalent of ELEVEN AND A HALF SUGAR CUBES!!! Yummy!!! And that's just in the drink. Also note that I didn't include things that don't include "sugar" but that your body treats like sugar like chips and starches.

Gee, I wonder if the ill feeling was my body trying to tell me to break up with sugar???

Evening Snacking?

I was on SparkPeople tonight and one of the message boards asked what you do about night-time snacking. Here is my answer:

I have two different strategies. The first is to plan ahead; if I have done this successfully, I will grab one of those (ridiculously expensive but very convenient) 100 calorie packs of my favorite junk food. I eat them very slowly, savoring each flavor in my mouth and I always eat at the table. Drinking a full glass of water before I do that is even better. The other snack I have are the 100 calorie popcorn bags. I always seem to crave junk food at night (which is when I did all my binge eating...kids are in bed and I don't have to share or explain myself) so eating a banana or something so "healthy" doesn't always work. Even still, often times, I don't plan well enough and am left with no free calories for snacking.

In THAT case, I drink a large glass of cold water, brush my teeth (try varying your toothpaste flavors...even including the "sweet" kids versions) and go to bed! I plan to eat my snack in the morning, after breakfast. Most of the time, I have already planned on a sweet breakfast (lots of fruit and yogurt for breakfast) and I forget about the extra snack. This works well during the day too. Just promise yourself to wait an extra hour before snacking, drink a large glass of water and distract yourself with a hobby or some entertainment. Don't make a point of remembering to snack, but allow it if you remember. I always like to keep controlled quantities of snacks, so I don't have to do any thinking.

Being hungry for a short period of time isn't the worst thing in the world- I know I am going to eat the next day, so when I am feeling REALLY low, I begin to pray for the people who are hungry and DON'T KNOW if they will eat in the morning. That usually puts my cravings into perspective.

So, I am using options two and three right now, going to bed hungry praising the Lord that I don't have to hear my kids crying because they are hungry and I have no food, thankful that I can wake up (God-willing) and eat more food to nourish and sustain my body.

What do you do?

High Fructose Corn Syrup

The first time I saw this, I nearly choked!



Now, there are plenty of spoof movies out there, but first, I wanted to call your attention to the "Corn Refiner's Association" at the bottom of the screen. Anyone find it ironic that now that HFCS is getting bad press, it suddenly has a marketing campaign? AWFUL!!! So, I only watched a few spoofs, but I like this one:



But for more information, check out this guy (I know...that first picture doesn't look good, but it is really a guy talking and showing pictures):



AMAZING!!!

SlimFast and Soy?

Never in a million years did I expect to go back to the SlimFast diet. I loathe the idea of buying the majority of my diet needs at Target. However, Katie has moved her wedding to the month of May now and the best Saturday in that month is the 30th because Memorial Day weekend falls early this year. So now I am really in a tizzy to lose weight as soon as possible and as fast as possible.

I am embarking, not officially and willing to quit whenever my fancy leads me, on the SlimFast diet. It's still common sense, only with liquids. The "plan" is:

Shake for breakfast....ummm, yummy! (they're okay, really.)

Small snack

Shake plus 1/2 a sandwich for lunch

Small snack

"Sensible dinner"

Small snack

Totally do-able and totally common sense. It is basically a way to get all the calories I need without really having to think about what, exactly, I'm eating. I think it will work for a few weeks, possibly the first 10 pounds and then after that I'm really going to need to begin eating again. That's okay because the SlimFast plan helps you with that transition. The SlimFast website actually includes a free plan to go on, so that's pretty cool.

The other thing I am going to add to my diet are Boca burgers or Morningstar burgers. By saying that, I mean that I am going to try to incorporate some veggie burgers. I would prefer to avoid the soy based ones, but since they are almost all soy based, I'll deal with it. It's only until the end of May. Easy-peasy...right?

I HAVE to lose the weight now, because after talking to my sister, she said she found the bridesmaid dresses, here, take a look! They are gorgeous!!! I love the color and shape and style, but they don't come in plus sizes, so I really need to get down to a 16. These are now my goal measurements: bust- 41 1/2 inches, waist- 34 inches, hips- 44 inches...yikes!!!

So there you have it. I plan on using SlimFast and Soy products to lose 4 dress sizes in 4 months. I can do it!

