Weigh-In ... Kickstart Results

Today's Weight:  164.5

Loss/Gain:  - 4.0 lbs

Our six days of the 7-Day Kickstart Your Metabolism plan paid off (yes, we started Saturday and were happy to add grains back in today..six days was good and it's my official weigh-in day.) 

In fact...for the record...my sister-in-law is down 5 lbs this week too!!  

We're doing the happy dance!

Here's our little review of the week.

• We agree the food all tasted fine, except plain greek yogurt (BLECH.)  
• We agree the amount of vegetables helped our bowels move smoothly.  
• The fatigue that comes with drastically cutting out sugars was difficult.  I knew to expect this, but SIL did not; and she said that was the worst part for her. 
• We've both noticed belly bloating has gone way down.  
• I noticed my craving for sweets has been pretty much non existent.  

We agree we would do this again if necessary and it was definitely worth jumpstarting ourselves to get back with healthier eating.  

In fact, last night SIL asked me, "So, can we eat ______ next week?"  

I was like, "Yes...blah. blah." and then I got to thinking.  She's somewhat new to this.  She's eaten healthy before and lost weight, but she's looking to me for some help now. 

Oh my.  

I need to be a good example.  I've been wanting to help get my family back on a healthier track, but now I see that she really wants to keep this up.  A couple of times she has mentioned not wanting to ruin this week's results and wanting to keep going with the good eating -- and I agree.

So, last night I wrote out a menu of options of food for the week ahead and have emailed a copy to her.  I've printed one out to put on my fridge (there was a template on my computer, so this didn't take long at all.) and we are going to stick to this plan.  

I usually always jot down my dinner menu before writing a grocery list, so this was taking it one step further.

I think one of the best things about following the kickstart plan was the menu, but with options.  There was a menu plan for every day, but the book said to go ahead and switch meals as long as you stayed within the same meal of the day (no switching lunch for dinner, etc.).  In following that line of thinking I  have made it so that we can pick from each meal of the day what we feel like eating that day.  

I'm going grocery shopping today, so the foods needed for these meals will be available.

And in case you're interested...here's my menu:

So, there you have it.  The kickstart was worth the week and we're ready to keep going.  Wish me luck and thanks for stopping by!

Weigh-In ... Something Has To Be Done

Today's Weight:  168.5

Loss/Gain:  +1.0 lb

Short Story:

I've no idea why, but I'm having the hardest time staying out of the junk.  I think I'm in a subconscious rebellion.  :(  But I won't give up and I have decided something has to be done and I'm ready to do it.  I have a plan! (for the umpteenth time...but success does consist of getting up one more time, right?)

Long Story:

Well, I'm not surprised by the gain and only glad it wasn't more.  This has been a real "off" week for me.  It's like I can't get a grip on getting back on track after the Christmas feasting.  Last week I was doing great and then the weekend went bad.  Sheesh.  The other day I even went so far as to look up when TOM hit last month to see if maybe that was my problem, but alas...I'll be way early if that's the case. 

Anyway...the only thing I can think of is that I'm subconsciously rebelling against the thought of getting back on track, because I know deep down I need to get seriously on track. 

I'm not sure.  *rolling eyes*  

I do know that I told a friend of mine I feel like I'm still recuperating from our busier-than-ever Christmas season in all areas of my life.  I find myself deciding to take a nap rather than work on something I know needs to get done.  It's like I was so glad to not have evening commitments that I have relaxed too much.  

Again..I'm not sure.  I just know that not only do I feel guilty at times for the snacking-when-no-one-is-looking moments, but I also feel crappy physically.  It's not nice to feel this way.  

Anyway, it is what it is and....I've decided on a solution to deal with the lack of focus.  

My sister-in-law and I are going to do Jillian Michael's 7-day kickstart eating plan from her Body Revolution plan. **

I did this last summer (read here) and found that as miserable at I felt at times eating gross plain greek yogurt..blech. eating no sugars/grains really helped curb my cravings for sweets.  (I know, I know... it's a proven fact that I choose to ignore most of the time.)  I also know that while eating plain yogurt isn't my favorite thing there are lots of other foods out there that I do enjoy, even though I usually decide to skip over them for junk.

