I'm Doing Something Right!

I did my weigh in this morning and I'm happy to say that I am at 183.0, yay! That means I have lost 4.2 lbs since Sept 5th. Once again, not quite as fast as I would like, but I'm not exercising, so I don't feel like I have a right to complain. I also still eat what I want (but with some substitutions and in moderation). That puts me at a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 27 which is still in the "Overweight" range and rightly so. To be in the normal weight range for my height, I need to be between 125 and 169. That is perfectly fine with me! I hope to be around 145 anyways. :)

 I have noticed some ups and downs of changing my diet, here they are:
(I've bolded the highlights in case you don't want to read everything)

UPS:

*Feel like I have more energy
*Feel more confident just knowing that I am losing weight
* Amazingly enough my attitude towards certain foods has changed. I have started to view some really greasy foods as gross. I now sometimes crave fruits and other healthy foods.
* My pants are getting more comfortable and on the way to being a tad loose.
*Compliments! I have gotten a few compliments saying they can tell I'm losing weight. (I know I am quite verbal about it on here, but the only other people that know I am actively trying to lose weight in my day to day life are my boyfriend and my dad. My step-mom and sister now know after they complimented me and I then told them that I'm trying).
* That "full feeling" actually is started to give me a different vibe now. It is so weird to me. I used to eat until I felt "full", right? OK, sounds normal, but here is the thing... that "Full Feeling" has actually changed for me! Now when I feel full the way that I used to, I actually feel like I over ate and I am now the size of a whale. I think I have actually trained myself to now eat until I am "satisfied". It is a much better feeling too! Now I feel like I can still get up and do whatever after a full meal, whereas before all I wanted to do was lay on the couch and watch TV after dinner. Fascinating!
* I have changed the way I think about food. I now try to find food that gives me the most amount of Fiber with using the least amount of my daily calories while still tasting good. I say most amount of Fiber, but really just whatever will fill me up the most without using a lot of calories, but still be yummy :) .

DOWNS:

*Seems like my body (internally) is changing to accommodate the new way I eat. Sometimes leads to undesirable effects, but seems like that has stopped and my stomach is being normal.
*Going out to eat. I have noticed that the days I do really well on my diet are the days that I can completely control where I am going to be and what I will be eating. Days that I get asked to go out to eat at the last minute really screw with me. If I have a little advance notice, I have enough time to find the nutritional facts and make an educated decision, which makes eating out not a problem.
*Counting Calories- this is kind of an up and a down at the same time. I don't like it because sometimes I forget to do it, don't know the calorie content of a food, or I'm just being a lazy girl. I do like it because it lets me know where I am at calorie wise after lunch, so I am able to eat a sensible meal for dinner and not go over my calories for the day.
* Agreeing on dinner is harder than ever! My boyfriend is a huge fan of Meat! I think he would eat it in every single meal if he could. Besides that, he loves the type of food that I can only distinguish as being in the comfort food category. The problem is... I love these foods too! lol. So it doesn't help when he wants them and I want to make him happy, so I say ok sometimes. Him and I are basically on two different plans of diet and exercise. His is more exercise and eat what he wants and I am the opposite! I'd rather cut the calories than slaving away working them off. I figure this is probably a common issue for dieters. What really matters is that in the end we both support each others own plan for dieting and exercise and make compromises where possible, so it is not a huge issue.

So,What have I been doing to get these effects? I think I better save that for another blog, this one is getting long! lol. But I will tell you, it doesn't involve buying any magic pills, diet program, or anything special. It's about finding your will power and determination.

YOU are the only person who can make yourself Fat or Skinny!

Support Groups, they really do help.

I just found the blog "3 Fat Chicks on a diet". I haven't had much time to poke around on it, but it seems to be pretty popular and is 3rd on the list if you google "dieting blogs".

I'm considering joining it since I kind of feel lost without a support group. However, I may just go back to calorie-count.com . When I lost weight previously, I was a regular on the forums and I feel like it helped me keep focus and learn new tricks. Besides, my dieting is mostly focused towards counting calories anyways. Last time I was dieting and using calorie-count.com, I think I lost around 20 or so pounds. I am a chronic yo-Yo dieter though. Obviously, I put back on the weight and then some.

