A Loss Is a Loss

I ate too much on Christmas Day. I was careful about what I ate the rest of the week. I went out to dinner last night with friends (small green salad, winter vegetable stew, no dessert). I figured the best I'd do would be to not gain.

Instead, I lost - .6 of a pound. Nothing like a weekly weigh-in to motivate a person!

Portion Control? Where?

Actually, I did pay attention to what I ate yesterday. But I still ate too much. I enjoyed all that I ate. I enjoyed the company I ate it with. And I'm back on the portion-control wagon today.

Pre-Christmas Weigh In

I lost 2.6 pounds this past week for a total loss of 12.2. I'm surprised that I lost that much weight. I thought I'd lost the weight I gained last week and a little bit more.

I'm not sure why I lost 2.6 pounds, although I'm willing to hazard some guesses. It snowed multiple times in the past week so I had to do some shoveling multiple times in the past week. And I stopped eating a piece of fruit at lunch. Hard to believe that those 100-150 calories at lunch could make that much difference, though.

The fact is that I'm trying to be more mindful of what and how much I eat. Some weeks I gain; some weeks I lose. As long as I'm "trending" downward, it doesn't really matter why I lose from one week to the next!

Zzzzzzz

Nothing new to report. Just wanted my "public" (LOL) to know I haven't given up on my blog. I'm doing my best to a) adhere to Weight Watchers' principles and b) eat less and c) adhere to Detoxx principles.

First Lunch

Oh, not really my first lunch ever. My first brown-bag lunch at work without a piece of fruit. It went OK. I had my usual Gardenburger sandwich (in a Weight Watchers pita). And I had a salad with grape tomatoes, feta cheese, and Newman's Light Sun-Dried Tomato dressing. The feta cheese is the new thing. It's reduced-fat feta cheese but I normally wouldn't have it on a salad at lunch.

I've been thinking more about the Detoxx diet and it's requirement of full-fat dairy. Since I decided to ease into the diet, moving to full-fat dairy seems more possible. It helps that my friend BlueSky told me that she eats full-fat everything because she doesn't trust the reduced-fat versions. Add to that an article I read in Newsweek about fertility that reported that women who eat full-fat dairy are more fertile and the reason is that removing the fat also removes hormones. No, I'm not trying to get pregnant (ahem, a surgeon made that impossible in 1994), but the idea is thought-provoking.

Plus .6? Hardly Worth Noting!

At today's weigh-in I gained .6 pounds, making my total weight lost 9.8 pounds. I actually thought I'd lose a bit of weight this week, so maybe I'm just feeling a bit leaner. Six-tenths of a pound is a minor gain.

I've been thinking about the Detoxx diet and how I'm going to make it work for me. I'm going to start easing into it next week. I didn't buy any fruit to take for lunch next week. I don't know what I'll eat in its place but I've decided to eat as little sugar as possible.

Another decision I made about the Detoxx diet is to continue to eat grains, but to eat less of them. It's hard to beat a sandwich for brown bagging it. I've been eating Weight Watchers seedless rye, which is hardier than their whole wheat and still has only 1 point for two slices.

The Detoxx diet is a high-fat diet (something to do with getting the liver to release toxins and wash them out of the body with fat) and I've decided I just can't do that. I'll adjust the kinds of fats I eat (like not eating canola oil) but there's no way I'll reintroduce full-fat dairy, for example, into my diet.

How many Points is that?

I'm going to give the Detoxx diet as fair a chance as I can. It's going to require lots of planning, which I'm not all that good at right now (Lyme disease may have had a hand in that -- menopause, too). I've got my Points calculator and my Complete Food Companion and I've started to look up stuff.

Grains are a no-no on the Detoxx diet. Makes it tough to take a sandwich to work for lunch, doesn't it?

Full-Fat Dairy? No Grains? No Weigh!?!

I'm seeing a new doctor for my Lyme disease and assorted related ailments. My old doctor left the biz to go full-time as an addiction specialist. I liked my old doctor a lot but I think it's mostly a good thing that I've found a new doctor.

