20 Pounds!

Well, even if I haven't lost 20 pounds, my mother has! Woohoo! Great job, Mom! She is on track to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks.

I Got It from My Momma

Some Catching Up to Do

There are 5 weeks left in our bet, and I have 6 pounds go to. My mom has only 3.5 pounds left. I have some catching up to do.

Overall, my mom and I have been stymied in our weight loss for the last two weeks. She, however, has been kicking up the exercise a notch and may come in with a super drop surprise at some point soon.

A cold got me down last week, but I am feeling better this week and walked for over an hour yesterday and today, and did some strength training. My mother reported that she has started to even throw a little bit of running into her exercise. Go, Mom!

Strategic Grocery Shopping

I received a request for tips on how to have enough healthy food at home to last through a work week. Here is my shopping strategy (when I am not traveling for work):

1. Figure out my meals for the entire week.
2. Check that planned meals meet my fruit and veggie quota.
3. Count the number of snacks I will need (e.g. 5 fruits, 7 yogurts for snacks, small bag of carrots and hummus).
4. Make a grocery list.
5. Go shopping at least once a week, with the list. Make it quick, just going to what I need.
6. Prepare meals as much in advance as possible, including pre-packing lunches and dinners for the week (such as on Sunday).

In my opinion two well-planned trips in two weeks is better than one long trip once every two weeks. The more often you shop, the more fresh food you are likely to have. I started to do more frequent grocery shopping while I lived in France. My husband is also good about picking up food for dinner on the way home if there was a gap in the planning.

For a second opinion, try this article on 10 Tips for Healthy Grocery Shopping.

Mom Is Kickin' Butts and Not Takin' Names

Mom lost a whopping 2.5 more pounds this week! She is down a total of 6 pounds already. She fit in her exercise, but she may not hit 3 workouts this week due to a virus that is keeping her down.

I maintained my weight this week. I am pretty proud of myself for fitting in my four workouts, when I worked an outrageous number of hours between Monday and Friday.

I have 10 weeks left to lose 6 pounds. Mom is making me nervous... she has just 4 pounds more to go.

Counting Calories: Mom's Weight Loss Weapon

One of my mom's weight loss weapons is counting calories. She uses the tool available at caloriecount.about.com.

Eating with Your Stomach

CNN.com has a short article reminding dieters to eat with our stomachs, rather than our eyes. Eating with our eyes can lead to overeating.

Eating with Your Stomach, Not Your Eyes

Busted! The FDA, Not Me. I Have Been Good.

Reports came out today indicating that FDA ignored the damage that BPA (bisphenol A) can do to babies. Worries me that this is in addition to Canada's restricting its use in baby items earlier this year and reports about increases in breast cancer associated with the chemicals in plastic.

Experts: FDA ignored evidence when calling BPA safe

I, other than drinking out of a plastic bottle as I type this, have been good today. I chose the right option at dinner with a colleague, going for a healthy salad instead of the special (fillet topped with shrimp and scallops). Was tough, but I won.

I also managed to sneak in a couple of miles of walking and a wee bit of strength training.

Keeping a Record

I was very good last week, landing very close to my target. Journaling definitely keeps me in line. I will update this post later to put in the food I consumed and the exercise, but must grab some zzz's. Has been a long day, as I traveled to Houston for work.

Making Weight Loss a Permanent Habit

I read an article today on bad and good eating habits. The article describes how you can turn eating healthy into a habit, resulting in weight loss. The article was sent to me by my wonderful Moma. It is worth a read: Behavior Modification

The article strikes a cord with me, because I have seen that my body does get used to (after 5-6 weeks of consistency) good eating behaviors, and it also lets me know when I am changing the good behaviors into bad ones. One of the reasons I have found traveling so difficult this summer is that I have been traveling to new cities, with coworkers who typically choose the restaurants, and have been working a hefty number of hours (resulting in snacking).


I do think, though, that I am the one that controls how much goes into my mouth and should be tracking and adjusting a bit better than I have been, and don't want to make excuses for situations that are not likely to change. I do think my health is and always will be more important than my job over the long term... I just need to remember that each time I am going out to lunch and din din while traveling.

I Am Still Slacking

I am still slacking at tracking my calories. I have only tracked about half my calories over the past few weeks, but am trying to turn a new leaf again starting this week as far as journaling goes. I have maintained/dropped about 1/2 a pound of weight over the past couple of weeks. I have also kept up my exercise, managing to get in at least four days a week, even with traveling each of the past four weeks to a few different cities.

