The first words out of my mouth this morning when I stepped on the scales for the first time in over a week: HOLY SHIT!
190.6
The last time I saw this number was June 2008 (I checked my stats). I'd been on Weight Watchers for about four months at that point. I had gone from 240 to 190 in five months. I passed it quickly and never returned. Until now.
To say I'm horrified and scared is a BIG understatement. Have I been beating myself up all morning? You bet.
I gained five pounds in seven days. I didn't think I ate that poorly, but it would appear I was wrong. I barely moved off the couch in seven days since my sister was still recovering from pneumonia. She was doing much better and just had a mild cough, but she was very tired. Normally, she goes to the gym five days a week, every week. She's been doing this for over three years (she's 72 and normally the picture of health).
All week all of us (my sister and two adult nieces) sat around all day, talked non-stop, watched a little TV, went out to eat a few times, and I ate two things that never pass my lips normally: full-fat cheddar cheese and candy (darn those grand-kids and their candy). These two things are my kryptonite. Extra sharp Tillamook cheddar cheese and every variety of candy you can imagine.
This extra weight is very uncomfortable. It's depressing, and I'm angry with myself that I let this happen.
What's next?
Number one on my plan to get back in control is the gym. I can honestly say I've missed it terribly in the past week. I know my consistent exercise has kept me from re-gaining all my weight. It makes me feel good and happy. It builds my self-confidence, and I really think it helps me keep better control of my eating.
As soon as I publish this post I'm heading out to the gym. I'm actually excited about it. It's become a huge part of my life and it's something I'll never stop if I can help it.
I have a plan for my eating too. Back to the basics. When I first went to Fairbanks I was following a Detox diet that some of my friends talked me into doing with them. One of them has a daughter that's a nutritionist and she'd put together an eating plan that was suppose to detox the body of toxins.
I tried the detox for the first couple of days. Since it's very restrictive and there were some things we were suppose to eat that I couldn't stand and things we weren't suppose to eat that I love, I was miserable. After two days I said to hell with it. That's when I started eating cheese and candy.
In addition, my sister is barely eating since the pneumonia (she barely eats much when she's feeling good). I counted her calories for a couple days and she was eating about 400 calories a day. She's just not hungry and she refused to eat. Getting her to even eat the 400 calories was difficult.
The result was I'd go long stretches without eating. Of course, I could have eaten anything I wanted at any time. I'm very relaxed at my sister's house, it's just like being at my own home. Yet I found I'd try to go long stretches trying to not eat since she wasn't eating and hoping I'd eat less overall. That did NOT work. When I finally ate something, I'd be starving and I'd overeat.
So when I say back to basics, it's back to eating basic food, and eating every three to four hours, and following the Good Health Guidelines (Weight Watchers, and why in heaven's name is this so freaking hard to find on their website? ).
The Good Health Guidelines
1. Eat at least five servings of vegetables and fruits each day, (nine servings if you weigh over 350 pounds.)
2. Choose whole-grain foods, such as brown rice and oats, whenever possible.
3. Include two servings of milk products – low fat (1%) or fat-free – each day. If you’re a nursing mom, teenager, over 50 years old, or weigh more than 250 pounds, you should have three servings of milk products each day.
4. Have 2 teaspoons of healthy oils (olive oil, canola, sunflower, safflower or flaxseed) each day.
5. Ensure that you are getting enough protein by choosing at least a serving or two of lean meats, skinless poultry, fish, beans, soy products, and lentils.
6. Limit added sugar and alcohol.
7. Drink at least 6 8-ounce glasses of liquid a day. Water is the best choice.
8. Take a multiple vitamin-mineral supplement each day.
That's all there is to it. It's simple, easy, basic, nothing fancy. Just back to what worked before and I know will work again.
A note about the hCG Diet
I have three friends doing the stupid hCG diet, where you get injected with a hormone from a pregnant woman's urine, eat 500 calories a day, and you're NOT suppose to exercise (other than short walks). These are smart, intelligent women doing this diet. Until now I couldn't find a really good article about the hCG diet. I finally found one in the June 2011 issue of Prevention magazine. Check out this article: Diet Spotlight: Does the hCG Diet work?
I knew this was a bad idea!
A few Alaska pictures from my vacation
About ten minutes from the Anchorage, Alaska airport
More of the same
About a minute before landing in Anchorage
Obviously, I love mountains!
The view from my sister's house, off the front porch.
There's a moose out there, but you can barely see it on the left.
The view to the other direction
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Posted by: Tukiyooo
Home sweet home / 190.6 Updated at :
12:48 PM
Friday, May 13, 2011
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