Non Scale Victories

Sorry for the delayed update, but I got some major downtime last week and took it! When I could sit on the couch and do nothing I did just that, and enjoyed every second of it. Now that I'm done being lazy it's time for an update.

At my Weight Watchers weigh-in last week the scale went up .8. Now, I must say it was expected. The biggest reason being it was the time of the month most women's scales go up. Nothing I can do about that but go with it. I will admit that even though I was expecting the numbers to be up it was still disappointing to see. I was bummed. Went into an old way of thinking that I call panic mode. Should I change up, should I stop eating carbs, did I go off my paleo-type eating, should I not eat my weeklies, maybe Weight Watchers doesn't work....

Slow and steady wins the race. Weight Watchers is teaching me how to eat for life for success. 

Meeting time..and I'm so happy I stayed. I listened to the many victories of the week, instead of feeling bad because I didn't have a scale victory it was a reminder to me to trust the program. Stick with it. No need for panic mode. All these people telling their victory of the week stories, soon I will be one of them. Plus when I shared how bummed I felt, I received so much support and some new ideas from the group. One person suggested keeping nail polish by my couch in case I get the night time munchies. If my nails are wet, I can't eat. As the meeting went on my leader started talking about non-scale victories and it really got me thinking of my own personal victories of the week not related to the scale, but still victories. 

The scale can only tell you numbers

The biggest for me being for the first time in months and months I didn't binge, not even one night. I've said it before and admit it fully, I am an emotional eater. Last week I didn't eat my emotions. If I was going through something I wrote about it in my journal, went to bed when I was tired, calmed myself down with walking around my condo, admitted to how I was feeling and was honest with myself. Once I realized that success I cheered myself on repeating to myself I didn't binge!! Huge success in my book and just because the scale didn't show me numbers I wanted to see I still consider my last week a huge success and I'm so proud of myself! 

Saw this on huffingtonpost.com and it's the truth. I will stick with the original problem and deal with it!

Never forget your non scale victories!!!  I'm definitely hoping for some scale victories soon, but for now I will take my non scale victories and be happy with them. Please feel free to share your stories with me. I've recently started a Facebook page called Healthy Living with Cindy. Come join me and let's support each other. 

Put Down the Peanut Butter!!

Finally April is tomorrow. Hurry up April has become a theme between my friend Marissa and me. Why you ask, because since the year has started it has been non-stop craziness. Projects and deadlines at work seemed never ending. Usually I don't mind, but when one starts before another one or two ends it does become a bit much. However, I was trusted with some really important and wonderful jobs, for that I am thankful. I was given a chance to learn and grow and see what I am made of. I made some big belly flops along the way but I never gave up. I received the most incredible amount of support from my boss. When I doubted myself, he never did, and always encouraged me to keep trying. This week closed out one of the bigger projects. This was almost 6 months in the making, but really picked up speed back in January. As of today I can officially say that project is closed and was a huge success!!

I was given a mission and with a team of other amazing people we made it happen!

Now on the home front...I miss my couch. I have been working late and trying to catch up with friends that I am feeling a little sleepy these days. I did manage to keep up with my 5 am 21 Day Fix workouts!  I feel like that really helps jump start my day.  BUT I must confess, I haven't been 100% with my eating. More like 80%. I've noticed by the end of the week I am tired and reach for the bad foods, for me, bad eating involves a jar of peanut butter and a spoon. GUILTY! Actually right before I wrote this I was sitting on the couch with a jar of peanut butter and a spoon. The good news is I didn't finish the jar, the bad news is I ate half before I went WTF are you doing!! The peanut butter jar is now safely behind pantry doors. I am back in touch with myself and confessing my food sins to all of you.

I was tired, so tired and victory of the week,
and the peanut butter called me from the pantry!

I workout every day, do I qualify for this...

Sometimes it amazes me how strong I am at work and never give up, but when it comes to eating better and being consistent all it takes is a sleepy night and a jar of peanut butter to get me off my track. I'm pretty sure I consumed 1200 calories alone with the peanut butter tonight, that's a lot of workouts to burn it off...sigh...back to the drawing board.

Well this seems fitting for tonight...good reminder.
I still feel bad, but tomorrow is a new day!

