Advantages

Good morning~ I'm down two more pounds from Mondays weight.  Yay.  


Here are the Advantages to losing weight permanently:

• I'm going to build character, resolve and integrity
• getting on the scales will feel good
• shopping for clothes will be fun again
• I'll no longer feel fat, ugly, gross, un-sexy, unloveable
• it'll decrease the chances of future health issues
• it'll help my current state of health
• I'll feel so much better about myself
• Tim will be proud to be seen with me, not just because I'm "pretty" but because I'm healthy and fit
• I'm gonna feel so good physically
• I won't get up feeling stiff and sore anymore
• I'll rock those smaller, cuter clothes!
• I'll no longer feel self-conscious in my clothing
• I'll extend my life and live it more fully
• I'm gonna be HOT!  :}
• I'll be a help and inspiration to others trying to lose weight
• I'll have so much more energy
• I'll be a good example to my girls and others
• I'll be able to get rid of my excess sizes of clothing taking up space in my home
• I'll become adept at planning meals, shopping and being in control of eating
• I'll no longer feel compelled to compare myself to others
• I'll be more confident
• I'll be a wiser shopper of food and save money
• I'll be in control of my body instead of the other way around
• My new habits will be a help and encouragement to Tim
• I won't be constantly adjusting my clothing to "hide" my fat
• I will no longer be controlled by my body & it's cravings or emotional eating
• My girls, friends & family will be proud of my accomplishment
• 
  

Decision Time

No mystery as to how well or badly I'm doing with this weight-loss endeavor!  If you don't hear from me for days, (weeks or months) chances are I've blown it once again and probably regaining the little weight I lost.  What a futile, endless, hopeless-feeling waste of time and effort.  I'm so sick of my lack of resolve, lack of self-control, lack of momentum, lack of seriousness and determination!  :{  This past couple of weeks I've been half-heartedly trying to eat well and be consistent with exercising.  I'd lost a few pounds, gained that FOUR, lost a couple more and just feel....stymied.  As usual.  


So, remember I mentioned this book last week?  It came the other day and I've been reading it with great interest.  Listen to this:  "it not only guides you in what to eat and how to eat, but it also helps you change your mindset about dieting.  It leads you to make the psychological changes you need to be satisfied with your food choices, your ultimate weight, and yourself."  and "you will learn a powerful set of psychological tools that will enable you to stick to your healthy eating plan, no matter what.  You will learn how to talk back to your inner saboteur~ These sabotaging thoughts are common to any dieter who's struggled to lose or maintain weight loss."  


If you've followed this blog for any time, you know that I've struggled with allowing my negative thought patterns to become roadblocks to my progress.  I KNOW that I make excuses in my head and justify wrong choices with lies.  It's easy to identify, hard to stop.  It'll be life-changing for me if this new book will help me to change all that and see real & lasting success at last.  

So, here are Stage 1 Success Skills:
1.  Motivate yourself daily.
2.  Weigh yourself daily.
3.  Eat slowly, sitting down.
4.  Give yourself credit.
5.  Get moving.
6.  Overcome hunger, cravings and emotional eating.
7.  Plan and motivate your eating.
8.  Follow your plan, no matter what.
9.  Get back on track-right away.  


I like this too:
Think Thin Initial Eating Plan
1.  You will enjoy real food, not "diet" food.
2.  You won't make any food "off-limits".
3.  You will know what to do when you reach a plateau.
4.  You won't feel hungry as you have on other diets.
5.  You will continue to eat this way for a lifetime.  


This diet requires a solid commitment to follow the plan all the way (what diet doesn't?) and that makes me wonder if I can or will?  It requires calorie-counting; uh oh!  I've been a low-carb dieter for a long time, although we see how far that's gotten me!  :(  It is everything that I've resisted in my dieting; the plan that Sylvia & I created allowed us flexibility and a way to still eat the foods we love best, meats, cheese, dairy, etc.  Yet it didn't change my mindset or thought patterns; I lost weight ultimately, but not without the continual back & forth crap that plagues me now. And I didn't learn life skills to keep the weight off.  Perhaps it's time to truly get serious about losing weight and commit to a sensible, serious plan?  

What the HECK??

