Veg out

One of the few drawbacks (for me) with the Slimgenics program is the derth of fruit servings on Plan 2 of the weight loss phase. Fruit, has always been my go-to snack and now that I am limited to only 2 portions per day I find that I really really miss it.

This is not to say that I hate veggetables. I don't, I actually like most of them, I just get a bit bored with the same old veggies over and over again. I never got bored with fruit. Maybe it's because I love sweet tastes over savory ones.

Still, I have four portions of vegetables to consume daily, and I think I may become a rabbit before all is said and done. Seriously, what can one do to make veggies more exciting? Day in and day out, cellery, cucumbers, peppers, green beans, squash & broccoli. Toss in a tomato now and then and my menu resembles a garden.

Oh, and don't even get me started on the fact that I am starting to cluck.

Don't Change the Plan

...let the plan change you!

That, is the lesson I learned this week. Speaking of week, I was a very, very, very weak willed person this week. I at everything in sight and then some, and more than I care to admit was not on plan.

Trust me, don't do this to yourself. The plan works if you let it. Vending machines are brutally evil when it's "that time of the month", and I have to start leaving my walet in the car.

I'm ashamed of myself, and the only person I have to blame is me. I suppose everyone has setbacks. I just have to pick myself up by the bootstraps, take off the feedbag and get back to basics!

I have lost nearly 40 pounds, I can and I will do this.

I even have new motivation - a beach vacation with my honey!

Look out Key West, I'm on my way!

Getting off the fence.

January, was a crappy Slimgenics month. I am not going to make excuses, I'm just going to get off the fence and get back to work.

I need this program. It keeps me accountable, lets me learn my own lessons, and never leaves me lying in the dust feeling alone and worthless.

Today, the Frist of February, 2010, I pledge to get off my arse and get busy getting health.

Last weigh in was 261.75 lbs. 91 some odd pounds to go. I can do this.

I am doing this. Today I start biogenic days plateau breaker...good thing I love salad!

Sweet baby Jesus, I have lost my mojo…

I am in severe need of a motivation infusion, an IV drip of pep, a mainline of energy, something to get me out of this slump. I think it must have something to do with the weather in conjunction with the after effects of the flu, but all I want to do is lay down some where with a warm blanket and snooze. I don’t even want to participate in my normal “veg out” activities like reading, knitting/crocheting or watching the boob tube. I didn’t even feel like writing today, but didn’t want to disappoint my loyal readers.

Some thing somewhere has got to give. I need to push past this block, swallow my hubris (along with my water, veggies and supplements) and get to crackin’. I was on a roll that has coasted to a stop. Won’t someone please give me a little push to help me get my momentum back?

I'm back!

Down 27.25 lbs sinced November 1!

Had a week in Cali with my best girl totally off plan and another week down with the flu and still lost weight.

Have actual followers! Go me!

Will respond to all your comments ASAP, but I just wanted to let you all know I am still here, and still LOSING IT!

This plan works!

Up hill, all the way

Weightloss is an uphill battle, this weekend I fell down and nearly rolled all the way back down. Luckilly, I got stuck on the lemon tree branch and drowned my sorrows in lemony goodness, landing on a plataeu and not hitting bottom.

Onward and upward from here on out!

Temptation

The first two weeks of Slimgenics was relatively easy when it came to resisting temptations. However, the holiday season has reared its festive head, and goodies have suddenly made an appearance in my world. Every time I turn around it seems someone has brought donuts, cookies, cakes and other assorted sweets into my sightline. I am a pastry junkie. I readily admit this. I could go years without a potato chip, candy bar or gum ball, but put a plate of brownies in front of me and I become weak with desire. Somebody save me from myself!!!!!

I’m down 15 pounds and I don’t want to ruin that, but the gods know I love a nice slice of cake or a chocolate iced donut. I have to find the balance, but first let me finish this cookie…

Lessons Learned

Today is day four of my first official week of weight loss with Slimgenics. It’s been going well, although I must admit there have been a few rough patches. I’ve also learned a lot about myself and my body in the last eleven days. These, are the lessons I have learned:

1. Cheaters never prosper. In fact, in my case, cheaters get tummy aches and end up feeling like daub (that’s crap for those of you not well versed in Chaney-speak). On Tuesday I decided that I needed chocolate, I figured that one little piece wouldn’t hurt. Boy was I wrong. One little piece became an entire chocolate bar. After consuming said bar not only did I suddenly feel nauseous and head-achy, but I realized that I do indeed dislike plain old chocolate. To top it all of, at weigh in that night, I had gained an entire pound plus. Grrrrrr!
2. Salt, is not my friend. One of the main drawbacks (IMHO) to the Slimgenics plan, is the required consumption of ¼ to ½ a teaspoon of Morton’s Lite Salt daily. This amount is probably more salt that I would routinely use in an entire week. Like plain chocolate, I dislike the taste of salt! I have now resorted to doing a “Salt Shooter” with a Diet 7up chaser every evening just to get the salt in.
3. Vegetables are my friends, but green beans are not. I have long maintained that there are very few veggies that I don’t like, and that green beans are ok, but not my favorite. After a week of choking them down every other day, I revised my opinion of them. While still not on the “hate ‘em” list, those unfortunate pods have now slipped below cooked spinach on my ranking list. I would gladly trade them in for peas, but peas are not “on the plan”. Luckily, there are still some veggies that I will gladly eat every day, which is good since I have to have 4 portions of vegetables daily.
4. Eating out is very hard, if you plan to do it and stay on plan. Everything on the menu looks and sounds better than the one or two items that qualify on the Slimgenics plan. I did manage it though, thanks to Tracy. If she had not been there, I just know I would have given in to my cravings and had the Fish ‘n Chips.
5. I can go to an Irish pub, and not have a frothy Guinness with Fish ‘n Chips. In fact, I can go to a pub and only drink Iced Tea. If you know me, you know that’s a crazy idea; but believe me it can be, and has been, done.

