Sophie's Big Year, 2020!

As you can see, I am writing a lot less on this blog. No real reason, other than it's really just same old, same old. Eating less, exercising a lot, yada yada yada. If I had major insights, I would certainly share (I do have an insight about gummy bears, as it turns out--stay tuned). Anyway, today is weigh-in day, and I am pleased to say that I am down to 160.4. So I lost 2.2 pounds this week. Seems pretty good. Tomorrow, I'll take my February photo and do my February measurements. If Miki can find the measuring tape he has misplaced. GRRRR.

Ugh, what a week. No school on Monday, Luke home sick on Tuesday, Pete home (not sick) on Wednesday, and now Pete home today with stomach flu. I spent the morning cleaning up the vomit on the floor of our bathroom that apparently didn't all make it into the garbage can. Poor kid had it coming out both ends. Never fun. You know what else isn't fun? Being the mom cleaning up the vomit that literally got into  the cabinet and under the supplies stored in there.  Anyway, the good news for today is that my weight is down almost two pounds this week, down to 162.6, for a grand total of 13.4 pounds lost in just over three weeks. So, I didn't get down to 160 before the Hungarian Ball (which is tomorrow), as I'd wanted to originally, but that probably wasn't super realistic anyway. I tried on a dress I wore a few years ago, and it fits pretty well, so...I think I'll be fine. Let's just hope that 1) Peter gets better (as he is going and taking his also vomiting g...

It is a reality that dieting (or as I euphemistically refer to it, "healthy eating") loses its appeal after a while. I mean, nobody likes  dieting, but at the beginning, when the pounds come off pretty quickly, there can be a motivating factor. Eat less, and the scale rewards you. It is usually pretty exhilarating for me. After about two weeks (which is where I am now), the weight loss slows down quite a bit, and it turns into a slog. You watch others eating and drinking freely, and you try to stick with your plan, but the rewards from the scale are not as stunning. Not stunning at all, when you realize that after exercising your heart out almost every day and eating healthfully for most if not all meals, you have only lost a pound or even a fraction of a pound, or even gained.  So, that is where I am now. I was pretty good this weekend. Exercised every day, stuck with healthy eating for the most part , and yet when I weighed myself this morning, I was up a pound from ...

Well, weigh-in day was today. I only lost one pound between last Friday and today (164.6 today). 🙁I realize that is better than not losing any weight, but other than my epic fail last Friday, I was very disciplined this week. I suppose that I should have expected things to slow down after I lost so much so fast in the first week. Still. I decided to do my waist measurement today, too, as it has been two weeks since I first did measurements. I was gratified that I have lost 1 1/2 inches off my waist. That seems like a lot and explains why clothes seem to be fitting a bit better.  That's all for today. Just wanted to share my weigh-in results. Let's see where I am next Friday. Hopefully, things will pick up a bit, as I wanted to be down at 160 for the Hungarian Ball. Truthfully, I wanted to be down at 150! But that was obviously impossible. I don't have any crazy plans for this weekend, so I should be able to manage my eating a bit better. Looking forward, though, to a gla...

Well, things are going along as they should be. Yesterday was a bit  off, because I had a breakfast meeting, and therefore started eating at 10 a.m., which doesn't go well with the intermittent fasting! I ordered oatmeal and stared jealously at my colleagues' crepes and fancy egg dishes, but the oatmeal was good. I toyed with not ordering food at all and just drinking coffee, but it felt awkward. I didn't want to get into a long explanation about my food plan. Anyway, I did watch what I ate for the rest of my day. Had a shake mid-afternoon along with some Skinny Pop, then ate a normal dinner with family. I was done eating by 6:45, but given my early start time, I did break my intermittent fasting streak by a smidge. I will get back on it today.  So, I figured I could share some recommendations of things that have been working well for me so far.  I just did my 7-minute workout, and I must say, it's really good.  (And it's actually more like 8 minutes.)  It's...

So, I am finally beginning to understand my own patterns of weight gain and loss. Let me enlighten you. As you know, I have been losing weight over the past two weeks, and that pleases me. As you also know, I indulged mightily at the Warms gathering on Friday (five days ago). My weight notched up, and it still isn't down to pre-indulgence status, even though every day since then, I have stayed pretty much on course with exercise, nutritional shakes, healthy eating, intermittent fasting, etc. I am sure when I have my official weigh-in on Friday, my weight will have gone down (because I am in my extremely determined phase), but this whole episode gives me pause. Who doesn't indulge every once in a while, am I right? Well, let's say you indulge one night, but then you just eat normally after that (not in diet/healthy eating mode). It's possible your weight increases two pounds and doesn't go back down. A week later, you indulge again and go back to healthy eating....