That's gotta help!

I had a tooth removed today.

The process was less unpleasant than I expected and though I was completely against the gauze being in my mouth, the actual procedure was okay. Now, however, not so much. It's not the pain though, because I have very little of that. There is swelling (and oozing...gross!) but that is just plain uncomfortable. What is really difficult right now is EATING. 

Of course that's a dieter's dream!!! I anticipate sticking to a relatively liquid diet for the next few days and have purchased a few cans of SlimFast to help get nutrients. Otherwise it's going to be soups, yogurt and crackers. I am actually looking forward to this. I made some good chicken broth the other day and it's sitting in my fridge just waiting to be used. I will add some chicken and veggies to it and call it lunch (probably dinner too)!!!

I am really interested in my thought process right now. A week ago, I was stubbornly refusing any and all "diet" food because I didn't believe in the low-fat diet craze. Well, I still don't feel like eating "franken-food" is healthy for long-term eating...I don't plan on eating it long-term! My goal right now is to find ways to cut out the junk from some of my regular meals. I am contemplating BocaBurgers as an easy to prepare lunch for myself and am intrigued with their Chik'n Patties, though they are actually more calories than the burgers. These are things that I would NOT be purchasing before, but now, I find myself willing to try them. The other thing I am considering (and searching out recipes for) is a grilled vegetable spaghetti sauce. I have heard good things about this type of recipe and think I'm almost ready to try it! Pair that with a large salad and a small serving of pasta and I've converted a "not-so-good" meal into a keeper!

The bottom line is that I can feel the change- I want to change right now. Still having to figure out what to do with working out, but just changing my food habits is a good start.

Weight's been jumping around on me; yesterday I was up to 211 and today I'm down to 209. I like weighing in daily, but I guess I don't take it too seriously. It's the feeling that counts...its just the numbers that can be measured.

Weigh-In

This morning I weighed myself first thing in the morning, something I plan on doing every morning from now on. Today I was 210.6. I will probably keep a list on the sidebar of my daily weigh-in so I won't be creating a new post everytime, we'll see. I will still post a weekly or monthly weigh-in post, with measurements.

In other news, I have been playing on researching SparkPeople's website. I really encourage you to go take a look. The site is overwhelming at first (and at second) but there is a lot of good information and a lot of hand-holding. I am really liking it...and it's FREE!!! Need I say more?

Look for another post within a day or two with my "body profile"- a written description of my body, it's condition, and it's needs.

My Evil Wonderful Sister(s)

I talked to my sister, Katie, the one who is getting married this fall :), and as everyone in my family does, she asked how my diet was going. It wasn't a comment made out of the blue, as usual, I was being self-disparaging with talk about how much weight I would need to lose before her wedding and she asked how I was doing with this task of losing weight.

Katie has always been a rock for me. She has been in such poor health lately that it is easy to forget all she has accomplished. She is extremely intelligent, kind, generous, and wise beyond her years. She is also a committed follower of Christ and has been my role model for years. As Katie and I were having this conversation, I could hear the underlying scolding- the disappointment that, yet again, I had failed to do what I said I would do and that, yet again, I was not living up to all I could be. Above all else, my family wants me to succeed and does everything in their power to make sure it happens.

Today, Katie wasn't listening to my usual round of excuses like, "Yeah, I'm doing okay," which is code for, "I was doing okay until I ate a full meal at Panda Express and a box of candy last night." Nor did she pay attention to my favorite excuse, "I just don't know which diet to do," which is really code for, "I just don't want to put forth the effort." Instead she urged forced me to start a diet, right now. She made me promise to start today, with whatever diet I chose and she told me how I was going to choose. I chose to put two different diets in the hat- both of which I believed that I could start and stick with, even if I didn't agree wholeheartedly with either of them. I chose eDiets (which is what I put meaning the standard, low-fat, American diet. No restrictions on processed foods or types of foods as long as they meet my caloric, and general health, needs) and Body By God which has a lot of good tips, but is a little less "normal" than eDiets but healthier on a long-term scale. Both names went into a bowl and though I would have preferred to pull out Body By God, I don't believe in mistakes, and I pulled out eDiets.

