Saturday, December 28, 2013

Exercise Log: December 27

Walked into work.

Chilly--about minus 10 (Celcius). Terrible wind. Sidewalks treacherous in spots.

Felt great, though.

45 minutes.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Excercise Log: December 23

Walked home from work today. It was about plus one (celcius).

Beautiful sunshine.

About 3km. 45minutes.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Excercise Log Dec 19



No weigh-in today.

After thinking about doing some stretching for a couple of weeks, now, I finally cracked open my Exercise Bible and got down to the Mobility Exercises.

Went much better than I'd expected. The lying supine stretch is still next to impossible, as is the wall roll down, but the opposite arm and leg reach was more than doable. Guess all that walking at work has paid off!

I threw in a hip flexor exercise (a lunge)--doable but only by hanging on to a chair. Also did an inner thigh stretch. I read that my hamstrings may be tight because my hip flexors are also tight. Thus.

Also did some squats. Not sure why.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Wednesday Weigh In: Grateful

HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 237.8 (down 0.8 pounds from two weeks ago)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5
Age: 49
Workouts this week: 0

I am relieved. The weight gain has slowed--even, perhaps, stopped. It's breathing room while I figure out what to do. I am grateful. I need it.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Wednesday Weigh-In: Chaos

Today:
HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 238.6 (up 3.2 pounds from last week)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5
Age: 49
Workouts this week:
30 minute cardio (2 mile) low impact aerobics x1 ? Maybe.
30 minute weight routine x1

Too much cake.

I have been over at my Mom's nearly every single day this week helping her (and my husband) get my 5 year old nephew's bedroom ready for him. And, my mother has cake. Not homemade cake, either. Store bought mousse cakes that demand to be demolished in two days while taking several breaks, just for a "small slice." Potato chips and cookies peak from grocery bags piled on the counter. They call to me even after they're put away into the pantry. Unfortunately, I am less than enthusiastic about this room make over project--so I am justify eating those treats as "my reward." That--and the fact that my Mom's fridge is freezing her food at irregular intervals so having fresh food (or even something cold to drink) can't be relied upon.

My stress levels are sky high. I wake up in chaos and come home to worse. I've neglected the house all summer and I plan to just leave things be until the kids are back at school next week. The kids do the dishes when I ask but never all of them all at once. (That's hard for even me to do.) Vacuuming (the other chore I ask them to do) is hit or miss. I haven't cleaned. I haven't made a menu plan for two weeks now.

Even so, that number up there feels a little unfair. It surprised me. Obviously, I have not figured out how to lose weight yet and live the life I have here before me. And when I say it like that, it's no longer a big mystery why I'm gaining weight. The life I have here before me is a life which packs on the pounds.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

A Healthy Diet

Criteria:

1) Satisfying. Each meal (or snack) should be able to keep you from feeling hungry for as long as you need it too--anywhere from three to five hours. The frequency with which you eat will depend on each person. There is an argument to be made that eating more often keeps the metabolism revved up-- and that will help with weight loss. It's an argument. Some can do this. Some want to and can eat more often than others, for others, (like me) this just leads to inappropriate eating. I prefer to eat as I did on the whole 30-- just three filling meals per day, no snacks. To my way of thinking, the less I need to eat, the less I will actually eat, and the less I prompt a rush of insulin into my bloodstream, the better.

2) Adequate calories for activity. (Slightly fewer for weight loss.)

3) Lots of vitamins and minerals (and other stuff science is only beginning to identify) found in whole foods.

4) Nothing you are intolerant towards, whether that be fat (my gallstones) or gluten (celiac disease) or lactose, for example.

5) Affordable.

6) Sustainable. This is more than just affordability, it also includes variety (if you can afford that), and whatever it requires of you to prepare the food you're eating. Some advocates of paleo diets advised their participants to "cook on the weekends" and if they meant cook all weekend (or even one day) for the week ahead, there's no way that would work for me. Not right now, anyway. For others, that might be fine, even fun.

I've left out the whole macro breakdown on purpose. (That is, what proportions of carbs/fats/protein should be in the diet). Human beings have survived on all sorts of diets--and no particular macro breakdown is appreciably better than another for weight loss.

Are there other things I should be considering? Is there anything I've left out?

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Wednesday Weigh-In: The Appointment

Today:
HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 235.4 (up 0.8 pounds from last week)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5
Age: 49
Workouts this week:
30 minute cardio (2 mile) low impact aerobics x2
30 minute weight routine x2
at least one brisk walk with the husband and the dog.

I slept badly.
I am stressed about meeting with a GI specialist this morning about my gallbladder. I really do not want him/her to take it out. The only reason that I can see to take it out is so I'll be able to eat fast food again without fear. But that seems like a stupid reason to lose a body part.

As well, I just do not like doctors, generally.

I've also been over at my Mom's a lot this week getting my nephew's bedroom painted and set up for him. I'll be spending even more time in the coming days over there. I've let my house go, too. It's stressful.

Ugh. Still. I shouldn't be using food to deal with my emotions.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Wednesday Weigh-In: Illlogical Belief

Today:
HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 234.6 (up 3.2 pounds from last week)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5
Age: 49

Workouts since last week:
1 mile WATP w/Leslie Sansone video
at least one 20-30 minute walk with my husband and the dog
30 min (2 mile) Cardio workout w/ Leslie Sansone video
I don't quite understand the 231 pounds I weighed last week. I weigh myself in the morning, right after I've been to the bathroom, and I was 233, 231, 232, 234, and 233. The scale is rather arbitrary.

Then again, I did go to a movie last night and eat copious amounts of chocolate, including m&m's.

I've been inconsistent with recording what I am eating. Looking up calories got old, really fast! In fact, I think I only looked up about one day's worth of food. EitherI need to simplify this, invest more time, or find another method.

I really should promise not to eat any more junk food. But, I don't want to make promises I may not keep. I still have this belief, clinging to me like a stubborn toddler to her mother's leg, that I should be able to eat anything I want --and lose weight, too. Intellectually I know this is absurd.

Emotionally, I'm clinging to that leg for dear life.

Honestly, I don't know what to do with that.

Monday, August 12, 2013

August Menu Plan, Week 2

All of the meat for this week, except the salmon, will be from the freezer.

Special:
Wild Coho salmon steaks, fresh, $1.89/100 g.

Still, horribly expensive, but as Bittman says, it is Wild-Salmon Season.

Weekly Meal Plan (temperatures in parentheses):

Monday (26): Lemon and herb salmon, rice, corn on the cob
Tuesday (25): Brined, BBQ chicken, cucumber salad, broccoli
Wednesday (28): Crock pot garlic pulled pork, boiled potatoes, coleslaw
Thursday (29): Home made hamburgers, potato salad, spinach, tomato, black olive, and feta salad
Friday (26): Unstuffed cabbage, rice.
Saturday (22): Italian #3 (from Well-Fed, p. 37), oven-fried potatoes
Sunday (24): Moroccan grilled chicken, (Well-fed, p. 37) rice, fruit salad.

Friday, August 9, 2013

What's Important?

"It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle."

We hear this over and over again in the weight loss world.

