Losing Again!

Getting back on the Healthy Solutions program after a few weeks of winging it was tough. While recuperating I stayed true to breakfast and lunch, but snacked on non-HMR foods in the afternoon and winged it through dinner. Surprise. I didn't gain or lose, but eating on the slippery slope of 7-8-9-10s was not where I wanted to go. I woke up late this week and realized that if I want to lose another 25 I have to get with the program--skip the Friday night Fish Fries, slice of pizza and egg roll. Not worth it. Combo those foods with no exercise and you have a dangerous situation.

Since Wednesday I have been "staying in the box" which isn't such a bad thing. I can eat as much as I want in the 1-2-3s and HMR meal replacements. So I did. And guess what? This morning I saw a number on the scale that hasn't registered in many, many moons. I think the scale squealed!

In two weeks I should move into a regular shoe and be able to get more active. So jealous of all the people who are out walking in the great weather we are having. Keep you posted.

Good Class Tonight

After being home for a week with my foot propped up it was soooo great to get out and see people. As I thought I gained back 1.5 pounds from not following the program and sitting on my butt for a week. But I am on fire again! I came home and ate my HMR entree and made a shake so that I met my minimum prescription for the day. The exercise begins tomorrow for sure.

My goal is to lose 10 more pounds before I go on vacation in five weeks. So exercise starts tomorrow.

Stay tuned.

A week after foot surgery

Tonight's weigh in will be interesting. Ok not that interesting. I've been laid up for a week since my foot surgery. While I wasn't exercising on any regular basis before surgery, my physical activity really plummeted this week. Nothing like a lot of laying around with your foot propped up to make the hips grow wider! I didn't stay" in the box" one day either. YIKES. I ate pretty well, just avoided those HMR meals regularly. Kept to the program for breakfast and lunch. Dinners kind of ran the gamut--one night I had fried fish from the nearby fish fry. Yum, that was good. Other nights I had vegetables and lean protein or homemade vegetable soup. Doug has done his best to anchor my meals with vegetables and fruit.

Next Monday I get my stitches out, but until then I'm supposed to take it easy--geez a lou--I am so bored. And when I'm bored I look for things to eat.

I could be doing some upper body work, but I'm just too tired. I feel like tired breeds tired. So snap out of it would ya?

I'll keep you posted on where I go from here.

Weight Loss Slowing Down

At least 20 weeks into the program I am tiring of the food and my weight  loss is slowing. Snacks are sneaking their way into my routine and last week I went to a conference and did not stay on program. Still I have lost 25 pounds and kept it off. And that is good news.

Next monday I am having foot surgery and I'm a bit worried that I will blow it. So my plan is to tell my family that they can only bring me HMR-approved meals while I am recuperating. I know that for the first three days I will be kind of mobile, but it will be tough going. I also know that I will need to recruit family members to exercise with me. While a lot of exercises are out of the question, there are still a lot of exercises that don't require both feet. Anything upper body is still a go in my opinion. Gannon agrees that he will help me.

I'll keep you posted as I go through this next stage. Thanks for supporting me.

Strong Start Day

Tuesday night I weighed in and had gained a pound. I think I'm hitting that lose 2.5, gain 1, lose 2, gain 1 phase. Some people call it a plateau.  In the past I probably would have thrown up my hands and called it quits and started eating stuffed crust pizza again, but this time I'm willing to figure things out and move forward.

We always have assignments for the week following our class meeting. Some times I do them and sometimes I don't. There is a physical activity assignment and a meal assignment. I usually do the latter. At the end of class we plan the next day's meals and physical activity in what we call our "strong start day." This is designed to help us start the week poised for success and if you really stick to the plan it does work--as I found out.

Wednesday was my strong start day. I planned 30 minutes of bicycling before I sat down to have coffee and read the paper. I've planned this before, but did not follow through--oh do I love that first cup of java in the morning. But the problem is once II have coffee and get involved with the news I don't have time to work out. Wednesday morning I did it. Up at 6:15 a.m. and by 7:15 a.m. I was sitting down to a cup of coffee and the newspaper with my 30 minutes of physical activity behind me. Now I didn't have to think about it anymore.

Having taken care of the first thing on my strong start day list following the rest of the day's plan was so much easier.

To top off the day I had made an appointment with a trainer at the YMCA and off to the gym I went. It was a good 60 minute workout and I left the gym a quivering muscle mass.

This morning, Thursday, I got in my 30 minute bike ride, and I'm on plan or "in the box" as we like to say at HMR.

Saying Good Bye to some Favorite Clothes--not the Christmas Dog Jammies---Please!

Official weigh in last night: minus 2.5 pounds. So from last Thursday until Tuesday I got rid of 2.5 pounds by getting in those 10 minute bike rides and mixing up my menus. Geez that was easy!

The pile of "can't wear you" anymore continues to grow in my closet. Most of it is big track suits in navy, black and dark grey -- can you say "I want to be invisible." There are blouses and jeans too, but mostly stuff I was hiding in. Today though I have to get rid of something I really like. I promised my husband that by February I would get rid of my favorite red flannel pajamas with the Christmas dogs on them. Last night (Feb 2) I really thought that he had forgotten the promise so when I climbed in bed I was surprised that he reminded me that they were forbidden.

 I have to agree that no self-respecting 49 year old woman would be caught dead in these frumpy XLs if she were now an M. But there is some comfort in their familiarity. If anyone knows where I can get some new PJs with dogs (preferably Jack Russells) on them in an M let me know. They don't need to be red.

Rebuilding Momentum

I've been at this since October and my momentum was waning, especially in the physical activity department and it was starting to show. (Last week I lost a half pound.) So I got out all my class notes, handouts and recipe books and did a big review Friday night sitting in front of the fireplace. I reminded myself of why I was doing this and how hard I've worked since last fall. I picked out a few new recipes and made up a grocery list and planned out the weekend. My son put my stationary bike in place where I would have easy access to it for 10 minute bouts of exercise. (Did you know that people who do three, ten minute bouts of exercise five days a week lose more weight than people who do 40 concentrated minutes of exercise five days a week?)

Well it worked. By Sunday I had lost two pounds. I haven't weighed this little in four or five years. It was enough for me to go shopping for a few new things Sunday, hitting some great sales at Talbots and Nordstrom. It was great taking several sizes into the dressing room and finding that the smaller ones fit.

Tonight is another weigh in---I'll keep you posted for the official loss.