I am here! PLEASE look over my shoulder...

I cannot believe that it has been 4 months since I last posted. I just can't believe it!

Okay, here is where I am...

I took off the 40 lbs. Then, summer hit. My kids were home, and it became harder to find time for myself to walk and work and do all the other things on my plate. I was able to maintain my weight loss for nearly 3 of the 4 months...but now I am sliding.

I have gained back 7 lbs. In 1-1/2 months. It is because I am eating wayyyy more than I should and I am not watching the quality of the food I am eating. I have a nasty soundtrack in my head that is allowing me to eat what I want whenever and as often as I want.

So I need you to look over my shoulder. I have the resolve to lose the rest of this weight and I need some help! So if you are reading this, please prod me, poke me, wake me up to the fact that if I do not watch myself I will be right back to where I started.

I can get to my goal by January, I know I can.....won't you help me along?

Getting fat from veggies?

This is a true story. Buckle in! It's not pretty.

I took my sons to lunch last week. We went to Cosi -- it is a frenchish-chain bistro-ish restaurant (really, one step up from Fast food). they have salads, Flatbread sandwiches, pizza -- we really like the food there. Usually I get a salad with the dressing on the side...they are really good.

What I LIKE about Cosi is that they post the nutritional information about their food on their website. So I can eat there, go home, figure out how much I ate for the day, and move on.

Perfect for a responsible, weight-conscious individual, right? BZZZZZZ Wrong answer, Johnnie.

To change things up this time, I ordered this:
Vegi Muffaletta
Grilled eggplant, chopped green olives, banana peppers, green onions, olive oil, provolone, parmesan cheese & shredded romaine.

As you can see, that was copied right from their website. Looks good, right? All veggies...on whole-grain flatbread.

It was yummy. I told my sons that I would order it every time. I am telling you, I could eat one every single day.

Then, I went home and checked the nutritional information. .

That wonderful "Veggie" sandwich is the second highest caloric sandwich Cosi offers. It was 854 calories. PLUS, it had a WHOPPING 51 grams of fat. FIFTY ONE. and to pour salt into the wound, it has 2929 grams of sodium!!! My heart is still trying to recover! (but it does explain why the sandwich tasted so dang good LOL)

I was MAD. I actually felt duped. I know it is silly, and Cosi has no responsibility to those of us trying to watch our weight, but if you put a veggie dish on your menu, can you at least make it something that we can fit into our diets? I think they should have a notation next to it that says "NOT a healthy option."

So that is how I am getting fat from veggies.

That being said, I lost 1/2 lb this week. Not huge, but still a loss. I think I am still digesting that sandwich!!!! I am at 39 lbs. Looking for the big 40!

PS: If you DO eat at Cosi, not only should you check the nutritional information before you go, but you should eat the white flatbread instead of the whole grain -- the whole grain has more calories, fat and LESS fiber than the white. Go figure.

Still trying not to lick my plate...

Do you have this problem?

I grew up in a family with 6 kids. I was the second youngest. Every night we ate dinner as a family at the table together. The food was put on the table family-style.

My mother would buy enough for each of us to have a pre-determined amount of meat for each meal. For instance, each of my two brothers and my dad would get 2 pork chops for dinner; the four girls and mom would each get one (yes, isn't that sexist?). The sides were up for grabs -- you could put a serving on your plate, then if you ate it and everyone had some and there was still more, you could serve yourself some more. The key phrase there is IF THERE WAS STILL MORE.

So what do you think we did? We would SHOVEL those mashed potatoes, corn, bread or whatever into our mouths as fast as we could. We wanted more and there was alot of competition for it. My childhood of competitive eating (LOL taught me to eat fast and to eat everything on my plate.

So here I am, a bit more than midway in my 40's, and I still struggle with this! These are just two more factors contributing to my life-long weight issues (being called fatty-patty does not help you either, by the way). I am here to tell you that we CAN retrain ourselves. THIS dog is learning some new tricks!

Here is what I am doing...

1. I am trying to leave food on my plate at every meal. ESPECIALLY when I am eating out. Last night I went to a dinner honoring my Mother-in-law -- and the food was wonderful. I actually left 1/2 my mozzarella/tomato salad (yes, I left the cheese, not the tomato LOL) and 1/2 of my Fillet Mignon and Mushroom Risotto on my plate. They were good, too. But you know what? I had enough to eat after I ate just half!


2. I am putting my fork down between bites and I am chewing longer and slower. Hey! I can actually TASTE my food!


3. I am looking at other things in the dining area OTHER than my plate LOL People are fascinating when they talk -- eye contact is important!


4. If I finish the food on my plate, I am having a big glass of water, and waiting 5 minutes before I decide whether to get seconds. Usually, I don't want them.

Okay, so enough rambling for today. Want an update on my weight?

I have lost a total of 38.2 lbs. Hmmm... what is that smell??? Smells like 40 lbs is just around the corner! Hopefully next week, right?

Drop me a note and let me know how YOU are doing. Thanks for stopping by!

Posted on a billboard...

I had a funny thought today. I was getting ready for my day this morning after my walk and started to think about how happy I am that I started this diet on January 4th.

I am happy because I have lost 35 pounds. Yup, thirty-five fine 'ol pounds. Then it kind of reminded me of something....

Did you ever travel on a highway and see one of those billboards that say "If you bought a home in XYZ Community, you would be home by now!"? That is what I started to think about. My billboard says "If you started this lifestyle January 4th, you could be 35 lbs lighter!" I wish I had see that LAST January 4th!


I guess what I am trying to say is that I am thankful that I am on the road (ohhh -- pun intended) to better health and a slimmer self. YOU can be "reading" your own billboard three months from now by starting TODAY! I hope my analogy here isn't confusing...my mind works in strange ways sometimes!

