Wednesday Weigh-In: Thursday Edition...........13/365

Today is my day off and I should be getting ready to attend another quilt circle to promote volunteerism for the quilt show, but I'm too distracted.

For some reason I figured today would be a great day to weigh myself.  God knows why.  I'm feeling terribly bloated from something I ate last night, something too salty.  What was it?  Oh right, that chili I made.  Must learn to make chili from scratch to avoid so much salt.  But I digress.  So I figured I would torture myself with a "Wednesday Weigh-In" since I haven't weighed myself in two weeks.  Not sure why I choose certain times to be such a masochist, but such is my life.

Well...

Lost:  Please do not return to owner.

(I know it's a repeat of a past post...so sue me.)

Woo hoo!  Can't wait until I drop this bloated water weight.  Will do Wednesday Weigh-In on Wednesday next week and hopefully have some more good news.

Wednesday Weigh-In: Too Sick to Care Edition........5/365

Still sick.  Thought I was getting better, but actually feel worse.  Today was full of chills and aches.  Tomorrow has to be better.  So hard to work when I feel so miserable.  When I wasn't working today I was sleeping, so of course now I can't sleep at all tonight.  Thursday is my day off, and I intend to at least go for a nice walk no matter how bad I feel.  Must get outside of this house.  Job interview tomorrow too.  Kind of hard to get excited about another transcriptionist position, but maybe this job will be more interesting.  Heh...who am I kidding?

Wednesday Weigh-In: The Sugar Edition

Hi.  My name is Karyn and I'm an addict: 

There really should be a 12-step program for those of us with this sad addiction.  Alas there is not and my drug of choice, according to the article below, unlike any other addictive substance, is hidden in almost everything we consume (well, at least ready-made and fast foods.) 

I'm happy to report that I've been working hard over the last couple of months to restrict my sugar intake every chance I get.  I've also stopped using sugar substitutes because from what I've come to understand they actually encourage hunger and sugar cravings.  I've resorted to eating only fruit when I have that sugar craving, and I've limited my fruit consumption to only once a day.  I've also been watching my carbs and eating mostly cruciferous vegetables that further help with sugar cravings.

Thanks to careful eating and my new work schedule, i.e., working the past 14 days straight, half of the time up and moving around (as opposed to sitting on my ever-expanding behind all day long), I lost the equivalent of a 5 pound bag of sugar!  Yay for me! 

Once again, I'm excited about taking this weight off; I think 2.5 pounds a week is pretty darn good, especially since my exercise has been rather sporadic. 

But now, newly energized with my further weight loss, I'm going to make exercise my priority.  Doesn't hurt that the cool weather has finally arrived.  This Vegas heat actually makes me depressed and not want to go out at all.  I'm looking forward to getting to the park for a walk with my daughter, doing some weight lifting and kick boxing in my garage!  Yippee!

Go Ahead, Snarf That 5-Pound-Bag of Sugar
Published by Alicia at BalancingMotherhood.com

Imagine pouring a 5-pound bag of sugar down your throat … new research shows that this is how much sugar each American man, woman, and child gets each month — and most of it doesn’t come from the sugar bowl.”

– Opening chapter from “The Sugar Solution.”

Now, re-read that statement. Here are the key words:

5-pound bag of sugar

man, woman, and child

each month

Let’s translate for those of you who are shocked right now: Every month you, yes you, eat 5 pounds of sugar.

What is going on here?

Since I have had the pleasure of having gestational diabetes for a second time around I have been noticing even more how hard it is for American’s to not eat sugar. It’s nearly unavoidable.

Sugar is Everywhere You Turn

It’s in that white hamburger bun and in that multi-grain sandwich bread. Unless it’s whole wheat, it’s got more sugar than you think. And, try asking a restaurant if they will serve you a slice of whole wheat bread. Most look at me like I’ve asked to be sent to the moon. Forget about whole grain pasta.

We need to learn more about food and what we are eating. At every meal, we need to think about that 5-pound bag of sugar. What choices can we make to reduce that amount? We need to start learning more about food so that we can prepare more healthful meals for our families and teach our kids how to eat. Make them aware of what they are eating so they will grow up with this information.