Good GRIEF!!  So frustrating!  I got on the scales this morning and apparently I've gained FOUR POUNDS!!  :O  Since Wednesday?!  Despite pretty careful eating?!  Tim & I did enjoy a delicious meal last night at Naru, our favorite Chinese restaurant, but I chose a dish loaded with vegetables and meat, didn't eat the rice and we had no appetizer.  So perhaps the salt content is the problem.  SIGH!  :{  Oh well, today's another day & I shall persevere.  :)  


Meanwhile, here's some humor via Pinterest!  
 

How funny is that???

 



Today's the day we get Tim's bike from the dealership!  Yay!  Unfortunately, it's cold and gloomy and requires heavier duty gear than I have yet.  But it's exciting to know his bike will be ready & waiting when it warms up again! I actually heard the "S" word re: this coming week! Wow. Well, we DO live in Vermont, after all, and the unusual warm temps have  been a bonus.  


Okay, off I go~ happy weekend to you all!  Eat well and stay active!  :)  


  

Today's Eating:

AM:  Total cereal w/ strawberries & almond milk/coffee

AM Snack:  2 energy balls/

Lunch: chicken salad/clementine/cheese popcorn

PM Snack:  coffee/boiled egg

Dinner: grilled chicken sausage & veggies on lavash w/ 1/2 slice cheddar/slice o' pineapple/small glass white wine

Today's Exercise: 30 minutes on stepper at the gym then 30 min on weight machines

My goals for the week were:

• lose 5 pounds by Saturday AM (I've lost 6# since Monday!)  YAY!  
• eat well each day
• exercise Monday-Friday for sure; plan something for Sat or Sun as a bonus!  

So far, so good!  

My fridge is filled with delicious food:

• baby spinach/baby carrots/grape tomatoes/red peppers/celery sticks 
• fresh pineapple slices/clementines/ruby red grapefruit in little containers/strawberries
• leftover boiled dinner from last Saturday night.  May have to pitch that.  It was sooo good though. 
• homemade vegetable soup
• egg salad & chicken salad
• grilled chicken breast/grilled garlic chicken sausage
• greek yogurt/Light & Fit yogurt
• hummus
• cheese sticks/cheddar/American cheese
• corn tortillas/lavash bread/wonton wrappers

Speaking of food, I found these images on Pinterest and hope to make some this weekend!  Here's one:  Black Bean Burgers.  

 

And another:  

 

This is called Muggin; sounds like breakfast!  Take a little less than a quarter cup of quick oats, 1 egg, a small handful of blueberries, and some brown sugar or Stevia if you like things sweet, and mix it all up in a coffee mug. If you want your muffin a little moist a tablespoon of plain soymilk or almond milk will do it. Then place in the microwave for 1 min. 

And one more: Homemade Frozen Pumpkin Yogurt 

 

Alright, it's time to say goodnight.  

Happy Girl

Good morning, friends!  Looks like another beautiful summer, I mean, March day here in Vermont!  My dog, Emily, is lying at the end of my bed with her nose on the window sill; she is SOO cute!  Penelope is curled up nearby; she was outside all night so is feeling all cozy & sleepy!  I LOVE my children, furry ones & not so furry ones!  :)  

Let me tell you about our first ride of the year!  And what a wonderful ride it was!  My  jacket fit well enough and it was great to put that helmet on my head again! 

 I met Tim at the dealership where he was waiting with a spankin' new Harley that needed miles put on for conditioning before it sells.  (Who knew that?!)  A pretty, sparkly blue bike with - what??  No back seat??  Gulp.  Two big compartments on the sides which I had to climb over and then perch my queen-sized butt on the little space  behind Tim.  But I was HAPPY!!  At last, we were going riding!!  No jacket required; it was about 80 degrees when we left and felt so GOOD to be in the wind and sun!  I also enjoyed hanging on to my honey, peering over his shoulder at the road ahead and enjoying the landscape around us.  Granted, I kept sliding backwards, especially on the uphill climbs and granted, my hips, butt and back were killing me by the time we got back, but I wouldn't have NOT gone had I known it would be that way.  It just makes me all the more grateful for Tim's amazing Road Glide Ultra with it's big, cushy seat and backrest for me!  We're planning to make as many trips this summer as possible!  