What does my "lifestyle" have to do with my weight?

I thought I understood it. Paleo-low-carb-theWhole30 --none of that was a diet-- it was, I thought--a healthy way to live. I still do. But, I hope it is not the only healthy way to live because it isn't sustainable--at least not for this single income family of four which includes two teenagers.

I need a way to eat that I know I will be able to do for always. I need a way to exercise that's attainable no matter what my circumstances, too. (Though, I'm fortunate and I know it is highly unlikely that I'll ever live in an urban environment without sidewalks, or where it is too dangerous to walk outside, thank goodness.)

It's about sustainability. It's about consistency. It's about eating and exercising in a way that I want to live with forever.

And it about more than food and exercise.

The way you live affects the way your body manages your weight.
Erika Nicole Kendall. Excerpted from Why Is It “A Lifestyle Change?” | A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss.

What's "way I live?" how and when I sleep, how I manage my stress, the quality of my primary relationships, whether I'm happy or depressed. I musn't forget this.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Wednesday Weigh-In: Its Working.

Today:
HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 231.4 (down four pounds from last week (Aug 1))
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5
Age: 49


Squeeeeeeeeeeee.

Man, am I thrilled to see that my newly recommitted efforts have made a difference on the scale!

I've been "watching" what I eat. I've been stuffing my ears with wax and ignoring the siren call of the potato chips at the grocery store. I had chocolate, but I read how many calories were in a serving and ate less than I would have.

I've been working out. Leslie Sansone and I are becoming buds again--and twice I've said "yes" to my husband this week when he asked if I wanted to walk the dog with him.

I've only been writing down what I'm eating for two days now and I think this whole looking up calories thing is for the birds --but it is for thin, agile, perky little singing birds-- and I aim to be one, in time.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

August Menu Plan, week 1

Yes.
I am planning my suppers a week at a time now.

I noticed a few months ago that if I bought meat when it came on sale, it was actually cheaper than buying it at full price on 10% Tuesday. As a result, I now have a freezer full of food--and we need to eat it up.

I could make up a menu plan for the month with what we have on hand, but I choose not too. I made up my menus weekly last month and I actually enjoyed it.

Advantage: I did not under buy--or over buy on produce. Because I do so much work up front planning the monthly menus when it came time to sit down on Sunday and figure out the produce we needed for what I had planned, I was slapdash and hurried about it. That led to forgetting items and sending my husband almost daily to the grocery store on his way home from work. Even though he is very good at sticking to the list and rarely goes off plan, it didn't seem the best approach, really. The less you go into the grocery store, the less you will spend. End of story.

So, now I check the weather (I don't want to use the oven on a hot day. 24 degrees is a hot day in these parts.) I look at the Safeway flyer, think about what we're doing, and then pick what to eat.

(All temperatures are in celcius)

Tuesday (21)
Ground pork with cabbage and apple on rice. (Well Fed)

Wednesday (18)
Homemade pizza with Bittman's simple pizza dough.

Thursday (20)
 Shepard's skillet with broccoli

Friday (23)
Magical Chicken legs, rice, cabbage and carrot salad

Saturday (24)
Crock pot Stroganoff, spinach salad.

Sunday (25) My daughter's 13th birthday!
Brined, BBQ chicken (Well Fed p. 69), Hash browns. Corn on the Cob. salads. Homemade chocolate cake with chocolate icing and ice cream.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Waking Up

Today, I weigh 235.4 pounds.

And I know why.

Throughout this weight loss journey I began in October of 2012, I have wanted losing weight to be easy and effortless.

I figured if I ate the right food in appropriate quantities, exercised every couple of days, slept right and managed my stress, I'd lose weight. And so I did.

Until I didn't.

I used the whole30 as a weight loss diet--which it isn't--and it worked! Then, a few months later, I did it again and it didn't. (Yes, I lost weight. But then I gained it right back.) I became frustrated with the lack of texture in my diet--eating meat and vegetables constantly meant no creamy, no smooth and, what I missed most, no crunchy. Cheap cuts of meat are fatty cuts of meat and when I was told I had gall stones and realised that eating fatty meat probably triggered my attacks, I lost it.

I also wanted to see how much fat I could eat without triggering an attack. So, I dove head first into bags of family sized potato chips, large chocolate bars, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, grilled cheese, bags of M&M's.

Stupid.

I think eating Paleo, as laid out in the whole 30 protocol is a marvellous way to eat: but it is not sustainable for me. Nor is it necessary. Fortunately, other than tiny gallstones, I have no gastro-intestinal issues.

I like the Perfect Health Diet. In their chapter on weight loss, The Jaminets advise eating less fat, (trimming visible fat, not eating the chicken skin, using low-fat cooking methods) and eating to the calorie level you wish to sustain. There may be more recommendations, but these two I remember. (I got their book out of the library. Twice.)

They advocate eating "safe" starches such as white rice and potatoes. Dairy is allowed in it's "processed" forms, like cheese and yogurt, and as a fat, like cream. Milk, given its lactose, is not recommended.

I can live with this "diet."

But I cannot eat blindly. I cannot eat "as much as I want" even if it is "clean" and unprocessed, "natural" food.

I have to be conscious. I have to put in some effort. Exactly what I was hoping not to have to do. This blog post, by Erika Nicole Kendall has convicted me. In it, she writes:

Because… wait for it… auto-pilot doesn’t work for weight loss! That’s right – you can’t do it. Why? Because waking up one day and deciding that you’re going to go auto-pilot eating nothing but grapefruit for breakfast and lunch can’t change the fact that your auto-pilot used to lead you to McDonalds or Krispy Kreme for breakfast every morning. Auto-pilot, unfortunately, does equate to mindlessness. It’s operating without thinking. “Not thinking” before led us to being unhealthy in the first place. It certainly won’t lead us to “healthy,” and if it does, it certainly wouldn’t do it overnight… or in two-six weeks like other diets. Excerpted from The Anatomy of A Diet: Why They Work, and Why The Success Never Lasts | A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss
For me, the whole 30 was my "auto pilot." Truly. That's probably exactly why its creators don't want it to be used and viewed as a weight-loss diet. Using their diet protocol as a way to become lazy about what I put into my body is likely the very last thing the Hartwig's would have wanted.

So, I am left with the task of becoming conscious whether I like it or not, whether I want to be or not. Does that sound nuts? Honestly, I'd really rather be lazy. I'd rather it not take time and effort on my part. Sigh.

I am going to have to learn to count calories.
I am going to have to track my food.
I may even have to weigh and measure.

I really, really don't want to.
But I also really, really don't want to be 235 pounds. Or, even, 200 pounds.

me, at 235 and my new haircut!

So, time to put on my big girl panties.
You know, this could be good.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Wednesday Weigh-In: Adjusting

Today:
HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 212.0 (-1.0 change from last week)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5
Age: 49

Last week:
HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 213.0 (+7.0 change from last week)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5
Age: 49

I came off the whole 30 two weeks ago and attacked sugar and salt like I had never seen it before and didn't know what it could do to me. And that's OK. No, really. I went on the whole 30 to kick start a stalling weight loss. That happened--but once it was over--it stopped happening. And that tells me I need to find something I can live with on an on-going basis.