Sending props out to my mom, who has stuck to using her personal trainer while working an outrageous amount this summer, and to Miss Piggy for winning the personal battle and hitting the gym today.

Getting Closer to the Half-way Point (Weekly Summary July 13-19)

My weight dropped an amazing 3.5 pounds this week. I didn't do anything special, compared to prior weeks, but I did follow my plans pretty closely.

I was only 150 calories over my goal of averaging 1200 calories per day, but feel pretty good that I was able to keep that close to my goal, having gone out to dinner and to an engagement party. I hope to keep this weight loss rolling to hit my skinny by December goal. :)

Weekly Summary July 13-19:

Sunday:
Left over turkey bacon and cheese souffle
Rice crackers & cheese
Watermelon
Chicken & stuffed eggplant (onions, tomatoes)
Wine
Plum
Exercise: Walked 6 miles

Monday:
Rice and Shine with cheese (grits-style)
Watermelon smoothies (2 glasses)
Stuffed eggplant (onions, tomatoes)
Cheese
Stuffed eggplant (ground lamb, onions)
Coconut ice cream & chocolate sauce (no corn syrup, woohoo)
Wine
Exercise: Yoga and walking, I think. Forgot to record it in my tracker and presidentschallenge.com.

Tuesday:
Coffee with agave nectar
Banana
Yogurt
Salad (spinach, chick peas, olives, blue cheese dressing)
Cheese and crackers
Plum
Coconut ice cream
Exercise: Walked 6 miles

Wednesday:
Coffee with agave nectar
1/2 container of 0% Greek yogurt, sprinkle of gluten-free cereal for crunch, and 1/2 banana
Salad (spinach, chick peas, olives, blue cheese dressing)
Sparkling water with spash of orange juice
Cucumber, 1.5 cups
Crackers with cheese
Broccoli
1/2 chicken breast
Exercise: Walked 6 miles

Thursday:
Coffee with agave nectar
1/2 container of 0% Greek yogurt, sprinkle of gluten-free cereal for crunch, and 1/2 banana
Salad (1/2 chicken boob, 3 olives, spinach, chipotle ranch dressing)
Jicama
Artichoke
1/2 cup broccoli
Talapia fillet
Chocolate pudding and dab of coconut ice cream
Exercise: Ran 2 miles, walked 2 miles

Friday:
Coffee with agave nectar
1/2 container of 0% Greek yogurt, sprinkle of gluten-free cereal for crunch, and 1/2 banana
Yogurt beet salad
Jicama
2.1 glasses of wine
Muscles
Fries, 15 strips
Exercise: 1 hour yoga, walked 6 miles

Saturday:
Coffee with agave nectar
1/2 container of 0% Greek yogurt, sprinkle of gluten-free cereal for crunch, and 1/2 banana
Yogurt beet salad
Tuna
Jicama
Chicken & beef at dinner
Hummus & similar
Lima beans
2 stuffed grape leaves
Custard dessert thing
Exercise: Walked 6 miles

I am slowly starting to build running back into my routine to be prepared for the 10 mile race I am in October.

I am also starting to think of self-reward presents for making it 1/2, 3/4, and 100% to my goal weight. Perhaps a new 3G iPhone? Any other suggestions of mile marker gifts? I hope to stay on track, even though I will be traveling for the next three weeks in a row.

The 20 Pound Countdown

I have started this blog as a part of my quest to lose 20 pounds. I lost 32 pounds in 2006 to early 2007, but gained 7 of it back over last fall. I also never reached by final goal weight (suggested by doctors). That leaves me with 20 pounds to lose.

I am only 5'2, so 20 pounds on my frame is visible anytime I wear pants that are actually my size. I am pleased with myself for at least staying at a 25+ pound loss for more than a year and a half, but disappointed that I didn't crack down earlier and shed the remainder.

I finally decided, as I did in 2006, that the time to drop the remainder is now. I want to be at my target weight, before a great vacation in Thailand in December, and prior to considering having children in the next couple of years.

The hardest part for me is getting started, but I am committed and tend to be somewhat strong willed. I made my firm decision to keep on with weight loss again two Tuesdays ago, and I have lost my first 1/2 pound since then and feel much better and stronger physically since I started working out in earnest again (running instead of strolling with my dog, doing power yoga, playing golf).

I also know I am addicted to sugar, as I currently give into uncontrollable urges to eat any useless carbs on hand. I know I have to kick the addiction for two reasons: 1) it has started to push my weight up lately and has become a maintenance struggle, and 2) I won't be able to lose unless I give it up. Knowledge plus a strong will to actually make changes is a key for me to lose weight.

19.5 pounds to go.