8 Ways To NOT Lose Ten Pounds

1) Make lasagna. Extra Mozza. Mmmmm....

2) Eat the chocolate your husband brings home for the kids (I am a good parent, darn it! That stuff is not good for them).

3) Don't include the kids' leftovers in your calorie count, and eat it. (leftovers, not calorie count).

4) Eat ice cream while watching Oprah episode about obese teens.

5) Put chocolate chips, chocolate syrup, and peanut butter on your ice cream.

6) Wine and Baileys (whaaat?)

7) Hang towels on the exercise bike.

8) Sit at your computer writing blog posts and using Twitter (instead of taking the towels off the exercise bike and using it ;)
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My 5,237,846 Calorie Snack

This is why you should ALWAYS measure, and never ever ever ever free-pour Flaxseed:



















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Pure Evil

Because I love him dearly, I feel I am allowed to call my husband EVIL. What for? Buying these:

Yesterday's Calorie Count

Yippee - 1,600!! Back on track.

It might have been slightly higher, but I don't think so. The only reason I say this is because I had a personal sized Greek pizza, which I estimated at being 550 calories.

A single slice of M&M rising crust pepperoni is approx. 275 (this depends on how many pieces you cut the pizza into, of course - on the box they just give the count for the entire pizza). My guess is that the four small (palm sized) pieces of my personal sized pizza were roughly equal to two M&M pepperoni slices.

Who knows. I'm sure it's within 100 calories, anyway, and the important thing is that I didn't order a large and eat it all!!

lol
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My Crazy Scale

I didn't count any calories yesterday, 'cause I kinda, uh, indulged in some treats (lasagna, ice cream, Bailey's in my coffee, etc.). I'm going to call it my own "Canadian party for the US inauguration" and just leave it at that (and congrats, Mr. President! What an historic day that was :-)

I'm pretty sure I've lost a couple of pounds though. Pretty sure. Not entirely sure, because my scale changes by about 3-4 pounds depending on where you stand. To say that this is a little frustrating is the understatement of the century.

However, being an optimistic person, I choose to see the upside. For example, this morning, after yesterdays binge fest, I can stand a little farther up (towards the numbers dial) to make my weight lower. Hmmm.

This might be my favourite scale, now that I think about it...
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Coulda Been Worse ;-)

Yesterday: 1,976 calories.

This is still above my weight loss goal of 1,200-1,700 per day, but you know what? I'm happy with it. We had tacos for dinner last night, and I had only one, for 250 calories.

Had I not been counting, I would have had at least four!! (lol, omg can you say oink oink ;-) That would have meant that dinner alone would have been at least 1,000 calories (and that is how I was averaging 3,000-4,000 calories per day!!) Yeesh.

Anyhoo, at the rate I'm going, the weight WILL come off.
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So So Day

Not awful, but a bit above my target (1,700 and under):

1,925.

Hmmm. (It was that blasted candy again! Plus I had some ice cream ;-)

I did have some banana and apple, cheese and yogurt, so there was some healthy stuff in there as well, at least. It certainly could have been worse...
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Diet Back On Track

Yippee!!! 1,488 calories today :-)

The fact that I was able to sleep in (if you can call it that) until about 8:30 helped, because I started eating a bit later than I normally do.

I ate dinner with DH and the kids, which is tough when you're counting calories. It worked out OK, though:

1/2 cup mashed potatoes = 118
1/2 cup corn = 90
3 Half chicken wings = 180

(Luckily it wasn't my favourite meal ;-)

Plus I walked twice today: once for 16 blocks, to and from the store, and then again to walk the dog (this time about 7-8 blocks).

Overall I'm feeling pretty good about how things are going these days, and am expecting to see some results soon...
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Oops, Off The Wagon I Go!

What the heck. We have to embrace our flaws too if we're truly going to accept ourselves (blah blah blah ;-)

For some reason today I could NOT stay away from the candy.

