You Can't Just Give (It) Up: Week 7 Check-In

Last week's plateau was frustrating, but the upside was that it inspired me to not only hang in there, but to look more closely at what I was doing and to consider if I needed to change anything. Looking back over my "treats" for the week, I realized I had gotten a little lazy about trading off when I opted for a treat. It also made me think about whether I really needed those treats as often as I was taking them. So I was more stringent this week about making sure that I gave up a rough equivalent of every treat I chose, as well as simply having fewer (and smaller) treats. And boy, did it make a difference. Once I waited out that plateau, I more than made up for the week of minimal loss. 

In addition to being more careful of my tradeoffs, I was more careful about my portion sizes, which I realized had been gradually and sneakily increasing. Since I don't weigh or measure my portions, those changes aren't really reflected on my tracking chart, so it's something I have to consider carefully at every meal. It's harder for me to control when I don't have a black-and-white record in front of me to look back at, so it's very easy to slip back into old habits. 

Interestingly, after the first week or two, I haven't felt especially hungry during the day, or overly tempted to snack between meals (well, most of the time, anyway). But when I sit down for the one "real" meal I have every day, dinner with my family, it's still sooooo very tempting to pile the food on my plate. Or to go back for seconds. Or to grab that roll with butter. 

It reminds me of the saying, "Eating is the one vice you can't give up cold turkey." We all have to eat. Food, in some form and in some amount, is necessary for life. You can't just stop eating altogether, the way you can give up cigarettes, or alcohol, or gambling. You can't simply remove the temptation from your existence. And controlling something is often far more difficult than eliminating it. Think about a bag of chips: it's so much easier to not have any chips than it is to eat one and then stop. 

Once again, for me it comes down to "mindfulness": Since I'm usually the one putting food on my own plate, I have to think, as I'm serving myself, about how much food I really need. What is a reasonable portion size? How much do I need to satisfy my body, not necessarily my taste buds or my emotional desires? I have to think about how much I want the immediate satisfaction of a few extra bites vs. the long-term satisfaction of lower weight and better health. Fortunately, the more weeks go by and the more pounds I shed, the more I am realizing that long-term satisfaction in the short term. My clothes fit better right now. I like what I see in the mirror right now. My blood pressure readings are lower right now. My back pain is less right now. As I'm putting food on my plate, I can think about those right now results and remind myself of the benefits I'm already seeing. Which makes it easier, but still not exactly easy. 

The bottom line for me this week is, I think, remembering that I'm not giving up anything altogether, I'm simply limiting some things. Which reminds me to enjoy them when I'm having them, as well as encouraging me to avoid (or minimize) them when I need to. 

Quote for the Week:

 Moderation. Small helpings.
Sample a little bit of everything.
These are the secrets of happiness and good health.

-Julia Child

I'm a Little Less Fat: Week 2 Check-In

I'll admit that I'm actually a little surprised to be seeing results already, but there is a distinct downward trend in my weight. The past few days have been consistently in the 173.5-174.5 pound range, which means I've lost roughly 4 pounds in two weeks. Hooray!

Looking back at my initial post, here's how each of the parts of my diet and exercise plan have been working out:

