Carb Queen

I keep changing the name of my blog.

First it was "This Time I'll Get It Right," which referred to my desire to get the weight off and keep it off once and for all. Someday I might blog about the trials and tribulations of keeping my weight off; it's not a unique story, so I'm not eager to post it.

Then I changed my blog's name to "Fat Is Not A Character Flaw (Oh, Yeah?)," which came from something I once said to Zaphod. The "Oh, Yeah?" was my weak attempt at irony. After that I dropped the "Oh, Yeah?" because it seemed a little too precious and shortened the name to "Fat Is Not A Character Flaw." I still think that's a good name for a blog, but it might not be the best name for my blog.

Now my blog is called "Carb Queen."

It's "Carb Queen" because I'm really, really missing grains. I have long referred to myself as a carb queen. Various doctors have taken it as a symptom of my (pick one) depression, toxicity, or weakness.

I suppose a more accurate title for myself would be "Starch Queen" because I love grains and starchy veggies, like potatoes & sweet potatoes.

The Detoxx Diet is why I'm suffering without my starches. Is it working? Too soon to tell.

Yo, Dietgirl!

I've just got to send a Shout Out to Dietgirl.

She is so inspirational! I've been slowly reading all of her blog entries. She says so many things so much better than I do.

I wish her all the best and that lots and lots of people buy her book.

Woo Hoo!

I lost 3 pounds this week! That brings my total weight loss to 18.4 pounds.

Having stuck closely to the Detoxx Diet this week without counting points and only minimal tracking, I'm not quite sure how I lost that much weight. I have some ideas, though.

Despite eating full-fat dairy and lots of meat, I didn't overeat because I didn't snack on the foods I enjoy and sometimes eat mindlessly. I'm not a snacker but I do like crackers and other grain-based snacks. No grains, no snacks.

And the Weight Watchers' message is starting to become part of my psyche: Stop-rest-assess and Think First and my leader's favorite: I live my life eating the foods I love in the amounts I need without guilt.

The "foods I love" part is a problem for me because I'm not eating the breads, crackers, rice, pasta, and other grains that I love. Grains might come back into my diet someday, but only after I've given the Detoxx Diet a fair tryout.

I can be faithful to the maxim, however, because I love dairy products. Which means I still have to pay close attention to this part: "in the amounts I need"!

Paradigm Shift

Yesterday was my first day of strict (sort of) adherence to the Detoxx Diet. I said strict (sort of) because I had two slices of Ezekiel sprouted bread and only one is allowed. I also sprinkled bread crumbs on top of the spaghetti squash casserole.

Low-fat, vegetarian eating is second nature to me. This high-fat, meat-centric eating is hard work. I shopped for groceries for 90 minutes yesterday and was exhausted afterwards. I've calculated the points for some of the foods I'm eating, but in most cases I just don't want to know. Denial is not going to make it any easier to lose weight, I know, but until I can get past my craving for grains I don't really want to know how high the points are.

As a result of not counting the points, I've become more conscious of portion control. And I'm asking myself more often whether I'm actually hungry. Weight Watchers has many maxims/mantras/aphorisms that are repeated almost every meeting (well, I suppose it depends on the leader) and eventually they start to sink in. The one that's helping me adjust to the Detoxx Diet is "stop, rest, and assess." My adaptation of this is to serve myself a reasonable amount of food, enjoy it fully as I eat it, then let my brain catch up to my stomach before I decide whether I want more.

A new koan to ponder: What is the sound of a paradigm shift? Or should that be: What is the taste of a paradigm shift?

Whew!

I gained .2 pounds this week. Whew!

Saw Dr. Sean, my alternative doctor, this past week. We discussed the Detoxx Diet at length and I'm going to try very hard to adhere strictly to it. And take all the supplements. He even talked me into eating full-fat dairy.

I spent a lot of time this afternoon on RecipeZaar, my favorite recipe site. I've started to put together a list of recipes that meet the requirements of the diet. You can see my list here: Detoxx Diet Recipes.

RecipeZaar has lots of cool features. The one I used today was the shopping list. I'll take it with me to the grocery store tomorrow to buy what I need for the week ahead.

Trepidation

I was doing so well with mindful eating last week. This week, well, I've given in some to the munchies. And I've eaten larger meals than usual because I've spent so much time at home. So, I'm just going on record that I'm facing my next weigh in with trepidation . . . .

Taking the Food Out of Comfort Food

I had my weigh-in today instead of tomorrow morning. I lost 1.8 pounds this week for a total of 15.6.

Why did I go to Weight Watchers today instead of tomorrow? Two interrelated reasons. First, as I noted on Tuesday, I had surgery to release the ulnar nerve in my right elbow (cubital tunnel syndrome -- like carpal tunnel but in the elbow) and I'm not permitted to drive until I see the doctor next week. Second, Zaphod is my driver this week and the Saturday morning meeting I usually attend is too early for him.

So off we went to a Friday noon meeting. Zaphod dropped me at the WW Center and drove off to find Big Al's Discount store. I went in to be weighed after even less activity than usual.

I wasn't surprised that I had lost weight because I weigh myself every morning. What's surprising to me is how easy it has been to avoid comfort-food snacking during my convalescence. I'm overly experienced in outpatient surgery and the week's convalescence at home afterwards. And each time I've rewarded myself with some (some?) comfort food.

My work has kept me pretty busy this week with year-end reporting, but I have been eating mindfully so that when I did indulge in some comfort food (the current fav being Pepperidge Farm Goldfish -- the whole-grain version, of course), I did so mindfully.

That and knowing that I wanted to report to the WW group that I had succeeded in my quest to lose weight during convalescence.

Elbow Excuse?

So I had surgery on my elbow yesterday and I'm working from home for a while. The challenge is to not reward myself for making it through the surgery by allowing myself to eat comforting goodies. Stay tuned . . .

Pad Thai - The New Miracle Diet Food?

Just how did I manage to pull off a one-pound weight loss this week?

First, there was our third Christmas celebration on Sunday, where I indulged in a few too many roast beef horseradish swirls.

Next was New Year's Day when the problem was not so much that I overate but that I sat in my recliner all day working on my laptop because the only way to implement changes for the first of the year when the last day of the year is a work day is to do it on New Year's Day.

Then there was my fourth Christmas celebration at a Thai restaurant where I ate crispy pad thai and crab rangoon and thought I might pop if I ate anything more (violating a whole bunch of Weight Watchers' precepts).

Add to all of this the bitterly cold weather we had this week (it was a cause for celebration when the temperature made it into double digits) that made me shorten my already fairly short dog walks and I was feeling certain that the best I could do on the scale was to see no change.

When I said to Frank as he recorded my weight, "I lost? Really?" I must have said it with enough disbelief that he felt I needed a reminder, "Well, that's the whole point."

I can only conclude that pad thai is the new miracle diet food. That, or I'll see it on the scale next week.