Long Weekend

This past weekend was great!  I got to rest a little bit, got some stuff done around the house, got all my errands ran, visited my Grandmother, visited with my Mother-in-Law and got to go on a date with my Husband.  For our Sunday night date we went to a local restaurant named Bentley’s.  We had a great dinner and wonderful service. I highly recommend this place if you are a local and want a great dinner at a fair price in a low key and relaxing environment.  Below is a picture of the yummy demi glazed sirlion I enjoyed.

After dinner we went to the movies together for the first time in over two years.  We saw This Means War.  Very cute movie – I really like Reese Witherspoon and the two leading men were adorable.  Chris Pine is just pure handsome and Tom Hardy has a wonderful accent to go with his rugged good looks. 

Diet wise, I stayed pretty close to on track.  I did have some wine on Sunday night with dinner and last night with dinner, but otherwise I watched my carb intake very closely as well as my calorie intake.  I definitely did not go out of control like I have been doing on the weekends and I am proud of this accomplishment.  Yeah for staying in control!

I had planned to start my 30 Day Shred challenge yesterday morning, but I was just still so tired from our late evening on Sunday night that I just could not drag myself out bed on the holiday.   So I started my challenge today instead.  I was out of bed this morning at 5:30 and working out by 5:50.  It took me a little while to get ready to workout since I had to find all my gear in the dark.  I will definitely lay all my stuff out tonight so that I can be ready in a couple of minutes instead of stumbling around in the dark.  So I popped Jillian’s 30 Day Shred DVD into the DVD player and was ready to rock.  Yeah, time for jumping jacks.  I forgot that a quarter of the workout is freaking jumping jacks!  My knees are screaming at me and my shoulders hurt.  I also discovered that my last pregnancy killed my lower abs.  I used to be able to do reverse crunches, not anymore.  I don’t think there is a muscle left in my lower abs at all! I know today was only day 1 and that by day 30 I will feel better, but ouch, today was hard!!  I will be adding a page to this blog with some before and after pictures and my measurements for this challenge.  Check back soon.

Now time for my Beck Diet Solution thoughts.

Day 11 – Differentiate Between Hunger, Desire and Cravings

On this topic I had to stop and think about how my body feels when I think I am hungry.  The main goal is to shut off the desire and craving urges so that I don’t continue to overeat.  The exercise was to document my level of hunger on a scale of 1 to 10 when sitting down to eat a meal.  I practiced this on Saturday night when we ate dinner at Applebee’s.  I ordered the Roasted Garlic Sirloin off the under 550 calorie menu and subbed the potatoes with steamed veggies.  When dinner started I was hungry at 8.  Midway through I had moved down to a 4 and when I finished dinner I was at a 1.  I ate slowly and enjoyed each bite, giving my brain time to catch up with my stomach.  I continued to practice this all weekend and I am happy to be learning the difference between needing to eat and wanting to eat. 

Day 12 – Practice Hunger Tolerance

This topic was all about skipping a meal and learning to deal with the hunger pains associated with skipping that meal.  I actually did this last week and my hunger pains never got about a 6 on my hunger scale and when I got home that evening I was able to sit down and have a reasonable dinner with out over eating.  I know I can go without eating.  It won’t kill me.  I’ve also learned that quite often I am actually thirsty and not really hungry, so drinking a glass of water will suppress the hunger pains quite well.

Day 13 – Overcome Cravings

This topic was identifying what a craving is and how to handle it.  Of course I already know what a craving is and I do have some pretty intense ones for carbie foods, like cake, bread, donuts and potatoes.  So this is a key topic for me in learning to overcome them. 

First, I learned 5 mindset techniques to deal with the craving.

            1. Label it – admit and acknowledge that I am craving this food and that I am not actually hungry and will not die if I don’t eat it.

            2.  Stand firm – tell myself that I will not give in and eat the said food. 

            3.  Don’t give yourself a choice - I WILL NOT! Nothing tastes as good as thin will feel!

            4.  Imagine the aftermath of giving in – Stop and think about if I did give in.  Yes, the food would probably taste great, but I would feel horrible because I gave in again and keep defeating myself in my journey to lose weight.

            5.  Remind myself why I want to learn to withstand cravings – I have to read my advantage response cards and remind myself why I what to lose weight.

