A Happy Surprise

February didn't end like I wanted it to as far as my weight was concerned.  I had a good month overall and got down to 197.6 on February 22.  I was in the groove and felt good until that last week.  Then things just fell apart and for no good reason.  I ended the month at 199.0.  I was letting the last week of the month color the whole month.  I was writing off February and telling myself to start fresh now and not let a bad month mess me up.

I realized this morning that I hadn't taken my measurements in several weeks.  I almost skipped it because I didn't want to be upset by the fact that my measurements hadn't changed.  I decided that denial was not a good idea.  I needed to face the facts and move forward so I bit the bullet and got the tape measure.

I was fully prepared to note the same numbers from the beginning of February.  Imagine then my surprise when the first measurement I took was smaller and it was my neck!  I was certain that the tape measure had been turned over and I was reading the wrong side so I tried again and got the same number.  That was good, but I wasn't convinced yet.  I moved down and measured my bust.  Smaller too.  WOW.  Over and over I measured myself and I was smaller, except for my arms which stayed the same.

For the month of February I lost 4.75 inches all over my body!  Yahoo.  That was just the encouragement I needed to realize that February was a good month.  I let less than two pounds the last week of the month color my whole month, when, in fact,  February was a better month than January when it was measured with the tape measure.  In January, I lost 4.5 inches which was great.  But in February I squeezed off 4.75.  Considering that February shorter than January by three days, that makes the success even sweeter.

I think I have my head on straight now for March.  I'll continue to lose pounds and inches and have an even better report on April 1. 

Welcome March!

February is finally over!  I am thrilled.  Even though it is snowing as I type this, and we have the worst winter storm of the year in the forecast for the weekend, I don't care.  It is March.

I'm still rocking along with my plan.  I've just about squeezed off the regain of the weekend.  I feel like I'm in a good place mentally with the weight loss.  So, I don't really have much to say.  I was just going to show up for a quick check in and then I found these questions on Staci's blog.  I decided to let that serve as my post for today.

1. What state were you born in? Tennessee
2. Do you know any foreign languages fluently? Nope
3. What materialistic gift would you really love to receive from someone who loves you? an extended vacation with him
4. Coffee or Coke (diet or regular, any flavor)? Coke, I never developed a taste for coffee
5. What is your middle name, even if it's embarrassing? Sue, a good southern name!
6. What is a childhood memory you have, good or bad? I loved going to my paternal grandmother's house and calling my cousins the minute we got there.  We had a blast together.
7. What is a dorky clothing trend you remember from growing up? knee socks with khaki skirts and a monogrammed sweater
8. Is there a name of a kid who you just couldn't stand (presently or growing up) that has given you an aversion to that particular name? yes
9. Did you play a sport growing up? No!  I was a major klutz, still am
10. Would you rather read or dance? Read, see above
11. Which is a staple to you - lipstick or mascara? lipstick, particularly red lipstick!

The Weekend that Was

I'm here to confess, I had a wild and crazy weekend.  It isn't like it was out of the blue.  I knew there were going to be obstacles ahead and thought I'd planned for them.  Apparently, I need to plan a little better in the future.  Read on.

I knew Saturday was going to be a hard day for several reasons.  One, it was my second day off of hcg.  Two, 65MD was out of town for most of the day.  Three, I was baking cookies for game night at church where the cookies would be a part of a bake off.  Finally, my weight had popped up two pounds overnight.  I'll explain each one in turn.

After stopping the hcg, the eating plan is followed for two more days while the hcg exits the body.  As this happens, hunger returns.  I knew that as I got hungrier as the day wore on that I'd start telling myself that it would be OK to eat a little more protein because for three weeks the transition is low carb/high protein.  In order to combat that, I had my meals prepped and all I had to do was cook and eat.

As for 65MD being out of town for the day, somehow I cheat more when he's gone.  It makes no sense since he has never once monitored what I eat or questioned anything about my choices even when he knows I'm eating off plan.  Still, when he's gone, I feel like I can eat more and if he doesn't know it doesn't count.  To combat that, I'd planned quite a few things to keep myself busy.  If my mind and body were occupied the temptation would be lessened.