Given that this week I lost a pound while not attacking the chips and candy (but not exactly eliminating them, either) I know that a reasonable diet will be fine. I have decided to do two things:
1) record my food in a food diary perhaps by taking pictures of it, and
2) watching my starches and having low carb days from time to time.

I do want to mention the mental struggle I am having, too. I have lost a lot of weight. To me, I look thinner. I look great! I walk by a mirror and can not believe how good I look.

But, last night, I went into Wally's world and tried on some clothes. I did NOT look great! I looked just awful, as a matter of fact. It was good. It showed me that I don't yet have the body I want to have. So, I am motivated, once again, to figure this out.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Wednesday Weigh-In: Six Months.

HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 206.0 (-3.2 change from last week)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5
Age: 49
I had a bout of stomach flu (or something) on Monday, hence the significant weight loss this week.
I am finishing up my whole30 on Saturday, so I don't actually expect any more losses between this week and next.

I realised this month I have been "reducing" (as Betty Francis reminded us this week of that wonderful late 60's way of putting it!) for more than six months, now. I first posted my reasons to lose weight back in July of 2011, on this site. I thought of them as my goals. I have achieved most of them.

It may be time to set some new ones, as I still want to "reduce" even more. It's all about looking slim and svelte and strong, now. I'm aware that that is a somewhat arbitrary cultural ideal. Knowing that, however, doesn't diminish its attraction. As well, apart from the cultural indoctrination, there's just something about "no excess" which appeals to that part of me which values efficiency and simplicity. I remember how my body felt when I was slim, strong and svelte in my late twenties and early thirties. I want that back. (Or as close as I can get!)

It is difficult to continue to lose weight and talk about it and aplologise for it at the same time, so I won't be apologising or explaining any more. I want to be slimmer than I am. I'm going to carry on.

Friday, April 5, 2013

April: A Month of Meals

I plan our suppers a month at a time. That way, I can take advantage of ten per cent Tuesday--that first Tuesday of the month when the grocery stores offer 10% off the entire grocery bill.

This week's specials:

Pork Loin centre cut chops: $3.99/lb
Pork Side Spareribs: $2.99/lb
Pork Shoulder Blade steak: $2.99/lb
Ground pork: 3.49/lb plus 30% off

Stewing beef: 3.99/lb
Extra Lean Ground beef: 3.59/lb

Chicken Thighs: $3.39/lb
Chicken Drumsticks: $2.89/lb

Colour Code:
yellow: chicken
green: pork
blue: fish
pink: beef

Details with links:

April 2: Sloppy Bobs x2 on mashed cauliflower
April 3: Shrimp and vegetable stir-fry with rice and spring rools for the family
April 4: Unstuffed Cabbage*, butternut squash
April 5: Veggie Beef Freezer Stew
April 6: Herb Roasted Salmon, mashed cauliflower, roasted sweet potato
April 7: Garlic Pulled Pork, roasted root vegetables, asparagus
April 8: Cottage Flower Pie x2, broccoli
April 9: Captain Chicken,** mashed cauliflower, carrots
April 10: Five Spice Slow Cooker Ribs, roasted rutabaga, salad
April 11: Orange-Olive Chicken*, mashed cauliflower
April 12: Dino Beef Stew
April 13:  Pork Shoulder, butternut squash, broccoli This was awesome! I had leftovers for breakfast for a week.
April 14: Roast Chicken and vegetables (parsnips, sweet potatoes, carrots, onion)
April 15:  Chocolate Chili x 2
April 16: One Pot Chicken Drumsticks
April 17: Porkchops and Squash
April 18: Honey Mustard Mayo Chicken, carrots and spinach
April 19: Crock-Pot Stroganoff w/egg noodles. (Not whole 30 approved. I'll be finished.)
April 20:  Pork Carnitas, roasted cabbage, mashed cauliflower
April 21: Rogan Josh** on mashed cauliflower
April 22:    Sloppy Bobs x2 on mashed cauliflower
April 23: Roasted Chicken thighs with Garlic, Sweet Potato, Bittman's coleslaw.
April 24: Pork Chops Diane, carrots, sweet potatoes
April 25: Artichoke Chicken, spaghetti squash
April 26: Cinnamon Beef Stew**
April 27: leftovers
April 28: Roast Chicken and vegetables (parsnips, sweet potatoes, carrots, onion)
April 29: Ground Beef and Sweet Potato hash, spinach salad
April 30: Honey Mustard Mayo Chicken, carrots and spinach
May 1: Ground pork, apple and cabbage hash**
May 2:  Chicken, Bacon and Sweet Potato Hash, spinach salad
May 3: Brody's Spaghetti sauce and spaghetti squash
May 4: Skillet Shepard's Pie, carrots.
May 5: Roast Chicken and vegetables (parsnips, sweet potatoes, carrots, onion)
May 6: leftovers
May 7: First Tuesday of the month!


*From The Primal Blueprint, Quick and Easy Meals, by Mark Sisson and Jennifer Meier
**From Well-Fed, by Melissa Joulwen
***From It Starts with Food, by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Wednesday Weigh-In: Staying the Course

HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 209.2 (0.0 change from last week)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5
Age: 49

Easter was hard. All that chocolate! All those goodies. I wanted to partake, badly. But I didn't. I'm glad I didn't--or that 0.0 change might have been a gain!

I figure there are three reasons my weight stayed the same: 1) Last week was stressful. It was Spring Break. The kids were home from school. My husband took the week off to work on insulating our basement. He was home. He and my son would work during the day and knock off and play video games in the evening while I ferried my daughter from sleep over to hanging out with her friends to sleep over nearly every day. Then, she got sick--and there was Easter dinner to clean up for and cook. Stress. No quiet time.

2) I was hungry. For some reason, Safeway hasn't had any squash in for weeks. Occasionally they will get some butternut, but that's it. This week, I am trying to make sure I have some sweet potato at least twice a day. I'm not doing it right if I'm hungry!

3) No exercise. None. Zero. Zip. Nada. I feel too self conscious to do it when folks are home. I changed out of my pj's and into my workout gear this morning. I'm trying to decide whether to do 1 mile or 2. It's been a while!

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Wednesday Weigh-In: The Rushed Edition

The stats:

HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 209.2 (-3.4 change from last week)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5"
Age: 49

The second week of my own version of the whole 30. And by my own versio, I mean I am compliant except for putting butter on my veggies and every so often, not fretting if my only choice for supper includes bacon with sugar as one of its ingredients.

It's working for me. I am feeling lean. My energy is steady, even when I forget to eat and wind up missing a meal. I am not experiencing the rollar coaster of emotions that comes with a sugar run metabolism, either. That's the best.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Wednesday Weigh In: "The Whole 30, Week 1" Edition

First, the stats:

HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 212.6 (-5.6 change from last week)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5"
Age: 49

I had been thinking about going back to following the Whole 30 protocol since the beginning of March. After last week's post, I committed to it for just one day. Then, the next day, another. And so it went until Saturday-- I was going to be somewhere for lunch where I had no idea whther I'd find something suitable to eat-- when I decided I didn't want to quit. Easter is coming. I've told my husband he's welcome to get me the Ester chocolate after Easter --on sale!

