Hello Again, 3.5 Pounds

Waaah. But pretty much what I expected, after going back to my old ways for a few days. Really, I haven't even been trying. And I have been working tons, and the kids were home sick yesterday, and now I have a cold too, and I have a list of excuses as long as my arm (or as wide as my hips?), etc. But it's not all bad news:

• I still lost half an inch on my hips. (Not sure how, but I'll take it!)
• My period is finally over.
• MY PARENTS ARE COMING TO VISIT THIS WEEKEND! (Please excuse the shouting; I get a little excited at the thought.)

Yaaaay! Now back to the grind. (At least, with a cold, I eat a little less!)

Work = Eat?

Over the past few years, I have noticed a correlation between my eating and my work stress. I'm sure this is not news to most of you out there, but when I have more work to do, I eat more. Not only do I snack more at my desk, but I also eat more in my meals and am less likely to stop eating when I'm full! Lack of sleep has a similar effect on me, and when I hit the bad habit trifecta, my weight skyrockets. In fact, most of my excess weight can be attributed to this. Turns out, eating M&Ms on the couch while I read is the least of my problems! But what can I do when I have to work, and sometimes that work keeps me up later than it should? How can I change my habits? This week I have been falling into my usual pattern, despite my efforts last week with the shakes. I want to change this pattern PERMANENTLY! Any ideas? (By the way, I think this only holds true for desk work, not housework.)

A Trip to Paqui's Alley

I love garbage day! I scored this awesome lamp for Girl's room, complete with functional bulbs, when I went out to get the paper this morning. Sweet, right? It's just the right height to stand next to her bed, and it gives off tons of light. The top is adjustable, too, so you can angle the lights for optimal reading conditions. Hubby thinks I'm crazy, but he controlled himself; he just rolled his eyes a little. After I explained to the kids that reusing a neighbor's unwanted stuff is good for the planet, they thought it was a great idea. In fact, the first thing Boy asked was whether that meant he'd be allowed to pick through the neighbor's garbage every morning!

So. Tired.

Yesterday I had an incredibly focused and productive day, but I had to take the kids out at night to a shul function. We didn't get home until 9:00 (waaaaaay past their bedtimes), and then I still had another hour of work (after putting in a true, solid eight hours earlier in the day -- unusual for me). Then Hubsy woke me when he came to bed after midnight, and I mistook the train for my alarm clock at a quarter to six in the morning, and couldn't fall back asleep, so I got up to work for a few minutes before getting the kids dressed. Ordinarily I could have gone back to sleep after getting them off to school, but my cleaner is coming today, so I had to tidy up the kitchen, and I can't get to work until she arrives, because I can't hear the doorbell from my office. So . . . extra work, not enough sleep, no chance for nap, another crazy busy day ahead of me -- how am I going to manage this on diet shakes?!?!?

Goodbye, 5.5 pounds!

I survived my first week on a modified Slim-fast diet! Hooray for me! Just . . . another year or so to go. 

Humph. 

Well, that's a downer.

Let's look at this from an upbeat perspective instead, shall we? Smiles in place? Here we go!

• I averaged 1712 calories per day, which is about 200 more per day than I planned, but is still probably less than half of what I was eating before.
• I averaged 18 minutes of activity per day. This was mostly walking, although I did a few minutes each on the recumbent bike and the elliptical at the gym, just to see if I could. (My belly kind of got in the way on the bike, so that one's a no.) I also included grocery shopping one day, which boosted the total significantly. (Proud to say my belly didn't get in the way of that one -- no junk in my cart!)
• I lost 3.55 inches total from 12 sites on my body. The big winners (losers) this week were my hips and neck. My neck decreased in size by 2.7% and my hips by nearly 2.9%!

So that's pretty good, no? This week I'm going to keep on keeping' on: aiming for 1500 calories per day, 10–15 minutes of activity, and a loss of at least three pounds. Wish me luck!

Beefless . . . It's What's for Dinner.

Well, it was for dinner yesterday, anyway. I introduced my family to the delights of Gardein's Beefless Tips to mixed reviews. My son choked down two pieces and refused to eat more; my daughter ate one portion but did not request seconds; and my husband and I ate with gusto. I prepared the pieces (which are authentically meaty-looking) by sauteeing them with onions and mushrooms. Then I took them out of the pan and made a gravy with some parve beef broth and corn starch. I was a little wary, because we're not gravy people, but once I figured out how to keep the corn starch from lumping up, it turned out pretty well. I then put the beefless tips, mushrooms, and onions back into the gravy, and served it on top of egg noodles. The look and flavor were quite beefy; the texture was a little strange at first, but I got used to it quickly, and it ultimately was not a barrier to my enjoyment. And while the kids weren't thrilled with this particular recipe, they have agreed to try the beefless tips again if I prepare them differently. Girl suggested making them with tomato sauce and pasta, which could certainly work. I am eager to try Gardein's other offerings, especially the mandarin chik'n that my intrepid reader The Clever Cat recommended yesterday.