A few cool features that I feel I should mention about http://www.calorie-count.com/ is they have a weight loss line graph, they calculate how many calories you should take in and help you set a goal for yourself to lose the weight in a realistic time frame. When you do weigh-ins, the website re-calibrates the time frame. Say you didn't do so well that week, they will push out the date and give you a thumbs down. They have kept my weight loss progress on their website for years! There was a time I was worried I may have lost it since I had not logged on in over a year, but they kept my account activated and I was able to log right back on. Also, when you work-out, it accounts for those calories burned as well. It has a very user friendly and "fresh" interface. You know what, after talking about it, I am definitely going back to Calorie-Count.com haha! Nothing against the 3 Fat Chicks blog, I am sure it is great, but I think I am going to stick with what I know. I might peak in every once in a while on the 3 Fat Chicks Blog too.

If I can find a way to copy the weight loss line graph to my blog, I will. I just want to show you how bad of a yo-yo dieter I am so when I finally keep it off for a while, you know that I am really trying and that it is hard for me to do. The reason I say that is because sometimes people that are dieting will say "If I can do it, then so can you!" and that just bugs the crap outta me! I think "How can you know what I am capable of? If you can run a 5k, then should I be able to as well?!". At least this way, when I do finally do it, you can see that it was hard for me to do.

Jumping Hurdles

Lately I have been experiencing a lot of stomach pain. Unfortunately , this is not something new to me. I've had stomach problems on and off since I was about 14 years old. It is making it difficult for me to follow everything that I want to do . I want to drink those lean shakes in the morning , I want to exercise, I want to make dinner, I want to take green tea pills and drink fiber. I can't even drink as much water as I had planned ! I am getting pretty frustrated , but not losing any determination. The minute I feel able to go back to any part of my regular routine , I do. I just get annoyed that I can't work towards my goals at a time I feel so certain that I am in the right mind set to do it right ! The good thing about being in that mind set is that I am not taking having stomach pains as a reason to eat poorly. I'm still eating healthy things when I feel well enough to eat. I hope I feel better soon so I can come back with a good update !!

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Smart Ones

I can't believe that I have never mentioned before how much I love eating Weight Watchers Smart Ones for Lunch! Click HERE for information on Smart Ones and a coupon. The Sante Fe Beans and Rice one fills me up alot and tastes pretty good. The one I ate today was the Grilled Flatbread Chicken Marinara with Mozzarella Cheese. It is one of their Artisan Creations.

The reason I love Smart Ones so much is because they are the ONLY frozen dinners I have found that satisfy my hunger and taste absolutely great! I have tried Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, etc. Some of them did taste really good, but I would be hungry afterwards still. I also know that a lot of diets will recommend that you eat a small salad or fruit along with the frozen dinner.

Let's get real, I am lucky I have time to remember to even grab the frozen dinner out of the freezer when I leave in the morning. You're not getting this lazy girl to make a salad on top of it. Between working at least 40 hours a week and going to school for 3 hours at night on Wednesday and Thursday, I barely have a minute to myself. You should see my house! It's a sad mess. Weekends end up being used to get done dredgerouschores that I don't have time to do during the week.

Anyways, I just couldn't believe I never mentioned Smart Ones before! I have been eating them for a really long time as a low calorie lunch. If you have not tried them, do it! You won't regret it. There are a few that I really don't care for, but that is just my tastebuds, so I am not going to bad mouth them.

Calorie Cutting Tricks

I found this article today and  wanted to share.

I have already heard of every trick they say in the article, but sometimes it is good to refresh your memory. It is pretty easy to forget some of the most basic tricks.

Here is the article at Fitbie, 9 Quick Tricks that Cut Calories . Enjoy!

Yum! Great snack

Check it out, Click Here . Quaker Quakes RANCH! mmmm. They are so freaking yummy. I just ate 17, YES SEVENTEEN of them and it was only 130 Calories!! Awesome. Great snack, so very yummy, and very few calories. It totally satisfied my evening craving I was having.

Just had to share !

Oh and P.S. They are whole grain goodness too!

Here We Go Again !

This morning I weighed 187.2 pounds. When I started dieting a month and a half ago I was 191. So at least I have lost 3.8 pounds. That's a start, but it's less than a pound a week average. That's not very much and not fast enough.

As of yesterday I started talking GNC Lean Shakes for breakfast , along with a piece of fruit (gala apple, pear, etc.). They are kind of pricey ($40 per canister) and if you took it as directed (2x's a day) you would run out in 8 days. Eek! That's why I'm just having it for breakfast. I am also taking fiber at least once a week and vitamins daily. I'm also dabbling in green tea pills , but it seems that I get headaches when I take them. I didn't want to blame the headache on the green tea pills , but after a day of not taking them and having no headaches, I just took them and have a headache. Not fun! I love drinking tea though , so I may just end up going that route.

I have to clean the house now (which luckily counts as some exercise), so I'll update in a few days !

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