My energy levels are beginning to come back up. I am quite tired at night, though and I have been resisting it somewhat. I really must stop that and go to bed when my eyes burn!

I woke up at 6am this morning (never happens) and decided to get up, anyway. (Also never happens!) It is unusual for me to feel adequately rested after only seven hours of sleep. Last fall, if you look at the daily logs for November, I was sleeping up to nine hours a night! But then, the days are getting longer, now, not shorter!

I am feeling good. Not fantastic. Not yet. I truly do not understand how what I eat can have such a noticeable impact on my emotions and feelings--even though I know intellectually that metabilism is a process of the endocrine system just as much as my emotions are. But I have never thought of it this way before. It is quite the thing to wrap my head around. Food affects my mood. I imagine I'll be grappling with this one for a while, as layers of it unfold for me.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Wednesday Weigh-In: The "I Gotta Get a Grip" Edition

HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 218.2 (+3.4 change from last week)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5"
Age: 49

It's really no surprise I've gained a little. I am a bit surprised by how much!

But there seems to be a pattern developing: buckle down and lose during the last half of the month, break free from the "restrictions" and go crazy the first half of the next month.

This is not good.

This week was particularily bad because I didn't even try to make good choices: I just took whatever food came my way. Roll-ups from my Mom on Friday (when I thought I might start a whole 30), Pizza on Saturday after an intense day spent sorting stuff in the basement, a pot luck on Monday night where I went hog wild and two, count them, two home made apple crisps this week, too.

This is a wee bit scary. 217 was where I got to before in this effort to lose weight a few years ago. Then, it rather rapidly crept back on. I am going to have to make better choices this week: no matter how loudly that grilled cheese calls my name: I never, ever want to see a gain again.

I think what I'll do is write down everything I eat--for a start. Then, plan out what I'll eat this week. I hate doing that, but I have to remove the element of choice and I have to be prepared, I think. I think that's part of what's causing me trouble.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Wednesday Weigh-In: The "Thank Goodness that's Over" Edition

Really.

Diet Bet set me up to think of food as "good" and "bad" and as "permissible" and "eat as much of this when you see it/ decide to have it because you will never see it/have it ever again" nonsense.

So, it is absolutely no surprise that there is no loss from last week to this. I'm surprised there isn't a gain, actually.

I will be starting the Whole30 again tomorrow. This time I am doing it with my Mom. I hope to gain all sorts of that wonderful clean feeling I get when I eat this way, and oodles of energy wouldn't hurt! Mostly, I just want to support my Mom whose diet needs some improving!

Oh, the stats. OK.

HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 214.8 (0 change from last week)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5"
Age: 49

See ya next week!

A Month of Meals: March

Every month, our local grocery stores feature 10% off the total grocery bill the first Tuesday of the month. We call it ten percent Tuesday. Or terrible Tuesday, depending on who's talking.

I plan our suppers for the entire month so I can stock up on meat and pantry items. Vegetables are picked up weekly.

Here's what was on special this week:

Chicken Breast $2.99/lb
Lean Ground Pork $2.99/lb
Stewing Beef 3.99/lb
Pork Shoulder Blade Steak 2.79/lb
Bacon $4.99/500 grams (a little more than a pound)

Lean ground beef was on sale last week for $2.99/lb. We picked up 7 pounds, maybe?

Links to recipes below calendar.

Code:
chicken: yellow
pork: grey
fish: basa fillets, shrimp or salmon: light blue
ground beef: pink



March 5: Sloppy Bobs x2 on leftover mashed cauliflower
March 6: Unstuffed Cabbage*, acorn squash
March 7: Chicken, Bacon and Sweet Potato Hash, spinach salad
March 8: Veggie Beef Freezer Stew
March 9: Salmon Cakes***, carrots, spinach
March 10: Roast Chicken and vegetables (parsnips, sweet potatoes, carrots, onion)
March 11: Chocolate Chili x2, (Take to Potluck)
March 12: Captain Chicken,** mashed cauliflower, carrots
March 13: Ground Pork, Sweet Potato and Apple hash, carrots, broccoli
March 14: Artichoke Chicken, spaghetti squash
March 15: Shrimp, fish and cabbage curry, mashed cauliflower
March 16: Pork Carnitas, roasted cabbage, mashed cauliflower
March 17: Garlic Pulled Pork, roasted sweet potato, asparagus
March 18: Sloppy Bobs x2 on spaghetti squash
March 19: One Pot Chicken Drumsticks
March 20: Hot Plate** 1 1/2lbs of pork and 6-8 cups chopped veggies sauteed.
March 21: Honey Mustard Mayo Chicken, carrots and spinach
March 22: Dino Beef Stew
March 23: Broiled Whitefish, butternut squash, green beans
March 24: Pork Shoulder, butternut squash, broccoli
March 25: Cottage Flower Pie x2, broccoli
March 26: Chicken thighs with Garlic, Sweet Potato, Coleslaw
March 27: Five Spice Slow Cooker Ribs, roasted rutabaga, salad
March 28: Orange-Olive Chicken*, mashed cauliflower
March 29: Veggie Beef Freezer Stew
March 30: Herb Roasted Salmon, leftover mashed cauliflower, roasted sweet potato
March 31: (Easter Dinner) Ham and ?
April 1: leftovers
April 2:  Chicken, Bacon and Sweet Potato Hash, spinach salad


*From The Primal Blueprint, Quick and Easy Meals by Mark Sisson and Jennifer Meier
**From Well-Fed, by Melissa Joulwen
***From It Starts with Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig

Friday, March 1, 2013

It's Official

 
 
I have been an absolute mess of nerves for the last 24 hours. Until I could weigh myself and submit the weight--below 216 pounds-- I just couldn't relax. It reminded me of that time in my life when I used to take exams. I know sleep is the best thing for me the night before--but I just can't do it!
 
Hubs and I went out for coffee last night and I had to turn down both the coffee and the donut. Apple cinnamon tea was no substitute for an apple fritter! But it's OK. I can have an apple fritter anytime! I'm not going to split a pot of over $8,000 with other diet bet winners ever again!

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Wednesday Weigh-In: The Whew, I Did It! Edition

HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 214.8 (-2.6 from last week)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5"
Age: 49

I chose to view the time I was sick as a course correction. I have been very careful about what I've been eating. It's not just the avoidence of pain, though. No, when I eat low carb, I feel different. I actually feel lighter; buoyant, energetic, happy. Eating a piece of toast can ruin that feeling. So can too much sugar (which some days might be a large square of dark chocolate).

Nonetheless, I don't think I'll participate in something like this again. I'm starting to feel deprived. Now that I've reached my target weight, I just want to cut loose and eat some apple crisp, a pan or homemade brownies, and nothing but grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner. My focus has shifted from how I feel to what the numbers say--and that's not a healthy shift. So, I'll take the money...and run!

