Have You Tried This??

Um, wow.

You kind of have to love mousse like I do to "get" this stuff, but it's so good if you do.  It's airy, chocolatey goodness that I will most likely dream about tonight.

There are apparently a couple other flavors (one dark chocolate and one caramel) that I can't wait to try next.  And the best thing about them?  They are ONE point.  Seriously, Jello doesn't get any better than this.

Totally makes up for the bell peppers and carrots that were my snack this afternoon.

Progress Report

Today some friends and I tried out a new Weight Watchers meeting.  I was kind of set on not attending meetings, but everyone else was doing it so I figured I might as well.  If I was going to give in to peer pressure, at least it was for a good reason, right?

So since I have been watching what I eat for a week and half now, I wanted to give myself a little credit for it even though it wouldn't be reflected on my Weight Watchers tracking.  I jumped on the scale first thing this morning and was excited to see that I was down 5 whole pounds!

This is what five pounds looks like.  Can you imagine carrying this stupid box and corkscrew around all day?  Yeah neither can I, but I was.  And now I'm not.

The Beck Diet Solution, Days 1-3

You're really only supposed to do one day at a time, but I was bored in the car so I listened to the instructions for the first three days.  I think I can handle them all, though.

Day 1 
The main task for day one was to make an index card and list the advantages of losing weight.  I mostly used examples from the worksheet provided and then added one thing of my own.  I guess the idea is that you will add things as you think of them.  Here are the reasons I listed:

• I'll be happier when I look in the mirror
• I'll live longer
• I'll feel better physically
• I'll have more energy
• I'll be more physically fit
• I'll be a good example for my son

The recommendation is that you review your cards at least twice a day while trying to lose weight.  After you hit your goal, the author says you may not need to review them as often.  I actually picked 5 times of day to review mine based on the times I know I am most likely to be thinking about eating things I should.  chose:

• When I get in the car in the morning
• 10 am
• 2 pm
• When I get in the car after work
• Before bed

The book suggested that I make additional copies of your list to keep in various places.  I put one in my car and one by my bed.

Finally, I was asked to implement a reminder system.  The cards in my car and by my bed are hopefully going to serves as triggers for those times.  I also set alarms on my phone for 10 and 2.  I'm sure it's going to take me a while to get in the swing of reviewing my cards regularly, but it should only take a few seconds and Dr. Beck promises it will be worth it.

Day 2

The goal for day two is to pick a diet plan to follow and a backup plan in case the one you pick doesn't work for you or, in my case, you get bored.  That way you know what you do next and then there's no excuse for not dieting.

I chose Weight Watchers as my primary diet.  South Beach will be my back up.  I may even end up doing a little switching back and forth between them so that I can keep myself interested.  We'll see.

Day 3

The third day is about learning to sit while you eat.  The more I think about this concept, the more it makes sense.  For example, if I was at a party I might snack on things while standing around and socializing.  If I were required to sit before eating, I probably wouldn't eat anything.  It's a pretty basic concept, but will definitely require some retraining.

The day three worksheet asked what I plan to do when I feel like eating while standing.  I wrote,"Stop, read my response card (the index card that I made to give myself reasons not to stand and eat) and chose not to eat while standing."  

It also asked what I plan to do to remind myself not to stand and eat.  That one was a little tougher.  It's not like I could set an alarm for that.  I ended up writing, "Read my response card along with advantages card twice a day."  How else will I remind myself not to stand and eat?  Thoughts?

So there it is.  The first three days of The Beck Diet Solution.  Prior Fat Girl is hosting a discussion about the first 50 pages of the book on her blog today.  So far I am liking the book so I'm interested to see what others think.  

New Philosophy on Food

I was wandering around the kitchen last night trying to figure out what to feed my kid for dinner when I had a thought.  I spend copious amounts of time worrying about what goes into his body and hardly any at all thinking about what I put in mine.  I mean, I guess that's better than the other way around but still bad.

When I put together a meal for my son, it usually contains some kind of protein, a carb and a vegetable or fruit.  Even if it's something as simple as dry cereal and cup of milk with some applesauce.  I wouldn't dream of giving him something from the drive through at Jack in the Box (not most days anyway) and I certainly wouldn't have him just not eat.  So why do I think these things are okay when it's me?

Another thing I have mentioned here before is cutting out chemicals.  When Joey was first starting to eat solid food, we gave him organic baby food exclusively.  I'm really not all about the organics, but I loved knowing that the only ingredients in what he was eating were those listed on the FRONT of the jar, not a ton of extra things I had never heard of.  So why don't I think twice when I put crap into my body?

