Better day yesterday

Seems like I'm getting my eating under better control in the last few days. Yesterday, I shared a lovely grilled fish meal with some Korean-American friends for lunch--everything was good there--lots of vegetables, grilled fish, and very little rice (this always draws a lot of attention from them--why don't you eat your rice???) Dinner was steamed dumplings and green beans.

I'm concentrating on the evenings, since this is where I seem to have the greatest challenge. I definitely snack a lot at home, and dinners are healthy but larger portions than I really should have. I think the key for me will be distracting myself with activities other than eating--shouldn't be too hard with three kids and trying to get ready for a month-long trip to the U.S.

I do plan to exercise this evening. I have been seriously slacking in this area--I did go swimming on Monday, but here it is Thursday and I haven't done any serious sweating since then. Maybe I'll at least mow the lawn tonight--that's always good for a serious sweat session.

I need to start seeing some results...I'm getting discouraged with my lack of weight loss. I really have no one to blame but myself, though--I'm making a halfhearted effort--some days I journal well, get in water, exercise, avoid sugar and refined carbs, get in the healthy fruits and veggies--and some days I don't. To get results, I have to be firing on all cylinders. Otherwise, I actually gain--yikes. I'm not a binger, I'm not eating junk food, I just need to be at a very low calorie level and high activity level to lose, probably because of my age and thyroid situation. As I've mentioned before, I'm mulling whether to try the Medifast system--I'm seeing a lot of people getting really good results with it, and I actually do eat healthy 80% of the time already--so I don't think the weight would bounce back on--what I do think is that it would give me a head start at carving this weight off so I could move better. We'll see...

Nothing like a photo for telling the truth...

Well, a picture says a thousand words...I REALLY hate this photo, but it's giving me new impetus to get my rear in gear. This was taken last Friday as I'm waiting in the boiling hot sun to get an award. I was MISERABLE on our organization day--it was hot and humid and all I wanted to do was go inside. I know I've lost 15 pounds, but it is so incredible to me how fat I still am. Yes, I know that I need to love 60 some pounds before I'm even below 200, but I actually feel lighter than I am most days (although not this one...it taught me something). When I see the photographic evidence, it really does shock me--I really don't like the fat under my chin and around my hips in particular. And don't get me started about my arms.

I really need to do better...guess this was a good wakeup call to get before vacation, when there are a lot of temptations. I just can't afford to go backwards.

So let's have a kick*ss week everyone!

Lots of small successes should add up, right?

I'm feeling pretty good about this past weekend. This is the second weekend IN A ROW that I hosted birthday parties. My DD turned six this weekend, so we held a party for her at a hotel that has a fantastic outdoor play complex. Unfortunately, it was pouring down rain for the first time in about three weeks, OF COURSE. Fortunately, I had hired a backup balloonmaker/face painter, and gathered a bunch of arts and crafts, a pinata, and we were OK. Luckily, I think we're done for about 6 months until the next birthday--PHEW!

I could have junked out in a major way with all the goodies at the party. I'd have to say that the watchword this weekend was moderation. I ate one piece of pizza, one bite of cake, one bite of ice cream, moved on. I guess it really helps that this stuff does not really taste that good when you get down to it, at least the stuff they serve at kids' parties.

We also had a going away party for a friend the next day. Again, lots of junk available. I tried to focus more on my kids and the conversation, so definitely limited my intake. There were some good choices there that I took advantage of, like a lovely Asian cabbage salad.

Actually, my kids didn't even like the food there, so we stopped at the McD's on the way home. What a zoo!!! I told them I would not be doing that again...it took 20 minutes to park, then probably a half an hour to order and get the food, which was not accurate and not good either. I ate two bites of a cheeseburger and passed the rest to my son. Yikes! But again, it was an exercise in moderation, and a reinforcement of what a waste fast food is--especially when it isn't even fast or convenient! I guess disgusting greasy food really shouldn't be that easy to get, anyhow.

DH even cooked one night this weekend--some grilled steak finger, steamed dumplings and edamame. Not bad. I think he knew I was pretty wiped out from the weekend.

I weighed in this morning after this weekend of near misses....262. This is down from earlier this week, during the full period time, of 265. I wish it was going down faster, but with all this craziness going on, I'm not unhappy. Have a good week all!

Doctors' visits are always so much fun!

Went to see my endocrinologist yesterday for my yearly status related to my thyroid cancer, for which I received a thyroidectomy and radiation treatment about four years ago. The good news is that there doesn't appear to be any recurrence of tumors :) And that is a HUGE big piece of good news, lemme tell you. More good news is that she's going to keep me on the same dosage of meds, so no reduction. I was a little worried that she was going to reduce it because I'm pretty far out from the cancer occurrence, but she's willing to continue at this level for another year.

I did indicate to her that despite good efforts at diet and exercise, I'm not losing much weight. Remember, she's the one that first suggested the possibility of lap band or off-label use of diabetic drugs. However, yesterday, she mentioned that another patient of hers is having very good results with Medifast. It's funny, because I have been really thinking about pursuing this method myself. I'm still researching it, but it's definitely a possibility. I think it would just be good to get a jump start.

Made it through the weekend...

Some days it feels like an accomplishment to make it through the weekend. This one surely felt like that! I hosted a sleepover party for my birthday boy and 6 of his little friends, all around 9 years old. What was I thinking! They really junked it up, but I kept my personal damage to a minimum and got a lot of activity in preparing for the party, entertaining, and cleaning up. They had a blast, so it's all good, and I survived it.

We went swimming last night, which felt really good and refreshing. I'm always happy when we get out and do a little physical activity. I even prepared a healthy meal afterwards--made a funny concoction of a broccoli slaw mix stir fry and a frozen chicken lo mein entree--lots of good veggies and very quick. Even DH ate it without too much complaining.

Today has been good, eating-wise. Brought healthy snacks into work, ate oatmeal for breakfast, and turned down the co-workers' evil chocolate bundt cake. I found a yummy cold buckwheat noodle dish, served with veggies and hot sauce, which is a new Korean healthy favorite for me--had it again for lunch today. Something about really spicy foods seems to slow me down a bit and enhance satiety. I will see what is for dinner tonight--I have a good amount of points to work with and a freezer full of food (and leftovers if need be). I'm also going to spend some time on the treadmill. I recently figured out how to make Hulu work on my computer, so I'll be watching some Americano shows while getting my sweat on--woohoo!

Here's to a good week for everyone!