With regard to the cookies, it was almost without saying that I would enter the bake off as far as my church family knew.  I'd  always participated and usually placed if not won.  (BTW, I took first place this time!)  When I am fully in the groove with my plan, I can bake cookies or anything else and just not taste it.  It is a non issue.  I was concerned this time because I knew I'd be hungrier, alone and frustrated with the gain.  But I was just determined not to have any batter.

My determination and I went in to the kitchen mid morning to bake the award winning cookies and get it over with.  I was merrily putting dough on the cookie sheet when I realized that I'd popped some in my mouth.  I tried to stop, but still had a little taste here & there.  Try as I might, the determination ran away.  My only hope was to get salmonella from the raw eggs.  LOL!!

Finally, all of the dough was safely in the oven.  I ran water in the bowl so that I wouldn't go back and scrape more dough.    I tried to assess the damage and realized that although I'd eaten dough, it wasn't more than what would be about a cookie.  Even so, I'd have to detox.  I could do it. 

When I took the cookies out of the oven, oddly about 6 were burnt on the bottom.  It really was odd since there were 10 other cookies on the sheet that were not burnt.  I put the non burnt cookies on the rack to cool and put the burnt ones aside.  IDK why I didn't put them in the trash right then, but I didn't.  I finished baking the rest of the cookies without any incident.  But for the rest of the day, whenever I went through the kitchen I ate one of the burnt cookies.  Yes, all 6 of them. 

Again, I was on track in all other areas.  I had my meals as planned and no other extras.  65MD got back to town and we met my nephew, his wife and baby at the church building for game night.  I put my cookies in the designated area and walked away as quickly as possible.  But then, my nephew wanted to know which cookies were mine.  Instead of just pointing them out, I got up and went over there (gotta get those steps in!) to show him.  I wound up sampling some of the competition.  I managed to regain control after sampling three cookies, but not whole ones.  I was splitting them with my nephew's wife.  Still I was up to 8 1/2 cookies counting the dough and all!!!

It wasn't surprising to find another gain Sunday morning.  Even though I was back on track 100% yesterday, we ate out.  That always spells a gain for me, no matter how carefully I order.  This morning I am 5.4 pounds up in three days!

Today, I have been 100% on plan again, and really pushing the water.  I want to flush all that sugar out as quickly as possible.  I wish in three days I'd be back saying that the regain is gone, but it never seems to fall off as quickly as it piles up.

I'm not happy with myself that I allowed that to happen, but I'm not perfect.  Sometimes, I just succumb.  That's OK, not ideal but OK.  Somehow, I'm not that upset about it.  I think we'll all have times of indulgence and the vital thing is to learn how to deal with it.  That is what I am learning today.

Not Much to Say

I don't really have much to say.  I just thought I should put something up so that no one gets alarmed by my absence.  I'm still squeezing of a few ounces here and there.  I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing with my three pronged approach:  Food, Activity & Water.  The scales are just being a little stubborn.  I'm more stubborn though.  I won't let them defeat me.

It is time to transition from hcg to low carb for a few weeks.  The hcg protocol recommends 6 weeks on hcg and 6 weeks on low carb.  I've found that 3 to 4 weeks works better for me.  I've met some other folks that have had the same experience.

I do wish I'd gotten a little further in to onederland before the transition.  Generally, I have a stall when I switch or a slight uptick.  Both are remedied once my body adjusts, so I don't get distressed about it.  I just don't want to bounce up over 200.  It is a mental thing.  Gaining a pound or two and staying below 199 seems so much different than gaining a pound or two and going over that threshold.  Strange, I know since it is still only a pound or two.

I shall remain steadfast and do what I know to be right.  I'll check in early next week with a report, unless I come up with something really cool to say in the meantime. !!

Welcome to ONEderland

This morning the scales read 199.6.  I'm just a few ounces in, but I'm in and it counts!  I'm glad for the breakthrough; I'm thrilled.  At the same time, I remember the last time I crossed this great barrier I yo-yoed a couple of times before I was here to stay.  I'm being extra diligent today, and trying to tell myself that is all I can control.  If the scales pop back up, I'll deal with it then.

