Some Answers from "Reeling It In"

I lost 2 pounds this week.  Except for Sunday, I wrote everything down.

Thank you for the comments, emails, PMs, and likes from various places about my last post. 

I'll address a couple of things...
1) Journaling:
I didn't write down Sunday, because I went to a bottle share.  What's a bottle share?  It is when you meet up with a bunch of beer drinkers that you may or may not know (I knew 2 people of about 50).  Everyone brings a bottle of a hard-to-get beer in your area, and you share it.  There are some other rules for this one, but that is the basic premise.  Unless I had my phone out the entire time, I couldn't really track  every single thing I drank.  And I'm trying to use my phone less when I'm around real people.  So I just said screw it. But other than that, yes, I write everything down.

I never used Panorama on my phone, before.  This was some of the bottles.

Truth be told, my mom was a Weight Watchers leader growing up.  So I can easily look at something and tell you how many exchanges (and what kind), Points, calories, etc. food has.  I've been journaling what I eat since 6th grade. The problem I have is that I get to the point where I don't care if I ate 1500 calories or 15000 calories.   But I usually write stuff down.  And I know "keeping track in my head" doesn't work for me.

2)  Eliminating Foods:
I know a lot of people on Paleo, no-carb, vegatarian, etc.  I also know I don't cook, and I can only ask D so much to give up when he cooks.  Rice, chicken and pork are 3 foods I know will never happen.  A) the man has 3 grills (gas, charcoal, and pig roaster (yes, for whole pigs)), B) I suggest a meatless meal and the first thing he asks is what we can take out so he can add chicken or bacon. C) I'm working on not eating brands of foods I don't like (for instance...I love pizza, but don't like Domino's or Papa John's...I'm working on not having to "make sure" that I still don't like them...same goes for raisins...testing out a raisin cookie is not going to make me like raisins, so I don't need to eat it).

3) Exercising more:
With all do respect to the person who emailed me this suggestion...duh.

4) Keep planning my meals
I had an incident in March at the grocery that kind of set me back (yes, I got into a verbal dispute with someone although I didn't throw anything at them this time, so I wasn't asked to leave).  I despise the grocery store with every ounce of my being, and tend to get panic attacks in them due to the high stress level.  When D and I met in June 2002, I probably had been to the grocery store less than 10 times the entire year.  When I did go, it was usually at 2am, so no one else would be there.  I've been trying to go more with him, and I do need to contribute more to the meal planning, even if I don't go.  So I'm working on that.

Last week was good. Here were my dinners (lunch is leftovers):
Saturday: 7 Chile Chile
Sunday:  Pan grilled Chicken with Chorizo Confetti, Santa Fe Black Beans
Monday: Jalapeno Popper Chili
Tuesday: Creamy Mustard Chicken , Forgot a vegetable
Wednesday: Leftovers (D went out so I had Jalapeno Popper Chili)
Thursday: Leftovers (Was supposed to have JPC on a baked potato but got tired of that so finished the 7 Chile Chili)
Friday: Out
Saturday: Hamburgers and Cauliflower Tater Tots


5) What's up with the chili?
When I was laid off in 2010, money was tight.  Chili usually makes 10-12 servings. For 2 people, that usually got 7 lunch/dinner servings before someone said, "No more!"   I had the grocery store times laid out when A) it was empty and B) when meat was marked down.  Therefore, we ate a lot of chili.  And if you look on my recipe blog, you'll see there are quite a few recipes. 

I think that is all the topics.  It is supposed to rain tomorrow for my first 5K of 2014.  It was supposed to be the 2nd, but the first one was cancelled due to non-interest (a 5K at a brewery...how can people not be interested).  Have a good weekend!

Reeling It Back In...

So if you have seen me in the past 8 months, you probably noticed something. I gained weight. I plateaued out in July. But then something happened in my head and I went on a rapid 20 pound gain (it took 6 weeks). I didn't gain back the 35 pounds I lost and kept off for 5 years, but I came really close. 

As I was running yesterday morning and driving home yesterday afternoon, I thought about the reasons.  Except for that I was burnt out on running (training for a marathon will do that), I didn't have a reason.  I wasn't more depressed than usual.  I didn't hate anything more than usual.  In fact, I had fun.

The more I thought about the "WHY," the happier I got.  I thought about the football tailgates where I wasn't going "Oh, I can't eat that," or "How many calories is that?" or "Let me limit myself, although I really am hungry and I really do want more."  It was carefree.  It was a blast.  Onion dip as an appetizer for breakfast is delicious.  Cheese and sour cream on chili is the best way to eat it.  Homemade Pretzels and Sausages are great at Oktoberfest (not just one or the other).  I thought about going to bars with D and trying new beers and badges (Damn you, UNTAPPD!).  There was usually 1-2 times a day when I fat-shamed myself (getting out of the shower or stepping on the scale), but overall, it was the most freeing 8 months that I've had in 15 years.  I got hamburgers instead of grilled chicken salad; I had nachos for dinner; Philly cheesesteaks with more than 4 potato chips; soup instead of salad during a dinner out.  Probably only 4 times (2 times being holidays) did I eat myself to the point of feeling sick.

I also thought about the thin people I see at work.  They tend not to think about food.  They eat like rabbits. It isn't their focus.  Then I thought about the people I work with. We talk about food all the time.  4 members of my 11 people group belong to cooking clubs.  We share recipes.  We actually get joy talking about bacon and how we want to try bacon jam. 

So back to reality...my pants don't fit all that well. My shirts don't fit all that well.  I had a great 8 months.  But now it is back to reality.  We are still going to eat.  But we are going to start eating more at home.  When we do eat out, back to splitting dishes. Back to chili and dates at home.  Yes, I can have dip at home, and a hamburger at home.  But I probably shouldn't do it all on the same day.  But you know I'll have a beer or 4 with that dip.  Let's be realistic!