• Drink less alcohol. I've been good about all aspects of this part so far. I've limited myself to a single drink only on weekend days only. We went out for dinner last night and I opted for just a cocktail and no wine (okay, I had one sip of my husband's wine), which is definitely a change to my usual routine. I've been successful in cutting my at-home cocktails with seltzer to reduce the alcohol and therefore the calorie content. On nights when I'm not drinking, I'll sometimes have flavored seltzer in a cocktail glass with a fancy garnish so I don't feel like I'm missing out. Starting this week, I'm going to continue cutting back by limiting myself to alcohol only on Fridays and Saturdays, with the occasional exception for going out to dinner, which I'll continue to limit to either a cocktail or wine, not both. 
• Shrink portion sizes. This aspect is a little harder to gauge. I'm certainly making an effort. There are some meals where this is easier to do than others. For example, when we had pork chops the other day, I naturally served myself a whole pork chop (which I then ate in its entirety). But when we had chicken fried rice, I served myself a smaller portion than I normally would. I still struggle with overdoing it on the carbs, especially bread. My family loves bread, and I love baking bread, so I don't want to remove it from our menus; I just need to work harder at resisting the temptation to eat the whole batch all at once. 
• Drink more water. This has been a mixed result, mainly based on my schedule, When I'm at home, I keep a mug of water nearby at all times. I use the "measured fill" function on the water dispenser in the fridge to drink in 16-ounce increments. Somehow it's easier to think of drinking a mug of water several times a day than it is to look at the larger (32-ounce) jug I bring to work - when I remember - and think about drinking the whole thing. I also find myself tending to drink more in the morning and less later in the day. I'd like to work on drinking more before dinner, so I'll feel fuller at dinnertime and therefore hopefully eat less. I'd also like to make more of an effort to bring water with me when I'm not at home, whether I'm at work or out running errands. 
• Walk every day. I'll be honest: this one has been a big fail. It's been too cold and snowy to go outside for walks, and I have yet to unearth the treadmill. So on days when I'm at home, my activity level is pretty much zero. On days I work, however, I have been consciously making an effort to get up and walk, even if it's as simple as keeping my laptop on one side of the room and the pieces I'm working on on the other side of the room, so I have to keep walking back and forth. It may only be 10 steps each time, but 10 steps there and 10 steps back times 80 or 100 does add up. 
• Write down all of the above. I have been faithful about keeping my spreadsheet. It has certainly made me more aware of what I eat, especially while I'm eating it - or before I choose whether or not to eat it! In addition to the original information - water intake, alcohol intake, activity level, foot eaten, and current weight - I've added a column for foods and drinks that I've resisted. My husband baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies the other day and the smell was driving me crazy. I really REALLY wanted one - just one - but I resisted, even after both my husband and my son asked if I wanted one. (My answer, both times, was, "Yes, desperately, but I'm not going to have one.") And after my son's school concert, the whole family had frappes but I didn't. Looking back at all the times I wanted some bread, or a cocktail, or a sweet treat, or a Dunks iced coffee, but chose not to have it, reminds me that I'm doing really well at resisting temptation and making healthier choices. Even choosing an apple with peanut butter for lunch instead of a PB&J is a baby step on cutting out unneeded calories. It reminds me that I'm making progress even when the scale might not reflect it. Looking back at the good choices I've made makes it easier to make good choices the next time, and the next. 
• Track my weight. Again, this isn't for everyone, especially not on a daily basis, but for me it's a daily (sometimes twice daily) reminder to keep that needle moving in the right direction. And with my app, it lets me see the general trend of my weight changes over time. 
• Blog at least once a week. Making my weight loss journey public - knowing that people will know if I'm not doing well - is a huge motivator for me. If I have a couple of extra cocktails or eat large portions or have a few desserts, I'll have to confess it publicly, or at least confess the resulting weight gain (or lack of loss). It makes me think twice before deciding to cheat (or hopefully not to cheat). 

I thought about including a mention in each blog of "cheats this week," but I realized that I don't want to think of deliberate food choices as "cheats." So instead, this week's "treats" were one Dunk's iced coffee with cream and sweetened flavoring, and an appetizer with dinner at a restaurant. Allowing myself a reward every now and then reminds me that I'm not giving up treats forever, but that I can choose to enjoy them within reason. And it encourages me to find another place to cut a few calories to balance it out. 

So as my journey continues, I plan to work on being more active, avoiding bread, continuing to reduce my portion sizes and alcohol intake, and drinking more water (especially later in the day). But so far, what I'm doing seems to be working, and it seems to be sustainable. 

Quote for the week: Your diet is a bank account. Good choices are good investments.