Great Ending to May

HAPPY FRIDAY!

This morning I'm down .2 (236.2)  I've lost a total of 8.6 pounds in May and I'm thrilled with that! I haven't done that well in a long time - maybe ever!

I was so glad about the loss this morning - I thought I might have a little sodium gain.  My boss gave me a gift certificate to an upscale Italian restaurant and I decided to use it last night. I scoured the menu online and chose the best that I could:  stuffed mushrooms and a salad with mixed greens, apple, almonds, gorgonzola and raspberry vinaigrette. The dressing was delicious but very sweet. I thought I might have sodium gain from the mushrooms, which were a little salty, not to mention the cheese on top. I was pleasantly surprised that the scale dropped this morning.

Another NSV - This morning on my way to work I decided to get coffee at this convenience store by my house that has really good coffee. Usually I would be tempted by the fresh donuts in the case but today I grabbed a piece of cheese from the refrigerated section and had that and a banana for my breakfast, not even tempted by the donuts at all. I felt great and in control.

I'm off work at noon today and I have a repairman coming to my house to take a look at my washer that is leaking a little. I hope he can fix it for a reasonable amount. This is one thing that I miss about having a man who could repair this stuff for me. Oh well, I'm independent and I'm taking care of business on my own. Another great feeling.

Not much planned for this weekend, just grocery shopping and I may treat myself to a new shirt if I can find a good deal. Have a great weekend everyone and lets have a good report Monday.

Non-Scale Victories

Today the scale is up .4   but... I have a couple NSVs this morning:

• Today I'm wearing a shirt that used to be too small.

• Today I'm wearing sandals (with ankle straps!) that I couldn't wear before because my ankles were too fat and always swelled.

• I haven't gotten swollen ankles/feet in months. (I think it's a combo of losing 22 pounds and cutting out processed foods.) I was so excited yesterday because it was 90° here and very humid and my ankles did not swell. When I got home from work last evening I put my feet up on the ottoman and just sat there looking at my skinny feet/ankles. It was a great feeling.  

I Did It!

I finally finished the Squat Challenge last night!  Woo Hoo!  I'm so relieved it's over with and I'm so proud of myself for finishing something. I always start things but never seem to stick to them but I made myself do it this time and it feels good.  It gives me confidence in myself.  I've noticed that my butt is more lifted and my thighs are smaller and firmer so it was worth it.

This morning I weighed exactly the same as yesterday; that's fine with me, especially considering it's TOM.

I've been feeling very satisfied with the foods I've been eating and noticed that I'm not wanting snacks in between meals and I very seldom crave sweets. I've also gotten completely away from flavored creamer in my coffee - all I have now is organic half and half and it's delicious with my Donut Shop k-cups.

I recently learned that I'm getting a very nice bonus at work for extra work that I did on a 10-month long project, which has finally ended.  YES! There are many things that crossed my mind to do with the money: pay bills, go on vacation, blow the whole damn thing... Bills will always be there, if I use it for a vacation it sure will be nice to get away but I won't have anything to show for it, except for a paid hotel bill, so...I've decided that DD and I are going to blow the whole damn thing! At first I felt guilty about it, but hell, I worked my ass off for it and I never do anything or treat myself, so what the hell.  We're going to do what most women love to do - shop!  We're going to a gianormous mall that is two hours away and are going to stay over in a hotel and just take our good old sweet time doing what we please for two glorious days.  I'm in desperate need of clothes and shoes so I'm going to treat myself to alot of stuff.  Having lost 22 pounds now and starting to feel better about myself I feel like I'm due for a clothes treat...hopefully even a purse. I can't freakin' wait!  The trip with be on June 15.

That's about it for now.  I'm still feeling great, slim, healthy and in the zone. I'm eating better than I ever have in my entire life and it's paying off inside and out.  Today I will start back on cardio exercise since the squats are over with - maybe a walk outside this evening to get some fresh air.

Make it a great day!

My 3FC friends - I'm still unable to comment on your blogs. :/
I did not desert you though, I check in with you every day.

In the Zone

I'm in the zone and I feel great! I lost 1.6 over the weekend (Memorial Day Weekend at that!) and...get this...it's also TOM!!! I weighed in at 236.0 this morning - down 2.6 from a week ago.  Yippee! This weight is coming off nicely ever since I switched to primal eating and with minimal effort. 

