The Blood Sugar Solution: 10 Day Detox

Hello internet.

I had no idea it's been 7 months since I posted.

So lets do some updates.

After I finished my Drop 2 sizes challenge I ran into a snag with my thyroid treatment.  During the months of September, October and the first half of November my body went haywire.  I hadn't changed anything with my prescription, supplements, diet or anything when I just started feeling kind of bad.  And then bad changed to horrible.  My hair started thinning/shedding, I required at least 2 naps a day just to make it to 8pm for bedtime, and my ears were ringing all the time.  Fun times right?

So mid November my doctor made some changes to my protocol.  I switched to a new brand of thyroid with a new dose, added high doses of certain vitamins and (knock on wood) by December I felt great.  Fast forward to February and while I was still feeling pretty good, I had ZERO weight loss and for the first time, the letters PCOS became apart of the conversation.  So we have now added progesterone cream to see if that will help improve things (I'm low).

Now, while most of my numbers are now ok, my blood glucose is not.  And with the PCOS conversation comes insulin resistance and all of the fun things that comes with that.

So I've been working on trying to get those numbers down with diet and exercise in order to avoid going on any other medication because I don't want any more pills.

Enter Dr. Mark Hyman and the Blood Sugar Solution. 

 
In a nutshell, I'm doing a 10 day detox to see if I can get my blood sugar under control.  That's all.  And while he calls it a detox it's really unlike any detox I've done.

Basically you drink a "detox shake" for breakfast (aka a whole foods smoothie), eat a whole foods lunch and then a whole foods dinner.    So basically you're just supposed to nourish yourself with lots and lots of vegetables, healthy fats, and proteins because there's no grains, no starchy vegetables (potatoes), no sugar (obv) and no dairy (hello Paleo).  The detox part I think comes from the other things he wants you to do:  detox bath every night (Epsom salt bath), writing in a journal, breathing exercises, walking 30 minutes every day, and taking supplements to support your body.  So by detox, it's clear he means detoxing from stress which I like.  I'm not a fan of those detox juice cleanses or fasts or anything.

Before I started I was already gluten free and refined sugar free (I still used coconut sugar or 100% maple syrup on occasion) but other than that I WAS still eating gluten free grains, dairy, and starchy vegetables, so I didn't have to make too many changes.  I'm usually dairy free anyways.

How's it going you ask?

Today is Day 5 so I'm actually already halfway done.  The first 5 days were just fine.  I avoided the usual withdrawal symptoms like headache and crazy fatigue because I had already cut out sugar and my body had already done that.  The only thing I experienced was just a TINY bit of fatigue.  But it wasn't anything that stopped me from doing anything. 

How's the food?

Well, I'm not a fan of the recipes he offers up in his book, but I'm quite satisfied with what I've been making (which meet all of the requirements).  Like I said before, it's pretty much just a strict version of Paleo.  I HAVE been drinking one of his recipes for the detox shake because it's pretty good AND it keeps me full all the way til lunch.  It's just a bunch of seeds, nuts, almond milk, coconut oil, and fruit.  Nothing too fancy.  Now look, it's NOT the most delicious smoothie I've ever had in my life (my fave used to be the orange dream machine from Jamba Juice - delicious!) but I LOVE that when I drink it I FEEL like I'm being nourished AND it keeps me full.  Lunches have been a big salad with protein and olive oil and vinegar for dressing or soup (I made 2 of his and honestly, I did not like them either).  Dinner has been chicken curry (he also has a recipe for this but I used my own which only differs in the spices), breakfast (eggs and such), or chicken/steak with vegetables.  Basically, everything tastes fine, I always have enough to eat and I'm not really experiencing any hunger.  All pluses if you ask me.

Any results so far?

Well, my stomach feels flatter, my energy is good and I'm sleeping well.  All good things in my book. And in four days I've lost 2.6 pounds which is nice.  What I find interesting is that in the month before I started, I had already cut out sugar AND had been limiting my carb intake to under 100g/day per my doctors orders, and I feel like I'm getting better/faster results doing this.  The crazy part is that I'm eating the SAME amount of calories and the SAME amount of carbs, protein, and fat.  Interesting right?

and finally ....

Will I continue past 10 days?

Probably.  I did this for my blood sugar and I'm not scheduled to get my blood taken for another 3 weeks and I REALLY want to see what kind of effect this way of eating has on my blood sugar.  At the end of the book, he gives you options for what to do when you come to the close of the 10 days.  There are 4 options but they are only minimally different.  My gut says it's best to just stay the course and see what happens.  Either way, come day 10, I'll report back and let you know what kind of results I got!

Happy Holidays!

Just wanted to pop on here right quick to let you know I am, indeed, still around.

Remember that photo shoot I said I was producing?

Well, little did I know it was going to turn into quite the monster.  I've been traveling around Southern California since the first weekend in December putting together these photo shoots.  So every second of my time I'm either at my desk or out in the field.  It's been tiring but awesome!!    And this is going to continue until mid-January when I wrap.  As you can imagine, combined with the upcoming holidays, my schedule is quite full.

So, I'm going to put it out there and just let you know that I'll be rejoining you good folks in 2014.
 
One quick note ...

My Drop Two Sizes challenge never got to see the light of day.

But never fear, it has an official start date of January 2, 2013.

Why not the 1st you ask?  Because the 2nd of January and I go way back.  There's good joo-joo there and I need all the help I can get.

By that time, I'll be down to one location before my shoot is wrapped and then I can devote my time and energy to this new workout program.  I have the DVDs, I've read the book, I've planned the menus, I even have my fiance on board.  Well, he's doing the eating part with me but he has chosen to tackle something "less pink" for his workout.  I guess he doesn't find the packaging very manly.

Anyway, I'm excited because I'll be honest, while I've tried to be careful with all this holiday eating, it inevitably is winning the battle.  In terms of weigh-ins, I last checked in 11/22/13 and I am holding steady-ish at that weight (up and down by 2-3 pounds).  However, I have, indeed, developed a little, nay, BIG muffin top and it has GOT TO GO!! 

In any case, after this photo project is done, my next big project is just going to be ME.  I desperately need a little TLC to get all my cylinders firing again.  I want to eat some healthy food, find time to actually sleep, and get in some good workouts.  That all sounds so good I might cry ;)

So to all of you out there, have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR :)


See you soon :)

Weigh In: Week 56

   In case anyone was wondering, the magic castle last weekend was FANTASTIC.  It was so much fun.  A little pricey but a good time nonetheless.  If you ever get the chance, you should go.  The dressing up part was also fun.  Since I work in entertainment, I don't dress up.  Ever.  The most I do at work is jeans, dressed up blouse and heels.  And more often than not, I'm not even THAT dressed up.  But I'm definitely never in dresses, sparkly jewelry, and fancy hair and makeup.  And that's what I did for the magic castle.  Unfortunately no photography is allowed in the castle (which I guess is part of the mystique) so there is no photographic evidence of my fancy self.  But trust me, I was fancy.

As for my plans this weekend ..

I have just a few things on my plate.  I'm in the market for a new sofa, so I have a few stores I'm going to check out and then hopefully purchase a brand new sofa.

Hopefully.

Wanna see it?

Beautiful isn't it?  I'm a little worried it might be too big for the space but whatever.  I want it. 


Other than that, we have a housewarming/engagement party to go to tomorrow night.  Thankfully, the couple lives near us so it's close.  I'm just aching for the day I can be a home-body again.  You know, staying in on a Saturday night.  Renting some movies, cooking some dinner, just snuggling up with your favorite somebody and relaxing.  I have a few more weekends to go but I can feel it coming!

And now on to my weigh in.

Result:  +0.0

That's right.  I maintained. 

How did I get there?

1.  I know it doesn't seem like it but I did eat in a deficit.  This week I ran, on average, a -285 calorie deficit per day.  Again, not the 500 I'm aiming for, but a step up from what I did last week!  I'm hoping to do better again this coming week.

2.  I also ran.  Only 1 day.  I'm 6 weeks in on my 10k training program and I was supposed to take this week off.  I ran 1 day and then decided to give in.  I'll admit, it's a little scary to take this much time off.  I'm supposed to pick back up this weekend and a little voice inside my head is wondering if I'm actually going to start again.  Of course I will!!  I hope I will ?  Oh please God let it not be hard.

