THREE MONTH UPDATE ON VEGETARIAN CONTROLLED PORTION EATING PLAN
Well it has been a tough month for weight loss. At 6 pounds down (from 9 pounds down last month) I have done
a fair share of backsliding and I need to understand why.
We have had a lot of foods around the house that I should
not eat. And normally that isn't really a problem because if I decide to have
marshmallows or vanilla wafers, I mete out the correct serving size and factor
into my total calories for the day.
However, when faced with taboo foods outside the home, I seem to
lose control. I had some delicious dump cake at a friend's 4th of July
party, then a pint of Haagen Dazs Caramel Cone to top off the celebration. The following week at Bobtopia I indulged in all the Julio's chips and dip I
wanted. Plus a pitcher of sugar and salt-laden margaritas. A friend also sent a huge tray of cookies home with us. Uncontrolled portions, nothing to say "Stop! You've had enough!" I
could not resist. And I knew that I was overeating, so I started skipping
meals to compensate. (Hmmm...didn't I learn not to skip meals last month? Okay,
I learned it again.)
What this uncontrolled, unplanned eating did was to whet my
appetite for more. So anything around the house was fair game. Milk and
cookies. More chips. Mac and cheese. Peanut butter sandwiches.
Toast and jelly. All of which resulted in some major regaining of
pounds lost.
It isn't the end of the world, though it does set me back a bit. But after getting back on my regular
portion-controlled eating plan, I find that the cravings are gone. By
staying on an eating schedule I find that my appetite is satisfied and I need
less to feel full.
The main thing to remember is that weight control is a journey, a life-long process. There will be setbacks, there will be highs and lows. But the journey is never over.
EXERCISE:
The elliptical popped a screw and it has taken a while to get it fixed right but it is finally working now. So in the morning when I am waking up and listening to my Audible books on my iPod, I find that if I am already wearing my exercise clothes *as pjs!* it is very easy to wander into my office and hop on the elliptical, and it is amazing how fast that 20 minutes goes by listening to an audio book. Then again at night after work I stream Netflix favorites; I find that the time passes by quickest when I am watching something funny like a 20 minute sitcom. I know that mindfulness dictates that I am supposed to "Be Here Now" and all that but when I am exercising I don't like to concentrate on the effort and discomfort and prefer to "Be Somewhere Else". I would like to stay on this exercise plan at least 5 days a week for the next month and see what changes I can observe, then to increase the duration to 30 minutes. Also I have an Outlook reminder to take 4 stretch breaks during my work day and I have now added weight lifting exercises for my arms during those breaks.
TEN NEW FAVORITES:
1. It is really
indulgent for a morning or afternoon snack to have an ice cold Chai latte and a
chocolate-dipped biscotti for about 115 calories. Really helps to stretch
out the time between meals without getting super hungry. 
2. Another favorite is
individual fruit cups: vanilla and spice flavored pears and caramel flavored apples & pears kept cold in fridge, a refreshing snack. Although
a piece of fruit is perfectly fine too, the Del Monte cups are really yummy and
only 60 calories.
3. Adding sesame seeds to my frozen oriental meals is a
nice touch.
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| http://whitzmix.com/ |
5. I'm a big fan of a
hearty breakfast. When I want a major
omelet in less than 5 minutes, I cook a Smart Ones Potato Broccoli Cheddar dinner for 3 minutes, open it, pour in one egg with an extra egg white beaten in,
close the cellophane on top and cook for another 1/2 minutes. Voila...a filling breakfast that sticks
with me for hours for 315 calories.
6. And for any white-sauced pasta dish, I have found that lemon pepper cuts the creaminess and adds a nice zing. I saw orange pepper seasoning at H.E.B. today and can't wait to try that.
7. These are so much more flavorful than plain veggies and just 40 calories per single serving!
8. So I don't feel deprived while Dale
munches through Netflix movie nights: (although
the whole bag is about 300 calories so it has to take the place of a late
supper AND didn't I just learn not to skip meals again?)
9. And my three latest discoveries at the
grocery store (yes, that says caramel marshmallow creamer):
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