To what shall you be true ?

It was a good week for the guys- they lost 2.4 pounds together, which is their average loss. As a female , I have different biological functions to deal with that make my own consistency a rather inconsistent thing. Twice a month I must deal with hormonal shifts that cause my weight loss journey to stall or go in reverse. This week I gained 1.8 pounds, and after reviewing my weight loss records, I spot the monthly pattern. It is normal for most women to experience a gain with TOM, but in my own body other factors accompany , and it seems to turn the mid point in my cycle to another gain, no matter how on program I am.

I deal with adrenal stress as well as Mr Toad's Wild Hormonal Ride ( aka peri-menopause), and it makes the rules for my own weight loss program different from that of the rest of my household. I cannot eat any more than 3 servings of starchy carbs ( I.E.bread, pasta, rice) per day , and they must be whole grain. I cannot eat any more than 3 servings of fruits per day , and better it be if they are low sugar fruits like berries and apples. And then , if that was not challenging enough to live with, I must get at least 7 hours of sleep a night. If I get less, my body is flooded with stress hormones and could gain weigh by looking at pictures of lettuce. Relaxation and enjoyment are as much a part of my own weight loss moves as watching what I eat and moving more.

Last week was a disaster for me because of stress, and the mistake two days of opting to eat garbanzo beans on a salad instead of chicken breast( vegetable protein is a starch , as opposed to its animal counterpart). This fact seems to break the rules of so many diet plans and health experts. We are told to eat low fat, high fiber and opt for plant based protein meals twice a week. They will present you with many studies and figures to back up this position. Then I come back to my own facts and figures- formed by carefully weighing and measuring every morsel that goes into my mouth, recording it all, calculating everything, exercising 45 minutes a day and experiencing a gain because of following the recommendations of experts. I ask myself if it is more important to remain true to a theory based on mathematical results , or to be true to my own flesh and blood based soft machine . Obviously the answer is the latter. I have to keep that fact foremost in my mind when making the choices of how I eat, move and sleep. The goal is the objective here- not adherence to any specific plan.

Wishbone Salad Spritzers and South Beach Pudding

I got to try two new offerings yesterday that are noteworthy for those on weight loss programs. Fist one was two additions in the Wishbone salad spritzers line- Honey Mustard and Ranch. Both get big thumbs up from this house ! The Ranch looks, smells and tastes like the normal pourable ranch dressing, but at a modest 2 calories per spray . 12-15 pumps coats a large side salad quite nicely, and delivers all the satisfaction of full fat ranch. The honey mustard is sweet, tangy, satisfying and also 2 calories per spray. Well worth the purchase in my opinion !

Not so good was the new South Beach pudding. 60 calories per serving with 3 grams of fiber, this one qualifies as a zero point food according to Weight Watchers. I tried it, wanting to like it as it was a chocolate pudding parfait. What is not to love about chocolate ??? Sadly, this one had the mouth feel of pudding, but little taste in the way of sweet or chocolate. Other disadvantages are price and it must be stored in the fridge. Personally, I would opt to save the points and choose a Hunt's snack pack, which can be stored on the shelf and counts as a dairy serving, plus a very real chocolate taste. Verdict- South Beach pudding is a real miss.

We did it !!!!

The weeks weigh in saw us crossing the mark officially- combined we have lost 102 pounds ! Such a milestone deserves a celebration, but scheduals being what they are, such a thing was hard to come by. We chose to begin a new discipline instead-a weekly walk in the woods. Great way to get in sunshine, freh air, activity points and lots of educational opportunities along the way. Years ago, before several injuries and arthritis, I was quite active. I spent my childhood backpacking, canoeing, camping, skiing and a host of other activities. For the last 13 years I have not been able to get out onto a trail for one reson or another, and for the last 5 pain has been added to that equation. With weight loss there is less pressure on my joints, enabling me to become more active. I have taken up a daily Qigong exercise as well as cardio things, and it has enabled me to do even more. Finally I feel stable enough to begin walking even the easiest trail. So to celebrate our acchivement, we all took a very easy half mile trail in a local state park.

Salads and milestones

I was just reviewing the meal plan for tomorrow, and noticed that it will be a kind of chef salad for us all. My, what a change this is from six months ago ! Six months ago it would have been a polish sausage on a deli roll for DH, a box of mac and cheese for my son and probably pick at whatever was left over for me. DH would not consider chef salad a meal, and son would not eat anything green without major prodding.

Now, 5 months into the journey, chef salads are a normal part of the menu. With an assortment of greens, bell peppers, onions, cucumbers, seeds, nuts and meat. For the guys it is moc crab, but for me it will be chicken. Big change. And what has it gotten us ?

100 pounds lighter as a family.

This weekend, providing we can all lose a total of at least 2.1 pounds, we will cross the 100 pound weight loss level. It seems hard to believe in many ways. Gone are the Saturday morning pancake and/ or cinnabon meals. Gone is the mentality that a one pound box of pasta is a single meal for three. Gone is the need to make two loaves of bread every day plus english muffins each week. Gone as well are things like sleep apnea, acid reflux, bowel problems, shortness of breath, serious joint pain and so much more.

In my book, 100 pounds lost has made for an incredible gain !

The Day after

Had a wonderful time at the annual family Mother's Day gathering, seeing many of the family for the first time since Thanksgiving of last year. The weight loss is very obvious now, and it is always fun to get those "Gosh you look great !" kind of comments. Mom is slipping further into Dementia, and she is sadly now to the point where she cannot remember how to open a card or a package.

One disadvantage with big family gatherings is that food is served that is cheap , filling, and pretty far removed from healthy. It simply has to be when you wind up trying to feed 60 people while on a budget. The meal was potato salad, macaroni salad, sloppy joes and Hawaiian salad- a mix of mini marshmellows, fruit coctail and sour cream. All kid friendly dishes , but all high in fat and unrefined carbs. We have not eaten that way in almost 6 months, and sadly my stomach made it known in no uncertain terms. Heartburn for dessert it seems ! We tried to make the rest of the meals for the day very low in points to compensate, so hopefully the scale will not show a gain next Saturday. I think I am going to need to carry Tums to other family gatherings !

Introduction

So who are these people ?

Mom is 49, a stay at home, homeschooling mom on a journey to lose 110 pounds, for the second time

Dad is 54, and is on the journey to lose 90 pounds

Son is a 15 yr old Autistic , homeschooled 16 yr old boy with 220 lbs to lose

We collectively began our journey on December 2, 2007, doing the Weight Watchers Flex points plan, and have lost 97.9 lbs together . I thought it would be a good time to start a weight loss blog to share in our struggles, triumphs and joys.

This week's weigh in was great ! I lost3,70 pounds , son lost 4.2 pounds and hubby lost 1.5 pounds. That is almost 2 bags of flour gone for good !