So far I'm at about 1,300 calories, and I haven't had dinner yet, which is pork roast. I think that meal alone will be about 1,000 calories, although I'm lucky I'm not a huge gravy fan, so that will help. I'm guessing today will end at about 3,000 calories. I may continue to count them, or I may simply let it go for today.

Not a big deal. I read somewhere that you have to have the occasional high calorie day or your metabolism will slow down. Works for me.

Fresh start tomorrow!
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Yesterday's Calorie Count (And Some Popcorn Info)

...was 1,410!!

It was the best day yet in terms of nutrient composition. There were very few wasted calories on things like candy or cream for my coffee, and I ate fruit, veggies, dairy, grains, and lean protein.

My secret to yesterday's success: popcorn!! It was air popped, with nothing on it, so it was about 30 calories per cup.

I had only about 60 calories worth of popcorn (2 cups), and it did a great job of filling me up, which helped me resist the urge to snack.

Here's a look at the nutritional breakdown of plain popcorn:

http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/snacks/5659/2

It's a source of fibre, and contains nutrients such as phosphorus, potassium, and omega-6 fatty acids. It even has a small amount of protein. Hey, a low cal filler with some added benefits!
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Wheat Germ, Flax And All Those Calories...

OUCH! Just made myself some yogurt with blueberries, wheat germ and flax, and looked at the calories involved. Per 1/4 cup, here's a comparison:

Yogurt: 50
Blueberries: 16
Wheat Germ: 120
Flax: 146

YOWZA. Who knew? The wheat germ and flax have enough nutrients to make the calories worth while, so I went ahead with my snack. Here's what I ate:

1/2 cup yogurt = 100 cal.
1/4 cup blueberries = 16 cal.
Approx. 1/2 tbsp each of wheat germ and flax, which I guessed at about 30 each, so in my calorie journal I gave it a grand total of 175.

I'm not sure why I'm surprised - nuts are really high in calories, so why not seeds and grains? It just goes to show, you learn something new every day.
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Oops, Went For Dinner With The Inlaws!

...but, with my calorie counting experience I estimate that the dinner was 1,500 or less, which puts the day's total around 2,300. This is still at least 1,000 less that what I was eating a few days ago (I ate a lot ;-)

DH bought me an air popper tonight so I can make fresh popcorn with nothing on it, as another option for a low cal snack, so that should save me tomorrow (after I higher calorie day is when I usually lose my momentum!).

I'm off to walk the dog!
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Day 2 Of My Diet

Yesterday`s final tally: 1,543 Calories :-)

So far so good! It's easy to string two or three good days together, but making them the rule instead of the exception is the real challenge.

Why I was able to succeed:

• Dry Cheerios: sometimes I just need something to put in my mouth, and these are relatively low cal., and a good source of several essential nutrients.
• Tuna mixed with green beans: I love green beans because they're filling but have so few calories! The tuna was for some protein, which is very filling and helps keep hunger at bay.
• Yogurt: filling and satisfying, and a good source of probiotics and calcium.
• Fresh fruit: nutrient dense and filling.

The above is only some of what I ate of course (just to be clear). Day 2 is under my belt - onto day 3!
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Calorie Count

Yesterday`s final tally: 1,618 Calories :-)

That works for me! You can lose weight faster if you get a bit lower (closer to 1,200), but for me at 1,600 the weight will still come off.

Why I was able to succeed:

• I chewed a lot of sugar free gum!! lol.
• I ate fresh fruit, which gives your body nutrients, thereby reducing your hunger.
• For dinner I had a can of chicken noodle soup, which is filling, but only about 150 calories. (I wouldn`t eat canned soup every day because of the sodium - sometime this week I`ll probably make some homemade veggie soup - but in a pinch it`s quick and easy, and the calorie count is right there on the label).
• I did have 100 calories worth of candy, but I made it last by sucking on the candy rather than chewing it.
• I drank green tea (clear with no sweetener) in the evening, when I usually get the urge to snack.

