Three Steps Forward..One tiny step back.. Not giving up!

Dear friends,

I have some Bad News and some Good News.

First the Bad News: I just have to tell you that it's time for 'true confessions'. Sigh..  I was doing so well and have only gained back three pounds, but it's been a bumpy road on the weight loss journey the last few weeks.It all started when I accidentally bought the wrong protein powder for breakfast. I couldn't tell that it had more carbs than protein (and that was pretty low) by taste and hadn't read the fine print. For 3 weeks I drank that stuff and started finding myself thinking about food again.

You know..the good stuff like pizza, french fries, and cookies.  I would only eat a little..here and there..but it started adding up. To tell you the truth I was getting tired of healthy food. with no treats. Lesson learned. (Some of you have already said this before. :o).  All or nothing will get to you eventually!

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Then I  got a urinary tract infection. The problem..not enough water drinking  and having too much protein with not enough carb to balance it out.  I was getting lazy about my veges and skimpy on the fruit. Not a good combination!

So I took a  sabbatical from the protein powder and started working more on getting more veges back into the diet along with a small extra helping of whole grain something each day. I feel like I'm back on track and am so glad.

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I have to say the occasional indulgences didn't hurt me too much, but being too tired to weigh was a BAD thing..for me. I needed the accountability!!  So now I'm weighing again and focusing on healthy food. It really would help if the kids would quit baking cookies all the time and bringing home pizza. :o) (Can I blame it on them?! Tee.hee!

Oh well...now for the Good News!  After years of living on junk food, and then spending such a long time learning to change my habits by eating healthy food...some of the new habits have STUCK! That's why I didn't gain too much! To really have learned to eat better and not overindulge is wonderful!

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Here are the habits that have stuck:

• If I want some french fries or other bad carb, I just have a few--at the most, one or two fries. It's enough! I'm happy to have had the taste.  (Homemade fries at Aunt Joan's...that's another story. I ate a whole cupful!)
• When we eat out and we had to do that a  lot over the last two weeks, I almost always buy a salad with meat. And if I get a sandwich, I always throw away half or all of the bun. (On the road, I have to use half the bun to leave the meat and veges on.)  This is so important! It really limited the 'damage'.
• Keep nuts and/or fruit with you on the road. I just don't eat chips  like I used two.(except one or two)  I keep nuts and fruit stocked up and I buy it on the road at convenience stores if necessary. And we keep fruit on hand for easing snacking.  Even when Tim and I were at a hotel for the weekend, we bought a roasted chicken and a bag of oranges and nuts rather than go out for lunch each day. It helped so much--It's a habit!

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• If you are going to indulge on sweets...make it very small!  I've had icecream, cake etc...but only in very small doses.
• Starting out breakfast with protein and fruit is a habit I just don't break.
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These are the main ones and I know there are others. I cook differently now and it helps so much. I make salads for lunch almost every day.  These things have kept me from falling completely off track.

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How are you all doing? Have you been struggling like I was?  What good things have you learned about weight loss this summer?

Love,
Donna @ Comin' Home

Hi ladies..

I haven't been ignoring you, the truth is I've had to put my diet and fitness on hold. I've had some issues that take first priority but after my vacation in Sept. everything should be sorted out. Then it's back to the task at hand full force! I'm ready for results!

How are the rest of you doing?

I"m Still Here...I was on vacation!

Hi Country Momma...I"m still here of course. :o)

I've been on vacation and it's the first time I've taken a vacation from blogging for the first time ever since I started in November. I was so nervous to do it to!. Even then I published a couple of posts that I just couldn't keep to myself.

How am I doing..well? I discovered two weeks ago, that I had been accidentally eating sugar in my protein powder. Guess what, after two weeks of that, I started having cravings again. I had sent dear hubby to pick up the whey free powder and this was the result. It never occurred to me to read the label--like a dummy! It had half the protein and tons of carbs. Oops!

Anyway, I have the right stuff now and am doing fine. I lost a pound or so over the last two weeks, but not like I had been.  I'm back on track but am now going to take off dieting for a month (since I've been hard at it for three months. My nutritionist said to take a break so my body doesn't think I'm starving it.  Debra told me to focus on healthy eating for one month. I may lose weight anyway, but the point is to give my body a break.

