Saturday, February 26, 2011

Well, my experiment was a total flop. I ended up gaining a pound. A friend told me the plan to eat when you are hungry and stop when full makes sense when you are maintaining, but to lose you need to diet. I guess she's right although I hate to admit it.

I've known for a while that I am addicted to carbs. I crave sweet things. I don't really "binge" but when I overindulge, it's with sweets. And by overindulge, I will eat 3 or 4 pieces of candy instead of one or two. I'm not one to sit down and eat a whole box of anything. I eat when I'm bored and I overeat when I let myself get too hungry.

I'm saying all of this because on Monday (famous last words) I'm going to start the South Beach diet. I've done it before, a few years ago. I re-read the introduction and it sounds like the diet for me. Here is what it says for Phase 1:

"Phase 1 is for people who have a substantial amount of weight to lose or who experience significant cravings for sugar and refined starches. During this phase, you'll jump start your weight loss and stabilize your blood sugar levels to minimize cravings by eating a diet rich in healthy lean protein (fish, chicken and lean cuts of beef), vegetables, nuts, reduced fat cheese, eggs, low fat dairy, and good unsaturated fats, such as extra virgin olive oil. You'll enjoy three satisfying meals a day, plus at least 2 snacks, and you'll even be able to have some desserts. What you won't be eating are starches (bread, pasta, and rice) or sugar (including fruit and fruit juices). While this may be hard at first, remember that in just 2 weeks you'll be adding many of these foods back into your life. Exercise during all phases is important to your overall health and will improve your results."

This sounds like exactly the type of plan I need. I'm a sugar addict and I need to break my addiction. Especially since I have such a high risk of diabetes in the future, if I don't have it already.


Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Something very strange is happening. Last week I stopped keeping track of my food. It began innocently enough. I had no time and I wasn't doing it on purpose. One day turned into two and two into three. You know how that goes. Then on Thursday I weighed myself and was at my lowest weight yet (since the baby was born.) I was shocked. Just watching what I ate and not stressing about it was working. I was ecstatic and surprised. Since then I have stopped keeping track. I'm not obsessing about everything I'm putting in my mouth. I am making good choices and stopping when I'm full.

Yesterday and today have been a little challenging because I feel hungrier for some reason. I'm snacking a little bit more and feel hungrier. I made ribs over the weekend and know that I had to have gained so I've decided to wait until Thursday to weigh myself again. I'm going to see if this is still working or if that was a fluke. I would really love to report that it's working and I'm going to stop thinking about everything I eat constantly. I'm just getting tired of worrying about it. I can't see living the rest of my life like this. I have to learn to control how much I eat and try to eat healthy most of the time. That's the bottom line.

Another thing I need to report is I exercised yesterday! I tried the Zumba for the Wii and I played some Just Dance 2. I HATE dancing. I hate dancing because I am not good at it. However, in the privacy of my own home and with nobody watching, it's FUN! Especially when I can dance to songs I know. The Zumba was hard. It was work. I don't think it's as fun as everyone says it is, but it beats a "regular" work out. It's something different which is always good I think. It's not something I'll do on a daily basis, but I know I worked hard for those 20 mins I did the intermediate work out. I will continue to do it.

I will report back on Thursday to say if my new "plan" is working. I really hope it does.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

I am really doing well on my calorie counting diet. I've lost 7 pounds so far since Jan 1. I wish it were more, but it is what it is.

I just keep thinking about how easy it is to count calories. I don't have to pull out a calculator and figure out if I can eat something. For the most part, most of the things I eat have the calorie count on the package or I can easily figure it out.

I may have found my solution for exercise. My friend was over the other day and she brought her Just Dance 2 game for the Wii. We put it in and played and it was really a good work out and it was FUN. I honestly have never thought working out would be so much fun, but it really was. As far as the baby goes, she sat in her chair and just watched us and thought it was the funniest thing. Today I ordered Just Dance 2 and Zumba for my Wii. Between the 2 of those I should be good to go. I'm really excited to get them and start working. I should also say, I am not a dancer. I don't like to dance in front of people. However, this is just so much fun! All of the "exercise" games I have don't really excite me.

I'm certainly not where I thought I'd be going into February, but I'm doing ok. My goal is to start my gym membership in March. Flu season should be pretty much over by then and the rust of new people starting Jan 1 will have thinned out. I just have to get through this month working out at home.

This week is going to be a challenge. My daughter turns 5 on Wednesday and we will have 2 separate cakes. On her actual birthday I am getting a Cinderella cake. The top part is an actual doll and the dress is the cake. I was really happy to find out that it only feeds 4 so I won't have cake hanging around the whole week. Then next Sunday we are having a party for her at a local bowling alley. For that party I ordered a cake that actually looks like a castle. 2 days of cake will not be good for my diet. I guess I need to cut back on the other days so I won't do as much damage. My goal for this week should be maintenance.

I have been really good with tracking my calories on my phone. I input everything I eat and usually stay around 1700 calories a day. Sparkpeople says I can eat 1900-2000, but I don't ever eat that much.

I just wanted to check in and report that I'm doing well. I don't have anything exciting to report unfortunately. Have a good week!