Getting the weight off!

A small celebration!

2012-04-20T07:38:00.001-07:00

YAY! When I got dressed this morning, I couldn't find either of my normal pairs of jeans. It's cold enough today that I didn't want to wear crops. So, with a grimace, I decided to try to squeeze into the only pair I could find - hip huggers that are 1 size too small for me right now.

Imagine my glee when they didn't offer their normal resistance around my thighs!

They aren't perfectly loose, but there's enough of a difference in how tight they usually are with how they fit today.

Not a BIG step, but it's still a step in the right direction. I'm a happy camper today!

I'm still hungry!

2012-04-19T15:08:00.000-07:00

One of the advertising promises of NutriSystem is that since all the scientific work is done for you, you can re-learn how to eat right without getting hungry.

Uh, I'm starving twice during the day!

Mornings I'm not too bad until 10ish. I eat my breakfast item, and drink my protein shake, then I'm supposed to have a PowerFuel (protein) mid-morning. I'm sorry, but 2 tablespoons of sunflower seeds is just not cutting it. By lunch, my stomach is rumbling so bad my high school students can hear it!

Afternoons are the same. Even if I eat a gigantic salad (3-4 veggie count) along with my lunch item, by 3 pm my stomach is making noises that should be recorded for a horror film.

Both time frames are the worst for me cheating. And I have. Those cheats contributed to me actually gaining a half pound the first week. Grrrrr. (I think the rest of it was not enough water each day.)

Ideally, if I stick to the plan like glue, I'm taking in 1200 calories. But on a normal day with the workout I do for martial arts, I'm wondering if I shouldn't take in 1500. Then if I do any yard work, extra walking, yoga, etc, I'm not exactly sure how much more I should take in. I know I still have to create a deficit in caloric intake, but I'm beginning to think I'm not getting enough.

I also am beginning to think I need to flip-flop the lunch and dinner item. I usually want to eat more at lunch and hardly anything at dinner (after I work out). That's just how my body works. Maybe then I'll get the calories I need at the time of day my body needs them and at least stop the mid-afternoon hunger monster.

Today, I tripled my PowerFuel at mid-morning. I had 1 string cheese, 2 Tbsp sunflower seeds, and 1 Tbsp of peanut butter. That really helped.

Even with the frustrations, I'm really liking the overall approach. The first time I poured a NutriSystem granola packet into my bowl, then added only 4 ounces of milk, I was seriously shocked. It was so tiny! I would have filled my bowl to overflowing on my own! So, they are right -- I am re-learning portion control and that I don't have to eat until I'm stuffed every time. It's going to take awhile to retrain my brain, but I'm starting to get it.

4 days in .. not perfect, but not too bad!

2012-04-10T10:11:00.001-07:00

Sunday was a challenge - church-wide breakfast before services and a wonderful open house lunch at a dear friend of mine. I did pretty good at breakfast, YAY! I had a tiny taste of cheese grits and a tiny taste of breakfast casserole, but this was after eating according to plan and about an hour after setting up the church kitchen for the breakfast.

Lunch was another story. It is soooo hard to explain to people why I'm choosing to eat differently. And it's also so hard to choose to eat well when everyone around you (including your kids) are telling you "oh, it's ok to cheat, besides it's Easter!" Grrrrrr! And then add to these outside forces trying to batter my already fragile willpower into submission, the fact that I really am weak when it comes to saying no to amazing home-made food. Hence, I didn't bring any NutriSystem items. I didn't want the battle of asking my hostess to let me takeover her kitchen to prepare my own special food. She would not have cared, but I would have felt terribly embarrassed for asking.

I kept telling myself "taste sensation - not eat everything in sight!". I did pretty good in terms of actual lunch, but my friend made these delicious pink chocolate fudgy things. They were pretty small and I only ate one. But one is one too much, especially for something that is solid sugar and has no nutritional content!

