I Have No Idea

I lost a pound last week for a total loss of 26.0 pounds. I have no idea why. I didn't didn't follow the Core Plan all week and I didn't try all that hard to limit what I ate on Thanksgiving. I kept the guidelines for Core in mind and tried to monitor how full I felt, but I did manage to eat too much at dinner (it was the second helping of salmon loaf that did it). By the time dessert rolled around I knew there was no way I could eat anything more and didn't allow myself to be tempted; I guess that's progress I can point to.

Water Does Matter

I enjoyed Zaphod's birthday dinner & leftovers for three nights and two breakfasts, which made me wonder if I might gain weight from it. It occurred to me that maybe I wasn't eating enough protein, so maybe I'd escape the dreaded weight gain if I ate responsible portions. Marian's Spaghetti Casserole typically contains ground beef and that's the way I made it this year. I generally eat a vegetarian diet, but I made an exception for this meal, primarily because I don't remember making Zaphod's birthday dinner for him last year.

Later in the week it dawned on me that I haven't been drinking as much water as usual. I'm not sure why because I've sipped on something all day since I was a kid. I'm a mouth-breather and always have been. I was well into adulthood before I realized that I always had a beverage at hand (typically iced tea) because I was a mouth-breather and, therefore, exhaling lots of moisture all day and all night. I haven't become a nose-breather, so I'm baffled as to why I've stopped sipping all the time. Regardless, once I realized I wasn't drinking enough water, I started to drink more.

Voilà! I lost 1.6 pounds this week a total loss of 25 pounds. Whew! I was beginning to think I'd lost the ability to lose weight!

Was it the water? Or the protein? Or both? I hope it was the water but I'm not going to find out for a week or two because I bought some deli turkey today. I became a vegetarian, originally, because I detest the factory-farming of animals and, later, because I can't kill an animal myself, so I shouldn't expect others to do it for me. My rationalization for the turkey? Turkeys have been bred to be so stupid they won't come in out of the rain. A weak rationalization, I know. If it does become clear that it's the protein, I'll have to calculate just how much protein I'm getting from a vegetarian diet and get serious about getting enough without killing animals to do so.

Maybe I've grown tired of iced tea. I sucked down lots of water yesterday when I switched to water with True Orange in it. Yum! By the way, I love True Lemon or True Lime in my fat-free, strained (Greek), plain yogurt with some Splenda or erythritol, a sugar alcohol like xylitol.

Frustrated? Yes. Discouraged? No

Gained a pound this week for a total loss of 23.4 pounds. Phooey.

I did mostly OK this week but I was hungry a lot, despite spacing out my snacks so that I was eating every few hours. I had another cracker attack and that's probably what did me in.

Yesterday (weigh-in day) I didn't eat early enough so when I finally did eat, I inhaled food. Then I couldn't get full. I ate until I felt full, then, of course, I started to feel stuffed and over-full.

Today I continued with my bad habits and threw in some sugar in the form of pectin candy (ooh, that was really worth it because it was very good pectin candy, which is like gum drops but better).

I'm not sure what's going on with me. As much as I detest tracking, I'm thinking about doing some, including using the paper trackers they hand out at weigh-in.

This is the largest of my weight loss challenges. Although I've had a weight problem since puberty, I could always get control of it by tracking and exercising more. Sometimes it took me years to come to grips with the problem, but eventually I succeeded at getting my weight down.

This time around, though, I have a thyroid that doesn't function well, menopause that works against weight loss, and chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia that make it very difficult for me to increase my activity level. I also have other assorted chronic ailments that make weight loss a very difficult challenge, partly because of the medication I take.

I started taking t'ai chi again because I thought it would be a gentle way to get more activity (Karen, one of my favorite leaders, always exhorts us to ease into activity in the coming week). Unfortunately, the instructor is a newbie and is not particularly good. He had us hold our stances for so long with our weight on our left feet while he checked our positions that I injured my left foot and I won't be able to finish the semester. So much for easing into activity.

Today is Zaphod's birthday. Before all my illness I always baked a gooey birthday cake and made his favorite meal (spaghetti casserole, steamed broccoli, and garlic bread). This year, though, I decided I'd make his favorite meal. I rarely spend as much time in the kitchen (anymore) as I have today and I'm already starting to pay for it.

I'm not having a pity party. No, wait, I am.

But I'm truly not discouraged. I've committed to this "journey" and I intend to continue.

Sigh.

No Change Is No Problem

I neither gained nor lost weight last week, so my total loss is at 24.4 pounds. I didn't "follow Plan" this past week because . . . well, I'm not sure why. I stuck to Core fairly well but had a serious cracker attack and ate whole-wheat bagel chips or whole-wheat bunnies after work before dinner.

When I have a cracker attack I don't count the Points. There's no point (sorry) because I'll eat a reasonable portion then continue eating until I'm satisfied.

Whatever the reason I couldn't stay away from the crunchy starches, I'm going to try to avoid them this week. It's important for me to have easy-to-grab snacks ready after work so, as is the case with everything else Core, I'll prepare some snacks this weekend to have on hand during the week.

I'm planning to make some popcorn, which I air-pop in the microwave, and roasted chickpeas, for which I need to track down a good recipe. I might also roast some butternut squash, which is really yummy when I roast it until it's very crisp.

