Something's gotta give....

...and I would prefer it not be my pants!

Yeah...things haven't been going so well...AT ALL! I have gained....a LOT. I actually don't even know how much because I don't want to get on the scale. Last time I checked, it was 10 pounds and I'm sure it is more now (that was about a month ago). My clothes are getting awfully snug. I've been avoiding pretty much everything...MFP, this blog...because you know, it you ignore a problem long enough, it will just go away, right?

Well, time to shake myself into reality! I'm always up for a challenge so I am going to challenge myself to match a fellow bloggers weight loss. I need the accountability right now because doing it just to do it isn't working for me at the moment! So Tiffany (yup, I think you're pretty much the only person still reading this blog), I'm going to match you, pound for pound, in your weight loss goals:

Mini Goal Weights:
Jan 15th- 149 lbs
Feb 1st- 145 lbs
Feb 15th- 141 lbs
Mar 1st- 137 lbs
Mar 15th- 134 lbs Final goal

Hope you're okay with that! This is in no way a challenge to you. I just need something to keep ME on track! :)

In reality, I think it will be difficult. I don't typically lose 2 pounds a week. But I'm going to give it a whirl, eat right, and exercise and see what happens! Even if I don't hit goal, down is definitely better than up!

Here's to a healthier 2012!!

I QUIT!!!!

Yup! I quit! I am tired of the scale. So I'm going to quit using it! I went "scale free" for a few weeks but made hubby weigh me in so I'd still have a record. Six weeks and I lost 7 pounds (but five of that was the first week so technically, I only lost 2 pounds in that length of time). Then in ONE week, I gained back 6 pounds!?!?! Ummmm...yeah. My initial reaction was to beat myself up because I'm really good a that. But then I decided that I need to not define me by what that stupid number says!

So, I'm going to....
...track my eating
...make better food choices
...exercise
....because those are the things I can control.

BUT...
...the scale will not define me anymore!

Day 10

(Apologies in advance. This post is a big disjointed ramble! But I wanted to get SOMETHING posted while a had a couple of minutes!)

So much for doing a daily post!

When I started this, everything I read said once you start this, you'll never want to go back. You feel fuller, have more energy and just feel good about the way you're eating.

Well, I made it to day 10 (still have to complete day 10 though). My overall impression - BLAH! I think I went a little overboard with the no preservatives or additives thing. I did cheat a little on dairy and ate dairy that only had vitamins added. The only way to get dairy without doing that is to drink raw milk and I didn't have access to raw milk!

Okay, I have to admit, I really didn't do the research I should have BEFORE I started so I really didn't know what I was doing. This led to quite the eating rutt....

I don't know why, but I just can't bring myself to eat many vegetables. Funny thing, I actually ate more vegetables before doing this. The thought of vegetables right now makes me want to gag. Not sure why. So I have been living off of fruit (LOTS of fruit), almonds, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, oat bran, homemade all natural bread, brown rice, chicken, dehydrated refried beans, roast, vegetables (but not very much unfortunately), museli, milk, sour cream, and cheese sticks. Oh, and I've used lots and lots of honey! Gotta have my sweet!

Does that sound blah? Well, it is blah! I am so ready to be done with this. Honestly, it may seem pretty healthy, but I have been taking vitamin supplements and I still feel drained and hungry all the time! I'm obviously doing something wrong! I know one thing that would have definitely helped would have been to incorporate more beans. The only problem is that the canned ones have additives and the only way I know how to cook with dry beans is to add stuff that has...additives!

So where do I go from here? About half way through this, I thought "If I just go back to the way I was eating, isn't that just taking a step backwards nutritionally?" And that is definitely not where I want to go. But I also can't keep eating like this! So, as I have researched and thought, I have decided that I'm not going to step backwards. I'm going to take a step sideways!

Right now (referencing my 10 day experiment), I am NOT doing well in the nutrition department. Straight up, there is just not enough variety in my diet. So, I am going to add more healthy things in (beans, more vegetables) but continue to limit (not completely eliminate) the processed foods. In other words, I'll use spices and chicken broth, but cut out white flour and vegetable oil. I'll cook more from scratch, and less from a box. We'll eat more at home, and less at fast food.