But not until weigh-in Friday morning. I'll have to sit tight until then (figuratively speaking, of course).

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Wednesday Weigh-In: The Conflicted Edition

HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 217.4 (-2 from 2 weeks ago)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5
Age: 49

Conflicted? Why am I conflicted you ask?

Because in order to lose those two pounds over the last two weeks, I had to get sick. Nasty sick with stomach pain and saying hello to the toilet type sick. (Sorry.)

And I'm kind of glad, which is a different sort of sick.

There's nothing like completely emptying your stomach in the middle of a forced 48 hour fast to clean out your system. I have started afresh: this morning, for example, I had an omelette with fried mushrooms, zucchini, onion and spinach (in coconut oil, of course!) and boiled fork-mashed sweet potato on the side.

I need to be at 216.0 on the morning of the 28th to win my bet at Roni's diet bet and I had not been going to make it the way I'd been playing fast and loose with my eating (and the scale has been swinging up and down right along with me) --I mean, really--hot chocolate and cinnamon toast as a snack before bed? --or (worse) a peanut butter, honey and banana sandwich? On top of grilled cheese for lunch? What was I doing? I don't need to revisit self-sabotage. Been there, done that. I need my new habits.

So, for the rest of the month, I'm afraid, I'm going to have to hide my dark chocolate bars and resist the bread in the bread basket. I will revisit my November meals and recreate them as best I can. It's only a week (and one day).

No. It's only my next meal. That's all I need to worry about. (Oh and cleaning out the fridge!)

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Wednesday Weigh In: The Recommitted Edition

HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 219.4 (-2.6 from last week)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5
Age: 49

Wow. Happy dance.

After much hemming and hawing, I joined Roni's Diet Bet. I did it after an epiphany that sometimes a goal is worth having simply for the journey it will take us on. I may or may not win the bet, what matters most is that I'll do my best.

I've recommitted to eating between 50 and100 grams of carbs a day. Mark Sisson recommends that range for weight loss. (Weight maintenance is 100 to 150, and insidious weight gain happens from150 to 225 or so. Picture red flashing lights at around 300 grams per day. Danger!)

I also set a goal for working out: 30 miles this month. I know, it's a laugh compared to the way some work out, but I don't want to over do it. Anything I do I have to be willing to keep on doing: or the weight will come back.

In fact, that's one of the reasons I have never set actual weight loss goals in the past, like lose so many pounds in this much time, or weigh 216 by the morning of February 28th . I'd rather set goals which deal with my behaviour. The number is out of my hands.  It may or may not be whatever it needs to be. But, my behaviour is definitely within my control--and I need to be careful about what I do. One of the best pieces of advice for weight loss I ever picked up was "Do only what you're willing to do, for keeps."

So, this great experiment may backfire. March might see me stalled out again, unwilling to duplicate the effort I am putting in right now--or maybe not. At the end of it all I may be energised and motivated to keep going. Spring is coming and I want to meet it sleeveless and shameless.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

A Month of Meals: February

It's that time of the month again!

No, no, not that time of the month! It's ten percent Tuesday. Or terrible Tuesday, depending on who's talking. Every month, our local grocery stores feature 10% off the total grocery bill the first Tuesday of the month.

I plan our suppers for the entire month so I can stock up on meat and pantry items. Vegetables are picked up weekly.

I will be doing my best to stick to eating between 50 and 100 grams of carbohydrates a day, so while not every single one of these recipes may be "paleo" (Chicken pot pie, I'm looking at you!) they will let me reach my goal.

I won't provide links to recipes which are not--or cannot be made to be whole30 compliant. Some recipes have no links because they actually come from cookbooks.

According to this week's flyer, the following cuts of meat are on sale:

Chicken Breasts 2.99/lb
Fresh Frying Chicken 2.99/lb
Basa Fillets 908g (2 lbs) for $7.77 (Whitefish)
Fresh Lean Ground Pork: 2.99/lb
Fresh Pork Side Spareribs 2.49/lb

Once again, lean ground beef was on sale last week for 2.99/lb. I picked up as much as they would let me which wasn't nearly as much as I wanted.

(Links below calendar. Click calender to enlarge. Sorry about the quality. We run everything off on paper already used at my husband's work.)

Code:
chicken: yellow
pork: grey
fish: basa fillets, shrimp or salmon: light blue
ground beef: pink


February 5: Ground Beef and Sweet Potato Hash, salad.
February 6: Five Spice Slow Cooker Pork Ribs (from Melissa Joulwen) roast sweet potato, broccoli
February 7: Chicken, Bacon, and Sweet Potato Hash from Paleoperiodical, broccoli
February 8: Shrimp Stirfry, egg rolls.
February 9: Home made spaghetti sauce (with ground beef) over spaghetti squash
Febuary 10: Roasted Chicken with roasted parsnips, sweet potato, carrots and rutabaga
February 11: Chocolate Chili (from Melissa Joulwen), mashed cauliflower
February 12: Chicken Pot Pie
February 13: Pork Carnitas, (from Melissa Joulwen) mashed cauliflower, broccoli
February 14: Honey-Mustard- Mayo Chicken, momma's slaw* roasted sweet potato
February 15: Cod (or Whitefish) in Leek Sauce w/ Roasted Sweet Potatoes. From Fast Paleo. (new)
February 16:  Veggie Beef Stew adapted from Stuff I Make My Husband.
February 17: Roast Chicken with roasted root vegetables
February 18: Sloppy Bobs, (from allmeatnopotatoes), roasted spaghetti squash
February 19:  One Pot Chicken Drumsticks from Nom Nom Paleo
This was new last month and utterly awesome. It was an extraordinary amount of work: but I'm doing it again, it was that good!
February 20: Czech Meatballs** braised cabbage, peroghies (new)
February 21: Madagascar Chicken mashed cauliflower, broccoli
February 22: Herb Roasted Salmon, squash, green beans
February 23: Dino Beef Stew from Melissa Joulwen
February 24: Roast Chicken with roasted root vegetables
February 25: Cottage Flower Pie and broccoli from Melissa Joulwen
February 26: Captain Chicken,** mashed cauliflower, carrots (new)
February 27: Pork Chops Diane, Sweet Potatoes, broccoli
February 28: Artichoke Chicken Carbonara from PaleOMG
March 1: Shrimp, Tilapis (Whitefish) and Cabbage Curry from Paleomom, here. (new)
March 2: Paleo Shepard's Pie, green beans.
March 3: Roast Chicken, roasted root vegetables
March 4:  Chicken, Bacon, and Sweet Potato Hash from Paleoperiodical, broccoli

Code:
* recipe from  Paleo Comfort Foods by Julie and Charles Mayfield.
**recipe from Well Fed by Melissa Joulwen. I bought myself a copy for my birthday and it came super quick!

Hope that gives you a few ideas about what to cook!

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Wednesday Weigh In: The Lost Motivation Edition

Yeah, I know, already! Only four months.

HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 222. 0 (-0.4 from last week)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5
Age: 49

There it is: the same number, essentially, for the third time in a row, now. My carb intake is up, no question. It's not up by a lot--but just enough to have reached maintenance, obviously. I'm feeling too lazy in the mornings to chop my veggies for my frittattas. I have a grilled cheese for lunch 'cause it's easier than frying up some meat and veggies.

