Thanks my friends

Today was a weigh in day and I am very happy to report: I lost 2 lbs!!! My total weight loss since the beginning of December when I began (again) has been 5.8lbs. I am very proud and I know it is only because all of you are keeping me motivated. Thanks so much for being supportive and listening and suggesting and everything.
I am determined to keep it coming off so let's keep going.
I am too tired to blog any more but I will end with this quote:
So long as we are loved by others I should say that we are almost indispensable; and no man is useless while he has a friend.
- Robert Louis Stevenson
SK
PS If you click on the cartoon you can see the whole thing. I, being the medical person that I am, cannot figure out how to format it to fit the screen. Enjoy.

What a Waste

Today in a moment of sheer boredom and desperation, I did something I shouldn't have and now I regret it. I was working and it was not such a busy day, but as the afternoon wore on I became bored. Mind you, I did not say hungry, rather bored. Of course I was fleishig so there were few choices to fill the boredom with and I went to the kiosk downstairs to check them out, hoping to be discouraged.
Lo and behold, I was not discouraged and I bought some raisin and nut mix thinking it was harmless. At the very least, nuts are better than chocolate. It was really mostly sunflower seeds and some raisins, very few peanuts or cashews.
Here is the kicker 1 serving according to Weight Watchers was three points, and this tiny little bag said 3 servings. So what a total waste and the real kicker is that it was unsalted and gross and did not satisfy any cravings and just dumb, dumb, dumb.
Do you feel the pain and agony I am suffering, here? Stupid diet mistakes, bad, bad choices. I even bought gum yesterday I just forgot to take it to work.
I guess I will end with this:
Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.
Confucius
Which is stolen from our very own Shlomo Hamelech "Sheva Yipol Tzaddik Vekam" - "A tzaddik falls seven times, and rises" (Mishlei 24:16).
And which is basically what I quoted yesterday of Margaret Thatcher. But if I didn't need to hear it every day then I would not be struggling.
As Zig Ziglar said
People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily.
Have an inspiring and motivating day!
SK

Back in the Saddle

I feel much better today. Thanks for all of your support and encouragement. I did get myself on the treadmill today and I kept going, thinking about all that I ate and wouldn't it be nice to just sweat it all off. I beat my record today and ran 5 miles in 54 min 7 seconds. It was quite a workout and I am so tired but it felt really good to be able to do it.
I also made better choices on my diet today. You know I almost wrote "I was good on my diet today" but I am trying to use the proper lashon, shall we say? It is better not to refer to it as good or bad, because we are all good people (at least most of us), sometimes we just make poor choices.
This is in life in general. Good days, bad days, good choices, bad choices. We are all trying the best we can and sometimes we slip up, but we get right back up and try again.
I met someone this weekend who I was telling about the blog and she said, "you look really good, you don't need to diet" and I recently saw a friend who I have not seen in a while and she has been reading the blog and she remarked "I was kind of expecting you would be a lot heavier because of the blog, but you look really good."
It was then that I realized what I have known all along. Good or bad choices that I make in terms of food do not define me as a person. I look good (or so they say), because I feel good about myself, I exercise, I eat healthy and I am happy. I realize that this has so much to do with how we are perceived and certainly how we perceive ourselves.
I want to clarify that I am not saying that I don't want to lose a few pounds, and if I were heavier, I would want to be in better control. All I am saying is that I try hard and I work at it, but it is not my end all and be all. I would rather have 10 extra pounds than no self worth or even have my self worth tied into how thin I am.
I say all this as a pep talk to myself after this weekend. Sometimes its really hard to stay focused on dieting. If we take it as part of the daily journey of our lives, not as the thing that defines us, then I think it makes it easier to manage.
So have a good day ladies and I love you all for who you are and not how much you weigh! :)
SK

"You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it." -Margaret Thatcher

Ughhh!

