Weekly Weigh In: Down 1.6 Pounds

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weigh in jan 4

In January 2012 I weighed 325 lbs. As of today I’ve lost over 140 lbs. To continue my quest to optimize my health, I’m giving up alcohol.

I start the new year weighing 184.6 pounds. That puts my total weight loss at 140.4 lbs. since I started this little journey in 2012. I attribute the loss mostly to my January challenge — no alcohol for 30 days.

Alcohol Causing My Weight Loss Stall
As I tracked my food I got suspicious that the cause of my weight fluctuation was my wine. Oh how I do love the Nectar of the Gods, but my intake was much higher than normal over the holidays.

Also I started experiencing heartburn right before bed, something that hasn’t happened since I switched to a LCHF diet. Hmmmm….something was amiss.

While wine is low in carbs it slows or stops your weight loss. And if you’re not careful it packs on the pounds too.

I wasn’t careful. Read More

Weekly Weigh-In: Down 1.3 Lbs.

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Dec 12 weigh in

I’m down 1.3 lbs. this week and lost 7 lbs. since Thanksgiving. I’m optimistic I’ll finally break that 185 pound barrier by year’s end. Maybe by my birthday I’ll finally reach the 170s.

Well my march to the 170s continues. I’m down nearly 1.5 pounds this week and I’ve lost 7 lbs. since Thanksgiving. Woohoo!

I do have a holiday party later today. As I want to keep my momentum up, I came up with a pretty simple plan for tonight:

  1. Eating a late lunch. I’m currently on an 18-hour fast which ends at 2:00 pm. So I’m making myself a mushroom-onion omelette. That way I won’t be starving when I arrive at the party.
  2. Eat only when hungry. I’ll snack on the lowest carb food available. My goal is to eat only when hungry, keeping snacking to a minimum.
  3. Keeping alcohol to a minimum. I’m limiting myself to just a few glasses of wine.
  4. No desserts! When I eat sugary sweets now, I feel physically ill. I just need to remember that when I see anything yummy.
  5. Have fun!! Food and drink are not my focus tonight. Celebrating the holidays with old friends and making new ones is what’s special about tonight…not the food or booze!

The husband is doing the same so we can support each.

What’s your game plan for avoiding temptations during holiday parties?

Cutting Dairy, Fasting Lead to 5+ Lbs. Drop

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after thanksgiving

After my post-Thanksgiving weight gain, I got back to the basics that helped me lose 140 lbs. Plus cutting back on dairy and some needed fasting improved not just the number on the scale, but my energy level and mental clarity.

By the time my 2 Thanksgivings (with lots of wine)  ended, I gained 4 pounds. Ugh! When I stepped on the scale November 28, I temporarily left the 180s, weighing in at 193.2 lbs.

Oh hell no!

Since then I’ve redoubled efforts on my healthy eating habits – menu planning, eating only when hungry, chopping and prepping the meals in advance, minimizing eating out, and tracking everything I eat. Oh and drinking water…lots of water.

Yep, I got back to basics. Read More

Weekly Weigh-In: Nothing!

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Despite the travel over the last couple of months and lots of stress eating, I've stopped gaining weight. Time to get back to basics and become a fat burning machine.

Despite the travel over the last couple of months and lots of stress eating, I’ve stopped gaining weight. Time to get back to basics and become a fat burning machine.

The good news is I’m holding steady despite a pretty stressful week. The bad news, I saw a bad habit – stress eating – come back with abandon. Ugh!

So this week I’m going back to basics. I’m working on a simple menu – just tried and true meals without a lot of moving parts. So plenty of eggs, steak, healthy fats (in the form of sauces, avocado and butter), and some leafy greens.

I’m also starting to cut back — way back — on my coffee intake. I was up 8 cups a day and my water intake dropped significantly. Of course, with each cup of Joe I added 1 teaspoon of heavy cream. I ran into problems with cream before. When I cut back, I started losing weight again. This time I’m limiting myself to no more than 2 cups of coffee (all decaf by the way!). While this limits my cream too, I’m still going to try to enjoy drinking my coffee black.

Time To Get Moving Again
Since the end of August I haven’t been able to exercise as consistently as I like. I know that exercise doesn’t cause weight loss, but I tend to eat smarter when I’m working out. When I don’t workout, I start feeling restless and that can get me into trouble in the kitchen.

I’m headed back to my parkour gym this week. After my first 2-hour class, I haven’t been back due to my travel schedule and just too much going on at my house. My plan is to take the 90-minute intro to Urban Fit (weight training) and the parkour class for folks over 35.

Oh, and despite the cold weather I’m walking everyday.

Lots of muscle soreness is headed my way this week.  Yay!

Weekly Weigh In: Up A Couple

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My traveling is taking a bit of a toll. I'm up a couple of pounds. Thankfully my last trip is this week. After that it should be business as usual.

