Wednesday Quickie Afternoon Update

I had a nice weigh-in on Sunday (-3.5 lbs).  Friend and I decided to change to a Saturday morning 9 a.m. meeting.  Work and life are busy.  I am taking a few days off next week, so I will have five days off in a row starting on Friday night.  My son comes home to stay with us that evening and I wanted to be off a few days for the initial adjustments.  Must focus on taking care of me and taking care of the household, some spring cleaning is in order, which we have already started. 

I find my food in in a routine that did not require dramatic changes other than downsizing portions and eliminating some snack items altogether.  This fruit thing is not something I agree with though, because there are certain fruits I avoid - for example I have never found that I can lose weight while eating banannas.  Like nuts, for me they are difficult to manage. I want more.  I may be able to sprinkle a half of one in some cereal but it has not worked well in the past.  I hesitate to try it now. Maybe later. 

Focusing on keeping my moods in check and not over reacting to anything. Daughter had an anxiety/panic episode and we are dealing with that.  I have been able to help her more by staying calm myself and helping her focus on the here and now, etc.   Therapist is also very helpful with strategies.  I know this will pass.  My goal is to keep myself calm and steady and provide her the support she needs. 

Anyway, life is not perfect, but I'll take it. I am grateful for many things. Have to stop and make those mental gratitude lists from time to time.

More will be revealed.

Friday!!!!

I love Friday.  This has been a very good week. I have stayed in my parameters every day. I look forward to a weigh-in.  I am using whole foods for the majority if not all of my meals. Little mini-oranges, as I like to call them, save the day.  They give just enough of a taste and a sweetness for a safe and innocent in between meal refresher.  Doing a point analysis helps me sort out  the higher quality foods so that I get more out of what I eat.  I am making sure I get enough fiber and protein.   I no longer have that out of control, frustrated feeling.  I feel optimistic and good about myself. I feel like have something to look forward to.  I was in a muddy rut.  And now I am on pleasant and interesting path.

Tuesday

I have no idea what this is going to look like. I am posting the Sunflower in honor of cheefulness.  I was very grumpy about the WW meeting. It was crowded, etc. and long, stuff I already knew and so on. It seemed complicated.  I had a headache. My friend left a little early because the meeting did run on and on. But I was a dedicated trouper and stayed till the end. I bought a special calculator. It makes it easy to track things. After two days I can say that it has been very easy. I have not even grocery shopped yet. Just using what I have already and plugging it into my range. I also bought a pedometer which does not appear entirely accurate but even if I calcualte error rate and subtract some steps, it shows I do quite a bit of walking during the day. I knew I did. I wanted to measure it, though so I could feel good about it. It's not the same as a full blown work out session but it is substantially better than sitting all day. So, I have not suffered any unpleasant hunger as a result of being in the lowest point classification. I have switched from coffee to tea and I feel more calm than I used to feel during the day. Overall, I think I can do this.  More will be revealed.                             

Buddy System

I have a friend who has been very helpful in getting me out of the house.  Today she called and asked if I wanted to go to the zoo. It's a great place to walk and the weather was nice. My impulse was to stay home because I am in that mode where I don't feel like leaving the house. The difference in me now and when I used to get like this is now I DO leave the house even when I have that feeling.  So I went and it was a great outing.  She said she was joining weight watchers and that there's a 1pm Sunday meeting not far from where I live. So I said, I will join, too.  I think this will be good for me to go to a weekly meeting/weigh in and have a buddy to do it, too. Here is hoping for getting back to the normal body mass index.. it is really just around the corner.

Update

My browser is no longer supported by blogger..  I have been missing in action. I didn't know anyone was still looking at my blog and I appreciate the comments. I'm hanging in there with some winter depression, not losing or gaining weight but wishing I would take off at least ten pounds. A friend of mine died in December. She was a paralegal that I worked with for many years. When we got laid off we stayed in touch. Her niece rents my house.  She was diagnosed with an aggressive lung cancer and within two weeks was on life support. They took her off and she died.  I found myself having something close to panic attacks on the days leading up to her death. There was so little time.   I still have a hard time getting used to it. There is also the realization of our mortality. I feel reasonably healthy but there is room for improvement. I have been on the lower end of my mood spectrum.  I do go to the gym regularly for workouts.  Work is good, they like me very much. It feels good to be appreciated. Kids are doing good. Daughter is close to gradulation, has been accepted and awarded substantial scholarship (almost two thirds of the tuition) at the college of her choice.  I miss blogging. I find myself not feeling very connected. So this is a good place to start. Thanks for checking in on me. Sorry to be gone so long. It is good to be back..

4th Day

It is the fourth day of my food change.  It has been easy.  I was sick to my stomach the night of the first day but I don't believe that was related. The good news was the next day I did not go for sugars and comfort foods like I used to do when sick.  I eased back into food and ate wisely according to my parameters. 

What I find is that I don't have any carb cravings when I eliminate certain foods, and I feel more relaxed and calm.  And focused.  Eating carbs and sweets is distracting.  Sometimes I feel like I am missing something in my diet, I miss fruit but I will add that back in later on after this two week stabilization period.  When I feel like I am missing something it is really the recreational aspect of eating, so I reach for a book or do something.  Or I have a drink of water or a cup of tea.  I am not missing nutrition because I am getting enough of that.  It is the habit of snacking.  It has been quite easy. 

I prefer eating like this. So I will keep on doing it!

MIA and Blog Trouble

I haven't blogged in two months. Then I had trouble getting in because I did something and it told me to use a new browser. I don't like this new upgrade but mainly because I have to adjust to using it.

I do like that I am giving myself two weeks of South Beach phase one prior to Christmas.  I gained at Thanksgiving and instead of it coming right back off  it has stayed. So I am inspired to do something permanent.  Move forward.  Let go of old ways.  I love the reading at the link below.

http://refusetoregain.com/refusetoregain/2011/01/losing-weight-after-fifty-menopause-and-other-issues.html