Week 4 Mainenance

I gained back 2.4lbs this last week. I am now at 216.8lbs. Still below goal, so that is good. Sorry I haven't been posting more to this blog. My life is pretty chaotic for me and I'm grateful I've not turned to food for comfort, because I know the old me would have done exactly that. I actually take solace in going walking every morning. It gives me a chance to escape my worries if even for a little while.

You know in our meeting last night we were talking about "trigger foods" and had classified them as been either green, yellow or red priority. I have to be honest. I don't really have any "trigger foods" that I am tempted by. I just fill that craving with a healthy snack or by drinking a big glass of water. I guess when I started Weight Watchers I was to the point that I knew a lifestyle change was in order and that there would be no going back to certain habits and foods, so now that that decision has been made the temptation doesn't really exist for me. A wise man once said, "When the time for decision arrives, the time for preparation is past."

Week 3 Maintenance

Weighed in at the meeting tonight and was a little surprised at my weight...214.4 lbs. I lost 8.6 lbs last week. Yikes!!! My leader, Kaye, was a little worried. So I've got to eat lots of points this next week. I'm not worried though. My energy level is there and I feel great.

I don't know how many people watched the show on TLC, "I Can Make You Thin with Paul McKenna this last week. I found it pretty interesting. It's a show that will span 5 weeks. In this first show he talked about 4 Golden Rules. His rules are:

1. When you're hungry, eat! He talked about physical and emotional hunger.
2. Eat what you want. He suggested going to your fridge and cupboards and throwing out any foods you don't care or like to eat. Then make a list of your five favorite foods and go out and buy them. Doesn't matter what they are.
   
3. Eat consciously! Eat slowly, put down your fork and knife after every bite, and enjoy every mouthful, savor your food. Chew each mouthful at least 20 times. Don't eat with distractions, turn off the television and put down the books.
4. When you're full stop! If you have a hard time realizing your full, then close your eyes and tune into your stomach. If you even suspect your full, then stop.

While I don't agree with all of it, like eating your five favorite foods. Face it some foods just aren't good for you and those types used to be my favorite foods. I am going to implement the "No Distraction" rule while eating, that and putting down the fork and knife in between bites make a lot of sense to me. It will be interesting seeing where his program goes in the coming weeks.

One thing I love about weight watchers is that I can still MAXIMIZE points and have quite a bit of food and hey, it's worked wonders for me and a lot of other people. I believe it all comes down to making a lifestyle change for the better.

So I am back on my walking schedule, kind of out of necessity. The right pedal on my recumbent bicycle sheared off Friday morning during my workout. Luckily I had purchased it at Costco and was able to return it. But WOW, who'd a thunk I would ride the bike to death?

Week 2 Maintenance

Today has been the hardest day of my life. I have a lot of other things going on that I prefer not to talk about. I feel lonely and need someone to talk to, so I must blog because there is no one to talk to.

Week 2 Maintenance went well as I was determined it would be. I weighed in at 223 lbs, up .4 lbs from last week but still under goal.

I try to think back on why I ever let myself go and get fat in the first place. I admit I was lazy and that contributed greatly to it. I've tried so hard in the last 9 months to curb myself of laziness. If something needs to be done I try my hardest to do it. I'm not perfect but I feel as if I have come a long way from where I began.

I hope if you're trying to lose weight and you're reading this, that you can find something to help you. Don't wait until it's too late to do something about your life. I had a teacher in college that would say, "Today is the beginning of the rest of your life." I think he meant all along that it's never too late to take action. What's in the past is done. Maybe you can do something about it, but most likely you won't ever be able to do anything at all except to apologize to yourself. So begin now, go out and walk. Visit Weight Watchers for the first time. Begin eating healthy. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Do better, be more.

I’m An Addict

I am an addict. I have an addictive personality, I know it. I’ve never touched drugs or alcohol but for a very long time in my life food was my addiction. There’s no way one gets to over 400lbs without being an addict or have that type of personality. The key for me was turning this weakness into a strength. I believe 95% of weight loss is all mental. Ya gotta wanna be healthy and ya gotta wanna be committed to whatever it is that will get you where you want to be, no matter what.

