Week
1, Monday, 10/5/15, Weight: 148.8 lbs.
Week
2, Monday, 10/12/15, Weight: 145.2 lbs.
Week
3, Tuesday, 10/20/15, Weight: 147.0 lbs.
Week
4, Monday, 10/26/15, Weight: 146.2 lbs.
Week
5, Monday, 11/2/15, Weight: 145.2 lbs.
Week
6, Monday, 11/9/15, Weight: 142.4 lbs.
Week
7, Monday, 11/16/15, Weight: 142.0 lbs.
Week
8, Monday, 11/23/15, Weight: 142.2 lbs.
Up 0.2 lbs from last week, and down 6.6 lbs overall in 7 weeks.
So,
it’s official: I lost 5 lbs by my birthday (actually, 6.6 lbs in 7 weeks)! Yay!!!
Now, here's my new goal: 5 more pounds—from my lastest weight—in 6 weeks
(137.2 lbs by Monday, January 4th).
This will be a challenge because I’ve still got Thanksgiving, Christmas,
and the New Year’s holiday meals to get though.
But I’m going to try!
My
successes with my goals from last week:
1.
I jogged three times again this past week—I think it’s starting to feel like
habit. I’ve been trying to think ahead
and schedule it in. Even though I cut
down on my speed and distance a bit, I feel better about it because I don’t
feel as exhausted after my workout. I’m
glad that I’m making the time, and sticking with my commitment.
2.
I ate pretty many green veggies this past week, but I could definitely eat
more. It’s hard to always get the greens
if we eat other veggies instead (like butternut squash soup). I think it’s important to get those veggies
in too, but I think green veggies are still King.
3.
My food diary is the BOMB. Honestly, I
think it makes a huge difference in keeping me “on track” with my eating and
keeping me honest. I’m definitely
sticking with it. Yay!
4.
Oops, I don’t remember feeling very hungry this past week. It’s so easy to slip into eating more than I
need to, so I need to watch my portion sizes again.
5.
I skipped dessert three days again this past week, but I again had three very
big dessert days: Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. One dessert was a (huge) hot fudge sundae
with extra cherries at Leon’s in Milwaukee—a family tradition. It was delicious, and worth every
bite/calorie. Honestly, while I was
eating it, though, I couldn’t help realize how ridiculously HUGE it was. I still proceeded to eat it all, mind you,
but I think recognizing the excessiveness of it was a good first step for
me. Hopefully next time I’m faced with a
huge dessert portion, I can recognize it faster, and just eat 2/3 of it. Saturday and Sunday’s desserts were my
delicious birthday cake (this time, with my parents). I did manage to eat just one piece on Saturday
night, and I skipped the ice cream (two small but meaningful differences from
what I would have done in the past).
Every (lack of a) bite matters!
6.
I ate out 2 times this week, but it was worth it. Leon’s was fun and was great people
watching. I also ate out Thai food with
a good friend, and I fortunately brought a lot home as leftovers, so I did
pretty well with avoiding overeating at least.
That’s progress too!
7.
I baked twice: one time was buttermilk biscuits for dinner, and the other was a
scrumptious, super-rich birthday chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting and
ganache, recipe courtesy of @BadgerReader (what can I say, she’s good with
cakes!). Like the cake last week, I
cut the recipe in half and made a 2 layer 8” cake instead of a 3 layer 9” cake,
which worked perfectly (we had leftovers, but not an excessive amount). Making the biscuits out of 100% whole wheat
flour was a first for me, but I wanted to see if I could still enjoy them in a
“more healthy” version (and yes, they were still really tasty, though a bit
less fluffy/layered). And it was really
fun to bake both times, so I don’t regret it one bit.
8.
I’ve noticed that I’m still eating a LOT of “sugar” in its many forms: sugar in
homemade goodies, jam, maple syrup, honey, and lots of white flour. Oh boy, I have a lot to improve on. I wonder how I can really reduce this, and if
I’ll feel the sugar cravings when I start really cutting back a lot more. I have to do more research on how to do this
(cold turkey doesn’t seem realistic to me).
Right now my approach is baby steps: to reduce a little at a time.
9.
Something I haven’t mentioned yet: Beverages.
I am lucky that I was never a big drinker – of anything with
calories! I did occasionally drink fruit
juice (preferably 100% juice), soda (yes, full-on HFCS), and very limited
alcohol (beer and wine make me flush).
But when trying to lose weight, it makes sense to avoid all of those
right now. (I even strongly believe that
diet soda and beverages are NOT okay, since they have been shown to increase
insulin and fool your brain into wanting more sugar/carbs later due to the lack
of sugar hit from the sugar-free stimulation.)
Luckily, I love drinking (filtered) tap water and hot green tea (though
now I skip the sugar). I do usually
drink milk when I eat dessert, but of course I’m trying to limit that as
well. I don't really mind sticking to
water and tea, but I am planning on “cheating” occasionally with a cup of
cocoa, cider, or sparkling beverages.
It’s the holidays, for heaven’s sake!
10.
Oops, no whole-foods, plant-based vegan meals again this week. We were “vegetarian” for all of our meals on
one day (not a big deal, but a good start).
I think I eat chicken, beef, and pork more than I realize, and I’d like
to reduce that!
11.
I need to think about how much sleep I'm getting (not enough), and figure out
how I’m going to get more. Also, I want
to incorporate breathing and relaxation exercises into my day. I bet both of those would help me lose weight
and be happier and mentally healthier.
Something to think about and research more…
Here’s
to enjoying the holidays and maintaining traditions without breaking my goals
and waistline! New traditions (more
veggies/less dessert) are good too!
Forward
Flavor!
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