Week 1 Results
As promised, my week one weigh in results...183. I did dip down to 182 on Saturday morning, but water weight is always changing, and a 9 pound loss is something I am definitely delighted with! From here on out, the poundage will probably start looking more like 1-2 pounds lost per week. I am happy with that. If I lost 2 pounds per week, I could be nearly 50 pounds lighter in 6 months! Who wouldn't be delighted with that fact? That would about put me in the vicinity of where I should be, maybe even a little less. I think with my musculature, I am told 145 ish would be an ideal weight for me. I don't put any stock in the BMI because it doesn't account for muscle mass/ body composition. When I was in my 20's and had more muscle, I was told that I should aim for 159, but I have lost some of that muscle mass, so I think my goal will be 145 if I have to pin it down to a number. I think, more likely, I will decide by how I look and feel. I want to have some muscle to show off, I don't want to be skinny-fat.
As far as my diet/exercise this weekend, I skipped my workouts on Saturday(weights) and Sunday (cardio), and I had a planned cheat meal on Sunday. My leg muscles were still sore from my Wednesday muscle workout, and I knew they needed proper time to heal. I have no exscuse for skipping the cardio, I just didn't make time for it. I won't beat myself up over it, I don't imagine I will workout 7 days a week when I am fit. I normally wouldn't even have entertained of cheating so soon into my diet, but my mother-in-law took the kids for tree decorating, so my husband and I got some time to have a relaxing lunch together. We went to one of our favorite restaurants, Margarita's. I had the Chicken Argentine, which is a generous chicken breast rubbed with spicey seasonings and grilled over an open flame, with a side of sauteed veggies (peppers and onions), I ordered guacamole on the side, for the good fats. So far, all of those things were SBD-OK'd, but I dipped my chicken in the most delicious sauce I have ever tasted, Margarita Sauce. In reality, it is slow-cooked mexican cheese with peppers and seasonings. I bounced the idea off my husband, who reassured me while it may be higher in fat, there were probably little or no carbs, so I just went ahead and indulged. I made sure to dip the veggies in the guac instead of the sauce, so I could at least cut down some of the fat/calories. I was able to pass up the big, warm basket of chips and salsa they brought, (which my husband was kind enough to convince me tasted less than fantastic this visit) and didn't touch the refried beans or rice that came with my dinner. And despite the waiter mistakenly refilling my Diet Pepsi with regular, which I realized after a few large gulps, I left the restaurant feeling proud that I didn't go overboard, but I was soooo satisfied in tasting the perfectly-seasoned chicken and yummy grilled veggies. I left knowing that I would probably encounter sugar cravings after those few gulps of sugary soda (which I don't drink even when I'm not dieting), but that I was going to get right back on track and just stick to the plan. To my surprise, the sugar crave never came and getting back on track was as easy as if I never had a cheat. That is the difference between a planned cheat and an impulsive cheat. A planned cheat can actually be good for you mentally, and can rev up your motabolism, but you can't go overboard or blood chemistry will take over and you won't be able to stop craving the sugars. Even after the 2 week, restrictive part of SBD(South Beach Diet) you get to add carbs back in, but if you do too many too fast, or add the wrong kind of carbs, you regress and start craving sugars again. Like everything in life, moderation is the key. You do have to will to control these things, it just takes being smarter than your habits. Before I ever picked up SBD, I never would have imagined myself not craving sugars. I thought it was all in my head, lack of willpower, need for dopamine, anything but blood chemistry. I tried to will myself to give up sugars and was miserable. I am telling you, if you can get through the first 2-3 days of SBD and stay completely focused, you won't even need willpower because your cravings for those things will be gone.
