I Love Popcorn

I feel like I have been eating better.

I feel like I have been exercising more.

But apparently the scale thinks differently.

196.0 today. Seriously? I was just 193.0 on Monday. 3 pounds MORE?

I have been drinking a lot more water the past few days. But I'm not blaming this on water weight. I'm also not saying that I'm just building up muscle.

I AM NOT GOING OVER 200 POUNDS AGAIN!

I refuse.

Do you ever walk into stores like Target and Wal-Mart and see your reflection in the doors? They are like mirrors - I always look at myself and all I see is my big thighs and frumpiness. And then I don't want to shop anymore. (Maybe that's a good thing, huh?!)

And all I want is some cake right now. Might as well, right? (Side note: One time I wrote "might as well" like "misewell". That's how I always thought it was pronounced and spelled! People mush the words together when they say it out loud! I just remember I got points off on my paper. It may have even been in high school...) Anyway, if I'm going to gain I should just enjoy it and have some more chocolate. (PS There are no more chocolate chips in my cupboard. I haven't even replaced them!)

AND when I really wanted to make brownies on Sunday, I held strong and ate a yogurt instead. And went for a long walk around the temple. It's not like I slept all day and did nothing but veg on the couch.

Ok, enough venting. I'm seeing Harry Potter today with some girlfriends at the dollar theater. And I'm bringing some of my OWN popcorn in my purse (in a separate bag of course, haha). Because: 1, because movie theater popcorn is so dang expensive, and 2, the medium popcorn had 720 calories and the large had 960. Without the butter. I read that "the healthiest snack to buy at the movies is no snack at all." So that's the plan. I say that now, but once I step into the theater, the real test begins.

So right now I'm eating a bunch of frozen (now melted) berries at work. And all I want is some sugar or splenda or crisp topping to go with them.

Return and Report

Emma is going to be my "coach" again. I'm not sure if she knows it yet, but she is.

We talked for a long time the other night about a lot of stuff, and weight was one of the topics. I'm grateful to have a sister close by. Everyone needs a sister or two. (It helps if they have some cute kids, too!)

Her goal for me is to be 190.0 by the end of February. My personal goal is 188.0.

So at the end of each week I'll be reporting to Emma.

So that means I need to get off of my bottom and stop watching Prison Break for 3 hours straight. It's so addicting! Seriously, good thing I don't have cable. I haven't seen Jon since Sunday (except for 20 minutes on Tuesday) probably because Prison Break takes up all of my time and I can't wait to go home and start it up again! Who needs face-to-face time with real people when you have genius Michael Scofield covered in tattoos trying to break people out of prison?!

Neanderthals

Yesterday I was 195.2.


Today I was 193.0


Up and down. No more ups, just downs from here on out. (How many times have I said that?



I still need to take my February pictures. Unfortunately, there won't be much change.

Yesterday I only ate when I was hungry. If I could drop two pound every time that happens, I'd be all set. But it was very motivating to see the lower number this morning. Even if it was just a few pounds.

There is another lady at work, Shellie, who has been on the "Paleolithic Diet" since mid December. She is already down 35 pounds! Good for her. I talked to her about the diet and she was pretty excited to share it with me. When something works well for a person, I think they are always excited to talk about it.

Anyway, Paleo Diet pretty much sums up to this: Eat what our forefathers ate. (More like what Neanderthals ate during the Stone Age, haha.) So, nothing processed. No canned soups or vegetables, no puddings or frozen dinners, no pastas or dairy, etc. Sticking to lots of protein (chicken, fish, pork, steak, beef, etc) and vegetables, some fruit, nuts, etc.

Here is a sample of what the website says to eat: you can find it here also and see what different foods he has for different weeks: http://robbwolf.com/book-resources/

PROTEINS
2-3 dozen eggs
2-3 pounds skinless chicken
breast
1 lb wild-caught salmon
1 rotisserie chicken
3 lb pork loin
6 oz sliced ham
2 lb ground beef or turkey
2-3 lb deli turkey
1 lb beef tip steak
1 package nitrate free sausages
10 oz shrimp
1 lb ground lamb
1 lb halibut or other white sh
PRODUCE
berries
bag of onions
several bell peppers
red leaf lettuce
several tomatoes
avocado
bag of apples
1 lb green beans
a few oranges
zucchini
cauliflower
a few bags of mixed greens
1 spaghetti squash
1-2 lbs broccoli
bag of carrot sticks
quart of strawberries
1 small head cabbage
several lemons
1 head garlic
1 bunch asparagus
1 bag frozen berry mix
1 bag broccoli slaw
1 sweet potato
NUTS & SEEDS
almonds
pecans
walnuts
macadamia nuts
SPICES & HERBS
cumin
oregano
rosemary
sea salt
pepper
thyme
basil
cinnamon
mustard seeds
turmeric
PANTRY ITEMS
olive oil
coconut oil
jerky
salsa
balsamic vinegar
1 can tomato sauce
1 jar marinara sauce
1 can tuna
toasted sesame oil
tamari (wheat-free soy sauce)
dijon mustard

So it kind of sounds like what Terri and I were doing - no sugars and no carbs. Yesterday at the grocery store, I bought: frozen berries, pork loin, chicken breast, tomatoes, salad, carrots, sugarless candy, dried mangoes (I bet that's not allowed, ha), apples and granola (I know granola isn't allowed either, but I found a really good crock pot recipe for apples and granola. How unhealthy can it be? There is no sugar added!)

