What day is it? Weight Loss WEDNESDAY!!
As many of my friends have already seen on facebook, this week was HUGE. I am still coming to grips with reality myself. This week's success was very unexpected and was just what I needed to motivate me to keep on going to hit bigger goals. I will answer some questions at the end that have been asked to me this week via facebook, texts and phone calls.
Weight Loss This Week: 3.8 lbs. Yes, you read that right. Yes, I'm still shocked myself!
Total Weight Loss So Far: 17.6 lbs (Original weight-in: 163.4; Today's weigh-in: 145.8)
Eating Plan: Weight Watchers Points Plus
Total Weight Loss So Far: 17.6 lbs (Original weight-in: 163.4; Today's weigh-in: 145.8)
Eating Plan: Weight Watchers Points Plus
Exercise Plan: I worked out three times this week, all very high intensity. I LOVED the three workouts that I did. I'm very into interval training right now!
New Weight Loss or Diet Knowledge to Share: As I mentioned last week, I learned about, and then discovered for myself the importance of healthy oils. I had 2 teaspoons of olive oil each day this week, usually with vinegar over salad. After just one week I'm finding myself craving olive oil over salad--it's such a weird craving to have!
At today's meeting the importance of fiber was discussed. I've known for a long time how effective fiber can be at making me feel fuller, keeping me sustained between meals and how good it is for me overall. After Christmas I did some research about fiber and discovered it's value for colon health. So I've been afraid of jinxing myself by saying this publicly, but I'm now completing my third straight month of not taking ANY medication for my Chrons / Ulcerative Colitis and I'm completely managing it with a high fiber diet!
My favorite sources of fiber: pears (I eat two every day), peas, salad and oatmeal. I also love Fiber 1 granola bars as a special treat.
Recipes to Share: Tonight to celebrate my success, and to prepare for a brunch I'm hosting tomorrow, I made these:
Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, beat the eggs, sour cream, water, milk, oil and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 325 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.
Calories: 120
Protein: 2
Carbs: 19
Fiber: 1
Fat: 5
Total WW Points for 1 muffin: 3!
Favorite {Diet} Food Finds: I made the pina colada WW smoothie that I mentioned last week--YUM! At only 4 points, I could see myself drinking one daily! I don't even like real rum, so I laughed at myself as I put rum extract into the smoothie. Ha!
I am SO sad...the grocery stores around us have all stopped stocking my favorite diet food of all time--Digiorno 200 calorie pizzas. Those things have gotten me through MANY a pizza craving and have been a lunch staple along with fruit and a salad. Is it possible to order frozen food? I would seriously order a case at a time of these...I only had one a week on average, but that one per week was really important to me!
Goals This Week: I'd like to have another loss this week. I don't care if I lose 0.2. I don't want to gain, which I typically do after a big loss. I will do anything in my power to make sure I stay on the downramp now!!
Overall Goals: My next goal is to lose 6 lbs by May 5th. Usually I like to lose 1 lb a week and this is slightly more than that, but do-able. I can do it! After that, I'd like to lose 10 more lbs total.
I have to share this. Last week Scott and I had a semi-serious chat about whether we're going to have another baby or not. Believe me folks, I know it's crazy in many ways to think about, especially in terms of losing weight right now only to possibly gain it all back plus some. I've been thinking ever since our conversation that I'm more and more okay with the three precious girls we've got and that we don't need to try for one more (God willing). I said to Scott that I'm at a point with my weight loss that if I lose five more pounds (remember, this was pre-weigh-in today!) I would likely be done having kids. So here is what I texted him after my weigh-in this morning:
Words are not most mens' strong suit and I don't think Scott could ever know how much these words meant to me. Wow, I want to frame this screen shot and remember it forever!
Okay, so now onto answering some of your questions...
Like I said above, I did NOT expect today's success. I knew I'd had a great week, but I never thought I would lose more than 2 lbs. I do not have a magic formula for weight loss success--believe me if I did, I wouldn't have spent two and a half years after Sienna was born wearing size 8-10 jeans and having more rolls than a bakery. I think that this time, even more than pre-Bristol, everything has fallen into place nicely for me. I get support from my weekly WW meetings, and specifically from my friend who I attend meetings with. I work out an average of 3 times per week combining cardio and weights. I follow the WW points plus plan strictly 90% of the time. I'm focused on the WW good health guidelines more than ever and I'm looking at food as fuel for my body. Am I perfect all of the time? ABSOLUTELY NOT! If I want this to be a lifestyle, I cannot even attempt to be perfect during the weight loss journey. Over the past week I went out to dinner with Scott and had calamari, chicken in a fattening lemon butter sauce and pasta. I watched the OU basketball game and enjoyed a couple of cocktails. I felt shaky before dinner one night and started nibbling on some dark chocolate--before I knew it I'd eaten the entire candy bar. But this is LIFE and diet or not, I'm not going to deprive myself of some fun nights out or a treat now and again. I've learned though that each day I get to make a set of choices and determine how I'm going to use my points for that day. The day I was going out to dinner with Scott, I made sure to bust a BIG move at the gym for 75 straight minutes. The night I ate the dark chocolate, I couldn't have a snack after putting the kids to bed because I'd already eaten my way through my points for the day. Overall, do I look at this period of my life as a time when I'm on a DIET--nope. I look at it as something I could continue doing for the rest of my life just fine because I'm able to combine many healthy choices with a few splurges. Perhaps the big secret in all of this is that I'm embracing this wholeheartedly.
If you look back at my WLW posts from 2010, when I lost 22 lbs and conquered every insecurity I've had about my body as an adult, you will see that it took me 6 1/2 months to lose that weight. This time, I'm ahead of that and going strong. If you look into the details of my posts from 2010, you'll see that I was working out 5 days a week on average. At this point, I don't have the opportunity to be at the gym 5 days a week. I'm fortunate to get in there 3 days a week. As I get down to the last few stubborn pounds, I know I'll have to really kick my body into high gear with additional days at the gym, but I just want to point out that I'm not living in a gym. I'm living my life with three to four hours a week being spent at the gym.
Finally, I want to point out that I'm at week 16 of this journey. I technically call this week 14 since the second half of December I fully enjoyed the holidays and didn't focus on losing weight AT ALL. Regardless of how I count the weeks though, I'm losing an average of just over a pound per week. I don't want my friends out there who are trying to lose weight to feel discouraged by my huge loss this week as they wonder what they might be doing wrong. If there's one thing I've learned over the past 5 years about my body, it's that I lose a bunch of weight all at once, then plateau or lose more gradually for a few weeks. Prior to buckling down with weight watchers in 2010, this greatly discouraged me. I would try to stick to a plan, have great success for a week or two and then see zero results for a week or two after that, so I would quit. I rode the roller coaster of weight loss and weight gain misery for two and a half years. I beat myself up inside over it and though I worked out, I couldn't get a grip on how to transform my body. Having been down this weight loss road of success before getting pregnant with Bristol, I've learned how my body works and I'm embracing it. Today, I'm experiencing such an incredible "high" that I feel like NOTHING on earth could bring me down. In two weeks I might be in a whole different place as the excitement of this week's big success becomes "old news" and I ride out the plateau that I'm sure is in store. But I keep on truckin' knowing that another big loss will be ahead.
So I guess overall my encouragement to all of you who are also trying to lose weight right now is to track your own success and figure out your own body. If you're seeing a pound a week come off consistently, then pat yourself on the back because you're doing PHENOMENAL! I'm right there with you in a sense, but I'm that turtle that speeds up for awhile, then takes a nap in her shell. Slow and steady ultimately wins this race and I don't know about you, but I'm all about winning :)
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