Thursday, March 18, 2010

Excited about some things; Melancholy about others ...

Hey everyone,

I suppose the subject line of this post just about sums everything up. I have probably lost a grand total of 5lbs in the last month. Not too exciting but not bad either. If I lost 5lbs a month, I would be very close to my goal by mid summer and that is all I am asking for. So that is exciting. The hubby and I have reached a compromise that may be compromising my goal. Strict diet on weekdays and cheating on weekends. While I have managed to lose about 1lb a week like this, I have done some research and the studies show that this method could ultimately lead to weight gain. On the other hand, there are some very exciting things going on in my life. Including being a possible speaker at my graduation in August, buying a house in August and my hair is growing!! So you take the good with the bad or in this case, not bad, just slow.

~Everything is a Process ... Just keep swimming.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Some Motivation for the Travels....

CLEANING

Last Week I threw out worrying, it was getting old and in the way.
It kept me from being me; I couldn't do things God's way.
I threw out a book on MY PAST(Didn't have time to read it anyway).
Replaced it with NEW GOALS, started reading it today.
I threw out hate and bad memories,(Remember how I treasured them so?)
Got me a NEW PHILOSOPHY too, threw out the one from long ago.
Brought in some new books too, called I CAN, I WILL, and I MUST.
Threw out I might, I think and I ought. WOW, you should've seen the dust.
I ran across an OLD FRIEND, I hadn't talked to in a while.
His name is GOD the Father, and I really like His style.
He helped me to do Some cleaning and added some things Himself, like PRAYER, HOPE, FAITH and LOVE,
Yes... I placed them right on the shelf.
I picked up this special thing and placed it at the front door.
I FOUND IT- it's called PEACE.
Nothing gets me down anymore.
Yes, I've got my house looking nice. Looks good around the place.

Same 2lbs
Same 3lbs

Something has got to give.

~Everything is a Process ... Just keep swimming.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Some things are up and others are down ...

Hey All,

I know I have not written in a while, but I have been very busy. As a side not I am almost done with my Masters degree program and that is just over-thrilling me. It can be hard to focus. ONE more class left!!

However, on the diet tip, Joseph has lost 3lbs. Which is great but of course I feel like that lady on the Slim Quick commercial. BUT I will try my best to use this as a motivation and not a stumbling block. Afterall, it would benefit everyone in the house if we BOTH looked good come summer time.

In the last 3 days I have eaten pizza (2 slices) AND cheesecake (about 3 slices).

However, we have been sticking to 6 small meals a day and eating breakfast and veggies everyday.

My water intake is down! Sigh .... how did this happen? I am not sure. I will have to do some research on the matter and get back to you.

~Everything is a Process ... Just keep swimming.

Monday, February 22, 2010

The Weekend Rush

So everything is going well and the weekend was not a total disaster although it included KFC and spaghetti made with flour noodles. But the good news is that my weight is stable and I increased my water intake even over the weekend, which is usually particularly a task because I am on the road most times trying to get from place to place. I brought my reusable water bottle with me and I kept it full. This also helped to control my hunger throughout the day.

I had a major friend emergency yesterday. So I will just say to protect the innocent, please keep my friend in your prayers. It is a serious situation that only God can solve.

As a side note, I am an emotional eater at times and this situation sorta drove me through the roof and I had a couple of slices of pizza. But Monday has come back around and Joseph and I are ready to give it a go! We woke up early and had our breakfast together and we both packed our snacks and lunch and headed to work. Despite the snow storm, it was a good night and an even better morning. I love my hubby! Turns out he also lost 2 lbs!!

I will spare you the menus over the weekend.

~Everything is a Process ... Just keep swimming.

Friday, February 19, 2010

I Lost 2 lbs ?

So it seems that I have lost 2 lbs. I guess when your habits are so bad, you only have to make a few key changes to see positive results. Although we did not totally stick to Dr. Ian's plan this week. I did manage to make some key changes. I am going to do an end of week evaluation now because I seldom use the computer on the weekend. I purposely try to avoid the internet on the weekends for several reasons, spiritual reviving, spending quality time with family and friends and my dog, and I use the computer at work for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week...I welcome a break.

PROS of the WEEK:
1. I increased my water intake. Again when you go from no water a day to more water, it doesn't take much to see the benefits but really, my lips don't get as dry as quickly, I have more energy and less headaches, stronger sex drive. (Right, who knew I was probably dehydrated like everyday and suffering from a mild case of fatigue because of it.)
2. I ate more smaller meals throughout the day to get the metabolism going. This is a huge one! This is probably why I lost the 2 lbs. Basically, I was a one big meal a day type person. Now I get full quicker and I eat more often which also keeps my bowels more regular and that is very healthy.
3. I ate breakfast EVERYDAY! That is critical also because it literally breaks the fast and gets the day in order. This was also a good added QT with the hubby because we ate breakfast together a couple of days.