I don't have much to say as I hang my head in shame. I tried really, really hard and I did pretty good until today. I ate too much at lunch. I was not too bad at Shalosh Seudos but then tonight I ate more and I just wasn't hungry at all. I had a chanuka party and I could have eaten more, but I stilla te more than I should have and my stomach is rebelling.
It is angry at me and now I am upset at myself. So now I am going to bed and I will blog tomorrow with, hopefully, a renewed sense of self and self control.
thanks for listening...

Fress Fest

I had the day off today so I have been lax with the blogging but not on my diet.
Or, sort of. I brought very healthy snacks to our karaoke party and today I ate very little till dinner and had some whole wheat pizza and a couple of fries. I also splurged on one piece of Godiva MILK chocolate (much to the dismay of Shmarg). She did try very hard to convince me that I did not want it, mostly because she is looking out for me, but for some of her own personal reasons as well. Anyway, I did have one and I am not sorry. I loved it and it was worth it(even if it meant breaking someone's milk chocolate heart in the process).

I am anxiously awaiting Shabbos where I will be in CT at a Shabbos Chanuka retreat, or as they have also been known: Fress Fest. It should be really nice but its never easy. I have already made a game plan but I will take any reasonable advice before Shabbos as well (having my mouth wired shut-not an option). So far I have decided to have one piece of challah and if they give those huge rolls I will only eat half. Next, skipping all soup and fish, not necessary and not where i want to waste my calories. here is the problem, from challah to main course takes a while, so I will need to keep my mouth busy with something, and obviously not challah. Wine, perhaps?
Then I will eat small portions and very slowly. the aim here is to not feel like I have to waddle to get to my car on Sat night. I am leaving early, mostly because I have a chanuka party in Brooklyn, but partly because I avoid the Sat night food fest and the Sun morning breakfast (way too many nisyonos for me).
Have a great Shabbos everyone! Wish me luck!

Presents, anyone?

I begin with a weigh in update. I weighed in at 0.2 less than last week. I got the trophy thing and I am depressed because I feel like I try so hard but it seems as though its never hard enough. Its like I avoid as much as I can and I still only lose 2/10 of a pound (which for all intents and purposes is staying the same).
But I will not be discouraged. I am going to keep on plugging along. I am forgiving myself and I know it will get a little easier after Chanuka and all the festivities. So the fact that I did not gain is really a very good thing.
Now here is something along those lines of making better choices:
Burn to Earn (from neversaydiet.com courtesy of SaraK)

Sometimes you just can't resist. A slice of pumpkin pie (about 316 calories). A Christmas cookie... or five (about 250 calories each). And you know what? That's okay. Because it's all about making better choices, not living without. Just keep in mind that every sweet indulgence comes with a trade-off. Earn a little wiggle room and burn off your decadent holiday treats by:
Ice-skating (450 calories per hour)
Wrapping gifts while standing up to burn more (300 calories per hour)
Selecting and dragging home the tree (156 calories per hour of shopping; 150 calories for 20 minutes of dragging)
Decorating the tree (320 calories for two hours)

So SaraK emails me this cute little thing and here is what I have to say.
Standing while lighting the Menora (47 calories).
So that's why Jews are so overweight! :) No tree dragging and gift wrapping for us!

Seriously, do people believe if they stand for a long time wrapping presents that they are going to burn enough calories. If that is true then I am going to buy yall some gifts and wrap, wrap, wrap, wrap. Maybe I could do some jumping jacks in between gifts.
Here is my advice: skip the Chanuka cookies and sufganiyot(or indulge in a reasonable choice), stand while lighting the menora (to avoid burning the couch), and honestly -GET TO THE GYM!!!
SK

Abra Cadabra!

Tonight there was a Chanuka party thrown by a friend (we'll call her elana) at Dougie's. Not my favorite place, not my favorite food but some pretty good stuff.
I am happy to say the food was really not my thing. (It is downright shocking to see those words typed on my screen.) Very little food is "not my thing". Therefore the challenge was not as hard as I'd thought. I filled on salad and had one piece of meat, a tiny piece of chicken and slaw. ok, ok you do not want to know every morsel. Basically I did fine. I ate a little, skipped the sufganiya (they make me sick for days), the only thing I had ( after Zehava left, of course) was a tiny egg roll thing filled with potatoes. Yumm!!! But I only ate one and I left.
I am proud, you should be too.
She had a mentalist/magician there and he was a great performer. I was only sad that he did not offer to cut me in half. What a way to lose weight:)
SK
PS I think I found a way to set it up so that you get emails when I post. If anyone is interested (or I flatter myself) let me know and I will try to make it happen. SaraK tech support may have to help but I will try!