Lock up the Credit Cards!

It's that time of year again: shopping time. Now, I'm not a huge shopper, but I sure love me a bargain. And this is the time of year that you can't turn around without a bargain slapping you upside the head. I had been all finished with Chanukah shopping for everyone but my brother-in-law, but I got some coupons in the mail from JCPenney, and all of a sudden, I was at it again! To be fair, they were VERY good coupons -- $10 off a $10 purchase. I ended up paying just 12 bucks for merch that retails for $70. Not too shabby, huh? But did I NEED that stuff? Not in the slightest! And I really ought to be watching the budget closely for a few months, after splurging on the heaven-bed (which is still heavenly, thanks for asking). Now, $12 is hardly even a blip; the problem came when I realized that then I had one present more for my son than my daughter. I had wanted to get her a cute purse, but didn't see anything at JCP that I liked, so off I went to Target, where I didn't have any coupons to use. There I absolutely fell in love with the Harajuku Mini collection, which resulted in a nearly $45 outfit (purse, 3/4 sleeve shirt, flouncy skirt) for my daughter. Adorable, to be sure, but not the bargain I was looking for. At least I was able to pick up some groceries at the same time, so I know what I'm making for dinner!

Shake it, baby!

So, I mentioned in a previous post that I'm pretty hefty, right? I'm not going to go into specifics here (mostly because I think I might possibly die of embarrassment if I were to do so), but suffice it to say I would not look out of place on the first episode of a season of The Biggest Loser. I have been ignoring my weight for a long time, mostly because I have an amazing hubby who actually means it when he says he love me just the way I am, and my kids are used to having "the fat mom" in the class. So I'm not overly concerned with appearance. But within the last few months, as my weight has broken through to new heights, I have become quite uncomfortable. I've had hip problems since my second pregnancy, but they have recently become intolerable; my knees hurt on the stairs almost all the time, not just occasionally; I get short of breath really easily; my back starts to hurt after less than ten minutes of walking, and so on. Clearly this cannot continue. I thought about gastric bypass surgery, but the expense is huge, and it is irreversible. I considered a doctor-supervised Optifast program, but that is also not covered by insurance, and before I shelled out several thousand bucks, I figured I would try an old stand-by.

Slim-fast.

Now, I've lost weight on Slim-fast before, so I know it can work if I give it a real shot, but I've never tried to lose this much. (Of course, I've never been this fat before, either; there's a first time for everything!) My goal for now is to lose 100 pounds this year using the shakes as part of a 1500–1800 calorie diet and exercise plan. The exercise is going to be very light at first, and will increase as I lose more and my knees start to feel better. But my big revelation is this: I am going to treat myself nicely! If a day comes when I just can't make this plan work, I'll do the best I can and pick it up again the next day. Smart, huh? If that ultimately slows my weight loss, well . . . at least I won't have fallen into a negative self-talk depression-binge cycle!

Ahhhhh. . . .

Night number one on our new super-duper memory foam mattress with the infinitely adjustable vibrating base was great. I still had to get up to pee twice, but I had an easier time falling back to sleep, and my body didn't ache at all from the pressure of lying down. The bed will take a month or so to reach it's full cushiness, so I've got even better times ahead. Hubby had the sleep of his life -- just sank into the bed and woke up eight hours later with no back pain or grogginess. Score! We found one design flaw in the base, though, as soon as we turned off the light. For some unfathomable reason, the AC adapter for the base includes a blinking green light under the bed! So as Hubby was getting comfy last night, he noticed the whole base of the bed on his side rhythmically glowing, like a motel vacancy sign. We had to turn on the lights and dig around under the bed and cover the light up, which seems to have solved the problem, but still. Who puts a big ol' flashing light on something designed to be used in the dark for good sleep?

Good Sleep

If you're at all like me, good sleep is probably more elusive than leprechauns riding unicorns. I'm a hefty gal, and I get hip pains and shoulder pains, and I have to pee too often (probably from drinking too much Diet Coke -- who doesn't?) to be comfortable most nights. Also my husband knees me in the behind when I snore, which is all too often, according to him. But I am hoping that all that will change tonight--Hubby and I just bought a new bed! (Cue wild cheering and fireworks.) We spent a ridiculous amount of money, but we have finally ditched our ten-year-old saggy-ass coil-sprung torture device, and we are all set to begin sleeping on a fully adjustable, vibrating cloud. I'll let you know how it works out -- can't wait to hop into bed right now!

Getting Started

True confession: I've been squatting on this space for more than two years without actually writing anything. My loving (and persistent!) sister has been pestering me to start blogging for ages, and tonight she finally convinced me that I don't need to have a grand theme; just some good writing about topics that interest me. Maybe some of you will be interested in the same things. Let's find out, shall we?