Dieting and Kindness

Today on a WW group I belong to on FB someone asked a simple question about water and/or juice fasting.  I was dismayed by all the negative comments and just downright meanness that came out of these people.  I commented recommending a couple documentaries (Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead (FSND) and The Science of Fasting) and shared a little bit of my experience with fasting.  Those of us who fight our weight should know how hard this is and that not everything works for everyone.  I'm sure we all know someone who lost weight on any of the major diets out there and you might have tried some of those diets yourself and not had the same experience.  Our bodies react to food combinations differently and being hurtful to each other is not the sort of diet community I am looking for.  I told my hubby when I hit post that I wondered how many flames would be shot at me.  I've had issues with this group several times over the last few months so it might be time to hit that leave group button.  This mama don't need more drama!!

That post is also very timely for me.  Hubby and I started a 15 day juice fast with FSND this week.  Today will be our first juice only day.  We spent the week having green smoothies for breakfast, salads for lunch, and vegetable soups for dinner.  I lost 4.1# over the five days and my hubby lost 7#. I feel so much lighter and less bloated.  My digestive system is singing and my sleep has been better.  It's not an easy thing to do but I'm finding that I'm actually not that hungry but more so it's my mind that I am fighting.  I feel like I'm winning that war by keeping my mind on what matters most.  I remind myself that what I want in the moment is not what I want the most.

I'm trying to refocus my thoughts on non-food related things.  I've been spending more time reading for fun (reading Outlander #8 right now), watching movies with my hubby (we are on a Marvel Universe adventure to watch everything in chronological order - yep we are such geeks!), and crafting (making cards, scrapbooking, and crocheting is on the agenda).  I've also been doing some yoga each morning (check out Yoga with Adriene on YT!), getting to the gym twice a week to work on cardio, and finding small ways to incorporate more movement into each day.  I've also started getting the yard ready for summer and have plans to do a big clean in our crawl space.  We are hoping to move this summer back to my husband's hometown so getting that crawl space cleared out now will definitely make that activity much easier when the time comes.

Well...gotta get going and get those jars filled with wonderful juice!

Pizza, Wine, and Cake (oh, my!)

Well...I finally made it back to the gym and it was HARD!!  I was only able to stay on the elliptical for 10 minutes and every minute was a struggle.  I also did the leg and ab machines.  I did a weight that was a challenge and did as many reps as I could before becoming very tired.  Most machines I ended up with about 20 reps.  I'd really like to get to the gym five days a week but I know that in reality it will be great if I could make it at least twice in addition to my regular Wednesday night dance class.  Speaking of dance class - I really need to push myself more in class and stop phoning it in.  While it's a great social outlet for me I need to also dial in more to the physical aspect of the class.

I also started counting WW points again and yesterday was a perfect 30 day!  I tried a few new things and for the most part they were pretty good.  Brianna from Diva and the Divine raves about the Trader Joe's Guiltless Mac & Cheese so I tried one for lunch and I have to admit I wasn't too blown away with it - sorry Brianna :-(.  However, she doctors hers up with extra cheese, crab, and bacon bits.  Unfortunately all I had to use was the crab.  I might try it again with her additions before I make a final determination.  Mac & cheese is one of my all time favorite comfort foods (yep...the blue box stuff!!) so I think my psyche messes with my ability to enjoy other mac & cheese's when they don't taste like the blue box.

Last night we had pizzas made on Flat Out flatbread.  I liked it much more than my husband did but he was a really good sport about it.  I just brushed the flatbread with EVOO and then topped it with mostly zero point toppings (artichokes, basil, jalapeños, capers, and mushrooms) but also included black olives (1SP), jalapeño pepperoni (2SP), and shredded pizza cheese (2SP).  All in all the pizza cost me 8SP and it was very filling.

I also had 4SP worth of red wine (totally worth it!!) and ended the evening trying out the 3-2-1 Mug Cake.  I was quite impressed how good it was!  You take 3 tablespoons of any cake mix, add 2 tablespoons of water, and cook it on high in the microwave for 1 minute.  I used spice cake mix and drizzled 1SP worth of sugar free chocolate syrup on top.  It doesn't make a huge amount but the flavor is quite intensified due to only adding water.  I'm looking forward to trying some other flavors!

Tonight I am trying a new recipe from the WW site - Grilled Chicken with a Corn/Tomato Salsa.  I'll let you know how it is.  I also have dance class tonight so I don't have to wait long to push myself to be present in the dancing moment!!

A Couple Weeks In

Well...I'm doing pretty well with WW all things considered.  It took me about a week to figure stuff out what with the kitchen being out of commission.  I actually gained about 3# that first week but I've taken that off along with 1.3# more.  I'm down to 214.3 now so I'm pretty happy about that.  I'm figuring out some low point meals and snacks so that's helping quite a bit.  I really need to be careful about the sodium and I need to drink my water!!!  I'm shocked that the WW app doesn't give you a place to track your water.  Ideally I'd like to drink at least 100 oz a day.  I'd like to get myself a container that holds that much and I can use that to refill the water bottle I keep on my desk.  I think seeing the water visually will keep me on track.

I also joined Planet Fitness last week and I've worked out a couple times now.  I really want to meet with their personal trainer so I can get a good plan to follow and learn how to use some of the equipment that is foreign to me.  I also need to figure out a workout schedule.  I'd love for my husband to come along with me but that's really not his thing.  I hate being away from him but I really think I need to do some weight training to firm everything up as I lose the weight.  I've also been enjoying the red light therapy and the hydromassage.  I'm glad I went ahead and got the higher level membership so I can use the spa area of the club.

Another thing I need to work out is setting up a reward for myself when I finally make it to One-derland!!  I'm thinking a nice piece of jewelry since that is something I will be able to enjoy even when I get down to goal.  I've also wanted a nice pair of boots so maybe that might be a good reward.  While I would love to have a nice leather blazer/jacket I really don't want to invest in a piece like that and then not be able to wear it for the long term.  I am really motivated to get this weight off and get to a healthy place so that is the sort of thing that is in my head.