"Weight" a Minute!

So the battery in my scale has died and I have no idea what my current weight is. It is a good thing and a bad thing. Good because I am not faced with the shock of whatever that number is currently….and bad because I really need to know, ignorance is not bliss when it comes to weight gain. I am debating whether I want to embark on another hardcore weight loss attempt or let the pounds fall off slowly by making a few changes here and there.

 

Those of you who are like me and struggle to maintain a decent weight know the frustration that comes along with it. Every month of every year is focused on something weight related. If not through actual actions, weight related issues can consume your thoughts and affect your mood. To put it in terms that are easier to understand, if I am not actively trying to lose weight through diet and exercise, weight is still an issue because it ends up consuming my thoughts (as it is right now because I am writing this blog).

Weight Loss Update #6 | Down 0.6 lbs (Practically No Loss)

I Cheated!

So tonight I went out and completely cheated on this 1200 calorie per day weight loss plan that I am on. I never allow myself specific "cheat days" but it does get difficult from time to time to always eat healthy and low calorie. So I went to my old favorite, Chili's, and ate whatever it was that I felt like eating. I did not check or care jkb bbhow many calories were in what I consumed.

Like I said in my last weight loss update that I posted on YouTube, it is not about what you do for one day or one weekend. It is what you do the majority of the time over a course of some months that will determine if you will lose weight or not. In other words, I don't feel bad for eating bad for one night. I will pick right back up where I left off tomorrow and I am sure I will still have decent results at my next weight loss update.

Everyone needs a day to just be free, right? LOL

Maintaining My Weight Loss Long Term

As I approach the 40 lbs lost mark, I am giving some heavy thought as to how I am going to maintain this weight loss and keep it off permanently. This is not the first time I have lost a significant amount of weight. This is the third time. The first and second time, once I reached my goal weight, I stopped doing all the things I had been doing to lose weight and went back to my old habits. Of course, the weight gradually came back. This time I know better. I know I have to make some permanent lifestyle changes.

So this is my plan, I will tweak it as needed: 

1. Exercise 6 days a week for a minimum of 30 minutes (goal is 45-60 mins)

2. Keep caloric intake to 2000 calories per day

3. Limit beverages to only water

4. Drink at least 70 ounces of water a day (140 lbs/2 = 70 ounces of water)

5. Weigh myself once a week on the same day to track possible weight gain

6. If weight fluctuates outside of the 135-140 lbs range, make adjustments as necessary

7. If weight increases beyond 140lbs, reduce caloric intake to 1200 calories per day and increase exercise in order to drop back into 135-140 range

8. Stay positive

What's For Lunch & Snack? | Carribean Fish Soup & Odwalla Bar

For lunch I had another delicious soup that sent my taste buds on a trip. It is called Caribbean Fish soup. It was made of shrimp, clam and whitefish simmered with peppers, tomato, carrots and celery. The soup was seasoned with lime, allspice and cilantro. For a 16oz bowl, only 190 calories!! I really enjoyed it.  

 

 

Below is one of my favorite snacks right now. Made with fruit and whole grain cereals. The package says --- Nourish yourself with the delicious taste of raisins, rolled oats and bananas. It’s a super-concoction with nourishing benefits – from calcium, folic acid, and iron to antioxidant Vitamins C, E and Beta Carotene. One bar is 200 calories. It looks like poop, lol, but tastes really good.

 

 

 

What's for Lunch? | Chicken Tortilla Soup

As you can probably tell by now, I eat a lot of soups for lunch. The reason being that they are very inexpensive in my cafeteria at work compared to the other offerings and they are normally low in calories for a 16oz cup of soup. Today I had chicken tortilla soup. This soup is made with a rich tomato and ancho chili with stock, with chunks of chicken and cilantro. It is served with fried tortilla strips and cheddar cheese but I decided to forgo those two things for the sake of saving calories.

I like eating in the cafeteria at work for lunch because I can easily go online and get all the nutritional information for the foods that were served during the week. It is an easy way for me to plan my meals that I eat at work ahead of time so that I already have a low calorie option in mind. This soup was 300 calories for 16 ounces. The calories included the tortilla strips and cheddar cheese, which I did not have, so I probably ended up eating less than 300 calories. I paired the soup with a piece of fruit and that was lunch.

People Are Noticing

So yesterday, while I was walking to the printer at work, a co-worker who I do not talk to or see on a daily basis stopped me and asked me, “So, how much is it now?”  At first I did not understand the question, and so he rephrased it, "I noticed you are losing a lot of weight, how much have you lost so far?" Honestly surprised I replied, “Can you tell I’ve lost weight?” A stupid response given the fact that he just said that he noticed but I was genuinely surprised.

