Most people get jazzed up about the weekend finally being here...freedom from corporate jargon, allowance to sleep in, and anticipation of a "whatever" frame of mind. For me, this weekend comes with many concerns...because in the past, "weekend" meant "eat what you want, we'll start the diet on Monday".
So far, so good...though I am craving a GIANT glass of wine...I mean one I could swim in. One that's served in a glass the size of the bowl a Jim Dandy comes in at Friendly's. You know you know what I mean....
I want to point out that I CAN have a glass of wine, or seven, if I want...Jenny Craig is not about stopping your life and telling you what you CANNOT do. However, if I DO chose to have that glass of wine, there are other smart choices I need to make for the rest of the day, and honestly, I'm stubborn, and I don't feel like it. (Insert mental picture of me crossing my arms and pouting like a 4 year old, complete with foot-stomping and alligator tears...)
SO, here I am on a Friday night, the first Friday night in a long time that does not entail me eating a a large portion of WHATEVER and having a glass or two of whatever else...and I won't lie...it's tough. But I know it's worth it.
I AM being realistic about it though...it's not like I'm going to die or suffer some major life-threatening condition if I don't get to scarf down my usual plate of Friday-night-pasta-fat-cheese-butter-love. As a matter of fact, I have a BETTER chance of dying if I DO! So that's my motivation (though I'm wishing I had more of it), and I WILL get through tonight. I WILL get through tomorrow and Sunday too. I remember a mantra I once heard: "Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels." Allow me to channel this for a moment....because I do know how good pasta-fat-cheese-butter love tastes...but I don't know how good being thin tastes....
My saving grace? I still have my Jenny Craig snack to eat...DELICIOUS bruscetta chips...and I think I'll enjoy that now! :)
Till next time...
~L
Friday, February 9, 2007
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Day 3: Wait...you mean I still have more to eat?
So, if you've ever quit smoking (or any other addiction), you know they say "just get through the first three days and you'll be fine". I know this to be true because about six months ago, I quit a 15-year-long, pack-a-day habit, and the first three days made me want to put my head through a plate glass window, and rip the head off of anyone who stood near me, just for standing near me. And I pittied anyone who didn't realize I had quit, and dared to ask me "Hey, ya wanna go out for a smoke?"
I digress...this is supposed to be about my weight loss....
I'm realizing I had a bit of a food addiction - at least, that's what I'll call it - because for the first 3 days (well, 2.5 at least), I felt very irritable, moody, angry, guilty, anxious...all the things I felt when I quit smoking. BUT, like when I kicked the butts, I knew (know) I'm doing something GOOD for me.
As I approached the ending of day 3, I took a look at my Jenny Craig menu. (I have chosen to do the first 2 weeks VERY regimented and planned, as I need help jump starting my discipline.) Much to my surprise, I realized I actually hadn't eaten everything on the day's menu. ME, not eating everything put in front of me? WHAT? It was true...I still had a piece of cheesecake (yes, cheesecake), an orange, and my "anytime bar" to eat. I am learning to only eat when I'm actually hungry, and evidentally, when it was time for my bar, I wasn't feeling hungry! That may not seem like anything to you, but to me, this was HUGE (much like my butt). So, I liesurely enjoyed my cookies 'n creme cheesecake (yes, cheesecake...) at the end of the night, and didn't feel guilty about it one bit!
My first "weigh in" is Monday, 2/12...I'll keep you posted!
~L
I digress...this is supposed to be about my weight loss....
I'm realizing I had a bit of a food addiction - at least, that's what I'll call it - because for the first 3 days (well, 2.5 at least), I felt very irritable, moody, angry, guilty, anxious...all the things I felt when I quit smoking. BUT, like when I kicked the butts, I knew (know) I'm doing something GOOD for me.
As I approached the ending of day 3, I took a look at my Jenny Craig menu. (I have chosen to do the first 2 weeks VERY regimented and planned, as I need help jump starting my discipline.) Much to my surprise, I realized I actually hadn't eaten everything on the day's menu. ME, not eating everything put in front of me? WHAT? It was true...I still had a piece of cheesecake (yes, cheesecake), an orange, and my "anytime bar" to eat. I am learning to only eat when I'm actually hungry, and evidentally, when it was time for my bar, I wasn't feeling hungry! That may not seem like anything to you, but to me, this was HUGE (much like my butt). So, I liesurely enjoyed my cookies 'n creme cheesecake (yes, cheesecake...) at the end of the night, and didn't feel guilty about it one bit!