And that means....more dishes....but it's worth it right? :)

While this little experiment didn't necessarily have the effect I thought it would have, it has definitely made me take a step back and take a closer look at my eating habits!

Day 2

I had every intention of sitting and doing a detailed post of every thing I have learned in the past 24 hours but in reality, it's a lot! And for some reason, I just really don't feel like posting. So I'm going to keep it a little more basic and short for now.

I wasn't quite as tired or hungry today. I tried some almonds today and I was shocked and how filling they actually were. Right now, my learning is focused on good vs bad fats and oils and what a difference they can make. Well, that and finding a variety of foods that I can eat so I don't find myself in an eating rut with the same old foods!

Part of my problem could be my attitude. I actually am kind of liking this way of eating and realizing that it really isn't as hard or weird as I thought it would be. It is definitely different and has a learning curve to it but not as horrible as I anticipated. So I sat down with hubby last night just to see what his reaction would be to joining me. It wasn't good. So I kind of got the excitement knocked out of me. This is definitely not something I can see doing alone while the other 6 members of my family eat the same old way!

He is very skeptical that this is just another diet craze. I tried to explain to him that I'm really not following any sort of prescribed diet plan. I'm just trying to stick with foods that don't have all the additives and preservatives in them. I brought up the possibility of eating organic (to avoid the pesticides and such) and he really went off on that one! He is convinced that is just a marketing scheme and there is no difference between organic and regular produce. I'm not sure I really buy into the whole organic thing myself, but I am really convinced there is something to not eating all the additives and preservatives. I guess we'll have to give it time and see what happens.

Would I ever go completely organic, whole, fresh everything? At this point, I would say no. I think even greatly reducing the additives is a great start.

Day 1

Noon -

So far so good. I went grocery shopping this morning to get a better idea of what was available for me to eat. It is possible that I should have done this (and maybe a little research) BEFORE I jumped into this... :S ... But I figured if I was in the mood to jump in with both feet, I might as well do it. Otherwise, it just stays on the backburner where it has been for last couple of years!

I decided that since I am supplementing with vitamins anyway, milk with added vitamins isn't going to kill me. I didn't incorporate any straight milk today but I did buy cheese sticks and sour cream (found a brand that is all natural) to use today. They did have organic milk but I had a hard time paying $6 a gallon for it! I found some nuts and beans that should help out a lot with the nutrition side of things.

When I have attempted stuff like this in the past, I get SUPER gassy/bloated. I usually last about two to three days and then quit because it is so bad. But this time, I decided to give it a full 10 day trial - NO MATTER WHAT! Yesterday was kind of a half day and it was awful! So I braced myself for the worst today. So far, it hasn't been bad. BUT, I also haven't eaten any vegetables yet today! I'll have to see how the rest of the day goes....



In review...

Well, I made it through the day...almost. I made rice for a neighbor (she just had a baby so I was taking dinner to her) and out of habit, I taste tested it to see if it was done. I caught myself almost doing that several times during the day. It was interesting to me how many additives white rice has while brown rice doesn't have any. Unfortunately, I was making white...

I've read that this type of eating gives you more energy and leaves you feeling fuller (mostly from cutting all the complex carbs that our body digests so easily). That was most definitely NOT my experience yesterday! I was totally and completely drained. I went to bed at 9:30 (I'm a night owl and usually don't hit the sack until after 11:00). I felt hungry all day long. Maybe my body just has to adjust to this type of eating. We'll see...

I did find a bunch of new recipes that I want to try out. I found that I really didn't have many grains in my diet yesterday so I am going to work at incorporating more of those into my day.

I definitely feel better about the way I am eating. I just need to make some tweaks and adjustments to get my body to feel better about it! :)

Pre Day 1

Here I am blogging twice in one day! I wanted to document all of this so I can go back and look over it. So bear with me!

