Breaking Barriers!

Very excited about this morning's weigh in!!  I am now below 180 lbs!!  I'm soo excited!!!

Okay, so I'm just barely below 180, the official weight is 179.8 lbs (:-p) but, whatever, it's still below 180 and that makes me happy.

Just a short post today, not too much to report.  Had a good weekend diet wise, no cheating or sneaking. 

Well, alright, last night Neil and I broke into the pickled beans that I'd canned in September and I had one or two of those.  The only reason that would classify as cheating is I'm supposed to steer clear of vinegar, something about the acidity levels, but I figure two pickled beans worth of acid isn't going to kill me.  And beside, I'm the one who busted my butt planting, growing, watering, picking and preserving the things so I should at least get to enjoy a few of them... right?

If you're interested in how I'm coping with this incredibly restrictive diet, I'll tell you one of my little secrets... Since I've pegged Christmas Day to be my big "cheat day" I've started to make a list of all of the things I can't have but REALLY REALLY want and will be indulging in on our Lord's birthday.  Here's a sampling of the list so far:

1. bacon wrapped scallops
2. ham
3. hot chocolate
4. hard liquor (any kind will do)
5. cookies (again, any kind will do)
6. pickled things... carrots, beans, beets, pickles (you know, baby cucumbers!) & zucchini relish

And that's just a few items that I can hardly wait for.

I'm also concerned about Christmas Eve.  At the office where I work we shut down at noon on Christmas Eve and do a gift exchange and everyone brings a tasty hors'dorve (spl?) to share.  It's like a pot luck and it's awesome, some of the girls here are kickass cooks and it'd be a shame to miss out on the festivities.  So I might have to allow myself to indulge for the afternoon that day.  What do you think?  How much cheating should I allow myself over the holidays?

Loosing Momentum

I weighed myself yesterday and the magic number isssss 180.8 lbs.  I'm guessing I've lost about 7.5 lbs in just under 2 weeks.  I'm not saying that's a bad amount, I'm actually pretty impressed.  But yesterday was not a good example of my so far pretty good self control.

Of course, yesterday was Remembrance Day and since the kids are to young to go to the local ceremonies we stayed home.  Neil went to work for the better part of the day so I had the kids all to myself.  The morning went well but then Liam convinced me to bake cookies with him and Rowan late in the afternoon.  This was not a brilliant plan since I have never, ever, been able to keep myself from sampling cookie dough.  So yes, I did indulge myself and had not one, not two, but three lumps of cookie dough!!!

Afterwards I felt so guilty that I vowed I wouldn't eat any of the cookies once they came out of the oven.  So after they had cooled I dispensed one to each of the boys and proceeded to make dinner.  Liam and Rowan sat down on the kitchen floor with their sippy cups full of milk to enjoy the sugar laden fruits of their labour.  Liam quickly noticed that I was not joining them and insisted that I sit down with them.  So I did, but I didn't have a cookie in my hand and Liam must have felt slighted because he flashed his saucer sized eyes at me and said, "What's wrong Mommy, don't you think the cookies we made are good?"  I told him that I was sure they were very good but that Mommy couldn't eat them on her diet, to which he replied, "But it will hurt my feelings if you don't try one, we worked so hard to make them and they're your favourite kind." Which, of course, they were my favourite kind, ginger snaps, and that's why I sampled the dough.  If they had been chocolate chip or peanut butter I would have been able to refrain myself (sure, Jocelyn, just keep telling yourself that).

So I caved, to make my cutie pie little boy happy, I caved, and I ate not one, not two, but (you guessed it) three cookies while I was sitting on the floor with my beautiful children who were so happy to see me enjoy these cookies. 

There, I've confessed, I totally, outright, blatantly cheated.  It wasn't even an accident or unavoidable like my previous indiscretions were, it was just plain cheating.  Phew, that feels better.  I promise to try and be good from now on, I really do.

But on to a more positive note... my pants are getting looser!!!  The other day I noticed that one pair of dress pants that have always been a little snug (like, on the verge of busting seams) are fitting better.  There is more room in the front (not in the main stomach area, unfortunately, more like lower stomach/mid-hips) and in the behind!!  These are the pants that I only wear when I have absolutely no other clean laundry and I'm not bloated in the slightest.  I usually feel very self-conscious in these pants, they were skin tight and panty-line revealing.  But now, I think I can work them into the main rotation of work clothes.  Very exciting. 