I was stoked to get on the scales this morning and see that I've lost 2 more pounds!!  Wowza!  So exciting and motivating!  Even though I know this is the way my body loses weight at first, and that I can gain them back almost as fast, it does make me happy!  I've been eating really well and getting some good, healthy exercise without going crazy at the gym.  (I'm too lazy for that!)  My intention and purpose is to eat healthy food most of the time, get physically active at least 4-5 days a week and still enjoy treats and special occasions without feeling deprived.  Yesterday I allowed myself to have a Clarks Sunoco  creemie with Becca; I asked for a baby but it came out bigger than that.  OH WELL!  Guess I could have eaten half and put the rest in the freezer...NOT!!  :)  


Okay, so I'm trying to decide if I should post Today's Eating in the morning before my day starts (which means I have a plan, which is good) or in the evenings post.  Which I don't always write at night.  It's so funny; I'll get a little feeling of panic thinking "oh no!  what did I eat today???" but after recalling what I ate and either jotting it down or at least reviewing it out loud, I realize it wasn't so bad!  Isn't it interesting how we all have specific ways to diet and lose weight?  And what works for one doesn't for another?  


I found this book online and think I'll order it.  I like the premise.  

From Publishers Weekly

Can thinking and eating like a thin person be learned, similar to learning to drive or use a computer? Beck (Cognitive Therapy for Challenging Problems) contends so, based on decades of work with patients who have lost pounds and maintained weight through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Beck's six-week program adapts CBT, a therapeutic system developed by Beck's father, Aaron, in the 1960s, to specific challenges faced by yo-yo dieters, including negative thinking, bargaining, emotional eating, bingeing, and eating out. Beck counsels readers day-by-day, introducing new elements (creating advantage response cards, choosing a diet, enlisting a diet coach, making a weight-loss graph) progressively and offering tools to help readers stay focused (writing exercises, to-do lists, ways to counter negative thoughts). There are no eating plans, calorie counts, recipes or exercises; according to Beck, any healthy diet will work if readers learn to think differently about eating and food. Beck's book is like an extended therapy session with a diet coach. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition

Sounds interesting, huh?  

Okay, gotta get ready for work.  Happy Thursday to ya!  :)

In Review

Good morning!  I'm so pumped!  The scales show I'm down two more pounds for a total of 9# since I began again on March 8th!  It's amazing how good it feels to be getting my body moving, eating well and feeling more energized!  


Although I've said all this before in previous blog posts, 

I'm going to review what Sylvia & I worked out for our 2fatchicks weight loss endeavor in 2008/2009.  We created a plan that was perfectly suited to our lifestyle and schedules.  Because it was successful, this is my method now!  

Here we are, about a month into it~

And here we are, ready to take off for our reward trip to Florida after losing most of our weight!  

In the first picture I weighed about 250 pounds; in the lower picture I weighed about 200~ I started the journey at the horrifying weight of 266 pounds!  


Okay, so here's what we did to achieve our results:

• did it as a team
• created a plan to cover every possible hindrance & situation
• planned for short term and long term rewards
• joined Planet Fitness w/ the Black Card membership
• started tanning to feel more attractive (and it worked)
• worked out or got physically active 4-5 times a week
• ate mostly low-carb without crazy counting, weighing or measuring
• drank lots of water 
• held each other accountable 
• created a blog (2fatchicksonadiet) and a bank account to save money
• put money into our account to pay for our reward trip to FL
• allowed ourselves to "cheat" occasionally (okay, so almost every weekend, which meant we sometimes gained back what we'd lost the week before)
• planned for the days eating and exercise 
• weighed and measured at the beginning of each month and recorded it for comparison along the way
• took pictures along the way

That's all I can think of right now; I'll have to refer back to our old blog http://2fatchicksonadiet.wordpress.com/2008/07/  to see what else we did.  It was a very heady and exciting time for both of us; I'd never lost that much weight before and size 12 felt downright SKINNY!  :)  Sadly, I can't experience that "first-time" joy and excitement ever again and have to reach for different motivations and purpose.  

Obviously, since I've gained back much of the 75# lost since 09, I've tried and failed to get it back off, to stay off.  But I keep telling myself it's better to keep getting back on the horse than to give up completely and never ride again!

