Monday, May 30, 2016

The Odyssey Continues - End of May Report

Hello Friends!

It's time for a weight-loss update!  Progress is continuing, albeit still slowly.  For the months of April and May, I've been bouncing around in the same 4-pound range: -41 to -44.  Up and down and up and down.

School ended on Wed, May 25, and I did NOT make my goal of -50; however, on Sunday, May 29, I hit -46 for the first time, and I'm still there today!  Two days in a row at the same new weight is a very good thing!

Officially at WW meetings, I am at -42.  Janet thinks my being stuck for the last 2 months may be the result of stress or lack of sleep.  She offered those two possibilities before I even told her I'd been very stressed out with all the stuff to do at the end of school - and also not sleeping all that well.

Now that I am on vacation, I am walking a lot more.  Last Thurs and Fri, I averaged 10,000 steps a day!  Yesterday I hit more than 8700.  My goal is 10K a day, every day, but I will be happy if I can hit it 4-5 days a week.

I was a little afraid of vacation because I am home with a house full of food.  My strategy is to not buy bad treats at all and to keep the house stocked with healthy options all the time.  If that means going to the store every 3-4 days for fresh fruit, then that is what I will do!

Here are some of my standbys:

  • Rotisserie Chicken - I buy it hot and pull it apart the minute I get home before it cools.  Then I package it in small containers that I can easily grab - white meat separate from the dark meat. If I can snack on protein rather than processed food, that is better for me.
  • Fresh Fruit - I buy the party platters that have watermelon, pineapple, grapes, cantaloupe, muskmelon, etc....  and I also buy bowls of mixed berries.  Kroger has strawberries, blueberries, red raspberries and blackberries - in one bowl all cleaned and ready to eat.  When I get home, I divide them all up into single serving containers. 
  • Salad Bar - I get the biggest container at the salad bar and fill it up with mixed greens and spinach, then I add shredded carrots and a little shredded cheese.  One container like that will last me about 3 days.  
  • Kraft low-fat mozzarella sticks are only 2 pts.  (Some other brands are more, so check before you buy.)  This is also a great protein snack option. 
  • For chocolate treats, I rely on Weight Watchers Ice Cream items and Fiber One brownies and cookies - most of those are 4pts each.  I also discovered that Snackwell Devil's Food Cookies only have 2pts each! YAY!   I allow myself to have 1 chocolate treat after lunch and 1 after dinner.  
  • Triscuit Reduced Fat crackers are also a good treat.  You get 7 crackers for 3 points, and they are filling!  They satisfy the desire for something crunchy and salty.  
  • Avocados are a great healthy choice as well, but they are very high in points because of their high fat content, so one medium avocado is 8 pts (equivalent to about 1 cup, diced) so I am limiting myself to 1 a week.  
One thing I have learned is the importance of eating regularly throughout the day to keep the metabolism going.  My goal is to eat something every 2-3 hours.  If you go more than 3-4 hours without eating anything, your body can think you are starving it and it starts storing fat.  WW suggests 3 meals and 2 snacks: breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner - stop by 8-9 pm, so you are then not eating for about 10-12 hours.  

Ok - it is time to get moving again here.  Thanks for reading and hanging in here with me!  
Come back again soon for more animal and plant photos!

:)Amy


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