Happy Halloween!

And thus begins the battle of the Halloween candy (I had about 6 pieces tonight)....That said, I was encouraged today. I bought some new cold weather clothes--warmer skirts, found some tall boots at the Thrift and a couple of new shirts. It's nice to really be able to buy a 16. Every time I shop, I begin to wonder what size will fit. I pull the 16s off the rack and, surprise, they fit : ). Did most of my shopping at the thrift store and I got the greatest pair of Levis for $5--dark blue and so long I have to cuff them, which is highly unusual for me!

Mark made it home from the Bahamas and I am inspired to look good for him : ).

Breakfast: 1 banana, 1/3 frangipane croissant, 1/3 morning bun, 1/3 pan au jambon (Tartine to celebrate Mark's home coming)
Lunch: 1/2 c. pasta, brussel sprouts, and pasta sauce
Snack: 14 tortilla chips with guacamole
Dinner: 2 slices pizza
Snack : 6 pieces halloween candy

Today's reason to lose weight: My skin looks smoother and more clear when I am eating well.

Tuesday night...

So, I ate much more mindfully today. I was reminded that writing things down is the best indicator of weight loss success. Today I also listened to a podcast about weight loss and art making. The lady being interviewed was very funny, so I ordered the book, "Our Lady of Weight Loss." It seems she lost 50 pounds incorporating art making into her weight loss regimen. I am interested, as I have noticed that when my hands are busy I do not eat. We'll see how it is.

Breakfast: 1/2 english muffin, 1 egg.
Snack: 3 dates, 1 piece licorice
Snack: 6 c. popcorn
Dinner: 1/2 c. pasta, large bowl of salad with red peppers and tomatoes and garlic ranch dressing.
Snack: I haven't yet, but I may have an apple tonight

Today's reason to lose weight: I have worked so hard to get where I am now. I don't want to waste all I've invested. Besides, it was nice to shop today and buy 16s easily!

The end of a loooooong day....

I started the day with a nice walk again. The weather was gorgeous today!

Breakfast: 1/2 c. maple yogurt, 1/3 c. granola
Lunch: large salad with tomatoes and onions, 5 slices baguette, 1 oz. goat cheese
Snack: 1/2 c. maple yogurt, 1/3 c. granola, 2 T dried cranberry
Dinner: 1/2 c. rice, 2/3 c. sweet and sour pork, 2/3 c. curried chicken
Snack: 2 c. hot apple cider

Today's reason to lose weight: I want to be living in touch with my body!

Tuesday....

So, no pound cake today : ). It was gorgeous again and Hailey and I went for a walk and did some thrift shopping today. I am still very aware of my desire to eat whatever I like whenever I like. I am not sure why it is so difficult right now...

Breakfast: 1/2c. yogurt, 1/3 c. granola
Snack: 3 T. chocolate raisins
Lunch: 1 C. couscous salad, 1 slice pizza
Snack: 1 meringue, 5 slices dried mango
Dinner: 2 pieces pizza, 3 c. popcorn, 3 caramels

Today's reason to lose weight: Hailey and I bought the cutest denim skirt I have ever seen today. It won't fit me for a while but I want to wear it with tall leather boots!

A Beautiful Day!

The weather was gorgeous today in our San Francisco fall/summer! The day started out warm and Mark and I walked around Bernal Hill three times. I sat in the sun and did nothing but visit at park day today--just relaxed.

Breakfast: Bread pudding
Snack: 3 prunes, 1/2 slice pound cake
Lunch: 1 1/4 quinoa salad with tofu, cucumber and tomato
Snack: handful of baked corn curls, 5 slices dried mango
Dinner: Beef noodles with edamame and red peppers (about a serving of each item)
Dessert: 1/2 slice pound cake

The pound cake is all gone (thank goodness!). I do feel good about having planned some healthy meals.

Today's reason to lose weight: I enjoy feeling like I am deciding what I want to do and how I want to be in this world.

Sunday night

For the record, tiredness and eating well do not make good companions! I have really struggled the last couple of days and had way too many pieces of pound cake! I did not write things down and I completely lost track. There you have it. Today, though, I'm back. I cleaned my kitchen like a maniac today and went for a very nice walk this sunny afternoon.