Folks, I'm less than 30 pounds from my goal weight and I know what things are keeping me from getting there.  I've simply chosen to try and get around them and fake it.  That's not working and I'm tired of it. 

I've gotta do something, so I've decided to go a little drastic to jumpstart myself back into losing.  The 7 days don't allow ANY sugar or grains, to kick the sugar demon out.  

I'll be honest...I don't look forward to the days I feel miserable because I can't have what I want, but I know if I can push through those days it'll be worth it.  

Okay, let me back up and explain the last comment.  Those thoughts are the product of my plan to continue on with Jillian's regular Body Revolution meal plan after the 7-day kickstart.  The plan mainly consists of whole grains, lean meats, fruits and veggies.  Nothing weird.  Just good wholesome foods minus the added sugar. 

That's why it's a little scary for me, but I know it needs to be done.  I'm not only frustrated with not being able to break away from the junk food, but I also have two people close to me who are trying to lose weight and I want to be a good example for them.  and I can't have them reaching their goal before me!! lol

I also know that anyone who has followed me for a while will read this and think, "We'll see.  She's said this before."  and I don't blame you one bit.  This changing my life & bad habits stuff is hard and I don't like to do what's hard.  It's why I'm taking almost 4 years to lose weight.  :(  

But, I have always said that I won't give up.  I've got goals this year and I need to get to feeling better so I can complete them.  

Wish me luck!  Say a prayer!  Send healthy vibes! 

And most of all...thanks for checking in on me!  :)

**  SIL is staying with us for a bit, needs to lose about as much weight as me and was frustrated...so we're killing two birds with one stone here - helping her and getting myself back on track.  

So This is What it Feels Like

For six days this week (Mon - Sat) I am following Jillian's Michaels kickstart meal plan for the Body Revolution to kind of get me on a track to healthier eating.  I have decided if I can fast I can stick to a healthy eating plan.  

So, basically this is a no-sugar, no grains week.  My only "cheat" is that I decided after two days of coffee with no sugar to add my one packet of sweet n low back in to a cup of coffee.  I also use half-n-half, which is not on her plan.  I just decided it's my one thing that won't change, so I'm okay with it.  She does suggest only two mugs of coffee a day and I'm abiding by that.  

It's been interesting so far, but good too.  The meals do not all include favorite foods of mine (I tried brussel sprouts last night), but I decided I could do anything for a week.  :)  

I'm pushing out of my comfort zone and as I'm staying away from sweets, tracking my calories and trying healthier foods I keep thinking, "So this is what it's like to actually stick to a plan!!!" :D  

Checking in Post Kickstart

So....Friday we added grains and sugars back into our diet and....

It's been okay.  I have found that I wasn't really craving sweets, but I did enjoy a nice cup of ice cream Friday night as a treat.

My weekend went very well, considering weekends are usually more free-for-all than not in my eating. I stayed within my calorie budget..until Sunday night.

We met with some friends after our evening church service to catch the second half of the Super Bowl and I ended up eating pizza.  I bought a salad and had some of that, but ate more pizza than I needed.  And some cinnamon dessert thing, which wasn't even that good except that it had cinnamon and chocolate on it.

Dang.

But yesterday I decided I wasn't going to beat myself up for one meal.

Instead, I decided to beat myself up later for munching my way through half of a Sam's Club muffin.  300 calories.  Yikes!

That was frustrating, because I felt like I was sliding back towards the sugar/junk thing.

More dang!!

I texted my ever-faithful friend about it and she encouraged me that "tomorrow is a new day".

True.  And I'm not going to quit because of eating pizza, ice cream and 1/2 of a huge muffin this week.

Tonight we have a pot luck at Bible Study and that kind of scares me.  However, I know what's being served (the leader's wife makes the main dish and we bring sides/desserts), so I have a plan.  This is like a test for me, because these are the events that throw me off.  I'm a social eater..I enjoy eating when others are.

Exercise is going well, so wish me luck with the food.  After my bumps in the road I'll be content with a maintain this week, but I think it'll take some focus to get it.

Here's to trying.

Oh, and SIL is doing great!!!  She ate pizza with me, but no muffin yesterday (I was nibbling on it throughout the afternoon...).