Week 3 Day 6 - Stasis

Well, I survived the week and only 1 more day to go before weigh-in and Week 4 begins.  I decided to weigh myself today just to prepare myself...it has been a hard week and I'm still not out of the roller coaster ride.  I was expecting to have gained 5 back.  Nope.  I am still exactly where I was last Sunday.  So I am counting that as a small victory.   Being in constant pain and retaining all of the water in my body does not help in this process I'm trying to go through.  But it is certainly not going to stop me.

Today I took the advice of good friends and took lots of little snacks to work.  I still have to work on making that fit with my need to re-acquaint with the feeling of authentic hunger, but it is not my intention to starve myself either.  Hardly.  The problem is that as of right now I still have 15 points left for the day and I am still feeling uncomfortably full.  I know this is because of the physical stuff going on this week but I know myself well enough to know that this will mean I'm hungry at around 11:30pm tonight.  And I was trying not to eat at night.  So, still some tweaking to do.  And some exercise.

Ugh.  yeah that's the hardest part of this week.  I just feel so sore and uncomfortable.  And not at all interested in working out.  I think my best bet is going to be trying some stretches on the Wii.

So, here's today's menu:

2 Dannon light and Fit yogurts,  1 cup of cherry tomatos, 1/4 cup cottage cheese (low-fat), 20 oz iced VIA starbucks, 12 baby carrots, 3 light string cheese sticks, 30 raw, unsalted almonds, 8 small sweet peppers and 1 sugar free chocolate pudding.  Like I said, it was all spread out through the day but still feels like it was too much.  (But that's probably because my hormones are still wreaking havoc with me.)

I read a good article on the WW website today about going out to eat and staying on your plan.  It outlined some good Dos and Don'ts:

Set a Budget.  This works of course with money too!!  Preparing yourself before-hand with what you are willing to eat sets you up before you even get to the restaurant.  They also suggest planning extra exercise before or after and remembering that it's not a good thing to have special occasions turn into every day.

Put on your game face.  Decide beforehand on guidelines (like having 1 breadstick and then asking to have the waiter remove the basket or skipping the all-inclusive meals)

Make special requests.  After all it's your money, ask for it like YOU want it.  (i.e. without butter, with vegetables instead of bread on the side etc)

Practice portion control.  I like the ideas on this one a lot.  They suggest ordering a salad to start with (which will fill you up more with lower points) and then either sharing an entree or using appetizers to create a meal.  (They are smaller portions anyway)

Break down language barriers.  If you dont' know what a preparation technique is, ask.  (i.e. au gratin, hollandaise = high fat)

Down size the super size.  Again good ideas - order a smaller size or order a kids meal.

Watch out for extras.  (usually things like an extra burger patty or bread)  They add up fast.

Don't go top heavy.  This one is about salads and the stuff that can turn them into caloric nightmares (croutons, high fat dressing, cheese)  Having your salad dressing on the side is a great way to not spend lots of points at once.

Don't drink away your progress.  This directly relates to me on the weekends.  I can drink rum and coke like nobody's business on a weekend.  But they suggest alternating alcoholic drinks with non-caloric sodas or sparkling water.  And not drinking on an empty stomach.  (always good advice)

Resign from the clean plate club.  Ahh yes, another rule learned in childhood that comes back to haunt me (much as eating when it's a certain time of day, whether you're hungry or not).  Eat slowly.  Put 1/2 the meal in a doggy-bag.  And probably the most interesting part that I did not know:  it takes 20 minutes for your body to realize/register that it's full.  (hence the eating slowly)

So, maybe between now and Sunday I will be able to lose a pound or 2 in water (please GOD) but if not I am satisfied simply to not have gone backwards. 

One day.  One pound.  One step at a time.
~N