That made my day! I have gotten to the point where it is obviously noticeable that I have been losing weight. I cannot tell so much by looking in the mirror, I guess because I see myself every day, but if others can see a difference, then my hard work is paying off. That makes me feel good. Every hour of every day at least a thought or two goes towards “what will I eat” or “when will I exercise” or “how much weight am I losing” and even “how much weight am I gaining.” A weight loss journey can be very physically and mentally exhausting but the rewards are worth it. When the weight comes off, it is all worth it.

What's For Lunch? | Grilled Chicken Parmesan w/ Whole Wheat Spaghetti & Roasted Vegetables

 

The grilled chicken parmesan on whole wheat spaghetti totaled 230 calories. I had a side of roasted vegetables containing squash, zucchini, onion, red peppers and green bell peppers. The vegetables were only 10 calories for a 4 ounces servings. Total calories for lunch equaled 240!

 



My Recent Health Evaulation Indicated I'm Overweight

I did a post a while back about BMI. I calculated that I needed to be 136 pounds to be in a normal BMI range but even at that weight, I would be borderline overweight as far as BMI. Although I know BMI an important indication of a healthy weight, it just feels like the way it is calculated, I have to be super skinny in order to be in the normal (not overweight or obese) BMI range.

I recently had a health assessment done where they tested a lot of things including total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose levels, blood pressure, height and weight, and BMI. As you can see on my results sheet below, at 156 (what I weighed in at that day) I am overweight as far as BMI. Luckily, all of my other tests indicated a healthy/optimal score.

As a black woman, I’ve experience that black people tend view fuller figures as more attractive and “healthy.” If someone gets too skinny, you can hear friends and family ask “what is wrong, are you sick, are you stressed, you need to eat, etc.” I sometimes think the same things when I see that someone has thinned out significantly. So do you have to have a normal range BMI to truly be healthy? That is the question.

What's For Breakfast? | Bacon & Egg Taco and Banana

So this was breakfast today:

Chopped Bacon and Egg Taco on a Flour Tortilla – 260 calories

I medium sized banana – 105 calories

Large 32oz cup of water – 0 calories

Total calories for breakfast - 365 calories

What's For Lunch? | Roasted Pork, Cauliflower Mash, Carrots & Parsnips

Hi everyone, here is what I ate today for lunch. Yummy and low calories.

Cauliflower Mash – 50 calories for ½ cup

Roasted Carrots w/ Parsnips and Herbs – 140 calories for 5 ounces

Herb Roasted Pork Loin w/ Pan Gravy – 180 calories for 1 entrée

Total Calories for Lunch – 370 calories!

What's for Lunch? | Asian Peanut Noodles

This made my taste buds do jumping jacks and somersaults. It was so good! I am learning that lowering your daily caloric intakes and trying to lose weight does not me you have to sacrifice things that taste good. You just have to sacrifice the things that taste good and are bad for you, lol. But there are plenty of things that taste good but are not high in calories or fat.

This dish consisted of fresh lo mein noodles combined with red peppers, scallions, and cilantro, tossed with an Asian peanut dressing. It reminded me of Paht Thai with crushed peanuts but kicked up a few notches. For those of you who don't know, Paht Thai is one of my all time favorite foods. The serving size was 1 oz. at 60 calories. I had about 5 ounces so about 300 calories.

What's For Lunch? | Coconut Curry Chicken Noodle Soup

This soup has just made it to my list of most flavorful and delicious soups of all time. Unfortunately, since I did not cook it, I do not know what all went into making this soup except for what I can see and gather from its name. The soup contained chicken, spinach, peas and thin noodles. The broth was curry flavored and from the name, I am assuming coconut went into the broth too but I could not taste coconut per se, rather just a unique combination of flavors. This is one of those soups that you'd probably never think to combine all these ingredients together, but whoever did, created something super delicious. This 16oz cup of soup was 320 calories. Definitely good for my 1200 calorie daily limit.

Weight Loss Update #4 -- Down 3 lbs!

Inches Equal Progress Too

I really have been working hard at the gym lately. I finally found out how high the resistance on the elliptical machine goes.....up to a level 20. And yes, I have been cranking it up to a level 20 for the pat two weeks. Just think, a few months ago I was putting the resistance level anywhere between 4-6 and felt like I was getting a decent workout. Now I feel like I am breezing through and hour on the elliptical machine at a level 20.

The weight is coming off slowly. I mentioned my frustration about this to you all in an earlier post. I am just going to have to be patient. I actually went to GNC to get a particular fat burner that I researched and decided on purchasing, but it was not in stock, so I just took that as a sign that I should continue this weight loss journey naturally.