I planned out my eating for Day 1...and found that I was seriously lacking in several key nutrients! I'm thinking as I learn more, I will be able to get what I need from the foods I am eating, but for now, I am going to have to supplement with vitamins. I'm struggling with that because it kind of defeats the point (or at least my point) of getting all the nutrients I need by eating the right kinds of foods. And as I look through the ingredient list on the vitamins, there are a lot of weird things on there! Honestly, I think one of my biggest problems is that I DO NOT do seafood! And that is where all the nutrients are that I am missing! UGH!

Which actually brings me to my next "issue". I mentioned before I would only be eating single ingredient foods. I did modify that a bit to eating only foods that have "normal" ingredients listed on the can/box. For example, I am using Minute Maid orange juice (in a box) but the only ingredients are orange juice from concentrate and water. I'm not sure about some listings. Like on black beans, all of the ingredients are whole foods but one of them is "prepared black beans." What exactly does that mean? And some other foods say "natural flavors". Again, what does that mean? I'll have to make some decisions....

My supplements definitely break all the rules in the "normal" ingredient requirement! I am going to make a trip to the store to see what single ingredient vitamins are made up of....

Update to come! Here's to healthy eating!

An update and an experiment

Things are good here. I gained about five pounds but I have managed to take it back off. My new goal that I working toward is hitting 129.8. Weird? I haven't seen 129 on the scale in like, ever. So I want to do it just to do it. I don't necessarily want to stay at that weight. I know, weird. But I'm going to try it. BUT, I have always used the scale as a crutch. So I haven't been weighing, sort of. I have been weighing because I am OCD and I have to have my "log" so hubby has been looking and tracking while I turn my head! So there's the update.

Now for the experiment. I have been wanting to try going strictly whole foods for a while. No boxes, no preprocessed stuff. I don't think my family will respond well so I've decided to try it on my own for a while to get some ideas of how to make stuff before I throw them into the fire! I'm not going full-on vegetarian whole foods. I just want to go back to the basics-one ingredient foods (or multi-ingredient foods made by me from single ingredient foods). So here's the plan. I 'm going to eat fruits, veggies, lean meats, whole grains, and I need to look into the dairy thing. Most of it has additives which I am trying to avoid. So for now, the plan is really scratchy but I'll try to keep you posted on what exactly I end up doing and how it goes!

Now it's in writing, so I have to do it! Right?

Still here

I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. Just been spending most of my time over at My Fitness Pal.

It was working really well while the kids were in school. Now that they're out, and I have five kids ages 2 to 9 at home...I kinda quit.

Bad, I know. I haven't gained weight. But I feel blah. I haven't been eating right. I haven't been exercising. I think the exercise thing stems more from being too dang hot to exercise than anything.

Now the hubby is going out of town for 9 DAYS!! Ugh.....

My goal is to make it through July, without going over 135. There. I put it in writing. Now I have to do it! Right?

Kinda lame post, but I wanted to let you know that I'm still here (all one of you that actually still read this) :).

New find

If you're looking for a good dressing to liven up your salad, I have found one!

All I can say about this stuff is YUM!!!

We have served this dressing at two separate parties at our house and it was a major hit with everyone who tried it! I was having a hard time eating salads but this stuff makes me walk to the store to buy lettuce (and anything else I can dream of to put on a salad) just so I can have the dressing! It is 70 calories per serving but I have found a half serving to be plenty for an average salad.

Today, I had a GINORMOUS salad for lunch and only used one serving and it was plenty. Just in case your curious, here's what else I put on my deliciousness:

2 1/2 cups spring mix lettuce (my new favorite lettuce blend)
6 grape tomatoes
1/4 green pepper
a few slivers of onion
2 sliced strawberries
2 slices deli turkey
McCormick Salad Toppins (another of my salad favorites)

My plate was hugely overflowing, I am stuffed, and the total calorie count? 200 CALORIES! I am so in heaven right now!

Another 5K!

I completed another 5K! Notice I still didn't say "ran"! BUT, I beat my last time by 4 minutes and 30 seconds! Go me! Okay, I guess I should spill it and post my actual times.

First 5K - 40:00
Second 5K - 35:30

Not a fabulous time by any stretch of the imagination but I'm still excited about the improvement!