I made delicious turkey burgers yesterday with chopped baby bella mushrooms and red and green peppers inside. YUM!

Tonight Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition starts up again; I'm looking forward to it. Tonight is also the last night of my squat challenge - HURRAY!!!

Happy Long Weekend!

Yay for a long weekend.  I get off work at noon today and I'm off until Tuesday.  Yippee!  I don't have any "real" plans, just taking it as it comes and enjoying being off.  I do plan on getting some good walking in at a different park that has some nice hills. I'm still working on the squat challenge and hope to finish that off this weekend, too.  Today is up to 220 squats. Oye. I can definitely feel it working, though.

You've probably heard by now that the Senate rejected allowing labels for Frankenfood yesterday.   No surprised look here, but thank goodness there are people out there fighting for the right thing to be done.

That's it for now.  Make it a great weekend and let's have a good report next week.  :)

My Favorite New Dressing

Not much to report today but I wanted to tell you about this delicious new salad dressing that I just discovered:  Trader Joe's Champagne Pear Vinaigrette with Gorgonzola (Only $2.99!) It actually has pureed pears in it. Yum!

2 tablespoons = 45 calories; 2.5g fat; 4g carbs; 4g sugar



New to Blogger

This morning I weighed in at 237.8. Yay!  I think I'm safely in the 30s now without fear of creeping back over the line. I feel like I'm in the zone and feeling slimmer.  The hell of it is that I've lost 20 pounds and people can't really tell yet.  That's a slap in the face of how fat I was/am.  I can tell a difference and that's all that matters for right now.

Feeling Ma-va-lous

Remember that Billy Crystal (Fernando) skit from SNL in the 80s?  (Showing my age here!) Anyway, I feel ma-va-lous, dah-ling!

Over the weekend I noticed that all of my little stiffness-es and little aches and pains are GONE!  GONE, I TELL YOU!  Before when I used to get up in the morning (or in the middle of the night to pee) I would notice that I had lower back pain and my legs and feet were usually a little creeky until I got moving a little.  Saturday when I got up - nothing!!!!!!!!!! I felt great!  I could have danced around the house!  I had so much energy that I did all of my housework, laundry, walked 4 miles all before lunch and still had energy!  The aches and pains and stiffness are GONE!  I'm about 3 weeks into eating grain and sugar free and I know with absolute certainty that this is why I'm feeling so wonderful!  I'm freakin' stoked!

Another reason to be stoked is that today I officially hit 15 pounds lost!  This morning I weighed in at 243.2.  I absolutely cannot wait until I reach a new decade!!!

My DD just texted me and said she found the Annie's organic papaya poppyseed dressing at a health food store today and bought us each one.  She knew I'd been trying to track it down. She and her BF are also doing awesomely on primal eating and also feeling fabulous!  My DD has lost about 5 pounds so far (in 2 weeks) and she's already slim. 

I was thinking about it and I firmly believe that's why I was floundering around for so many months, not able to lose weight - the grains and sugars were giving me too many damned cravings and making me hold onto the fat.  I have absolutely no cravings now.  It's like a miracle!  I haven't felt this great in years!  I'm so proud of myself for finally caring enough about me to do something about it. 

Oh yeah - last night I had a dream that I was having an affair with Clint Eastwood!  WTH???

Glorious Friday!

Finally Friday and finally a break through.  I lost .4 this morning which puts me back at 244.6.  I cannot wait to see at least 243 - seems like I've been floating around these same numbers for a while now.  Oh, and TOM arrived this morning. Yuck.  I don't know when the last time is that I only gained one pound with TOM - it usually would be 3-5.  Another thing I noticed is that I didn't have one craving this time.  Unbelievable!  Usually a few days before TOM would arrive I would have uncontrollable cravings for JUNK.  Could the new way of eating have stopped my cravings even with TOM?  I don't know, but I'm sure not complaining.  I feel great and in control.

Last evening I did 100 squats and kettlebell exercises. My DD is coming over for dinner tonight and, luckily, she is doing the squat challenge and has adopted the same way of eating that I have so we'll both be satisfied with eating the same thing - and no dessert.  We can do our squats together and maybe go for a walk.  The weather should be great.

