Typical day

I can see the appeal of keeping the photo journal of food. According to My Fitness Pal, my calorie allowance is 1260 per day. That isn't a lot.

Today was a typical Thursday, a bit more laid back than most other days of the week. I don't know why it happens that way, but it usually does.

This morning's breakfast was a protein shake made with almond milk and cinnamon. I love the flavor of the cinnamon. I didn't realize that it had so many health benefits until well after I had started using it.

I actually ate a heavier lunch than usual. I fought a migraine all stinkin' day, and I thought it might have been food-related. It wasn't. I still had the migraine after I ate. The egg white veggie omelet and pumpkin yogurt hit the spot though.

 

My son had a literature discussion group at a coffeehouse this afternoon, so I indulged in a vanilla bean latte. With cinnamon sprinkles on top. This was far more sweet than my usual coffee, so it really felt like an indulgence. It probably was on calorie count too.

We spent two and a half hours at the literature group, and I had to make a Costco run afterward, so I picked up dinner there. I brought it home to eat, obviously, but there was almost no prep work on my part. I diced half a cucumber and a whole Roma tomato, and voila! Done!

The salad mix is a new one for me, some sort of superfood mix with kale. It's a simple bagged salad, but different than the usual fare. I have only recently started eating kale (kale chips, to be specific, so not the most healthy ...), but I've decided I like it. I hope Costco keeps this particular mix. I think I will continue to buy it. I was almost put off by the calorie content (140 calories!), but I realized that it comes with a poppyseed dressing, which I didn't use. As I've shared before, I don't particularly like dressings. I use a tablespoon of olive salad mix instead. It has a great flavor, and it's enough to enhance the salad without overpowering it. That is only 25 calories per serving. ::thumbs up::

No exercise for me today, mostly because of that migraine, which finally left at around 7 pm. I also didn't get my sheets washed, the clean laundry folded, or the Christmas gifts wrapped. I suppose that's what tomorrow is for.

Weighing in

This should have gone up yesterday, but ... whatever. I didn't post for months; one day late is pretty good!

I weighed in at exactly the same as last week. I'm satisfied.

We attended a Christmas party on Saturday, ate out twice on Sunday, and attended a Christmas party (at a Chinese buffet -- OY!) on Monday night. I was fully expecting to have gained a pound.

This week promises to be very busy, although none of the parties we are attending are being held at a restaurant. That helps quite a bit.

In perusing the blog world, I've noticed that several bloggers take photos of their food, daily, at every meal and snack. That is interesting to me, so I did it yesterday, on my weigh in day.

I didn't decide to take the photos until after breakfast, so just imagine a photo of my banana with peanut butter.

Snack was vanilla WhoNu cookies. I can't justify that. Just plain old sweet toothing it.

Lunch was one cup of soup made with the 32 bean mix in the Whole Foods bulk section with a tablespoon of plain Greek yogurt. I've no idea the nutritional value on the soup, but it is probably pretty low in calories. When I made the soup, I added nothing except chicken broth and spices. I love it. The rest of the family, not so much. Stinkers.

We eat out on Wednesday nights because the evening is hectic with our church schedule. My son chose Baker's Square. I had the veggie egg white scrambler (an omelet over potatoes) with marble rye toast. The photo was taken with what I didn't eat because I forgot to take it before I ate! The soda in the photo isn't mine. That belonged to my 5'9" 116-pound son. I wish I had his metabolism.

Wednesday is free pie night, so of course .... I had the chocolate peanut butter pie. Dang sweet tooth! I only ate half though.

Aside from coffee, that's it! The photo-journaling was interesting. When I wanted to get a nibble in the kitchen, I didn't just because I'd have to take a photo. For the moment, I'm going to keep it up.

Happy day to you!

Onward and downward!

::tap tap tap::

Is this thing on? Hello again!

Since my last post I have

• lost 11.8 pounds
• hit a total of 70 pounds lost
• moved out of plus size clothing
• changed my BMI level from "obese" to "overweight"
• joined the Y, although I confess I don't use it regularly
• started attending exercise class at church, which I both love and hate
• shared my story and struggles with some people in my life

I know that many people who use a blog as an accountability stop posting during a setback. I didn't have a setback, and my rate of loss stayed the same, although it sure felt as if it slowed.

A few of those on the list are really huge for me. I've been in plus size clothing my whole life. Definitely my entire adult life. I automatically went to that section in the store because it's all I've ever been able to wear. It was a shock to find that absolutely nothing fit. I cried as I walked to the regular section. I'm sure the workers thought I was a nut, boo-hooing all the way across the store, but that was a huge accomplishment for me, and those were celebratory tears.

Weighing in

This week's weigh in doesn't exactly set me off with a bang if I'm going to get rid of 10 pounds by my September 5 weigh in. But, looking positively, it is a loss!

I'm down .4 pounds this week. Pretty typical for me, actually. I was hoping for a little more, but I guess I'll just have to work harder. And not make brownies the day before a weigh in. ::facepalm::

This past week I did make a point to move more, and more consistently.

I walked a total of 4 miles outside and 7.5 miles on the treadmill.
I boogied to the Just Dance game on the Wii.
I held plank.
I used my resistance bands.
I jumped on the mini-trampoline.

I moved.

This week: I will continue to look for reasons and opportunities to burn calories. Plain and simple.

Onward and downward, my peeps!

Weighin in

Today is the first day of summer, and I've set a goal. I want to get rid of 10 pounds this summer. Last summer I set a much loftier goal. That goal wasn't met, but I worked at it. Really worked. And I lost ... I can't remember ... somewhere around 15 pounds, I think. But considering that I'm a little smaller this year -- and I intend to actually meet the goal -- 10 pounds ought to do.

So here goes ....

Weighing in today, I had higher hopes than the scale reflected. I lost .6 pounds in the past week, and I weighed in at 179 even. But that does give me a nice whole number to begin my summer challenge. :)

I'm finding that I've dropped a lot of the habits that helped me get this far, like logging my exercise. For a while, I was using the Cardio Trainer app, and that really DID work, but it isn't quite enough any more. At the moment, I'll go back to my very first method of writing it on my calendar.

Many people who are on the weight loss journey discuss logging their food, but not the exercise. The food honestly isn't a problem for me at this point. Please do not mistake that for was never a problem. It was. Dreadfully so. But now .... Not only have my habits changed, but my tastes have changed as well. Yes, I can sit and eat an entire bowl of cantaloupe or pineapple. To eat that same size bowl of ice cream makes me feel bloated and nauseated, so I am rarely even tempted.

This week: Exercise, and do it consistently. Period.

Onward and downward!

Change

"Change is an easy thing to decide and a difficult thing to do. It is the day-to-day struggle of it that defeats people. Do not despair if old ways look good to you. Despair only if you fall into them too often."

Karleen Koen, Through a Glass Darkly

My favorite thing

... right now, regarding my weight loss.

I can wear normal shirts. Size XL is a little too big. Size L fits, but they are just a little too tight for me to be comfortable.

We travel quite a lot, and I've always wanted to buy those cute t-shirts in gifts shops. I couldn't. Even when I could find a 3X, they didn't look good. We just got back from a trip to New Orleans, and I bought three shirts for myself. :)