Week 13: Lows and Highs

"And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good." -John Steinbeck

This week I hit an "all-time" low (in this case, that's a good thing)! I know it's not really an all-time low, but I can't remember the last time I saw this number on the scale, so for my weight loss journey, it's an all-time low. And I was so excited! I was on a good kind of high all day, because this is really a milestone! 

And know what's even better? I ate TWO delicious Thanksgiving dinners this week and still managed to drop a little weight! I already explained last week how I went all out at the church's Thanksgiving dinner, and it did show on the scale the next day. But I worked hard and lost those pounds again during the week.  When Thursday came, I really had to think long and hard about what I would do--go all out again, or scrimp so I could see some results.  I sort of found a happy medium.  I ate everything on the table (and it was all SO good), but nothing in huge portions.  I wanted to eat another yummy roll, but decided against it.  I had two small pieces of pie, but opted out of trying the other two kinds.  And I refused to take any leftovers!

As I was reflecting on this week, I realized that I made the right choice.  Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays, so if I had chosen to eat, for example, just the turkey and a few green beans, I would not have felt satisfied. So I ate to my heart's content! Am I the perfect dieter? No! I don't want to be! Steinbeck had it right, now that I don't feel the need to perfect, I can just be good!

So now for the number crunching.  I am down another .8 of a pound this week (not a huge number, but in this case, pretty impressive, see paragraph 2 above)! Just another 2.8 pounds and I'll hit the 10 pound weight loss mark!

Here's to another week of healthy eating, exercising, and loving life!

Pounds lost: 7.2

Pounds left to lose: 22.8

Love,

Candace

Week 12: Fat and Happy

"Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dine like a pauper."

Conversation with a student last week:
Student: Miss, why do you go to the gym all the time?
Me: Because I want to be healthy!
Student: Not me, I want to be fat and happy!

Today, I'm feeling fat and happy! I just came from my church's annual "Harvest Dinner" aka Thanksgiving. We don't get Thanksgiving off from school, so it was nice to have one a little early this year! I am so full of delicious foods and honestly just very happy!

And here's why--I ate tons of things today that I would normally avoid--cake, cobbler, mashed potatoes, cornbread--and I didn't feel bad about any of it! I have been treating my body so well for the last few months, so though it might show on the scale tomorrow, that delicious meal was worth every bite! I think usually around this time of year, I have already baked up so many treats before Thanksgiving, that I feel bad for eating even more when the big day comes.  It was totally opposite this year and I love it!

So this week, I tried out The Big Breakfast Diet and the results are...less than inspiring, according to the scale.  I am down just a measly .2 of a pound since last week! But I have decided to stick with the diet for one more week. Let me explain.

The diet promised a few things, but two that caught my eye.  1. You won't crave carbs or sweets in the afternoon or night. 2. You won't be hungry at night. Surprisingly, both of these things were true! I ate my huge breakfast, a smaller lunch, and little to no dinner because I just wasn't hungry.  No sugar cravings was totally new for me! I think where the diet went askew for me is that I tried a couple of different meal plans that she designed, one of which had significantly more calories than the other, causing me to gain weight at the beginning of the week. I switched to a different plan, and lost all the weight I had gained back, but not enough to see great results.  This week, I am trying my luck with the lower calorie plan. If I don't see great results, it's bye-bye Big Breakfast Diet!

Though I'm not losing tons of weight, I continue to receive compliments about how great I am looking! I definitely can't hear that enough! I'm excited for another week of big breakfasts and fit living!

Pounds lost: 6.4
Pounds left to lose: 23.6

Love,
Candace

Week 11: On My Way

"It's not so much where you are, but where you're going."

It's been another great week, but I have to admit to starting out badly! At the beginning of the week, I was craving EVERYTHING.  I just wanted to eat all the time. And nothing was satisfying.  It was super frustrating!  I also went to book club and ravenously consumed way too many delicious treats.  To put it lightly, I was going downhill fast!

I had ordered a book called "The Big Breakfast Diet", less because I was looking for a diet and more because I love breakfast, so I was interested in what the author had to say.  Her basic principle is that it's not just what you eat, but when you eat it.  She advocates for a large protein packed breakfast, a smaller protein/fruit/veggie lunch, and an even smaller protein/fruit/veggie dinner.  As I looked through her meal plans, I sort of wrote it off, as she included carbs and sweets in every breakfast.  