Another discovery I made is that I can take great pleasure from simply smelling great aromas. I don't mean aromatherapy, but real life stuff. The other day I was in Walmart and there is a Subway in there. Hands down, my favorite fast food. LOVE the smell of the bread baking. And I thought the smell would be torturous to me, knowing I couldn't indulge, but then I realized that just smelling it made me feel warm and good. The best example of this is the coffee isle at the grocery store. Who doesn't love the coffee isle? I often go down that isle even if I don't need to buy any coffee. And, it doesn't make me pine for a cup, I am satisfied just to smell that awesomness! That is the power of smell, but you have to be aware that smell doesn't always mean you want to taste. Let your nose have some of the fun. The one thing I have a hard time resisting tasting upon smelling it, is popcorn. Now, I have a sort of love-hate relationship with popcorn. I love the buttery, salty warmth, but I hate the hulls and dehydration/burning lips. This brings me to my other proud moment that happened this last weekend. I promised my kids if they were good all week, that we would bring them to McDonalds on Saturday, and they earned said trip. The whole family went. I ate my SBD-approved meal right before we went, and while everyone else was happily smacking and eating, I sipped my Diet Coke and was perfectly OK with not eating any of it. Sure, when we think of McDonalds, we always remeber the times when the fries were piping hot and cooked just how we love them, and there was just the right amount of sauce on that Big Mac, and the pickles just sang in our mouths. Well, that's what I usually thought of. But even though I wasn't too interested that day, I used a trick that has come in handy many times, I imagined those fries had been sitting there for 1/2 hour, and are now cold and hard. Yech! And I thought about the time I bit into my Big Mac and found a 2 inch piece of bone in it! Suddenly, those things not only didn't interest me, but almost repulsed me. Gum is another great distraction, sugar-free of course!
Another thing I have been thinking about is artificial sweetner. Part of me is so dependent on it, I still like my coffee to taste sweet, and I drink a lot of diet soda. Even protein powders have it (not that I'm using any right now, but they are a healthy, convenient way to get the nutrients you need as you become more active). There are people on both sides of the fence. I primarily use a generic version of Splenda, and feel OK to use it because it appears to have no carb impact. I have been considering cutting back on it though. I have always been jealous of people who can drink their coffee black and sip on plain water all day. I pretty much live on sugar-free drinks like Crystal Light (generic, of course) and diet soda. The verdict is still out on the sweetners. I may try the natural ones again (Stevia), though they taste funny to me. I will have to do some more research and at least make an effort to drink more plain water. It is, after all, very good for your heart, and revs up your metabolism as well.
Nailed a muscle work out, now I'm going to go try to cross a few more things off the To Do list before picking up the kids from school. Job interview tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
As far as my diet/exercise this weekend, I skipped my workouts on Saturday(weights) and Sunday (cardio), and I had a planned cheat meal on Sunday. My leg muscles were still sore from my Wednesday muscle workout, and I knew they needed proper time to heal. I have no exscuse for skipping the cardio, I just didn't make time for it. I won't beat myself up over it, I don't imagine I will workout 7 days a week when I am fit. I normally wouldn't even have entertained of cheating so soon into my diet, but my mother-in-law took the kids for tree decorating, so my husband and I got some time to have a relaxing lunch together. We went to one of our favorite restaurants, Margarita's. I had the Chicken Argentine, which is a generous chicken breast rubbed with spicey seasonings and grilled over an open flame, with a side of sauteed veggies (peppers and onions), I ordered guacamole on the side, for the good fats. So far, all of those things were SBD-OK'd, but I dipped my chicken in the most delicious sauce I have ever tasted, Margarita Sauce. In reality, it is slow-cooked mexican cheese with peppers and seasonings. I bounced the idea off my husband, who reassured me while it may be higher in fat, there were probably little or no carbs, so I just went ahead and indulged. I made sure to dip the veggies in the guac instead of the sauce, so I could at least cut down some of the fat/calories. I was able to pass up the big, warm basket of chips and salsa they brought, (which my husband was kind enough to convince me tasted less than fantastic this visit) and didn't touch the refried beans or rice that came with my dinner. And despite the waiter mistakenly