My traveling is taking a bit of a toll. I’m up a couple of pounds. Thankfully my last trip is this week. After that it should be business as usual.

The good news? My weight is no longer stalled. The bad? The scale is moving in the wrong direction. Ugh! I’m up 2 pounds. No doubt my traveling is taking its toll. For the most part I’ve eaten low carb when possible. But when traveling by car for hundreds of miles, we found it difficult to find restaurants that were low carb friendly.

At that point, all I could do was make the best choice and move on.

I have one more trip left. I’m driving to Vermont to pick up my mom. Of course it means 2 back-to-back days of 10 hours driving. Not great, but I’m packing my food for this trip. I’ve got green olives, macadamia nuts, cheese and pork rinds in snack bags.

That should keep me satisfied and keep the carb cravings, which kicked into over-drive after our drive back from Florida, away.

Weekly Weigh-In: Down 1 lbs.

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I've lost 1 of the 3 pounds I gained from my Texas trip. With all my upcoming travel, I'm shooting for holding steady.

I’ve lost 1 of the 3 pounds I gained from my Texas trip. With all my upcoming travel, I’m shooting for holding steady.

After gaining a few pounds from my Texas trip, I’m slowly getting back into my normal routine. I’m down 1 lbs. this week. We’ll see if my weight loss picks up, but with a road trip with mom starting Wednesday and a weekend trip with the hubby the following week, I’m not so sure.

My routine officially gets back to normal mid-October. So I’m going to shoot for no gains.

Weekly Weigh-In: Feeling Zen About Weight Gain

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aug 29 weigh inAs expected I’m up a few pounds. Four to be exact. And as predicted, I’m not freaked out by it. I’m back on track eating wise. Next week I’m taking a couple of parkour classes, starting my daily 6+ mile walks, and begin my 10K training.

Yes, all is right with the world.

On Area For Improvement
Before my trip to Texas I shifted my eating to a ketogenic diet – low carb, high fat, moderate protein. Despite a few bumps in the road, mainly Tex-Mex dining, I’m enjoying the shift. Read More

Weekly Weigh-In: Holding Steady With A Touch of Parkour

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Holding steady after last week's dramatic 5 lbs. loss.

Holding steady after last week’s dramatic 5 lbs. loss.

After last week’s big 5 lbs. loss, my weight held steady. And that’s just fine with me. Why? I focused on something much more exciting than a number on a scale — PARKOUR!

Yep, after weighing in, I headed to my first parkour class…and it was a doozy.

My hubby took some action shots of me learning how to jump, land, roll and vault. I’ll post those later.

I won’t go into too much detail here but I will say it was the most fun and greatest challenge I’ve experienced in a gym. Truth is it didn’t feel like exercise. It was pure fun with a touch of fear. I felt like I was learning how to be a kid again. Awesome! Read More

Weekly Weigh-In: Weight Loss, Wine & July 4th Food Musings

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Seems as if avoiding wine this week got the scale moving again. I'm down a pound for a total loss of 141 lbs.

Seems as if avoiding wine this week got the scale moving again. I’m down a pound for a total loss of 141 lbs.

Saturday was a very happy Independence Day for me! The “No Wine!!!!” pledge got my weight moving again. I’m down a pound. I have no idea if I’m in ketosis yet, but it feels like the weight is starting to reflect the changes in my waistline again.

I thought about picking up some low carb beer for Saturday’s cookout before we set off our fireworks. But then I realized that my July 4th menu didn’t taking a holiday from how I normally eat, so why break my pledge with crappy light beer?

So my “No Alcohol” pledge continues. Until… Read More

Weekly Weigh-In: No Change

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I'm not ready to admit my weight loss hit another plateau...not with the empty wine bottles in my trash can. So this week, no alcohol to jump start the scale.

I’m not ready to admit my weight loss hit another plateau…not with the empty wine bottles in my trash can. So this week, no alcohol to jump-start the scale.

No change on the scale this week, but I’m confident I’m not stuck in a plateau. Why? Wine! During the week I enjoyed vino 3 times. I’m doing everything right to get into ketosis, except for the wine. So wine is off the menu for the week.

If the scale is still stuck at 187, then I’ll need to go into some plateau busting moves, like adding a very high carb day, upping my workout (I’ve slacked off a bit) and staying more active all day.

Packing More Action In My Day
Actually, I’ve already started the “staying more active all day” bit. Lately I’ve been a bit of a slug. Sure I do my scheduled exercise – primarily long walks and running. But once I’m home I park myself on a comfy chair or exercise ball and start researching, writing or watching those blasted cat videos. Not great.

Now I’m looking to cut my sitting time. I’m trying to do more errands on foot, like mailing a letter or picking up a few items at the grocery or pet stores. This morning I set out on foot to my dentist for a cleaning. Read More