Sitting with my back to the doughnuts!

Carbo Loading!

Last week I suffered a tiny setback and gained 1/2 pound, after having lost a total of 18 pounds over the past two months. I haven't panicked, but it was a bit of a wake up call. I'm generally pretty careful with my food intake during the week - keeping a little more strict watch on my points, etc. But the weekends tend to be a bit more problematic - the comings and goings of family members, having other commitments, the social trend of eating out on the weekends - all contributes. This past weekend in particular, my body was apparently craving complex carbohydrates - and I indulged it! It all started when I had a meeting on Saturday which began at 8 a.m. and ran until 12:30 p.m. One of the other people in the meeting always brings relatively healthy goodies for our breaks, and lately he's been into making bread. We all know there's nothing like homemade bread. One small slice wouldn't have hurt - but once I had a taste, I ended up grabbing slice after slice, and of course, slathering each slice in butter!

In the afternoon there was a memorial service and afterward the family invited everyone to a meal - people had brought all kinds of goodies - honey baked ham, rice, mashed potatoes, MACARONI AND CHEESE, southern-style greenbeans, chess pies, and more chess pies! It was heaven on earth! And again, I indulged - especially on the macaroni and cheese - which is a particular weakness of mine and the world's best comfort food - especially on cold rainy fall days.

And if that wasn't enough - in the evening a friend and I went out to a movie. We decided we didn't want to eat dinner first (who could after all that food?) but after the movie went to a restaurant for a "bite." Being the cold November night it was, soup really appealed, but did they have a nice hearty, healthy vegetable soup? Of course not! They had a shrimp gumbo (which was probably pretty healthy - but I'm not a big fan) and a potato bacon soup. "Mmmmm" as my grandson says - I haven't had potato soup in a long time! Did I order just the cup of soup? Oh no.... I went for the "giant" portion. And while I know potato soup has a cream base, which is why I typically avoid it, I usually have counted on it being a bit thinner then this one was. This soup was really more like a gravy - and OMG was it good! By the time I finished that along with the ciabatta bread that came with it, I thought I was going to be sick!

So I wasn't surprised when I weighed on Sunday morning and had picked up a 1/2 pound. With Thanksgiving coming I know I'm going to have to either be extra careful leading up to Thanksgiving, or get some more exercise to keep from having a setback again. Because we'll be going to my brother and sister-in-law's home and my sister-in-law is a fabulous cook and I know I won't be able to say no there!

The Doughnut Dilemma

The good news however, is that even though I had a negative physical gain with the 1/2 pound, today I've had a psychological gain and triumphed over doughnuts!

Doughnuts are another weakness. Especially Krispy Kreme doughnuts (don't even start me on the family "legend" about my uncle who sold the Krispy Kreme doughnut recipe for $50!) which rank right up there with heavenly bliss. I have successfully avoided eating a Krispy Kreme doughnut or any kind of doughnut for several months now. My friend Jan and I know first hand the siren call of a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop with that "Hot Doughnuts Now" sign flashing. Several years ago Jan was working where I worked and we decided to ride to and from work together. We also decided to be virtuous and get up extra early and work out at the YMCA before going to work. So we did - it was great - we would work out, shower and get dressed and be at work by 8:30. The only problem was that to get to work we had to drive by a Krispy Kreme shop! Well, I suppose we could've taken an alternative route but....

Anyway, as we approached the shop, one of us would cut a glance at the other, the other would look back and grin - and before you knew it, we were pulling in! It was then that Jan and I learned that while we can be good friends and can encourage each other "from afar" in our weight loss attempts - we can't actually diet together - we always end up sabotaging ourselves.

So this is the history I'm dealing with when this morning one of my co-workers comes in waving a doughnut box under my nose. Granted, they weren't Krispy Kreme doughnuts, but they were doughnuts and my light WW breakfast was already wearing off! "No No" I cried - take those out of here. "Oh come on" she said, fairly sprouting devil's horns. "No, I'm trying SOOO hard." So she graciously took them away.

But the box is sitting on the table in our office kitchen. When I went in there to heat up my lunch they loomed at me. I had to avert my eyes to keep from being tempted to just open the box and look at them. I moved my lunch to another table and sat down with my back to the doughnuts. If I don't see them, I won't be tempted. One of my other co-workers came in and saw me - "You've got you back turned on the doughnuts haven't you?" she asked.

"Yep" was all I could say, as I focused on my WW lunch!

Sweet Tarts vs. Grapefruit

Honest to God - the following actually transpired between me and my son:

Chase calls me at work - "Mom, I'm going out to the store to pick up some milk - do you want anything?"
I responded, "You know, I've been craving something sour. Would you get me some kind of sour something?
He asked, "Like what?"
"Oh," I responded, "something like Sweet Tarts or some similar candy."
"Okay," he said and hung up.

I arrived home from work and was chatting with Chase and Jennifer when he picked up a grapefruit and handed it to me. "Here's your 'something sour'," he said. I just looked at both of them as though they were crazy - I had been thinking about those Sweet Tarts all the way home!

"You're kidding, right?" knowing the prankster my son likes to be.

"Oh no," Jennifer said, Chase has been fussing at me because I've had a lot of candy in the house and you've been eating it and that's not helping your diet. So we got you a grapefruit instead!"

Chase was looking very smug and proud of himself! I didn't know whether to thank them for reigning me in and not caving in to my request for candy - or to be annoyed with them for not getting me the item I had requested!

In fact, they had said they were going to take away all the candy that was left from Halloween - a big orange plastic pumpkin had been sitting on a side table filled with the likes of Tootsie Rolls. Again, I thought they were kidding - however, when I stuck my hand in the pumpkin after they left to go out for the evening - sure enough - no candy!

I had to chuckle - my kids love me and they know I'm serious about the weight loss and that's their way of helping - tough love!

Of course I coped, and was ultimately grateful that they didn't get the candy for me. When I weighed in on Sunday morning I was happy they were so tough on me. In spite of a week of still sneaking the occasional candy piece and heavy dinner times with delicious morsels like homemade lasagna, I still managed to lose another pound! I had gone out and walked the two mile loop at Long Hunter again on Saturday so I know that's a saving grace. I tried to imagine what if I had stuck better to the WW plan during the week and did the 2 mile walk - maybe it would've been more than 1 pound. What i know I can now do is work a little harder, make sure I can get some activity in during the week and maybe I'll see a little more progress.

Til then, I'm at least still on track with an 18 lb weight loss since September....

.....but I still haven't eaten the damn grapefruit!

Surviving Halloween

This week saw another 1/2 pound loss - not great, but given my body's apparent schedule of dropping a few pounds one week and little or nothing for a couple of weeks I'm still feeling good about it. Plus, this was Halloween week - and while I didn't completely stay away from candy - and the fabulous pumpkin pie my son made from scratch - I still lost and didn't gain, which is really something to celebrate.

And I finally made it out for some activity. I took the grandson out to Long Hunter State Park, where they have a two mile paved trail around a lake that he and I walked around. Well...I walked - and pushed him in the stroller. It was a beautiful fall day, the temperature was perfect and it was a peaceful time for me. However, since it's been a while since I've done that - my 54 year old hips are letting me know today just how out of shape I am! Jenn and I still plan on getting to the fitness center in the apartment complex a few nights a week to walk on the treadmill, so if I can get into that routine, then perhaps I'll see a little more progress.

But getting past Halloween without major damage is a win. Now I can look forward to Thanksgiving with a little less trepidation!