Today, the day you posted, was our 23rd anniversary and I was determined not to post anything or even look at the computer when dear hubby was wanting my attention.  I know that blogging has to be secondary to life and it's been a hard lesson learned. Yipes!

As it is, I've had nine teenagers at the house all day yesterday and today-(18th birthday bash). The boys all spent the night so I spent the morning cooking a huge breakfast. They are now all at the movies but will be back for 18 hamburgers (grilled by me) at 4pm. Then we are ALL getting dressed up and headed out to go square dancing. Tuesdays are our dance and this is the last chance we have to get new students to sign up. If it doesn't work, we have to cancel our club for the summer and no one wants to do that.  I did post a couple of times on my home blog because that is what was going on in my life at the moment.

I had my first ever piece of pizza and cup of icecream since this blog started. I guess I needed the break -Ha!

But I do hope all is well. I've got an awful lot of clothes to alter--I can say that much. :o) It's a great problem! I've officially lost a total of 20 pounds as of the start of this blog and I am so grateful to all of you for helping us get started.

Love,
Donna @ Comin' Home

Anyone here? Hello?

Okay, maybe I'm just not looking in the right place but it seems like no one is ever here. I don't see any updates, chatting...nothing. So, where is everyone? How's the progress going? Even if all you've done is camp out on the couch and enjoy junk food we'd still like to hear from you all.

Yes dear Donna, this includes you and your busy schedule.

We can't help support each other if we don't touch base.

Positive progress, even in pain

I've had a sinus migraine today and yesterday so I haven't been doing anything that isn't needed. Feeling like I really need a workout but until this passes, I'm useless. My new way of eating is working though, lost another inch..two in the last two week! I'm getting better at reaching my calorie goal too. Even without exercising I still burned more than I ate and met my goal!

I take my pedometer with me whenever I leave the house now. I want every bit of exercise to count. From the looks of things 5,000 steps is my average. (not bad seeing as I'm not going out of my way to get in more steps) I figure if I want to learn why I'm stuck at this weight I need to see what I'm naturally burning, traveling ect. so that I know what needs changing. I've started a Sparkpeople blog for myself, just to keep notes and so I don't overload this blog.

Go Go Green Monster!

For those that haven't heard of it..it's a smoothie packed with tons of vitamins and healthy, yummy stuff. I made my first one today (took the idea from my cousin who's a runner) and I'm in love! It cost about a dollar per smoothie for the ingredients.

My Green Monster
2 bananas
1 cup yogurt
1 (10oz) container of frozen sliced strawberries
1 cup fresh Spinach leaves (I'm not a huge spinach fan, you could add more if you are)

Throw it all in the blender til smooth, it's thick! Enjoy! It makes about 3-4 (8oz) servings

A little about me, Countrymama

Hi ya'll!
Donna was sweet enough to let me join this lovely group so I thought I should do a little intro.

I never used to have a weight issue, as a matter of fact when hubby and I met I as lean and in peak physical health thanks to training and diet but these past few years between medications (off them now) and pregnancy my body has completely changed.

I have no idea how to really  lose weight. After having Aiden I just went back to my training roots and it worked, kinda. I lost 75 lbs. the first year but for the last two I've been stuck at the same weight no matter what I do! I know I need to burn off more than I eat and I love working out..just have to force it in the days..the problem is I always end up spending most of the day hungry or bored with my choices of foods thanks to allergy restrictions. I love to run but my body doesn't, yet. I'm using Wii active/fit to ease myself into working out again and walking/jogging outside when I can. Last serious thing I did was a 5K 6 months preggo..he's almost 3 now! I work best with a coach of sorts but a trainer was a waste of time and money as was the gym membership. See, told you I was a mess! Thanks for listening.

Stats:
starting weight: 147.5
goal weight: 120
long term goal: finishing a 5K
short term goal: better self image
plan: using Wii/outside for exercise to work my way up to using P90X. I'm upping my water intake and tracking my calories/diet through Fitday.com just to see what I eat vs. what I burn.