Weight issues Wednesday

Hello my readers! Welcome to Weight issues Wednesday! Yep, just made that up right off the top of the old noggin.
But seriously. Has anyone else noticed how HARD it is to lose weight? Yes, I know the facts: Eat less than you burn and you will lose weight, but is this magic formula as simple as that? It does not consider any emotional issues you have with food. It assumes that you have the willpower to forgo any sweet treat that passes under your nose. It is a daily struggle for me. Seems like I'll eat normal to well on most days, lose about 2 - 5 pounds (in maybe a week to ten days), have a weekend of eating everything in sight and gain it all back. How frustrating! So I am looking for some simple changes I can start applying to my everyday life to make my lifestyle healthier and happier. For example, one thing I've already changed is eating breakfast every morning. I used to skip this meal since I wasn't hungry, but to maintain your metabolism it is important to kick start your day with breakfast. There are also several things I'd like to change including (but not limited to):

1. Reducing my sugar intake but replacing with natural sweeteners like honey and stevia (right now I use splenda but will not repurchase if I can find a stevia alternative I can bake with)
   
2. Starting to eat cleaner - and I need help with this. If you have any info on this, please please please share! TIA! If you are unfamiliar with this term as far as I understand it it means replacing all the processed crap I eat with healthy stuff. Again, if you know more about this please share!
   
3. Eating vegetables. Or maybe I should say finding waysd to incorporate veggies into my life that aren't in a boring old salad - or finding some way to make a salad exciting.
4. Generally being more aware of food. You know, the emotional and behavioral side of eating. What am I feeling when I sit down and eat an entire pint of Ben and Jerry's and then feel like crap afterward? Did I really need 2 servings of that dinner I made? Knowing the difference between what I need and what I want. That kind of stuff.

I hope that you all have a little insight on this. It is crazy hard to do this alone. My hope is that there is at least one other person struggling like me and that we can help each other. I don't want to eat perfect all the time. I want to ditch the all-or-nothing mentality. I want to feel like I am strong enough to take control of my health and get the most out of this life.

This Weeks Weigh In

This week I am down 0.8 pounds! Any loss is good in my book and after all the temptations this weekend at the amusement park (cheese fries, funnel cake, need I go on?) I am glad it was a loss. Plus the Surfer decided to take me to Red Lobster for dinner Monday night. Super yummy, but not so point friendly - especially when you are REALLY hungry! I did a lot of walking at the park, which I think helped, and I've been trying to do some active thing each day (weeding, sweeping, dancing in the living room like a goober, you get the point)
This weeks goals:
1. Keep up the tracking, it gets hard, but it is so worth it!
2. Stay active - get at least 3 AP in or more!
3. Cook at home more this week. This is a huge help since I can control everything that goes in AND portion sizes. Does anyone have any good and easy ways to plan healthy and husband friendly meals? I'm in need of a little help!
4. Notice and possible document how I feel when I track and eat filling foods vs eating the crap I usually eat. I know I feel better when I eat better, but to have the proof in writing as a reminder might help. I mean, why else to I still overeat?
Another great thing is that I have been feeling better about myself just because I AM doing something rather than being passive and accepting my weight as it is. That is something to be proud of!

Weigh in results - a little late!

As per previous post, I have been a bit busy getting things planted and such and therefore totally forgot to do my weigh in post. We have changed our meeting day to Tuesday, so I normally would have had 2 more days to track and exercise, but I lost 0.4 this week. After all the damage I've been doing, I'll take it.
This week I have been tracking! After The Surfer reminded me of the success I had my first round of WW, I realized that monitoring myself is a big key. So I hope to see these results on the scale. With all the gardening and yard work activity points, I'm bound to lose a little something (and I am really hoping that its not going to be my mind.
So my goal for this week:
Track, track, track!
I know if I can stick with this for a few weeks it will become a habit and I just need to keep it up!

Time to fess up

I'm really embarrassed about this. But I know I have promised to be honest about my wieght, so even though it was a terrible 2 weeks (with vacation thrown in there) I went to my WW metting. I gained 3.4 lbs. Holy cow!
I am suddenly an eating machine. I can't seem to stop myself. Have you ever heard of "Last Supper Syndrome"? You know, where you subconsciously believe that it will be the LAST TIME you ever get to indulge in your favorite foods? That is what I have been like. On vacation I had fried seafood platter (did I mention I love sea creatures breaded and fried?), salmon oscar, chips, Mexican food (Oh how I LOVE Mexican food!), and TONS of ice cream...and I paid for it at the scale. I don't know why I can't get my brain to register that I can still have my faves in moderation. So my goals for this week are to really push the water to get all that "bad" stuff out of my system, exercise 15 mins a day, and also to get some fruit/veggies at the farmer's market to snack on so I don't go on the rampage! I raise my water bottle in a toast to a better week! Here, Here!