On a final note today, I want to send my heartfelt thank you to all of you who continue to send me emails, motivational notes, inspirational stories, and picture. You inspire me. Really. I love having you look over my shoulder! Let's hear from you!!!

What does your soundtrack say to YOU?

Do you think you are hard on yourself? I think most women are. Why can't we just celebrate the "here and now" instead of beating ourselves up for the "shoulda-woulda-coulda"?

An example of this is my weight loss. This morning was weigh-in, and I lost another three pounds, for a total of 32 lbs. I am over the moon with ecstasy!

But...The moment I stepped off the scale I started beating myself up. I have been plateauing for the last few weeks -- I had only lost one pound in the past three previous weeks. So, of course, the negative sound track started to play in my head...

"Three pounds...it's about time."

"You slacker, you should have lost this three weeks ago."

"If you did better while on vacation, you would have lost more by now"

I could go on with this, but you get the point. I did something different, though -- I stopped myself, grinned into the mirror, and congratulated myself. I have been watching my weight for 4 months and have lost 32 lbs. I am into a new "set-of-ten" on the scale. I feel great, I look so much better...I am going to celebrate ME!

So, let's switch our soundtrack to positive, shall we? Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go speed walk for an hour -- maybe my iPod has some uplifting, congratulatory music on it that I can listen to while I burn off more calories : )

Have a great week!

What keeps you going?

Bear with me for a minute while I give you some background. There is a point to this story!

I mentioned in an earlier post that my Father-in-law (Budge) was training me. He is 69 years old, bikes competitively, and was a phys ed teacher (he has a masters for it, too). The man knows what he is doing. I have a great deal of respect for him.

Several days a week I drive the 22 minutes from our house, walk on his treadmill for an hour, and drive the 22 minutes back. I walk locally on the other days (I take Fridays off). Budge has a plan for me each and every day, mixing distance, endurance and interval training. Each day is different and I have a plan every day to follow. The Hour and 45 minutes is a big hole in my day, but I do it, because I am worth it.

He rides his bike next to me every day. He has a contraption where he rides but the bike stands upright and doesn't move (obviously). Every day we watch a different bike race. I mean a Tour de France type of race. Long races -- each of the days of the race are over 100 miles of biking.

I have been going there for 6 weeks -- I am now conversant in bike lingo, races, gear -- you name it. My FIL is a walking cycling/racing encyclopedia, and he shares with me all the time. And you know what? I actually enjoy this!

Okay, this is where we get to the meat of what I have been thinking about today...

Yesterday, my task was to warm up, then walk three miles at the pace he set, then cool down, for a total walk of 3.5 miles. One hour of walking or less, depending on my heart rate and pace. Really, a cakewalk, considering that it is what I have been doing lately. The only problem is that I got into the walk, and after 1/2 mile of walking at pace, I just felt like I couldn't walk another step. My head was screaming at me to STOP!!!

So I made a deal with myself. Just walk another 1/2 mile. Just work through it. And I did. I made another deal. Just walk another half mile...and when I got to that point, I had an epiphany.

Here I am, just on a treadmill, just walking, watching these bikers. They are cycling 100 miles a day! What is wrong with me that I can't force myself to walk just 3 stinkin' miles?

You know what? That motivated me. I walked those three miles.

And today, when I was walking outside and had another of those "Maybe-I-will-just-walk-only-two-miles-instead-of-the-whole-enchilada" moments, I thought of those racers. And I walked the whole enchilada, plus an extra quarter mile just for good measure.

From now on, I think I will use the racers to keep me going. I am going to visualize them every time I hit that wall. If they can bike 100 miles, then I can certainly do my walk and get through it!

My question to you is this: What keeps you going? What do you use when you hit the wall? Please share it with me!

Okay, now for the quick update. Last week I lost two pounds, and this week, 1 pound -- for a total weight loss of 28 pounds. I just can't wait to get to 30!

Spring:Time for renewal, Time for change....

Oh my! It has been almost two weeks since I posted -- I am so sorry! Rest assured, though, I am sticking to it -- whole-heartedly! I have been walking between 3 and 3.5 miles every day, and walking faster as time goes on, too. I feel great!

I have lost 25 lbs total (actually, a bit more, but since I don't "officially" weigh in again until next Tuesday, we will leave it at 25). Hoorah for me! the best part is that I dropped a size. That is probably really the best thing...

We went to Virginia for Easter to see my sister. I had nothing to wear, so I "forced" my sister to go shopping with me (She is the BEST shopping partner in the entire universe!). I tried on a size smaller than usual, and you know what? The VERY FIRST dress I tried on fit -- and it happens to be the one I have on, above. Don't you just LOVE it when that happens?

Now, the renewal thing. I got my haircut this week. I thought that since I was shedding pounds, a little hair could go, too. I think a good haircut renews the soul, don't you? First, here is a picture of my family taken on Easter:

Now, this is my new haircut....oh, don't you just love self-portraits? LOL -- This is hard to do!

Note to self when taking a self-portrait in the bathroom mirror (um, I kind of struggled with this!!!):

• Don't chew gum and snap the shot.
• Look at the lens.
• Don't take pictures of the bathroom lights.
• Shut the closet door behind you so that no-one can see your mess!
• Look at the lens...
• Untangle the dog from your legs.
• Look at the lens (sigh)

Not the best shot, but you get the idea. Hey! I feel lighter!

I just want to say thank you again to those of you who send me emails...really, I am more motivated every day by your emails and kind words. Thank you for looking over my shoulder and encouraging me, friends!

Now, how are you doing this week?