I feel good with the plan now.  I'm still doing quite well with all three of my pillars of success:  food, activity and water.  It won't be long now before I slip back in to that sweet spot, where the scales cooperate too.

Thanks for encouraging me on this journey.

A Tale of Kale

 A few weeks ago 65MD and I were chasing away the winter doldrums by planning our spring garden.  He had a list of what could be planted early and were were making our selections, when I noticed kale and suggested that we try it. I'd read several blog posts from my friends saying it was quite good and maybe we could give it a whirl. 

He was a little resistant to taking the time to plant and grow something that we might not like. I understood his concern, so the next time I was at the grocery store, I bought 4 small leaves of kale.  Then I put it in the refrigerator and promptly forgot about it!

A day or so later I was getting my hair done and we were discussing recipes, one of our favorite topics.  She mentioned making kale chips the night before and that even her baby loved them.  I resolved then to remember the kale and try it.  The next day, I actually did.

I must admit even though I'd heard nothing negative about kale chips, I was a little dubious.  After all, it is a dark green vegetable and healthy.  That generally spells "don't like" in my world.  Much to my surprise they were as good as the reports I'd heard.  I shared a few with 65MD who liked them enough to add to the garden this spring.  I polished off the rest and was rewarded with a lovely colon cleanse the next day.  What's not to love?

I got a few more leaves the next time I was at the store thinking they'd make a nice crunchy snack to have on hand.  My stylist mentioned that they kept well and stayed crispy. So,  I made more kale chips to have on hand.  I got scared again.  I thought that maybe the reason I liked them before was because I thought I wouldn't.  I tasted them again and again loved them.

I shared a few with a friend IRL that just started WW, but I polished off the rest.  Last night, at the store I got a whole lot of kale.  I'll be making chips again today.

In case anyone wants to try, here's how I did it:
Wash & dry the leaves.
Pull them from the center stem which is bitter.
Put a little (very little) oil in a jelly roll pan. 
Scatter the torn leaves over the oil and stir to coat.
Add whatever seasoning wanted, salt, pepper, garlic, etc.
Put in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes until the edges turn brown.
Watch closely so that they don't overcook.
They are good warm from the oven or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Waiting on ONEderland

Last time I posted,which was more than a week ago,  I weighed 201.6 lbs.  I was certain that I would be in ONEderland quite soon and my next post would be all about that.  I thought up the most eloquent blog posts about being under 200 lbs that I would post just as soon as the scales hit 199.8.  So far that hasn't happened.  Today I weigh 201.4.

When I last posted, I was in that sweet spot with weight loss.  Everything was just as it should be with eating, activity and water and the scales were responding accordingly.  The sweet spot has always been elusive for me.  I don't know when it will come and I don't know how long it will stay.  I just enjoy it while it is here.  I try not to think things like how 'easy' this is, or that my body has finally figured this out.  I know that as quickly as it comes, it can slip away. It did almost as soon as I hit publish on that last post.

Now, I am still fully on plan with the eating, activity and water, but the scales quit responding.  This is the part where I generally start searching for answers, looking for things to tweak, like cutting out fruit, or upping the exercise, or maybe even upping the calories.  (That is a favorite of mine, and a sure plan for disaster.)

This time, I'm going to rest on the plateau.  I know what I am doing is the right thing for my body.  I've been through enough trial and error.  I know that tweaking this and that here and there only leads to frustration on my part.  That leads to all sorts of eating errors.  So this time, I'm keeping a cool head.  I am trying to visualize myself calm, peaceful and resting on a small ledge on the mountain I'm climbing.  My body knows what it is doing and when it is ready it will continue the climb.  Until then, all I have to do is wait.

It won't be easy.  It is against my natural tendency to fix the problem and push through.  That hasn't worked in the past.  Now, I'm going to trust my body to move when it wants to.  I'm taking a deep breath and relaxing now.  Soon enough, I'll make one of those amazing posts about ONEderland a reality.