3.  I drank my water.  Good not great.  It needs work.

4.  What I ate?  I made everything and it all was gluten free and in some cases dairy free.  The menu included:  pumpkin pancakes, bacon, eggs, chicken/vegetable teriyaki with rice noodles, tacos, sushi, salad, apples, turkey, grapes, cheese, and peanut butter. oh yes and coffee.  Lots of coffee.  And some kettle chips were in there as well.  But honestly, kettle chips are ALWAYS there somewhere.  I kind of stuck to the same foods over and over this week.  I found that once I had the calorie count down, it just was easier to eat the same things so that I didn't have to keep looking things up.  Also, it just so happens I was really into all the food I made this week so win-win.
 

Weigh In: Week 55

Happy Friday everyone!!

I haven't done a real weigh-in post since August 9th.  That's almost two months!!  I've been busy.  And while I really enjoy being busy, I'm getting tired of it.

I don't know what it was about this year, but every weekend I've had since August 9th has been booked for me.

And I have another 2 weekends to go before I get a breather. 

I don't mind being busy and having things to do, but when it's one after the other after the other, it gets tiring.  Sometimes having events on the weekends are nice, it helps to make you think your weekend was longer than it really was.  Ever have that happen?  When you have a regular two day weekend off from work and for some reason, the activities you have planned make it feel like a 3-day weekend.

While those weekends are what I strive for, the opposite also can happen.  You know how it goes, you get off of work on Friday and you're so busy from that moment on.  The next thing you know, it's Monday morning, you're on your way to work and you feel as if you haven't had one second of down time?

That second scenario has been my life since August 9th. 

I'm hoping this weekend might be a little less cumbersome.  Today, I'm getting off of work early, to rush home and get ready.  And when I say ready, I mean get like ready, ready.  Like dressed up fancy ready.  So that in itself is some work.

We're getting all fancy tonight because we're going to the Magic Castle.

The Magic Castle in Los Angeles is a private club for magicians.  And the only way to go is to be invited by a member.  And once you're invited, you get really dressed up, eat a fancy dinner, and then see some crazy magic. 

My fiance's sister is taking us tonight to celebrate our engagement.  We've never been before so I'm pretty excited.  I'm sure it'll be good times.

Then on Saturday, we agreed to house sit for a friend.  You know, watch the house, take care of the dog.  It's not too much work but it does require a lot of running back and forth.  And then on Sunday, I'm hoping (HOPING), we don't have much to do.  So yes, maybe this weekend won't be too bad at all.

As for this past week ...

Weigh In:  -5.0 lbs

I didn't formally weigh in with my last post because I had just started writing again so that five pounds is since Tuesday 9/24/13.

What I did?

1.  I worked out 3 times.  I ran.  I do between 35-40 minutes 2 times a week and then a long run on Sundays.  This past week my long run took 68 minutes plus warm up and cool down.  I'd say I'm burning about 300 on my short runs and in the upper 500s for my long run.  That would work out to around 1100 calories total burned for the week.  My goal is to add in an additional 1-2 days of strength training.

2.  I ate in a deficit.  Twas not the great deficit I had in mind when I started my wedding plan but I'll take it.  I also didn't track as dutifully as I should have.  I'm still working the kinks out of getting back in the swing of tracking calories full time.  I averaged a deficit of -212 calories per day.  Next week, I'm really aiming for two things.  First and foremost, I'm going to track every day.  And secondly, I'm shooting to make my deficit closer to the 500 calorie mark.

3.  Water!  Since it's becoming cooler, it's a little harder to remember to drink my water, but I'm still in the game.  In fact, this entire year, my fiance (I really feel weird writing that.  Like I'm pretentious or something.  But honestly, it's kinda cool) and I have kept our soda intake to almost zero.  We drank a few sips of Sprite while on vacation to see if it tasted different (it did.  it was very sweet and the carbonation kind of burned my throat ... weird right?) and I believe we have had some cocktails while out that contained soda.  But other than that, our drink of choice is water or coffee or if we're feeling crazy adventurous, unsweetened iced tea.  What can I say?  We're crazy like that.  And here's another fun tip, drinking water saves you money.  When we were on vacation with my family, my parents picked up the tab one night for dinner for a bunch of us.  There were 11 people.  Everyone but us ordered soda and when my dad got the bill he commented on how he should start ordering water more because the drinks alone cost $27. 

4.  What I ate?  I've been eating a mixture of foods.  I'm still trying to come out of my vacation fog with food.  While I was gone I was not able to cook so I got used to packaged foods and eating out.  Unfortunately that practice followed us back home for a little while, however, this past week was almost perfectly normal (for me).  I made a vegan mushroom stroganoff over brown rice pasta, steak salad with roasted brussel sprouts, and I was supposed to make applesauce muffins but wouldn't you know I just couldn't get it done.  I also ate some sushi, bacon and eggs, dark chocolate, potato chips, Trader Joe's pre-packaged salads, and Reese's Pumpkins (YUM!).

Today's Menu:
B:  Bacon and Eggs + coffee
L:  Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff + pasta
D:  Magic Castle

Weigh In Update

Hello everybody.

It's been a few weeks since I have last posted on here.  I wasn't expecting to take a break, it just kind of happened!

So the last we spoke, I was just finishing up my Whole30 and I do have additional comments on that whole experience but I'll have to get to that in another post.

First, a couple of things have changed since the last time and I hope they will only impact me POSITIVELY.

First and foremost, I got engaged!!  It happened a couple days after my last reported weigh-in.  So we've been in a whirlwind of excitement over that.  I kind of lost track of blogging as were being doted on by our friends.  No, we don't have a date set yet but off-handed it's looking like next August or September.  In any case, things just kind of got real on my weight loss efforts.  I've always envisioned myself losing all my weight before I got married.  But you know, that was always in the future.  Well it looks like the future just caught up with me.  GULP ;)

Wanna see my ring??  I didn't want to go with traditional so we went with black AND white diamonds in a non-traditional setting.  I love it!  It's crazy sparkly.  And oh how I love sparkles.

Secondly, I quit weight watchers.  I had been thinking about this one for a while so it wasn't a spontaneous decision.  Over the last 8 months, I have been tracking my food and trying my best to lose weight and what I found was that, for me, the quality of the food completely outweighed how I tracked the food.  And lets face it, money is tight for everyone right now.  It doesn't officially go away until mid-September but I've already switched back over to my LoseIt application.  I was an original member of their premium program so it only costs me $15 a year to continue with that.  So I'll save over $200 for the year with the switch.  I'm in a hard save mode since the engagement so every little bit helps.  Besides, it'll be a nice little experiment.  My theory is that I won't see a major difference in my weight loss.  I think it's the balance of everything that dictates whether I lose weight or not.  I don't think it has anything to do with the method of tracking.  Meaning, if the quality of the food I eat is at its highest (whole foods) and I get in my workouts (ugh) then I'll lose.

In any case, it's nice to change things up.  And it's SUPER nice to get that money back each month.

And thirdly, I signed up for a 5k in November.  It's actually on my birthday!  For the last 3 years I've always done a race and I haven't done one this year so I decided to find one and this one happened to be on my birthday so I signed up!  It's the Hard Rock Cafe 5k and this one is in Hollywood running down the boulevard.  I haven't done a race in Hollywood yet so I thought it would be interesting.  Plus, it's a nice little incentive to keep me working out.  The competitor in me hates Hates HATES to do less than her best.  I started training last week and I'm proud to report that even though I haven't run since last November (my last race actually) I was able to eek out 2 miles without any major difficulty.  

And finally the moment you've been waiting for.  Since my last weigh-in I'm up 5.8 pounds.  And I'm sheepishly smiling as I'm typing this.  We've been in celebratory mode for 2 weeks in a row AND in 3 days we leave for the east coast to see my family.  The original plan had been to do the Whole30 then take a weekend off then hit it again so we'd be prepared for our beach vacation.  However, he had other plans.  He asked me to marry him and so our plan turned into:  do the Whole30 take a weekend off, get engaged, then CELEBRATE CELEBRATE CELEBRATE!!!