I've also noticed that my bras are fitting better.  They don't cut into my sides so much (if at all) anymore and the straps aren't cutting into my shoulders as deeply.  Even my $190 TAB bra (which is supposed to fit perfectly already) feels more comfortable.  Of course, I'm probably loosing a bunch of weight in my breasts, but I figure I'm big enough in that area that I can afford to loose some without forfeiting the cleavage that Neil loves so much (sorry for that one Mom).

Anyway, lunch break is almost over.  I'll try to write again over the weekend.

1 Week + 1 Day

I've been dieting now for a week and a day and I'm pleased with my progress so far.  I weighed myself this evening (I was supposed to weigh in last night but I fell asleep on the couch instead... oops) and discovered that eating right and exercising actually does help you loose weight, who knew!

Tonight's Weight
With clothes: 184.8
Without clothes: 183.2

So, since my starting weight was 190.2 with clothes that means I've lost at least 5 lbs!!  I say "at least" because the clothes I'm wearing are always different and I figure that makes for a margin of error of 1-1.5 lbs, I'm not interested in margins of error, I want exactly scientific perfect weights (alright, not exactly scientific perfect, but as close to perfect as possible with my limited technological capabilities).

Therefore, I'll be weighing myself from now on "sans clothing" in order to get a better idea of my actual weightloss.

Aside from fixating on my weight I've been having a pretty good week.  I've discovered that I can enjoy somethings I like on this diet.  I can still drink Starbucks coffee, albeit with soy milk instead of 2% and no caramel on my caramel macchiatos (I drizzle honey on instead) but it still tastes pretty good.  I'm also allowed to use margarine (instead of butter) and I like to put that on the cinnamon & raisin Ezekiel bread that I found at the health food store and that makes a tasty breakfast.  I'm making an effort to find pleasure in the smallest of culinary delights.

I have had a couple of inadvertent slip-ups though.  On Saturday Neil suggested we take the kids to McDonald's for dinner (he hadn't been in the new one yet) and I figured I'd just get a salad so we went.  I ordered a Thai Chicken Salad with the chicken grilled and no glaze.  I also did not put the dressing or the crunchy chip things that they give you on the salad.  So basically I paid $7 for a tiny chicken breast and a little bowl of salad (that I picked the red peppers out of, by the way).  The slip-up was that I'm pretty sure there was some sort of BBQ sauce on the chicken breast.  But I figured that I'd done the best I could with what McDonald's made available to me.  Arguably, one could say that the slip-up was going to McDonald's in the first place, but I didn't even try one fry or nugget (pat myself on the back).

The second slip-up was much the same situation.  Neil's parents (I'm detecting a pattern here... Neil) celebrated their 30th anniversary on Sunday evening at the Orion Restaurant.  There were about 12 people there so they ordered a variety of Chinese dishes that everyone shared.  Of course, no one was interested in the rice noodles with egg strips and curry sauce that I ordered for myself.  Once again I had to pick out the red & green peppers but I cleaned my plate of everything else.  The slip-up came with the sauce, while curry is on my list of Neutral spices I'm pretty sure it was mixed with all sorts of other things that are not beneficial to my diet of choice.  I make this assumption based purely on the fact that it was just so damn tasty that it must have been bad for me.

All in all, I figure those two little tiny black marks on my otherwise clean record are pretty minor and definetly merit overlooking considering my INCREDIBLE self control and discipline that I've practiced over the last week (+1 day).  I can honestly say that I haven't once outright blatantly cheated on this regiment.  I did hungrily gaze at the Hallow e'en candy my kids were eating, and I do occasionally lick my fingers while making tomato sauce for my family, but I haven't once snuck a mini chocolate bar or a spoonful of meaty tomato sauce when I had the chance.  I have been very well behaved, I'm happy to report, and after losing 5+ lbs in just over one week I think I'll stick to my self imposed purgatory from all thing delectable and mouth-watering and see just how far I can go.

... but I have to say, I am REALLY looking forward my one (previously mentioned) cheat day, Christmas!

The Weighting Game

So today was my day to step on the scale and see how I've done for the last 3 days.  My first weigh in totalled a whopping 190.2 lbs. 

I was expecting to have lost maybe a pound or two if I was lucky.  I even had a sneaky plan devised... when I weighed myself on Sunday evening I did so fully clothed.  So this evening I figured I'd weigh myself with my clothes on and then again in the buff.  I figured that I'd feel better about the naked weigh in and report that number to anyone who cared (and I assume/hope that you do since you're reading this). 

