Weigh In Day...

Up? Down? That is the question on my mind every day. The scale is taunting me. I am having a hard time with believing I can do it, I have such a huge goal, and I have never made it past a few weeks. This is the first time that I have stuck to something for any length of time. I have been on a controlled calorie diet for about 5 weeks, and even though I have had some rough nights when all I want to eat is junk food, because I am logging everything I eat, and my food log is public, I have kept to my diet.

I am down 1.2 lbs this week, and while I always hope for more, at least it is a loss. I have a definate goal in mind, and I had thought I would be able to accomplish it much faster than it is happening.

I started walking this week, it is not fun, because Eli goes with me, and spends the entire time hysterical that he will never see his stuffed animals again. I have tried to go by myself, but he doesn't want me to be out of his sight. With all of the challenges of the emotional side of my child, I am very surprised that I worked out at all.

I also made my husband hide the scale from me. I am really bad about weighing myself every day, when I don't see a change or I see a gain, it puts me in a bad mood, and causes me to want to eat. I am definitely an emotional eater through and through. He will pull it out only on Friday mornings, I will weigh myself, then he will hide it again.

For now I am going to focus on my smaller goals, which is 275, I only have 12.2 lbs until I reach that goal. I am really hoping to reach that goal by Halloween. Here's to hoping...

Changing the Eating Plan

I am now down 21.6lbs While I am very happy to be losing, I am unhappy with the amount of time it is taking to lose it. I only lost 1.6 lbs in the past 11 days, which isn't enough.

I went to the message boards on My Fitness Pal, and everyone suggested that I was not eating enough, that my body had been shocked by the sudden 20 lb loss, and my hormones were out of whack. I am trying to be patient, but it is very difficult, I like instant gratification, so I am having a hard time with the lack of movement on the scale.

On Wednesday I decided to increase my calories from 1200-1400 to 1800. Based on my Basal Metabolic Rate, which is 2,086, I believe that my calorie intake may have been too low. I will try this for a few weeks and see if it helps.

I also have started adding exercise into my daily routine. I am using my Wii Fit for around 30 minutes. It is something I can do anytime, from home, so I don't have to have someone to watch Eli. Eli has started doing it with me as well. We have been running the Island Run together, and even though he can beat my by about half of the race, it makes it a lot easier to have someone want to do it with me.

I am really enjoying My Fitness Pal! I love that I can be friends with people, and I can ask questions on the message boards. I love that you can calculate the calories from everything you eat, and all foods with a barcode can be scanned with my phone.

So far so good, even though I am not getting the numbers I desire, I am not getting discouraged, and I am NOT giving up!

Yo-Yo...

My name is Erin, and I am a yo-yo dieter. It has been 28 days since my last diet...

Just kidding, sort of. In all seriousness though, I am having a really hard time sticking to any sort of diet program. Every time I start, I have the best of intentions, but it never seems to stick. I feel like a fraud when it comes to my diet, I post on here or Facebook, that I am starting a new diet. I do well for 1 or 2 days, then something comes up. Work, Eli needing a snack when shopping, a random trip for fast food, or Husband asking for dessert.

One of these days it will actually stick. Hopefully this is the day. I need to lose 150 lbs. 15 at a time. I have to tell myself it is just 15 lbs. Hopefully that will help this work for me.

This time I am drinking WATER. I am cutting back on portions. I am skipping the junk food. I am skipping a lot of the excess snacks. I am making healthy choices.

This time I will lose the weight. This time I will make myself happy. This time I won't beat myself up if I have a bad day. This time I won't fail. But if I do, there will always be next time.

Weigh In Four...The One Month Edition

This has been another tough week for me. I did not exercise this past week. I am really going to try to do it this next week. I am super excited that I have had some help in my rewards, my wonderful In-Laws told me that they will buy me a new outfit when I get to 250, and take me to get a Pedicure when I get to 225.

In better news, I reached my first weight loss goal!!! I hit and passed the 270 mark, and I am so happy to finally be getting somewhere.