In all honesty though, while I don't regret my celebrations because we've just experienced a major life event that DESERVES to be celebrated, I do, however, feel yuck yuck YUCK!!  I tried on some things last night to start mentally packing for the upcoming trip and to my chagrin, things weren't fitting so well.  Especially bathing suits.  I was kind of depressed last night but after getting a good night's sleep I woke up with a little perspective.  I decided to stop stressing, get back on track, let you guys know that I was still alive and enjoy life right now.  Our last celebratory event was Sunday night so my body is still working out some of the gunk that I ingested and I know that I'll easily drop most of those 5 pounds in a few days.  It's just hard to work through the mental aspect of it sometimes.  You know?  So I've been eating lost of vegetables and chicken this week and trying to get in my workouts. 

And that's what's been going on.

I have a lot more to talk about but those will have to be in future posts.  They include:  engagement plans, vacation plans, racing plans, and Whole30 afterthoughts to name a few.

Hope you guys are all excellent!!

Today's Menu:
B:  paleo breakfast casserole
L:  chicken zoodle soup
D:  chicken salad on top of giant salad

can you tell I made a lot of chicken this week?  :)

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 47 & Whole30 Results

I haven't been this happy to see a Friday in a looooooong time.

Only because my Whole30 is officially over (HOORAY) and tomorrow is pizza day.

It's the little things in life.

Weigh in:  +/- 0

Awww.  I was hoping for at least a little loss.  I even stuck to the rules of my Whole30 til my weigh-in. 

Oh Well.  I will say one of the best things about doing a Whole30 is that when I would have a weigh-in, I didn't sweat getting on the scale.  At ALL.  Simply because I knew I was eating pretty darn perfectly.  So whatever happened on the scale, I just chalked it up to my body doing it's thing.  I didn't really care because I was already working out and eating as clean as humanly possible so there was nothing left for me to tweak!  

Add that one to the list of good things about the Whole30 folks.

Now what I did this week:

1.  I earned around 18 AP.  I did SIX Jillian Michaels workouts.  And I kicked butt every single time.

2.  I ate 214 points.  WOO HOO!! Finally got that total up to where it should be.

3.  Water is officially my beverage of choice these days!  In fact, I haven't had a soda at all this year.  My boyfriend actually pointed this out to me last night.  I wasn't really a big soda drinker to begin with but still, I think that's excellent.  I'm a big proponent of never drinking soda regardless of your weight.  I have one family member who had a giant soda problem.  He would go through a case of diet dr. pepper like every day or two by himself.  BY HIMSELF.  He never had a weight problem in his life but he now has a neurological disorder that his doctors attribute to over-consumption of artificial sweetener from the soda.  Something to think about.

4.  What I ate?  I ate what I was supposed to eat.  Breakfast casserole with veggies, zucchini noodles with a seafood tomato sauce, steak with veggies and mushrooms, salads, fruit, almonds, ... you get the picture.

And now for my Whole30 results.

I don't really know how to handle my Whole30 results.  The rules of the program are you are NOT supposed to weigh yourself during the entirety of the 30 days.  I obviously didn't do that and continued my weigh-ins as per usual.

That's where this gets tricky.  If I had done the program to their rules, I would have weighed myself on the morning of July 9 (Day 1) and logged that number (which I did) and then waited until the morning of August 8 (Day 31) to weigh myself again (which I also did).  And If I had followed that protocol, the numbers would have told you that I lost 10.2 pounds in 30 days.

But I didn't do that.  I continued my weekly weigh-ins.  I started the Whole30 on Tuesday July 9th but the tricky part is my last "official" weigh-in was Friday, June 28th so while I was blogging I used that last "official" number as the starting number.  So if you go by my blog posts, I lost 3.2 pounds in 30 days.

Which is right?  Both I guess.  It just depends on how you want to look at it.

I know most people are going to try the Whole30 for weight loss even though a lot of the success stories in the book are from people who have body ailments that get healed (tendonitis, skin problems, digestive issues etc.).

I know one of the reasons I wanted to try it was because people were spouting about losing upwards of 15 pounds in 30 days.  How can that NOT be motivating?  In any case, I thought it was important to give you both sets of numbers.

I don't care which one is accurate because I lost inches.  Which, for me, is more important.  A 10 pound weight loss matters not if you don't get smaller in the process.  So because I lost inches, I don't care if it was 10 pounds or 3 pounds, I still lost the same amount of inches.  But don't forget, I was doing my Jillian Michaels challenge at the same time so I was working out too.

Here are the numbers:

Start
Chest: 39.5
 Ribs:   32.5
Waist: 33.5
Hips:    41
Belly Button:  34
Upper Thigh: 22.75
Leg @ Knee: 17
Left Arm: 12.75

End
Chest:  39 
Ribs:   32
Waist: 32
Hips:    40
Belly Button: 33 
Upper Thigh: 22.5
Leg @ Knee: 17
Left Arm: 11.25

Total inches lost:  -6.25"

And here are the pics:

The area I lost the most from is probably the least recognizable from the pics.  It was from my waist and hip area.  My hips aren't as wide now and my waist is a little more defined.  I know I lost inches from that area because I can fit into pants that didn't fit prior.  And the difference in my clothes is pretty amazing so I figured the pictures would definitely reflect that but I don't think it's as noticeable in a picture as it is to me.  No matter.  I'm pleased to be able to add some pieces of clothing to my wardrobe that were previously too tight!

And there you have it folks.  Nothing too major for me.  But as a disclaimer, I've never lost weight quickly or easily.  It takes me longer than an average person to lose weight.  It's something I've had to learn to deal with over the years.  I don't always deal with it very well but I do my best to work with what I have. 

Case and point.  My boyfriend did the Whole30 with me.   We ate the same foods every day except he would add in a couple pieces of fruit or extra protein to pad his calories because he eats more than I do.  We both also workout usually 5 days a week.  However, he does ride his bike to work 5 days a week so in addition to his regular workouts, he automatically gets in the extra cardio from his bike.

His Whole30 results?  He lost 20 pounds.  And he needed to lose maybe five.  When I first heard his results I was, of course, jealous.  But after some time, I decided to use his results as encouragement.  I did the exact same things as he did.  I ate the same food, I got in my workouts.  Therefore, my results were the best that my body could give me.  I was already aware of my body's sluggish metabolism (it's documented somewhere on this blog - I had it tested YEARS ago and they told me it was -18% slower than it should be).  I am acutely aware that I've always had a hard time losing weight so I should be proud of my accomplishments.  I didn't cheat on the diet.  I ate as perfectly as a human being can eat and I did my workouts when I could.  And no, I didn't lose 20 pounds but I lost some and I lost inches.  So, I am very happy with my results.  I mean, hey, I could have not done anything at all and gained weight during that time.

Right?

So, we're taking the weekend off and then I'm going to hit it again.  I'm going to do an almost Whole30 as best I can until we leave for vacation at the end of the month.  And after vacation, we're going to be at it again until I get to where I want to be.  And he is determined to do it with me until I reach my goal.

Isn't he the best??

Have a great weekend!

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 46

Happy Friday one and all.

I come to you with a raging headache that no amount of medication seems to be touching.  However, I am so dedicated to write this blog post I am foraging past the pain and misery in order to bring you this week's weigh in.

Actually, since nothing has worked so far to make it feel better, I figure I might as well do anything and everything I can to distract myself.  And since nothing but a nap is going to help at this juncture (and I'm still at work so that's out of the question), blogging is all I have left.

So blog I shall.

Guess what I woke up to this morning?

Water pouring out of both the sink and dishwasher thus flooding my kitchen and dining room.

Huzzah!

Good times.  Although I was in a mad panic trying to get it to stop, I'm thankful I went out there when I did.  The water was just about to hit items that would have been seriously damaged or ruined had I not intervened.

But we managed to get it all fixed.  Hopefully.  It just made for an exciting Friday morning.  Well, not really exciting.  More like exasperating.

Weigh In:  -0.6 lbs

Weekly Round-up:

1.  I earned around 12 AP.  That is from 4 workouts.  4 awesome workouts.

2.  I ate 172 points.  Now folks this is way too low for me.  I had a rough week with food.  I do this every now and again and I wish I knew why.  I just get in this funk where NO food sounds good.  The thought of food even makes me sick.   I just have to force myself to eat and honestly it's not fun.  Hopefully I'll come out of this soon.