MISSING!

Two of these.

Hoping to never find them again.

No reward offered.

Please don't inform me if you find them.

Wednesday Weigh-In: Thursday Edition With a Side of Bacon

I forgot to weigh-in yesterday.  Well, maybe "forgot" isn't the exact definition.  What is that phrase?  Sticking one's head in the sand? 

Try as I might to be good about eating properly this past week I really blew it on Monday when my husband suggested we go out for breakfast after Julia was safely tucked away at school.  I wanted to do steak and eggs at the SouthPoint, even though for the past month I've been strictly eating fruit and drinking juices until my afternoon meal.  I've given up on the protein in the morning that I have sworn by for so many years.  Took me long enough to realize that with my sedentary job, eating heavy in the morning didn't actually help keep my blood sugar balanced all day, but instead made me sluggish and tired.

The husband overruled my idea of good eats nearby when he said we would be going to the Palace Station for buffet.  I did my best pouting about having to go all the way across town for a meal (that was me and my low blood sugar speaking because I was HUNGRY), but my husband promised that the egg bar would make me happy with their delicious made-just-for-you omelets. 

What is it about buffet that makes me want throw away everything I know about losing weight?  I mean, it was only 12 bucks for both of us to eat, but of course I ate as though I had to "get my money's worth."  Well, we recouped the cost and quite a bit more. 

Instead of having the vegetarian omelet with a huge salad, like I had planned, I indulged in the salmon quiche with a nice big helping of hash browns.  The only thing vegetable-wise that sounded good to go with my plate of badness was sliced tomatoes.  You know, a little acidity to cut the grease, right?  Not a sliced tomato to be found, not even at the famous omelet bar (although I didn't know that until I got up to get my SECOND plate of food, i.e., omelet with everything.)  I suppose the cherry tomatoes would have sufficed, but wait....what's that I notice out of the corner of my eye?  Not far away, appearing as an oasis would to some poor schmuck lost in Death Valley, was 20 pounds of perfectly cooked bacon (!) and it was calling my name.  Lord help me.

The best thing about buffet is it's very much like gambling for me.  Gambling not only in the off-chance that I might get sick from over-indulging (which is exactly what happened thanks to my having sugar AND dairy in that wonderful self-serve butter pecan ice cream that was also calling my name), but also so much like gambling because I don't want to do it again for a long time. 

In fact, we threw a few bucks into the machines on our way out.  Husband came up about 50, and I left with an extra 25 in my pocket.  As we were leaving we laughed and both agreed that that's enough of that for another 6 months or so on both counts, buffet and gambling.

So, when I did the dreaded weigh-in today I was pleased to discover that I hadn't gained any weight, but I also hadn't lost any.  I blame it on the bacon causing me to retain water.  Yup, uh huh.  Bacon...it's all your fault.  Rationalization at its best.  Here's the kicker...husband ate as much bacon as I did and lost 5 pounds which puts him at 25 pounds lost in the last three weeks (!)  So not fair, but still...good for him!

Yup, that about sums it up.

The other day I found this:







































It made me LOL.  Onward and downward, and back on my diet.

Wednesday Weigh-In

Considering I've been in such a funk, i.e., eating everything in sight, I am happy to report that I haven't gained a pound.  Although I also haven't lost anything.  At least I maintained while I was busy NOT maintaining.  The last couple of days of vegetables and fruit probably helped to get me back to square one today. 

My goal for this upcoming week is to lose 3 pounds.  I think that's doable.  What doesn't seem to be very doable is getting myself to exercise on a regular basis.  Maybe if I could get my sleep under control, I would have more energy to exercise.  Vicious cycle.  

One thing I've realized is that watching the the Food Network isn't helping anything.  So I've decided if I'm going to waste my time doing such things, then I will roll myself (literally) to the floor and do some stretching and exercising while I'm encouraging my brain to turn to pudding (mmm...pudding.)  Hey, it's a start.