Surviving Temptation in a High Carb World

Today's tip: Don't give in to eating peer pressure.

Yesterday, the women I work with all decided that we needed to go out for ice cream at lunch.

Uh-oh. Visions of creamy chocolate ice cream danced in my head.

I considered not going but I haven't been at this job long and didn't want to be standoffish. So, I decided to go with them and only get something if they had anything sugar free.

Of course they didn't. Plenty of "low fat" choices but nothing sugar free. UGH!

I got coffee instead (with Splenda!). And I'm damned proud of myself for it.

I decided that the idea of those size 8 pants in my closet was more exciting than the scoop of chocolate and peanut butter ice cream.

And that thrill carried me for the rest of the day.

The road not taken would have been me kicking myself for the rest of the day.

This tasted much better!

Who Doesn't Love a Good Contest

I know what you are thinking.

Not a peep from Scalemistress in a month and now twice in one day??

Well, I had to pop in and tell you about a great find I stumbled on today.

Amber, over at That Bead Girl's Weight Loss Project, has a great contest going on right now. Prizes include The Biggest Loser workout dvds, Jillian Michael's DVDs or a year long subscription to some great diet and health magazines. If you remember, I am a big fan of the Biggest Loser DVDs. I have the 2nd one and I actually use it. Shocking but true!

Check out the complete rules and enter for a chance to win one of these fabulous prizes. I have entered so of course I hope that I win but I'm willing to share the love.

We can all use a little motivation. (Some more than others).

And who doesn't like to win stuff.

Listen to Your Instincts

Yes, it's true. It's been a solid month since I posted anything here. And I'm a little embarrassed about the reasons.

Basically, I'm a slacker.

And when you are a slacker, it's all about making excuses, isn't it?

The good news is that the scale has remained steady for the past month. But the bad news is that it's at a number I'm not happy with. Big surprise, right?

(As a little side note, I think the only thing that has kept the weight gain from being more than it is...is that I've actually been exercising fairly regularly this month. Do with that information what you will)

After I got done with my little pity party, I did what I always do. I started reading and researching...looking for some new answer to the question of my increasing waistline. And for a few days, I got sucked in by the lure of the glycemic index. With what I know about my own body chemistry it all seemed to make a lot of sense to me. Eat things that keep your blood sugar constant. I was all ready to drink the proverbial sugar free Kool-Aid.

But as I started studying the food lists and the glycemic index itself, I had a REALLY hard time wrapping my brain around the concept of being able to eat foods that I have not eaten in nearly a year (bread? pasta? bananas?).

I tried REALLY hard to talk myself into it. I went so far as to make a grocery list of things that would now have a home in my refrigerator.

And in the meantime, I kept looking for web sites and blog entries that would convince me that this was the right weight loss plan for me. There's an awful lot of promotion for a low GI way of eating but I wasn't finding the proof I needed. If you look hard enough, you can find anyone who will say anything. It's a matter of, who do you trust? Then I found this article on Regina Wilshire's blog and I came to my senses. So while I think that there might be some value to the glycemic index for people suffering from diabetes, I don't think its going to be any great shakes for me as a weight loss plan.

Now, what was I going to do???

Enter the voice of reason (aka my husband).

Last night as I rambled on about my findings and struggling with the part of me looking for answers and the part of me feeling more than a twinge of doubt about a new plan... he says,

"Why aren't you just doing what you know has worked before?"

DUH.

Good point.

How many times have we talked ourselves into something that our instincts knew was just plain wrong? It's like those driving directions you print out that has that one turn on them that seems to head you in the wrong direction. You KNOW it doesn't seem right but you follow it anyway because it says it...plain as day...right there on the page...that you should go THAT way. Only to find out down the road that you should have followed your instincts and stayed on the path you were on.

Well, I've obviously lost my way a bit the past few months. And while the damage is not horrible ...not irreparable... it does need to be addressed immediately.

A controlled carb plan works for me. Why did I consider straying? It wasn't that the plan wasn't working. It was that I wasn't working the plan.

AH.

Profound, huh?

This little exercise was the good kick in the pants that I needed. Today it was back to Induction for me. By the end of the week, I will have my confidence back!

Stay tuned for less of me.

I Don't Need No Stinkin' Resolutions

The season of eating with reckless abandon is coming to end (thank goodness) and I've decided to get a jump start on the New Year. Rather than waiting for New Year's Eve to come up with some lame resolution like:

• This year I'm going to lose weight. (who doesn't say that EVERY freakin' year?) or

• This year I'm going to exercise every day. (as if THAT's ever going to happen?)

Nope. This year, I'm starting NOW (did you hear me?)

I know that I am not alone if I say that I let the holidays get the best of me. Or, that I have paid the price. Too much sugar and starchy things...(but mostly sugar) has added 10 pounds to my "post cruise" self. So before those 10 become 20, I'm shaking myself out of my sugary haze and starting fresh. (again).

I briefly considered signing up for one of the membership based diet sites like eDiets or South Beach but in the end, I couldn't bring myself to plunk down any amount of money on my credit card (which is still smokin from the battle scars of December in a dual faith household). There's just too much FREE information out there to support the diet plan of your dreams.

Yesterday, I just jumped right in with both feet determined to use my knowledge for good. I'm relying on what I know has worked for me in the past and the daily scouring of my fellow bloggers wisdom. For tracking, I went back to Spark People to log my food and exercise. (It's FREE, FREE, FREE)

It's Day 2 and I already just plain feel better. Sluggishness...BE GONE!

