Dining out disaster

So yesterday I met a friend for lunch. There's a myriad of restaurants near where I work, so I tried to choose somewhere that would accommodate both my healthier eating strategy and her 1 year old son. I thought Subway would be too busy and small for us to have a good conversation and keep a toddler entertained, so I suggested Applebee's thinking of their reasonably priced soup & salad lunch combos. I had a cup of Broccoli Cheese Soup and a side-salad portion of Oriental Chicken Salad. Needless to say I was not full, but near-satisfied. I thought I would have plenty of points left to snack if needed.

Well, much to my dismay, it was nearly impossible for me to find nutritional values for Applebee's regular menu items. The only things I could find credible stats for were from their Weight Watchers menu (most of which is not included in their soup/salad special choices). I don't mean to be rude, but what are they trying to hide? The stats I did find were DISTURBING to say the least! I found information for similar Applebee's foods from Hungry Girl, The Daily Plate, Calorie King and other restaurants that suggested a regular serving of this salad and soup could hold more than 1,000 calories andover 60g fat! This is outrageous in my opinion! And to hide this information is even worse. I was hungry the rest of the day, had to use some of my extra weekly points (that I was saving for Super Bowl Sunday) and I was mad at myself for assuming soup and salad was a healthy choice.

Needless to say, I will not be frequenting Applebee's, and if the situation occurs where I do have to eat there, I will find something on the WW menu because that is the only way I can document what I've had. I will also be trying to find stats on my restaurant foods BEFORE I consume them. Hopefully I can avoid this pitfall in the future.

Weighing in

Well, I just left my WW meeting, where I weighed in at a slimmer 197.4! That's a 4 pound loss from last week (which I know is inflated for reasons stated in my last post, but I still at least achieved my goal of 1 pound for the week.)

What I am noticing:

1) Writing down my foods has really helped me stay on track. I didn't even use half of my extra points for the week, and I was very satisfied. I got to enjoy a couple of extra special meals too!

2) My belly looks less prego. It's still a belly, but not quite as inflated.

3) I feel good- on a couple levels. I feel like I am accomplishing something, which just inspires me to continue. And I feel sexier and more attractive. I know 4 pounds isn't that huge a difference, but even Tim has responded, and that makes me feel great!

I wish I could say I am already feeling the effects of having more energy, but that hasn't kicked in yet. (I also haven't been walking the past week due to some physical issues, so those could be related.) So far I am pleased with the results I am seeing, and I am just focusing on those.

I also wanted to share a recipe with you all. I don't know who to give credit to, but it's something I picked up on a WW forum at work. This fruit salad is perfect for bringing to get-togethers (Super Bowl parties, etc.). It also keeps well at home if you want a week's worth of healthy dessert.

Caramel Apple Salad

4 medium apples (I like Fuji), chopped
1 can Dole crushed pineapple (in juice, not syrup)
1 8oz tub Cool Whip Light
1 box Sugar-Free, Fat-Free pudding mix, Butterscotch flavor

Combine chopped apples and pineapple with juice in large bowl. Add pudding mix, stir. Add Cool Whip Light and combine well. Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve later. Serves 8, WW Points per serving = 2

Hints: You can use Cool Whip Free to avoid more fat, but the salad will be a little runnier. It still tastes great, though.

Enjoy!

Slow start...

Well, I'm back in town. While I must admit I wasn't perfect the past 4 days, I also have to say I did considerably better than I normally would have under the circumstances.

The foe: eating out. We ate out about once a day. This is mainly because we stayed at my grandma's RV park and you can't fit many groceries in an RV fridge. I will say I had some of the best biscuits & gravy (besides Grandma's) that I have ever had! Worth every point.

The friend: satisfying low-cal snacks. I packed lots of non-perishable munchies to help curb some hunger between meals. This really did help prevent me from pigging out when mealtime came. FYI: Fat-free Pringles Light and FiberOne toaster pastries could be my new best friends. You should check them out too, if you like snacking like I do, but don't want to spend your calories/Points/etc.