refilling my Diet Pepsi with regular, which I realized after a few large gulps, I left the restaurant feeling proud that I didn't go overboard, but I was soooo satisfied in tasting the perfectly-seasoned chicken and yummy grilled veggies. I left knowing that I would probably encounter sugar cravings after those few gulps of sugary soda (which I don't drink even when I'm not dieting), but that I was going to get right back on track and just stick to the plan. To my surprise, the sugar crave never came and getting back on track was as easy as if I never had a cheat. That is the difference between a planned cheat and an impulsive cheat. A planned cheat can actually be good for you mentally, and can rev up your motabolism, but you can't go overboard or blood chemistry will take over and you won't be able to stop craving the sugars. Even after the 2 week, restrictive part of SBD(South Beach Diet) you get to add carbs back in, but if you do too many too fast, or add the wrong kind of carbs, you regress and start craving sugars again. Like everything in life, moderation is the key. You do have to will to control these things, it just takes being smarter than your habits. Before I ever picked up SBD, I never would have imagined myself not craving sugars. I thought it was all in my head, lack of willpower, need for dopamine, anything but blood chemistry. I tried to will myself to give up sugars and was miserable. I am telling you, if you can get through the first 2-3 days of SBD and stay completely focused, you won't even need willpower because your cravings for those things will be gone.
Another discovery I made is that I can take great pleasure from simply smelling great aromas. I don't mean aromatherapy, but real life stuff. The other day I was in Walmart and there is a Subway in there. Hands down, my favorite fast food. LOVE the smell of the bread baking. And I thought the smell would be torturous to me, knowing I couldn't indulge, but then I realized that just smelling it made me feel warm and good. The best example of this is the coffee isle at the grocery store. Who doesn't love the coffee isle? I often go down that isle even if I don't need to buy any coffee. And, it doesn't make me pine for a cup, I am satisfied just to smell that awesomness! That is the power of smell, but you have to be aware that smell doesn't always mean you want to taste. Let your nose have some of the fun. The one thing I have a hard time resisting tasting upon smelling it, is popcorn. Now, I have a sort of love-hate relationship with popcorn. I love the buttery, salty warmth, but I hate the hulls and dehydration/burning lips. This brings me to my other proud moment that happened this last weekend. I promised my kids if they were good all week, that we would bring them to McDonalds on Saturday, and they earned said trip. The whole family went. I ate my SBD-approved meal right before we went, and while everyone else was happily smacking and eating, I sipped my Diet Coke and was perfectly OK with not eating any of it. Sure, when we think of McDonalds, we always remeber the times when the fries were piping hot and cooked just how we love them, and there was just the right amount of sauce on that Big Mac, and the pickles just sang in our mouths. Well, that's what I usually thought of. But even though I wasn't too interested that day, I used a trick that has come in handy many times, I imagined those fries had been sitting there for 1/2 hour, and are now cold and hard. Yech! And I thought about the time I bit into my Big Mac and found a 2 inch piece of bone in it! Suddenly, those things not only didn't interest me, but almost repulsed me. Gum is another great distraction, sugar-free of course!
Another thing I have been thinking about is artificial sweetner. Part of me is so dependent on it, I still like my coffee to taste sweet, and I drink a lot of diet soda. Even protein powders have it (not that I'm using any right now, but they are a healthy, convenient way to get the nutrients you need as you become more active). There are people on both sides of the fence. I primarily use a generic version of Splenda, and feel OK to use it because it appears to have no carb impact. I have been considering cutting back on it though. I have always been jealous of people who can drink their coffee black and sip on plain water all day. I pretty much live on sugar-free drinks like Crystal Light (generic, of course) and diet soda. The verdict is still out on the sweetners. I may try the natural ones again (Stevia), though they taste funny to me. I will have to do some more research and at least make an effort to drink more plain water. It is, after all, very good for your heart, and revs up your metabolism as well.
Nailed a muscle work out, now I'm going to go try to cross a few more things off the To Do list before picking up the kids from school. Job interview tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
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