Well, I didn't have time to write a post yesterday as I was busy from sun up to sun down and beyond. It's been a while since I've had a day like that: morning PD for District 65 reading specialists, first day of class in the afternoon, then run home, say hello to family, and go right on an evening webinar. As you might imagine, there was no time to exercise or write a blog post or make a smoothie. Fortunately, there was also precious little time to eat. And Jenny Blickenstaff, bless her heart, left a lunch-size serving of her delicious kale salad after book group on Sunday night which I brought with me to my class, and ate during break and after class. Another example of how being mindful about eating is so important. Without the salad (and the granola bar I ate in the car on the way to Chicago), I would have been famished after class and might have 1) binge eaten the gummy bears I brought for my students (I did have a handful, not going to lie); or 2) stop at Cosi an...

Well, I did weigh in this morning after my Friday food-a-palooza, just to keep myself honest. And I did gain weight--1 1/2 pounds, and that is after  being true to my plan all day yesterday and a long workout (60 minutes on elliptical) at the Y. Sigh. Still, I got back on the healthy eating track yesterday, so I know I will bounce back. My true weakness is sitting by food. I can resist food in the cabinet, even if I know there are gummy bears or some other delicious delight. But I have a really hard time resisting food when it is right in front of me (as the sushi and tower of desserts were the other night). This also happens at restaurants. I may order a healthy dish, but if one of my children gets a meal with french fries, and those fries just sit on their plate after a meal, I have a hard time resisting. They're right there in front of me! So, isn't it good to know this about myself?   I think the very least I can do in those situations is to move to a spot that is...

Well, I knew last night would be a test of my resolve, as we had our annual foray to the Warms's house, boys in tow, and I failed. I had been quite mindful of eating up until said visit. I delayed eating until about 3 p.m., not really on purpose but because meetings kept getting in my way, and when I could have eaten, I snuck in a quick hair coloring. (Very proud of myself, as it turned out well and I saved a lot of money, but that's another story.) Had a smoothie at 3, and then some deli turkey and popcorn a bit later, and that was it. And I did work out for a long time at the Y and did the 7-minute workout at home. So, I laid the groundwork for a bit of "cheating" last night.  It all started out okay. Tori put out lots of appetizers, as she always does. I ate a few mini-pickles, and just two cheese and crackers (maybe three). Some wasabi peas, too. Drank a glass of red wine and Tori quickly poured another, as she does. But I slowed down after the first glass. Th...

It's weigh-in day! Yes, I know I've weighed in every single day since I started this journey 9 days ago, but this is "official" weigh-in day. At some point, I really need to stop self-reporting every single day, and maybe today's that day. Let's see if I can resist until next Friday. Anyway, drumroll please... 165.6!!!! That's pretty good, I'd say, considering my starting weight on January 1st was 176. More than a pound a day. You know that's going to slow down. Still, getting to 160 by the time of the Hungarian Ball on January 25th would be something. We'll see. That would be just 2.5 pounds/week till then.  Tonight will be my biggest healthy eating challenge yet, as we are going to the Warmses where alcohol flows and snacks/dinner/dessert are always copious. I'm going to try to begin eating today a bit later so that I can keep eating later into the evening. We'll see! If I can delay my first shake till 1, I could technically ...

Well, yesterday was hard, just from a logistical standpoint, and gives me some idea about the challenges I will face as work gears up. I didn't drink a shake, because I had to be at my meeting at 9:30, and I am not going to drink a warm shake or even a cold (but not frozen) shake. So, I drank coffee and waited till the first meeting ended so that I could warm up my Brussels sprouts chicken dish and eat it in my second meeting. Bringing a meal was key, because it meant I could ignore the junk food offerings that faculty brought in. And drinking liquid continuously throughout both meetings also helped.  When I got home, I thought I would drink a shake (reverse ordering things), but I really wasn't in the mood, so just had a regular small snack of chicken, cucumber, and salsa.  Also, I didn't have time for a workout yesterday, but I did manage to get 11,831 steps by intentionally walking around the house when I got home and throughout the late afternoon. According to my Fi...