Week 5 on the FMD

Start of Week 5:  166.6
End of Week 5:  163.4
Weight Loss This Week:  3.2
Total Weight Loss:  11.6

Exercise this week:
M,W, F:  1.2ish mile walks with colleague before work
M:  2.4 mile run/walk on treadmill
Th:  3 mile walk
Sa:  Yoga class
Su:  5K run/walk

I remember this type of thing happens in weight loss…you’ll have a week of hardly any loss and then boom, the next week, without really doing much at all differently, you’ll have a big week.  I’m grateful to see the progress, although still somewhat frustrated with myself that these are the numbers I’m happy about.  When I walked into Weight Watchers 11 years ago I started my journey there at today’s weight exactly:  163.4.  I was embarrassed and horrified at the number.  Today I’m grateful to be this far down.  Perspective.

This was a challenging week in a lot of areas.  Very busy week in both terms of work and personal life, and lots of stress too.  There was definitely wine this week.  But I also felt really strong about making positive choices most of the time and not stressing about when I had to compromise the program.

Example:  Yesterday I did a 5K run.  I’ve done this race every year for four years, and two years ago I suffered a broken hip on the course.  Last year I came back and walked the course with some friends.  This year I wanted to run/walk it on my own…really just enjoy feeling healthy and strong and soak in the moments.  But this race is well known for the pizza, beer, nachos and beer at the end.  I made a mental plan:  I would not have the beer, I would not have any food unless there were oranges or apples.  If there weren’t any of those I would allow myself one Italian ice (they always have those too).  Sure enough, when I finished there was absolutely no fruit except for bananas, and then all of the other delicious smelling hot dogs, nachos, pizza et al.  But I stuck with my plan:  I had one very delicious Italian ice and moved on. It tasted wonderful, was not on plan, but I enjoyed it and didn’t feel badly about it.

Another thing I discovered this week is Chia Pudding!  I bought a bag of seeds last week but waited until Friday (Phase 3) to try it.  I’m in love!  I used this recipe:  Basic Chia Seed Pudding but there are obviously tons out there.  I just used a little stevia for the sweetener and served it each time with blueberries and/or raspberries.

A goal for this week…trying to figure out some new ideas for each phase, particularly Phase 2.  The mug cake and smoothies were game changers, and I think the chia pudding will be too.   I need to try some other things to keep things interesting moving forward.

Onto Week 6!

 

Fast Metabolism Diet 28 Day Recap

Starting Weight:  175

28 Day Weigh In:  166.6

Weight Loss:  8.4 pounds

I am so grateful I decided to get back on the wagon last month and do the FMD plan.  I had been struggling for the last year with unexplained weight gain and just feeling miserable about my body and myself. Nothing was working.  I needed the structure of being told what to eat and when to eat it.

Was I perfect?  Obviously not, particularly in the last week.  I only lost .4 pounds in week 4, and I had hoped for 2.  That was one hundred percent my fault, having had wine 3 out of the 7 days and having had a crazy weekend this past.  Do I feel badly about it?  If I’m being honest, not really.  I made the choice to not have a salad at dinner on Saturday, and I certainly didn’t need that second glass of wine.

But I’m OK with it.  I am certainly seeing results of changing my habits, cutting out certain foods and reducing my consumption of others.  I would be grateful for being 8 pounds down in a month on any plan, so I’m taking it and moving on.

My plan now is to do another round:  I would like to lose about 30 pounds more.  Which means probably a summer of FMDing.  I’m OK with it.  I’m exploring new recipes and foods all of the time and making this a lifestyle I can adjust and work with.

I won’t blog daily.  I will post weekly weigh in results and other fitness/health/diet related things as I used to do with this blog.  But I’m back in the game.  And I feel really good about it.

Week 4 Day 27 & 28 on the FMD

Well the last two days have been tough for both the plan and just in general.  I had a last minute trip three hours south to visit my ailing grandmother, who is not likely to live very much longer.  It made the last two days on the program a challenge, but since I plan on restarting the program for another round tomorrow, it’s OK.  I know my results this week will not be where I want them, but I’m going to keep on going.

Weight (yesterday, no scale available today):  166.8

Yesterday I had a great breakfast:  spinach smoothie and sprouted grain toast.  Had raw cashews on the road and managed to do well at lunch:  we had sub sandwiches, and I just ate the insides and paired them with the chickpea salad I brought.  I had carrots and homemade hummus for a snack, but dinner was a total bust.  I mean, not a total bust…it was honestly a healthy dinner but it wasn’t at all on plan.  Gluten free pizzas with veggies, seafood and chicken sausage plus wine.  Plus one bite of the amazing toffee they put on the table at the end of the meal.