My first "weigh in" is Monday, 2/12...I'll keep you posted!
~L
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Day 2...Gettin the hang of it...
Just a quick note, because when you get up as early as I do, 9:30pm is like almost midnight to me!
After Day 2, I'm actually getting a hold of this thing...I'm not going to lie, I was hungry a few times today. But, the cool and almost empowering thing about those times was I actually FELT "hunger", and responded by having a small snack (in today's case, a small fat free yogurt). This is opposed to how it USED to be: I didn't even really FEEL "hunger", I just THOUGHT "hunger" because it was habit for me to stuff my face around 11:30am every day.
Don't get me wrong, at one point today, I was close to cold cocking the guy in front of me at the checkout line at Price Chopper, for no other reason than because while I was holding a bag of lettuce, he was holding a pizza, a 6-pack, and 2 Snickers bars. Then the woman at the bank inside the store was handing out samples of my arch-enemy...the pizza roll. Why a bank would be offering pizza rolls, I'm not sure, but they were, and that was evil.
SO, I guess that's my first self-taught lesson: the difference between FEELING hungry, and actually BEING hungry. Fine line to walk there, but it's starting to make sense.
Could it be...that I'm actually going to DO IT this time???
:)
I do have to point out real quick that the food on Jenny Craig is DELICIOUS. I'm not just saying that because I'm trying to get you to do Jenny Craig too, or because I'm endorsing the program. Mano e Mano (or Ladie a Ladie...I don't know, I took French...), it's really, REALLY good. So far I've had fettuccini alfredo with chicken, a turkey burger, a breakfast scramble with ham and cheese, and meatloaf....ALL of it has been FABULOUS. Granted, the turkey burger was good, I just wanted 3 of them. BUT, in due time, I'll realize that ONE is CERTAINLY good enough!
Till next time...nighty night....
~LD
After Day 2, I'm actually getting a hold of this thing...I'm not going to lie, I was hungry a few times today. But, the cool and almost empowering thing about those times was I actually FELT "hunger", and responded by having a small snack (in today's case, a small fat free yogurt). This is opposed to how it USED to be: I didn't even really FEEL "hunger", I just THOUGHT "hunger" because it was habit for me to stuff my face around 11:30am every day.
Don't get me wrong, at one point today, I was close to cold cocking the guy in front of me at the checkout line at Price Chopper, for no other reason than because while I was holding a bag of lettuce, he was holding a pizza, a 6-pack, and 2 Snickers bars. Then the woman at the bank inside the store was handing out samples of my arch-enemy...the pizza roll. Why a bank would be offering pizza rolls, I'm not sure, but they were, and that was evil.
SO, I guess that's my first self-taught lesson: the difference between FEELING hungry, and actually BEING hungry. Fine line to walk there, but it's starting to make sense.
Could it be...that I'm actually going to DO IT this time???
:)
I do have to point out real quick that the food on Jenny Craig is DELICIOUS. I'm not just saying that because I'm trying to get you to do Jenny Craig too, or because I'm endorsing the program. Mano e Mano (or Ladie a Ladie...I don't know, I took French...), it's really, REALLY good. So far I've had fettuccini alfredo with chicken, a turkey burger, a breakfast scramble with ham and cheese, and meatloaf....ALL of it has been FABULOUS. Granted, the turkey burger was good, I just wanted 3 of them. BUT, in due time, I'll realize that ONE is CERTAINLY good enough!
Till next time...nighty night....
~LD
Monday, February 5, 2007
Day One....FEED ME, SEYMOUR!!!
So...Here I am, the first day of my long journey. My goal? To shed 40 pounds of COMPLETELY unwanted "me". And to do it the right way. The healthy way. The permanent way.
Some things you should know about me, before we begin:
1. I have struggled with my weight my entire life. (Ok, maybe since I was 3 or 4...but that's pretty much my entire life...)