So the big weigh-in was today. It was the "official" kick-off weigh in for WW at work. 201.4
Normally I would be discouraged by this, because it looks at first glance like I gained almost 3 pounds from last week. But this is where it becomes important to know my body. This is my heavy week. My "special girl week" always adds 3-7 (yes, it's A LOT) of water weight, so I am not too concerned. I think next week will prove to be consistent with what I have been seeing already.

I think I'll post some of my favorite low-cal recipes in some upcoming posts. (Thanks for the great idea, Karly!) If you have any you'd like to share, you can post them as comments, too.

Stress.

It's getting hectic. This is not meant to be a downer post; I just want to explain the challenges I foresee. My grandpa passed away on Wednesday (somewhat expected, and we're all doing okay). This entails a trip to Tampa where I know no one except my grandma. My parents and aunt will be traveling there as well, but I have never met the family who lives there, nor have I ever visited. Also, I have so much to do before I leave tomorrow, between packing, grocery shopping (so my hubby doesn't starve), and homework!

Then this morning they admitted my one-year-old godson to the hospital for RSV. He's been on oxygen all day, poor guy. So I scheduled in a visit there for a couple hours. I have had to miss and reschedule several events that I had planned for this week and weekend because of my trip. That is totally unlike me, and I feel a little like I am letting people down, although they have all been super supportive. And to top it all off, we have a super busy week at work next week, so I have to come in on Wednesday and train all day even though I don't land in Phoenix until late Tuesday night. Just thinking about all of it stresses me out.

And I am not afraid to admit that when I am stressed, I eat like crud. For instance, In-n-Out Burger tonight. Does it make me feel better? Heavens, no! It makes me feel way worse, but it smells and tastes so good. I am going to need your prayers to make it through the next 4 days, especially because I can't pack my own food for that amount of time. Pray for lots of healthy options, and very little eating out.

Does stress do this to you? How do you cope? What about when you're traveling?

Darn those Girl Scouts.

I'm telling you, it's sabotage. Do you think it's any coincidence that the majority of people who set weight loss resolutions on January 1st have given up by January 10th when that is the date the Girl Scouts start selling their irresistible morsels of sin? I think not! I mean, even their name (Brownie) is intended to fill your mind with images of sweet chocolatey goodness.

Normally I have a tactical way to avoid them. Well, actually I just never carry cash and the only ones I have to avoid are outside the grocery store. Problem solved, right? No. Turns out my boss' niece is a Brownie. "No pressure," she says as she passes around the order form. Pressure? Who needs pressure?! The ridiculous thing about GS cookies is we all know how good they are, we all have our favorites, and we all know they're only available for a limited time. So how can we not buy 4 boxes of our favorites?

I guess the challenge is going to be to resist chomping down an entire box of Somoas in one sitting. (I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....)

Weighing In!

It was my first week at Weight Watcher @ Work. Although my official starting point weigh-in is next week, I decided to weigh in on their scale, just to see what came up. 198.8! Looks like I am already making progress, which is encouraging! Today we talked about eating satisfying foods and not depriving ourselves of our favorites. (I just have to remember that not everything can be my favorite!) I also did the stairs twice and walked around the building again.

Oh- and I started making a new grocery list. Hungry Girl (www.hungry-girl.com) put out an incredible supermarket list with all kinds of low-cal/low-fat foods, so I used that as a guide. I am actually looking forward to grocery shopping and trying out some new recipes.

Motivation Picture

I saw this picture of myself from Christmas and I had to take a second look! That couldn't possibly be me! Has this ever happened to you? I mean, I have this image of myself that isn't that bad, and then I see a picture and I'm shocked and disguisted that this is what other people see when they look at me. Maybe the camera adds 30 lbs?

Keep on movin'

Friday was my first post, my first real day of commitment. To take the first step with exercising, I walked at work with a co-worker. We took 2 treks up the stairs to our fourth floor and back down, and then a short hike around our building. It actually felt good. I felt energized!

Friday night, I did eat out. Mexican food is a weakness of mine! But instead of eating a deep fried chimi with a ton of rice and re-fried beans, I stuck with a chicken taco and enchilada, no rice or beans, with water to drink. It was delicious and satisfying. While it was, I'm sure, not the healthiest thing on the menu, it was probably half the calories I could have consumed, so I consider this a victory :)

Saturday, baby shower! Potential pitfall lies in those 2 words... But plenty of veggies, fruits and lean meats to the rescue! These little babies kept me from woofing down a huge corner piece of cake. Instead, I opted for a smaller middle slice with WAY less icing. I think being on my feet all day helped burn some of those calories anyway. Then we took my parents out for a steak birthday dinner. Man, did I want some loaded mashed potatoes. Instead, house salad and baked potato. It was just as delicious, and much better for me.

