Hard Work Does Pay Off

I think I mentioned in my last post that I hadn't really made any progress in the weight loss department.  At least, I hadn't made as much progress as I would have liked.  As I mentioned in that post, I was going to buckle down with my eating for a couple of weeks and see if that was the culprit.  Needless to say, I found the culprit of the pounds not dropping off. 

Two weeks ago during my morning training session, after another weigh in I wasn't pleased with, I told my trainer I needed to get serious about my diet.  I thought I could do my diet on my own, but I couldn't.  My trainer sat down and wrote out a meal plan for me and told me to stick to it as much as possible for the next two weeks to see how I did.  The meal plan consisted of the following:

Breakfast-
1 whole egg
2 egg whites (I use the carton of egg whites so I don't waste yolks)
1/4 C shredded cheddar cheese (low fat)
Packet of maple and brown sugar (low sodium) instant oatmeal
Coffee
2 Tbs. fat free/low fat creamer

Morning Snack-
Chobani Greek yogurt. 

Lunch-
Packet of tuna in water
Sandwich thin
pickles
Salad
2 Tbs. fat free ranch dressing

Afternoon Snack-
Coffee
1-2 Tbs. low fat half and half
1 wedge laughing cow cheese
1 bagel thin

Dinner-
Lean Cuisine meal containing a meat and less than 300 calories.
Salad
2 Tbs. fat free ranch dressing

The microwave meals were just for a short time to get things in check.  Slowly I will try to introduce low calorie meals back into my diet that I cook at home.  Portion control is a huge challenge for me.  When I thought I was eating one serving of something I made for dinner,  I was actually eating two.  Even healthy foods are bad for you if you eat too much of them.  

I stuck to the meal plan above almost exclusively for one week before my next weigh in.  At weigh in the following week, I was down 3.5 lbs!  In the three months I have been working with my trainer, I have lost a total of 16.5 inches.  In one week, I lost more weight than I have in the last year. Why? Because of my diet.  Because I wasn't being honest with myself about what I was eating.  There were a couple times during the last couple of weeks that I have gone out to eat.  The first time I was faced with making a healthy choice was over a lunch meeting at Jimmy Johns.  Rather than having my sandwich on delicious bread, I opted for an unwich.  While not as delicious as the bread, it seriously wasn't that bad and knocked about 500 calories off the sandwich. 

Another time I went out with Andrew for dinner to a local pizza place.  I had a couple of small slices of pizza.  The pizza is homemade with fresh ingredients and doesn't come out dripping with grease like most delivery pizzas do.  I just finished up week two of my new meal plan and will be weighing in again tomorrow.  I have made a few splurges this week, but I hope to continue seeing downward results on the scale.  

Let my trials be a lesson to anyone attempting to lose weight and not seeing the results you think you should.  Double check your diet.  Use the MyFitnessPal ap and track everything, and I mean everything, that goes in your mouth for a week.  You will be surprised at where the calories are hiding.  The thing I need to work on now is really getting my water intake up; that is a work in progress. 

Fitness Update

I realize it has been a while since I posted about my journey with personal training.  In good news, Andrew is now doing personal training with the trainer I am working with.  As suspected, his results have been more impressive in a short time period.  I really just don't think it is fair that guys have an easier time dropping weight and inches.  That being said, here is my update. 

I continue to drop inches each week.  My next weigh in will be tomorrow.  In total, I have lost around 17 inches, I believe.  I have lost a total of four inches off my thighs, which is the most inches of any one location.  Good riddance to those inches!  They can go far, far away and not come back.  In terms of pounds lost, I'm stuck around about the three pounds down mark.  No matter how many times I'm reminded that muscle weighs more than fat and inches are the important thing, I'm still beyond annoyed with the scales unwillingness to budge.  

Have I been following the eating plan like I should?  No, not to the letter.  Am I hitting the McDonald's drive thru ever?  No, I'm not.  Ice cream is my downfall.  Yes, I will eat ice cream at least once per week in the summer.  We have tried to make the switch to frozen yogurt, and for the most part we have.  I have fallen off the wagon of food tracking on MyFitnessPal.  For anyone that has ever done food tracking, I hope you can relate when I say it is a pain in the butt.  Last Friday, I used my 20% off coupon from Bed Bath & Beyond to purchase a food scale in an attempt to get back on the food wagon. 

I'm willing to admit, I haven't been the best supporter of my own weight loss.  I don't drink as much water as I should; I would much rather drink coffee during the day.  I don't measure my food; I'm not sure if this is due to being lazy and not wanting to take the time to do it or not wanting to dirty my measuring cups and spoons, but I find food measuring to be totally annoying.  I enjoy ice cream/frozen yogurt at least once per week; I really refuse to give up ice cream as I feel it would be admitting total defeat. 

There comes a time with weight loss, and I'm guessing many of you can relate to this, where you just plain get angry.  I'm angry that I have had to try so hard for so long to drop weight.  I'm angry that I have to count and measure my food to get the results I need.  I'm angry that I have been working out three or more times per week for the last eight weeks and am still struggling to go beyond three total pounds down. 

When you are angry about something, the typical reaction is to blame someone or something.  So, whom/what am I blaming? I'm blaming my body.  About a month ago, I became convinced that one of my medications was causing me to hold weight.  I spoke with my health care providers and decided to wean off my medication.  I'm now heading into three weeks off the medication and am not seeing the results I thought I would see.  With my continued struggles, I'm again contemplating going to the doctor for additional blood testing. 

But, before heading to the doctor I believe I need to give one last true attempt.  It is time to get serious with myself; buckle down and stick to a food plan for a few solid weeks to see where I end up.  Time to stop making excuses and talking myself into eating and drinking things that are sabotaging my efforts.  Time to pull on my big girl panties for a few weeks.  I have run the gambit of excuses; the weight wont come off because I'm stressed from my job (problem eliminated and still the weight is on), my medicine is causing me to keep weight on (off my meds for three weeks and the weight is not coming off), my body hates me (I'm still on the fence on this one).  All this being said, who wants to come weigh and measure my food for me for the next week? 

A Summer DIY Project

I have started a new project with some friends of mine, so for today's post I'm sending you over to our new site to check things out. 

Today, I posted about the table Andrew and I designed and built.  Ok, he did the building and I did the watching.  To be fair, I did stain one of the benches though!  I hope you enjoy looking around on the new site.  I will still post on this blog as well, don't worry!  Click on the picture below and it will take you to the blog post!