A Way of Healthy Life

Last month was absolutely crazy!  I got sick with an upper respiratory infection and a sinus infection, knocked me on my butt for at least a week. I admit, while in bed I didn't really eat more than Cheerios. Yup, you heard me correct I ate cheerios. I know my paleo, no grains, gluten-free readers are in shock and disbelief right now, but as I mentioned in my last post, I reached a point where what I had been doing wasn't working and I was miserable. Time for a change.

After a year with no results and being unhappy
I knew it was time to take action for my future

I was searching for a way of eating that would allow me to eat a more balanced way of life. Something that would hold me accountable for how much I eat. Something that would allow me to have the occasional indulgence. Most importantly, I wanted something I could do forever. I know there will never come a time I don't have to watch how much or what I eat, but maybe there is a way to have it all and enjoy it and be healthy and lose weight.

I admit I am guilty of this when I deprive myself

That way of thinking lead me back to my original weight loss time, years ago... Weight Watchers!! I did some googling and found that the program changed since I did it last and now the points weren't just about calories, but also took into consideration protein, fiber, and fat and the roles they play. I was still debating to spend the money or not and saw they were running a promotion, no registration fee and a neat little starter package if I signed up for 3 months. I decided with my time being all over the place I would sign up for online only to make it work with my life. I was feeling truly excited for the first time in a LONG time!

This is what my food selection for today looks like.
So may delicious foods I can eat and enjoy
And I still have 5 points left for dessert later if I want

That was a little over a week ago, so how was the first week you are wondering... AMAZING! The phone app has made it so easy to track and check food points. Grocery shopping became more like a game, I walked around the aisles with the app and scanned bar codes to see how many points the food item was. The last week I have enjoyed, Morningstar Farms Chik patties, Sara Lee bread, Fiber One bars for dessert, and ground chicken in my delicious salads.

This was delicious! Eggo, chicken sausage, and egg whites

So easy to make delicious and filling foods

I had my first weigh-in this past Wednesday. I didn't think I lost anything with the yummy food I was eating, lack of exercise, and stressful weekend (more to come on that), but I did indeed have a loss of .6.  I know it doesn't seem like much, but for someone who hasn't seen a loss in a long time and just spent the week enjoying food and not stressing, that loss was very exciting for me.

I will keep you updated of my Weight Watchers fun and promise to post all my yummy food finds.

This is a way of life, not a temporary diet!! 

Social Media and Healthy Tips

Instagram. Even if you don't use it, I would bet you have heard of it. I know I did for the longest time and for the longest time said I don't get it and why should I join when I already use Facebook and Twitter.....until now.

So many social media options!!

A few months ago a friend would only post on Instagram and I wanted to see the pictures she was posting so I joined. Thinking it was only for seeing a few people's pictures and that was all, imagine my surprise when as I started playing around more I found so many people posting about recipes, workouts, outfits, hair, weight loss. It was this whole other world I felt like I discovered and now enjoy very much. 

I follow some incredible people on Instagram, Twitter, g+, just to name a few sites, who have taken charge of their health and weight loss and documented step by step. I've really enjoyed seeing the different types of food people are are eating, and getting ideas for myself to make, but most importantly I started noticing how much or should I say how little they were eating. It got me thinking about my meals.

Some days it's like this.....

Just my size...what too much?
But if I take it off the bun it's low carb

Other days...

Oh you used up all your calories by dinner time...
too bad, now starve!

My calories and numbers say I am eating fine, but as you know I'm not dropping any more weight. When I think about my portion size I realize I'm not connecting to my stomach, I am connecting with my numbers. If I calculate I can have so many calories per meal you can bet your butt I am eating that amount even if I feel full. I am going to try and give my brain a rest from counting for a little and give my stomach and body a chance to speak. If I am stuffed, stop eating and if I am hungry I should eat. I know this may seem like common sense to some, but if you have dieted in the past and had a similar health journey like me then you know exactly what I am talking about. We are just hard wired different, but that doesn't mean we can't reprogram ourselves.  I am still going to make healthy choices and keep myself in check, but maybe knowing exact calorie and carb count isn't necessary.

My new plan for success

Hopefully I have some great weight loss and feeling good results to share soon.