Vacation

 

 

 

An idyllic lunch.

Boyfriend and I spent the weekend at a local resort in celebration of our one-year anniversary together. It was a vacation, and I ate without tracking points.

I'm not the type to say, "Well, I'm on vacation, but dieting, so I'll just have a salad and water." I think, "I'm on vacation, and there are some award-winning pastries to be eaten!" This isn't to say that all efforts towards health go out the window, but I love food. If I have a chance to taste something I probably won't get a chance to taste again, I want to eat it. I believe in Eating to Live and Loving Life. It's the reason horribly restrictive diets don't work well for me (South Beach, Atkins, anything saying NO). If you tell me I can never have a piece of cake again, well I'd rather just stay fat.

I did exercise; I earned 31 Activity Points for the week, which is the most I've been able to earn so far. Friday morning I ran, and then we swam at night. Saturday we went on a 4.5 mile hike in the canyon during the hottest part of the day and swam at night, and Sunday I swam laps in the morning. This is all more physical activity than I've been able to keep up in a long time, and I want to keep it going! They say it takes 21 days to make a habit, so I'm trying to work out for 21 days in a row. Seven days down, 14 to go!

Kryptonite

Uh oh. They're back.

Mwahaha, I'm going to haunt your thoughts until you eat me!

Russell Stover chocolate marshmallows. They (and Frosted Flakes) are my kryptonite. I don't buy Frosted Flakes because I will pretty much eat the entire box in one sitting. Oh, there's some milk left over. I'll just add a little more cereal. Now I'm out of milk. I'll just add a little more. Now there's milk left over. I'll just add more cerealREPEATUNTILBOXISGONE.

Russell Stover chocolate marshmallows aren't quite as bad, but they're still irresistible. I would show you a picture of the actual product, except I ALREADY ATE IT. These chocolate marshmallows come in a variety of shapes from Halloween through Easter -- chocolate pumpkins, chocolate turkeys, chocolate Santas, chocolate hearts, and chocolate eggs or bunnies. The day after Easter this year I went to 8 different Walgreen's hoping to buy up their stock. I didn't think I'd be seeing them again so soon...at 3 Points apiece, they can not become a daily habit again!

But oh, the chocolatey goodness. The chocolate marshmallow is so soft and melts in my mouth, and then the chocolate coating adds a little bit of crunch and just enough sweetness -- excuse me, I have to go to Walgreens.

What's your kryptonite? How do you deal with it? Do you refuse to allow it in your home (like Frosted Flakes) or do you try and ration it like chocolate marshmallows? Mmm....chocolate marshmallows.

Question

How many Points is it if I share my Laughing Cow with my cat?

You gonna eat all that?

I tried telling her I needed every precious calorie, but she was rather insistent.

Shooting Myself in the Foot

Yesterday was the first day I ate "on plan" since last Monday.  Today I weighed myself. In one week, I did 5 pounds worth of damage to my body and my progress. I know I can't beat myself up over this, or I'll just repeat the cycle, but at this point I fear I'll never get out of the binge/diet routine. I've gotten out of it in the past...for years even.

I like to eat. I like food. I enjoy going out to local restaurants. But there's a balance that I'm clearly missing. I can't keep going between EAT ALL THE THING and EAT NOTHING. Research has clearly shown yo-yo dieting is seriously harmful to the body.


Here I am, back on plan again. I'm taking this one day at a time. Yesterday I was good, I even exercised. Today I have been good. One day at a time.

Have you heard of Fitocracy? It's an awesome new website that gives you points for each workout you do. You earn achievements and can "level up" just like a game. Last night I ran/walked and earned 66 points. Almost to level 2! Working out is definitely more fun when there's incentives :-)

Trying to Catch Up with the Wagon

This week I did something not-so-bright. I entered Tucson's Cake Bake-Off contest on Tuesday. This involved baking 30 tres leches cupcakes on Monday. Tres leches cupcakes involving sweetened condensed milk. I had too many tablespoon tastes.


Then at the event itself, there were CAKES. Cakes to TASTE. I had to taste cakes.

And it's been a quick slip from one or two bad days to, well I may as well eat everything. The worst part? I didn't even win the contest!

We had pizza the other night, and instead of counting Points on it and limiting myself to two slices, I ate four. And then I had heartburn. I realized, I've been feeling really good since I've been eating right and exercising -- I've had natural energy and no heartburn or sick stomach. I've been hungry and sleepy, but that's the worst of it. There really is something to this healthy eating thing.

The wagon is rolling down a hill, and I'm trying to catch up with it. What are your tips or suggestions for getting back after a binge?

Monday Weigh In: Week Four

Lost another two pounds this week. I was hoping for more, but I know two pounds is a good rate. 23 more to go!

I'm just waiting for my clothes to start fitting better. My large shorts are getting a little loose, but that's really the only difference I've noticed. I still won't be able into most of the clothes I own until I lose another seven pounds.