That reminds me: I'm going to bake some spaghetti squash to have with a tomato sauce tonight. Here's my simple recipe, which is based on a recipe at RecipeZaar:

Slice the squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.
Sprinkle some olive oil in each half and spread it all over the inside of the squash.
Bake in a 350 oven for about an hour, until tender.
Allow the squash to cool for at least 20 minutes, although the cooler the better.
Scrape out the squash with a fork.

It's really important to let the squash cool before you combine it with sauce. If you don't let it cool it gets mushy. You can always zap it in the microwave to heat it before serving.

Slowly, Slowly

I'm sorry I didn't have the chance to crow about my weigh-in last week. It would have been fun. I surprised myself by losing 4.2 pounds, for a total loss of 27.4 pounds.

And then I took a week's vacation.

Need I say more?

I put on 3.0 of those pounds, for a total loss of 24.4 pounds. I was surprised by that gain because I thought I'd been doing okay. I didn't expect to maintain the previous week's loss but I thought I wouldn't gain back so much of it.

I'm home now, though, and glad to be going back on Core full time. Not staying on Plan meant eating whole wheat toast at breakfast (and one morning of multigrain pancakes -- yum!) and some full-fat sharp cheddar on a sandwich on whole wheat bread for lunch. There were other non-Core indulgences, but none were a wild deviation from my new "lifestyle."

In fact, I was impressed by how much my eating habits and tastes have changed in the past year. I really wanted to make yummy Core meals for dinner. I actually was aware of whether I felt full or not.

So now I'm home again and getting ready to go back to work tomorrow. And I feel pretty good about myself!

Oh, Phooey

Okay, so officially I gained 2.8 pounds this week for a total loss of 23.2 pounds. Unofficially, I stayed the same or lost.

I was hungry all week. My home scales showed a loss up to yesterday morning.

Last night Zaphod & I had dinner out with a good friend of ours and I succumbed to the lure of french fries.

I wasn't surprised to see a gain on the scale at weigh-in this morning but I really wasn't expecting to see such a large gain. The meal I ate last night was probably pretty salty, so that might account for some of the gain, but all of it? Overnight?

Two weeks ago, my leader suggested that I count the Points of what I was eating to help me manage my portions. One week ago, I lost a pound, which demonstrated the wisdom of her suggestion. I continued to consume the portions I had determined were realistic this past week, with the exception of last night's dinner.

I follow the Core plan. I'm supposed to eat Core foods until I'm satisfied. I was never satisfied this past week. What the hell is going on?

At dinner last night I had a panzanella salad . . . and a side of fries. I nibbled on the fries until I finished the salad. Then I rested (as in "stop, rest, and assess") and afterward enjoyed the rest of the fries. I was satisfied, not stuffed. But 2.8 pounds satisfied?

Could this have anything to do with living in Maine and it getting darker, a lot darker, at this time of year? I truly don't know. I tried to move more this past week, but that was just walking the dogs a couple of mornings along with my usual t'ai chi class. It doesn't come close to accounting for my hunger.

Meditation on Exercise

Today was a holiday for me (Indigenous Peoples Day aka Columbus Day). I had not intended to spend the day thinking about moving more but that's how it turned out. I don't even remember what got it started. It had nothing to do with the fact that there was no change in my weight at Saturday's weigh in, so my total loss is still 26 pounds.

Three-day weekends are bad for me. I need the rest, yes. I enjoy not having to go to work, yes. But I too often feel dissatisfied afterward because I didn't do anything but rest. I'm feeling enough better these days (fibromyalgia, vertigo, chronic fatigue, depression -- remember?) that it's time for me to start making some progress in ways other than Weight Watchers.

True, I've started t'ai chi again and I love it just as much as I did the very first time I encountered it. I even remember to practice almost every day. I'm trying very hard to make it a daily presence in my life. But it's not enough.

Today I got off on a quest to learn whether a Trikke is right for me. It looks like fun and the people who own them tend to sound cult-like in their devotion to them. It's hard not to be inspired to want to get more exercise after watching some of the videos and reading some of the posts from the, um, elder (check out the 50-somethings thread) adherents.

The question I haven't yet been able to answer for myself is whether it is a realistic way for me to commute to work. My commute is about two miles by car, which isn't very far. Unfortunately, the last portion of it is up a very steep hill -- at least by car. There are ways around the hill that add distance and time to the commute.

I know that I need at least an hour of exercise every day. I also know that I'm not capable of that right now. I don't know if I'll ever be capable of it again but I'm starting to talk to myself about how I want to be.

I've long wanted to find a way to get to work without burning fossil fuels; my last job was about a half-mile from home and I walked most days. It's been over ten years since I had that job (and the business has moved since) and I still want to find some way to commute without burning fossil fuels. I live in Maine, which can make commuting by any form a challenge in the winter.

There's an appealing efficiency to combining my commute with needed exercise. Is a Trikke the way to do it? Or should I just start walking more and eventually walk all the way to work (and back)? Walking has great appeal because it's possible regardless of the weather -- I do live in Maine.

I don't have any answers yet, but I am heartened by the fact that I'm even considering the possibility of walking to work. This may be a fool's errand, but I fully intend to find out what's possible for me.