Week 6 Weigh-In: Down Another 2.6 lbs

Wow! I'm down another 2.6lbs this week on The Plan. While I'm content with the loss, I have to say I'm a bit surprised as well. I started the diet week with friends in town from Cincinnati and was not careful about eating/drinking for two meals. Then I didn't make my 3K Nike Fuel Bank goal on Monday (I was watching a movie and forgot about it.) Then I had some stress over my house sale and drank some beer (still more or less within my points.) I only had three "A" days out of 7.

I don't really deserve the loss, but I'll take it! So, I'm down 12.2 lbs and just a week from being halfway through my program! I have to say this has been the most aggressive and consistent eating/exercise plan I've ever done.

What went well

- I stayed on the plan

- Despite being in a bad mood for a couple of days, I stuck with it!

What needs improvement

- Get a full 8 hours of sleep each night

- Meet the 3,000 Nike+ Fuel point goal every day (I missed the first day because I didn't feel well and it was very cold and snowy outside.)
- 6 days of "A-" or better (one cheat day is cool)

Focus!

With friends visiting over the weekend, it was not possible to completely diet. Having said that, my cheat period was contained to roughly 24 hours. The greasy empanada lunch on Saturday got me craving the old fatty food. And I briefly considered falling off the wagon again on Sunday.

But I woke up Sunday and got back on The Plan. I had a nice 35 minute cardio workout before singing with Illuminati at a church in Bexley. I was very cautious as to what I ate yesterday.

I peeked at the scale this morning (to get an idea of the damage, if any.) It read 199.4. I'm down 0.6 lbs over the weekend (and officially below the 200lb mark!) I'm going to again be very focused this week and hope to have a good weigh in on Friday.

Moral of the story: Don't beat yourself up when you fall from grace. Just get back on track and regain focus.

Week 5 Weigh-In: Down Another 2.0 lbs

I'm down another 2.0 lbs this week on The Plan. I'm happy with this because it puts me at a 2 year low in terms of weight. I figure I was at 200 lbs about 2 years ago when I was living in Cincinnati doing contract work here in Columbus. (I was on an expense account and could eat ANYTHING I wanted. Naturally, I put on 5lbs in 7 months...) So, I'm down 9.6! I can ALMOST say that I'm down 10 lbs!

I was joking with people yesterday that I was hoping to lose 2.2 lbs or MORE to get me below the psychological 200lb mark. I've realized that I can and WILL do it this time. I will be at 185ish (with muscle) this spring.

The weight loss is very noticeable in my gut. There had been certain shirts that I had not been able to wear because of my gut. I put them on with no problems now. Strangely, I have not seen so much difference in my pants size. I may retain my J' Lo butt after all!

The routine of eating soup and individual package of hummus (with carrots and/or celery) has worked out very well. The bean and veggie soup I made last week was perfect and filling. I ate it 5 days in a row for lunch without complaint. While I don't want to get bored with soup, if this works, I should stick with it!

What went well

- I stayed on the plan

- My alcohol consumption is very low. Sensible snacks, not so many carbs

- Despite being in a bad mood for a couple of days, I stuck with it!

What needs improvement

- Get a full 8 hours of sleep each night

- Meet the 3,000 Nike+ Fuel point goal every day (I missed the first day because I didn't feel well and it was very cold and snowy outside.)
- 6 days of "A-" or better (one cheat day is cool)

Lunch Temptations at Work

I LOVE food. That is the main reason why I am fat!

The company cafeteria in my building is cool in that it has rotating guest vendors most days. Two coworkers told me of two different veggie friendly options for today: Indian (Saag paneer and/or garbanzo bean dishes over rice with nan) and Mediterranean (Falafel over a salad with hummus and veggies.)

So, I could either eat the soup and carrots/hummus OR splurge on the food from the cafeteria.

I thought of myself at the pool at the campground, skinny. Then I went to the fridge on my floor to heat up my soup.

It's not that I'm punishing myself or denying myself food I love. I'm making a short-term decision maintain my control and to eat alternative things (that I still like a lot) to get to my goal.

Besides, I do have a cheat night coming up on Saturday! :)

Sample Dinner

Quinoa, roasted succotash with jalapeño, veggie burger with avocado and roasted cauliflower.

TWO Easy Low-Preparation Items to Eat

I spent a lot of the weekend organizing and working on reformatting my computer, so while I was around at home, I did have time for heavy cooking. I made two EASY items (per my 14 week contract to myself:)


1. Quinoa - Reading the back of the quinoa packet, they suggested making it in the rice cooker! No way! I had to try. I put 2 cups quinoa and 4 cups water into the rice cooker. 45 minutes later, it was done! Sweet! (Last time I made quinoa was a failure, so this approach is a GREAT find!)

2. Roasted Succotash with Jalapeño - Super easy:

Ingredients

1 Bag frozen Succotash (16 oz?)

1 large onion

2 jalapeños

1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Partially defrost the frozen Succotash 3 min at 50% in microwave.

3. Place Succotash in a mixing bowl.

4. Chop 1 large onion and add to bowl.

5. Devein and deseed jalapeños, chop finely and add to bowl.

6. Stir in olive oil.

7. Spread ingredients over large clear Pyrex dish

8. Cook for 40-60 minutes stirring halfway in-between until toasted. 

Week 4 Weigh-In: Down 2.4 lbs

I'm down another 2.4 lbs this week on The Plan. Things are going well. I was a bit concerned I would not lose this much because I started the week off badly and was a bit over my points via beer at the OSU basketball game on Tuesday. Plus, I had stresses at work. Still, I largely stayed on plan!

What went well

- I stayed on the plan

- My alcohol consumption is very low. Sensible snacks, not so many carbs

- I was better about getting enough sleep

What needs improvement

- Stay at 32 pts. Don't overeat!

- Get a full 8 hours of sleep each night

- Meet the 3,000 Nike+ Fuel point goal every day