So far so good! Today will be just as successful :-)
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Overeating Solutions

While will power is an essential component in any successful diet outcome, there are ways to make things easier on yourself. For me this can be done with a three step process. Consider the following:

Step 1: Figure out what the problem is
Step 2: Figure out why the problem happens
Step 3: Figure out an alternative that eliminates the problem

Insert your own stuff and apply. For example, here are some of mine:

Step 1: I eat too much at once.
Step 2: The food is in front of me!!
Step 3: Smaller portions. For example, last night DH and I ordered pizza. He ordered a small, and I ordered a personal size (which is the equivalent of about two medium sized slices). I ate it all and was satisfied, whereas if I had ordered a small, I would have eaten it all and been too full.

Step 1: I eat all the time.
Step 2: Bored, restless, flavour craving, you name it.
Step 3: brush my teeth more and chew gum.

Anyway, you get the idea. Instead of waking up one morning and thinking "I'm going to lose weight - ahhhh!!! I can't eat anything!!" and then being overwhelmed and giving up, if you break it down into small pieces and address one at a time, it's so much easier!
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Diet Start Date

Tomorrow?

I mean literally January 12th, not tomorrow as in some random day in the future (lol, lol). I looked at the calendar on Friday and thought, "Hmmm. Monday would be good, I think."

My best option will be to count calories. This has worked for me in the past, and so this is what I'm going to do again.

(Sadly I've gained weight since starting this blog, so now I'm on a mission to lose 20! Yowsa.)

Starting Weight: 140 lbs
Goal Range: 120-125 lbs

I've found in the past that setting a goal "range" instead of a goal weight makes it much easier to maintain your success, because the normal daily fluctuations in weight (from retained water, etc.) don't bump you off your goal weight and make you feel like you've failed.

Why I gained it all back: two years ago, I lost 18 pounds and kept it off for over a year. To lose it I ate about 1500-1700 calories per day, and to maintain, I ate about 2500-2700.

Somewhere in that second year I started eating more. You know, grazing, indulging, snacking on bad things, eating entire pizzas, entire boxes of KD... you get the picture. Plain and simple, I was cocky and thought I'd never gain the weight back. I'd gain a pound, then two, and think "oh that's easy for me. I can lose that in a week. I'll start tomorrow."

Fyi, when I was in high school I was one of those lean girls that could eat an entire fridge a day and not gain a pound. This changed after pregnancy, sorry to say (although my babies are definitely worth it :-)

Step 1: Set up my new 2009 calorie counting journal!!

I'm off to do that... 'bye for now!
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Interesting Diet Tip

The appearance of your food shouldn't matter if you want to lose weight, according to a recent study in Japan, as well as weight loss guru Paul McKenna: results have shown that when people eat blindfolded, they eat less.

Reasons for this are varied, including the fact that when diners don't see their food, they're more likely to savour the flavour and eat more slowly. Also, if there is no visual impetus to eat more, one is more likely to stop when actually full, as opposed to when the food is all eaten.

Hmm. Eating blindfolded. In theory it makes sense and might be worth trying (unless you live with a practical joker - yikes).
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Day 2 Of My 2009 New Year's Resolution!!

Yippee.

Day one was easy, because there's nothing like waking up tired and, uh, overindulged from New Year's Eve to curb your appetite. Now here we are on jolly ol' Day 2, with me being rested and feeling like my old self - my old piggly wiggly self!!!

I've not done too badly. For instance, instead of diving head first into the left over chocolate covered almonds (even I, with all my pigout prowess, failed to eradicate them by January 1st), I instead sucked on two brazil nut flavoured toffees. That's right - only two!!!! Yay me.

Sucked - as in, no chewing allowed!!! My new diet strategy: whatever treat I pop into my mouth has to last as long as takes for it to dissolve on my tongue (because asking me to NOT have treats at all is like asking the dog to not bark at his ball).

Hey why not? It's worth a try.
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