I have got to be the most uninspiring weight loss buddy ever! I feel like I'm on a rowboat on the ocean - I get really excited and inspired to follow weight watchers by the letter and plan ahead and count everything I eat - then I jump to the other end of the spectrum and decide to eat everything in sight because "screw it, it doesn't matter!"
The good news is, you can apparently do this and maintain your weight. Yea.
The bad news is, I end up feeling guilty or disappointed the entire time. Guilty when I overeat, and disappointed when I'm not losing the weight I want.
I drug myself to a meeting today after being off the wagon for the past two weeks and I still haven't had the courage to look at the number. The receptionist was very professional and didn't give anything away, but you can't be off the wagon for two weeks without some sort of gain.
I think I'm going to write up motivational messages and post them around the house. Maybe I can stay on top of the wave for a while.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Week Reset
Two weeks ago, I sat down with my husband and told him all of my frustrations with this weight loss journey. I felt like no matter what I did, I couldn't stay within my points. Every week, I was going over my points and my lack of weight loss was reflecting that. He helped me realize that I am successful when I am saving my points up for the weekend, rather than eating them on the weekend and trying to live off of my remaining points for the week. The difference is small but important. When I am saving my points up, I don't feel deprived because I know that I have the points there if I need them. When I begin my week on Friday, I tend to eat all my points over the weekend and feel worried that I am not going to have enough food for the rest of the week.
I know it sounds a little silly, but weight loss really is a mind game. So, I now begin my week on Mondays and I have been doing so much better. I haven't gone over points once since I switched over. :)
As I mentioned in my last post, we went a little crazy with the grocery budget earlier this month. To make up for this, I've decided to see if its possible to eat nothing but rice, beans, and $10 worth of other food items for an entire week.
I went to Fred Meyer last night and bought about 1.5 pounds each of organic black beans ($1.27/lb), organic pinto beans ($1.49/lb) and white beans ($1.49). I love buying food in bulk. You save money and packaging. We have plenty of rice in our pantry so I didn't need to buy any more.
Tonight I plan on making a chili served over rice. Using a can of stewed tomatoes ($0.97), a little bit of each bean, and lots of spices, this chili should be really low points (I haven't calculated the exact number yet). I'm also going to throw in some green chili and left over corn and let it cook in the crock pot all afternoon. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Tomorrow, I'm thinking bean burritos, and bean salad on Friday. If my family hasn't completely rebelled over all the rice and bean eating, I'll try to think of some more creative recipes by this weekend.
UPDATE: The chili did not turn out as planned. Whoever let me into a kitchen without a solid recipe in my hand was nuts. I blame my husband. Apparently, a little of this and a little of that produces a big pot of what appears to be bean soup without the flavor. Sigh.
Furthermore, if anyone asks, I did NOT almost burn the kitchen down. But we will have to buy a new pot.
Monday, October 12, 2009
oopsie
OK, so I disappeared for a while - sorry about that. I won't do it again...I promise. I have a new weight loss/exercise buddy. He is one of my very best friends and just knowing that he is reading this helps keep me motivated and honest :)
Not much happened in the time I was away. First I lost .8 pounds (yea), then I stayed the same (boo), but I'm not giving up.
We went a little crazy spending money this month. We have a $75 a week budget for groceries which I tend to think of as a $300 a month budget. Pretty much the same thing, expect when I think of it in monthly terms we tend to buy a lot of groceries at the beginning of the month and have nothing at the end of the month. I know what you are thinking: $75 a week is a lot to spend on groceries, and it is, until you realize what we spend that money on. My husband and I are committed to feeding ourselves and our daughter wholesome, unprocessed, organic food. Now you see why $75 a week is not so much. Some people could spend more than that on organic apples in a week.
We are part of "community supported agriculture" from a local, organic farm in our area. Every two weeks we receive a box of local, organic veggies. Each box sets up back $40, so that's $80 a month gone. Then there is the egg issue. Our daughter eats about 6 eggs every day, and because we are committed to organic food and each dozen eggs costs $4, that can add up really quickly.
Anyway, I digress. My point is that I have to be very careful with my budgeting in order to buy all these organic veggies and still have money left for things like protein and carbs :)
One thing I've discovered is incredibly helpful is planing out my meals for the week. One of my favorite little weight watchers sayings is: "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Its catchy, cute, and true. When I plan my meals for the week not only to I spend less money, but I eat more at home, and eat healthier.
Not much happened in the time I was away. First I lost .8 pounds (yea), then I stayed the same (boo), but I'm not giving up.
We went a little crazy spending money this month. We have a $75 a week budget for groceries which I tend to think of as a $300 a month budget. Pretty much the same thing, expect when I think of it in monthly terms we tend to buy a lot of groceries at the beginning of the month and have nothing at the end of the month. I know what you are thinking: $75 a week is a lot to spend on groceries, and it is, until you realize what we spend that money on. My husband and I are committed to feeding ourselves and our daughter wholesome, unprocessed, organic food. Now you see why $75 a week is not so much. Some people could spend more than that on organic apples in a week.
We are part of "community supported agriculture" from a local, organic farm in our area. Every two weeks we receive a box of local, organic veggies. Each box sets up back $40, so that's $80 a month gone. Then there is the egg issue. Our daughter eats about 6 eggs every day, and because we are committed to organic food and each dozen eggs costs $4, that can add up really quickly.
Anyway, I digress. My point is that I have to be very careful with my budgeting in order to buy all these organic veggies and still have money left for things like protein and carbs :)
One thing I've discovered is incredibly helpful is planing out my meals for the week. One of my favorite little weight watchers sayings is: "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Its catchy, cute, and true. When I plan my meals for the week not only to I spend less money, but I eat more at home, and eat healthier.
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