3.  Water.  I love it!

4.  What I ate:  I am still on my Whole30.  Tomorrow is day #26.  I'll be honest, although I'm tickled pink with how I look and feel, I will be more than pleased for this to come to a close.  I'll give my full opinion after it's over but know this:  Day 30 can't come soon enough.  Anyway, some of the items I ate: steak and eggs, chicken pot pie soup, kelp noodles with seafood sauce, and spinach salad with chicken breast. Blackberries, almonds, and sweet potatoes also made an appearance.


And now I have to go workout.  I don't want to, but I'm going to do it anyway :)

today's menu:
B:  coffee + handful of almonds (with a flooding kitchen it was all I could grab)
L:  house salad + chicken
D:  chicken pot pie soup

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 45

Another week. Another weigh in.

I am -2.8 pounds for the week.

Things I've learned this week:

1.  The human body is amazing.  As is the brain.
2.  The Whole30 is really hard.
3.  My dog sleeps an awful lot.

#1 is a 2-parter.

First the body:

I've been going to physical therapy the past couple of weeks.  Since March, I've had what, at times, feels like a debilitating pain in my hips and pelvic bones.  Well, I know now that is where the pain was coming from but it took 2 specialists, 2 medical guesses, and months of online research from yours truly to find the right person who could point me in the right direction.  Anyway, I went yesterday and she had to put my pelvic bones back into place.  Seriously.  This is why I say the human body is amazing.  I mean, yeah, it can do that whole Wolverine healing thing, but have one tiny little thing out of place and it feels like you're dying.  She had to rotate and pull my hips back into alignment.  Yes, this was as painful as you'd think.  However, the moment she was done, I immediately noticed that pain was gone.  And not just pain in my hips, back pain, and neck pain too.  However, it will take daily exercises and me keeping my hips in place to keep the pain away.

Now the brain:

That sucker is one powerful thing.  It doesn't matter how strong you are physically, the brain is always stronger.

Which leads me to #2.

The brain is why the Whole30 is hard.  As you know, I've been doing my Whole30.  Today is Day #18 and I'm still going strong with keeping to the rules.  But it's not easy.  My brain is rebelling.  I'm starting to think I know what addicts feel like.  And it's sugar.  I'm positive it's the sugar.  My brain is telling me that I want it.  And it's telling me I want it like I've never wanted it before in the form of foods I've never really wanted before.  I feel like a 2 year old.  I've told myself "No, you can't have it" - therefore, that's all I want.  Honestly, it's the most annoying feeling on earth.  It's not painful or anything.  It's just this mind numbing thought that sits there in the forefront of my mind on a daily basis.  And it won't go away.  Or at least it feels like it won't go away.  Now, I'm not trying to deter anybody from trying a Whole30 or from a leading healthier life, I'm just telling you how my week has been.  From what I've read online in forums, this feeling takes some time to go away.  And it's this feeling that makes or breaks someone during these 30 days.  Don't worry, it's not going to break me.  It's just really freaking annoying.

And #3.

My dog.  Seriously, it's like all day every day.

And that's what I've learned this week.  For some positive notes on these things, my physical therapy, while painful, is helping.  More than anything it offered me mental relief to know what was going on with me.  The Whole30, while also painful, is providing some serious results in both myself and my boyfriend.  My body shape is changing in a good way.  I put on a bathing suit last night to see if I could notice anything and I was very pleased with myself.  It looked like I had been crazy working out (hint:  I haven't).  I wasn't all muscular or anything I just looked more toned if that's possible.   I won't even get started on my boyfriend.  It's like every day his body is changing.  Like turning into hot guy on the beach changing.  Yes, I hate him for it.  I hate all males for that ability.  But I'm happy for him because he works really, really hard.  He works out hard, he eats what I make him and he is committed to do this with me because I need the support.  Also, it's motivating.  And finally, my dog.  I don't care if she sleeps.  She's the light of my life.

What I did this week:

1.  I earned about 3 AP.  I made my house sitting plan and I tried to follow it.  I just was not prepared for the lack of sleep that I was getting.  My last night there, I was so determined to workout that I got in my one (and only) workout.  It was a GREAT workout but I was in so much pain the next day at work.  Not muscle pain but pain from the sleep deprivation.  That workout was Wednesday night.  I got home Thursday, went to bed as early as possible and here we are.  I gave myself permission to take today off as well because I feel like I need it.  Seriously, if I agree to house sit for them again someone hit me in my head.  I was miserable the whole time.  Maybe that's why I found my cravings extra hard this week.  Makes sense.

2.  I ate 187 points plus.  Again, off my pace of 200 points for the week but I ate until I was full every time.  I promise.

3.  Water.  Still good here.  The key is to take my "sippy cup" with me everywhere.  I forgot it when I went to house sit and so my first day there I couldn't figure out why I felt so bad.  It was because I hadn't had enough water.  I promptly corrected it.  I never thought I would get to a point where I love my water.  Apparently it's happened.

4.  What I ate:  sticking hard and fast to the Whole30 rules.  I eat meats, vegetables (no white potatoes), no sugar of any kind (or artificial substitute), and fruit.  I made a vegetable quiche like thing for breakfast.  A wonderful vegetable soup with ground beef.  Had some sashimi (I do miss regular sushi).  Eggs and bacon made an appearance and so did some watermelon.  Here's the thing, I might be having a hard time with my brain telling me I want sugar, but the food I'm eating is super good.  And while I'm eating it, I'm enjoying every moment immensely.  It's just in those "quiet times" that it gets tough.

And that's it for this week.

Have a great weekend!!!!!!!!

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 44

It's that special, precious time again.

It's Friday.

Man I love Friday.

So lets kick off this post with the weigh-in.

Drumroll please ....

Weigh-In: +0.8

Oh fluctuation weight loss how I love thee.  I feel amazing today ladies and gentlemen.  My clothes are hanging just a tad, I woke up pretty easy today, and I feel like I am going to have a kick-ass weekend.

Good times.

What I Did:

1.  I earned about 12 AP.  I did four of my Jillian Michaels workouts (my workout week started Saturday the 13th so I still have one workout to go for "the week")  They were:  30 Day Shred, Ripped in 30, No More Trouble Zones, and 6 week Six Pack.  Tonight will be my fifth workout and it will be Banish Fat Boost Metabolism.  Haven't done this one before so I'm excited!

2.  I ate 199 points plus.  (note:  I never eat my AP or even account for them online.)  I usually shoot for around 205-210 so I was under for the week but I wasn't hungry.  Everything I've been eating has been so filling.  I don't know if this is a good or bad thing yet.

3.  I still am doing well with my water.  In fact, I feel worse when I don't drink enough!  You know what that is?  That's called progress.

4.  What did I eat?  I'm still doing my Whole30 and today is day 11 - so I'm still sticking to proteins, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and healthy oils.  If you check out my Whole30 update you'll see specifically some of the stuff I've been eating.  But so far this week I've made:  tomato soup, hamburger mushroom stroganoff, and a really awesome breakfast casserole.  And I've been indulging in apples, watermelon, baby carrots, almonds and sunflower seeds.  I can say that YES I do have moments where I would like to eat candy or even just a side of rice but all in all, it's not too bad.  The feeling crazy good part is a pretty nice reward to sticking with it.

This weekend is going to be yet another challenging experience.  Starting Saturday, I've agreed to house sit for a friend who lives on the other side of Los Angeles.   It's always hard not to be in my own home w/ my own kitchen and have all my lovely cooking utensils and appliances but I'll manage.  I'll just adjust my menu to not require any super fancy kitchen stuff.  

I also have to account for working out over there since I'll be there for the next 5 days.  Thankfully Jillian doesn't require much in terms of equipment so I'll just grab my yoga mat and some dumbbells and be done with it.  If I have time tonight, I'm going to rip all of my DVDs onto my ipad - that will save me having to lug my laptop around as well.

And the silver lining in this house-sitting debacle, they have a washer and dryer in their home.  I am not fortunate to have one in my apartment, so I will be fully enjoying the luxury whilst I'm there.

And that's it for me.

I hope you all have a fun filled weekend.  I plan on hitting the beach, doing some laundry, cooking up some awesome food, working out, and hopefully some relaxing.