I took my measurements back on September 25th, approximately five months ago. They were as follows:

Bust - 39 inches
Waist - 33 inches
Hips - 40 inches
Thigh - 24 inches
Calf - 16 inches

I took them again today and here are the results:

Bust - 37.5 inches (down 1.5 inches)
Waist - 31.25 inches (down 1.75 inches)
Hips - 39.25 inches (down a 3/4 of an inch)
Thigh - 23 inches (down 1 inch)
Calf - 15.25 inches (down 3/4 of a inch)

Yes, I have a 15 inch calf....what can I say, I am a girl with big legs, lol. So definitely progress as far as inches. I can tell a difference when I try on clothes. I feel like I look better. I have lost a little more weight since my last weight loss update so I will be doing a weight loss update video very soon and posting it on my YT channel. Thank goodness for every pound lost, thank goodness for every inch lost, and thank goodness for the patience to keep on this journey.

Weight Loss Supplements?

In the quest to make it past what seems to be a weight loss plateau, I have been doing my research about fat burners. I don’t know how I really feel about them at this point. I rarely take medicine when I am sick and I don’t trust too many foreign chemicals in my body. The main reason why is because we think they are safe to take, then months later you see a TV commercial saying if you took such and such product/drug and experienced one of a list of horrible side effects please call this or that lawyer. A product can end up be harmful and you trusted it enough to take it. Scary! 

With that being said, I am not opposed to weight loss supplements. With a good amount of research about the good and the bad, if I find one I am comfortable with, I will try it. I weighed in today at 158.6. Today is Feb 7. On Jan 28, I weighed in at 158.8. Two weeks of hard work and nothing! I only have 20 more pounds to go. If my hard work is not going to get me there, then I need to get a little boost from somewhere. So if I decide to try a fat burner, I will let you guys know.

While researching, one guy said the only fat burner you need is to exercise more and eat less! Ha, ain’t that the truth but is it really that easy?

Weight Loss Update #3 -- Down 5.6 lbs!

This Battle is Not Over

So this week I have been an absolute bum when it comes to working out and watching what I eat. I have not worked out for 8 whole days! I can definitely tell. I feel sluggish and my body feels heavy. My pants even feel tight. You are probably thinking that I am exaggerating but I am not. If I don’t workout for a few days, I immediately feel the difference. I just have not been in the mood. It takes a lot of energy to constantly watch what you are putting in your mouth and to make yourself workout especially if you are not feeling up to it.

In the last weight loss update vlog I posted, I had just gotten back from vacation and was motivated to start the new year off right and to lose the extra weight. That was on January 7^th  and that day I weighed in at 164.4. Today (not quite two weeks later), I weighed in at 168lbs. And this is NOT with clothes or shoes on! How? Why? I almost want to cry. Almost. I cannot cry though because I know it is my fault. Skipping the gym. Eating late. Eating what I want. Last night I ate two slices of Papa John’s pizza and about four cheese sticks at 9:30pm, just to climb into the bed and sleep at 10pm. So what do you think that pizza and breadsticks did? The food sat in my stomach and most likely got turned into fat because I was not burning any major calories in my sleep.

I am upset, disappointed, angry, sad, frustrated, and I almost feel defeated. I cannot maintain my weight without true WORK. Have you seen that tooth whitening commercial that says,  “If you are not whitening, you are yellowing.” If I am not working out/eating right, I am gaining. What happened to staying the same? It would not be so disappointing if two weeks later I weighed in at the exact same weight. Okay, I did not lose but at least I did not gain…..ya know? If you are reading this, please pray for me. Pray that I may have the strength to overcome temptation….the temptation to eat whatever my heart desires and temptation to skip my workouts due to pure laziness. Pray that the devil will not plant the seed of defeat in my mind, and if he does, pray that I will not believe it. This battle is not over.

Hopefully, the next weight loss vlog I post will be bringing good news. God Bless. Talk to you all again soon!

Detox Postponed

So here I am, living in the 7th largest city in the U.S. by population, yet it is difficult to get my hands on natural foods grocery store. I have to drive half way across town, which is no short drive I must add. Then you add in traffic and more than likely I will regret making the trip.

So after work, with a dead cell phone and no access to navigation, I tried to go find the new Whole Foods store that they opened fairly close to where I work. I looked at the directions on the internet before setting off and they were easy enough to follow. But yet, I never found the store. Hmmmm....I would be lost without navigation. I was lost.

So because I could not make it to Whole Foods, I was not able to pick up some of the necessary ingredients to complete the detox that I wanted to start tomorrow morning. I could drive half way across town tomorrow on my day off and go to the other Whole Foods that I know of but to be honest, I don't want to. That, coupled with the fact that I have two appointments in the morning at 10am and 11:45am so this detox with have to wait. I really was looking forward to doing it to but I only want to do it if I can do it during three days that I am off of work. So a normal two day weekend will not work. When I decide to do it, and have all the needed ingredients, I will let you all know.

Weight Loss Update #2 (164.4 lbs, up 5.2 lbs)