change the way you eat

this blog has been all about changes in my (our) lives.  the biggest being our sweet baby boy.  in honor of my 30th birthday i want to devote this week to the changes that we have made for the better.  most of these changes directly correlate in some way with my 30 before thirty.

i wish i had gotten a little more serious about my weight loss goal (see the list) sooner.  no, i will not have lost all my baby weight plus 10 by the time i turn 30 this thursday.  i won't have even lost all the baby weight.  so here i am nearly 17 months postpartum, and i still have 7-12 lbs to go before i reach what i was when i got pregnant (i am not exactly sure what i weighed).  it's really sad to think about- because now that i'm doing it- it's so easy.  i could have lost this weight months ago and saved myself the sadness of feeling fat most days. 

how am i finally doing it- it's all so simple.  1.  we have cut down on the amount of eating out that we do.  we have dinner out w\ dave's mom every tuesday night.  on thursday's if i'm at mom's group we do lunch @ panera afterwards.  that's usually it for most weeks.  dave & i do have our monthly out date (but even that doesn't always involve dinner) and we will occasionally pick something up if we're in a pinch- but it's not our fallback plan.  eating in not only saves money (more on that later this week) but it saves tons of calories.  we're not just eating frozen pizzas and junk like that either (although we do a frozen pizza (no greasy meats) 2x a week on the nights i work).  i plan 5-7 meals to get us through a 2 week period.  i either plan these meals from family favorites, blogs/online recipes or i flip through my collection.  by eating at home we get to eat together in a quiet environment with a well-balanced meal that ian can enjoy with us. 

2.  i am actually working out.  i hate working out.  i am lazy.  dragging myself to the gym 6 days a week is no fun.  some days it sucks (okay, most days), but i really can tell a difference in how i feel!

3.  i am tracking my calories.  this is where it all came together.  the 2 above items weren't good enough on their own.  i downloaded the myfitnesspal app on my phone (the info from your phone is also shared to an account that you can manage online).  the app is incredible- you can add the recipes that you cook and find meals from most national restaurants.  you can track all your nutrional intake + add in all your exercise.  everything that goes in gets tracked- that way i know if i have room for extra at the end of the night, or whether i am better without it!  when you can see everything you're eating in one place it really does make a huge difference. 

4.  i'm eating better foods- more veggies, more protein, less sugar.  i'm reading labels closely.  having ian makes this easier to do- i don't want him eating junk!  it really does make a difference!  sugar is my weakness- so now treats are extra special!

in a month i have lost around 7 lbs- which isn't half bad, but there's more work yet to be done.


i'm linking up with Blair for McFatty Monday over @ Heir to Blair

holidays and diets don't mix

i forgot that it's tuesday and not monday, so i'm a little behind here. 

this is week 2 of my "detox" and well, it didn't work so well.  i am famous for starting things and not finishing them- so you might as well add weight loss to the mix.  monday-thursday went pretty well.  we had dinner @ panera tuesday w\ dave's mom, and i tried to select a meal through the my fitness pal app before we went, but everything seemed to have some form of sugar in it.  it was a little maddening.  in the end, i just tried to pick what showed the lowest amount- but had a good amount of calories and protein as well.  eating out is tough- and we don't even do it that often.  grr.

eating:

thursday morning my parents got here.  i knew my detox was going to be a little loose this weekend because of their visit- i knew we would cook meals and eat at home, but that we would also go out a few times b\c there are places that they like to eat when they're in town.  thursday i had my regular breakfast & lunch, but we went out to dinner that first night b\c dave had a hockey game.  i ordered shrimp & lettuce wraps- i think that fit in perfectly with my detox.  everyone else had nachos for an appetizer.  i had two chips with a little bit of toppings on there and that was it- control.  friday i also had my regular breakfast & lunch and that evening we made turkey burgers for dinner & had potato salad.  i started w\ my burger on a thin bun, but halfway through decided to chuck the bun and eat the burger alone.  good choice!  this was the first day i also deliberately had sweets.  i wen to pick up my rental car & they gave me a bag of homemade toffee.  i had one small broken up square and wrapped the bag up.  i did have a few more squares as the weekend went on, but i made sure to bag what was left up and send it back w\ my family for the car ride home. 