So I stepped on the scale having only removed my slippers (they've gotta weigh at least 1.5 lbs together) and when I opened my tightly squeezed eyes after hearing my newly acquired "Weight Watchers" scale's ominous beeeeeep I was startled to see that my current weight is 186.2 lbs!!!!!  That means I've already lost 4 whole pounds!  I even stepped on the scale a second time to double check and it repeated itself... 186.2 lbs!!! 

I don't know about you but I'm very motivated by instant gratification and losing 4 pounds in 3 days is as close as one can expect to get with instant gratification via dieting.

I was so pleased with loosing 4 pounds (I just can't stop saying it) that I didn't even disrobe to see my actual weight.

Now I know that the sceptics out there are thinking "What, was she only wearing one sock and saying that she was dressed, there's no way she could have lost 4 pounds in 3 days"  but I'm telling you it's true.  I wasn't wearing anything extraordinarily heavy on Sunday evening; skinny jeans (you've got to think it to be it), tank top, sweater, bra & panties; and today I'm not really wearing anything different; stretchy maternity pants (not as flattering as the skinny jeans), t-shirt, one of Neil's old sweatshirts (okay, one of his new good ones, but it's comfy), bra & panties.  I'm gonna say that the clothes haven't made that much of a difference.

But if it makes you feel better I'll start weighing myself this Sunday in the buff, I'll even provide the comparison weight between clothes on and clothes off.  But for now I'm going to bask in the glory of having LOST 4 POUNDS IN 3 DAYS (it just sounds sooooo good)!!!!!

Day 2 down...

I don't want to spend too much time on this post, it's almost 11:30pm and I'm exhausted.

First two days have gone pretty well.  I've gotten lots of helpful hints from family and friends alike and I'm sure to get many more.

So far I'm doing pretty good, no cheats and only a few cravings.  I've been scouring my blood-type cook book for ideas for meals and have found a few that I'm looking forward to trying.  So far this week I've had no meat to speak of so I think I'll bake a salmon fillet for dinner tomorrow night... mmmmmm, my mouth is watering already!!

On a completely unrelated note, I just finished watching Robin Hood with Neil.  It was a great movie, Neil even stayed awake through the whole thing so that's saying something!  As I was watching I was constantly wondering where I recognized this one character from.  He's one of the guys that follows Russell Crowe around and provides comic relief and occasionally you hear him singing and strumming on a lute (or some other stringed instrument).  I recognized his voice and his face but just couldn't place him.  So, after the movie was over I got online and looked up the cast list.  When I found him I didn't recognize his name but his bio said he was born in Petty Harbour, Newfoundland!!  Now that rang a bell since I've just been to a concert here in my home town in BC where the lead singer said he was from Petty Harbour.  So I Googled the actor's name, Alan Doyle, and it turns out he's the lead singer for the band Great Big Sea... the very band whose concert I had just so greatly enjoyed!  Now I think that's an interesting coincidence, one worth noting on my new blog which I'm pretty sure about a half a dozen people are following!!  Anyway, if you get a chance I suggest you watch Robin Hood (it reminded me of Braveheart, if you like that sort of thing) and let me know what you think.

Anyway, that's all for now, next time I post I'll be including my weight (eek)!  Stay tuned...

Getting Ready

Today was Hallow e'en and therefore the perfect day before I start my diet!  I gorged on candy and junk food.  We had dinner at my Mom & Dad's place tonight and we ate lasagna (my Mom's is the best), Caesar salad, tomatoes & mozzarella with basil, red wine and home-made sponge toffee and caramel corn.  I also stopped at Tim Horton's for an extra large steeped tea, which I won't be able to drink while on this diet, but it's one of my favorite Timmy's treats.  I had an extra large bowl of multi-grain cheerios for breakfast, another favourite which I'll be avoiding, and all sorts of other tid-bits that I'm going to make a concerted effort to avoid for the next 3 months or so.

So, here's a little more info about my choice of diet.  My blood is type A which means that I'll basically be eating a vegetarian diet with a little chicken and fish mixed in here and there.  I talked about the three categories in my last post and each of the four blood types have their own specific categories but I'll fill you in on the general layout of my menu...

Beneficial to Type A:
cod, salmon, trout, soy milk, soya cheese, olive oil, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, black beans, lentils, oat flour, rice flour, Ezekiel bread, rice cakes, alfalfa sprouts, onion, tofu, garlic, blackberries, grapefruit, lemons, carrots, pineapples, ginger, soy sauce, mustard, coffee, green tea and red wine.