Breakfast: 1 piece bread pudding
Lunch: 1 english muffin, cashew butter, 10 carrots, ranch dressing, 3 date
Snack: 1/2 c. granola, milk, 1 piece pound cake
Dinner: 1 tortilla with mushrooms and cheese, cucumber, hummus
Snack: 1 piece pound cake (dangerous stuff--better let the kids devour it now!)

Today's reason to lose weight: I do not want to spend my life feeling controlled by pound cake!

Thursday....

So, the tiredness of parenting alone for 10 days finally caught up with me. I am very tired today....I did go for my walk this morning. My eating patterns were not stellar and I was tempted to "sneak" some things by not writing them down. It made me wonder who I thought I was sneaking them from. Surely my body will not neglect to notice the extra calories. I think I eat sometimes thinking that if no one else knows it must not count. Hmmm....An unobserved calorie is still a calorie.

Breakfast: 1 banana, 1 c. yogurt, 1/3 c. granola
Snack: 1/3 c. granola and milk
Lunch: 1 corn tortilla with cheese and beef, 10 carrots, 10 slices red pepper, 2 T hummus
Snack: 1/3 c. granola with milk, 2 c. popcorn, 3 prunes, 1 banana
Dinner: 1 chicken thigh, 1 1/2 c. squash, potato and carrot mix
Dessert: 1 piece cake from Whole Foods

Today's reason to lose weight: My body and I know how I'm taking care, even if no one else does!

Mark is home!

Mark's been gone since the 30th of September and is now home! We are so happy to have him back. The blessed even was occasioned by eating out twice! (Once without the kids, once with them.) Even so, I did respectably today. I went for my morning walk (in the rain, I might add) and recorded my eating. (Thanks for the new checklist, Chris--it's useful.)

Breakfast: 1 banana, 1c. yogurt, 1/3 c. granola
Snack: veges and cheese dip
Lunch: 4 potstickers, 1/2 c. rice, 2 oz. beef teryaki, 6 slices yam tempura
Snack: banana
Dinner: 2 pieces injera bread, lentils, cabbage, carrot and potato curry, bits of beef and chicken (Ethiopian Food)
Snack: 1/2 c. ice cream

Today's reason to lose weight: I would like it if my stomach didn't hang over so much : ).

Back at it....

So, today was harder than I thought. I've become more lax with my eating than I had suspected. I spent much of the day reminding myself that indeed I did not want a snack, a candy or another serving! I still have some ways to go! I weighed in at 204 today, so I have also gained a few pounds. I missed my walk today. All that said, I did have success with my eating.

Breakfast: 1 banana, 1 c. nonfat yogurt, 1/3 c. granola
Lunch: 1 c. wild rice soup, 1 apple
Snack: 20 mini rice crackers, cheese
Dinner: 1/2 c. pasta with tomato sauce, 1/2 c. zucchini, 1 chicken/turkey sausage,
Snack: 1 apple

Now, if I wrote what I wanted to eat, that list would be much longer : ). I am afraid that my emotional attachments to food are pretty strong. I had to tell Hailey when we were shopping today, "Now, I do not want candy or any other snack. Remind me of that!"

Today's reason to lose weight: I want to be healthier at 38 than I was at 36!

Renewing my efforts...

Hello, friends. I haven't been here in a while. I think that I needed a break. I took one, anyway. For a wile I was feeling bad about that--not losing any weight for a couple of months. However, I think it is significant progress not to have gained and to have continued my exercising. That said, I am truly not content to stay here and not to lose anymore. So, beginning tomorrow, it is back to writing down my eating, preparing healthful food and walking consistently. I can feel proud that I have lost 60 pounds and encouraged that there are only 45 left to go. To me, that's a whole different category of overweight from where I started. I'll start by just trying to focus on getting down to 190. That's not very far and should be very doable. The boys are at Nature Awareness tomorrow, so I'll spend some time either shopping for or preparing some good food to have on hand. If anyone has any good, healthy recipes that go with the chill in the air, please share! Thanks for reading, if you still are.

Today's reason to lose weight: I have come so far and I would like to contiue on this journey rather than going back!