saturday & sunday were a little more tricky.  saturday i made an egg bake w\ veggies for breakfast- which fit into my plan.  the boys went to the cubs game, so it was me, mom & ian.  we decided to go to thai food for lunch.  great, noodles.  i chose rama thai, which is a favorite of mine and we had spring rolls.  i had 1 spring roll and then when my lunch came- i took a small portion and ate just that- i had the rest boxed up.  so even though i had something that had noodles in it, i didn't go overboard by trying to eat the entire thing!  that night we made a salad for dinner- the salad had apples in it, which are a no no right now, so i picked 98% of them out and gave them to dave.  sunday was the first day i didn't have breakfast in months!  not sure if that's good or bad- but i knew it would be better for the rest of my day.  we had a goodbye get together with dave's family since his sister & her husband are moving.  i knew there would be tons of food.  i made a dip from a recipe i had gotten at whole foods (sugar conscious, yay!) and a pie.  when we got there i had a small amount of the dip i had made w\ a couple pita chips.  for dinner there were hamburgers, brats, sausages and bbq.  i decided to go w\ the bbq (sans bun, as i normally eat it) which ended up being the best decision.  i got my hands on the nutritional facts later- and i made the right choice.  i had a small spoonful of pasta salad & baked beans, and some of my dip.  i also had a dr. pepper.  i know, i know.  i drank about 3/4 of my drink, poured the rest out and finished with water.  when dessert came around, dave & i split a piece of the pie i had made.  i actually stayed within my calories, but the sugar was out of control. 

monday (the end of my detox) was probably the toughest day of all.  for breakfast i had a protein bar- ick.  we went out to a local hotdog stand that we had never been to before (alleged as the greatest in the US).  there i had a hotdog, fries and coke.  dave & i split a tamale, which was actually teh one thign that would fit in my diet.  for dinner we went out for japanese, so i had meat and veggies.  not terrible i guess.  i'm back at it this week, continuing to work hard and be mindful of what i put into my body.  ::sigh::

sugar intake:
monday- 10g 
tuesday- 23g
wednesday- 14g
thursday- 12g
friday- 48g (i forgot, i had sweet tea- apparently splenda is sugar)
saturday- 47g (this is probably a little off b\c the recipe counts all the sugar from the apples- which i mostly picked out of my salad)
sunday- 105g (yikes)

needless to say, i'm feeling a little embarrassed... 

exercising:
we worked out only 5 days this week.  sunday is normally our off day, but with the boys going to the game saturday, we thought we'd make it up on sunday.  of course, sunday it stormed like crazy- so we weren't able to ride outside.  we ended up driving to the gym instead, but on the way there it started pouring the electricity went out as soon as i got inside.  so much for that.  i was tired this week during my workouts- which always makes me feel like a failure. 

side effects:
i was still having headaches this week, but they've been less frequent.  i also didn't seem to feel as hungry as often.

set backs/cravings:
see above. 

weight loss:
it's really hard to tell.  today i was up 5 lbs from what my scale told me last week, but i have been tracking my calories and there's no way i ate enough to gain 5 lbs.  my scale also told my dad he gained 13 lbs, so i don't know if it can even be trusted.  i can say that i noticed last monday when i was getting dressed for work that my pants felt looser!  i felt this a lot this week in putting on different pairs of pants.  maybe not looser, but definitely not as tight.

recommendations:
i really need to drink more water, but i just don't know how.  also, continuing to be more mindful of what i eat- saying no to a second portion, skipping a dessert- i think even in my failures this week i made some successes.  i also need to get back on track.  we just paid our rent last night, have no food in our house and  don't get paid again for 2 weeks.  we really need groceries- starving might be the plan for the next week & a half... 

i hope next week is better.  i'm pretty disappointed still. 

i'm linking up with Blair for McFatty Monday over @ Heir to Blair

detox- week one- am i doing this right?

thanks for the super-supportive comments on my previous post.  it means a lot!  very encouraging!

as previously mentioned, i started my no-sugar detox monday evening.  i had a couple of sugary things in my house that i wanted to rid myself of (including a meal with fruit in it), so i had that for lunch monday.  i have been going strong ever since... maybe.

i can't decide whether i'm doing this right or not.  am i supposed to be having zero sugar?  because i find that sugar is naturally occurring in things i thought were "safe" to eat.  ie: milk, almond butter, tomatoes (i guess a tomato is technically a fruit, which i'm not supposed to be eating), sunflower seeds.  i haven't had a single sugar-free day yet.  here's the weekly breakdown (remember- i ate "normally" (not really b\c i was eating stuff for the sake of getting it out of my house) on monday).

monday - 102 g (holy crap)
tuesday- 16 g
wednesday - 11 g
thursday - 19 g
friday - 7 g
saturday - 12 g
sunday - 18 g

i mean, i guess when you look at monday- i appear to be hitting it out of the park.  but i am wondering about the other aspects of detoxing- such as the fact that my fat & cholesterol numbers are through the roof!  is that right?  i mean, i guess it would be if i'm eating a lot of proteins.  it just sounds weird.  here's what this week has been like:

eating:

breakfast- plain greek yogurt w\ cinnamon and/or almond butter.  or an omelet or scrambled eggs.  milk to drink

lunch- salad- spinach topped with various veggies, a small amount of cheese, seeds and a protein- either chicken or an egg.