Today was just crazy.  I did start the day with grapefruit and raw cashews and had breakfast later.  Breakfast was eggs and bacon and white toast…it was obviously not on plan but there was no way around it.  I snacked on raw cashews on my ride home, but never really was able to have lunch.  I ended up eating a small portion of chickpea salad when I got home, and then had a regular, on plan dinner:  cauliflower fried rice, steak and a sweet potato.

No exercise either day.

What I did learn was that even though I strayed a bit, I still was able to be careful and conscious in my choices.  Packing a few on plan things to have on hand was key to not straying too far off the plan, even in a high stress situation.  So while I know I probably won’t be happy with my fourth week weigh in tomorrow, I know that I made very different choices this trip than I would have if I wasn’t working this program.

 

Week 4 Day 26 on the FMD

Sure enough, scale is up this morning.  I know it is the salt but still frustrating.  Looking forward to trying some new ideas today for Phase 3.

Weight:  168

Breakfast:  One egg fried in olive oil over sprouted grain toast with hummus and a side of blueberries.

Snack:  More homemade hummus and carrots.

Lunch:  Chickpea salad (chickpeas, tomatoes, celery, red onion and cucumbers mixed with lime juice, red wine vinegar and cilantro plus salt and pepper) over quinoa

Snack:  Celery with almond butter

Dinner:  Homemade quinoa/sweet potato/black bean burger with Cauliflower Fried Rice. Technically the peas are not on plan, but otherwise a tasty meal that was very satisfying.

Exercise:  1.5 mile walk around school with a colleague

Without realizing it I made today a meatless day.  Everything I had was just tasty and I didn’t even miss the meat.

Have to travel tomorrow for an unplanned one day trip to see some family.  Which means my last two days will not be at home, with all of the foods that I’ve built up stock on to stay on plan.  I plan on bringing bags of raw nuts, some salad fixings and will just do my best.

Week 4 Day 25 on the FMD

Second day of Phase 2.  Really trying to embrace the spices and look for the positives of this part of the diet…it really is simple, straightforward.  I would like to find a few more options for snacks…I saw someone posting yesterday about making homemade jerky, that might be something to try when I have more time.

Even though I’m nearly done with 28 days, I plan on starting another cycle immediately.  This program clearly was the first time in a year that my body has responded positively to…and not just my body.  My head is finally making better choices and I’m feeling more in control and more positive.

Weight:  167.2

Breakfast:  egg white scramble with last night’s roasted veggies and a little spinach

Snack:  Cucumbers with smoked salmon (forgot to add the lime when I packed it for work, boo)

Lunch:  Leftover pork tenderloin over last night’s roasted veggies and mixed greens with balsamic vinegar

Snack:  Beef Jerky.  Grabbed this on the run when I needed a quick snack that didn’t need any preparation.  Technically not compliant because it had cane sugar in it…but has made me curious to try making some next week.

Dinner:  Last of our beef roast with au jus.  While I know this is phase appropriate I know it is salty and realize I will pay for it tomorrow morning.  But it won’t last.  Paired this with sauteed celery, red peppers and spinach and it was delicious.

Exercise:  20 min stationary bike and 40 min weights/machines at the gym.

Today was one of those days that never seemed to end.  Always something to do right up until 830 at night.  I was soooooo tired at the end of today.  But I felt good about my choices and getting to the gym despite the busy schedule.

Week 4 Day 24 on the FMD

So something weird happened yesterday…I got my period for the first time in ten months.

I’m 47 years old, and have been going through perimenopause for years.  The last time I had it was in July, right around the time I started putting on weight very quickly (I gained 15 pounds in three months and another seven or so in the six months after that).  I have assumed all along that the hormones were definitely a part of the gain, but haven’t been to the doctor.  Three and a half weeks on this plan, apparently my hormones are shifting because Aunt Fern came to visit.  Very interesting.  It never occurred to me that my diet might be playing a role here.  That’s really something.

Weight:  168 (stop! stop!)

Breakfast:  egg whites, green beans, broccoli cooked in chicken broth.  For the first time today I didn’t use a non stick spray.  Huge mistake!  Took me all day to scrub off the muck.  Fail!

Snack:  Chocolate Mug Cake Tweaked this and it was really good! I added mint and it was tasty.  Texture was just like a cake.  Can’t even imagine it is egg whites and cacao powder.

Lunch:  Chicken salad over mixed greens.  Dijon mustard is becoming my new favorite condment.

Snack:  Smoked salmon on cucumbers with dill and lime juice.  The lime juice really adds something.

Dinner:  Pork tenderloins with roasted broccoli, red peppers and onions.  Simple and satisfying.

Exercise:  4.3 mile walk with a friend (no school today due to power outages from yesterday’s storm) and yoga class

Solid day.

Week 4 Day 23 on the FMD

Another Phase 1 day.  I am trying some different fruits this week…the nice thing about only being on the phases for two or three days is that you never get tired and you can always mix it up and try new things.  I’m in week 4 and I am trying things I haven’t had yet on the plan.

