Kim’s Journey to a Healthier Place

Tonight I’m headed to the “Swamp House” with my parents. I’ve already been informed that we’re eating at their favorite catfish restaurant, so I’m trying to mentally rehearse my plan of action. I don’t know if I’ll partake of fried catfish. I looked it up this past week in a couple places this week and I’ve found it’s about 5 points for  3 oz fillet at www.calorieking.com and the WW book just says 12 points for one fillet. I guess that just depends on the size. Throw in a hush puppy and slaw and were looking at a points overload. Here’s how I’ll try to manage this situation. (This is tough because I’ve heard nothing but fantastic reviews about this restaurant!)

1. Research the points of possible available foods (even if they’re estimates like these) before going to the restaurant. Example- fried catfish [12 points for 6 oz], grilled chicken [4-6], slaw [4-5], hush puppies [6 points for 3 oz], baked beans [5], green beans [1], plain potato [3], etc
2. If I’m really hungry before getting to the restaurant, eat an apple or something light and small to tame it. I don’t want to walk in starving.
3.  Reduce my usual morning/afternoon points intake by about 2 so that I can use them at dinner.
4. Order water as my beverage.
5. Don’t eat the bread! In this case, it’s the hush puppies with cheese dipping sauce. Yikes! It sounds wonderful, and I know it is. BUT I’m in weight loss zone, and they’re not worth it this time around. I’m sure I’ll get to eat them many  times in the future.
6. Order something grilled- unless I can work my points around a fillet of fried catfish. If it’s a grilled catfish or chicken sandwich, only eat 1/2-3/4 of the bun. No cheese, no mayo, no tarter sauce.
7. Skip the fries and order veggies. I find a lot of restaurants like this one offer green beans, turnip/collard greens, cabbage, etc. The problem is that they add a lot of oil, sugar, and meat fat to make them taste oh so good. If I get 2 sides, I try to choose a plain potato or plain sweet potato and one of the aforementioned veggies.
8. When I’m satisfied (NOT STUFFED!), put my napkin over my plate to keep me from picking. The bread basket, too, if necessary!
9. Obviously no dessert unless it’s one small taste of someone else’s dessert. If I feel at the moment I can’t handle just one bite, I’ll just skip it. (Be aware of those TRIGGER FOODS!)

Okay, I’ve worked it out in my head, and I’ve documented it on this blog. Anyone else have suggestions for how they handle restaurants?

Have a great weekend!

Home scale: 162.5

* Accomplished today

That person who weighs in and says, “That’s not possible! Your scale has to be wrong! I just weighed at home, and your scale’s not right! Surely others have complained about it weighing too heavy!”

I heard a lady at my WW meeting this week say/yell this. She’s even in lifetime/maintenance. She never misses a meeting but you better believe she walked out and didn’t stay after weighing in. Ladies, don’t be that lady. We ALL have bad WI’s. Amazingly it seems our bodies can retain 2 lbs of water between the parking lot and the scale. I really like this lady, but she made a fool out of herself. Be careful how you react. The WW lady had no control over her weight but ended up the target of this lady’s frustrations. Be kind.

Staying for the meeting probably would have benefited that lady more than storming out.

Home scale: 162.0

* Accomplished today  

I lost 5 pounds at WI last night! I wasn’t expecting quite that much. I really think my body reacted as if this was my first week OP.  You know that week you lose a bunch and then each week afterwards is a little disappointing because you want another big loss? My hard work definitely paid off this week. Here’s the break down of the goals I had for myself.

Exercise 4 times this week: I got in 6 workouts this past week!

Include weights/resistance in 2 of those workouts: I included weights/resistance 4 times this past week!

5 fruits and veggies each day: I only ate 31/35  fruits and veggies this week.

2 serving of dairy: I only had  13/14 servings of dairy this week, and that’s stretching it.

So I did really great on the fitness front. I ate well this week and stayed within my points. I ate all my daily points, APs, and WPs. I didn’t, however, fulfill my Good Health Guidelines which include fruits, veggies, and dairy. I’ll have to work a little harder on those this week.

Overall I say it was a huge success and it paid off tremendously on the scale, in how I physically feel, and my mood/attitude. I’m looking forward to another great week! Won’t you join me?

