Damage Control

Something bad happened.

No.

I take that back.

"Something bad" didn't just turn up out of the blue and "happen" to me like I was just some unwitting pawn in this game of lifestyle change.  And saying "something bad happened" is not taking ownership of the situation.

I did something bad.

And now I am paying the price.

So remember last week when I was writing about Thanksgiving and I was saying stuff like "It's a holiday!" and "Lifestyle changes allow wiggle room on holidays!"  and "It's okay to gain a little weight on Thanksgiving....it would be so unfair to do a weigh-in the morning after!"

Well, as it turned out, I did do a weigh-in the morning after.  And much to my (very pleasant) surprise, I didn't gain an ounce.  Nada. Nothing. Not one little tiny bit.

It was as if the gravy and wine and cheese and mashed potatoes and turkey and ham and rolls and whatever else I ate had never even happened.

So what's the problem?

I got cocky. 

 

I figured I was invincible.   If my gym habit and newly revitalized metabolism could handle a Thanksgiving feast then surely it could also handle a lovely little lunch at Chilis....followed by some samples at Costco.....and a little Alfredo for dinner.  I mean, that's like nothing compared to a Thanksgiving feast, right?

 

 

 

Wrong.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

 

As of Monday morning, the damage from my Thursday-Sunday of cocky gluttony (cottony?) had been done and I stared back at a horrifying 137.0 on the scale.   Oh sure, it's less than 2 pounds gained over a weekend that's known for far worse crimes against waistbands than that, but that's back to being overweight according to the government!!

 

And to make matters worse, I thought Thanksgiving was going to be my holiday-Everest. If that were the case, I could breathe a sigh of relief that the worst is behind me and move forward full steam ahead.  But it turns out that there's NOTHING I have ever faced during this blog that will be more challenging than the two weeks I have ahead of me.

With work functions alone I am looking at lunches at Ruth's Chris, Café Adelaide, La Pavillion (x2), and Broussards.   That doesn't even include anything that friends or family might want to do to celebrate the season.*   

*I'd like to take a moment to apologize for complaining about what might be the biggest first-world problem.  Ever.  And I am grateful to be blessed with a job that comes with perks... .But these events tend to be hosted with prix fixe menus...which means I will be severely limited in my ability to eat well during them. =/

I am officially freaking out.

The rest of this week is dedicated to damage control. Gym. Very light lunches. Predictable--but safe--dinners.

Week 18 Progress Report

WEIGHT: 135.2

WEEKLY NET CHANGE: -0.8 lbs

TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS: -26.6 lbs 

So I decided to do the weekly progress report a day early because it seems patently unfair to do a day-after-Thanksgiving weigh-in.  

I hope all of my readers have a wonderful and happy thanksgiving.  I am so thankful for everyone who follows this blog....your support means more than you'll ever know. 

God bless us. Everyone! 

Thanksgiving!!

Ahhhh, that time of year.   I've already written once about the "holidays" in general, but now here I am.....staring directly down the barrel of the caloric equivalent of an assault rifle:  Thanksgiving. 

Thanksgiving differs from Christmas in which there might be a lot of indulging going on, but the general idea is to celebrate the season by surrounding yourself with family, giving gifts, singing carols, and just trying to be nicer to people and getting into the "spirit" of the holidays.   None of that feel-good stuff applies to Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is about the food. Pure and simple.

If Thanksgiving were to fall at the beginning of this blog when I was still considering myself "on a diet" I would have been completely dreading tomorrow.  I would have limited myself to exactly 1200 calories a day....which is basically the equivalent of a little bit of turkey, a sad scoop of plain rice, some lonely veggies cooked without the Thanksgiving-requisite bacon and butter, and a puny glass--okay bottle, it is a holiday afterall--of wine.  Forget gravy.

But I am not on a diet anymore. I have made a lifestyle change.....a lifestyle change that, I might add, has allowed me to already lose the equivalent of both of the 13 pound turkeys I am cooking for the family tomorrow.

Yes, that's right. This morning at 135.4, I've lost over 26 pounds which is the equivalent of TWO decent sized turkeys.    Holy crap!

I didn't get here by being completely miserable either. Now that I am a bona-fide WOP, I have basically been able to eat whatever I want.  Not all the time, of course.  But there are enough times when I do get to eat what I want that I don't feel deprived at all anymore.  I am....dare I say it....happy with my lifestyle.

