Cara's Weightloss Journal

Weigh in today.

Did really bad.

I know exactly why, too.

I gained two whole pounds.

Remember my goals last week were to work on my TEDs (Tracking my food, Exercise every day, Drink all my water every day)? Well, I did all three of them, but only half way. I didn’t track EVERYTHING, EVERY DAY. I didn’t exercise until Thursday night (ran/walked 3 miles Thurs night, then ran 1 mile Fri morning then ran 3 miles Friday night).

So you know what happens when you do something half way. Yea, you don’t get the results you’re looking for.

I’m hoping my hubby’s new-found enthusiasm for WW will rub off on me and I’ll be able to get passionate about it again. My head has really been messing with me lately.

Like right now, I just want to cry because I gained 2 WHOLE POUNDS!!

That’s a whole MONTH’S worth of weight loss GONE. I’m now back at the weight I was on January 31st. Ugh!! I just want to scream!!!

Do you know how hard it was for me to lose those two pounds???

Oh my gosh! I worked so hard at it!!

Okay, deep breath, Cara. Deep breath.

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What have I learned?

I can’t have a splurge day ANY MORE.

I have to track, exercise AND drink 80 oz of water. Every day. No matter what. All three or nothing!

I splurged last Saturday and gained 5 pounds in one day. I had a cheeseburger (21pts) with broccoli (1pt) for lunch and a Bob Evans Border Scramble Burrito (27pts) with fried potatoes (4pts) and cherry bread (9.5pts) and fried mush (5pts) for dinner. Then a piece of coconut cream pie (13pts) for dessert. Oh, and a block of 1/3 less fat Philly cream cheese (15pts) and a half a bag of reduced fat Ruffles (20pts).

Can you find any reason in last paragraph why I gained 5 pounds in one day??!!

Can you say 115 points???!!!

In one Day!!!

Ahhhhhh!!

What was I thinking!!???

At the time, I really didn’t think all those things were that bad when I was eating them. I mean, I knew they’d be more points, but I had no idea they’d add up to more than a hundred points.

Man!

So, I think I know why I gained 5 pounds in one day. And I think I know why I wasn’t able to lose all 5 of those points over the course of the week.

OK. So I’m human. I’m weak when it comes to food. I love food.

But most importantly, I learned from those 100+ points.

I can’t do that any more.

I could have done any ONE of those things and been okay. But I can not do all of them like that again.

My indulgences need to be smaller. Still indulgences. I can’t live without my indulgences. But I HAVE to make them small ones.

I’ll get used to it. It might take a few years. But soon I’ll be used to it and it’ll be okay. For now, one day at a time.

Today, I had four 1-point pancakes for breakfast, and for lunch I’m planning on some sort of chicken with veggies. Will probably have a light sandwich for dinner (we always swap out lunch and dinner on Saturdays).

By the way, this recipe for pancakes makes the best pancakes I’ve ever had in my life! I’m a HUGE fan of pancakes! I thought I’d share it with you. You won’t need syrup on them. They’re perfect the way they are. I changed the recipe just slightly from her original version. Just a slight improvement on perfection. And here’s a link to a video made by the lady who I got the recipe from. It’s absolutely priceless. It’s her and her toddler making the recipe together. It’s long, but well worth the watch:

1/2 cup quick oats (40g)
1 cup skim milk (8oz) (I used Almond Milk, made it sweeter, less calories and more protein)
2 tsp lemon juice
3/4 whole wheat flour (90g) (there’s no difference in points whether you use white all purpose flour or whole wheat, it’s just healthier for you if you use wheat)
2 tsp cinnamon (if you’re not crazy about cinnamon, you can reduce this to 1 tsp. I’m CRAZY about cinnamon so I like 2 tsp)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg (I used a 1/4 cup egg beaters for slightly less fat and calories, still the same points for each pancake, though)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1 tbsp honey

In a medium bowl, combine oatmeal, milk and lemon juice. Let mixture sit at least 2 minutes while preparing dry ingredients.