Second, I learned 4 behavioral techniques to deal with the craving.

            1.  Distance yourself from the food you crave – Step away from the cupcake!!

            2.  Drink a no or low calorie beverage – I drink a glass of water or a cup of tea and this usually helps suppress the craving.

            3.  Relax – stopping for 3 minutes and doing some relaxation exercises can help to take the mind off the craving and make me feel more in control of my cravings.  I know that they are usually brought on by stress, so learning to relax and deal with the cause of the stress instead of feeding it is definitely my new plan of action.

            4.  Distract myself – go for a walk, watch TV, read, knit, chat with a friend, etc.  Do anything but sit there and think about eating the food I am craving.  If I do something else, I will forget the craving and move on.

Day 14 – Plan for Tomorrow

This topic was all about planning for today (the official start of my diet according to the book).  I had to stop and plan for my meals and write it down.  I have already done this since I have been following South Beach for the past week.  I am prepared for tomorrow.

Have a great day everyone!! Please share your comments and thoughts. J

QOD - What did you do over the long weekend?

Catch Up

It is has been a busy week and so here I am catching up for the past three days.

Tuesday – Valentine’s Day

Had a nice day.  We have not really celebrated it because both my hunny and I work and it is hard to doing something together on a weekday.  Maybe we will do something this weekend (may just the two of us too since my MIL will be in town and might be willing to watch the kiddos).  I did make dinner and it was quite yummy.  I made chicken marsala with garlic sautéed broccoli and sautéed squash with peppers and onions.  The chicken was very tasty (I don’t really like chicken so this was great for me find something I like) and the broccoli and squash were also a huge hit.  My son could have eaten the whole bowl of broccoli on his own.  The entire meal was low carb and was within phase 1 of South Beach.  Woohoo for staying in plan!

BDS Day 7 – Change Your Environment

This topic was about changing your environment to better prepare for dieting and losing weight. The first step is to remove temptations.  For me this is out of sight out of mind.  Since I have kids it is hard for me to get rid of all the goodies so the key for me is to put them in the pantry so they don’t tempt me.  If I don’t see the cookies I don’t want the cookies!  The second step was to consider other people at home and work.  My family is well aware of my goals and they are on board so I don’t have to be too strict about what we are eating or what they are eating in front of me. I am also exercising some amazing self-control so changing my environment has been pretty easy to do.  I was able to walk past three large plates of homemade cookies at my office without eating any of them.  They were on the table for two days before they were all gone.  I am quite proud of this accomplishment!

Wednesday – Weigh in day – Official Weigh-in – 236.5!!

Wednesday was a typical rush out the door, get the kids to school, work, run errands, work some more, get kids home from school kind of day.  During the evening I had to prepare the kids picture outfits for today since they were both taking school pictures this morning. 

For dinner I made a fabulous Curried Beef Stir-fry.  OMG it was good and low carb and phase 1 of SB!!

I’m going to try and be a little more adventurous with my seasonings and expand my palate and not my waist.  Also, since I am eating more meat, I have to make it tasty since I am not a big meat eater to begin with.  Giving up the rice and other starchy carbs I’ve used to fill my plate in the past is definitely a change for the better and I am going to embrace this new low carb lifestyle to the best of my ability.  Especially since I am already seeing some really positive movement on the scale! Monday morning I was back up to 241.8 after a weekend of binging on carbs and today I was at 236.5 that translates to a 5.3lb loss in three days.  I know some of it is water weight and it will taper off, but right now it is super encouraging!

BDS Day 8 – Scheduling

This topic is all about scheduling time to diet.  Making time to prepare foods, eat slowly, shop for proper foods, and exercise.  I was required to write out my schedule to make this diet happen.  Below is my proposed weekday schedule (I am going to put it into effect starting next Monday.)

Today

This morning was another rushed morning.  I am having a lot of pain in my right hip at night when trying to sleep (I think it might be bursitis L, so I am going to start a regime of some anti-inflammatories, icing and stretching to see if I can get it feeling better), so I am not sleeping well which is resulting in me oversleeping.  Not good when trying to get three people ready in the morning.  Today the kids had their first official school pictures and I had to get them both adorable for them.  It is crazy, but  my 3 month old had her first school picture taken this morning and she was too cute!  She wore a fabulous pink and white polka-dotted dress with a matching flower hair clippie.  My son was looking pretty cute too in his blue and orange striped rugby shirt and khakis! I am excited to see how these pictures come out.  Dinner tonight will just be leftover stir fry, since I will be trying to clean house a little to get ready for company this weekend.

