Mary's weight loss ramblings

[MaryW]

Well, I think I need to get back into journaling here.

I've decided to recommit to MWL. For the second time this year. The two trips out of town I have taken in the last couple of months have really thrown my eating for a spin. It's one thing to indulge when I am away from home, but quite another to keep indulging when I get back home!

OK, here's what I ate today:

breakfast-- polenta (packaged from TJ's) and turnip greens (canned)
lunch-- steamed broccoli and white rice from a Chinese place near work
dinner-- polenta (packaged), cabbage (canned), spaghetti sauce (canned)

Many of the foods I ate today where pre-packaged and therefore high in salt. But I still felt like I did well. Many mornings lately I've been running in Dunkin Donuts and buying a plain bagel. Not the worst choice in the world (I mean, I could have gotten a donut!) but not the best choice for someone trying to lose weight and not MWL. And I did manage to get some veggies in at each meal.

Funny story about my steamed broccoli. I opened up the container and noticed some large white strips in amongst the broccoli. Was it tofu, I thought? Tofu wasn't mentioned on the menu. But as I poked at it, it looked decidedly meat-like! I took it up to the counter and asked the cashier if it was chicken. She said yes! I told her I had asked for steamed broccoli and only broccoli. She smacked her forehead and apologized. I had to wait for a fresh batch of broccoli.

[MaryW]

I was startled when I got on the scale this morning. My weight had shot up 2 pounds overnight. But after a visit to the ladies room this evening, I had dropped three pounds! The scale is a mystery. Foodwise, I did OK today. Just OK. Here's what I ate:

Breakfast: Cinnamon Harvest shredded wheat
Lunch: Two Fantastic Foods soup cups about 150 calories each
(but they both had noodles in them)
Dinner: Steamed broccoli and white rice from a Chinese restaurant (but
not the same one I went to yesterday, so no chicken drama)

So I guess I was McDougall compliant today but not MWL. I had meetings all afternoon and evening, so it was hard to fit food in. I have to start preparing food at home to take with me. I am NOT a morning person. I keep thinking that I am going to get up early and pop some taters in the oven or put on a pot of rice, but I'm always running around like a crazy person just trying to get dressed. Food is the last thing on my mind (for once). There never seems to be time to fix anything. So I'm grabbing whatever to eat, or just eating nothing.

I'm intrigued by what Chile calls "free eating." I've actually been thinking about something like this recently. I tend to stockpile food. I LOVE going to the grocery store. I'm always finding a new jar or bottle of something to try. But I don't use everything that I buy. And then I have to throw things away. I can't afford to waste money like that. I absolutely FORBID myself to buy fresh produce anymore. The only things that I can seem to use before they go bad are potatoes and onions and maybe winter squash. Everything else is off of the shopping list, at least for a while. But never fear. I have a freezer full of frozen veggies! I won't be vegetable-less. And I have a huge stack of dried beans in the cabinet. I've had them for like 2 years. Eeek! How long do beans last? I don't know if I should use them, give them to a food bank or just throw them away. But again, I hate to throw away food.

[sksamboots]

You funny. I'm glad the scale is agreeing with you. Keep on keepin on

[MaryW]

Thanks for the encouragement, sksamboots. Glad you stopped by!

Good heavens! I seem to have lost four and a half pounds overnight! Again, the scale is a mystery to me. At least this time it’s moving in my favor. I’m back down to my pre-freak out, pre-trip weight, but I’ll wait to report my numbers until tomorrow's weigh in to see if anything else comes off overnight like magic.

My food today:
Breakfast: Cinnamon harvest Shredded Wheat – No it’s not MWL, but
still better than stopping for a bagel.
Lunch: Two baked potatoes and a side salad from Wendy’s
Dinner: Hmmm…It’s 8:30 and I just got home and I haven’t eaten
yet. But I’m thinking canned squash and canned beans.
Not spectacular, but simple, easy, filling, and absolutely
ON PLAN.

Also, it’s Day One of my personal 100 Day Challenge. Did I make it? Well, I feel like I did. My goal is to be 100 percent MWL compliant. I didn’t QUITE make it with the cereal, but again, cereal (organic, whole wheat) is better than a bagel. And will I eat more cereal? Yes, until the box is gone. Maybe one more day left in it. Then I WILL have to start making something for breakfast!

