Weighing in on things...

Including my weight:

233.8 lb

Almost three pounds down.  Could be water weight. But I prefer to think it's me making small changes that will add up to bigger losses over time.  Because, as I've said before, I didn't get this way overnight.

Thank you, everyone who reads here, for your kind words and suggestions.  They mean more than you think. 

I've decided not to follow a "diet," so to speak.  Mainly because I've already tried all of them.  And look at me now.  So instead, I'm going to focus on eating only whole foods.  Nothing processed.  I'm allowing myself a few things - whole grain bread, steel cut oats & pitas are still processed, right?  I'm just going to try to eat limited amounts of those things.  I've also mentioned here before an effort to eat mindfully, and with that in mind, I'm going to limit my meat consumption.  I'm starting with red meat and pork, allowing myself fish and occasional chicken.    

All this is going to make my life very much about food right now.  Which is hard for most of us - our lives are way too busy to focus so much time and energy on what our next meal should be.  But I'm going to try.

Breakfast will be the hardest, I think.  I get up at 5am for work and have usually just gone to the cafeteria to grab eggs and turkey sausage.  I'm going to try instead to bring my own.  But what?  Fruit?  Plain yogurt?  Boiled eggs?  Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.   Because beans for breakfast (my next thought) seem a little dodgy.  Unless you're British.  And who wants baked beans for breakfast?  Especially if you're on a diet.

My mother has suggested I have lap band surgery.  She's very focused on that right now.  I'm not sure.  It seems invasive and scary and all those horrible things you learn about as a healthcare worker.  But, I've met several people who've done it and think it's the best thing ever.  They're steadily losing weight, feeling better and able to exercise more freely.  I think I'm kind of on the edge of it being medically acceptable - I'm considered obese, but my blood pressure isn't high and I don't have diabetes (or even pre-diabetes).  I have back pain and low self esteem.  Are those on the checklist? 

In the meantime, I'm just going to exercise - something I'll admit I've not done ANY of for quite a while.  When I was 25, I ran 5 miles a day.  It's only 9 years later.  How did I get here? 

Knitting, you ask?  I've had a case of startitis for the past YEAR.  On the needles, I have a nearly finished October Frost, 60 percent of a Tangled Yoke Cardi, half a Nancy Bush-inspired sweater.  But none of them look the least bit interesting to me (and, by the way, these are only the UFOs in plain sight - many others lurk on shelves and in storage).   So, I can now add to that list a pair of Koigu Hedera socks, a Simple Knitted Bodice and a Hanami.  Ugh.  All of which are getting equal snippets of time. 

So, there you have it.  My current life on the page.  Not so interesting. But mine. 

Comments

[Sara]

I know you're not "dieting," but the whole-foods mantra is very much in-line with South Beach, which is what I did. I made a bunch of these: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Vegetable-Quiche-Cups-to-Go/detail.aspx

when I first started, because I also get up super early for work, and you can just microwave them and go. They're packed with protein and good fat, just the stuff you need to keep from getting hungry again right away. Plain yogurt with some nuts would also be a good choice, maybe with a little Truvia or a tiny drizzle of honey to sweeten it up. Also, make sure to pack yourself some good snacks (almonds, raw veggies with a protein like peanut butter, low-fat cheese, etc.) so when you get hungry, you have something filling and healthy at hand. Much love! -S

[amanda]

Surgery is surgery. Lap band, bypass, all of it - will change you forever. How you eat, what you can eat, how your body processes food. I don't think you're morbidly obese (I haven't seen you at knit night in awhile, but I know you weren't when I saw you last)! It just sounds like healthy eating and exercise are the way to go.

In my experience, not thinking "diet" and instead thinking "lifestyle" is the right way to go. You want to make changes that you can stick to, so that once the weight is off, it STAYS off. Listen to your body - so frequently we just rush and eat and don't recognize when we're really full. It takes 20 minutes for the "full" signal to be processed by your brain. So, eat slow, and listen for that faint little feeling so you don't go from "zero" to "stuffed silly."

