Finally found this blog again!

This is how disorganized I am. I started a blog and then couldn't find it!
Well, recently I decided I NEEDED to write down attempts and goals again and I thought of this blog and felt very sheepish. Good thing it's not out in public but just for me.

Anyway, I'm starting yet another attempt at getting organized and losing weight. Well, mostly losing weight. I figure once I feel better it'll be easier to attempt the other goals.

So my current goal is to lose 10 lbs or more by July 4th 2010. I've written it down and worked out what I need to do and here it is:

Goal: Lose 10 lbs. (or more!) by July 4th
Specific actions to accomplish this:
a) Chew food more slowly and swallow before putting another bite in my mouth.
b) Schedule exercise at the gym three times a week and then go at those times.
c) Drink a glass of water every morning before breakfast.
d) Take my vitamins daily
e) Be in bed by 11pm on weeknights
f) Eat no more than one serving of meat per meal.
g) Eat until satisfied but not stuffed.
h) Limit processed sweets or snacks to once a day.
i) Take a walk around the block daily after dinner.
j) Eat some yogurt or take acidophilus (probiotics for intestinal health) daily
k) Read Sean's blog entry about how he lost weight at least every other day.

So far I'm doing well with f) i) j) k) but have to work on the rest. Baby steps.

I'm glad I found my blog again. Now I can come here to read what my goal was and what my plan was for achieving it. I'm 165.2 lbs today. Down from 166+ earlier in the week with my period and all. I'm looking to weigh 155 lbs by July 4th.

I registered today on stepping out of squalor website and posted. So far so good. I got so inspired by the Kimmy thread on Squalor Survivors and seeing before and after pictures. I cleared off the kitchen table and this time I am determined to keep it clear. Benjamin already is starting to sit at the table with us for our dinners and that makes me so proud! And his doing that will motivate me to keep it clear.

I also cleared out the stuff under the kitchen table so the whole effect has been a lightening of the heaviness of the kitchen. Now I am working on the kitchen counters. One inch at a time as someone suggested. lol

I told Catherine about Kimmy thread (my apostrophe is not working) and the website already. I hope it changes her life as well.

We went to a Chinese restaurant and I blew it there. I got upsold with some fried bread with pork in it. It did not taste good but I ate a couple pieces anyway. We ended up throwing the rest out. I definitely felt like I ate to fullness and then we went to Dennys to play on our date night and we shared an Apple Cobbler.

So not a good day calorie-wise.

Mess-wise, still plugging away and reading the Kimmy thread which is so motivating and touching.

http://www.squalorsurvivors.com/resources/index.shtml

It's been awhile since I've posted another entry. It's not because I haven't been earnestly trying to better my life during this time but because I basically haven't had anything to report.

I'm being kind to myself when I say that I'm still progressing. The truth is I'm not so vigilant anymore about my eating and I stopped recording everything I eat. But it's also true that I have not had a wild pigout since I've started this calorie reduction and overall I am eating better and with less calories. In fact, where I was eating so I was gaining visibly every week, I've now reversed it so that I am at least not gaining weight week after week.

The scale DH fixed says 171.x now. At one point it said 169 I think. And at one point in my sister's place 175. So I'm going by this scale now and will continue.

I've learned a little about me and vegetables. I like them so much I will eat them just boiled most of the time. So when odd vegies come around through the CSA I find I don't need to roast them or anything. Just boiling or stir-frying with garlic will do. Of course the rest of the family won't eat it that way but DH will try a bit that way and that's good enough. So I won't let those vegetables stay in the fridge too long now.

I found a website: http://www.squalorsurvivors.com/resources/index.shtml

It's possibly life changing. I laugh when I read the stories posted on there and I'm just now reading the Kimmy thread. That girl lived in 3rd degree squalor but managed to pull herself out of it thanks to online support. I find the site stress-relieving, humorous, and motivating. So cathartic.

I recommended it to Catherine who is going through the same thing and she's read one success story so far.

Tonight my brother James came to visit on the spur of the moment and he laughed and said OMG when he saw our place. But he stayed and visited for a long while which was nice. The kids were thrilled to see him. They were kind of hyper.

Afterwards I read the Kimmy thread (for the first time) and after the first page of that (there are 17) I got working on the kitchen table. I see the table now under the laptop. It was sitting on a pile of paper before then. I've given myself permission not to recycle but just to toss. Part of it is because our bin is totally full. But part is that the advice on the thread says to give yourself a break on that because it's too hard to have to sort to that degree when you're getting out of squalor.

So while no great shakes at the calorie reduction thing, I didn't blow it with a big huge meal at any time and I am also starting to attack the mess around here which was my intent with this blog when I first started.

I need to keep drinking the water. I noticed something. When I drink plenty of water during the day I stay on course with calorie reduction. When I'm not consciously drinking lots of water, the odds aren't so good. So I don't know if it's the water or if it's the consciousness but I will make an effort to focus on drinking lots of water throughout the day. I bought another case of bottled water from Costco so that will help.

Hmm. It's 10:30pm, I wanted to go to bed an hour ago when I decided I wasn't going to the gym. I need to focus on calories. I had some yummy food today. Made bran muffins. Overdid it by eating three. But they were small - and had fiber! ;>

And I had a cup of coffee - decaf. But I loved the half and half. Missed it. Well, I have to start anew tomorrow. Haven't totally let go of the wagon but I have fallen out a bit and am hanging on, getting my butt back in.

The good news is DH fixed the scale in the bathroom. Now I can see "progress" if there is any. That will be good motivation.

My period has ended. I wonder if that has anything to do with me eating a bit more. That was a short period. Essentially 4 days but heavy.

Okay, off to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Tomorrow is another day.

Yesterday was not a successful day. Not a give up diet type of day but I went to a child's birthday party and ate the cake (but scraped off frosting) and munched on vegies with ranch dressing a bit too much. And I had a salad but with deli meat and eggs and it was a bit too much probably. In any case, my stomach started to look bloated. Sign of overeating a bit.

Except I didn't feel like I pigged out. I'm still taking it easy and eating fairly moderately. But the thing I did not do was work out.

And tonight I had dinner at Seelye's and we had chicken kabobs and vegetables and it was good. I also had a small ice cream cone. The problem now is that I was not satiated and felt hungry still after dinner and it's 10pm and I'm still hungry. I know I will eat something but not sure what yet.

So my calorie reduction is a bit off course. I don't think I'm eating such that I'll gain but I don't think I'm eating such that I'll lose either. So more work on that tomorrow.

Off to eat but not to pig out! And also to drink more water. I think that's fallen by the wayside and that's what makes a difference.