Coming up:
I still haven't posted my starting pics and measurements so that's coming soon.  I think I will do it at the 3 week (or so) mark so I can put up some comparison photos and numbers too.  These days the numbers on the scale don't get me nearly as excited as the numbers on my tape measure going down so here's hoping.
 

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 43

Happy Friday everyone!!

I trust everyone had a fantastic week.  Since I had the day off of work on Monday I had a short work week therefor my week was very awesome.

Now lets get down to business - since I did not weigh in last Friday my report today will be the difference between week 41 and today.

Drum-roll please ....

Weigh In:  -0.6 pounds

hoorah!!

The last we met, I had mentioned a sneak peek at my scale revealed a larger than usual gain.  And I believe the number I reported was 7 pounds.  Well look at what I did with some crazy clean eating.  I was able to offset my awesome holiday weekend bloat AND edge in a loss for the week!  

What did I do exactly?

Lets take a look shall we?

1.  I earned 0.5 AP.  :)  I did that one 5 minute workout over the holiday weekend.  Don't worry.  I have a big exercise post coming up either tonight or tomorrow.

2.  I don't know my total points for the week because I did not track Friday thru Monday.  However, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I ate around 26-28 points per day.

3.  My water started slipping just a bit but I picked it up by the end of the week. 

4.  What did I eat?  Well starting July 4th  and thru the weekend, I loosened my reigns and splurged a little.  Or maybe a lot would be a better word for it.  Yes, I'm definitely going with a lot.  I ate out at restaurants, I ate at barbecues, I had plenty of cocktails.  Some of the food was what I usually eat, however, MOST of it was not.   A few examples:  I had doritos, Baskin Robbins ice cream, and candy bars at the movie theater!! I even had fast food for the first time this year during that time frame.  I had a Big Mac and guess what?  While I was eating it I made note to my boyfriend that while it was REALLY good, I didn't think it was THAT much better than the version I created.  I was pretty happy about that discovery.  That being said, McDonald's french fries are awesome and I bow to their greatness.  (Sidenote:  This fast food item was the LAST thing I ate before I took that "sneak peek" at the scale and that's why I was not too shocked to see that 7 pound swing - - hello sodium bloat!).  The bad food pretty much made up my menu Friday - Monday.  Then I started my Whole30 Tuesday.  And then I made:  pan fried salmon with peach salsa, balsamic marinated skirt steak with zucchini and mushrooms, creamy chicken and artichoke soup (this was my version of the one served at the Cheesecake Factory - just a tip:  if you ever go to Cheesecake Factory and the soup of the day is their chicken and artichoke soup, get it.  you won't regret it).  My version is dairy free, sugar free, and grain free to meet my Whole30 requirements - and STILL was so amazing.  The boyfriend even made it his #1 favorite soup that I've made thus far.  :)  What else?  I also made a sweet potato hash with italian sausage and quiche muffins.  All of my dishes complied with my Whole30 rules and were pretty awesome.

 So a pretty good week.

I'm still on my Whole30.  Today is day #4.  I've had a few sugar cravings but nothing I can't handle.  Really the only thing I keep thinking about are Milky Way candy bars.  Which is odd because I don't really eat them.  Ever.

Have a great weekend!!

Today's Menu:
B: sweet potato hash + italian sausage
L: chicken and artichoke soup
D: balsamic steak + zucchini + mushrooms + apple (for dessert)

Week 42: Happy 4th of July!!

Hey folks.

I'm coming off of a 5 day holiday break and I feel fantastic.  Also, I have a pretty kick ass tan so bonus for me!

I did NOT log points or weigh-in over my break.  I did, however, get in one five minute workout ;)

You read that right, it was a five minute workout.  I got all set up in my home gym, hit play and then five minutes in, I stopped.

I initially had no intention of taking time off but I found that I did, in fact, need a little break, so I'm happy I took it.

I had a fantastic mini-break - I went to the pool almost every day, went to a couple of bbq's, went out to eat, went to see fireworks and just relaxed.

It was only 5 days but it felt like 2 weeks.

However ..

It's time to get back into the swing of things.  I'll be honest, I've slacked off the last couple of weeks.  Maybe even the last month.  I've been sticking to my goals but not wholeheartedly.  I know I have more to give and I'm just being lazy.


I didn't weigh-in on Friday but I DID take a peak this morning and well, if I'm going to be honest, it was more than a little disappointing.  Like 7 pounds disappointing.

Yes my friends, I said 7 pounds.  No of course it's not real, I'm coming off of a VERY high sodium weekend coupled with other biological female factors that are beyond my control.

But I have a plan in place.  Hopefully a good, strong plan.

I'll tell you about it in another post.

Until then, I hope each and every one of you had an amazing holiday!

Have a great Tuesday :)

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 41

I'm so happy it's Friday.  I've been covering for a co-worker who is on vacation and it has been a crazy, busy week.


The kind of busy that when I get home from work, I sit on my couch to just take a breather and the next thing I know it's two hours later and I somehow fell asleep from being exhausted.

Good times.

So YEAH for Friday.  And more importantly, YEAH FOR NEXT WEEK!!!  It's the 4th of July and my office is closed both Thursday AND Friday.

I'm so excited.

Weigh In:  -0.4

Weekly Roundup:

1.  I earned 9 AP.  I did three Ripped in 30 workouts.  Today starts my Day #1 of Level 2.  I'm excited!

2.  I ate 249 points.  A bit more than I wanted but that was mostly due to one night.  You know, just one of those higher point meals that tends to gobble up more points than you thought.

3.  If I wasn't drinking enough water before I definitely should step up my game.  Especially this weekend.  They're issuing a heat warning in my area.  I think it's supposed to get into the 120s.  Yikes.

4.  What I ate.  It wasn't quite as exciting as I had hoped.  I tried a new recipe for crab cakes.  I think it completely fell short.  But my boyfriend loved them.  So it wasn't a complete disaster.  The soup I had planned on making (one of my favorites), I completely spaced at the grocery store and didn't buy a single ingredient.  I would have gone back but I had already spent my budget.  And then I made this Korean dish, which I usually love, but I did something different and couldn't figure out what I did - it was good but not as great as I remembered.  Other than that I had some sushi, BBQ chicken quesadillas, eggs, almonds, apples, and I believe I had some gluten free pizza for lunch one day.

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 40

Weigh In: +1.8 pounds

I'm late again!  I had an amazing week and weekend and I'm already looking forward to Friday.

So I ate a lot of food, got in some great workouts, and gained a few pounds.  I was expecting the gain so I'm not too surprised or shocked.  Actually my last post was a huge motivator for myself and things feel pretty good right now.

Lets hope it lasts ;)

But seriously, I really do feel like I'm in a good head space and I'm excited for things to come.

Lets talk about this past week:

What I did:

1.  I earned 9 AP.  Yikes - that means only TWO Ripped in 30 workouts.

2.  I ate 297 points.  Well I do believe that might be a record.  Or at least the most I've eaten in a given week this year.

3.  I was on course with my water (whew!!  I at least hit one of my goals!!)

4.  What I ate.  Lets see.  I discovered yet another restaurant that offers up what I now to consider to be my favorite gluten free pizza - Zach's.  So kids, if you're in the Los Angeles area, give it a try.  While it's a wonderful discovery, I ate it twice.  Sometimes twice is a little hard on the points bank.  I went to a local Mexican restaurant and shared some wonderful nachos with some amazing friends ... also twice ;)  Along with those nachos, I had some fine cocktails (helloooo points!).  However, it was an amazing time and I'm so happy I went.  I went to a work party to hob-knob with my clients and again spent some points on cocktails.  Man, to be honest, it's easy to spend points when a single beer costs as much as 5-6 points.  Moving on.  I also made a really great beef stew in my crock pot, a lovely ham, and a simple bowl of spaghetti.  There were other little things but those were probably the big ticket items.

It was a great week.  I was busy almost every single day, had some really great times with my friends.  And the work party wasn't so bad either!  Yes, I indulged, but I'm happy.  I'm back on my horse and looking forward to this week.  I feel like I took a mini vacation from myself!  Whatever it was, I woke up refreshed yesterday and ready to get back in the game.