2. I am 32 years old, and have gained and lost probably 200 pounds throughout my weight loss trials...and failures.
3. I LOVE food. I LOVE cooking. I LOVE wine. I LOVE anything that can be handed to me in a paper sack at a drive-thru window.
4. I HATE working out. I mean...HATE it.
However....
5. I WILL wear a bikini this summer, and not look like a Christmas ham.
Some things you should know about weight loss, before we begin (even though I'm sure NONE of this is news to you...):
1. THERE IS NO MIRACLE PILL.
2. Healthy weight loss, the kind that does not pose risks for your body, and the kind that gives you better odds of keeping it off, is 1%-2% of your body weight a week. That's usually around 2 pounds a week.
3. THERE IS NO MIRACLE TIME YOU SHOULD STOP EATING.
4. Food is not the enemy. For me, right now, food is certainly my best friend, but it's not a healthy relationship. PEOPLE (or at the very least, animals...) should be best friends.
5. THERE IS NO MIRACLE ANYTHING WHEN IT COMES TO WEIGHT LOSS. Please, do not waste your money on pills that claim to speed your metabolism, shakes that say they'll completely tame your appetite, or anything else that does not incorporate the "calories in vs. calories out" formula. That is the ONLY way your body will lose weight. Period.
If I could add up the amount of money I've spent on diet pills, shakes, subliminal tapes, crystals to realign my chakra, whatever....I could probably buy a Jenny Craig membership for you and 10 of your friends. However, I'm not going to do that, but you get my point: been there, done that, bought the t-shirt, and got too fat for the t-shirt. Save your money. Put it towards a vacation. Put it towards a Jenny Craig membership. Put it towards a facial. Throw it directly in the garbage. I don't care. Just know that when you buy that stuff, you're wasting your money.
There. Enough with my Public Service Announcements....
Now, in the posts following...the meat'n'potatoes (oh God...meat and potatoes...so delicious...)...The journey begins....come with me. It's not always gonna be pretty, I'm pretty sure of that. But it will be REAL. And we'll do it together. Ok? :)
~Laura
Some things you should know about me, before we begin:
1. I have struggled with my weight my entire life. (Ok, maybe since I was 3 or 4...but that's pretty much my entire life...)
2. I am 32 years old, and have gained and lost probably 200 pounds throughout my weight loss trials...and failures.
3. I LOVE food. I LOVE cooking. I LOVE wine. I LOVE anything that can be handed to me in a paper sack at a drive-thru window.
4. I HATE working out. I mean...HATE it.
However....
5. I WILL wear a bikini this summer, and not look like a Christmas ham.
Some things you should know about weight loss, before we begin (even though I'm sure NONE of this is news to you...):
1. THERE IS NO MIRACLE PILL.
2. Healthy weight loss, the kind that does not pose risks for your body, and the kind that gives you better odds of keeping it off, is 1%-2% of your body weight a week. That's usually around 2 pounds a week.
3. THERE IS NO MIRACLE TIME YOU SHOULD STOP EATING.
4. Food is not the enemy. For me, right now, food is certainly my best friend, but it's not a healthy relationship. PEOPLE (or at the very least, animals...) should be best friends.
5. THERE IS NO MIRACLE ANYTHING WHEN IT COMES TO WEIGHT LOSS. Please, do not waste your money on pills that claim to speed your metabolism, shakes that say they'll completely tame your appetite, or anything else that does not incorporate the "calories in vs. calories out" formula. That is the ONLY way your body will lose weight. Period.
If I could add up the amount of money I've spent on diet pills, shakes, subliminal tapes, crystals to realign my chakra, whatever....I could probably buy a Jenny Craig membership for you and 10 of your friends. However, I'm not going to do that, but you get my point: been there, done that, bought the t-shirt, and got too fat for the t-shirt. Save your money. Put it towards a vacation. Put it towards a Jenny Craig membership. Put it towards a facial. Throw it directly in the garbage. I don't care. Just know that when you buy that stuff, you're wasting your money.
There. Enough with my Public Service Announcements....
Now, in the posts following...the meat'n'potatoes (oh God...meat and potatoes...so delicious...)...The journey begins....come with me. It's not always gonna be pretty, I'm pretty sure of that. But it will be REAL. And we'll do it together. Ok? :)
~Laura
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