Breakfast is a tough meal for me - I've never been a fan. This morning, I had a light multigrain english muffin with a thin slice of cheese, one egg white, and http://1southbeachdiet.blogspot.com/2007/08/south-beach-diet-breakfast-pear-bran.html

I love Vitamuffins, too - in with the frozen food. 100 cal, 5-6g fiber depending on the flavor, and they TASTE good. They even come in chocolate. Sometimes I'll have that with a banana and some yogurt.

[amanda]

Hmm. That cut out the middle part of my comment...

I had <1 oz of ham on the sandwich, and the link is to Pear Bran muffins, which are also great.
I second the Veggie Quiche Cups.

I also do oatmeal - old fashioned or steel cut with a little pumpkin for more fiber and to fill me up more.

That was odd...

[Tina]

Keep up the good work on your weight loss. I was thin for most of my life, but just in the last few years I have started to tack on a few extra pounds. So I know how difficult it can be to loose weight. It is a slow and steady process. If you keep that in mind then you will definitely get to where you want to be.

[Robin]

Congrats on the weight loss!

I'm trying to make things myself at home more often too. One gadget I really like for breakfast is the "Egg and Muffin Machine" I bought back in January - I use it in the morning before work. You can make a quasi Egg-McMuffin for 250 calories in it in five minutes with minimal work or cleanup. If I can do it, it really must be easy as I am cooking challenged to the extreme. I bought mine on amazon, but I heard they have them at Target too.

[Nancy]

Hi, this is Nancy who you met last year at weightwatchers. Congrats on your success. It's absolutely a slow and steady process and you're obviously making changes that fit your lifestyle. Go you!

Everybody has to figure out for themselves what will work best. I didn't even consider surgery for myself, just made slow behavioral changes. It's a decision every day/week to keep the behavior changes going, but that's fine.

Surgery's always an option for later, but why not wait and see how it goes?

I am the queen of processed foods myself, but for your breakfast how about hardboiled eggs (easy to transport) with fruit and maybe a lowfat cheese like Cabot 50%? Whole grain bread with some natural peanut butter, etc. Or crack two eggs into a plastic container, throw in some veggies you chopped/sauteed the night before, and take the whole thing to work. Throw it in the microwave and call it scrambled eggs.

[danielle]

Congrats on your weight loss - whatever the reasoning - and for the decision to go healthier. Oh, how I know how agonizing the shifting of the thought process can be. I'm really boring with my breakfast. Right now I'm doing half a granola bar before I go to the gym in the morning, and oatmeal with raisins and some splenda when I get to the office and usually a piece of fruit mid-morning (although I like the scrambled eggs notion mentioned above...hmm).

[Phyl]

Hey! Congratulations on making the changes. It's helpful for me to make a meal plan every Sunday. I map out all meals and snacks. Not only does it keep me on track in the grocery store, I put it in plain sight in the kitchen. that way when I think "what to eat" or "I don't have time to make x" I see it right there mocking me!
I have cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs and berries on hand for those occasions where time really is a problem.
I'm not perfect in my eating but I'm trying. I also allow myself one "no rules" meal a week.
Now how to tackle the startitis? I need help there!!!!!

[Cheryl Stephens]

It sounds like you are on the right track! The biggest step is cutting out processed foods, and like others have said, to think of what you are doing as a lifestyle change instead of a diet. We recently cut out as much processed foods as possible. I grind our flour and make most of our bread. I've found two really helpful books recently, they are The Maker's Diet by Jordan Rubin and Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. sorry I don't have links, but I got mine from amazon.com These 2 books changed the way I looked at what we eat. It really simplified things for me. I hope you find what works for you. Blessings!
Cheryl

[Jessica]

I used to bring a sweet potato to work for breakfast. I'd stab it a few times with a knife before I left the house and then stick it in the microwave at work. My coworkers made fun of me but I always thought they were secretly jealous.