Just an Update

"Never give up, never surrender!"

I have gradually changed from the idea of 'being on a diet' to deciding to change my whole lifestyle for good. I've increased my intake of fruits and vegetables, and drastically decreased my consumption of simple carbs.

I've kept up my commitment to the TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) group, and while I am losing weight very slowly, I am still losing weight. Showing up for meetings and being weighed once a week helps keep me honest.

One thing I'm trying now is not eating after 6pm at night, after I decided that late-night eating was a really bad habit. I may sometimes go to bed hungry, but I know that I will have a healthy breakfast the next day, so no problems.

I haven't given up yet....

Since I last wrote, a lot has happened. My husband and I have moved from our old home in La Mesa and are now living in a senior community in Chula Vista. I've also had lots and lots of excuses not to stay on a diet, included multiple vacation days in Indiana, Kentucky, Finland, and Estonia. All the places had foods which I just had to try, and although I also got a lot of exercise, my weight is up again. I've also had some new health problems.

On the positive side, the senior living community offers healthy food, a gymn with regular programs, and -- best of all -- I found that a local chapter of TOPS meets once a week on the property.

Now that I'm back, and have no more trips planned for a few months, I'm back to committing to my diet. I want to eat healthy and exercise and start losing weight again.

Moomin & Me - Helsinki Airport

Some setbacks, but I'm still here...

There's been a lot of water under the bridge since I last posted, but I haven't given up.

Set Points and "My 600 Pound Life"

I weighed myself yesterday and my weight was exactly where it had been the last time I weighed in, in spite of the holidays and in spite of the fact that I've transitioned from Nutrisystem to my own plan based on using "My Fitness Pal" to make sure that I get a good balance of carbs, fat, and protein while staying within my calorie limits.

I've read some new diet and nutrition books - one called "The Simple Diet", but I decided that there was no new information there, I just needed to practice what I already knew worked.  Now I need to fine-tune things* so that I can start losing weight again. It is good to get back to real food.

On "My 600 Pound Life" - I watched an episode the other day and found it really horrifying. Of course, it made me feel slender, but I couldn't help but wonder how people let themselves get so overweight. I figured that 'set points' are what keep a lot of people on plateaus, but somehow these 600+ folks hadn't any point where they decided "OK, I need to lose weight." For me, my weight seems to reach a plateau around 180-190. My husband, who eats more than I do, stays around 150 lbs without effort.

I also wondered what I had in common with those 600-pounders. Some of the behaviors I saw were "sedentary behavior", eating in response to non-hunger emotions, and having the "Food is Love" connection. A lot of them just seemed to lay around while someone else brought them food. Help!

*'fine tuning' refers to the fact that you may gradually increase your portion size if you aren't careful. I think an analogy might be the fact that traffic experts say that you tend to speed up, in time, on long drives....just so, your tablespoon of peanut butter may become a heaping tablespoon. I brought out the food measures again.

Not a surprise - weight up since the holidays....but I'm still here...

Weight up since the holidays and vacation. Even though my husband and I are not social butterflies we did attend several parties. Add to that the stresses of the holidays and my own post-election mood.

Even Christmas shopping, although I managed to almost reach my 10,000 stops-a-day goal on several shopping expeditions, was full of unexpected hazards. Did you know that what Panera has in the bagel display marked Pumpkin Bagel* is not a bagel at all, but a sweet pastry? I didn't...

I was gifted with a small amount of very good chocolate. I split it 50/50 and ate my half last night - gave the rest to my husband, who has better willpower and is not a chocoholic. Life is too short to eat bad chocolate.

Life is also too short to pretend that diet versions of things are 'just as good'...After making a mock eggnog with non-fat milk, two tablespoons of rum, and flavoring, I decided that I might as well just have the rum straight.

But now I'm back on the wagon, so to speak.  But I've decided I'm not getting back on the Nutrisystem Wagon or the Weightwatcher's Wagon or even the The Doctor's Simple Weight-Loss Plan Wagon.  I read about all the options and I'm back with planning ahead and using My Fitness Pal to calculate my calories, and I'm going to exercise more.

Yesterday I cooked a ham and I was surprised to see that three ounces of ham is only around 100 calories. I will probably end up freezing a lot of leftover ham. Fortunately one of the cats likes the fatty bits I cut off.

I still have some Nutrisystem left, mostly lunches, but I'm not reordering.

Today's totals, already planned, with fruit and vegetables, is around 1400 calories.

*Panera's website calls this a "Pumpkin Pie Bagel" and says is it 380 calories.

Unexpected one pound loss

"Down" to 195, or a total of eight pounds lost in about 70 days, or one pound lost about every nine days.

It would be nice if I could hurry things up, but the rest of the month is a hazard course of parties and gift goodies.

"Down" to 196, or Seven Pounds Lost

I'm not weighing myself every day now, so it was a few days ago that I found out I had lost another pound in spite of four days off the official diet. I think part of the weight loss may have been because on my own I choose low-salt options if I can. I believe Nutrisystem has too much sodium and other preservatives.

My back is getting better. I dug out the back exercise pamphlet my doctor gave me, and I went online and reviewed my HMO's treatment guidelines. I've also been doing a little cooking and I'm trying to find recipes that my husband will like and that fit into a healthy weight-loss diet. I really hate having to weigh and measure things, and having to use math to figure out calorie composition/protein/carb ratio, etc....

I've been reading the nutrition information on Nutrisystem products and it had seemed to me as if Nutrisystem products have more protein than similar packaged foods, but I see I am at least partly wrong:

Here's one example:

Nutrisystem Nutriflakes Cereal:  110 calories, 1 gram fat, 5 gram fiber, 3 grams protein, 210 grams sodium in 1 oz (28g) container

Kellogg's All-Bran Cereal Wheat Flakes: 90 calories, .5gram fat,  5 gram fiber, 3 grams protein, 210 grams sodium in 29g container

Although the Kellogg's serving is almost the same size as the Nutriflake's serving, the Kellogg's has fewer calories and fat. The fiber, sodium,  and protein are the same.

This means though, that I can substitute Kellogg's bran flakes for some breakfasts without getting out of the Nutrisystem pattern; however, since my husband likes Bob's Red Mill Thick rolled oats I think I would prefer that.

One serving of Bob's Red Mill Thick Rolled Oats (1/2 cup dry) would be 210 calories, 3.5 grams fat, zero sodium, and six grams of protein. This would work if I put breakfast carb and the "smart carb snack" together. I would also have to figure out how much 1/2 cup dry measures out if I make it for both of us.

This is getting complicated.