Tonight will be my 10th workout for Level/Workout #1 of Ripped in 30.  I didn't stick to my 5 day/week schedule like I had planned.  Actually it took me 19 days to get in 10 workouts.  My bad.  As I was doing my workout yesterday (which was AMAZING), I made a mental note to pay more attention and be better about scheduling my workouts.  I really want to see some progress with this program.  It's much harder than the 30 Day Shred so I think I could achieve amazing results.  I just need to put in a little more effort.  So that's my main goal for the rest of this week and the weeks to come.

Today's Menu:
B:  coffee / sunflower seeds
L:  sweet potato noodles + veggies + chicken
D:  bacon, lettuce, tomato sandwiches

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 39

WEIGH IN:  +3.6 (from my weigh in on Friday the 14th)

Can someone say Yo-Yo?

Actually, I'm not in a yo-yo spin, I'm in a hormonal spin.  That's all I can figure.  As I said last week, I went off my hormonal birth control which can cause an array of side effects.  The one I was most worried about was weight gain.  I took to the internet to see how prominent it was and apparently it is quite common.

Here's the thing.  I don't think I'm gaining weight just because I went off birth control.  I am definitely gaining weight due to eating too much of the wrong things.  My cravings have come out of nowhere and it's been a battle.  And the only thing that has changed in my life is stopping my birth control.  And while I'm not 100% sure, it makes the most sense to me.  I mean, come on, it's hormones.

Since this year began and I changed my diet I've been so proud of how much control I've had over my eating.  You guys all know that I have a rough time when it comes to food and food control and I've had clear control of it this whole year.

Until I went off birth control.

I now know why all of these women are on the message boards asking for help in losing weight.  I seriously feel like I'm having PMS all the time.  

Anyway, the point is, it's something I'm going to have to work on/figure out/battle.  And battle I shall.

What I did this week:

1.  I earned about 10 AP.  I did three Ripped in 30 workouts.  I'm continuing to aim for five per week.

2.  I ate 231 points.  My goal every week is around the 210 mark (+/- 5 points).  While I didn't go over my given points for the week (daily + weekly), I did NOT eat the most wholesome foods.  Wait for #4, you'll see what I mean.

3.  Water = great!

4.  What I ate.  First the good:  potato and leek soup, deviled eggs, apricot ham, sushi and homemade larabars.  And the bad:  went out to eat TWICE.  I stuck to my allergen list and even split meals with my boyfriend.  It was still just not in my best interest weight loss wise.  We had Mexican (think chips and salsa) one night and then went to a regular Americana restaurant and split a chicken dish.  Also these were regular restaurants and I know that allergens snuck into my dishes which isn't in MY best interest (I get inflamed, bloated, and sick when this happens).  In addition, I found some gluten free, organic blah blah blah cheese puffs (NO NO NO).  Note to self:  you have no control over these things.  What else?  My cravings tended to be more carb related so I also made some Thai noodles and macaroni and cheese on two separate occasions.  These are very heavy dishes.  I think I literally weighed myself down this week by eating too many carbs.  When I say too many carbs I mean too many carbs for me :)

And to give you a peak into the week we're in.  It's still an on going battle.  In fact, it's worse.  I think that's why I've put off writing this post because I'm struggling.  The current week we're in isn't going any better than last week.  The scale keeps going up and the cravings continue. Part of me has been waiting for things to "regulate" and go away on their own.  But I've now realized I will have to make a conscious effort to take control of things.  So that's where I'm at right now. 

But here's the thing.

Messing up doesn't mean I've messed everything up.  It just means I've learned something new.  It also means I'm human and sometimes it's nice to be reminded of that.  I don't have to be perfect at this process because being perfect is impossible.  I just have to be present at all times in order to make the best decisions for me.

And right now the best decision for me is to take my diet down to the basics.  I'm going to be tightening up my food choices in an effort to try to help get my body back to normal.  I really believe that food is one way I can help get my hormones back on track.  And regardless of hormones, I just feel better when I'm eating crazy clean.

I'm going to continue to eat gluten, dairy and soy free but I need to tighten up the reigns on it.  That means eating out needs to be at specific places (hello Hugo's) or not at all.  I'm also going to cut out my beloved Kettle Chips.  Just for a little bit.  Just until I have a handle on things.  I also am going to cut out sugar.  I've allowed myself dark chocolate and dairy free ice cream on several occasions and I think with my cravings in full swing it's probably best to not "feed the beast" by eating unnecessary sugar.  And lastly, carbs.  I don't believe carbohydrates are the devil or that you shouldn't eat them.  I just know I'm carb sensitive and need to watch my servings and so I'm going to go back to eating grains (gluten free pasta, rice, and any baked good I make like pizza) on the weekends only.  Don't worry, during the week I allow myself plenty of carbs in the form of vegetables or fruit.

And that's the plan.

Wish me luck.

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 38

Oh man.  This week felt sooooo long.  It always happens after a shortened week/long weekend.  If only every weekend were a 3 day weekend.

That reminds me, I still have 5 days of vacation that I haven't used yet, I should just use them for a month's worth of 3 day weekends.

Sounds like a plan to me.

Today's WI:  -3.6

Yeah, what I put on last week, I took back off.  I was surprised when I got on the scale this morning.  I knew it was going to be a loss but I was so happy to see that it all came right back off.  WHEW!

Crisis averted.

That means in 2013 I've lost:

Total Pounds:  -14.0
Total Inches: -13.5"

Crazy!  I'm so proud of myself.  I'm also extremely happy that I have hopefully found something that works for me.  Trust me, it was a long time coming.

WEEKLY ROUND-UP:

1.  I earned around 9 AP.  I did one 30 Day Shred workout and two Ripped in 30 workouts.  This was due to lack of sleep which I'll discuss later.

2.  I ate 203 points.  I usually try to hit for 215 but again, the lack of sleep meant I ate a little less.  I really want to try to do 215 again because I don't feel like 203 is enough.  Especially since I do not count or eat any of my AP.

3.  I got back on the water horse again.  I truly have become a fan of this stuff.  I don't really drink anything other than water anymore.  I've been on a coffee break for the last few months which I'll continue for the time being.  The last time I took a break from coffee, I went without caffeine of any form for 3 years!!  I wonder how long this one will last.  I will, however, have the occasional herbal tea when I need something warm.

4.  What I ate?  The menu this week was quite good.  I made homemade larabars, southwest salad with chicken, steak with peppers and onions + cole slaw, and eggs with vegetable hashbrown casserole.  And that's it!!  I'm kidding.  I also had sushi.  But only once!  Oh, and I had some kettle potato chips over the weekend.  Seriously love those things.

I've been having a hard time with sleep lately.  My boyfriend works nights and I've gotten into the bad habit of staying up too late to see him.  It is hard when we only get to see each other on the weekends, but I have to get out of this cycle.  I end up working out around 11pm then going to bed around 3am just to get up at 7:30am ish to go to work.  I've been doing this for over a month now and I think my body is trying to tell me "NO MORE!".  I purposefully did not do 2 of my workouts this past week because it got to be too late and I knew I needed the sleep more than I needed the workout.  I'm hoping that I can slowly get myself back to my regular schedule.

Today's Menu:
B:  homemade larabar
L:  eggs + hashbrowns
D:  steak + salad

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 37

Ahoy!

So I'm just going to get right into the thick of things.

Weigh-In:  +3.6 pounds

Where do I start?

Ah yes, Memorial Weekend.

Mine started last Friday.  I went to work that day as usual, and 2 hours in, my superior decided that I had worked enough and should start my holiday weekend super early!

SCORE!!

So, I went home and the fun began.

Actually, I took a nap because I was super tired.  After my nap, I had this surge of energy and I decided to clean my apartment.  Not just clean it, SUPER CLEAN it.  I even scrubbed my baseboards if that tells you anything.  And while I was cleaning, I was trying my hand at a new pizza crust recipe.  It has a 4 hour rise time, so while I waited for it to be done, I cleaned.

How's that for multitasking?

I was even able to get in my 30 Day Shred workout while it was cooking.  So when my boyfriend got home from work, the pizza was done and we ate it.

ALL OF IT.  I usually don't finish all of my portion but I guess all that cleaning really ramped up my appetite.  In any case, I ate too much.  I could tell.

It was good but it definitely has the potential to be GREAT.  I need to tweak the recipe a little and this might end up being my go to Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free crust recipe.