I have now committed to stay on this diet, even though I don't agree with everything in it, until Katie's wedding which hasn't been set yet, but will be sometime this summer. Enough time for me to apply myself and lose a significant amount of weight. When I feel like quitting and doing a different diet, I am to remind myself that I will be able to change diets after her wedding. I can't afford to do eDiets, and though I don't think I really need a plan, I am going to sign up for SparkPeople because it is free and they do much of what eDiets charges you $30 a month for. They use a points for reward system and you get a certain number of points for accomplishing tasks, like journalling, entering food into the food log or reading health articles. (If you read this post, check it out and decide to sign up, reference my user name "krankemommy" and I get some points!). I have seen the website before and thought it was really nicely done so I am headed back there for some direction and community.

I will be journalling here (and there) about my progress and doing weigh-ins and measurement posts too. Please post comments...that's what they are there for!!!

A Book List

I wanted to call your attention to the book list on the left as well as to give a (partial) review of two of the books on the list. Yesterday, while I was at Target picking up my nasty antibiotics I grabbed two books that I have been seeing for a while, but never bothered to look at. The first is The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan, and is a really interesting look at what it takes to create our food and what is really in it. The idea is that when a species, like humans, are truly omnivores, it becomes an ordeal to figure out what to eat; the sheer number of choices are overwhelming. Today's supermarket has just exponentially exacerbated the problem because most of what we see isn't even real food! Add to that, we have the problem of the medicalization of eating (we call it nutrition) and you have to have a degree to know what is "good" to eat. It's not really a "diet" book because he doesn't particularly give you guidelines on what to eat, it is more about the impact our eating has on everything else. Very interesting reading. I am still reading it, but I have glanced through it and think that it will be a challenging read. (1/18-edited to add, this book takes an evolutionary approach which thoroughly impacts the authors conclusions and reasoning. In one case he is talking about corn's evolution and how smart it was to throw itself on the mercy of humans...what a brave evolutionary jump...so on and so forth. I am still reading it, though it has been, at times, difficult to keep reading, for that reason alone.)

The second book is In Defense of Food by the same author and the main concept, as he states in the very opening (Pollan, pg. 1),

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

That, more or less, is the short answer to the supposedly incredibly complicated and confusing question of what we humans should eat in order to be maximally healthy.

This book is going to be really interesting and is essentially an extension of what he found in The Omnivore's Dilemma. These books are both on my immediate reading list. His writing style is very entertaining and still informative...I am excited about reading these!

New Year, New Plan...

I am still doing eDiets, but extremely loosely. In other words, I am doing what I originally thought was impossible- I am combining diets. I actually already found a diet that did that based on the BBC show, You Are What You Eat, with Dr. Jillian McKeith. She wrote a book of the same title that I purchased not too long ago. What I like is that she gives you symptoms to look for in your body, like cracking or splitting on your tongue, tells you what caused it and what to eat to remedy it. I enjoy the show and her book was really interesting. She is big on juices (homemade of course) and recommends a periodic juice fast.

What I plan on doing is my regular meal schedule for Perfect Weight America only with eDiets portions. I do plan on limiting my quantity of fats but allowing for better quality. I really do think that butter and coconut oil are good for you, but that doesn't mean that you need 2 tablespoons to fry an egg. I intend on gradually introducing my kids to the PWA diet because more than me, they stand to benefit from this.

One of the new tricks I have been employing is one that I learned in the book, Body by God, by Dr. Ben Lerner. His principle is to eat the foods according to their use; high carbs in the morning, low-carbs in the evening, etc. One of his tricks is a delay strategy. I don't have the book in front of me so I can't quote it, but I will tell you what I've been doing and if you want more details about how to do it-look up his book, it's great! Okay, I am a bad eater. I have bad food habits and I love my junk food. This wrecks every diet I have because though I can be good for several days, inevitably, my snack cravings come back full force. Lately, when I have been feeling a craving for something I know I shouldn't have, I delay. Sometimes I try to substitute a healthier version, but other times, I just promise myself to have the treat later and then I divert myself by doing something else or thinking about something else. I also try to drink a glass of water any time I am feeling like I have a case of the munchies coming on. It has been working fairly well over the past few days, which is fantastic!

Don't quit on me, I haven't quit yet!!!

OOOHH, I have more incentive now...not only do I want to get pregnant, but my sister is getting married!!! Now I really have to lose the weight for nice looking, lasting pictures.