In large bowl, combine all dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

Milk/oatmeal mixture will look slightly curdled after 2 minutes. Whisk the egg [beaters], vanilla, applesauce and honey into mixture.

Warm griddle to 350 degrees until water drops dance on surface. Spray surface with non-stick oil.

Just before you’re ready to pour the batter onto the griddle, add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined.

Pour with a ladle onto griddle. Cook about 1-2 minutes a side, until light brown on both sides.

Enjoy!

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Okay, first, I want to thank you guys for your wonderfully encouraging comments to my blog post yesterday. They were very encouraging!

You are right, I did stop. And the old me would definitely not have stopped at all! I think I have to consider yesterday’s challenge a win for me. I was so ashamed yesterday after it happened. I felt like I’d totally lost it—my will to continue dieting. Almost like I didn’t deserve the right to diet any more. But now, upon reflecting on the situation and your comments, I have to say I did pretty good. In fact, I’m going to count yesterday as a total victory.

Gold star for Cara!

So, today I came home for lunch, and just like yesterday I got the shakes on the way down the stairs at work. I think I’m getting hungry but not noticing it.

I’ve been so screaming busy at work lately, taking on a lot of new projects (which are all very fun, but extremely time consuming) and I think I’m just getting so busy in the morning that I’m not listening to my body when it gets hungry.

Usually, I’ll have a mid-morning snack of some sort and yesterday & today I didn’t. I think I’m going to have to set some sort of reminder for me to stop and eat my morning snack.

I mean, it’s a good thing to be so busy that you don’t even notice that you’re hungry, but this can be—and has proven to be—bad for me. Case in point, yesterday.

So today, I realized it before I got home and I had a hearty lunch. Low in points, but high in fiber and protein to make up for the lack of snack this morning.

Whew! I did it. I turned that fiasco from yesterday into a complete victory!

Woo hoo!!

Now, secondly, you guys have got to go read my hubby’s blog from this morning. He’s such a sweetie! And I’m so proud of him! He just started his blog the other day and he’s already using it just like I do—it is (well, you guys are) my confessional, my event planner and my accountability partner(s).

He jumped over a HUGE hurdle today. And he didn’t even tip the board. You guys just don’t know how hard it was for him. If you think I have a hard time resisting, he is 1,000 times worse at it. He’s the worst at resisting snacks. At least he has been lately. And so for him to resist this divine creation I made, is truly amazing.

I’m proud of you, David!

P.S. Update on my TED’s (tracking, exercising and drinking water): I’m doing great on the water and tracking part but I only ran on Sunday (but only for 40 minutes) and didn’t run yesterday or today. I’m hoping I can get inspired to run tonight. I had such a great run last Friday night. Maybe night running might work better for me.

Oh, and for Trish85, the chips were Ruffles (reduced fat) and the dip was Philadelphia Cream Cheese (1/3 less fat). It’s a combination that I’ve eaten my entire life. Don’t knock it until you try it. It’s truly heavenly the way the two textures and tastes marry up together so perfectly. :]

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I just had a momentary laps into my days-of-fat and I had to come in here and confess it. I feel just awful!

I just had a mad eating frenzy of chips and dip!

I had just eaten my on-point lunch of almond butter and sf blackberry jam sandwich and I was doing okay. Wasn’t hungry. And all of the sudden, I ran to the pantry and pulled out the chips and hurried to the fridge and got the dip and stood there at the kitchen counter cramming chip & dip after chip & dip into my mouth like someone had told me that I wasn’t going to be able to eat anything for the rest of my life and I had to scarf down as much as possible to help me live.

Oh my goodness!

I couldn’t stop.

My finger tips were getting covered with dip as I went from bag to tub feverishly.

All the while, I kept saying “Cara, what are you doing!?” But I couldn’t stop. “Cara, stop!”. But I wouldn’t stop. “Cara, I can’t believe you’re doing this! STOP!”. But I kept going.

Finally after about 5 minutes of non-stop gorging, I finally said “OK, last bite” and I put them away. Deep breath.

Afterwards, I felt so dirty. I’m so ashamed I did that. I don’t know why I did that.