 I've also slacked off the excercising. I prefer to do two mile workouts with the Leslie Sansone videos and I only have three which are straight cardio workouts. (The others involve intervals.) I've lost one of the cardio workout discs and the music in the other is too low. That leaves me with one I like to do: and it's boring to do the same one over and over.

What am I saying? These are just excuses. I am thrilled to be at the weight that I am. I have lost more than 10% of my highest weight recorded in September.

I'd like to lose more, but the urgency is gone. My knees feel great, my back pain is gone. The only reason to continue, really, is vanity. I want to wear nice clothes this spring and summer. But I don't know if I want it badly enough to overcome this lethargy. And with temps around minus 30 celcius April seems a long way off.

(Fortunately, I'm not detecting any silly thoughts about worthiness and whether I deserve to look pretty in spring and summer clothes. That would hve been an issue in the past.)

Roni is hosting another diet bet. I'm considering that. The only thing is, one has to lose 4% of one's starting weight to "win" one's bet. That's 8.9 pounds. In four weeks. That feels like a stretch. I don't know if it would be healthy --psychologically speaking-- for me to push for that. I never set goals for weight loss--I'm scared it will set off a disorder.

It takes focus and drive to lose weight: at what point does that focus and drive tip over into unhealthy obsession?

Sunday, January 27, 2013

What I Wore: 3rd week of January

I have my doubts about this.

Many doubts.

I should wait until I know what I'm doing with my clothes before I show anyone.

I should wait until I have better clothes.

I should wait until I'm slimmer.

This is really putting it out there for me!

Still, we all start somewhere, right?

Saturday:

I just got the necklace ($2.81! extreme clearance!) and the rose coloured top so I was anxious to wear them and see how they looked on me. And wow--look at that muffin top. I've never had one before.

Sunday:


It was very cold, so I layered up. These are my new tapered black knit pants.

Monday:


My new pants, again. I really like this combination though I did feel a tad over dressed while I was swishing the toilet.

Tuesday:


This is a new top. I didn't like the bottom band of white on this when I bought it. I still don't. Had I known what I know now when I bought it a couple of weeks ago, I would have left it at the store. Still, I do like its preppiness.

Wednesday:

This was my first attempt at layering. This does not work for me, at all. I'd rather a white blouse than the denim. The collar wouldn't stay down either, and I didn't like all the bumps and lines under the sweater. Fail.

Thursday:
Oops. It seems I forgot to take a picture of what I wore on Thursday.

Friday:


This is new top--with my new pants. I love this outfit! I wore it out for lunch with my daughter and her friend, then, on the spur of the moment, Hubs and I went out to dinner! I felt great dressed like this. (Hard to see, but I am wearing dangly pewter earrings with this.)

And so there we have it. My first week trying to look good out of my closet.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

My Wardrobe Pieces

There are at least a couple of  clothing "challenges" floating out there. One is simply called 30x30. I'm not quite sure what this one is about: Is it to wear 30 different outfits in 30 days? Or create outfits from just 30 pieces for 30 days?

Much easier to figure out is the 333 challenge. You are challenged to pare down your wardrobe to 33 pieces and wear them for 3 months. (This doesn't include underwear, lounge wear, PJ's, and workout wear.) Some have interpreted it to mean 30 pieces and 3 "capsules" for handbags, shoes, and accessories. Some may or may not include a special occasion outfit, or a winter coat, hats and gloves in the 30 pieces. The basics for this idea are here.

I would have to work my way UP to owning 30 pieces!

I went through my closet last week and purged a bunch of stuff I had no intention of ever wearing. I finally put away my summer tops. Here is what I have for the rest of the winter--which lasts until late March round here.

Tops:

These three are round neck cotton tops. All three have 3/4 length sleeves which I prefer.

 
These two are the only v neck tops I own. The teal is cotton, the rose one is a fine gauge cotton knit. Both are 3/4 sleeves. The rose coloured one has ruching on the sleeves.
 


My turtleneck sweaters. The red and grape coloured ones (1st and 3rd) are a substantial cotton weight, the grey one is a finer cotton with a high-low hem, and the last, purple, is a fine gauge knit mock-turtle with 3/4 length sleeves.


I hardly ever wear these collarless button down shirts, in denim and black. I'm not entirely sure why. I know I'd rather they had collars, for a start.

I hardly ever wear these two either:



Two button down, tunic length tops in a knit. The black one is a v-neck in case that's hard to see!

And that's it for my tops. I have 13 to choose from.

Now, for my bottoms.


I have three pairs of pants (and I purchased all three of these in the last three months. I used to own just one pair of jeans.)

The first is my current pair of jeans, a dark wash boot cut denim. In the middle are a pair of black knit, tapered leg pants. I just got these a couple of weeks ago and I love their 1960's ski pant vibe. The last is my pair of yoga pants. They are super comfy but much too long and starting to fall off of me.

I have no skirts.

I have no dresses. (Well, OK, I do, but I have no idea how they are fitting me these days. It is too cold for dresses right now--and I have no shoes for them anyway!)

For layering, I have cardigans. I do have a blazer, though. I tried it on over every outfit I wore this week and no matter what I have on, it looks awful on me. I will never, ever wear it. (Besides, what do I need a blazer for?)

 
 
The top two are long and hit my leg mid-thigh. The bottom two hit at the top of the thigh. The two on the right are navy blue with the one on the bottom having 3/4 length sleeves. I love that purple one in the top left hand corner, it's a great colour and isn't as plain as the others. Unfortunately, it's losing its shape and beginning to come unravelled at the sleeves.
 
That's a total of 20 pieces.
 
Accessories:
 
In addition to my work out shoes and winter boots, I have one pair of shoes, red loafers. I have one black hand bag. I'm still figuring out my jewellery, but other than earrings, I have two, maybe three necklaces I can wear. I have no scarves other than the one I wear in winter with my coat.
 
 
Colour analysis:
 
Neutrals:
Navy, black, and grey.
 
Accent Colours:
 
Teal
Red
Rose
Purple (I was surprised to see so much of it, frankly.)
 
There are just a few items I could use: a long sleeved small collared button down white/off white blouse in a crisp cotton (but not too crisp) and a structured jacket of some kind. The classic jean jacket is calling my name, for some reason. A structured tunic-length vest would be awesome, too.
 
It's pretty underwhelming, I admit. Nonetheless, this is the way things are for the foreseeable future.
 

Friday, January 25, 2013

My Body Shape

Dressing "well" is all about shape and proportion--in the same way that a painting or a photograph is all about perspective and composition. In our culture, the "ideal" body shape is a tall hourglass. In other cultures, the ideal shape may be different. Angie, at You Look Fab has an interesting post about the cultural relativism of these ideals.

Nearly all fashion advice is about how to take the shape you have and "trick" the observer's eye into thinking you have the culturally approved hourglass shape. At this point in my life, I'm fine with it. Perhaps, as I get older, I'll change my mind. Maybe I won't even care. But, for right now, it's kind of fun. But it's nothing to stress over. Ever.

