Month 2 Day 19 - Switching Habits

One of the hardest thing about losing weight is switching habits. Food is such an integral part of everything I do that I need to change some of the habits that make me eat.

For example, at coffee break at work I'm usually ready for a bag of popcorn or pretzels or an occasional cookie. But those are all high carbohydrate and highly concentrated of flour and sugar. In the vending machine we have these little salami sticks - all meat, all protein, and very flavorful. The switched habit? Salami instead of sweets.

Another switched habit? Toast. I love toast. I especially love peanut butter toast, with the toast still hot to make the peanut butter liquify. Mmmm....mmmmm... :-) The habit, of course, is breakfast and bedtime. The switched habit? At breakfast, I'm eating higher levels of lean protein: peanut butter is protein, but definitely not lean, and loaded with sugar and salt. I'm dipping my bacon in the egg or cooking it in the eggs rather than using toast. At bedtime, I'm so satisfied with the high proteins through the day that I'm not feeling like a snack at bed time.

Yet another switched habit? Church. We are a doughnut Church. And a baked goods Church. And a cookies Church. I haven't had a doughnut at Sunday School for over a month. What is the changed habit? First, I eat a good protein laden breakfast before Church, so I'm less inclined to want a doughnut when the box is opened. Second, I don't go near the doughnuts... I wait until everyone's had their chance at them and then realize that all the good ones are gone. I wouldn't want the jelly filled ones even if I were still eating lots of sugar, flour and carbs.

Switching habits is hard, though. I've missed a few evenings posting my progress on this blog. Some of them have been the computer's fault - I don't know what caused the slowness, but I'm glad it's over. Sometimes it's my own fault... I wait too late in the evening.

In order to lose weight, switching habits has to happen.

Here's today's journal:
Weight - 232.6 up a pound from yesterday
Breakfast: Two fried eggs (down from three) and five strips of bacon
Snack: Two packs of salami sticks (four little sticks)
Dinner: Low carb burger at Hardee's (no mayo, no cheese)
Supper: 1 and 1/2 boneless pork chops, spinach salad with bleu cheese crumbs, 1T bleu cheese dressing, hard boiled egg and a little tomato

Didn't jog/walk today - need a rest day.

Month 2 Day 16 - A Goal

This whole project is a large goal, but I've decided to set a shorter term goal. I'm going to jog in the Roann Covered Bridge Festival 5K on Sept. 11.

I haven't run (or jogged) in a race for over 20 years. Since it's 5K it will only be 3.1 miles, but it will be a long distance for me. I've been up to just under 2 miles so far, so the goal will challenge me to stretch the distance over the next three weeks.

Tonight I did run just over 2 miles and I walked about 1/2 mile before I started running: that is the first longer distance challenge.

Here's today's journal:
Weight: 233.6 (down 1.4 from yesterday)
Breakfast: three fried eggs, five slices of bacon
Dinner: cottage cheese and tomatoes, two weight watchers string cheese and three strips of bacon
Snack: almonds (about a fistful)
Supper: chicken, cottage cheese, tomatoes

Month 2 Day 15 - My Birthday

I'm 52 today. 48 years to go. How will I live the second half of my life in comparison to the first half?

I hope that I have more faith in the second half than I had in the first. I hope I finally find a discipline that is consistent.

In the second half of my life I want to be actively involved with my physical health. The first half I've been pretty passive. Sure I went through my running years, my weight lifting years, my vegetarian years. But those times have been "cushioned" by fat years. In order for the next 48 years I can't be passive like that. My heart isn't new any more. My lungs have been breathing for 52 years. My eyes are still good, but good nutrition will be critical in keeping them that way.

For the next 48 years I want to be more genuinely emotional. I don't want to begin crying all the time, but I want to be less stilted in expressing my feelings for people.

The last half of my life will be marked with more education. I'm going to start my M.A. program in 2011 and plan to keep going with it. Will I ever do anything with it - teach, write, etc.? - probably not. But the action of keeping my mind sharp will keep the cobwebs from growing.

I got lots of birthday greetings today, at work, from people who live at Timbercrest, from family, Church people, Facebook friends, and mostly from Karen, Allison and Alex. Thanks!

Here's today's journal:
Weight: 235
Breakfast: three eggs, five strips of bacon, a weight watchers string cheese
Snack: two meat snacks from the vending machine
Dinner: a low carb burger at Hardee's
Supper: (At Flanagan's in Fort Wayne) French Onion Soup, tossed salad with 1T bleu cheese dressing, broccoli, prime rib (trimmed)
Snack on the way home: Fruit Smoothie at McDonald's (in lieu of birthday cake)

No exercise today to speak of... it is my birthday, after all :-)

Month 2 Day 14 - Education

Knowledge is certainly power and that is certainly true of losing weight. The more you know, the more wisely you choose.

I have shelves of weight loss books. I have stacks of health and weight loss magazines. I've ordered programs on line.

I think I may be healthy learning disabled. :-)

I think the real truth is that you can know too much. There are a lot of good plans out there, but there can be also a lot of confusion. Sometimes one negates the other. High fat obviously cancels out a low fat diet. Low carb diet obviously defeats veganism. Counting points runs counter to meal plans like Jenny Craig.

The plan I've devised is a gleaning of several different plans, things that have worked for me over the years. It is a selective list, however. I thought a lot about my own needs, my age, my health, and what is realistic for me. For example, I know myself well enough to know that a low calorie diet simply won't work for me: I eat a lot, eating is an enormously important way for me to connect with other people, and I refuse to be rude to others in order to accomplish my own ends.