Neutral for Type A:
Chicken, turkey, tuna, feta, yogurt, canola oil, almonds, walnuts, green peas, snow peas, brown, white & wild rice, corn muffins, gluten-free bread, asparagus, celery, various mushrooms, apples, raspberries, strawberries, honey, salt, dill, peppermint tea & white wine.

Type A should Avoid:
Bacon, beef, pork, halibut, milk, ice cream, cottage & cream cheese, cashews, white & whole-wheat flour, English muffins, cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes, green, red, yellow & hot peppers, bananas, mangoes, oranges, black pepper, all vinegar, ketchup, mayonnaise, pickles, beer & black teas (regular & decaf).

And this is just to name a few.  It can get pretty complicated if you let it.  The book that I have is the "Cook Right for your Type" edition of the series.  It lays out some pretty good recipes and give you all sorts of suggestions, including a 30 day meal plan.  So, I'm feeling confident that I can accomplish my goals, which I haven't entirely nailed down yet.

Speaking of goals, here's the few I've set for myself: stick to the diet for at least 3 months (Christmas day will be my one cheat day where I can eat whatever I want), get on the treadmill or go to the walking track at least 3 times a week and hopefully this will result in me loosing 30+ pounds.

And, speaking of weight, I went out and purchased a scale today, the first scale I've ever bought and the first one I've ever had in a house since I moved out of my parents place.  I currently weigh... 190.2 lbs with my clothes on.  That is only 5 lbs less that I weighed at my last prenatal appointment before I had Rowan... 2 years ago.  Rowan weighed 6 lbs, 12 oz, which means that I've gained weight since he was born.  This does not make me happy, I really should have lost some weight while I was nursing but I don't think I did, or if I did it didn't take me long to gain it all back!

So, tomorrow is day 1, wish me luck and please comment either on this blog page or on my facebook page, I'd love to hear any encouragement or suggestions to keep myself motivated.  If you are in the small group of my contacts who don't have a facebook page you can always e-mail me.  I'll keep you posted on my progress... here we go!!

Getting Started

So I've been thinking about starting a blog for awhile now, but I haven't been able to come up with anything interesting to write about.  Last week I made the decision to start a diet and that gave me the perfect reason for starting this blog!

I've told a number of my family, friends and collegues that I'll be beginning this diet on Monday and everyone is supportive and excited for me.  But, I wanted another way to keep myself accountable and invested in this exercise so I thought it would be a good way to kick off a blog.  I don't plan on the blog being about the diet and only the diet.  I plan on incorporating the rest of my life into my posts as well.  Lord knows I should have plenty to write about what with my busy schedule and energetic family.

So, on November 1, 2010, I will be kicking off the Blood-Type Diet.  It's basically a diet that has been mapped out for your specific blood-type whether it be O, A, B or AB.  The + or - has nothing to do with the diet, as far as I can tell, so it's basically four different diets that each have three categories of food.  These catagories are Beneficial, Neutral and Avoid.  The Beneficial category tells you what foods are especially good for you and what your body digests and metabolises best. The Neutral category tells you what you can eat that is neither especially beneficial nor detrimental to your body.  And of course, the avoid category lays out what you're body has trouble digesting or what will contribute to weight gain and/or negative health issues.

Now, of course, I'm not a doctor or a nutritionist or any other kind of expert on the subject of health and weight loss, I'm just a woman who wants to get healthy so that I've got more energy and enthusiasim for life.  And if I happen to loose 30 - 40 pounds along the way I definately won't be complaining!

I've told a number of my family, friends and collegues that I'll be beginning this diet on Monday and everyone is supportive and excited for me.  But, I wanted another way to keep myself accountable and invested in this exercise so I thought it would be a good way to kick off a blog.  I don't plan on the blog being about the diet and only the diet.  I plan on incorporating the rest of my life into my posts as well.  Lord knows I should have plenty to write about what with my busy schedule and energetic family. 

So tomorrow I've got to get all of the shopping for the diet done and get my cupboards stocked.  I've  been gorging myself on junk and carbs for the last 3 days, and tomorrow is Hallowe'en so it will be a write-off too.  But, on monday I'll be eating and cooking for myself according to the diet plan.  My husband and sons will not be partaking in my endeavor so I'll be preparing seperate meals for them (which means twice the cooking and twice the dishes).  I will also be weighing myself every Sunday and I'll be posting the weight on this blog (eek).  So wish me luck and follow along as I try to change my life and my body for the better.  Wish me luck!