[ncyg46]

IEeek! How long do beans last? I don't know if I should use them, give them to a food bank or just throw them away. But again, I hate to throw away food.

let me know when you find out! I have had some for a long time. Seems the pressure cooker does a good job though. I keep buying the Eden canned beans to make things faster. Now that it is cooling down I can cook inside again soon....

[bunsofaluminum]

But I’m thinking canned squash and canned beans.
Not spectacular, but simple, easy, filling, and absolutely
ON PLAN.

Now this is what I like to see: simple, easy, filling and ON PLAN. One of the worries I have (if that's the word) is that I'll start thinking that every meal has to be this sumptuous feast with multiple ingredients and many steps and long simmering cook times.

No. a baked potato with salsa is a meal...and so is canned squash and beans. but fun also, to cook a big batch of something so you have food all week.

glad you're so enthusiastic about this 100 day GLORIOUS FINISH! yahooo!

blessings, Heidi

[MaryW]

TWO SIXTY NINE!!!!!!

I hit 269 today! I can't believe it. Yes, it's still an outrageously high weight, but for a person who has been hovering around 300 pounds for the last 15 years, it's a revelation! This means I am up to 46 pounds lost (OK, OK 45.8, but I'm rounding up). I am only 4 pounds away from my 50 pound goal! When I reach 50 pounds, I will feel like I have really accomplished something. I will feel like I can actually go all the way to my goal. And right now, those 4 pounds look like a tiny bump in the road. My super duper McDougall suspension system will help me glide over them without sloshing my cup of tea (OK, OK, it's coffee. I haven't given that up and I probably won't).

It's Day Two of my 100 Day Challenge. So far, so good (at least according to me )

Free eating? Nope, still working on that.

Here's what I ate today:

Breakfast: Cinnamon Harvest shredded wheat (confession: I just found another box of this in my cabinet, so I'm going to be eating this for breakfast for a while. Boy, I love this stuff!)

Lunch: Steamed veggies and white rice from a Chinese restaurant. I went to a place I have been to before, but never gotten steamed veggies at before. I checked out the menu...no steamed veggies. Well, I didn't have time to find another place to eat, so I asked the guy at the desk if they could do steamed veggies. he said yes! So I got steamed veggies, white rice and garlic sauce on the side. It was quite tasty.

Dinner: Here we are again. I just got home, it's 8:30 and I haven't eaten.

Confession: I never ended up eating anything last night! I shouldn't do that. But I just couldn't be bothered to fix anything. And that's how I'm feeling tonight. I used to love cooking. But in my current apt, I have a tiny cramped kitchen and I just hate doing anything in it. If I can't open a can or pop it in the microwave, I don't want to bother. I know it's better to cook food. I know I should cook a bunch on the weekend to get me through the week. But I just can't seem to force myself to go in the kitchen and cook.

I had to stop by Target to return some stuff tonight on the way home. I couldn't resist looking at the clothes. For most of my life, I haven't been able to get my big toe in Target clothes. Their sizes only go up to 24 and i was around 26 or 28. Well, I tried on some 24 pants and they were baggy! Woo hoo! But another problem I always run in to is the length of the pant legs. I'm fairly tall for a woman, but I have short little legs. If only my legs matched my torso! I have to buy petite pants, which are hard to find. if I put on regular pants, they pool around my feet. I tried on a pair of jeans and had to roll the cuffs over twice to get them off the floor. I also tried on a size 20 skirt that I found on the clearance rack. Wishful thinking I know. I couldn't QUITE get it over my hips. but I'm getting there!

Oh, and I have a pre-confession. I just got a card in the mail from Starbucks for a free drink in honor of my birthday. So I am TOTALLY getting a soy latte tomorrow. I haven't had one in ages, cuz I can't afford them. But I think soy lattes are ambrosia, nectar of the gods and Turkish delight all rolled in one.

Thanks for stopping by, Nancy and Heidi. If I find out the answer to the bean question, I'll let you know. And if YOU find out, let ME know!

[sksamboots]

Mary,

Your doing wonderful. Your such an inspiration. You will be where you want in no time. Keep on keepin on

[MaryW]

Well, after a quick web check, it seems that old dried beans should be OK if they get a long soak and a long cook. Crock pot, anyone?

You know, I never checked the Recipe board for info on this. People here talk about everything, so I'm sure someone has brought this up before.