I'm told that applying knowledge to everyday living is "wisdom." I hope that's the case. I'm six weeks into the project, I'm flirting with ten pounds' weight loss, and I'm generally happy with what I've been eating.

I'll see how wise I am in 4 1/2 months. :-)

Here's today's journal -
Weight: I forgot to weigh today. One of my staff called off with a very early phone call and rattled our routine... we are so old. But in the process of it all, I just forgot.
Breakfast: Four strips of bacon, three fried eggs
Dinner: A pork cutlet, green beans, salad with about 1T ranch dressing
Supper: two hot dogs with chili at Hardee's (no buns)
Snack: tuna salad with mayo (not salad dressing) and pickles, tomato slices

By the way: Here's "The Plan" again
1) A Pre-Plan Week to transition
2) Write everything down that goes into my mouth
3) Go "protein heavy"
4) Get more good carbs, cut way back on flour and sugar
5) Be aware of my eating "problem times"
6) Daily exercise

Month 2 Day 13 - The Numbers Game

When I woke up this morning, I felt thinner. After my usual routine, I looked in the mirror and I thought I looked thinner.

Then I stepped on the scale. 235. What? I couldn't believe it.

So I took a shorter walk (across the covered bridge and back), kind of moping, kind of thinking, "what's up with this?"

When I got home, I weighed again, it was 234.6.

I keep a graph of my daily weights and it looks like a roller coaster. The up days I'm really down; the down days, I'm walking on air.

There are a lot of reasons for this "numbers game."

1) Fluid retention. This is really a big deal. Because I'm prone to a higher normal blood pressure, my body seems to be more sensitive to sodium and its effects. This has been especially noticable in the last ten years. Since I've been going "protein heavy" I can really tell that I'm not eating much bread-based food, most of which is loaded with sodium. But I've not been perfect.

2) Fluid in-take. Tied in a little bit with Fluid Retention, there are a lot of opportunities to get a lot of fluid during the summer besides drinking water: watermelon, canteloupe, tomatoes, and all the other fresh veggies available. They are yummy, low calorie, and full of water.

3) Skimping on exercise. When I push myself, it makes my organs function well - my heart pumps the blood, I sweat out the waste, my intestines work and digestion becomes, well, you know. When I don't push, when I'm just kind of rote, it shows on the scale. My body hasn't performed optimally.

When it comes to weight loss, there's always a numbers game. Count calories, count carbs, count points, on and on. The main game is to lose the pounds, however they're counted.

For me in this experiment, the numbers that count are the monthly weights. I was down the first month by a few pounds, it looks like I'm on track to lose much more this month, and that's the direction I need to go.

Here's today's journal:
Weight: 234.6
Breakfast: A bowl of watermelon
Snack: a meat stick and a cheese stick
Dinner: Low carb burger at Hardee's and a side salad with 1T dressing
Supper: Ham steak, grilled veggies, salad with 1T bleu cheese dressing, and a cup of cream of mushroom soup
Snack: Weight Watchers ice cream sandwich

Month 2 Day 12 - Not Much to Report

Today was a pretty ordinary day and I have no inspiration to try and make it seem intesting. :-)

Here's today's journal:
Weight: 233.2, up 4/10 from yesterday. This isn't bad because yesterday's drop was really big.

Breakfast: Two sausage patties at Hardee's
Snack: Large can V8
Dinner: Roasted small chicken half, diet strawberry fluff
Snack: Fist of mixed nuts
Supper: Spinach salad with bleu cheese, mushrooms, nuts, egg, raisins, and 1T bleu cheese dressing, one hamburg on a bun, on hamburg without a bun, small serving of lasagna, broccoli/cheese, and a piece of Emery's faux peach pie

Month 2 Day 11 - Spiritual Discipline

Wholeness and wellness are more than matters of the physical body. They are exercises of the mind, emotions and soul as well. Today has been a good day for all four.

My sermon this morning was on Psalm 63, about King David's experience in the desert of Judah and God's faithfulness to him as he went through it, physically, emotionally and spiritually. God used the desert to remind Kind David that He can be found in the life that is there, even in the darkness of the night. Though David was in "a dry and thirsty land where there is no water," the king had seen God in His sanctuary and that provided an oasis for his soul and mind.

In Sunday School, I taught the junior high kids from the Book of Ruth and helped them tie together how the young life a foreign girl can teach them how to live for God in their school.

After that, I went to Hardee's for dinner. Karen had taken her mother to a family reunion today so she wasn't at Church. At Hardee's, I worked the crossword in the Sunday Star, did the sudoku and wordy-gurdy. Then it was time to visit some of our shut-ins.

I had great visits with several shut-ins today also. They are wonderful people. I wish I could spend more time with them.

This evening I did some pretty strenuous yard work digging out the edges of the sidewalk. I got a good start but we have a lot of sidewalk.

I also got in a 2.1 mile walk-jog, with about 1.8 of it straight jogging. It felt really good, the nightfall was beautiful and the stars inspired me, as King David mused in Psalm 63: "I think of You in the watches of the night."

Here's today's journal:
Weight: 232.8, down 1.6 lbs. (yea!)
Breakfast: three egg omelette with ground turkey and cheese
Dinner: Low carb burger at Hardee's, side salad with 1T ranch dressing
Supper: Tuna salad, cottage cheese and tomatoes, two cheese sticks, a few almonds, watermelon
Bedtime snack: watermelon