Last week's weight: 181.6
This week's weight: 179.8
Difference: -1.8
Total weight lost since Jan. 1, 2013: 1.6 pounds
I feel like I've been writing the same posts for a year now. I have a good week, then a bad week, then a good week. And, unfortunately, I've gained 10 pounds in the past few months. While the weight gain has been depressing and disappointing, there's good news. I still know what I need to do to be successful again. The hard part is doing it.
Every time I'm around food lately, I'm tempted to over do it. When I'm hungry, I don't think about eating healthy snacks. I think about chips, cookies, candy, pizza, etc. I've made slight progress in the past week, though. For months, I've been giving in to my cravings. This week, I found a way to satisfy them without overdoing it. I had a few pieces of candy when a sugar craving hit. I had whole wheat pasta with lowfat cheese and broccoli when the urge to gorge on carbs came over me. And, in my lowest moment, when I was craving potato chips, I bought baked chips. I still ended up eating half the bag, but, trust me, that's progress.
The other good news is that I exercised five out of seven days last week. I can't stress enough how important this is to my success. Riding my exercise bike isn't even physically that difficult anymore. The reasons I don't do it more are all mental. I really hope I can stick with it this week.
The final breakthrough came last Sunday after I wrote about how terrible last week's weigh-in made me feel. For more than three years now, there's been a constant battle waging inside my head. Luckily, the side that wants to be healthy has been winning. (I think that's obvious because I have actually lost more than 90 pounds total.) Of late, though, the side that doesn't want to focus on food all the time has taken over. The healthy side seemed drastically close to throwing in the towel, but now I don't feel that way. Instead, I know I'm going to keep fighting.
I've come to far to give up now.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Weekly weigh-in: The downward spiral continues
Last week's weight: 177.6
This week's weight: 181.6
Difference: +4
Total weight lost since Jan. 1, 2013: Sadly, I've gained 0.2 pounds.
Every time I think I'm finally going to return to my healthy eating habits, something happens and I make the wrong choices. It's gotten so bad that I'm pretty much not even paying attention to what I'm eating. And all I want to do is eat.
My lack of progress has become quite depressing and I find myself slipping into bad habits in a lot of ways. I start every day vowing to do better. Then I stuff myself with candy or pretzels. The junk food is the real problem because my main meals are generally healthy and good for me. If I could just stop snacking between meals, I'd be losing weight again.
What's most confusing is that I don't understand why it seemed so easy before and now it seems so hard. I simply don't feel motivated to plan everything I eat or to exercise as much as I used to. It's frustrating and concerning.
And that's really all I have to say about that.
This week's weight: 181.6
Difference: +4
Total weight lost since Jan. 1, 2013: Sadly, I've gained 0.2 pounds.
Every time I think I'm finally going to return to my healthy eating habits, something happens and I make the wrong choices. It's gotten so bad that I'm pretty much not even paying attention to what I'm eating. And all I want to do is eat.
My lack of progress has become quite depressing and I find myself slipping into bad habits in a lot of ways. I start every day vowing to do better. Then I stuff myself with candy or pretzels. The junk food is the real problem because my main meals are generally healthy and good for me. If I could just stop snacking between meals, I'd be losing weight again.
What's most confusing is that I don't understand why it seemed so easy before and now it seems so hard. I simply don't feel motivated to plan everything I eat or to exercise as much as I used to. It's frustrating and concerning.
And that's really all I have to say about that.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Recipes: Sunday brunch
After running a few errands bright and early this morning, I was in the mood for a big breakfast. I decided to make sweet potato muffins and mini ham and spinach frittatas. Since it ended up being about 11 a.m. before I ate, I'm calling it brunch. And the best part is that the recipes made enough for leftovers for the entire week.
Sweet potato muffins
1 large baked sweet potato, peeled (I had one leftover from dinner the night before, but you could cook one in the microwave.)
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 egg whites
Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mash the sweet potato and banana with a fork. Stir in flour, baking powder, vanilla, and cinnamon. In a large bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until fluffy. Gently, fold in sweet potato mixture with eggs. Spray a muffin tin. Spoon in mixture until cups are about 3/4th full. Bake about 15 minutes (or until middle is firm and edges are golden brown). Makes 12 muffins.