Yesterday I saw my new doctor for the second time. He'd had a chance to read my chart from the old doctor. We first discussed the concerns I had. Then we discussed a suggestion he had: Go on the Detoxx Protocol. Yeah, that's right, detoxx with two Xs. The protocol is a diet, supplements, liver cleanse, and maybe some other stuff.

Today I read the diet closely. It's the Atkins Diet with some modifications. Hmmmmmm. Can I really go against my years and years of low-fat, whole-grain, high-carb eating? And what would I be able to eat within my Weight Watchers Points allowance?

I haven't rejected it outright, but I doubt I'll adopt it without changes.

Who Needs to Know?

I'm pretty good at wearing my "anchor" bracelet every day. Today one of my co-workers asked me about it. Because it's copper, another co-worker wanted to know why I was wearing it. I'm not ready for the world at large (99% of blogs are never read by anyone but the blogger) to know that I'm going to Weight Watchers, so I wasn't prepared for this; I figured most people would just think it's a bracelet.

I finally said that it is an anchor but I was not wearing it for its medicinal properties. These are good folks, whose curiosity was sincere, so once they realized that I was uncomfortable talking about it, they let it go.

When will I tell other than a select few that I'm going to Weight Watchers? When they ask, "Have you lost weight?"

We'll Find a Weigh

Zaphod left a comment in rhyme to my Dec. 8 post, ending with "You'll find a weigh." Zaphod is my civil partner (and husband). In the past I've always dieted on my own and kept my own counsel on it. This time around I'm trying to be more forthcoming about it. I don't think anyone except medical professionals will ever know what I weigh, but I have been telling Zaphod how much I've lost or gained each week.

Yesterday we talked about how I've always had to fight the feeling that having a weight problem is a character flaw. It probably stems from the fact that I developed a weight problem the very moment I hit puberty. Which is why this last round of weight gain has been so difficult to accept, coming as it did after a two- or three-year period of energy and weight loss that I attributed to finally getting it right but actually was due to my thyroid working overtime.

Now that my thyroid has flamed out I'm once again fighting the old character-flaw issue. Weight Watchers helps a lot with that because it is so positive and so supportive. Knowing that Zaphod wants me to succeed is also very positive & supportive. Bluesky is joining me on the journey (phooey-- "journey" is just a euphemism for "struggle"; that's one Weight Watchers positive I may never get used to) -- more about her later.

The Anchor

One of the more powerful tips I've gotten from my Weight Watchers group leader is the "anchor." I learned of it at the meeting before Thanksgiving. She had a curtain ring on her finger that she was going to use on Thanksgiving to remind her to eat mindfully. On Thanksgiving I carried a marble in my pocket then when I actually lost weight at my next weigh in, I treated myself to a more fashionable anchor. I now have a copper link bracelet that I wear almost every day. It really does remind me to be mindful of my eating.

Do I Really Have a Blog?

So I've started this blog, inspired by so other weight-loss blogs. This is where I plan to document my "journey" -- that's what Weight Watchers calls it. I think of it as a struggle. I'm not a joiner, but I knew I couldn't do this on my own anymore. So I signed up for a year. And, so far, it's working. I've lost 10 pounds. I'm focusing on the loss (I have, oh, another 70 or so pounds to lose - yikes!).

I have a terrific group leader who makes it fun and important to attend meetings. If you're doing Weight Watchers and your leader doesn't inspire you, look for another leader.

Here's something I haven't shared "in group." I don't obsessively track my Points. I do calculate them (the Points calculator really is worth the money), but I don't write down everything I eat. I might get there but I'm trying to find a way to LIVE. And in my mind living does not include obsessively writing down everything I eat.

Day One

Welcome to my weight-loss blog. I've spent the day reading others' blogs and have decided to start my own. I'm over 50 and I need to lose lots of weight. I hope I'll be an inspiration to others.