Progress

I can't believe it! Eight years i've been enrolled in weight loss classes with minimal success due to being my own best obsticle. However, since October '10, i've been on a roll with the weight loss. Not that i haven't had my little battles with a 0.4 here or there, however the biggest battle seems to be won--the one where i used to come unglued and throw the baby out with the bath water, so to speak, when i would experience a gain instead of a loss. And eat my way through enough food to gain 10 more pounds.

Last week i weighed in with another 2 pound loss. Hooray! Making my total loss since October 18 pounds. Yippee! This weekend was the first time i was taken aback by many things:



- walking around a college campus where i had a homeschooling/child development class and stopping in mid stride because i realised my knees weren't hurting.



- sitting in a chair in class and realising that i fit in it.



- walking past the windows of the bookstore and catching a glimpse of myself. I don't look like i could have a baby anyday anymore.



- i grabbed a quick bite to eat during our seminar's lunch hour and didn't regret foregoing the potato chips or cookie.



- i take the time to gauge portions now.



- one of our friends at church, a sweet woman and church elder, came up to Moose last week and told him "She's going down, huh?" :) Moose and i told her i was the incredible shrinking woman.



- Moose said the other day that after he hugged me, he was wondering where the rest of me was. Being an engineer, bless his heart, he informed me last night that by his estimates, what i've lost is the equivalent of 2 gallons of water.



...which was funny because i was just thinking about what combination of groceries would equal what i've sloughed off.

Here it is...straight from the pantry: pinto beans, brown and sushi rice (the latter being for a wonder little treat called rice balls), canned pumpkin, cabbage (for homemade sauerkraut), bananas, apples, russets, spinach, tamari almonds, and my guilty pleasure, peanut Sundrops. Wow!

I started placing this in a bag and couldn't hold it, let alone fit all of it in there.

And to think, i was carrying that all on my knees, bottom, and back. Youch!

I've been trying to think now what's changed so that i can be successful? Truthfully, it started out with trying to change all of our diets and shopping habits. First, i changed the amount of meat we eat each week. Granted, i don't have hard and fast rules, however i have a loose target of about 2 meatless dishes a week, increasing our intake of grains, alternative protein (beans) and veg. Going through the calendar and identifying days that we would like to cook meat of the course of the month, then making one trip to the butcher to buy in bulk. Reduced those weekly trips to the butcher where i would "just grab something" for each night of the week. I also went through the schedule and identified time-constrained days that i needed something fast like tuna melts or leftovers dinner. Put a limit on the number of new recipes i can try each week--1, and only if we have an entire day to stay at home so Cookie and i can prepare it in stages over the course of the entire day. I've stopped shopping numerous stores for deals too. Some people can do that, however that just enables someone like me that has shiny ball syndrome--ooh, look! Don't those cookies look great? I bet they'd make a great crust for a cheesecake. Gotta go back to get some cream cheese--ooh, look at that gorgeous Irish cheese infused with Guinness, that'd be great on crackers....mmm, Guinness, haven't had one of those in while so better swing by the liquor aisle. You get the idea. So, i've devised a plan of shopping for mostly produce and lunch items at our local health food store. One of the best things about this place is that the minute you walk in the door, you are in the produce aisle. No need to go through aisles of processed "organic" food items. Also helpful is a once a month food co-op. I try to order all the food we'll need from them, to minimize my time spent in the brick and mortar store. It's been working really well, as if they don't have it, i tend not to make it. For most things, anyway. Hoping for the day when i can stop going to the brick and mortar all together. Although, that would require the food co-op to start carrying peanut Sundrops. :)

Should you find yourself in a weight loss journey, i wish you much success in determining your motivation, focus, and determination. It's in you!!