So that was my Friday.

Did I mention that my boyfriend's birthday also falls on Memorial Weekend?

Well, it does.  And I knew I should have made myself a Memorial Weekend Plan.  I even made a mental note to blog one for myself because I had this sneaking suspicion that it was going to be needed.  But I didn't.  I wish I had.

Anyway, Saturday we went out to celebrate his birthday.  We had dinner and saw Fast 6.  We ate at Hugo's (again) and then followed with some diet appropriate desserts.  It was great but again, I ate too much.  You see, it doesn't matter how well you eat, the volume still counts.

CURSE YOU CALORIES!

Sunday was his actual birthday party.  It was a pool party/barbeque at a friend's house.  There was TONS of food.  I couldn't eat most of it due to my food intolerance but I pushed the limit on it.  I had some corn chips and some of this creamy chicken dip.  Actually, it's a recipe I used to make quite often so I knew exactly what was in it.  It did have dairy in it and dairy is one of those food I need to stay away from.  I can tolerate it in small amounts but overall I usually just feel better if I stay away.  Gluten I can't have at all but dairy ... I like to press my luck with.

And press it I did.

You know, to be honest, it feels like I ate tons of it, but in reality I didn't.  It just makes me crazy bloated so I feel like I ate a lot.

That's all I had at the party besides some raw veggies.  But raw veggies really aren't all that sexy to write about.

Monday.  Oh sweet, sweet Monday.

There is this restaurant that I have recently discovered.  Actually, I always knew it was there and it was a favorite in my former life when I used to eat whatever I wanted.  But I recently found out they have a gluten free, dairy free pizza.  I almost wish I never discovered it because it is SO GOOD.  So on Monday, we went to the pool for a couple of hours, lazed about and just relaxed.  We didn't want to do too much because we had a dinner party (another bday celebration) to attend.  However, after the pool, it hit us like a mack truck.  We just had to have this pizza.  So TWO HOURS, before we were to eat dinner, we ate pizza.  I'm not going to lie it was so good.

We then went to our dinner party.  That's right, it was a DOUBLE DINNER night.  I could only eat a few bites of everything, I was so full it hurt.

They even presented me with my own little gluten free, dairy free, sugar free dessert in lieu of the birthday cake.  Wasn't that so nice?  FYI:  It was AMAZING.

Other things I did that I should improve upon:

I ate too many eggs.  I miss eggs so much but when I eat too many they can cause problems.  Dairy.  I ate too much dairy.  The thing with dairy is that it takes days and days to get out of my system.  So until it does, I'm left feeling crappy.  That means since I ate it on a Sunday, I won't feel better until the following Thursday at the earliest.  yuck.  I also didn't log at the end of every day.  I relied on my memory to log after the fact.  This is a blatant no-no.  See, this is where my Memorial Day Plan would have come in handy.

And finally, I think it bears mentioning that I have recently gone off of my hormonal birth control.  I don't know if any of you have ever done this but this was my first time ever coming off of it.  It's been interesting.  My emotions are super crazy, my tummy is craving things it didn't before, and my body is doing very weird things.  I don't want to blame too much on this, but ladies, come on, you know how hormones can wreak havoc.  I went to my doctor last week and she let me know what I should expect and basically anything is up for grabs on this one.  Mood swings, cravings, irregular cycles and even weight gain can happen while your body is regulating.

If I want to be honest, the weekend wasn't that crazy.  I think my emotions right now are a little out of whack and everything really is affecting me more than it should.  I clearly ate more than usual which really isn't a big deal as long as I don't make a habit of it.  I REALLY REALLY think my hormones were the driving force behind this week.  I'm not that concerned with the weight gain because the eating was a temporary thing and if my body needs to do things before it settles down, then so be it.

I just hope it settles down soon!  I feel like a mad woman ;)

What I did:

1.  I earned somewhere around 8-10 AP.  I only got in three 30 Day Shred workouts :(  I should have done more but I let my time get away from me.

2.  I ate 277 points.  WOW!! 

3.  I feel like my water is slipping away from me!!  I'm going to be extra diligent this week.

4.  What I ate?  In addition to all that glorious food I mentioned above, I had some chicken noodle soup, tuna salad with crudites, SUSHI!!, homemade larabars, as egg sandwich, and peanut butter with semi-sweet chocolate at some point.  Wow, 277 points.  I'm a beast ;)

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!


Today's Menu:

B:  homemade larabar
L:  chicken noodle soup
D: portobello mushroom pizza

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 36

I am SO SO SO late with this post.

+0.4 pounds

I got caught up in my long memorial weekend.

Oh boy did I get caught up in it.  But that's for another post.

Weekly Roundup:

1.  I earned around 13 AP.  I did five 30 Day Shred Workouts.  I'm almost done!! 2 more workouts to go!!

2.  I ate 209 points.

3.  I drank plenty of water.

4.  I am actually not very pleased with how I ate.  Last week I didn't feel like cooking AT ALL and so I made a couple of simple things.  And to be honest, those simple things were not very FILLING things.  So looking back at my log I can see where I was eating more "filler" food than I should have.  I had my sushi but that wasn't the problem.  I see Kettle potato chips in there too much.  Peanut Butter also rears its ugly head.   I also had bought some Gluten Free White Bread and I ate that too much.  Not that there's anything wrong with sandwiches but when I eat bread, it just induces cravings and makes me get snacky.  I didn't eat any items I'm not supposed to (gluten, dairy, soy).  I don't know.  I just wasn't overly happy with my week.  BUT, I'm glad I recognized what happens when I skimp on the cooking.  I just need to remember that for the future ..

Like maybe what happened over Memorial Weekend.

UGH ;)

Today's Menu:

B:  Homemade Larabar
L:  Chicken Noodle Soup
D:  Portobello Mushroom pizza

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 35

And I'm holding steady this week.

Weigh-In:  0 lbs

Nothing too much to report this week so I'll jump right into things.

Weekly Roundup:

1.  I earned 13-14 AP doing five 30 Day Shred workouts.  I'm on level 3 and man I'm SORE.  My neck, upper back, thighs and every inch of my abdominals are all killing me.  But in a good way.

2.  I ate 207 points.  It was just one of those weeks where I wasn't hungry.  I don't know if it was the heat or what, but I just didn't require that much food.  Maybe it was my aching abs :)

3.  I think I officially have this water thing down.

4.  Due to my non-existent hunger, I pretty much ate the same thing every day.  I ate Larabars, zucchini boats, spring vegetable potato salad, cucumbers & hummus and sushi.  Seriously, breakfast was a larabar, lunch was a zucchini boat, potato salad, cucumbers and hummus and dinner was sushi.  Sometimes it's nice to have a little monotony.

And that's it folks.  I have a busy weekend ahead of me.  Star Trek, a photo shoot and hopefully some time by the pool!

Have a great weekend!

 

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 34

Hey y'all.

Fun fact:  I was born and raised in Virginia where the phrase y'all is used quite frequently, as you can imagine.  I haven't lived there since 2000 and I still use y'all like it's going out of style.

And I probably always will.

It's been a long week.  Nothing too stressful happened.  It was more like time just seemed to move at a brutally slow pace.  However, tis Friday and therefore I shall rejoice.

Hurrah!  Hurrah!

Weigh In:  -1.2 lbs

Rejoice again I shall.

Hurrah!  Hurrah!

If my math is right (and it always is- Tony Stark) since January 2nd, I have lost 13.8 pounds.  That's huge!  If memory serves, that's the most consistent weight loss I've ever had in my adult life with relative ease.

For years I have always either counted calories or points.  I always stayed within what was the appropriate calorie deficit for my height and weight but I rarely lost consistent weight.  And if I did, seeing more than a pound loss total per month was a joyous occasion for me.  And I ALWAYS worked out.  HARD.  I ran, I lifted weights, I played sports, I did it all.  Up until January 2013 that has always been my plan.  I followed my points/calories, I worked out 5-6 days a week and I'd pray for the weight loss to happen.  And I usually felt horrible.  I was usually hungry, craving some sort of take-out/fast food item.  Or counting the seconds til the weekend when I could have my "cheat day" and finally be satisfied.  I also felt like I had no control over the situation.  I felt like I had no control over what I was eating. 

