Showing posts with label holidays and special occasions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays and special occasions. Show all posts

Monday, March 5, 2012

Weekends....

Weekends are hard for me when I'm dieting.  See, I'm single.  So I date a little.  Which means....restaurants. 

I very seldom eat at restaurants in any case... I like my own cooking.  But, it's so hard to resist all those extras when someone else is cooking!  However, I stuck to grilled chicken breast, salads with dressing on the side, vegetables, and steaks. 

This weekend, I am up about a pound and a half.  Not too bad, really, and I'm satisfied that I can get right back on track and start releasing again. 

Stats: 165.8, down 4.2 overall.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Dealing with Cravings

I thought the first three days would be the hardest, but I would kill someone for a piece of cake.  Or a box of Nilla wafers.  I hope this eases up!

We had a Blue and Gold Banquet for Cub Scouts last night, and some sick person brought a chocolate cake.  With chocolate icing.  I adore chocolate.  My ex came since our Jared was receiving awards (the religious square knot and his 5th Arrow Point on the Wolf Trail) and kept offering that cake to me.

Or a hamburger.  With french fries. And fry sauce.  Or onion rings. 

Oh, well, I will hold strong.  I'm drinking lots and lots of water, some with Crystal Light, so I don't feel hungry.  I'm really not hungry, I just want to eat.  Since I can recognize the difference, I can tap on it and hold strong through it.  Sometimes it's just a matter of staying busy.  Sometimes it's a matter of just looking at the photo I have of when I was thin, and knowing that I just have 35 more days to go, and then I'll be at my goal weight. 

The thing to remember is that this is all worth it....

So: Lots of water, green tea, coffee, diet soda (or whatever other liquids work for you), and hold out just a little longer.  Reach out for support.  Hang in there.  Sometimes just getting busy for 15 minutes at a time will help.  EFT helps.

Stats: Weight this morning, 165.4, down 4.6 pounds in 4 days from start weight of 170.0.  Consistent loss of a pound a day.  GOAL: 135.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Results from Day 1, how Day 2 is going

I began loading at a weight of 170.0.  After load, my weight was 172.4.  This morning, my weight was 167.4!  That's down 5 pounds from yesterdays, weight, and 2.6 pounds from my start weight. 

THIS is why I love this diet plan so much.  The hunger isn't too bad, and the results are outstanding - and immediate!

I'm preparing my lunch right now.  Salad with Waldon Farms dressing, grilled chicken, apple dusted with a bit of cinnamon.  Dinner will be the same, but with asparagus instead of salad.

Incidentally, for the "You'll gain it back" crowd, I began this in 2010 at a high weight of 189.  I have kept most of the weight off for 2 years.   Once this weight comes off it is staying off for good.  Part of the program is to weigh daily, so you can adjust your food intake, which I did.  Most of the time when the weight is re-gained, it is because the habit of weighing in is lost.  You can't manage what you don't measure!

Tips and tricks:
Weigh every day, whether you're on protocol or not. Then you can adjust your regimen if the weight begins to creep back on.

Waldon Farms dressing has no carbs, no fat, no sugar, no gluten, no calories.  If you can't stand to skip dressing, try it and see if it stalls you.

If you don't like/can't find Waldon Farms, try putting your salad dressing on the side.  Dip the fork into it before taking a bite of salad, you get just a bit of the salad dressing taste without the calories.

Have a mint if you are craving foods.  Even water tastes nasty after a mint.

Water, water, water!  Dr Simeon recommends a high fluid intake.  Pure water is best, but Crystal Lite, or lemon in your water, green tea, herbal teas, or black coffee will do as well.  I drink Diet Coke throughout, with lots of water, and that helps with the hunger.  The carbonation helps me feel fuller as well.

The first 3 days are the hardest.  HCG doesn't do much for hunger for me, it helps release the fat in the body.  The first 3 days, the stomach is getting accustomed to the reduced food intake.  After that, you'll be used to it and it will become easier.  My first round, I almost didn't want to quit because I was used to it!

If you're going to an event, plan in advance (if you can) how you will handle food.  For example, my son's Blue and Gold Banquet for Cub Scouts is tomorrow.  I'd forgotten it when I began the protocol.  We're having tacos.  So I will enjoy the seasoned ground beef with lots of shredded lettuce.  Voila!  Taco salad!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Getting back to workouts....

I injured my shoulder about 6 weeks ago.  After 3 weeks of trying to work through/around it, I finally had to let it rest.  It was bad enough that working was agony - and I work at the computer!

It's starting to get better, so I decided to start running again.  I do interval runs only, 5 minutes of warm up walking, then 6 rounds of running for one minute, walking for 2.  Then a 5 minute cool down.

Interval running burns more fat than "steady state" cardio does, and gets you into shape faster. I don't know if it's desirable to do the hard, hard, intense workouts - I know trainers who promote them, but I believe I can reach my goals with a much gentler approach.  What good does it do me to work out hard if I keep hurting myself?

My plan is to maintain my nutrition, plenty of vegetables and fruit, lean protein,  a gallon of water a day, and stay off the Diet Coke.  I'm using this weekend to start easing myself into it.  Then I'll do the "hard core" dieting during Lent, appropriately enough.  :)  Actually, 40 days ought to be enough time to take the bulk of the weight off and get used to a new eating plan.  I will also do the interval runs every day except Sunday.  I may run tomorrow anyway to establish the habit.  (There is a major winter storm supposed to be coming in tonight, so the weather will be a factor in running tomorrow.)

So, anyway, I just finished my run, and it was very difficult this time.  I was winded - I hadn't been winded during an interval run in ages.  The lack of exercise has been showing up in a tighter (almost uncomfortable) fit to my jeans, not just on the scales.  But since I know what to do, I'll keep up the hard work and know it will come back off.  Then it will be a matter of working off the rest of the extra weight....

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Dealing with Special Occasions

Today is my youngest child's birthday.  He's 8.  Guess what that means, dieters?

Cake and ice cream.

(Dun, dun, DUNNNN!  Cure horror music.)


Let's face it.  food is at the center of most of our social occasions and holidays.  We really can't get away from it.  No one wants to hide in the closet.  We all want to have a social life!   How do you stick to your diet or P2 protocol when you're celebrating? 

Well, since I'm in charge of food, the first thing I'm going to do is make sure there are foods there I can eat.  Sliced apples, strawberries, celery sticks, grilled meat or a salad.  If you're attending a function where you're not in charge of food, ask if you can bring something.  Your host will appreciate it. 

At a restaurant, tell the server you're on a special diet, and they'll bend over backward to help you.  I had servers at Texas RoadHouse bring me an extra salad since I couldn't have any of the other sides on the menu - once I said "I'm doing HCG" the girl perked right up and told me she would take good care of me.  And she did, too! 

If you can, eat before the party so the tempting foods aren't so tempting.  Fill up on lots of water.

And, most importantly, if you do have a slice of cake, forgive yourself and move on.  It's not an occasion to eat the whole cake and all the leftovers.  Just accept the stall, and keep moving forward.  Really, it's not the end of the world.

You can stick to it with a little preparation!