Weight:  167.8 (as predicted)

Breakfast:  Sprouted grain toast with dijon mustard and thinly sliced cucumbers, with thawed frozen blueberries and mangoes on the side.  This was satisfying!  The toasts felt like little cucumber sandwiches.

Snack:  Orange

Lunch:  Leftover quinoa, roasted veggies and chicken.  So tired of salad.  Need a warm meal.

Snack:  Spinach, mango, raw cacao and stevia smoothie

Dinner:  Major storm blew threw and we lost power.  I was still able to heat up on our gas stovetop leftover beef roast with au jus, quinoa and roasted broccoli, peppers and tomatoes.

Exercise:  2.4 mile run/walk at gym just before the storm

Full confession:  Third day in a row of wine.  😦  With the power out I went to a friend’s to charge devices and we had some wine.  Ugh.  That’s it for the week.  I definitely notice the difference already in having indulged three days in a row.  This one wasn’t a conscious careful thought out choice…it was a split second “I’m in stress and I deserve this” one.  That’s the kind of decision making that got me to where I am and it needs to stop.

Week 4 Day 22 on the FMD

So scale is up .2 this morning but I’m totally fine with it after yesterday’s celebration.  I just wanted to have a good solid loss for the week and 2.6 is a number I can definitely be happy with.

Busy day today…hoping to get over to the gym today, but it might not happen.  I am trying not to stress about it.

Weight:  167

Breakfast:  Oatmeal with mango and cinnamon

Snack:  Apple

Lunch:  Roasted chicken over veggies and mixed greens with quinoa topped with red wine vinegar.  This needed more seasoning and probably more vinegar…it was kind of dry.

Snack:  Smoothie with mango, strawberries, spinach, stevia and raw cacao.  Yum!  I’m getting the hang of these.

Dinner:  Leftover beef roast with au jus over quinoa and roasted veggies.

Exercise:  1.2 mile walk before work.

Had wine again today.  It was a long day, and I know…it makes two days in a row.  I know I will pay for it.   Had a meeting and everyone has a drink during these…and after the day I’d had, I allowed myself.  Again, it is one of those things that is real life…I am not going to say I’m never drinking again.  I have to learn how manage it so that it doesn’t become an obstacle to my health and weight loss.  I don’t want to be drinking daily again, but sometimes, I’m going to have a drink.  I will have one or two, have lots of water, and not go crazy.  That’s how it was, and made a conscious choice.

Week 3 FMD Recap

Starting weight this week:  169.6

Weight today:  167

Loss for week:  2.6 lbs

Total Weight Loss:  8 lbs

I’m happy to see the scale moving again.  2.6 is a solid number and I felt like I had a good week both with the food and the exercise.  I feel like my head is in the game and I’m in a much better place to keep this up long term.  Obviously this isn’t going to end even though this is my fourth week.  That was my mistake the first time I did the diet.  I did it, lost a bit, and walked away.  And then I put the weight I’d lost back on, and it has been creeping up ever since.

I think that’s because this time it isn’t just about the weight for me.  Sure, that’s big.  But it is also overall health and wellness.  I want to feel better.  I want to be able to do more.  I want to know that I’m making healthy choices that are making my body strong.  That’s what feels so much better this time around.  🙂

Onto Week 4!

Week 3 Day 21 on the FMD

Can hardly believe I’m at the end of week 3 already.  They say it takes 3 weeks to form a habit, and I definitely like some of the new ones I’ve established:  eating carefully prepared, thought out real food, not feeling hungry, making time for exercise.  Even if I don’t lose all the weight I want to this cycle, I’m committed to going forward for another 28 days (I won’t blog every day about it) and keep going until I get my weight back where I want it to be.

Weight:  166.8 (well that explains yesterday’s weirdness)

Breakfast:  Zucchini and spinach smoothie with cacao, stevia and cherries, plus a slice of sprouted grain toast with almond butter.

Snack:  Guacamole with carrots and tomatoes

Lunch:  Chicken salad:  leftover breast with dijon mustard, red onion, celery and raw cashews over mixed greens.

Snack:  veggies and hummus

Dinner:  Beef tenderloin and salad with oil and vinegar dressing.  This was Mother’s Day dinner with family, so yes there was some prosecco and wine, a small piece of chocolate cake and strawberries.  I skipped the bread, the cheese, the chips with the appetizers and the potatoes.  Overall a win.

Exercise:  4.4 mile walk around our local lake with a friend

Today felt good.  I took the situation and made it what I was willing to compromise on.  I could say no to the delicious cheese and crackers, the tortilla chips and salsa, the potatoes.  But I allowed myself some wine and a bit of the dessert.  That’s the way forward here.  On a daily basis, stick to the plan.  When there are special occasions, decide what matters and what I can live without.  It worked and I felt good.  And nobody noticed or cared what I was or wasn’t eating.