Did I mention I'm a bridesmaid in a wedding in five weeks? FIVE WEEKS. I am buckling down and working hard. My goal this week is to burn 20 Activity Points (4-5 days of workouts).

Speaking of workouts, Zumba today. There was a new girl that I felt really sorry for. Zumba is hard when you first start out, trying to catch up with the choreography and figure out the moves, plus keeping abs and glutes tight the whole time. This poor girl had absolutely zero rhythm. Even with a simple step-touch, she was all out of synch.

Then another woman came in, dressed in a cutesy little workout outfit and a full face of makeup. EXCUSE ME? I'm sorry, did you just show up to Zumba in FULL MAKEUP? What the fuck, lady. You are not impressing anyone. You're just going to look like a clown when you sweat all that off, and you will sweat. Even if you do the routines at low-impact, it's still a workout. I barely brush my hair to workout. Put on a bandana, and I'm ready to move.

It's tough to keep up the motivation to keep exercising, and I'm always surprised at how good I feel at the end of a workout. Today it's already 11:15am, and I've burned 1500 calories. What have YOU done today to move towards a healthier lifestyle?

How do you break the binge eating cycle?

This is a perfectly valid question being asked on the Weight Watchers Online Message Boards. I'm fighting the urge to binge every day, and I've been "on points" for eight days now.  

I want...
I want cupcakes. I want ice cream. I want a big breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes and eggs. I want to be able to eat something without worrying about the points.

Last Friday we went to a self-serve frozen yogurt place that's new in town. Thanks to Hungry Girl's tips on these places, I was able to calculate the points before leaving the house. I portioned one cup of yogurt into my giant cup, two tablespoons of marachino cherries, one tablespoon of cheesecake bites and two tablespoons of hot fudge. It was a large meals worth of points, but I hadn't touched my Weekly Points for the week, so it was fine. It was SO GOOD, and really satisfied my craving for an ice cream sundae. Yeah, it's still junk food, but it was an appropriate portion size and I tracked with my Weekly Points instead of just giving up and giving in.

Tip: If you fill this cup, it's probably a days worth of Points.

The problem I have is when I see people on the boards say "Oh, I know, binging is such a problem for me! I never use my Weekly Points. Today I had 15 nilla wafers [approximately 8 points]; I'm such a pig!"

Seriously? This is not a binge. Call me when you've gone through a half gallon of amaretto cherry cordial.

First of all, if your "binge" is 15 nilla wafers, then I don't know how you got fat in the first place. For most of us a binge is not counted; it's out of control eating and then you look back and go, "Whoa, what did I just do??"

Second, WHY AREN'T YOU EATING YOUR WEEKLY POINTS?! I'm not saying eat all of them, or even to eat when you aren't hungry. But 29 daily points is approximately 1,100 calories (hard to pinpoint since points don't take calories into account). That is really low. On the old plan, I ate around 1,500 calories a day. The Weekly Points are there to supplement the daily points. They're not shameful. You're not cooler or holier-than-thou because you don't eat them. You're just setting yourself up for a plateau as your body clings to every last bit of calories and fat you give it.

Some of the folks on the boards can be very competitive...trying to out-do each other with how little they can eat. I know this is not good Weight Watchers policy and they don't condone it, but they do make it easy for people to fall into a destructive eating spiral. If you have a genuine fear of eating all your daily points, or touching your weekly points, I urge you to go to a meeting or talk with a nutritionist or specialist.

Healthy eating is not all or nothing. We don't need to be afraid of food.

Monday Weigh In: Week Three

I weighed in this morning and discovered I lost four pounds! Four down, 24 to go. I noticed yesterday that my "fat" shorts were feeling loose as I was jumping around on the Dance Dance Revolution pad. I was even able to eat almost "normally" over the weekend thanks to my Weekly Points, going to get frozen yogurt, spaghetti and meat sauce, and pizza.

I worked out five days last week, and I feel like that's a good number. The body really does need a day or two of rest, although I might add some strength training on those days. Shooting for five days of workouts this week, if my body will let me...

I dutifully got up at 7:30am to go to Zumba class this morning. Fine, no problems. As soon as I get there, I realize my right knee is hurting. I did the whole class, but at low intensity. When I got home my knee was swollen, so now I'm elevating it and alternating between ice and hot packs. Boyfriend has been very helpful getting me food and packs and drinks. I'm going to have to eat the broccoli and cheese pack that's been melting on my knee for the last hour.

Speaking of drinks, I haven't had any alcohol in a week. I'm as shocked as you are. Especially since I have Caramel Bailey's in my fridge. So much wine, left undrunk! It's a crying shame. But until I get into the next level of 10s, I'm not going to drink my calories. Sorry, Caramel Bailey's. You're just going to have to sit in the fridge and be delicious by yourself.