January 2, 2023

I had a good weigh in this morning. I weighed 217.6. I don't think I lost 2 pounds overnight, I just think my holiday bloat is starting to come off. Woohoo! Can't wait to weigh in again tomorrow and see if this trend continues. I work at a BBQ restaurant and I had to work today. The biggest challenge I have at work is that I work 9am-3 or 4pm without a break, so no lunch, and the food is soooo good there. It is difficult to deny temptation. Today, I was extra cravy (crazy with cravings!) for some reason. I so wanted to eat everything in site like the chocolate cake, brisket, potato salad, etc. I get a shift meal and today I had planned to have some turkey and green beans, but instead I decided to give in to the cravings a little, but not too badly and I pulled chicken/no bread, with a salad and baked beans. We had a great salmon, broccoli and cauliflower dinner and I had chocolate covered pretzels for dessert. My total calorie intake for the day was 1261 and I did well on keeping my carbs low. I gained 423 calories from exercise, which was walking at work. According to MFP, if every day were like today I'd weigh 200.9 in 5 weeks! I hope its true!! Hope everyone else had a great day!
Shannon

January 4, 2023

The batteries in my Withings scale, which is the one I usually use died last week, so I've been using my husband's scale, which weighs a little lighter than mine. Today, I finally got around to putting batteries in mine and the result was what looks like a 1.7 lb weight gain from yesterday. [Sigh...] Its ok, because I know this is a more accurate weight and I still am on track for a fairly large loss this week I had to work today, and since I've had such bad cravings at work, I had a little larger than usual breakfast. It really helped. I got through the day and stayed within my calories. When I completed my diary tonight, MFP calculated that if everyday is like today, I will weigh 198.00 in 5 weeks! I'm so looking forward to February! It would be great to reach ONEderland by Valentine's day! Hope everyone else is doing well.

January 6, 2023

I was excited to see another pound gone today. I weighed in at 215.5, which is where I was on Christmas eve. Unfortunately during the week between Christmas and New Year's I indulged too much and it caused me to have a set back, but now I feel I'm back on track and ready to get this weight off! I was in a hurry today so I had a protein shake for breakfast. I chose Turkey and a side salad for lunch (I was proud of the choice, because I really wanted beef brisket). I had a 4oz portion of peach cobbler at work and was stunned at the 200 calories it added to my day... not doing that again. That's one thing I love about tracking, at least for me, it helps me compare my choices and make better ones, for instance, I can have a small sweet for 200 calories or a whole lean cuisine meal for about 200 calories. Sometimes I go for the sweet, but at least i know I'm making that choice mindfully. I made a pot roast and broccoli for dinner, and was satisfied with just one helping. In the past I would have gone back for seconds. Now, there are leftovers to look forward to for tomorrow! I didn't put it in my diary, but I made a chocolate cake for my dad's birthday and I did like the spatula! I will have to have a piece tomorrow, but to offset it, I plan to go on a hike. I'm not too worried about the impact on my weight loss because its been a good week and I'm not trying to lose weight too quickly. Anywhoo... Hope you all had good days, too!

Sorry for all the typos.. doing this on my phone and I’m all thumbs! 😂

dianastepheny wrote: »

@momwow17 I give you a lot of credit. I don’t know how I would fare if I worked at the restaurant where you work. That’s a lot of self control you have! You seem to have everything under control though and you’re off to a great start for the new year!

Diana, thanks for your kind words. Right now, I am pretty motivated and fortunately the restaurant has some really healthy, lean and delicious protein choices, which I've been eating for my shift meal, but even though I feel in control and motivated, I'm struggling to stay on track. I've done this so many times, that is, start out great, lose 5-10, or maybe even 50-60 lbs then just quit and gain it back. I don't know why, but I'm trying to figure it out. I'm currently reading a book on self-sabotage and one thing that resonates is I have an over-indulgent and perfectionist personality type, which they describe as "all in" or "all out." For this type, moderation is difficult, so overindulgent types start something like weight loss all in, lose a lot of weight, then have a bad day, which turns into just falling off the wagon completely. We are constantly saying, "I'll start again on Monday." Unfortunately, this describes me to a tee This is why I started this group. I'm hoping the accountability and connection will help me finally realize my goals. I'm also trying to do things a little differently. When I've lost weight in the past I track and stay within 1200 calories religiously, but this time I've given myself some wiggle room and my goal is 1200-1400 calories/day. I'm also trying to focus more on short term goals. I'm hoping this helps me practice moderation and that will lead to long-term weight loss and maintenance. One step at a time, right!

So, this week I've let stress derail my motivation and today I weighed in at 216.5, which is a .10 gain from last week's weigh in. I'm kind of bummed, because I don't feel like I ate poorly, well, except for a handful of mini-candy bars on 3-4 days and I also broke down and had a few alcoholic drinks on Friday. I decided I probably can't teetotal it, but I can drink in moderation and that's ok. I think if I'd been exercising each day, I would have been ok, but since I'm not burning calories, the extra calories just add weight.

It amazes me how responsive my body is to my diet and exercise efforts. When I stay at 1200-1400 calories daily, I consistently lose 2-3 lbs per week, so I have to get in the mindset that this is a life change, not a diet, and take joy in eating clean and living healthy. And there is a lot of joy in it. I love eating healthy foods, they taste great, are very satisfying and make me feel good. I need to remind myself often that sugar and carbs just leave me feeling depressed, bloated and depleted of energy so they aren't worth the moment of pleasure I get when I eat them. Today, I decided to get back on track. So far I've had a protein shake and I'm going to eat a Lean Cuisine for lunch and go for a walk this afternoon. I hope everyone else is pumped up for a great week ahead!

I read my post from a week ago and unfortunately, I didn't follow my plan, but here I am today committing myself again to having a healthy week this week. So far, so good. I had an amazing breakfast burrito this morning made from 2 eggs, 1/4 avocado, 28g cheddar cheese, and some soffritos. Hubby and I are planning to go for a walk today. I went shopping yesterday and stocked up on fruits/veggies and lean proteins. I'm all ready to get back on it for this week! Hope everyone else is doing well, too.

does anyone else wake up super early when you are eating healthy and getting the right amount of exercise. In my head, I know getting up early gets you set up for a productive day, but as a night owl its very annoying to look at the clock and see 5am and know you're not going back to sleep... if this is you, how do you make the best use of the time?

This morning, I got up and did the dishes (I confess, I am one of those who leaves dirty dishes overnight). Now, I'm getting ready to put some items on Ebay that I've been procrastinating. Honestly, I do find these early morning wake up times to be some of my most productive time.

Anyway, I posted under this thread to say I'm proud of myself so far this week. I started the week at 236.2 and today I'm already at 233.2! Woohoo! Yesterday evening, after dinner even though I had eaten all my calories, I had a craving for comfort food, and I kind of gave in, but instead of eating ramen or some other unhealthy thing, I heated up a can of northern beans, added a little salt and pepper and that satisfied the craving. This is one instance when not having much unhealthy food in the cabinet worked in my favor.

I hope everyone else is having a stellar week!
Shannon