Home scale: 162.0

* Accomplished today

Man, it’s been a long time since I stayed truly OP for an entire week. It felt amazing! My tracker is wrinkled and full of ink marks. It’s been worn out and used this week! I have a feeling I’ll be reaping the rewards at my WI tonight!  

I’ve really amped up the weight training, and it hurts! Yesterday I did lower back/legs and felt as though I could stay in bed another couple hours this morning. Well, I feel like that most mornings! (c: It’s better now that I’m up and moving. I want to look half way decent in my swim suit this summer! It’s worth it!

 Home scale: 164.0

* Accomplished today

My dad, husband, and I all gave up red meat for Lent. I have to admit that I was the least successful at the feat. I had red meat a couple times while Dad and WH were perfect angels. Anyway, for Easter we grilled steaks for lunch. Yum! Mom also made loaded baked potatoes and her amazing broccoli casserole. To top it off we had her homemade banana pudding which is to die for! So needless to say, there were fat and calories galore and no way I could even attempt counting the points. I’ll add that there were some jelly beans and Hershey kisses mixed in there, too! I really enjoyed the meal. That afternoon I went for a 50 min. walk/jog and didn’t eat anything else for the rest of the day. I was stuffed until bed time. I know skipping meals is not the best idea, but I had eaten so much rich food that I just couldn’t stomach anything else, and I knew my points were spent for the day! I’m also proud that I refused to take home any leftovers because my, oh, my I would have eaten it all!

Monday 

Home scale: 164.5

* Accomplished today

Sunday 

Home scale: 163.5

* Accomplished today

Saturday

Home scale: 164.5

 * Accomplished today

What a great week it’s been so far! I really feel like my head is back in the game, and I’m in super duper weight loss mode again! Yay me! I feel so fabulous! Robyn made a good point in a comment yesterday that exercising on the weekends helps her stay in check with her eating on the weekends. I knew that, and did it at one time, but thanks for the reminder! I hadn’t really thought it that far through when I posted about exercise yesterday. I was just focusing on the weekdays. I’m sooo going to be exercising this weekend so it encourages me to make healthy food choices.

Blessings to you and yours this Easter!

Home scale: 165.0

* Accomplished today

I think I found my personal motivator. When I’m exercising I eat healthier. When I stop exercising I stop caring about what I eat. So it seems for me that if I feel I’m headed off course, I need to amp up the workouts. I guess there’s just something about not wanting to ruin my workout with a cheeseburger and fries! 

Yesterday after work I had some time to really check things out our local Fresh Market. It’s kind of a whole foods/ gourmet foods type of grocery. I enjoyed picking up a few items that I can’t find in the regular supermarket like Whole Wheat Flour. Seems weird that I’ve had a tough time finding it, but I’m glad I did. There are a few recipes I’ve been waiting to try. I love finding new food things to keep my menu exciting!  

Home scale: 165.5

* Accomplished today

In 5 weeks I’ve gained 10 pounds!!! What can I say? I’ve been off program, stuggling to focus, and needing some motivation. Well, I got it! From here out I’ll be weighing in every week. I’m bound and determined to get to my ultimate goal of 145 lbs. Facing the scale was exactly what I needed to get this booty in gear! I’ve got another 22 pounds to go!

Be careful what you wish for. I wished for motivation and got a 10 pound gain! HA!

In my last post I said that my goal was to weigh 155 in one month. That’s 12 pounds in 4 weeks which is a bit steep so I’m going to revisit this. We’ll start with a goal of 160 by April 17. That seems a little more resonable but still challenging. That’s almost 2 pounds a week. Seems steep but it gives me something to work hard for!

Home scale: 167.5

* Accomplished today

Okay, I’m forgetting about maintenance! I’m now back in weight loss mode! Here are a few goals for the week. 

• Exercise 4 times this week *
• Include weights/resistance in 2 of those workouts *
• 5 fruits and veggies each day ****
• 2 serving of dairy**

* Accomplished today

Setting goals worked so well for me late last year, I figured why not start it up again? WH and I are headed to San Antonio next month so I’d like to see some results by then. That gives me 1 full month to get down to 155 lbs.

My weight is definitely creeping back up so I’m going to weigh in, pay the consequences (with a check, no doubt) and use it for motivation to get my booty in gear! I’ll be posting my miserable WI tomorrow!

WH and I had a great weekend in New Orleans. Not only did we eat some amazing foods, but we walked our little tails off! Now it’s back to eating sensibly and getting to the gym.