Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Weigh-In 3

Well, it's been 14 weeks since we started this Metabolism Miracle diet and I decided it was time for a weigh-in again with measurements.

I'm happy to report that I have lost 14 lbs. I have also lost 3 1/4" off of my waist and 2" off the chubby below the waist tummy for a total overall inches lost of  14 3/4". I still want to lose at least another 20 lbs. and about 4" off of my waist and at least 6" off the chubby tummy area. A pound a week average is not very exciting and it is less than that per week now, so I'm looking at other things we can try. The one that interests me a lot is one to reduce inflammation in your body which helps it become leptin sensitive (as well as insulin sensitive) which should help lose more weight and help the body regulate its proper weight. It is a very healthy diet with a concentration on nutrient dense foods. I haven't decided for sure, but am studying 3 different approaches to reducing inflammation and addressing the leptin issue. In the meantime, I am incorporating more of those nutrient dense foods in our food choices.

My husband was very reluctant to do a weigh-in today, but he finally agreed. It was good that he did, because now he feels better about his progress. As reported in a previous post, he had cheated on the diet when I was gone, and he told me he had put on 5 lbs. (that's a lot of cheating). That would be very discouraging. I have mixed feelings about his numbers still showing progress, because I don't want him to think he can cheat that much and still lose weight. I think he was just lucky this time. I'm happy to report that he has lost about 26 1/2 lbs. He has also lost 5" off of his waist with a overall inches lost of 16 1/2". I'm not sure what his current goals are, but I'm hoping he will lose at least another 40 lbs. and at least 13" more off of his waist.

We have not been good about exercising, so we do need to get that back in full swing. Our goal is to walk for at least 30 minutes for 5-6 days a week. One of our daughters has taken up running and ran in her first 5k this past weekend. We're very proud of her (she has had to work through asthma to accomplish this). I used to run a long, long, long time ago, and am getting the bug to try again, even if I can only shuffle. Our daughter says shuffling is okay.

Big goals, but I am determined and when Mom is determined, watch out!
This Blog is helping me to be more accountable - YEAH!

Phase 2 update

It's been a while since I last posted, but life got REALLY busy. We have continued to follow the Phase 2 plan for our diet, but sometimes it's been hard. I was travelling a lot but managed to do pretty well. One thing I didn't enjoy was a grilled chicken sandwich at the airport. It had a coating on it that I couldn't scrape off, so I had to count that as my carb (not a very good carb, but carb nonetheless). The taste left in my mouth was so awful (oily) that I ate a couple of segments of an orange I was carrying with me to clean my palate. Thank goodness for oranges. Yes, I probably had more carbs than I should have, but I felt it necessary. I guess the days of eating chicken nuggets are behind me. The more good, healthy food I eat the harder it is to enjoy unhealthy food. I prefer a meal of roasted chicken, 3 cups of veggies, and a serving of fruit. It's very filling and makes me feel good that I ate right.

My husband had a harder time being good on the diet while I was gone so much and confessed to cheating. He won't tell me what he ate, only that I don't want to know. He also said he put on 5 lbs. Needless to say, he has been feeling discouraged lately.

For myself, I have noticed that my weight loss has slowed down to about a 1/2 lb. a week. I guess that is better than the other direction. Even the first phase only provided a 1 lb. a week weight loss. Since I'm not that overweight, it is a much slower process for me. I know that a slow, steady weight loss is much healthier, so I am trying to be content.

We found that we were eating a lot of vegetables that we like mayonaise with, so we're trying to cut back on how much we use. I have thinned the mayo with a little water and that helped. Three nights ago I actually ate a large artichoke with only a tablespoon of mayo - I consider that a miracle - and it was good. One of my daughters said that is how much she uses, so I gave it a try and it worked - YEAH!

Lately, I've been trying to watch the calories a little with the bedtime snack and considering not having one, although, I don't think I'm sleeping as well. Since adding the carbs in, I realize that I am eating 400-500 more calories a day, which explains why my weight loss has slowed down. Following this plan of adding the carbs in gives me the amount of calories I need to maintain my weight, so it's very interesting that I am still losing. That says something for only eating good, real food for your carbs.

We tend to have a nice smoothy (with blueberries) every morning, a BIG green salad with protein for lunch to which I add kidney beans for our carbs, and a basic dinner of some kind of protein, 2-3 cups of vegetables, and a piece of fruit. For snacks we eat a handful of almonds. My idea of a handful of almonds and my husbands are quite different, and since his hand is much larger, a handful is misleading. So, we count out 10 almonds per snack and usually have 2 snacks a day.

We are definitely eating better than we have in a long time, and we seldom feel hungry. I don't think our desire to have goodies is completely gone, but for me it is definitely in control.