And soon those 10 pounds will be too... and maybe a few of their friends as well.

I am back! Stay tuned for less of me.

Addictive Eating

I used to be a smoker. I was never a heavy smoker...just slightly more than a social smoker. About 10 years ago I quit…cold turkey. A fact which annoys my husband who still smokes. It’s not that he is upset that I quit but more that he doesn’t understand how I can just up and stop…just like…THAT.

And as I think back on it, it really was easier for me than most. I came down with a horrible case of bronchitis and just couldn’t bring myself to smoke while breathing was such a painful experience. Then, once I was feeling better…well, it just seemed silly to go back. But every trigger was a difficult one in the beginning. So it went like this…

Today I’m not going to smoke on the walk from my apartment to the subway. (OK, I can do that)

Next, I’m not going to smoke on the walk from the subway to my office. DONE.

Throughout the day it was more of the same until several days had gone by and I hadn’t smoked at all. So when these urges passed, I started to truly consider myself a “non-smoker” But it was a daily process…and it wasn’t as easy as I’m now making it sound.

OK, so why am I bringing this up?

It occurred to me yesterday in a moment of quiet contemplation (and kicking myself for whatever I ate that I shouldn’t have) that eating…while necessary to sustain life, is also an addictive behavior.

I need food to live…but do I need cookies? Not really.

What about the peanuts? Hmmm…no.

So why is it that some people are able to eat just what they need and the rest of us eat what we need plus what a small third world nation needs too?

How do I take that “one addictive habit at a time” mentality that I used to quit smoking and apply it to not eating except that which I need to sustain a healthy life?

And why was it so much easier to take weight off in the time leading up to last summer’s cruise than it is now? I obviously know HOW to eat the right things. Yet, somehow, without realizing it...I somehow find myself eating things I shouldn't more often than I'd like to admit.

Perhaps instead of one day at a time, I should apply the one bite at a time theory.

:SIGH:

I’m looking for answers so chime in if you’ve got some and… stay tuned for less of me.

Vitamins as a Key to Dieting Success

Life has been a little hectic lately. Was laid off from one job...found and accepted an offer at another...and in the midst of it all I tossed a lot of dieting caution to the wind. I guess I was of the mindset that "damnit, I have too much on my mind to worry about every morsel that goes in my mouth."

How'd that work for you, Scalemistress?

I suffered the consequences, of course. Too much sugar (i.e the dreaded Oreos) and random eating led to quickly (and I mean REALLY quickly as if by magic) gaining 7 or 8 pounds.

Happily the crisis was averted. Got a new job. Stress eating immediately stopped and I'm back on track. This week, as I settled into my last week at the job I've held for nearly 8 years, I took off 4 of those extra pounds. Hurray for me.

In the process, I had one of those A-HA moments...

My daily vitamin regimen is this: a multivitamin, 600 mg Calcium and 200mcg of Chromium Picolinate. But there are days where I was forgetting to take them and on those days I noticed that my tendency to make some bad food choices increased. However, when I did remember to take them... I found I was less likely to do any random eating or make bad snack choices. Personally, I think it is the Chromium Picolinate. I started taking it back in July when I read about it's effect (in some) on appetite suppression and the effective processing of insulin. Turns out that this appears to be true for me (YMMV).

Who knew?

I'm happily back on track so stay tuned for less of me.

It All Counts

Creep. Creep. Creep.

That's the sound of extra pounds magically appearing when I have banished them from my body.

UGH.

Admittedly, I have been struggling the past month or so with staying on track but today the scale jumped into the 150's as if by magic.

OK, maybe not magic.

Have I been careful about what I put in my mouth? NO.
Have I consistently tracked what I'm eating? No.
Have I been exercising regularly? No.
Have I been sneaking an Oreo here and there? Sadly...Yes.

So who is to blame but me? No one.

Which got me thinking about those universal truths about dieting.
If you don't write it down it doesn't count.
If no one sees you eat it, it doesn't count.
If you eat standing up it doesn't count.
If you just have a "taste" it doesn't count.
If you eat it straight out of the box/jar/container it doesn't count.

IT ALL COUNTS.
Even if you are standing at the counter. Or eat if off your child's plate so it doesn't go to waste. Or in this case it just goes to "waist"

It counts on the scale whether someone saw you eat it or not.

It counts if you eat the Oreo out of the bag in the fridge...especially when you dip your hand in there repeatedly during the day.

It counts if you just put the spoon straight into the jar of peanut butter or (worse) the pint of ice cream.

And it counts if you eat those nuts by the handful...or two or three.

Am I alone in this or have a struck a nerve?

So before my weight takes off like a runaway train, I'm going to start with a few new universals.

This week, I will eliminate those "special foods" that I know are a trigger for me to over do it. Peanuts, Peanut Butter and of course, the dreaded Oreos. (This week's shopping trip will include cookies for my kids that I can stay away from.) I know that if I can just stay away from those three things, then I will have a successful week and get back on track.

And that is really what it is all about. Staying on track and accepting the fact that I am not perfect and will occasionally have to kick myself in the head to be reminded of that. My new favorite blog over at Cranky Fitness, had this to say about that. She's a scream so check it out.

What are your trigger foods? And what do you do to stay away from them?