When I was younger, this sort of worked for me.  I was able to keep serious weight gain at bay but never really got the results I wanted.  But as I got older (especially in the last couple of years) it eventually became this cycle that wore me to the bone.  Monday thru Friday I was diligent.  I always stayed within my daily points/calories and I got in my workouts (intense hour plus long workouts).  But I was either always hungry or always wishing I was eating something else.  I didn't want to touch those Weekly Points because I wanted them for the weekend.  And then the weekend would come and I would eat those "naughty" items.  I wouldn't go over my points (most of the time) but I would relish every last one.  And then come Monday morning, I'd weigh 5 pounds heavier due to my weekend splurges.  And then during the work week, I'd be diligent again and slowly would lose those 5 pounds and if I was really, really lucky maybe an extra quarter pound would come off too.  But then the weekend would come and I would do it over again.

And that made for some terribly slow weight loss.  Or rather, it made for some non-existent weight loss.

From mid September 2012 to the end of December 2012 I had been on WW for 15 weeks.  At the end of those 15 weeks I had lost 0.2 pounds total.

See what I mean?  Vicious cycle.

And while I knew this was going on I still felt like something was wrong with me.  Like there was nothing left for me to try to lose weight because it just wasn't working for me.

Then in January of this year I changed everything about the way I ate.  And if I'm going to be honest, I was pretty scared to do it.  I'd like to say I was so frustrated about my weight (and I was) that I was just hell-bent on changing everything to get results.  But even knowing that change was necessary to get what I DESPERATELY wanted (weight-loss), I was afraid to give up eating certain foods. 

It was my own Sophie's Choice.  Did I want to be miserable in my body (because I was starting to become that way) but be able to eat whatever deliciousness I wanted OR did I want to try to make some dietary changes which would most definitely make me healthier and just might make me lose some weight?

I easily made the decision to change my diet but in the weeks leading up to my designated date (I chose January 2), I had all sorts of negative feelings about it.  I was doubtful it would work, I was scared I would miss food too much, I was nervous that my life would be miserable because I couldn't eat whatever I wanted.

I seriously had that thought.  That I would have a miserable existence because I was cutting unhealthy food out of my life.  That's just not right.

There are people who CAN eat whatever they want and maintain a healthy life and weight.  I am not one of those people.

I have NEVER been one of those people. 

So after a couple months of preparation and because of other on-goings in my life, on January 2nd, I started a particular elimination diet that would eventually change my way of thinking.  I cut out the processed food and other items and ended up learning that my body doesn't do well on certain foods.  Apparently my body does not like gluten, dairy and to a small degree soy and eggs.

And from there, my world changed.

I lost weight even though I wasn't exercising.  I taught myself that taking things out of your diet doesn't mean you have nothing left to eat, in fact, there are usually too many choices!  I learned that certain foods have an excessive amount of control over me and when I stop eating them, I take back ALL control.  And  I learned that it's still hard work.

There is no band-aid people.  No matter which path your body takes you on, there will always be hard work along the way.

None of these revelations were overnight.  I still struggle with feelings of success and failure.  I still have moments where I wish I were "normal".  But they aren't as bad as they used to be.  Thank God.  But the best thing I've learned is that changing my diet did NOT make me miserable :)

What I did this week:

1.  I earned probably around 15 AP.  I did five 30 Day Shred workouts.  I took an extra day off due to crazy muscle soreness.  I don't know what it is about level 2 but it makes my hips and lower back hurt crazy bad.  I think it's the last ab exercise, the plank while bringing your knee over.  Whatever it is, it makes for some serious body soreness.

2.  I ate 214 points for the week (I do not count AP towards my total)

3.  Water = :)

4.  What I ate.  This past week I made my homemade Big Macs, chef salad, soup au pistou (fancy name for vegetable soup to which I added chicken), roasted chicken lettuce wraps, and chicken scampi.  I also indulged in some larabars, peanut butter, and sushi.  But not at the same time. (I'll be trying my hand at homemade larabars this weekend.  If I'm successful I'll let you know)

Today's Menu:
B:  Larabar
L:  Chef Salad + Apple
D:  Soup au Pistou ** and probably some sushi ;)

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 32 plus 30 Day Shred Update

Weigh-In:  -1.6 pounds

A couple of things:  Even though my weigh-ins are on Friday mornings, two weeks ago, I decided to do a weigh-in on the following Saturday morning just for fun.

That fine Saturday morning, I registered my lowest weight for 2013.  It was a nice surprise even though I'm acutely aware of how much my weight fluctuates.  And just for reference, it was about 3 pounds lower than my weigh-in this morning. 

Like I said, that ultra low weigh-in was TWO weeks ago.  And you know what?  I haven't really been able to get it out of my head.  First, I had that giant spike last Friday (+3.6 pounds) and though I lost weight this week, it is still, like I said, about 3 pounds lower than that magical Saturday weigh-in.  I'm really happy that I still had a loss this week but honestly that Saturday reading was still plaguing me.

Until yesterday and today.

I went bathing suit shopping yesterday.  I tried on suit after suit but I couldn't find anything that fit.   It took me 3 rounds in the dressing room before I realized the reason nothing fit was because I was grabbing the wrong size.  On my fourth try, I grabbed one size smaller of everything and though I was skeptic that was the problem, I walked out that day with three different suits.  Yes, three.  All in the smaller size.  I don't know about you but for me that is a giant victory.  And it was a nice start to help me get over that whole lowest weight thing.

Then today, I decided to do a measurement update for my 30 Day Shred.  The first numbers are my starting numbers, the second numbers are my measurements as of today:

Chest:  40"/40"
Ribs:    33"/32.75"
Waist:  33.5"/33"
Hips:    42"/42"
Belly Button:  34.5"/34.5"
Upper Thigh:  24"/23.75"
Leg @ Knee:  18"/17.5"
Left Arm:  12.25"/12"

As you can see, I've made a little bit of progress after only 8 workouts!  I'll be doing my 9th workout of Level 1 tonight and if things go as planned, I'll be starting Level 2 on Sunday.  I'm excited to move on to Level 2.  I watched it last night and it's definitely a step up and I'm totally ready.

Anyway, as I was writing down my new measurements I realized something.  Those starting measurements for the 30 Day Shred are actually my final measurements from Slim in 6.  And you know what?  Those were taken TWO DAYS after my magical Saturday morning weigh-in.  You see where this is going?  The new measurements are my numbers as of TODAY and even though I weigh some 3 pounds more than I did 2 weeks ago, I have actually lost 1.25 inches overall since that magical Saturday morning.

In fact, check out my measurements from February 15, 2013:

Chest:  41"
Ribs:    34"
Waist:  35"
Hips:    43"
Belly Button:  35.5"
Upper Thigh:  24"
Leg @ Knee:  18.25"
Left Arm:  12.5"

February 15th was also one of my Friday Weigh-In Days.  And you know how much I weighed on February 15th?  The exact same amount that I weigh today except that I am smaller by 7.75 inches.

The point is, TAKE YOUR MEASUREMENTS PEOPLE.  As long as I keep losing inches, I kind of don't care what the scale says.  The scale is just one form of feedback and probably not even really a good form at that.

Now, on to my Weekly Roundup:

1.  I earned around 15 AP.  I think that's a pretty good guess.  I did six 30 Day Shred workouts.  (NOTE:  I DON'T EAT MY AP)

2.  I ate 244 points.  I was aiming for 220-225 but didn't quite hit the mark.  I'm going to aim for 220-225 again this week.  (No AP points are calculated in my weekly totals)

3.  I drank water.  In fact, it's getting easier so I'm hope that means it's becoming a habit.

4.  I ate very well.  I had my weekly sushi and I also ate out yesterday at Hugo's.  I've mentioned this restaurant before.  It's a god send.  They serve all sorts of vegan, gluten free, allergen free options and everything is made organic and fresh.  I had a club sandwich with a side salad.  Other than that, I made everything else I ate.  I made borscht, beef fajita lettuce wraps and portobello mushroom pizzas.  Oh yeah, and I managed to keep the sweets at bay :) 

Today's Menu:

I'm on vacation!!  I didn't go anywhere so I guess it's technically a stay-cation but I don't care,  I love not being at work.

I've only had lunch today and it was a portobello mushroom pizza.

Have a great weekend!!!!!!!!