What I will do better next week:
1. Exercise! I am braiding my hair just so that I have no excuse. I read an article in the Essence magazine and it said Black women are dying to be pretty. Which means we are neglecting exercise because we don't want to mess up our hair. Point blank this is me. My husband hates my hair in a pony tail and I know what he likes. Exercising is rough on my hair. I sweat. I know a lot of women like to pretend like they have no sweat glands but I do and they work perfectly fine.
2. Consistency. I mean yes we fell off for Logan's Roadhouse and we still tryna have a cheat day on Saturday. But you get off and then you get back on instantly, it's the name of the game I suppose.
3. MORE WATER, yes I increased my water intake but I think I can do better and the more water, the better.
4. No eating after 8pm. So we blew this like two days in a row, but our schedules are horrible so this is tough. I will have to try at this for probably the next couple of weeks or just give it up and do it when I can, no pressure.

Yesterday:
MEAL 1 - eggs and turkey bacon
MEAL 2 - yogurt and banana
MEAL 3 - chicken sandwich and mixed veggies
MEAL 4 - cheese crackers
MEAL 5 - Tuna Subway Sandwich 6 inch
MEAL 6 - 3 oatmeal cookies (these are allowed by Dr. Ian :))

~Everything is a Process ... Just keep swimming.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Blindsided by a hot date with the Hubby!

OK, so I was totally blindsided by a Golden Corral sighting gone bad, turned Logan's Roadhouse detour!! Fried Chicken, french fries, and brownies ... OH MY! This is how it started ... We woke up extra early to make breakfast according to Dr. Ian's instructions. We parted ways at about 7am. I took a different route to work in the morning because I had to run a quick before-work errand, and I saw it ... a BRAND SPANKING NEW ... Golden Corral... WHAT? Where did this come from? I thought the only one in SE Michigan was in Westland, which is about 45 mins from my house, a safe distance!?! ... Are they trying to sabotage me? A Golden Corral, 15 minutes from my house. WHY ME?

OK, so back to the story. So I keep going to my destination, thinking maybe I read the sign wrong, since I did not actually see the restaurant, only the sign. So when I arrive at work I did a little research and found that it is true. There is a Golden Corral down the street from me :( So I told my beloved hubby and what does he say, let's go check it out! ... Sure, when? ... tonight. Of course he would say tonight. So me being the trouper that I am, I couldn't say no. So we went and it was PACKED on a Tuesday night like it was a Saturday, but not just any Saturday, like it was the LAST Saturday that they would be open. Line wrapped around and everything, so we bailed out and it was a bust. But on the way home, we both had the bright idea to do Logan's Roadhouse for the two for $19.99 meal deal. Which is an awesome deal but it could be very OFF of Dr. Ian's plan. So there we were, two detouring dieters, eating fried chicken, french fries and brownies.

I said all that to say, yesterday is only a blip on my radar. We are already on to bigger and better things. So Day 2 is today. It has already started well, as I ate breakfast with the hubby this morning and I have already had my MEAL 2.

Yesterday until Logan's went like this:

MEAL 1 - wheat bran cereal, milk, banana
MEAL 2 - yogurt
MEAL 3 - chicken sandwich, 100% whole grain bread
MEAL 4 - raisins
MEAL 5 & 6 - You don't want to know ...


~Everything is a Process ... Just keep swimming.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Day 1 in Review

So it is Day 2 we have had to adjust the meal plan already since going from one large meal a day to 4 meals and 2 snacks a day is pretty tough on a family and a budget! I managed to get the crap load of groceries that we needed to make it work without draining our savings. However, Joseph is really having a hard time adjusting because of his work schedule. We have decided to allow him to substitute one of his earlier meals with snacks to help keep his metabolism moving. I have basically done the same for MEAL 2 although I have no schedule conflict. I am not hungry for a real meal at 10am after I have eaten breakfast at around 7:15am. MEAL 2 has transformed into a snack and that happens around 10am. MEAL 3 is lunch at about 12 noon, MEAL 4 is a snack, MEAL 5 is dinner, MEAL 6 is a snack. So as you see there have been some adjustments. On the Dr. Ian diet there are 4 square REAL meals with sides, etc. and two snacks later in the day. In keeping with eating together and prepping dinner right after I get home from work, this works best for us to have one snack at night and dinner at about 6pm or 7pm at the latest. Of course this will have to be adjusted on Wednesdays and Saturdays when Joseph gets home late from school and work, respectively.

So Monday successfully went like this:
MEAL 1 - boiled egg, yogurt
MEAL 2 - raisins
MEAL 3 - salad
MEAL 4 - cheese crackers (I was informed by my hubby that this is not on the Dr. Ian list of acceptable snacks; however, I ate two packs of 100 calorie snacks and I think this is OK since it is my first day and I was well under the daily caloric intake limits for a dieting woman, give me a break ... Geez!)
MEAL 5 - Peas and carrots and Tilapia (on the George Forman, the grilling added a very nice touch. I grilled it with some cumin, pepper, garlic, parmesan cheese and light seasoning salt.)
MEAL 6 - Popcorn

I would say yesterday went pretty well, considering I was not hungry and it was nice to have someone to chat about it with at the end of the day, including you blog readers and my hubby!

~Everything is a Process ... Just keep swimming.