Imperfections!

So... since my last post, I have tried a lot of new things. Some of these things include a sugar-free whole-food chocolate ice cream (delicious), cheesey flax crackers, almond butter, slender wine, and vodka. While I have been careful to stay very close to my daily carb limit, I have not been super conscientious; I have over-indulged in most of these new foods, occasionally missed out on exercise, I've had two nights of drinking plenty, and one night of drinking waaay too much (wherever you are Erika, I hope you're recovering as well).  I haven't "cheated" or gone back to my old way of eating, but I've definitely made some bad choices.

Before this way of eating, a week or two of this would literally cause a 4 to 6 pound weight gain that would never come off again. Like two summers ago, I gained six pounds on a week long vacation. And make no mistake; I never go crazy, eating whatever I want. We're talking healthy eating all day and extra exercise to allow for the occasional ice cream cone and more frequent wine drinking. Six pounds in one week!? Ridiculous.

But now, after two weeks of not-great-but-not-terrible eating habits, I have gained... brace yourself... 0.8 pounds! And since I know exactly how to take it back off again, I can SO live with that! I'm back to consuming plenty of water & veggies, and exercising consistently, and I have every faith that the weight will start dropping again. Maybe not right away or at the rate I want, but I am certain it will happen.

Doesn't this make more sense? If you eat semi-poorly, you don't deserve to lose weight. But it has always felt harsh that a few days of imperfect choices should ruin a month or more of really hard work. Now that I'm eating the way I always should have been eating, I can watch and better understand the cause and effect of my actions. I feel so at peace with this.

So in two days, I'm off to vacation in Michigan.  I'm going to hold off on the vodka (for like... ever), and diligently drink water and exercise. But I'm going to have that healthier-for-you ice cream whenever I have enough wiggle room to do so, and I'm going to drink moderate amounts of slender wine however many nights I wish. And I won't have to pay for that for three months or more when I get back.  In fact, I am secretly hoping to lose just a half pound over my week long vacation, just to say I did it. How cool would that be??  Wish me luck.  No, wish me a happy vacation- worse case scenario, I'll pick up where I left off when I return.

Ah life... I just really like it :)

The Daily Grind

Hello Blog.  It has been so long since our last visit.  This is because I finally stopped to make a list of what needs to be accomplished for my two-person-job by August 17th (yes, that really is our first day!). Since then, my summer has just not been the same.  I feel guilty for browsing the internet or playing solitaire, and starting an Agatha Christie *pause for longing sigh* is completely out of the question. Reality roused me from my sleeping-until-ten, absorbing-myself-in-Annabelle-and-Atkins existence to remind me that I am still a member of society with plenty of responsibilities.

Think that teaching middle school and high school choir can't possibly be that involved? Oh, think again! Now if I didn't care about my job, it's true that I would have another solid month of summer break... and a miserable nine months after that. My Gracious Father has blessed me with a passion, and a job in which to exhaust it, and I am extremely and intensely grateful. I'll take those simultaneously rewarding and frustrating twelve hour days over anything.

Meanwhile, I am absolutely not sacrificing my new way of eating (and my health), no matter how long my to-do list may be.  I am planning my meals, washing and cutting vegetables, and cooking (and cleaning dishes) very diligently. So worth the work to finally feel in control of my own appetite. AND, this morning marks exactly one month of eating this way; in celebration my scale informed me that I am seven pounds lighter for it!  In 3.6 pounds, I will be within the BMI limit for "normal weight," which is my first mini goal. Yay :)

Goodnight dear Blog. I promise to visit you sooner than last time. And I promise to try to bring a little less me to our next meeting :)

Plugging Away!

My goodness summer is flying by!  I need to get going on all of that school work I wanted to have finished before August.  Unfortunately, I am not the best cook; otherwise, this way of eating would be far less time consuming! After two and a half weeks I am down five pounds, which is soo wonderful for me.  My weight loss will slow down now (first two weeks are the fastest) but at least it is WORKING. I would love to lose a pound per week from here on out, but the average weight loss per week is between 1/2 and 2 pounds, so I'll probably sink down to a half pound per week.  I don't really mind because I am finally capable of controlling my weight- no random gains that never leave, no hard work for weeks and weeks with absolutely no change. 

My favorite food since I've started this is canned pumpkin at breakfast. Weird I know, but I put cinnamon, full-fat cream cheese, and sugar-free caramel in it, and it's like creamy pumpkin pie! My hubby likes it, and Annabelle desperately waits to lick the bowl every morning.  This friday I am increasing my net carbs to 25, and if that goes well I will move on re-introducing cherries, blueberries, almond butter, and slender wine. SO excited about that last one :)

I'm off to finally get started on some of that school work!