The Paleo Diet expert (Rob) says to clean out your cupboards and fridge, but I'm not going to waste all of that food and money. So my goal is to eat up my canned soups and beans and yogurts and string cheese and so on before I really start.

So for breakfast I had eggs and turkey bacon. Mmm mmm good.

Anyway, I have chicken marinating in the fridge right now... It's going along with a pile of vegetables/salad tonight!

2 Days Down, 12 To Go!

Yesterday I weighed 194.2. This morning I weighed 192.8. Something must be working with this diet! (Then again, my weight always fluctuates within 2 pounds or so...)

So anyway, I've only been doing this for two days. So far, so good. It's hard not to just eat whatever is in the cupboards. I poured my niece Marian some cereal yesterday and it was hard to not take a handful of dry cereal! I had to stop myself. Mindless eating, you know...

I hope my conscious decisions of what to eat won't end right on Valentine's Day. I want it to become more of a habit than just a 2-week challenge.

Breakfast: Chocolate Slimfast Shake - Total: 190 calories (I used to think these were nasty, but either the aftertaste is better or my taste buds have changed! I like it now!)

Snacks (throughout day): Banana - 100 calories. String cheese - 100 calories. Yogurt - 100 calories. Sugarless chocolates: 100 calories Total: 400 calories

Lunch: Leftover Salsa Chicken with rice and peas: 400 calories

Dinner: One tortilla (not supposed to have that...) with chicken, rice, black beans, salsa, cheese, lettuce, sour cream, and Bajio dressing. I have no idea how many calories this is. I know the tortilla was 140. Can I say 600 then? I will for now, anyway. 600 calories (I just realized that dinner is probably why my heart hurts this morning, AKA I have heartburn).

Total Calories: 1590, so round up to 1600 calories.

I only had about 50 ounces of water. Dang it's hard to drink that much! I have to go to the bathroom a ton more now! I can't leave the front desk without someone covering the phone for me, so I feel bad because almost every hour at work yesterday I had to go! But seriously, everyone needs to leave their desk once in a while. It's too hard to sit there ALL day.

I don't really have a goal of how many calories to eat every day, but I try between 1200-1600. I had more calories than I planned, but I worked out extra long last night and burned 550 calories and 92 carbs on the elliptical!

Soon I'll be like this:

Never mind, I take that back. I don't want to be anything like this.

Pour Some Splenda On Me

It's been a month. I'm at 194. But for some reason I'm ok with it. Because this month will be different. I can feel it.

So Terri at work and I started our "diet" yesterday. We're buddies and we have to report to each other every day - what we ate, and how much water we drank.

Yesterday I had:

Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs - 140 calories

Snack: Small orange - 50 calories

Lunch: Large chili from Wendy's (next time I'll get a small) - 330 calories, and side garden salad (no croutons and little dressing) - 60 calories. Total: 390

Dinner: Salsa Chicken (chicken breast with diced tomatoes, apricot preserves, and taco season - all low sodium/no sugar added) - 235 calories (it may be less since I used the 'healthier' ingredients, but whatever.) White rice 3/4 cup - about 200 calories. About 3/4 cup green peas - 100 calories. Total 535 calories

Dessert: Sugarless chocolate ice cream bar - 35 calories

Extra 50 calories for a sugarless caramel chocolate pecan chew candy yumminess:

Breakfast: 140

Snack: 50

Lunch: 390

Dinner: 535

Dessert: 35

Candy: 50

Total Calories: 1200

Terri and I aren't supposed to have starches - like the white rice I ate - so today I'm going to try to be even better. I'm trying to be more aware of what I put in my mouth.

I drank about 70 ounces of water yesterday, which is pretty good for me. The goal is at least 80, so I'm trying to build up to that. I need to get back to exercising every day. Elliptical and videos. I think I'm making it harder than it should be - it really isn't that hard to get dressed, put on some sneakers, and just do it. I've decided that night time may be the best time, though. 5 AM is just not working out too well. I have no energy that early.

This morning I was 194.2. My goal weight by the end of February is a solid 188 (of course I'll take less, too.)

1 month pictures will be posted tomorrow. Unfortunately there won't be much change. It's ok. I can't let it get me down and I won't get stuck in a rut or get too depressed...