[MaryW]

Thanks for the encouragement, sksamboots. Slow and steady really does win the race.

[LauraA]

Hi - I'm so glad that you are journaling! We are both hovering so close to 50 pounds lost - that will be so great!! For me, it may not happen by the end of Sept, (or even by my Oct 4th birthday) but that is ok, because it will happen for both of us soon. I love the 100 day idea too. I'm going for MWL all the way - even on the holidays and with travel!! You're doing great - take care, LauraA

[MaryW]

Yes, LauraA, we're so close. but you are just a little bit closer. Argh!

But I'm not competitive. Noooooooo....

By the by, you are doing amazing with your traveling and your weight loss. It takes me two weeks to get back on track after a trip, but you seem to take it all in stride. Good for you!

[f1jim]

You are making wonderful progress. It's so rewarding to have the things around us like smaller clothes and smaller chairs seem like major accomplishments in our head. They are very reinforcing that we are on the right track. Now start thinking about replacing the cereal with something that will better achieve your goals in 100 days. After that see how good the cereal looks.
f1jim

[MaryW]

I don't know, Jim. The cereal is awfully good. : )

I was very tired when I got home last night, so I couldn't post anything til today. My mom called me about a week ago to tell me that she and my aunt had signed the three of us up for a special wine and food tasting at Trader Joe’s. She excitedly read the menu of sausages and cheeses off to me. Eeek! Mom isn’t a vegetarian, she is only following the plan to lose weight. I guess she still thinks it's like a diet and when she gets to her goal weight she'll go back to eating meat. She has told me that she occasionally treats herself to a bit of cheese. I try to tell her that if she stops eating it, she’ll stop craving it, but that’s another story. So even if she was planning on tasting the foods at TJ's, I was not. I honestly don’t know why they signed me up for this thing!

So anyway, after a long day at work, I headed across town to meet them. It was around 8 pm. I had eaten a potato around 4 pm. i was pretty hungry, and I knew I was going to have wine, so I thought I should eat something. There's was a Moe's across the street. I thought I would go in there and get a "naked" burrito. But there was also a Ross. I could buy food and eat, or I could window shop and not eat. I was thinking I would save money by window shopping. HA! I only had a little bit of time, so I grabbed a shirt and skirt off of the clearance rack and tried them on. They were both 22 and they fit! In fact, they looked pretty darn good. I also found a pair of Dockers pants that were a smidge tight but I know I'll be in them in no time. Plus I'm swayed by a brand name. And I like the shirt so much I found a couple of others like it. So instead of putting some food in my tummy before sampling wine and spending 5 bucks, I had no food and spent 50 bucks. But I got clothes. Man, I can see myself turning into a major clothes horse. I think I'm going to have to start going to thrift stores. And now that I am losing weight, I'll probably be able to find things in a thrift store to fit me!

OK, I'm trying to follow MWL for the 100 days. Yesterday was not the most successful day because of that wine tasting. They had four wines for us to sample and foods to go with them. The foods included several kinds of sausages and smoked meats, cheeses, carne asada, sauted peppers (I found out later that these were cooked without oil, but they looked awfully shiny to me, so I avoided them), and brownies. They had slices of a plain French baguette on the table, so I ate a slice with each wine I sampled, in an attempt to dilute the effects of the wine. Confession: I also a a brownie with the dessert wine. The brownies were tiny, maybe one inch squares, but I was worried that eating the brownie would trigger a binge. So why did I eat it? Who knows? bad decision making.

Anyway, that was my drama for yesterday. here's what I ate:

Breakfast: soy latte from Starbucks, a few Cinnamon harvest biscuits

Lunch: a package of steamed wheat berries from TJ's (they call it frekeh), a can of black beans, a can a squash. This made a huge bowl of food. I couldn't finish it all and I was stuffed.

Snack/Early Dinner: I was still at work and starving around 4 pm. I also didn't have any more food. So I ran to Wendy's and got 2 baked potatoes. They really hit the spot. I also had a few Craisins

Wine tasting: 4 small glasses of wine (maybe 1 oz each?), 4 slices French baguette, 1 small brownie

Day 3 of my 100 Day Challenge (yesterday): not too successful

Free eating: alas, no, although I did not buy my lunch. I brought my lunch, I just needed to bring more.

I'll wait to post today's progress later on.

[Anna Green]

Mary, good job. You are making some really good choices too!