Tuesday, March 8, 2011

On track

I just wanted to check in and say that tracking what I'm eating seems to really help me focus. I'm also noticing when I feel full, when I want to eat just because I want to eat something, and when I am hungry. I got on the scales this morning and had lost some. Now I just want to make sure the weight loss continues.

I'm going to go to a Mexican restaurant tonight, which is my favorite kind of food. I want to stay on track, so I Googled around to find out what would be the best choices there. When I'm dieting, I tend to go for chicken fajitas, but I wanted to see what other entrees might be good. Arroz con pollo also is considered a good choice--I might try that tonight; it's one of my son's favorites and it always looks good, but I never get it for some reason.

One of the things I saw was that chicken with mole sauce also is a good choice. I've never tried mole sauce, as many times as I've gone Mexican. I guess there are so many great foods that I know about that I tend to back away from the unknown. I may branch out and try that sometime.

But not tonight.

I also read that one person suggests asking for a soft taco shell instead of the chips, then puts salsa on it and wraps it up. Really, though, I looked up tortilla chips on my Weight Watchers' e-tools and found that 12 chips are four points (salsa is free.) I think six chips for two points might be the trick--just enough to feel like I got to indulge without going overboard.

Another hint was to request pinto beans instead of refried beans. Black beans are even better, but I don't think you can always get them out. I knew refried beans can't be that good for me, but I never had thought about asking for pinto beans.

Oh, another thing: always order soft tacos rather than crunchy ones, because crunchy ones have been fried. One source suggests requesting soft corn tortillas instead of flour ones, too, but I'll have to see about that. I'm thinking that if I get the arroz con pollo, I won't even be tempted to eat any of the tortillas.

I'm finding it helps to have a plan before I go to a restaurant. Now I'm ready!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

What?

Wow! I haven't blogged in more than a month? I can't believe time has passed so quickly. I had been thinking that everything was going well. I've been making good choices when going out to eat, I've been working out...I've just been avoiding the scale. It seems like if I weigh in and don't see enough of a loss, I get discouraged. So I try to not weigh in too often.

But then, I weighed in Thursday, and I had GAINED three pounds. I was so frustrated. I mean, I have been working hard at this. I have to admit, I did some emotional eating--had some pizza, some cookies, some things I shouldn't have, after that. Yesterday, I met with Matt, my personal trainer, and he doesn't get it, either. He was encouraging though, and told me to stick with it, that eventually, if I'm doing everything right, it will pay off. He seemed to be trying to figure out waht he's doing wrong, but I know it's not him. He's been great.

I thought and thought and thought about this. I'm trying to figure out what I can do differently.

Finally, I figured out something I could do. I haven't been tracking everything I eat and when I exercise, so that's my next plan of action. Maybe if I still don't lose, I can look at see where I'm going wrong. But hopefully, I'll discover if I'm doing somethign wrong along the way and fix it right away.

I can't let this get me down. If I do, another year will pass by and I'll be as heavy as ever. I'm tired of that. I'm tired of literally feeling myself slow down. I am tired of being tired. I'm tired of being fat. I want to be more active and have an overall better quality of life. I want to feel pretty. I want to feel good!

But I have to do more than want it. I have to really work at this. I'm not giving up, I'm not giving up, I'm not giving up.

That trip to Rome is still coming up this fall, and I want to be fully enjoy it!