July 2009 Archives

Wow, did I really miss Day Fourtyfive? Looks like it! While it may LOOK like I was slacking on my commitment, I think missing the big day is actually a SIGN of how far I have come. Hear me out...

I was not counting down the days to the end of my "diet." In fact I never calculated out when the 45th day would be (clearly making it easy to miss...) which is a big step for me. I wasn't worried about the end date. For the past several weeks I have been living in the now (not my svelte future) and working my Plan. And in those intervening days and weeks I have made a big life change. My diet, my kitchen and my approach to food are all drastically different. Let's count the ways I have changed.

1. I shared a long meal with a large group of friends at a local Mexican restaurant on Monday and didn't have a single corn chip. Not one.
2. Last week I unearthed a pair of pants from my closed which were 2 sizes smaller than the pants I was wearing at the time. I wore them to work the next day.
3. Yesterday I went shopping for new jeans. The pair I purchased was the only pair I have owned in over a year. I was too embarrassed to go to the store and try clothes on. What if the largest size didn't fit?
4. There are no desserts in our house. Last week Flounder had a small case of Italian ice. That's it.
5. As of today I have lost 20 pounds and slipped under the dreaded XXX pound mark I have been trying to break out of. Oh YEAH!

I am really proud of myself and super excited about where I can go from here. The most important goal in my life right now is to make this change permanent and use it as a building block for other positive changes. Like more exercise and drinking more water. And who knows what else.

Where would I be with apples and cashews? These are my go-to foods when I need a snack, or quick tummy filler. I usually have a hard boiled egg and a half an apple for breakfast each today. We often have apple slices with dinner as well. It's a great sweet fix for me, especially since I have in recent years become an apple snob. Get back Red Delicious! You are dead to me. Pink Ladies and Honey Crisps are always welcome. I can see a future where I will need to moderate my cashew consumption, but thankfully not today.

Last weekend Flounder and I hosted the lovely and fun Jords (my sis-in-law) for the long holiday weekend. What a great time we had! We played and shopped and watched movies and even ate well. At least I thought we did. This is the first time I enjoyed so many restaurant meals since beginning of The Plan and I lost a little ground. Although I never intentionally indulged in any foods that were "off plan" it is much harder to control flour and sugar intake in a restaurant. As a result I had some weight back sliding. I am happy to report that I quickly regained my focus and my weight is back to the most recent low.

I am hovering close to a major weight milestone. This is both exciting and nerve wracking. Not only am I nearing the 20 pounds lost mark, but I am also nearing the "I am now under XXX" scale mark. I continue to use my digital and occasionally inconsistent scale at home as my "true weight". However, I also have a scale in the gym at my office that I check in with, but I think that might be a mistake. There seems to be a 3 pound difference between my home scale and the gym scale. The gym scale is reading lighter, and I REALLY want to believe it. But that is a bad idea right? Yeah, I thought so.

Next week I am going to see my internist for a check up and a blood draw. I want to do a cholesterol check and my ophthalmologist wants me to get my potassium level check because I have been on diuretics for such a long time. I am hoping very hard that I will be under the 20 pound mark for that appointment.

Speaking of my ophthalmologist, he is very happy with me. I had a follow up appointment for my optic nerve swelling this week. 6 weeks ago when I saw him last he lectured me on the need for weight loss and doubled my diuretic to try to release some of the pressure and reduce the swelling. Since then I have been losing weight (as you know) and taking my doubled meds religiously. He was so pleased he gave me a high five. Now that is a happy doctor. I love happy doctors.