Happy Easter weekend! I am happy to report that I am all better, cough is finally gone, and I feel back to normal. It’s been a good week, emotionally, but I have to say it has been hard to get back to the mindset I had before I got sick (eating-wise). While I was sick I craved carbs and had no appetite for healthier foods (except soup); seems my ‘comfort foods’ when sick include things like grilled cheese sandwiches, toast, crackers, banana bread, muffins, and sugary stuff like cereal and ice cream and pudding. I’ve allowed myself all of those things over the fall and winter and still was able to lose weight (slowly) but that’s because those foods were a very small percentage of my …

I am really having a hard time getting it back together. Just waiting/trying to eat the way I ate before is not working for me. I wasn’t having cravings before… they were basically nonexistent so I *could* eat whatever I wanted, because I didn’t want things that strongly or that often. My portions have definitely gone up since I got sick and it has been harder to cut them back down. Before, if I wanted a sandwich, I’d make half of a sandwich and eat 3/4 of it and that was enough. Or if I wanted pasta I could have a few bites and that would be enough. Now when I want a sandwich it’s a whole sandwich to feel satisfied, or a bowl of pasta to …

Today is the first day I broke out my Fitbit One and put it on. Technically I got it out yesterday, charged it and slept with it on to track my sleep. I plan to wear it all the way through April to see if it helps me stay motivated to move more. I’ve been so sedentary since I got sick over a month ago and I want to push myself to move more! I already took one of my dogs out for a long walk this morning with a friend, and I’m going to take another walk later.I’m also using low carb protein shakes as breakfast for a bit while I come off the sugar. I really ate too much candy last week and it’s …

I was looking over my 2016 posts and weights and suddenly realized a whole quarter of the year has gone by. And in that 3 months, what have I accomplished? Well, basically I maintained, while eating what I wanted and not moving a whole lot. I started the year at 229 pounds, and today I weigh 230. A pound gain. I think my lowest weight of the quarter was 228 pounds.I am setting goals for the month of April, and then on May 1 I will update whether I met those goals or not.1. Wear my Fitbit all month, tracking my activity. Yesterday I got 7501 steps, so I will try to average more than that per day over the course of the month.2. Ride my bike every day. Minimum of 5 minutes, every …

Setting my new goals for the month of April has really helped me focus on what I can do each day to reach those goals. Sure, it’s only been two days since I set the goals, but I feel so confident and energized about life, not overwhelmed and sad like I felt many times over the past few years. Today I feel that all of my goals are within reach… and it is not at all overwhelming (to think of losing 50-60 pounds) because my focus is narrowed: goals for one month, steps for one day. It is so important to take concrete steps every day toward our goals.What I have done today to meet my goals:Got on the bike first thing this morning. Made it …

This is the first week that I’ve set and followed some concrete goals regarding my fitness and weight loss… trying to get to a place of better health and more energy. Today I have some mixed feelings about the whole thing. They’re familiar feelings though; I have had them every time I made a concentrated effort to *do* something about my weight but haven’t gotten the results I want, quickly enough. It’s a mindset of “I am putting in this effort, and I deserve X result!” And it has never done me any good to think that way in the past. But it’s there, just starting to bubble up (already! Less than a week in!) so I want to put it out in the open …

After my post the other day I had to really force myself to keep staying active and trying to eat low carb. But I said to myself… Self, either lose the weight or stop it and go eat what you want and deal with the consequences. You’re an adult. Make your choices.Today my Facebook page on my phone showed me a picture of new Oreo Toaster Strudels. When I saw it, I just sat there and stared, longing filling my soul. I could just go buy a box of those, I have to have it. I can just eat one. Or I can eat as many as I want and try to do better tomorrow. I kind of hit a crossroads, because I felt like I …

I’m feeling good… so much better with the lower level of carbs and less sugar. I think since going off gluten my carb level just gradually crept up over the past few months. It’s so much easier to grab a sandwich for lunch when you aren’t eating gluten free. I am switching back to the just-as-satisfying bread-free sandwiches (aka lettuce wraps full of delicious sandwich fillings) and making other small substitutions, like today’s lunch of smoked salmon, light cream cheese, and green olives… no crackers necessary. Tonight’s dinner is already prepped and waiting in the fridge: I made a veggie lasagna by layering cooked spaghetti squash, mushrooms, pasta sauce, turkey sausage crumbles, ricotta, and mozzarella cheese in a dish to bake. The inspiration for …

As I mentioned yesterday, I’m working a plan that takes all the best parts of the two methods that have worked for me over the course of this blog for consistent, long term weight loss: my original, calorie counting and exercise plan, and Medifast. Nothing else I have ever done has given me the solid weight loss success I enjoyed during those two times. I’ve always lamented that in the long term, they “didn’t work” because I wasn’t able to keep losing weight nor maintain the weight lost. But they *did* work for weight loss. So why not use the best parts, and learn from the mistakes to make the weight loss permanent?2007-2008: 64 pounds lostWhat worked/benefits:Basing my meals around produce from the Farmer’s Market or, …

It’s halfway through the month already so I thought I’d give a little update and how I’m doing with my goals.Activity:I have biked every day this month for at least 5 minutes. The longest I biked was 30 minutes, but usually I am doing 15 or so. I can feel it getting easier and I’m already able to turn the resistance up for longer. I don’t get tired quickly anymore… the fitness is improving and I feel great about the habit I’ve built! I’m also walking a lot more every day; I’ve gone over 7500 steps/day every day except one (which was 5722, when it rained and I just don’t like walking in the rain!). I have not hit 10,000 steps yet but I am getting close with a …

What a fun day we had today! I love this time of year with the good weather! It makes it easier to get out and walk. I hate being cold, so I know winter walks are going to be a big challenge. I’ll figure that out when I come to it.Today I got to sleep in until 8:30 which was just so nice! After a leisurely cup of coffee I had breakfast. You worriers will be happy to know my breakfast was NOT cheese! In fact, I have not eaten ANY cheese or bacon today 🙂 But it wasn’t a low carb day either. Breakfast was leftover pasta sauce thick with lean ground beef and turkey sausage (no pasta) and some sliced, buttered French bread. You know, …