Man, It's May! Weight Loss Progress

So I've been mentioning in a few posts that I am following the Hungry Girl Program and have been pretty faithful since September of last year.  I am not out to break any speed weight loss records but instead am taking it slow and steady, that way I don't feel like I am depriving myself and I am making it a sustainable habit.  So far I've lost a little over 43 pounds and have not been at this weight since 2006.

Here is a comparison photo from August 2016 to February 2017 and then one from today.

In addition to following the plan, I've begun taking a walk around our neighborhood daily and doing some plank exercises at night before bed.  I am definitely not a fan of exercise and though I had a membership to Planet Fitness a few years ago, I think I only went 10 times in a year and a half.  I don't run.  I have never been a runner.  When I walk I listen to music and use the time to look at the world around me and do some thinking.  When I first started doing planks I could only hold it for 30 seconds.  Now I am up to at least 2 minutes or more.  It requires no special equipment. 

I've been keeping a food calendar/journal since I started and write down pretty much everything I eat during the day and note the exercise I do.  I've been wearing a basic pedometer and keep track of my step count.  Since I work from home doing transcription which keeps me at a desk most of the day, I was not getting too many steps in.  I find that if I can get at least 6000 steps a day, I notice weight changes.  Each time I hit a lower number on the scale I give myself a star.  This month I have 4 stars so far!  That may only mean a loss of 4 ounces, but it is motivating me when I see the stars to keep going.  I also took my measurements so when I hit a patch where I feel like nothing is happening on the scale I re-measure and the decreasing numbers help me see that something indeed is changing. 

I am taking medication for diabetes and my most recent numbers were so good that if they continue to fall I may be able to cut it down, if not completely eliminate it.  Since diabetes is in my family and I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant, I am not surprised I have it now, but keeping control of it is important.  

Preparing four meals at a time is helpful, especially on those really busy days.

Drinking these teas has been a staple.

This is one of the "snacks" you can have - strawberries stuffed with ricotta cheese and topped with chocolate chips.  I could have had 6 stuffed strawberries but 4 was enough.

Trying new things like powdered peanut butter and tofu noodles have been pleasant surprises.  They are not half bad. 

I am about halfway to where I'd like to be but as I said, I'm not out for speed, I'm out for sustainability.  I can definitely tell the weeks and months I concentrate harder than others but overall I'm pretty pleased.  Weight is definitely one of those subjects that is kind of hard to discuss and I'm not at the point where I am comfortable putting my exact weight out there, but seeing the difference in the mirror is pretty cool.   

How about you?  Have a weight challenge/success story?  Love to hear it if you'd like to share.

Fancy-Free February - 2017

February 3 - I like to find snappy titles for my months.  It makes it more fun for me and also easier to search if I need to find something I posted.  This month was a tough one but I think I've found something that will work well - Fancy-Free February. 

As in "footloose and fancy-free," having no responsibilities, free to imagine or fancy.  I do have responsibilities, don't get me wrong, it's just that with so much political turmoil going on around, I'd like to step back into a time when things seemed less pressing.  Free to imagine or fancy sounds right up my alley! 

So, first up in our Fancy-Free February (which is already three days old!) are the pictures from the 365 Picture project:

#31 is actually the top of this picture, which shows my 4-meal cooking plan.  I'm finding that if I make four dinners at a time it is much easier for me to stay on track with my weight loss.  As of now I've lost 31 pounds.  Still a way to go but this is definitely helping.  

The bottom part of this picture shows what I've decided to do in the journal I'm keeping for the 365 pictures.  By using these calendar cards I can keep track of the pictures in case I need to find one and can't remember when I took it.  Plus, it will help me with keeping the numbers consecutive.  At the beginning of the month I always want to start with 1!

#32 is my word for this year, Believe.  I colored this and it is hanging in my craft room.  

#33 - Powdered peanut butter!  What will they think of next?  Two tablespoons of this has only 45 calories compared to Jif at 190!  I can believe it's real peanut butter.  (See what I did there?)

#34 - Super stamping.  One of my cool new tools is this MISTI stamper.  You can stamp with several stamps at once and/or keep stamping in the exact same spot every time if you are making something like Christmas cards or invitations.  It is also good if you are using layered stamps and adding dimension to a project.

This one is the original MISTI (Most Incredible Stamp Tool Invented), but I also have the WR Memory Keepers Precision Press because, although it is smaller, it does not have an edge on one side so I can use it for bigger pieces of paper.  Tim Holtz has designed one as well and it has different properties too but I can't justify having 3 of them.  Maybe if I hadn't gotten the Precision Press I would have gotten the one by Tim Holtz but oh well.  

Okay, that's a recap for now and a start to this Fancy-Free February.  Sunday is the big Super Bowl and although I'm not a big football fan, I like to watch the half-time show and we go to some friend's house and it is nice to visit. 

How about you?  Tired of all the negativity? Ready for some Footloose and Fancy-Free?  Super Bowl plans?  Love to hear about it.