I used to do that whenever I was alone at home, but I wouldn’t stop until every last chip and ounce of dip was gone. I’d only do that when no one was home. And I’d throw away the evidence that I’d done it in the bottom of the trash can so no one would ever know.

I just went and brushed my teeth trying to get the greasy taste of the chips out of my mouth. I think I might have to go do that again because I can still taste the aftertaste a bit.

The only thing I can think of that might have caused me to do that was that I was a little shaky before lunch. When I was walking down the stairs at work to leave to come home, I remember thinking, “Wow, I’m starving”. I was kind of surprised. I didn’t feel hungry a minute ago. I was even a little shaky in my legs. I sometimes get that way—shaky for no reason. It doesn’t happen often. In fact, it’s happened very few times since I’ve been on WW. I’ve tested my blood sugar during several different episodes and each time my levels are normal. But in the past, the only way I could get the shaking to stop was to gorge myself on sweets. I guess because there were no sweets in the house, I gorged on chips.

Looking back, that’s probably what it was. My instinct to get rid of the shakes. But while I was going through it, it’s like I was a crazed animal. Chip crumbs were flying everywhere.

Well, I’m glad it’s over. I sure hope I don’t do that again. Luckily I was able to stop after only 5 minutes. I don’t even know how many chips I consumed. I probably ate half the tub of dip. No idea how to count those points.

Listen to me, here I’ve just had a very traumatic eating experience and I’m trying to track my points.

I guess that’s a good thing, huh?

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Man, I can’t believe it’s been a WHOLE week since my last post.

Bad Cara!!

Well, weigh in was this morning and I managed to maintain. Actually, I’m so relieved. I was so afraid I was going to gain. I did track my points every day and I only used 15 of my flex points (including last Saturday and Sunday) but I did not exercise enough or drink enough water. I’m finding that it’s a whole package deal with me. In order for me to lose, I have to track my points AND exercise AND drink my water. If I don’t do one or two of those things, I simply will not lose, or I’ll gain.

So my goals for this week are simple: Track, Exercise and Drink—TED:

Exercise at least 4 days—hard exercise, not just walking. I did a Last Chance Workout Friday night. I ran my butt off. I’m convinced that was why I broke even because Friday morning when I weighed myself at home, I was still up 1.8 pounds from last Saturday’s WI. I ran so fast and so hard like I’ve never done before. My heart rate was up in the low- to mid-170s for most of my run. But I kept running because I felt fine. I told myself if I started feeling bad, tired or in pain, I’d stop. And I did. I burned almost 1,000 calories in only 40 minutes of running. Was kind of like my own version of a spinning class only I was running. Was wonderful. I’m going to have to try that again.

Track my points. I’ve been doing good with this, so I’ll just keep doing what I’ve been doing. Although I bought a new gadget to help me. It’s called a Points Clicker key chain. It’s really cool. All it does is count down the number of points you have left for the day. When you reach zero, I’ll start tracking in the negative so you’ll know how many Flex Points you used. It’s really cool and it was only $5. I’d put a link to it on the Weight Watchers website, but I can’t find it on there, yet.

Drink my allotted water. I’m not sure if I told you how I’m making sure I drink my water or not so if I did, please forgive me and skip over this section. I figured out that I need to drink between 80 and 100 ounces of water a day (based on my weight divided in half then that number is how many ounces I need to drink). So what I did was buy four 700ml (24 ounce) sports bottles (with the pop tops) and I wrote a #1, #2, #3 & #4 on each bottle, in permanent marker. Then each morning, I fill all four of them up with fresh water and set them on my kitchen counter (I don’t like cold water, but cold water will help you lose weight faster—scientifically proven). Then as the day goes on, I can see how much I’ve drank and how much I still need to drink. Last week, I only drank about half the water I should have each day.

I learned something new about exercise. I did my Last Chance Workout in the evening and I had so much more energy. I didn’t get tired as quickly and I felt so much more enthusiastic about the whole thing. I felt more empowered. I felt like I could go forever.