Weigh in

Well...this week was a bit rough. Yes, I know it was my first week and I should have been awesome. Yes, I had cake and ice cream AND a Mother's Day Buffet...BUT....
I lost .8 pounds this week. Not too bad. I know that drinking water like crazy was a huge help as well as eating more fruits and veggies. I also realized that I love sugar snap peas. They are so wonderful...and I plan to stock up on them when they go on sale!
How did you do this week?

Oh! Almost forgot. Head over to my other blog (clickity on the button to the right) and enter my giveaway for a poster print of your choice. I was thinking a print of one of my favorite beaches would be nice or the sunset in Maui from my honeymoon *sigh*

Last night's results

So, I went. I signed up. And now I am determined to lose!
My first goal is 5% and that is 9.6 lbs from now. This will actually take me back to my 10% goal that I had when I started a few years ago. I got there before so I can totally get there again! And I can remember how good I was feeling and how I my clothes were getting too big. I can't wait!!!

My goals for this week are to eat smarter by getting in lots of fruits and veggies. These are all considered "filling foods" so they have some staying power. So I am striving for 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day. Its going to be a challenge since the Surfer doesn't eat any veggies, but if I can get on the ball and prep them, it will hopefully make it easier for me to add them to my meals.

Do you have any healthy goals you would like to share? Any tips on how I can sneak more veggies into my day?

I'm READY!

As some of you know, I posted a couple weeks ago about wanting to get healthy. Tonight I will make this even more of a reality. I, like many other people (and bloggers) out there, have decided to join Weight Watchers. I used the online program a few years ago to lose 20 pounds and then lost an additional 20 with my mom just this past year or so. Well, I gained 10 of those back (by my scale)! And knowing what I know about WW, I know it will work if I can just "work" it.
I hope that by admitting my current weight struggle, I will be held accountable by you, my readers. Trust me, I need support here. I am married to a meat and potatoes man who loves to eat as much as I do. I have family members who are food pushers. I have a weakness for sweets and I prefer sitting on my rear to working it off in the gym. This will be a struggle at times, but I am hoping for your support and encouragement to make it through. Since all scales are a little different, I will be posting tomorrow about my current weight and my goals. My first big goal is to lose 10% of my weight, but I plan to set little goals as well.
My doctor also had a lot to do with why I need to lose some of this weight. I have acid reflux and am taking medication to help heal my shredded esophagus. By decreasing my weight, changing my lifestyle, and learning to eat better, in a few months I will *hopefully* no longer need to take this medication. I am 27. There is no excuse for having to rely on medications for something which could potentially be avoided by getting healthy.
So are any of you trying to lose weight, maintain a healthy weight, exercise more, or generally being healthier? I'd love to hear any tips you might have!

Trying something new...

Remember the Bloggy Giveaways that I mentioned last week? Well I was SO lucky this time! And the ironic thing is that I won two things related to getting healthy. A definite sign unto me saying "Get off the couch and step away from the Oreo Cakester!" So I canceled my monthly pass to Weight Watchers in search of some new motivation. I know, it makes little sense to quit a program that has worked for me. I lost 20lbs with WW online and 20 more in meetings, but lately I've been slacking and I'm tired of counting points. (I've also gained about 5 pounds back.) I like their program, but its time for a change. And these AWESOME giveaways I won will totally help! So thanks in advance to the awesome bloggers who gave them!!!
The first awesome giveaway I won was from FoodieObsessed - a 6 month membership to MyFitnessTrainer. I registered today and checked it all out. I think this is going to be a great resource. It gives me a calorie goal for every day as well as a fiber goal. There is a place for inputting exactly what you've eaten or just putting in the calories and fiber you've had that day. Oh, and it figures this out based on your height, weight, and goals (mine are weight loss, getting healthy, and having more energy). Next it gives you some exercises to do. Tonight I did wall sits, a hamstring chair exercise, and 5 minutes of cardio. It was great! Even I can do 5 minutes of cardio!!! I'll keep you posted on this journey. I like the set-up so far and I love that it just tells you what exercise to do (though they are changable).
The second thing I won was from Erica at SuperMom's Health and Wellness. I won her 10 week online course called Supermom's Simple Steps to Healhier Eating. The class has begun and my first assignment is to write down my goals for the class. My goals are to learn how to chose healther foods, lose weight in the process, and learn to enjoy cooking healthy. It would also be great if I could find some options that the hubs will also eat. So how to hide veggies or meals that are good for me and don't involve veggies.
I am so excited about both of these great opportunities for me to improve my health and wellbeing. I can't wait to get off these excess pounds and to stop taking heartburn meds! Here's to a healthier me.