So I turned my addiction with food to the Weight Watchers program. You might say I’m too strict, but that is just my addictive side kicking in. I don’t cheat on the program. I don’t use my 35 flex points, or at least I haven’t used them yet, and I don’t use my activity points. I haven’t felt a need to. I log everything I eat in my handy Quick Track System booklet and refer back to them if I’m hitting a plateau or just to see what I ate certain weeks.

I’ve also become addicted to exercise. I used to loathe that word but find myself doing at least an hour of cardio daily, Monday-Friday. I’ll either walk; carrying 10lb weights, or ride my recumbent bicycle. I believe firmly in muscle confusion as a way to break through plateaus. I find that the body gets used to certain forms of exercise and while it remains healthy to do it, you may not get the weight loss gains you were looking for. I find I can go around 2 months with walking before I start to plateau out, then I have to mix it up and bike for a couple of months. I also want long, lean muscle; not bulky muscles so on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I do lots of upper body strengthening with dumbbells. I do light weight and lots of reps. On M, T, TH and F I do an abs workout. I’ve been doing Legendary Abs and love the results. They are short ab workouts that really concentrate on the lower and upper abs. I also take opportunities for any activity I can get on the weekends, like walking the mile and a half to church or going for a bike ride.

All this didn’t happen overnight, but I felt if I was going to attempt to lose weight I was going to have to give it 110% and put everything I have into it. Hey, ya just gottawanna.

A New Take On Good Ole PB&J

Oh man I love PB&J sandwiches. Only problem is your typical peanut butter is 5 points for just 2 tbsp, OUCH! Well let me introduce you to the solution. It’s called PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter made by Bell Plantation and it is amazing. It is made from USA grown peanuts that have been pressed and powdered to remove 75% of the fat calories. What this means is that you can now have 2 tbsp of peanut powder for one point. Now that is MAXIMIZING your points!

I just mix 2 tbsp of PB2 with some sugar-free jam, to reconstitute it, and spread it on some bread. I also like taking a banana and mashing it then mixing it with a tablespoon or two of PB2, delicious. You can use it to create a great peanut sauce for noodles or use it in baked goods. Just click on the link above to order it online.

Serving size = 2 tablespoons (12 grams) Servings Per Container: 16 Calories 54.138 Fat Calories 25.44 Total Fat 2.84g Saturated Fat 0.55g Cholesterol 0g Sodium 94.4mg Carbs 3.7g Dietary Fiber 0.3g Sugars 1g Protein 4.3g

Week 1 Maintenance

I’ve got to say I haven’t enjoyed maintenance that much. It’s weird not having weight loss as my goal any longer. I felt a little lost the day after I hit my goal and a little confused. My mind is really playing tricks on me. I also hate weighing myself periodically throughout the week. During my weight loss phase I only weighed at weigh-ins once a week. Pretty amazing what the body does and how it fluctuates so much in a given week. Getting four more points a day has been a bit weird too. I refuse to let up on any exercise; I’m kind of addicted to it now.

Thanks everybody for the words of encouragement and feel free to share this blog with anyone and everyone. If my experience can help anyone get going on bettering their own life I’d be very happy.

Just got back from weigh in and I ended up losing another 2lbs last week on maintenance. It is going to be a little tricky fine tuning it. I guess that’s why they give you 6 weeks to do it.

Behold the Vita Mix!

My wife and I invested in a Vita Mix about two years ago. They’re great! They have a two horsepower motor that is nearly impossible to burn out. In fact all of the smoothie joints like Jamba Juice and others use them to blend their smoothies. We used ours occasionally until I started WW.

I now use my Vita Mix every morning. I have the same breakfast most mornings. It consists of a four point smoothie and 2 1/4 cups of Total multigrain flakes with a WW yogurt mixed in, for a total of eight points.

The smoothie is simple and huge and could easily be modified for anyone.

It consists of:

1 Weight Watcher yogurt—one point

3 Cups frozen fruit—three points

12 oz. water—zero points

I simply add the yogurt to the Vita Mix, then the fruit and finally I fill the empty yogurt cup with water twice and add that. Then mix!

The end product!