Finally, the most important lesson – I CAN DO THIS! It’s not going to be easy, fast or very much fun. I that’s ok, it will all be worth it in the end. Besides, ten pounds in a week is quite the motivator!


A year ago, I was at 293 pounds, Tuesday, I weighed in at 278.5! Go me!

Motivation

Motivation is the key to achieving any goal in life. The trouble is that I have a hard time staying motivated. I'm lazy and I admit that, it's a barrier that I have to work toward breaking down so that I can move ahead.

For fifteen odd years, my motivation has simply been "to loose weight". I never asked myself why I wanted/needed/should loose the weight, I just told myself that I had to and that was that. One thing I have learned on this as yet relatively unproductive journey, is that without proper motivation, I WILL fail.

So now, at the start of this new path, I ask myself what my motivation for loosing weight is. This is what I came up with so far:

I want to have more energy
I want to use that energy to live a more active lifestyle
I want to like what I see when I look in the mirror
I want to stop hiding behind things whenever someone takes my picture
I want to get pregnant (sounds counter intuitive doesn’t it?)
I want to be able to play with my kids
I want to walk up the stairs without having to catch my breath at the top
I want to shop in the Misses department, not the Women’s and have cute clothes
I want to make other men jealous of my husband’s hot wife
I want to ride a rollercoaster without feeling squished
I want to ride an airplane without a seatbelt extender
I want to wear a bathing suit in public without embarrassing myself
I want my friends to say “Wow, you look great!”
I want my friends and family to no longer be embarrassed by being seen with me in public

I am motivated, I can do this, I will do this!

Getting Ready

The "Prep" phase of Slimgenics was deceptively simple. For three days all you have to do is eat all the raw green veggies and protein you want, drink 80oz of water daily, eat half an orange in the morning and the other half in the afternoon, take some vitamins and supplements and have two eggs with some skim milk for breakfast. My initial though was this was too easy. In a way, I was right.

By the middle of the first day, I was starving. Thankfully, Tracy told me the more you eat, the more you loose; so I just kept eating. I felt like a pig. A waterlogged salad eating pig. I was also suffering a raging sweet tooth.

This is the point where I would love to say I stayed the course and powered through the craving, but that would be a bald faced lie. Instead, I ate an M&M, felt guilty and tossed the rest of the snack sized bag in the trash. I even confessed my transgression to anyone that would listen. Apparently, eating only one M&M - it was blue - is not only hardly worth mentioning, but tossing the bag was a huge act of will power. Who knew?

Day two dawned with a whole new set of challenges. It was Monday, how the heck was I going to get 80oz of liquids down my throat while working? I started my period - hello Aunt Flo, and my partner was on vacation. The answers? Spend a great deal of your day in the restroom; peeing or hiding - it was all the same to me. Day two, was not easy, but I did it. I was, by the end of the day, no longer a fan of lettuce and I had a raging headache, but I made it through the day with no mishaps and even managed to fix dinner for my family without sneaking any "tastes" of baked beans or Fritos. Go me!

Day three of prep, was by far the hardest. My head was still pounding (I didn't learn until halfway through the day that I could have a 2nd orange to help with the headache)and I was utterly sick of green vegetables. Having never been much of a protein eater (at least not in the way of meat products), I was having trouble feeling satisfied after my meals and I was really missing fruit. The highlight of my day had become the diet 7up I would drink for my nightime snack. (It actually helped with the sweet tooth.) I couldn't wait for five o'clock to get here so I could go to the one required "class" and learn what foods I would get to start eating on Wednesday.

By the time five o'clock rolled around, I was tired, cranky, somewhat light headed (I hadn't had enough to eat, but my tummy told me it was full.) and my skull was threatening to split in two. I tried to pay attention in the class, but I'm really glad we got handouts because by the time I got home I couldn't remember squat!

I knew deep down this was all going to be worth it, the headache would eventually go away and so would the fat. I had made the right choice. Prep was definately not as easy and I thought, and yet easier than I make it seem when I read back over ths blog. I guess the question is, was/is it worth it?

Well, I lost 7lbs in three days, just doing the prep with no additional excercise. I'd say I'm on my way!