So, here's two more pictures for comparisons sake!  Sara told me I should use my thin pictures for motivation rather than my hugely fat ones. I don't know.  They're both useful in some ways!  :)

Erin & I last year in April; I was a little heavier than I am now.  

Another Florida picture when I was not quite at my lowest weight of 191~ not too far off though!

Alright!  That's it for today!  I'm trying to decide if I'll go to a swim class morning, or another bike ride.  Gotta make something different for breakfast first though; I'm getting a little tired of yogurt w/ maple syrup!  Maybe some yummy scrambled eggs with onions, ham, peppers and cheddar!  That'll be a hearty and satisfying meal to hold me till lunchtime!  


I'm pretty psyched for our first ride of the season this afternoon! I'll try to remember to take pictures!  Enjoy the day! 

A Day

Happy Tuesday, friends!  It's very late and I should turn off my light, but it was such a good day, I want to write about it!  I didn't go to the gym after my morning client after all; it was such a beautiful day that I rode my bike instead. I mapped it on MapMyRide and it was 5.87 miles.  Not too bad!  This evening Sandra and I met for a walk through Brennan Woods neighborhood and did a brisk 2.3 miles.  So today was a good exercise day!  


Today's Eating:
AM:  greek yogurt w/ maple syrup & pecans/energy ball/coffee
AM Snack:  almonds & craisins
Lunch:  cheese stick/clementine/apple/egg salad
Snack:  coffee
Dinner:  1/2 cup chicken salad/few bites cottage cheese/strawberries/few bites of boiled dinner/leftover piece of steak 
Snack: nada

I hate how fat my face is here!  And this was 20# lighter!  Ugh.  But it's still a happy picture!  

So, tomorrow is going to be our first ride of the year!  I'm SO excited!  Not sure where we'll go but it's gonna be so fun!  Tim is getting to break in a brand-new bike for Green Mountain Harley Davidson dealership~ hopefully his own bike will be ready soon!  I got my gear out and tried on my jacket; happily, the 5# lost since last week made a bit of difference in the fit.  It's not quite as snug and I could move my arms freely.  It may be too warm to wear it, but I'll bring it just in case.  


I'm taking the day off for the adventure and will make up work on Friday.  It's GREAT to have such flexibility in my job and clients who're willing to flex as well.  :)


So sleepy now~ Goodnight!  

Five Pounds

Good morning!  I'm so psyched!  I'm down two pounds since Sunday and five since last week when I weighed!  Thank goodness!!  


Yesterday was a pretty successful day for eating and exercise; 40 minutes at the gym doing cardio and some weights, starting at 6am.  I am SO not an early-morning person.  But it was satisfying to know my workout was done for the day.  I packed good food for lunch and had a delicious low-carb dinner with Tim.  He & I went to Home Depot where I bought a cute little grill and brought it home; he set it up and grilled yummy marinated steaks and grilled veggies.  With a glass of White Zinfandel, it was a very nice dinner!  I made another batch of Energy Balls which are loaded with goodness; natural peanut butter, honey, vanilla, powdered milk, oats, flax/walnut powder, white chocolate chips, and natural unsweetened coconut.  Not sure how many carbs or calories in each one, so probably one is the limit.    

These are my first batch with cocoa added to some of the batch.  

I intended to get up and walk early this morning, but didn't get to bed when I planned so couldn't drag it out this morning.  I only have one client today and may hit the gym on my way home, and then have a walk-date with Sandra this evening.  It feels good to be moving again!  


Today's Eating:
AM:  coffee, greek yogurt w/ maple syrup & wheat germ, clementine
Snack:  peanut butter celery
Lunch:  egg salad, veggies, whole-grain crackers, apple
Snack: ??
Dinner: ??  Maybe flat-bread pizza thingie or leftover steak in a salad.  Yes, that sounds good!  


Gotta run!  Thanks for reading and if you're not a Follower, it'd be very encouraging to see your name & face on my sidebar!  :)

March Madness!

What a weekend it's been!  This March-madness of weather is nuts but AWESOME!  Remember all that snow we had last March?  This picture was taken on March 10, 2011.  Tons of snow had dropped off my roof and the last of it didn't melt till  sometime in April!!  