So, in order to play at dress up, it helps to know, for a start, what the shape of your body is, generally, and then its proportions, more specifically.

Angie, at You Look Fab, discusses and defines the conventional shapes: Pear, Apple, Hourglass, Inverted Triangle, and Rectangle.

At Inside Out Style,  Imogen finds even more categories: the 8 shape, A, H, I, O, V, and X.

In order to determine you shape, you need to look at your bones first, fat distribution, second.

For The Inverted Triangle, or the V, the strongest line (or, rather, the widest) is at the shoulders.

The A Shape, and the 8 shape are variations of the more general Pear. The widest line is at the hips (8) or thighs (A).

The I and the H shapes seem to be variations of the Rectangle shape with one characterized and boyish (I) and the other simply lacking a defined waist (H). The hips and the shoulders are about an equal distance apart.

Hourglass shapes and X's are distinguished from Rectangles by the presence of a defined waist.

The "O" seems like it could be any of the above except for a significant degree of fat around the middle. This is also known as the Apple shape. As the style Divas says, sometimes a good bra can go a long way to disguise this particular body shape!

This used to be my shape until I lost some weight (and got some really good bras!). Now, I'm not sure what shape I am. So, I decided to figure it out.

Here I am, dressed to emphasise my silhouette:



What is my widest point?
(I printed out the above photo and got out my rular!)




My first instinct is to declare myself an A shape (or a pear). I mean, look at those thighs! I don't have broad shoulders.

But, here is a pear shape, found via google:


And I just don't see that much of a difference between my shoulders and hips. As well, I don't have a waist. Pears generally do. (It is what distinguishes them from "apples.")

So, I'm not much of a pear. I've been thinking about it and I'm wondering if I'm really not more of an "H" than anything. What puts me off from liking this description is all the talk about havng a "boyish" figure--because that I most definitely do not have! Otherwise H seems to be the best for the moment. I imagine that as I continue to lose weight a waist should emerge, making me an X or an hourglass, albeit a short waisted one. I'm excited about that!

Advice from Imogen Lamport for the "H" body shape: Body Shapes Explained, the H Shape

Tips for the Rectangle from You Look Fab: How to Dress the Racy Rectangle Type


Have you ever noticed if you are a different size from the side than the front? I am. I am much bigger from the side view than from the front. According to Imogen, this makes me round (and not elliptical).



So, there we have the general shape figured out. There's more to it than shape, though. There's my proportions, too. Learning what these are and how to balance them will be interesting, too, I think.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Wednesday Weigh-In: The Slacker Edition

Now, I'm not an over acheiver when it comes to exercise. In fact, getting up from the computer every half hour is somthing of a victory in these parts! But, I really do need to exercise a bit more than I have. I exercised once last week. Once.

I entered all of my workouts from January into the Daily Mile on Sunday and it told me I was exercising 2 miles a week. I told my husband. He said, "I'd better get out of the way."

So, you know the numbers are going to be the same as last week or worse, right?

HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 222.4 (same as last week)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5
Age: 49

I do weigh in every day and I did see a number less than 220. I'd like to see it again.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Waking Beauty

My love has been locked in a tower, swallowed whole by a wolf, poisoned by an apple and left to sleep it off.

What could be so colourfully dormant? What could be waiting, languishing for its rescuer?

Are you ready to meet my long lost love?

Clothes.

Not just any bunch of t-shirts, turtlenecks, jeans, and straight skirts, though, no: I have those. What has been waiting for me all my life is my ideal wardrobe--a miraculous collection of just the right tops and the right bottoms which pair up to create endless variations, just like the right set of notes create all the necessary movements in a musical piece.

I had been going to wait until I reached my mythical, ideal weight. Last week, I realised I didn't have too. I've lost enough weight, now, that I have enough options to actually choose something I like instead of settling for something I merely need. (Though, as I expect to continue to lose weight, I will continue to wear some items even though they may be a size too big. It's when they're three sizes too big that I'll begin to replace them.)

Since I was in the military reserves in my late teens and a ready-made (though ugly) minimalist wardrobe was handed to me, I have been captivated by capsule wardrobes. Capsule wardrobes are made up up of the minimum number or pieces in any category (tops, bottoms, and layers) to give maximum versatility.

I studied this one created by Imogen Lamport, at Inside Out Style blog for a "Busy Mum.". (She is absolutely fabulous at this, by the way.)


Tops:
Wear-anywhere top
3 T Shirts: stripe, solid, tank.

Bottoms:
Jeans,
Canvas Skirt

Layers:
2 cardigans, each fabulous.

Accessories:
2 scarves
2 necklaces
bangles
Leather shopping tote

Footwear:
Boots
Ballet flats
Sandals

These pieces, before you even change out the accessories, she promises, offer 22 different looks. I love the efficiency of this concept, not to mention how economical it is.


The "new Mum" Capsule is simply fabulous, too. You can easily see how everything will mix effortlessly. It doesn't include accessories.
 
 
Imogen explains how capsule wardrobes work--and how to construct one-- in her free e-book, Your 5 Step Formula for a Fabulous Wardrobe. Highly recommended.
 
This is exactly the concept of my weight-loss wardrobe.
 
To be continued...

 
(This is a cross post with my style blog, Prairie Home Therapy.) 

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Wednesdy Weigh-In: The Sick Edition

I'm not sure this should count. I have been in a deep dark cave. I have been engulfed, possessed, completely taken over by pain for four days.

It started on Sunday with a bit of discomfort after eating a hamburger and some fries. Just a bit of heartburn. I could handle it with some Eno.

On Monday, hubs and I went to see Zero Dark Thirty. I'd had a nice breakfast of homemade waffles, berries and greek yogurt with a drizzle of maple sugar. I bought some Tums, though, before the movie along with my bar of chocolate. Then, at the movie, I bought  some popcorn.

Big mistake.

Twenty minutes after the movie was over I was outside on a bench grateful for the cool winter air.

And so here we are. It is Thursday and I'm finally feeling a bit better. I did weigh myself yesterday--and I have lost weight, but I had only scrambled eggs on Tuesday and half a sweet potato Wednesday. I've had a hard boiled egg this morning--we'll see how it goes.

Here are my numbers which probably shouldn't count:

HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 222.4 (-2.8 from last week)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5
Age: 49

Scale numbers ofetn feel unreal to me--like they are completely unrelated to anything going on with me. That goes double for this week.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Wednesday Weigh-In: The Birthday Edition.

Happy Birthday to me...
Happy Birthday to me...
Happy Birthday to me...
Happy Birthday dear meeeeeeeeeeeeee
Happy Birthday to me.

I had a really nice birthday surprise on the scale this morning. I hadn't expected to see the numbers drop from the day before (I weigh first thing every day) as I ate a few too many two bite brownies yesterday. The scale gods were feeling gracious I guess.

SO. Here we are.

HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 225.2 (-2.6 from last week)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5
Age: 49 <---- There it is.

Very gratifying.