Frustrated with my insatiable cravings and seeming lack of control, I said, "Well, it can't be worse than what I'm doing right now!" So I tried out her diet plan for two days, Thursday and Friday.  I was stunned with the results--not just weight loss, but my cravings essentially disappeared! By dinner time, I was barely even hungry, because I had eaten so much protein, fruits, and veggies during the day.

Now, I know better than to base my opinion of anything off a mere 2 days, so I am trying out the diet plan for this next week, to see what kind of results I can get.  I will give a better review of the diet next week!

So what about this week? I lost another 1.8 pounds, which I am very pleased with.  It would have been more if I hadn't gained back more than a pound in the early part of the week.  Regardless, it's a good number, so I can't complain!

Yesterday was my little sister Brianna's birthday.  She loves the movie Brother Bear and I found myself humming a song called "On My Way".  In honor of her and my weight journey continuing to go well, here is the video!

It feels great to be on my way! 

Pounds lost: 6.2

Pounds left to lose: 23.8

Love,

Candace

Normally, I hate cat memes, but this one made me laugh!

Week 10: Drowning In Sweat

"Nobody ever drowned in his own sweat." -Ann Landers

This week, I felt like I was drowning in sweat! For a while now, I have felt like some of my workouts have not been at the intensity that they could and should be.  So this week, I decided to amp it up! I pushed harder than before and even tried a new class--an Insanity workout class! The class totally kicked my butt, left me drenched in sweat, totally exhausted, and happy! That's right--HAPPY! It really felt like I was pushing my body to new limits!

With my intense workouts and strict healthy eating, I managed to lose 3 pounds this week! I did a little happy dance, glad to see some progress!  I hope to keep up the good work this week with a similar meal and exercise plan.  My body, though it still looks about the same, feels really spectacular.  I know this is from my constant efforts to treat it right! 

This week, we had a breakfast at school with muffins, donuts, and bagels--aka some of my favorite foods.  I passed on all of them, only to be left wondering later in the day--is it worth it? Is it worth it to not eat these things that I love? That night at my circuit class, I felt so light on my feet and energetic.  That was answer enough for me (and the 3 pound weight loss was an extra confirmation)!  Having a healthy body is worth every effort! 

So excited for another week of healthy eating and vigorous exercise! Bring it on!

Pounds lost: 4.4

Pounds left to lose: 25.6

Love,

Candace

Week 9: The Set-Point

"You can outdistance that which is running after you, but not what is running inside you." 

-Rwandan proverb

I started this week with the best of intentions--I made a big batch of Black Bean and Quinoa chili for my lunches, had a big bag of salad greens ready for dinner, and a full schedule for workouts. But good intentions don't always mean good results.  The chili ended up making my colon hurt (maybe too much fiber), so I nixed it after two days.  I didn't feel like eating salad by the time Tuesday rolled around.  I had a cold, so my workouts happened, but at a much lower intensity than normal.  I went to the Coffee Bean twice with friends and justified a pastry both times since I don't drink coffee.  And to top it off, I attended 2 parties and ate all sorts of things I shouldn't have eaten.

The results are a little ugly, but not as ugly as they could be.  I ended up gaining .4 pound this week. I was disappointed to see the number go up once again, but I was also glad it didn't go up more.  

I was thinking today how irritating it is that my weight has lingered around the same number, give or take 5 pounds, for the last 2 months.  It reminded me of something I had read about before called the set-point theory.  Basically, many scientists believe that each person has a "natural" weight that their body gravitates to. They attribute some people having a much harder time losing weight or trying to get to a certain size to the fact that their natural weight or set-point is higher.  When I first read about this, I thought it was a little hokey, but as I was thinking today, it actually makes some sense.  Before I lost weight earlier this year, my weight kept going back to the same infuriating number over the course of about 3 years.  It would go up and then down and then back up, but always hover around the same number. The research says that you can to some extent "reset" your set point, and I think that's what I did, to a weight that is 20 pounds lighter.  

So today, I thought to myself that it was time to reset that set point again, this time even lower!  Obviously it's going to be harder than I thought, but I am up for the challenge.  I can tell that my body is fighting itself. When I eat things that used to be regulars in my diet, like a homemade cookie, it wants to enjoy it, but it doesn't! That is either really depressing or really exciting (I'm thinking a little of both!).  Now I just have to tell my mind to stop picking those things up, because they won't be worth it if I'm not even enjoying the calories!

The fridge is stocked with vegetable soup for dinner, turkey and cottage cheese roll-ups for lunch, and carrots and hard-boiled eggs for snacks! It's a new month and I'm determined to make it a healthy one (for real this time)!

Pounds lost: 1.4

Pounds left to lose: 28.6

Love,

Candace