Sunday, the hubby and I went hiking. It was a little daunting at first. Like I mentioned, I tend to shy away from anything too active because I don't want people to see how out of shape I am. But it was a beautiful day and it was a beginner's trail. It felt good to get out and about and even to work out my sore calves. I think the hike helped.

Oh, and we got a new battery for our scale. Afternoon weigh-in was 201.5... Maybe it was the jeans? Well, we'll consider this my "starting point" I guess.

Getting Motivated

The Deal:

Okay, here's the deal. I have made up my mind to lose 50 pounds in 2009. This is not a typical New Year's Resolution; this is a long overdue commitment to becoming a healthier person overall. So why now, you ask? Several factors have come into play with this decision. First, I feel unhealthy. My back aches and goes out, which started happening precisely the same time I started gaining this weight. I feel tired frequently, I start breathing heavily from going up one flight of stairs to my apartment, and I frequently have upset stomach after eating. Second, I feel unattractive. This has nothing to do with the way others treat me or look at me; I simply know that on the outside I am not an accurate reflection of who I am on the inside. Take these pictures for instance... This is certainly not how I see myself! Finally, I want to be healthier and more confident for the other people in my life. For example, my husband deserves a healthy wife who takes care of herself. When I am confident in myself, it shows in the way I present myself and the way I treat him. And he deserves the absolute best! He treats me like a queen, so I want to behave like one.

A Goal:

Once I made up my mind, I decided I needed to set a goal, so I decided to look up the healthy weight range for my height. Being a 5'7" tall female, my weight should fall somewhere between 128-160 pounds. Knowing my build is on the larger side of that, my goal is to reach 150 pounds by the end of this year. I went to the doctor on December 11, 2008 and clocked in at 200.2 pounds. 200-150= 50 pounds to lose! I don't know about you, but to me, this number is overwhelming! One thought about needing to lose that much weight makes me want a brownie pronto! Being the goal-oriented person I am, I decided to break this down into something more attainable. There are 52 weeks in a year, and this one just started, so my realistic goal is to lose 1 pound per week for the entire year. Now ONE is a number I can handle :)

The Plan:

Okay, now that I had a goal, I needed a plan. First things first, start with what I know. I dabbled in weight loss in 2008. I stuck to a meal plan for several weeks and lost a few pounds. I joined Weight Watchers at work and lost a few pounds. But none of my efforts were out of absolute commitment. It was just something I should do, or something I might give a try. I did, however, learn some important weight management strategies from my experiences:

1) Portion Control (aka~ everything in moderation)- you really can eat whatever you want as long as it is in moderation and you are still receiving the proper nutrients. Deprivation is no way to live life!

2) Drink plenty of water- Often times our bodies try to tell us they're thirsty, but we confuse those messages with hunger.

3) Eat more often- Yes, you read this correctly! The best way to keep your metabolism up and running is to eat smaller meals more frequently. It also helps because you never get that awful "I'm-so-hungry-I-could-eat-a-whole-deep-fried-chicken" feeling, so you avoid making bad food choices.

4) Plan ahead- Now this one I kind of learned from my own experience. For instance, I am more likely to opt for fast food if I do not pack enough food for an entire day. This takes discipline of time and thought, all the way from the grocery store to the time spent cutting up those veggies I love to snack on.

5) Accountability makes a difference- Getting weighed in every week at a WW meeting, or checking in with a friend about each other's progress, or keeping a public journal for everyone to see can help you stay focused and motivate you to reach your goal.

6) MOVE!- It's nearly impossible to reach my goals without some activity. I HATE exercising! Even the word tastes bad coming out of my mouth. However, I know the first step is always the hardest, so I just have to get started.

So there you have it. This is the beginning of my journey. Thanks for joining me! I think it's going to be a wild ride, but I am looking forward to the adventures and accomplishments ahead!