This weekend is graduation at the university where I work so next week everyone will be gone and it will be quiet for the summer.  The senior administration came up with the idea to try modified hours during the summer.  I usually work 8-5 - the new schedule, starting Monday, is 7:30-5:00 with a half hour lunch instead of an hour and then Friday 8-12.  It's going to be a little rough at first coming in earlier and only having a 30 minute lunch.  I like my lunch hour to get fresh air and read and it's nice to be able to run errands if I want to.  No more errands. It will, however, be nice to leave at noon on Friday. Overall I hope it's not that bad.  It's a trial run this year and then they are doing a survey in August to see how we liked it and if it will be done again next year.



Since I cut out grains I was looking around for new recipes and I came across alot of sites with people using nut flours, buckwheat (which suprisingly to me is not a grain) and many others.  I thought about maybe giving almond or coconut flour a try so I can make more dishes but I'm not sure... For instance, I thought I could make buckwheat pancakes for breakfast once in a while (I need more things to eat for breakfast besides eggs and fruit) and I could skip the syrup and eat them with fresh fruit (again with the fruit) but I'm afraid it will start the cravings again.  I also found a recipe for meatloaf and a couple desserts that I would like to try, but again, I'm afraid the cravings will return.  Is it worth a try when I feel like I'm doing so well right now?  I don' t know.

Has anyone tried any of the alternative flours and did it affect your cravings?  What did you think of them?

That's it for now.  have a great weekend and let's have a great report for Monday.

WTH?

I gained .2 again this morning. This is the third day in a row that I've had a small gain.  I know damn well that I'm OP with everything so I'm slightly annoyed.  I looked back through my food/exercise/weight log and I'm still down a full pound from a week ago, so at least I have that.  The only thing I can blame it on is TOM being on the way - I have all the signs.  No choice but to wait it out.

This morning I tried the organic eggs - I made an omlette with pico de gallo and it was really good.  I could definitley tell a difference in the look of the eggs and the shell was much harder.  I've been trying to come up with new ways to fix my food to keep it fresh.  I made a southwest-ish relish with corn, black beans, onion, tomato and a little lime juice and vinegar.  I've been putting that on my salads with a little jack cheese. 

Last night was gorgeous so I walked two miles.  Tonight is squats and exercise dvd.  When I got dressed this morning I put on a light shirt/jacket and did notice that it covers more of my butt/falls longer than it used to and my pants are slightly longer.  Yippee!

That's it for now.  Fingers crossed for a FREAKIN' LOSS TOMORROW!!!

Trying New Stuff

Today up .2.  Another gain...WTH?  I don't know why - eating couldn't be better and I've been exercising. The only thing that I can think of is that TOM is right around the corner so maybe I'm slowly getting bloat from that.  Keep pushing forward and wait it out is all I can do.

I went to the grocery store last night and checked out the Annie's dressing.  I ended up choosing FF Mango, I'll try it on my salad today at lunch.  It is only 20 calories for 2 tablespoons and no fat!.  If I like it I'll get another kind later.  I also got organic half and half.  It is refreshing to see 2 ingredients on the label compared to about 20.  I took Mel's advice and had my coffee with the organic creamer and a tiny splash of good Madagascar vanilla.  It was absolutley delicious and so smooth and creamy.  I'm so excited because I can now delete the flavored creamer/sugar from my coffee!  Makes me feel better about drinking it, too.  I also bought organic eggs for the first time;  I'm curious to see if there is a difference.

Last evening my exercise was 80 squats and a 25 minute exercise dvd and then I did a 10 minute stretching video that came along with it.  The stretching feels great and it is so relaxing.  Tonight is a rest night from the squats so I think I will walk outside this evening.  I'm starting to feel more "compact" if that makes any sense.

NSV:  When I slipped on my sandals this mornnig they were less tight.  I used to get swollen ankles and sometimes even the tops of my feet were a little swollen too from sitting down at work all day.  I've noticed that the past week or so I haven't gotten that.  I think it has to do with me eating better and not having any processed foods.  It feels great! 

Onward and upward!  I'm hoping for a loss tomorrow!!!!