Ham and spinach frittatas
4 oz. ham, finely diced (I bought a thick slice from the meat case and used half.)
1 box frozen spinach
1 pint egg whites
2 slices reduced-fat cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray large muffin tin. (I have a pan with six large spaces, but you could use a regular muffin pan or even a pie plate.) Thaw spinach in microwave according to package directions. Squeeze to remove excess water. Place 1/6th of the diced ham in each muffin cup. Top with 1/6th of the thawed spinach. Pour equal amounts of egg whites into each cup and top with salt and pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until middle is firm. Add 1/6th of cheese to top of each frittata and return to oven. Continue baking until cheese is melted. Makes 6 servings.
1 large baked sweet potato, peeled (I had one leftover from dinner the night before, but you could cook one in the microwave.)
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 egg whites
Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mash the sweet potato and banana with a fork. Stir in flour, baking powder, vanilla, and cinnamon. In a large bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until fluffy. Gently, fold in sweet potato mixture with eggs. Spray a muffin tin. Spoon in mixture until cups are about 3/4th full. Bake about 15 minutes (or until middle is firm and edges are golden brown). Makes 12 muffins.
Ham and spinach frittatas
4 oz. ham, finely diced (I bought a thick slice from the meat case and used half.)
1 box frozen spinach
1 pint egg whites
2 slices reduced-fat cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray large muffin tin. (I have a pan with six large spaces, but you could use a regular muffin pan or even a pie plate.) Thaw spinach in microwave according to package directions. Squeeze to remove excess water. Place 1/6th of the diced ham in each muffin cup. Top with 1/6th of the thawed spinach. Pour equal amounts of egg whites into each cup and top with salt and pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until middle is firm. Add 1/6th of cheese to top of each frittata and return to oven. Continue baking until cheese is melted. Makes 6 servings.
Weekly weigh-in: Sick of being sick
Last week's weight: 180.6
This week's weight: 177.6
Difference: -3
Total weight lost since Jan. 1, 2013: 3.8 pounds
You may have noticed that I didn't blog last week. I was sick that Friday and pretty upset about gaining so much that week. But the weight listed above is what I weighed last week. When I weighed in this week, all I could think about was the scene in "The Devil Wears Prada" where Emily says she's just one stomach flu away from her goal weight. I didn't have the flu this week, but I have been sick with a cold for 10 days now. I guess that stopped me from overeating, which meant I actually lost weight. Plus, I'm still about 25 pounds from my goal weight so I think it would take more than one stomach flu.
And I really hate being sick. I even took a sick day this week and by the end of the day, I was bored out of my mind. I love watching TV, but there's only so many hours of it I can take in one sitting. Usually, I'm doing something else while the TV is on. While I was sick, I just sat there and felt blah all day. I feel like I've turned the corner and am getting well. But it seems to be taking forever. I am at least feeling up to going for a walk today and I'm doing a lot of cooking. I hope that will keep me on track for the rest of this week.
This week's weight: 177.6
Difference: -3
Total weight lost since Jan. 1, 2013: 3.8 pounds
You may have noticed that I didn't blog last week. I was sick that Friday and pretty upset about gaining so much that week. But the weight listed above is what I weighed last week. When I weighed in this week, all I could think about was the scene in "The Devil Wears Prada" where Emily says she's just one stomach flu away from her goal weight. I didn't have the flu this week, but I have been sick with a cold for 10 days now. I guess that stopped me from overeating, which meant I actually lost weight. Plus, I'm still about 25 pounds from my goal weight so I think it would take more than one stomach flu.
And I really hate being sick. I even took a sick day this week and by the end of the day, I was bored out of my mind. I love watching TV, but there's only so many hours of it I can take in one sitting. Usually, I'm doing something else while the TV is on. While I was sick, I just sat there and felt blah all day. I feel like I've turned the corner and am getting well. But it seems to be taking forever. I am at least feeling up to going for a walk today and I'm doing a lot of cooking. I hope that will keep me on track for the rest of this week.
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