What do other people do in these situations? I am a pastor's wife so I can't really stay under the radar in terms of avoiding the table. Has anyone else experienced the "oh it's ok to eat it" phenomenon?

Opening the box

2012-04-07T07:42:00.002-07:00

How in the world is NutriSystem going to send me a month's worth of food that isn't frozen?

I received my package yesterday about 4 pm. I decided to wait until this morning to start so I'd start with breakfast. The ginormous box is filled with individual packages, kind of like a convenience store dumped off their excess stock on my doorstep. Where in the world am I going to put this in our tiny kitchen?

I opened up the vanilla shake box (there's 2) and made myself a shake with NutriSystem's cool little shaker protein shake drink bottle. No chunks of powdered protein mix! YAY! Then I saw the 2nd box of vanilla shakes and thought "why can't I combine these into one box and save space?" So I ripped off the top and side flaps of the box I'd opened, and put the 2nd box's contents into the first box. Now I have all the vanilla shakes in one place, and a lidless box that I can just reach in and grab a shake packet. I have to be honest though, vanilla is not my favorite shake flavor, so I probably won't be ordering more of it.

Next, I'm supposed to eat a breakfast item. Have you seen what's available for breakfast on NutriSystem? Are they sure I can eat this stuff? Muffins, scones, oatmeal, cereal ... YUM! I chose a cranberry orange shortcake looking thing. It was kinda small, so I was worried I'd get hungry. But I ate it in small bites, and it was really good! It's going on my list of favorites.

I have to say -- I absolutely LOVE the daily tracking system and the color coding on the meals. I wanted a system that required minimal effort on my part and this is it! I don't like to make menu plans, shop for groceries, spend an hour in the kitchen making a meal, and all that goes with it. I'd rather just grab something, pop it in the microwave, and go. So, yes, I tend to want to eat out more than I should. I still haven't figured out where I'm going to store the food yet, but I'm currently putting each food item type in a separate Wal-Mart shopping bag to at least get it all separated.

Here's a pic of my vanilla shake container box (and I did the same with the chocolate!) ...

What do you do to store food? How do you make storage work in a small kitchen? I'd love to hear your ideas!

2012-04-07T07:11:00.000-07:00

Well, today's the day. First day on NutriSystem. Why is this such a big deal?

I've always had a bit of a fight with my weight, no matter how active I am. Even when I was 15, I carried about 15 pounds more than I should. Mostly from poor eating habits, I'm guessing. But when I started studying karate, I burned it off and weighed about 125 for most of high school.

But by the time I was 33, add 3 kids, not losing the pregnancy weight, throw in a divorce, layoff, and losing my house -- and you have me topping the scales at 245 when I'm only 5'4 1/2" tall. Depression, inactivity (I had quit karate at age 23 - no time!), poor eating - a constant cycle of building fat and losing muscle.

That was over ten years ago. I turned to a high protein, low carb eating plan, and in 18 months I was down to 142. I didn't really exercise that much at that point. I didn't lose quickly, maybe 5 pounds a month. But it happened. When I remarried my wonderful husband, I was back into a bikini for our honeymoon in the Florida Keys.

Little by little, though, it creeped back. My marriage took some pretty heavy hits the first few years (dealing with ex's and kids) and depression raised its ugly head again. I don't know why, but I eat to soothe myself. In two years, I'd gained 30 pounds. Now, almost 8 years later, I'm back up to 227. Even though I started martial arts again 5 years ago, I'm not training enough to handle the calories I eat.

Oh, I am a master at blaming, justifying, and rationalizing. "It's peri-menopause." "It's the depression." "It's my Celtic genetics." "I'm big-boned." "It's inevitable." I blamed everything possible - and some of these factors do play into the situation. But, the bottom line is - I eat too much of the wrong things and I still don't get enough exercise on a daily basis. So, I'm setting out to correct not only my weight, but my health and my mindset.

I am a people-person, so I invite you to share my journey - I'd love to have you with me as redefining yourself can be scary and lonely.