dinner- i've made salmon and 2 salads this week (one steak, one shrimp).  tuesday we go out to dinner and i also had a salad.

snacks- mixed nuts, hummus with veggies or terra chips, almond butter with terra chips or jicama, brie with veggies, string cheese

water:  i am weird.  i could go an entire day without drinking ANYTHING.  i don't know anyone else like this.  it's odd.  so to drink anything- esp water- it's like forcing it down my throat.  i'm trying.

exercising:

we worked out 6 days this week, which is our norm.  we take sunday's off b\c dave plays hockey (so he works out 7 days) and thursday i don't really go work out, i just go to work, which is 4+ hours of standing, walking and lifting.  i re-learned how to ride a bike.  they say you never forget, but "they" are liars.  i have scrapes on both legs and a nice bruise on my tail to prove that i forgot...

side effects:

i keep getting wicked headaches.  they flare up for about 10-15 minutes at a time and go away.  i'm guessing it's either from caffeine or sugar- or both.  oh, and despite all the protein i'm eating- i find myself hungry a lot.  i'm a BIG eater.  i always have been (i know where my poor child gets it from).  i can put food away- and then be hungry in an hour.  that's still happening.

set backs/cravings:

i am actually doing really well as far as dr. p goes- i haven't felt any real need for it.  i am having the desire to tear into a bunch of bananas or just eat some fruit.  i also really want a coconut frappuccino.  so i love chocolate- like- a lot.  i was so desperate for just a bite by saturday night.  dave & i went to the grocery store to pick up a movie and i bought  box of unsweetened baker's chocolate thinking that would do the trick... hello.. that stuff is SO BITTER.  gag.  still, no sugar.  today however, i did get a lindt 90% cocoa bar- 4 squares has about 3 g of sugar, so i had 1 square.  i felt that would work- and dark chocolate is so good for you anyway.  it was a perfect treat.  and now i might be a cheater.

weight loss:

i don't feel smaller and i don't think i look smaller.  my clothes don't feel looser either.  however, i stepped on the scale monday and i stepped on the scale sunday night and sunday night was reading 5 lbs less!  eek!

recommendations:

if you are looking to lose weight or just to track your calories, i can't recommend enough the myfitnesspal app.  the fabulocity of this thing is unmatched.  it has just about every food you can imagine (you can use a bar code scanner for the things it doesn't have) and it has foods from many major restaurants listed.  plus, you can put in all the ingredients from a recipe you're going to make with the servings and it will split up the nutritional value for you.  plus, you can track your workouts and water intake.  i love it!

i probably won't complete a full detox b\c my family is coming into town this week and we will probably hit up some fun chicago spots- but i will be watching what i eat very carefully and probably be eating 95% of what i eat according to my detox plan.  that won't be until this weekend though!

also, i have an exciting giveaway coming up this week!  stay tuned

i'm linking up with Blair for McFatty Monday over @ Heir to Blair

this time it's for real

i am overweight.  i don't care how many times my husband tries to pick a fight with me about this one- it's the truth.  my bmi is in the "overweight" range.  in fact, it's hovering closer to the "obesity" range than it is to the "normal weight" range.  this hasn't been easy for me.  i gained 45 lbs when i was pregnant, and here i am 16 months later, and i still have 15 of those pounds.  i.  want.  them.  off.  15 extra pounds is not my ideal- whether it's watching my mii grow a belly, still looking pregnant or listening to 2 high school girls in my gym have a conversation where they talk about weight, bring up my weight and then refer to that as "chunky."  i'm tired of it.  i'm tired of having to make 2 outfit changes, or looking in the mirror and wanting to cry some days. 

i can be pretty lazy.  i love to sleep and i love just sitting around doing nothing- i thought that was my problem. wrong.  13 weeks ago husband & i started working out- we work out at least 30 minutes (usually 45+) 6 days a week.  i have lost ZERO pounds.  it's not that.   something is wrong with the way i eat- i think we eat healthy, but in the same vein, i think i snack too much.  it's time to fix what's broken.

i have asked around in several places- friends, my husband, my mentoring group- we're trying to nail this thing down.  they all have the same solution- count your calories- get the best idea of what is going in your body.  i also mentioned here that i was interested in doing a detox.  that has all started today- i'm counting my calories and exercise and i'm giving my body a 2 week sugar break.  no sugar, no bread, i'm forcing water down my throat (more on that later).  it's time to see what i'm really eating- and hope that the little changes make all the difference!