Tomorrow, being a holiday, is an obvious occasion in which to indulge.  The gym is closed, but I'll go on a nice long walk/jog in the morning to try to stave off some of the damage and I'll hit the gym longer than usual on Friday to keep making up for it.

On a typical weekend I might indulge in some pizza or pasta, but this weekend I'll just have to take it easy to make room for the Thanksgiving feast.

It's not so bad!

Oh, and obviously, I will be doing this week's weigh in tomorrow instead of Friday.....because subjecting myself to a public weigh-in the day after Thanksgiving is, ya know, just....not fair.

Week 17 Progress Report

WEIGHT: 136.0

WEEKLY NET CHANGE: -1.2

TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS: 25.8 LBS

Sorry for the incredibly short post. Nice long one to come soon. 

25 Pounds!!!

Guys, guys!!

Look:

I'm sorry for my unpedicured feet.  But I am too excited to care about censoring this.

And guys, guys!!!!

THIS:

I'm normal according to the United States Government!  Holy crap!  Normal!  ME! (I am still kind of in disbelief that I was an entire 25 pounds overweight). 

But there's more!

That means I've lost:

This ridiculous gummy bear.

This 2 year old kid who is too smart for his own good.

And approximately 1/4 of Honey Boo Boo.

Stoked.

Lifestyle Changed

So I have a HUGE milestone that I'd like to discuss today.

I am no longer on a diet. 
 

 

 

Now don't get me wrong....this doesn't mean the weight loss journey is over.  I've just decided that from now on, I am no longer dieting.  At least not in the strictest sense of the word.

 

In the past, I would adhere so stringently to "the diet" that I would just feel awful if I ate even one "bad" thing that wasn't on "the diet"...and then that failure would feed into a downward spiral of "well, if I am going to have a slice of pizza I may as well have the whole thing" and "well, if I was bad at lunch, I may as well be bad at dinner (or all weekend, or all week, or forever) because I've already blown "my diet."" 

 

I've learned that this is a symptom of being a perfectionist and it's not a good thing.  When I catch myself feeling guilty for eating something decadent, I try to remind myself that that's the perfectionism talking and that as long as I hit the gym regularly and don't make a habit of eating the decadent thing all  the time, I'll be fine.

I also read a really helpful article about trying to instill healthy eating habits in children that has actually really helped me. I am kicking myself for not bookmarking it because I can't seem to find it now and I would love to share.   But the most helpful trick that I took from the article was when a kid wants to eat something unhealthy (cake, cookies, etc.) instead of saying "You can't have that" you're supposed to say "We're having _______(insert food) at little Timmy's birthday party on Saturday and you can have it then."

It's immeasurably less miserable to go through life knowing "I am having pizza next weekend so I won't have any tonight" versus thinking "I can't have pizza." 

Small trick. But it really is helping.

This week has seen almost a pound lost already and we're a day early for the weigh-in. I have a gut feeling tomorrow will be in the 136's....too bad I don't have a scale.  

The best part, is that I am still seeing results during a week in which I:

 

•  Got to have pizza for lunch Saturday (just 1 slice with a salad, and I walked to the restaurant which was about a mile from my house).
• Got to have Fat Harry's buffalo chicken wrap (after burning 1000 calories at the gym that morning)
• Got to enjoy so many beers that I didn't even bother counting them at the Saints game (ditto on the 1000+ calories at the gym that morning).

All other days I was more rigorous about eating healthier food and did more modest workouts at the gym.

Tonight, I will indulge in my all time favorite truffle mac and cheese.  It's my favorite thing about coming to Lake Charles.  And it's going to be fine because I am going to work out for 2 hours at the hotel gym and I had a very small lunch to accommodate a bigger dinner.

At this point, I would say this isn't a lifestyle change.....it's a lifestyle changed.

Week 16 Progress Report

Well it's a little early, but because I am blogging from Lake Charles again and will be spending the night without my scale, I figured I'd do the weekly progress report today.

WEIGHT: 137.2
WEEKLY NET CHANGE: -0.8
TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS: -24.6 LBS

I am so sad that this weigh-in isn't happening tomorrow because I have the strongest feeling that I am going to reach not only the 25 pound mark tomorrow, but--if I do reach it--I will officially be normal sized according to the US Government for the first time in years!  Yay!