What not to do...

I'm sorry to say, but I did gain 3.4 lbs this past week.  I was not surprised at all.

The problem was that I went out to eat with friends... a lot.  I went to Applebees twice, TGI Fridays, IHOP, Wok In Wok Out, and Qdoba.  Whew.  I definitely need to limit that in the future (for my health and for my wallet!)  A few of those times I didn't make completely unhealthy choices of menu, but the ones that were unhealthy were really unhealthy.  I did have two meals that included a burger and fries, one that included an appetizer, and one that included dessert.  And of course, dine in portions are much bigger than what I would like to be eating.  Also, I did go for walks this week, but most of them were more leisurely instead of aerobic.  I'd like to get back on track with that as well.

So...  I'd like to not make this a gain-lose-gain trend.  The good thing is that I am now much more aware of how my body responds to the food choices I make.  After eating a burger I definitely felt sluggish and uncomfortable, and overeating actually caused me to feel some slight pain.  That is unusual for me.  I am used to eating and eating and eating until I feel like I'm going to explode and that's about where I stop.  I am happy to find out that my stomach has shrunk enough to be able to feel it sooner when I've eaten too much.

I am going to try my best to not eat out with friends this week.  It can be difficult for me to not eat out when it's a performance week for a show.  But with your encouragement, I think I can do it.

10 down, 22 to go

I somehow managed to lose another 5 lbs this past week.  So, I've lost a total of 10 lbs and I feel great!  I have 22 more lbs to lose by September.  I'm still only planning on trying to lose 1-2 lbs a week.  You can keep track of my progress by looking at the bar at the top and bottom of my blog.  The one at the top measures my progress towards my September goal and the one at the bottom measures my progress towards my ultimate goal.

Here's an update on what I'm doing...

1. I'm trying to get some exercise every day.  At this point it's mostly walking.
2. I'm trying to eat healthier.  I'm aiming for half of what I eat being fruits and veggies.  I'm also trying to cut back on sodium intake.
3. I'm trying to eat less by only eating when I'm hungry and stopping before I'm over-full.

So far so good.


Aaand... my computer is on the fritz so I may not be able to update more than once a week.  We'll see.  But please keep reading and commenting!  It really helps me stay motivated!  (For the few of you who may be unaware, you can comment by going to the bottom of the post and clicking where it says "0 encouragements".  Or the number will be different if someone has already commented.)

Here's an issue I'd like to get your opinions on...
Am I losing weight too quickly?  They say if you lose only one or two lbs a week, you're more likely to keep it off.  But, I'm not sure what I would do differently to try to lose weight slower.  At this point I'm inclined to keep doing what I'm doing and let the weight fall off however quickly it wants to, but I'm not sure.

Oh, and my new scale broke.  Boo.  I'm going to see about getting an exchange.

Going Shopping

I went shopping yesterday to pick up some healthy snacks.  I was amazed how difficult it is to find things to eat that are both healthy and affordable.  Fresh fruit and veggies are obviously healthy, but they are a little more expensive in winter than they are at other times of the year (unless they're canned, in which case they are not as rich in nutrients and have a lot more sodium or sugar).  And I also tried to find healthy cereal, crackers, granola, and breakfast bars.  I did manage to find some, but it took a lot of searching and label-reading.  Just about EVERYTHING out there is super high in sodium!  Sodium is one of the things I'm trying to cut back on.  And another thing, everything labelled "low fat" had about twice at much sodium as the "regular" option! Apparently, when food companies take out fat they throw in a bunch more salt to add to the flavor.  Crazy!  A lot of what I found that was actually healthy was organic-grown, which is more expensive.  I am still committed to trying to eat healthier, but this makes my pocketbook a little sad.  Any ideas?