I'm the Loser of the Week! (And, that's a good thing!)

Tales from the Scales (listed in my side bar) has selected me as the "Loser of the Week." (You should have heard Hubby's reaction when I told him - he wasn't sure if it was good news or not!) :o)

Each week they highlight a person who is losing weight and this week's selection is me. I am so excited, shocked, and thrilled to be selected. My posting for them is below.

First of all, I am excited (and shocked) to be highlighted this week! Thank you for selecting me!

I have posted about the reason for my weight loss journey here. Having been a yo-yo dieter for all of my twenties, I truly feel like I have made some major strides in my journey in my latest endeavor. It's not easy! Like all of you, I have thought about every bite that has gone into my mouth. I have spent more time thinking about food than any other subject! My official start date was September 9th and since then I have lost 17.5 pounds. I know that's a little quick, but in all honesty my starting weight was what I weighed in the evening and ever since, I've been weighing in the morning. (I just want to be fully honest here!)



What have I been doing that works for me?

• Consistently eating breakfast (my personal faves: scrambled egg sandwich on toasted wheat, Slimfast Meal Bar (Bob Green of Oprah fame recommended these and the chocolate chip is great), and my latest find is Jimmy Dean's Delights. They are lean meat, egg whites only breakfast sandwiches with cheese that heat up in 90 seconds.)
• I have not forced myself to have a mid-morning snack because my breakfasts have been filling. I do, however, keep fruit on my desk so that I can grab it if I need it.
• Reasonable lunch - typically, leftovers from the night before or a turkey & swiss cheese sandwich on wheat. I try to have a cup of veggie soup and a 100 cal pack of chips with it so it is filling and nutritious.
• Mid-afternoon snack keeps me from arriving home ravenous and grabbing whatever's convenient.
• Lean meat with tons of veggies for supper. I don't like a lot of veggies, but I am experimenting to see if I can find more that I like. Green beans are a big fave (and quick and easy!) and I may have a salad or whole grain rice with it. I try to limit myself to seconds to only the veggies. I've even served green beans with soft tacos just to make sure I get filled and have veggies in me.
• I can not keep ice cream in the house. Just can't do it! They now have 100 cal packs of ice cream with fudge ripples in it. Just can't do it. Can't stop at one. Or two. So, I leave them at the grocery store.
• Plan, plan, plan my meals. Then, I don't get stuck having to fix only what's available. I've decided 2 or 3 days ago what I'm having tonight so that I would remember to leave out the chicken to thaw.
• I don't let myself get starving. That's when I'm more likely to make a bad decision!
• Drinking lots and lots of water everyday.
• Exercising! I try to find something I enjoy doing, but when the weather's bad or I just don't feel like it, I make myself do it - it's part of the process!
• I have a "treat" EVERY SINGLE DAY! I do not do well with being deprived. I find what I like and try to limit my quantities. I mean, truly limit the quantity. I may have a 100 cal pack of a cookie I like (fudge stripes!) or 2 bite size bars (not even a mini bar, a bite size bar!) of 3 musketeers just to enjoy the chocolate taste. I've even bought a few packs of Halloween candy because the portions are small. I keep them in my closet so that I don't just pick them up without thinking about it.

If you visit my blog, you'll see a ticker that shows I have 15.5 more pounds to lose. That's completely accurate and completely misleading. That's my goal for Tales from the Scales, not my life goal. It is my goal to be under 200 pounds at the point this weight loss challenge ends. That's right, I weigh 215.5. I am not strong enough to post my complete weight loss efforts on the ticker, because I know I would want to give up. Knowing that I have a reachable goal helps me to stay focused on my current goal - losing 15.5 more pounds by the end of the year. My true goal is to weigh 160-165 pounds. At my height, I would be around a size 10 at that weight.

This is how I'm doing it. It is my desire to be able to continue with my success. I know how to lose weight - most overweight people could write a book on what to do to lose weight. The hard part is sticking to it! I'm enjoying my weekly weigh ins at TSFTS. The accountability is there. I enjoy reading how all of you are doing. You all encourage me so much! Thanks for letting me share my view. I hope to be asked to post again (maybe I'll even post a before and after picture) when I am closer to my true goal. I want to be a success story!