BDS Day 8 – Select an Exercise Plan

Today’s topic was to pick an exercise plan.  I’ve been pondering my plan for exercise for the past couple of weeks and now I have to decide what I want to do and when.  I actually really love to exercise, but my schedule has been preventing me from doing it so I had pretty much stopped.  I know to lose weight I need to get back on track so no more letting my schedule control me.  I will just have to schedule it in (first thing in the morning) and suck up the lost sleep.  Hopefully the benefits from extra energy because of the exercise will help me power through the day. 

So starting Monday, I will be getting up at 5:00 so that I can do Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred.  I am also going to try and start walking a couple of evenings a week since it is finally getting lighter and I can see where I am going with two kids in tow.  I also want to try and do yoga once a week on either Friday evenings or Sunday afternoon at my favorite studio.  Those are the days that they have community donation yoga and the cost is substantially less.

I am also starting to think long term about my goal to do a triathlon this year before my 35^th birthday and if I am going to do this I need to get my bike repaired and start swimming.  I am looking to which triathlon I want to do and possibly joining the local tri club so I can receive some proper training regarding transitioning and pool privileges.  Decisions!

QOD – What is your favorite exercise?

Monday Madness

This morning started off with some chaos, but every morning does when trying to get two kids ready and out the door along with myself.  Things calmed down by the time I got to work and have been pretty smooth sailing since then. 

Diet wise, I did get a little out of control with the carbs this weekend (major amount of popcorn and mini cupcakes).  I was craving it so I gave in.  It wasn’t bad but I am definitely feeling it today – I can’t get enough to drink.  I guess my body is trying to flush all the salt from the popcorn.  I did start South Beach today and so far so good.  I have craved some bread but I am sticking to my guns and I will do this.

Beck Diet Solution Update:

Day 4 – Give Credit! 

I am supposed to give myself credit each time I do something good, i.e. pass over the bread basket, read my AR cards, exercise, eat slowly, etc.  Too often I am quick beat myself up for failing at something and it creates a downward spiral.  This has been particularly true with trying to lose weight.  I start each day out great, then something happens midday and I give in or cheat on my diet and what happens I give up for the day and say to hell with it, I’ll start again tomorrow.  Well starting again tomorrow has not worked for the past 7 years, so it is definitely not going to start now.  I need to give myself credit when I make the right choices and remind myself of that when I am tempted.  If I do give in, then I need to regroup and start again right away – no more waiting till the next day.

Day 5 – Eat Slowly and Mindfully

I must slow down when I eat.  I need to take time to eat a meal, chew slowly and enjoy my food.  If I enjoy it I will feel full longer and sooner and this will help me reach my goals. 

Day 6 – Find a Diet Coach

So I need to find someone who will be the devil and the angel on my shoulder.  Someone who will hold me accountable and will provide encouragement when needed.  Someone who will be there daily if I need it and will definitely hold me to the plan weekly.  I obviously can’t do this on my own, or I would have lost the weight already.  Any takers?

Thankful Thursday

Today I am feeling a little better health wise and I am thankful for that.  I am also thankful for a change that is happening.  I see some happiness coming my way. J  I will go into more details in a day or so.

Now for my daily BDS update:

Day 2 – Pick your diet and backup diet.

Today I had to sit down and think about what kind of diet plan I wanted to follow.  Do I want to do WW or Atkins, South Beach or Dukan, count calories or limit carbs...the list could go on and on.  The only requirement is that it is healthy and it is something I think I can do.  I think I am going to try and follow South Beach.  My back up will be Weight Watchers (counting at home).  I can continue to just limit my calories and log my food, like I have been, however I feel I need a little more structure and I need to kick start this weight loss.  I actually have huge carb dependence issues and I need to break it.  I am hoping South Beach can help me do it.  I will of course continue to track my calories and exercise because as I stated before it all boils down to calories in calories out.

QOD: What is your food vice?