   Compare that to this photo taken today,  March 18th~  I was on the Burlington bike path and this was on the Colchester end.  Unbelievable day of temperatures in the 70's!!  SOO awesome!  I hung wash out on the line then packed myself a very healthy lunch, put my Townie into the back of my car & hit the Oakledge end of the bike path at 2pm.  Rode for 7 miles to this spot, had my lunch in the sun & turned around & rode back.  My back & legs are a bit sore, and I got a little sunburned but it was a glorious ride!  :)


I'm feeling pretty determined to stay focused on my weight loss efforts~ I'm down a couple pounds from last week and even eating out tonight didn't sway me from my purpose!  I had a delicious Fire-Grilled Cobb Salad at 99 with Tim & Becca, barely used the dressing and left feeling very satisfied!  My goal for this week is to lose 5# by Saturday morning weigh-in and to exercise Monday through Friday.  


BTW, Tim thinks his bike may be ready by the weekend and if the weather cooperates, we'll go RIDING!!  Hopefully 5# off will make that jacket fit just a little better!  :)  

So It's Not Just Me!

It's Friday morning, and I didn't get my butt outta bed to go for that walk.  Which means I'm wracking my brains for when I can get some exercise in today; not sure there'll be time before I head over to Tim's at 6pm.  Argh!  :{  

As I've been re-reading some of my old blog posts, I've also checked out some of the Blogs I Follow on the sidebar; I like this one in particular.  And reading this particular post today http://wearelosingitblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Food%20Addiction made me realize that I'm not the "only" one addicted to food and experience times when I'm like two different people.  One is stuffing her face with "forbidden" food like a starving person while the other stands there "helplessly" thinking "This is not right!  Stop!  What are you doing?!!"  The question is, how to break this cycle & see long-lasting success with not only losing weight, but with not being controlled by my flesh and desires and urges?  I don't know.  Sometimes I feel helpless and hopeless to change.  :{ 

 Perhaps I should just stop my whining, get off my  fat, lazy ass and get it moving!  I DO know that once I get physically active again, it becomes easier to continue because I truly do feel energized and motivated.  All those endorphins in action!  

Well, speaking of getting moving, it's time to get ready for work~  happy Friday, folks!  

RIDING

I've been thinking about my beautiful Harley Davidson jacket lately.  It's leather is soft & supple, it has pretty blue & green stitching and cool zippers and air-openings, reflective piping & a silky lining.  I never dreamed I'd own such a jacket or ride on the back of a Harley dude's bike!  But last summer was magical!  Oh, the joy of climbing onto Tim's bike, wrapping my arms around him & experiencing the exhilaration of zooming off for long rides, talking, singing, laughing & getting to know one another in that very unique setting.  What happy memories I have of that jacket and those rides!   

Spring is practically upon us, the weather is warming up & I've been seeing motorcycles out for about a week.  Typically that doesn't happen till April in Vermont, but this year spring is here early.  And I'm not prepared.  


I tried on my jacket just now, thinking surely, it won't fit me because I've gained SO much weight this winter.  (I laughingly call it "love fat" which I gained while lovingly cooking, baking & eating w/ my sweetheart and our families.)  And I was right. It doesn't fit.  Yes, I squeezed myself into it and even managed to zip it up, but my chest was flattened and I could barely move my arms.  GAAHH!  There's no way I can comfortably ride with all this extra weight on me.  It's too much.  I don't want to be "thin" just...lighter.  Fitter.  Right now I feel HUGE, ugly, unlovable, un-sexy, frustrated with clothes that don't fit and frustrated at my lack of motivation to lose weight.  I continue to talk myself in & out of dieting, losing a few pounds then gaining it back plus some.  This is CRAZY!!


So.  Today, Thursday, March 15, 2012 I began again.  I ate well & healthily, took out my Townie & had a great bike ride which made my heart pump, my legs ache and my butt sore!  I have plenty of good food on hand & will drink lots of water.  Tomorrow I plan to get up early and go for a vigorous walk before work.  And this weekend I'm going to plan good food for healthy eating and try to get some exercise in at least on Saturday.  


That's my plan.  Will I stick to it?  We shall see.