These next few weeks are going to get harder. We have 3 family birthdays in the next 3 weeks, with cake and junk food at all of them. My parents are coming to visit on Friday, and then when they leave on Wednesday, they are taking Eli to Michigan with them. I am supposed to leave for Michigan on July 8th that is 9 days without my baby. Up until now the longest I have ever been away from him is 2 days. With all the changes and disruptions in my life, it is going to be really hard to stick to my plan, but I am going to do my best. I am most worried about stress eating, while Eli is in Michigan. On the upside, I should have plenty of time to exercise.

My goal this week is to actually exercise, not just write that I will start exercising. Maybe if I can do 3 workouts in a week, drink lots of water, I will be well on the way to my next goal of 255.

Starting Weight:   285

Last Week:           272

Current:                268

Weight Lost:            4

Total Lost:             17

***I still need some more ideas for inexpensive rewards!***

Goal 1: 270 Reached 6-17-2011 Reward: New Swimsuit Top

Goal 2: 255 New Book.(Maybe I will take the time to enjoy it too?)
Goal 3: 250 New Outfit (Donated by my awesome In-Laws.)

Goal 4: 240 Workout Outfit

Goal 5: 225 Mani & Pedi (Again donated by my super awesome In-Laws!)

Goal 6: 210

Goal 7: 195 Shorts? (I haven't worn shorts since I was 10)(Even if it's winter, I want them!)

Goal 8: 180

Goal 9: 165

Goal 10: 150 Clothes!!!

On the Cheap...

So, as you all know, I love couponing. I love to save money. This whole eating healthy thing could be crazy expensive. Since this is now my new way of life, I need to find ways to fit it into my budget.

Here are a few tips for eating healthy on a budget...

• Shop the front page of your store's circular. They are the best deals, to get you into the store. The produce and meat's are going to be priced really well.
• Stock up when they are on sale. When meat is on a good sale buy extra and freeze it. A lot of produce is really good to freeze as well. Buy extra and freeze it as well.
• Frozen fruit and vegetables. They are great. They go on sale often, lots of times for free. My freezer is full of veggies, since they are so much better for you than canned, and often I don't want to take the time to make fresh.
• Make a "Buy Price" list. You need to know the rock bottom prices for the things you buy. Whether you write it down, or just keep track of it in your head, it's very important. I know that I can get Boneless Skinless Chicken breast for $1.79/lb, so why would I pay $4.99/lb. 
• Split Chicken Breasts are a good alternative to Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast. You can usually get them for $.99/lb, and it's really easy to cut the skin and bone off. It ends up being cheaper in the end, even though the bone and skin gets thrown away in the end.
• Skip the pre-cut, ready to eat produce. It's convenient, but costly. I find it is usually at least double the cost of doing it myself. I buy produce a lot at a time. When I come home I set aside the time to take care of it all right away, and keep it all in containers in the fridge. It is easier to grab an apple or strawberries if it's ready for me, than to worry about how many chips or cookies I eat.
• Buy local. Farmer's Markets are a great place to go. The less "middle-men" stuff has to go through the less added cost there is. Plus, they are fresher, and support your community!
• Write companies for coupons, tell them how much you love their product. While it is harder to find coupons for produce and meats, they do exist.

Hope this helps!!!

Weigh In Three...

This was a very hard week for me. I was emotional, to say the least. A terrible week at work, combined with missing my kid, means emotional eating. I am working on learning to handle my emotions better, but I had a setback this week. (There might me more rants on here or FB!!!) I am stressed about all the things I need to do before my parents get here in 11 days. 

I think/hope I might start adding workouts into my day this week. We have a fitness center in our apartment complex, I have never been there, but it should at least be enough to get me moving. I have 20 workout dvd's, a pool across from us, and almost every Wii workout game. I really have no excuse not to workout. I just don't feel like it. It's time to change that. This next week and a half will be really busy, but I am hoping to fit in time to work out anyway.

Starting Weight:   285

Last Week:          274

Current:               272

Weight Lost:            2

Total Lost:             13

***I still need some more ideas for inexpensive rewards!***

Goal 1: 270 Reward: New Swimsuit Top

Goal 2: 255 New Book.(Maybe I will take the time to enjoy it too?)

Goal 3: 240

Goal 4: 225

Goal 5: 210

Goal 6: 195

Goal 7: 180

Goal 8: 165

Goal 9: 150 Clothes!!!

