Tuesday Weigh In

As promised I am doing an official weigh in today now that I know all the sodium is out of my system.  I was hoping to be around 146 so you can imagine my surprise when I stepped on the scale this morning and it said this:

Woo Hoo!  Down 1.2 pounds from my previous lowest of 146 and down 2.2 pounds from my Friday weigh in of 147.  That my friends is the power of tracking.  I didn't change a single thing with my workouts, I have continued to do Zumba, and work on my triathlon training.  I did make progress doing intuitive eating, I have to give myself credit because I did pull myself out of a really bad mess I had created when my weight went all the way up to 153, and I was able to get back down to about 146.5, but so many times when I am not tracking I think I can cheat, and I start snacking a lot.  Tracking helps me to be more aware of what I am putting in my mouth.

I am making sure that this time I use everything I have learned over the past few months so as not to let myself feel deprived, or starved.  I really want to make this a real lifestyle change, a liveable lifestyle change.  Get food back into its proper place, stop obsessing over it so much.  Seriously I used to think about food every waking moment, always living for the next meal, or the next snack.  Food is something to be used to fuel your body so you can do everything else you want to do!  I needed to stop living for the food.  I'm making sure my snacks are balanced and filling, I'm making sure my meals are the same.  I'm making sure to eat until I'm satisfied, and listen to my body.  What does my body want?  Not what does my head think my body wants.  I am tired of feeling sick from overeating, tired of feeling sick from eating too much sugar.  I have discovered that my tolerance for sugar is actually much lower now, after I cut it out for three weeks (that's all I lasted but I think it was enough).  Sugar gives me a raging headache and popcorn has lately been giving me stomach aches.  I am also working on the thought side of it.  Instead of saying "I wish I could eat those five cookies like my husband"  I tell myself "I am glad I am not eating those five cookies, because they would make me feel sick, give me a headache and hinder my weight loss."  Another thing mentioned in "The Beck Diet Solution" about thinking was hunger and saying "I recognize I'm a little hungry right now, but it's okay, I'm going to have dinner (or my next meal or a snack) in just a little bit.  My meal is only an hour a way, I can wait"  And then you go get involved in something else and before you know it it's time to eat.  Life isn't about food, it's about being active, participating, living.  And food is the fuel that allows you to do other things. 

In other news, I figured out why I have been having such a hard time drinking my water over the past month.  My tumbler I was using broke, so I bought a new one:

I drink so much more water when it is in something like this.  I just have a hard time remembering and drinking my water when it is in a water bottle or a cup.  Another thing that has really been helping me lately comes out of "The Beck Diet Solution" where she says (and it's nothing new, I've heard it before, I just haven't taken it to heart until now) "Sit Down EVERY time you eat."  That means that if you are preparing food, you cannot mindlessly snack on the food you are preparing because you are standing, so it eliminates snacking while cooking.  It eliminates rummaging through the pantry or fridge and popping things into your mouth, it makes you focus and be more aware of what you are eating and actually make the decision "yes I am eating this".  It has helped me a lot to stop the mindless snacking and all the food sneaking that I was doing throughout the day previously, it is a very good habit to develop and keep for the rest of my life.  I don't really need to be standing up when I eat, it's not necessary so I think this is a very good habit to have and implement for the long term.  Right now I am on one of the highs of this roller coaster ride, and I hope that this high can last a while because goodness knows I've been in a low long enough.