Two things which may have helped: I walked outside, in the cold, for about 50 minutes after supper. I also slept over eleven hours last night. Nothing helps me lose weight like sleep. Seriously.

Maybe it's because I do weigh myself every day but recording 225.6, here, as my "official" number feels weird. It's like the number isn't quite real. It could be a pound more tomorrow. It's so arbitrary to pick one number a week and say, there! That's what I weigh. Because it isn't. Not really.

Oops, sorry. I shouldn't have tried to explain it. I can't. Let's just say my mind is a very strange place.

We simply need consistent numbers to indicate a trend--and Wednesday's are it. Thank goodness I'm trending downwards.

Happy Birthday to me...
Happy Birthday to me...
Happy Birthday to me...
Happy Birthday dear meeeeeeeeeeeeee
Happy Birthday to me.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

A Month of Suppers: January

Every month, our local grocery stores feature 15% 10% off the total grocery bill the first Tuesday of the month. (This month, because That Tuesday fell on the first, Safeway decided to move up Ten Percent Tuesday to the eighth. The rest of the city's grocery stores aren't doing it at all, apparently.)

I plan our suppers for the entire month so I can stock up on meat and pantry items. Vegetables are picked up weekly. No one in the family is doing a whole30 (as far as I know) this month, and I'm still making up my mind about optional "paleo" items like yogurt, so this menu is kind of a hybrid. I can tell you this much, though, there are no grains, pasta, legumes or soy in any of the recipes.

According to this week's flyer, the following are on sale:

Chicken Breasts (2.99/lb)
Chicken Drumsticks (2.89/lb)
Chicken Thighs (2.99/lb)
Basa Fish fillets (Buy 1 get 1 free. No price given)
Pork shoulder blade steak (2.79/lb)
Ready to eat Prawns (400g for 6.99)

Lean ground beef was on sale last week, so I picked up quite a lot.

I like to use this shopping list at the bottom of this post from whole9life.com to help me figure out what veggies to buy. You know, something to help jolt me out of the carrots-broccoli-cauliflower-sweet potato-squash-zucchini-parsnips-rutabaga rut I tend to fall into.

(Links below calendar. Click to enlarge.)
yellow: chicken
grey: pork
light blue: basa fillets
dark blue: shrimp or salmon
pink: ground beef





I hope you will find these links open up a whole new world of food for you


January 8: Artichoke Chicken Carbonara from PaleOMG
January 9: Five Spice Slow Cooker Pork Ribs (from Melissa Joulwen) roast sweet potato, broccoli
January 10: Turkish Chicken Thighs (from Janet is Hungry) mashed sweet potato, broccoli
January 11: Citrus Fish, asparagus, roasted yams*
January 12: Roasted Chicken with roasted parsnips, sweet potato, carrots and rutabaga
January 13: Shrimp Stir-fry w/ frozen veggie mix
January 14: Ground Beef and Sweet Potato Hash, steamed green beans
January 15: Chicken, Bacon, and Sweet Potato Hash from Paleoperiodical, broccoli
January 16: Pork Carnitas, (from Melissa Joulwen) momma's slaw*
January 17: Honey-Mustard-Mayo glazed Chicken Thighs, roasted zucchini, mashed sweet potato
January 18: Lemon-Pepper Fish with creamed spinach* and sweet potato fries
January 19: Roasted Chicken and root vegetables
January 20: Herb Roasted Salmon, roasted carrots and broccoli
January 21: Chocolate Chili (from Melissa Joulwen), spaghetti squash
January 22: Honey-Mustard- Mayo Chicken, momma's slaw* roasted sweet potato
January 23: Amethyst's Paleo Meatloaf, roasted parsnips and carrots, broccoli
January 24: One Pot Chicken Drumsticks from Nom Nom Paleo
January 25: Lemon-Pepper Fish, acorn squash and mashed cauliflower
January 26: Roasted Chicken and root veggies
January 27: Shrimp Stir fry w/ Portobella mushrooms and bok choy
January 28: Sloppy Bobs, (from allmeatnopotatoes), roasted rutabaga
January 29: Chicken w/Apple Cider Sauce, mashed cauliflower, carrots.
January 30: Paleo Shepard's Pie, green beans.
January 31: Garlic Stuffed Chicken Thighs, roasted sweet potatoes, broccoli
February 1: Lemon-Pepper Fish, roasted carrots and parsnips, sauteed greens.
February 2: Roast Chicken and root veggies
February 3: Salmon Cakes (ISWF) mashed cauliflower, carrots
February 4: Cottage Flower Pie and broccoli from Melissa Joulwen

In addition, there are my husband's lunches to consider.

Week 1: Chocolate Chili (see above for link)
(One week vacation)
Week 2: Beef Stew
Week 3: Winter Sausage Soup and Meat and Spinach muffins.

*Recipes from my brand new cookbook: Paleo Comfort Foods by Julie and Charles Mayfield.
ISWF: It Starts with Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Wednesday Weigh-In: Post Holiday

Here we are. The cookies are all eaten, the date squares and apple crisps baked and devoured.

HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 227.8 (+2.6)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5
age: 48

That two pounds and change gain is from the numbers two weeks ago. 227 was the number on the scale at the beginning of December. I'm feeling great about it, actually. It was my goal not to gain --and I didn't.

Even better, my monthly measurements show I lost and inch from my bust, waist and hips--each!

I know what to do to make the scale reflect my goal--restrict my carbs--and I haven't yet decided just how much of that I'll do before my birthday on January 9th (and the celebration planned for the 12th).

I'll be lacing up the running shoes, though, and doing my workouts in the living room. In fact, I'm already feeling the effects of one I did yesterday! I'll get outside when the weather is nice, too.

Things are off to a great start for 2013.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Goals for 2013 and One Thing for January

I hardly know what to say.

Should I say I want to lose a ton of weight? 'cause I do. Will I? Well, we'll see, 'cause losing weight is not the most important thing in my life. I am currently 229 lbs. It's great. I can put on my own socks and tie my shoes, I don't have to ask my husband to slow down any more when we go out for a walk together -- I am quite happy in this skin I'm in -- and the urgency is gone.

But would I be disappointed if I am still 229 next year? Well, yes. I have it in the back of my mind that I'd like to do a tough mudder the year I turn 50 which is next year, 2014. I could view this entire year as being in training for it.

I want to focus on sleep, my relationships with my immediate family, expressing my creativity, becoming stronger, a better housekeeper, a better cook. I want the whole family to be healthier. I haven't worked any of this out into a concrete SMART formula, I haven't made any decisions about what, for example, "strong" looks like. Obviously, I haven't made any plans for how to acheive any of them.

Most of all? I want this year to be calm. I want to make changes--but I want to achieve them without becoming frantic or stressed.

So, that's where I'm at. I'm enrolled in a goals setting class at Simplify 101, so I know it will all get worked out.

The One Thing?

Sleep.

I just finished reading Lights Out, Sleep, Sugar and Survival. It is an odd book. Amusing. Frightening. The premise--that we are making ourselves sick by living in an endless summer of light makes sense to me, even if I got a bit lost at times in the metaphors.

So, for January, I intend to sleep 9 hours a night. Starting tonight.