So yeah, this is my new philosophy on food.  It will probably take some easing into, but I'll get there.  One of the first things I intend to cut out is soda.  That's going to be a painful one for me but I just need to do it and move on.  I made the mistake tonight of examining the Diet Dr. Pepper I am drinking and the list of ingredients seriously made me cringe.. That's bad, right?

I think I have 6 Diet Dr. Peppers left in the fridge.  I am making it my goal for this week to leave them there.  I won't say I'm giving up soda entirely just yet, but I  will at least give it up here at home.

Good luck, self.

Diet ADD

I always say that my son has the attention span of a gnat.  He probably got that from me.  I've already decided to switch my eating plan back to Weight Watchers points.  Honestly, it's probably a much better choice considering that I can count points in my sleep.  I'm not nearly as good when it comes to calories.

I switched back today and so far it's going well.  One thing that always tripped me up about counting points is the idea that you're supposed to meet a specific goal each day.  For me, this tends to lead to eating crap that I really don't need to eat after I've had a really good eating day.  Makes me a little crazy.

One thing I have always found helps me stay on track is the Weight Watchers points counter bracelet I bought a few years ago.  Not necessarily because it helps track how many points I've eaten in a day, but because it serves as kind of an anchor.  When I notice it on my wrist, it makes me think about all the things I am working toward.  It's prevented me from ordering chili fries or nachos more than once.

The only downside of the bracelet is that it's old, made from pretty cheap materials and not that cute.  Also, they don't sell them anymore so I couldn't get a replacement if something happened to it which is highly likely since my son thinks it's great fun to pull on.

Somewhere on the internet, I got the idea to buy a knit/crochet row counting bracelet to use for this same purpose.  I ordered this one today and I'm pretty excited about it.  I don't have it yet, but when I get it and check it out a bit I will post the link to the Etsy seller.

McFatty Monday

My name is Jessica and I have a lot of weight to lose.  I refuse to put a number to it because that's just scary to me.  Instead, I will say that my goals include:

• Being able to fit in a pair of jeans with a single digit size
• Calves that fit in tall boots
• Having an ass that no longer spills over the sides of my dining room chairs
• Being comfortable in a swim suit
• Feeling thin enough to get the short hair cut I have been dreaming of

I started this blog back up again the other day and listed some other in that post.  My biggest goal is feel and be healthier.  Mommyhood is hard work so I need to have as much energy as possible.  This is my journey.  

Thanks to Blair for starting this up.  

A New Year

I started this blog in July of 2009.  The last time I posted was August 2009.  You can probably guess what that has meant for my weight loss.  A new year has always meant new resolve for me, usually with very little result.  I made a couple of changes this year that I am hoping are going to make this year the successful one.

First, I am reading The Beck Diet Solution on the recommendation of Prior Fat Girl.  Basically the premise is that people who have struggled with weight loss do so because they don't have the right tools to deal with the emotional stuff that comes into play when we diet.  The book gives you a task a day to complete and by the end of it (6 weeks), you are supposed to be equipped with an arsenal of tools to help you manage any eating situation.

Second, I am recommitting myself to a couple of exercise goals that I've had for a while.  I want to FINALLY make it through Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and also complete the Couch-to-5K running plan. I can be either really good about exercise or really bad.  I feel so much better when I'm good about it, though.  That's something I need to keep in mind on days when I really don't want to do any.  Helping my goals along will be the fact that a group of us are walking the  the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in San Francisco the weekend of July 10-11.  39.3 miles over two days is not a task to be taken lightly.

The last (and really, first) new thing I plan to try this week is a 7 day detox starting Monday.  No meat, no dairy, no sugar, no preservatives, no alcohol, no caffeine.  It's not going to be easy, but I think it might be just what I need to get all the cravings for holiday crap out of my system.  I have spent some time this weekend researching vegan meals that are high in protein because I always feel crappy if I don't get enough protein which is my biggest concern with this type of eating.  If I find anything good, I will post it here along with progress reports.

I know it looks like I have big plans for the coming year, but I am planning on trying to do just one thing at a time (in addition to the tasks from The Beck Diet Solution) so I don't get overwhelmed.  My biggest goal for 2010 is to get healthy for once and for all.  We're thinking we'd like to try for another baby sometime this year and I'd like to be as healthy as possible when we do that.