Weigh In Two...

This has been a rough week. I am sick,(swimmers ear), which makes me not want to eat, since it hurts to chew. Lots of Eli troubles, no naps=cranky kid. I did ok on my water intake, but not as well as I had hoped. Still working on that. I was planning on swimming with Eli alot, but I am not allowed to swim until my ear is better. I ate out this week, which is really hard for me, I don't make the best choices when I am out to eat, since it is such a rarity around here. Also since I shared with Eli I chose to get one side item for him, and one for me. Rolls and peanuts didn't help, and dessert was included. OOPS!!! Oh well back to the plan ! I have lots of fruit in my fridge, but the veggies are running low. I am hving a really hard time with finding vegetables that I can eat without a lot of adding to them. I still really don't like vegetables. Anyone have any ideas?

I am up 1 lb for the week, I kind of expected to not lose much, if anything since I had such a big loss last week. I am also not expecting much this week, due to a visit from Aunt Flow. If I can stay the same this week I will be happy.

Starting Weight:   285
Last Week:          273
Current:               274
Weight Lost:           -1
Total Lost:             11

Goal 1: 270 Reward: New Swimsuit Top
Goal 2: 255
Goal 3: 240
Goal 4: 225
Goal 5: 210
Goal 6: 195
Goal 7: 180
Goal 8: 165
Goal 9: 150

Milestones:

1. On Memorial Day I SKIPPED cake. ME. I skipped CAKE. I ate pineapple instead.
2. Water. I am drowning. SO MUCH WATER.

Focus this week:

• I don't know, I am miserable right now. TOM is kicking my booty right now. It is hard enough to stick to the plan, let alone add something else. I REALLY WANT FRENCH FRIES AND CHOCOLATE RIGHT NOW!!! 

Weigh In One...

This is the end of week one. This week was all about changing the foods I was eating. I replaced snack foods with fruit or veggies. I cut down on my carb intake, and replaced it with, you guessed it, even more veggies. Did I mention that I HATE veggies!!! I know, I know, I am like a 5 year old.

This is the beginning of week two. This next week will be all about drinking more water. I need to drink a minimum of 4-5 bottles of water a day. Currently I am only drinking 1-2. Let me tell you that I also HATE water. Again 5 year old, I hear you. I have gone from lots of sodas, to no more than one a day, if that. I will not be giving up coffee. No way, Jose. Coffee makes me happy, it makes my mornings go smoothly, it makes me much more tolerant of the upcoming day.

Here are the stats:

Starting Weight:    285
Current Weight:    273
Weight Lost:          12!!!!
Total Lost:             12
1st Goal:              270

I am breaking my weight loss goals into 15 lb increments. 15 lbs is a lot easier to swallow than 135 lbs.
I am also giving myself rewards for each goal. NON food rewards. Since rewarding myself with food defeats the purpose. Since money is fairly tight, they will also need to be reasonably priced. Any one have ideas for me? Please help me fill up my reward list!!!

Goal 1:  270 Reward: New Swimsuit Top!
Goal 2:  255 Reward:
Goal 3:  240 Reward:
Goal 4:  225 Reward:
Goal 5:  210 Reward:
Goal 6:  195 Reward:
Goal 7:  180 Reward:
Goal 8:  165 Reward:
Goal 9:  150 Reward: New wardrobe!!!

Obsession...

So for those of you who know me, you know that I am a little bit obsessive. Well I am more than a little obsessive when it comes to the scale. I weigh myself at least once a day. I have been known to weigh myself several times throughout the day. It is unhealthy. I know, I know. I can't stop. (OK, stop shaking your head at me.)

I am turning a new leaf. I am committing to y'all(yes, I said y'all, I live in the south now, you have to fit in) that I am going to cut back. I am going to try to get my addiction under control. I am going to weigh myself no more than 1(one) time every other day. Except of course I will have to weigh myself on Monday. (Weigh in day) And if I have a really good day, I should probably weigh myself the next morning, right? And maybe if I have a bad day, just so I know how bad it really was. And... Okay, every other day. And Monday. (Tomorrow is Monday, by the way!)