I had a really good WW meeting this morning. They talked about my favorite subject: managing your thoughts. My thoughts are what has held me back from losing more weight and exercising more. But that’s an entirely different blog post altogether. :) I told everyone how I ran 10K last weekend and they all cheered for me. Then the sweetest thing happened at the end of the meeting when the leader asked if anything had ever happened in a meeting that was encouraging or helped them out. A lady, who I don’t even know, said out loud how I inspired her with what I said about my running. Was really sweet.

P.S. My hubby just started his own blog. I’m so excited. We’ve been losing weight together since we started this whole thing in 2007. He’s been having problems with his weight loss lately, though, and that’s why I’m so glad he started his own blog. I know how much my blog has helped me. So stop by, if you wouldn’t mind, and tell him hi: David’s Weight Loss Journal.

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I did it.

I ran 10k (6.2 miles) yesterday!! NON-STOP!

What an accomplishment!! I think I can do just about anything, now!

I Twittered while I ran. I don’t think I could have read anything on my phone, but I wanted to try Tweeting to see if I could do it and I did. Here’s the log of what I Twitted:

1. running my first 10k, unofficially, practice. never ran this far b4 7:12 AM Feb 15th
2. am getting tired, just passed half way 7:16 AM Feb 15th
3. need strength . am pushing on! 7:20 AM Feb 15th
4. doing a littlle better, getting stronger 7:24 AM Feb 15th
5. got my 2nd wind, going strong now 7:33 AM Feb 15th
6. doing great! i think i’ll make it! 7:42 AM Feb 15th
7. i feel like Forrest Gump … run Forrest run! 7:50 AM Feb 15th
8. run Cara run! 7:51 AM Feb 15th
9. still going, getting tired 8:01 AM Feb 15th
10. starting 2 get a headache, am i pushing 2 hard? 8:07 AM Feb 15th
11. i eased up, headache gone, getting close to home 8:13 AM Feb 15th
12. I’m really gonna do this! i see home! 8:17 AM Feb 15th
13. i did it! i ran 10k, non stop! i did it!!! 8:21 AM Feb 15th

After I got home, I was just fine. My legs were very tight but I felt fine. I walked around the house for about 10 or 15 minutes before I sat down. I didn’t want my legs to cramp up because they were soooo tight.

I burned over 1,900 calories—earned 16 activity points! Wow! That’s like a whole week’s worth of activity points! Sweet!

I was a little sore when I got up this morning, but not much. I was able to go up and down the stairs at work today without any problems.

I didn’t run this morning. I didn’t want to push my luck. But I’ll run again tomorrow morning. I’ve got some great podcasts lined up. And a new CD I want to listen to, too.

I read something real cool in my Week 10 WW book. It was surprisingly refreshing and very insightful and I wanted to share a little bit if it with you guys.

“Why Weight Loss Always Slows Down

There are some predictable patterns in everyone’s weight-loss efforts. In the first few weeks, it’s normal to see quick losses. People talk about this as water weight.

But what’s happening to cause this loss of water weight? When you reduce your calorie intake, your body responds by releasing it’s stores of glycogen, a stored form of carbohydrate found in the muscles and the liver. Glycogen holds water, so when it’s burned for energy, it releases water.

Since you’re eating fewer calories, your body starts burning up its glycogen stores, and then, after they’re gone, your body starts burning fat for energy—which is exactly what you want to have happen. But because fat does not hold water and it takes twice as much energy to burn fat, you’ll see slower losses on the scales.”

Amazing, huh?

I never knew that. I always love finding out about the science behind things.

Here’s a link to their website that has more info (much more scientific) about this whole thing.

P.S. I tried something new this weekend. I normally overindulge the day I weigh in and then a little the next day too. So Saturdays and Sundays are usually gain days for me (usually 2 to 4 pounds) then I spend the next few days trying to lose what I gained from my overindulgences. Well, this weekend, I decided to only indulge very little—almost none. And I only gained 4/10ths of a pound. Woo hoo! I’m already ahead of the game. My goal for next week’s weigh in is to lose 6/10ths. I don’t want to set the bar too high. I put it way too high last week and barely made it (though I did meet it!). :)

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