Are you over 200pds, let's diet together

Height: 5' 10" Age: 49 yo
SW: 260
CW: 246.6
GW: 175

3/3/20 250.2 lbs
3/10/20 247.2 lbs
3/17/20 246.6 lbs
3/22/20 246 lbs
3/27/20 244 lbs

March: - 6.2 lbs.

@kmiller2350: I know all of us will have different responses to this; being controlling by nature, I am getting some of that worked out by diligent control of diet. Others will find it necessary to be gentle with themselves and just go for maintenance for a while. In these crazy times, sometimes all we can do is get ourselves and our families out the other side of the crisis.

I'm certainly having to get used to having Boyfriend working from home. He has a tendency to like to play his music with his office door open. Our musical tastes do not always completely align. And he likes to come out and get chatty at points, and that breaks my focus and distracts me from what I'm doing.

And of course the cats think that he is in his office to pet them and be entertained by their antics. We had to order some cat grass and pots because they have been grazing heavily on his lucky bamboo. It won't hurt them, but the poor thing is looking a little ragged, so I shut it away upstairs in the spare bedroom by the window. If I need to I'll just bring it down to help make his office look nice when we get ready to show the house, and keep it safe from kitties at all other times!

Well, we're not showing it til the shelter in place order is lifted. But we've had someone in to advise us on staging, and I am doing what he said to do. Things like touchup painting where the wall is scuffed, making sure that I have the closets empty enough to show their capacity, and getting things generally decluttered and prettied up.

2020 start Jan 1: 245.2

-12.4 pounds in Jan
-8.6 pounds in Feb / Weight=224.2 on 2/28/20
-6.8 pounds in March

3/27/20: 217.4

4/03/20: 216.2

Checking in/weighing in. I was happy to lose a pound this week because I know I'm getting a little sloppier with my eating. We're now in our 4th week of sheltering in place and although I do get out for a 3-4 mile walk every evening, the lack of social stimulation is definitely getting to me. Since we're in NYC I'm keenly aware that social distancing may be keeping us alive right now but it does raise a lot of anxiety and I'm trying hard to find constructive ways of dealing with that. I wish I enjoyed cleaning as much as I enjoy eating!!!

There is one sort of funny positive to all this though. I lost quite a bit weight in Jan-Mar before I really noticed it in how my clothes fit. Then all of a sudden (it seemed like overnight), nothing fit anymore. My pants were falling off my hips and my tops all looked like sacks. Unfortunately none of my "skinny" clothes fit yet either. However, with nowhere to go and nobody to see, I don't really need any clothes other than "go for a walk alone" clothes and my Netflix pj's! So I'm saving all the money I might have needed to spend on clothes if I were actually going to work or out to socialize. Maybe by the time we're set free again I'll be able to fit in the "skinny" wardrobe and I will have skipped over the whole awkward "nothing to wear" phase of this. Anyway, it's one little ray of sunshine right now.

I'd love to hear how you all are actually dealing with food now. Are you cooking more? Cooking healthier? Trying new things? Or are you relying more on prepared foods? We're definitely cooking more but I'm not sure it's really healthier since we have fallen back on comfort foods. For me that means more carbs--something I've was limiting up 'til now.

eppen5 wrote: »

I'd love to hear how you all are actually dealing with food now. Are you cooking more? Cooking healthier? Trying new things? Or are you relying more on prepared foods? We're definitely cooking more but I'm not sure it's really healthier since we have fallen back on comfort foods. For me that means more carbs--something I've was limiting up 'til now.

Not a lot has changed for us. From November through January, my boyfriend was home and not working. He had weight loss surgery and can't do much in the way of bread and pasta and too much fat, and I can't do most vegetables. Girlfriend can do both the carbs AND the veggies, so she gets both.

So I made a low-carb breakfast casserole weekly that Boyfriend and Girlfriend eat warmed up in the morning (I can give a recipe if desired) and I have my English muffin with butter and sugarfree jam and tea. Ever since I had my kids I cannot eat heavy in the morning.

Then I cook a simple lunch, and what we have for lunch is on a weekly rotation; chicken quesadillas on Monday, hamburgers on Tuesday, chili con carne or ham and beans on Wednesday, pulled pork with bbq sauce on Thursday, Friday is refrigerator cleanout lunch, Saturday is hot dogs, and Sunday is usually various vaguely Mexican-flavored things and beans and cheese rolled into a large tortilla. We call them Mexi-wraps.

Dinner is on a five week rotation. Yes, I plan my menus five weeks ahead. It's very easy and then you don't have to think about it, you can get the meat out to thaw ahead, cut some veggies for tomorrow when you're doing them tonight, etc, and no one says, "Oh, spaghetti AGAIN?!" This week is as follows;
Tonight was beef marsala with onions and mushrooms, orichette pasta for us girls, and steamed asparagus with butter and cracked black pepper and fleur de sel, and garlic toast.
Tuesday night is cashew chicken and steamed white rice or cauliflower rice.
Wednesday night is our special night, and we're doing egg drop soup, hot and sour soup, char sui pork with Chinese mustard to dip it in, vegetable fried rice/cauliflower fried rice, egg rolls, and crab rangoon. And yes I am making it all from scratch. (Well, the crab rangoon filling's made; it makes a vast quantity and freezes nicely. And the egg rolls are left from last time and are in the freezer. I have to make my own because I can't eat cabbage.)
Thursday night is spaghetti and meatballs, with pan-seared zucchini chunks and garlic bread. He eats his red sauce and meatballs on the zucchini chunks and doesn't miss pasta.
Friday night is beef hard-shell tacos with Mexican rice and beans. Girlfriend has tooth issues and so she gets soft tacos.
Saturday night we are having lamb/beef gyros on pita breads with lettuce and tomato and onion and tzatziki sauce, and probably some chips. I need to use up that gyro loaf.
Sunday night we are having chicken-fried steak with sausage gravy, biscuits, hash browns, and eggs as desired.

But I genuinely adore cooking for an appreciative audience. And a lot of that is sitting in the freezer precooked or with some of the ingredients pre-made. I cook up hamburger with flavorings for tacos and freeze it; it nukes quickly when wanted. The sausage for the gravy is cooked in the freezer. The meatballs were baked in the oven then frozen. Same for the gyro loaf; it makes like meatloaf, and when I rewarm it we'll get two meals out of one loaf. I'm used to hurting far more when I stand, so I've learned to precook and sit a lot during preparing it.

Great non-scale victory: I fit in a smaller size jeans!!!!! Thankfully I still have three pair. My original jeans in December had gotten so tight I was going to have to go up a size. Instead I went down one!! They are a little snug but that will change as I go. Any other non-scale victories out there?

@AlexandraFindsHerself1971
Your meal plan sounds delish. Would you be willing to share the gyro loaf recipe?

eppen5 wrote: »

Wow Alexandra. I cut out your meals from the quote but I am super impressed. Your meals not only sound delicious but there is so much variety. I really don't have any excuse for not being more inspired in my meal planning since I certainly have enough time these days but somehow it still seems to end up being spaghetti or stir-fry most nights. And lunch is usually "open the fridge and stare until something catches my interest". I need to study your plan a little more.

If you would like I can send you a private message detailing how I make the plan.

My first husband liked variety and would. not. eat. the same thing or the same kind of thing in the same week. My five-week meal plans came out of having to cope with that. And I realized, hey, I like variety too!

Life has been in a complete upheaval since I last checked in. Trying to jump back on the plan but it is hard being alone most of the time. Hope everyone else is doing well and staying healthy!