The post party Confession (again)

The bottom line is I should not be allowed to go to parties. They do me in every time.

I ate too much at the party, but I don't have heartburn. I could have done worse. I decided that I have a weakness for sweet things. Maybe I should just stop eating all white sugar?
Who am I kidding?
The consolation is that Fat People are harder to kidnap.
Every cloud has its silver lining :)
Dougie's tomorrow night, gotta have a plan.

Fried Food Everywhere

I am happy and overjoyed to report that I went to bed hungry last night. If you refer to my previous post, I would have eaten the pizza because I was hungry and my stomach did not hurt. We went out for a fun night and then it was so late that we didn't want to go out for food ( or people did but no one said). So I came home and did not enter the kitchen. It was close to 2am and I figured I would not starve. I went to bed.
I woke up pretty hungry so I ate breakfast before the gym and then did a good long workout there. Yay me!
Of course, this leads me to believe that because I did so well over Shabbos I can eat whatever I want at the Chanuka parties I have this week. Yikes. As I sit here prior to my first party I am imagining all the fried foods. The latkes the sufganiyot, yummy. Then I quickly turn my attention to the heartburn and gross feeling I will inevitably have the next morning. I am hoping to skip the fried foods, load up on the veggies and treat myself to some more fattening foods in a small amount. My aim is to go home full, not sick and wake up tomorrow with no lingering feelings of fried food stomach.
I repeat the mantra ( which we know does not work so well, but its worth another shot)- I will not pig out! I will not pig out!
Lets remember that Chanuka, while it is very much about oil, its about light that shines from it, not the kind we eat!
Wishing all of you a beautiful and lichtig Chanuka full of the true light that Hashem had in mind to show the Jewish people.

SK
PS Good luck at your parties and I say two latkes per party are allowed. Enjoy!

Pizza

I don't have too much to say or time to post but I wanted to wish everyone a good and positive Shabbos. I spent much of the evening cleaning the house in order to avoid eating it. It worked! I know that it works that when all you can think about is food but you chose to find something to do instead then the urge for food will often go away. I am lucky that housekeeping is my medium because even if I don't lose weight, the house will be clean.
Wishing you a healthy Shabbos and a Motzaei Shabbos where you are actually hungry for the pizza. Go for it! I say if you made it through Shabbos and are actually hungry after you deserve the pizza.

Don't park yet

I had the munchies all day and no, I am not high. But I have resisted. I had a mint sucking candy instead. Today at work came the first holiday basket and it was actually filled with assorted nuts and trail mixes. I am proud to say I had 3 cashews. I LOVE nuts, I AM nuts! But I only had 3 cashews and then I stopped.
I would like to wish congrats today to my friends who have inspired me and joined me on this journey. Z, who has thus far lost 10 lbs and is going strong and SaraK who has thus far lost 5lbs. Great job guys, keep it coming off!
Sara sent me the funniest article ever on Oprah. WE all know she looks awful but it must be bad when the whole world is talking about it.
Oprah Article
A must read!
(Thank you Sara for teaching me how to do that, it took a lot of figuring but I finally got it, I think I will stick to medicine.)

Zehava said today in an email to me today a great line that I thought would inspire. She wrote " My goal for 2009 is that my highest weight of 2009 should be on January 1st."
I agree and I am with you all the way.
And here is a great quote I found today (author is anonymous)
The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places.

We aren't parking yet, ladies!

That's More Like it

Bravo to me! I went home this weekend and I still manged to lose ~1/2 a pound. I also managed to exercise once while home and today I got back on the treadmill with a vengeance. If it weren't for the fact that I desperately need new sneakers, I would have gone longer. But my feet hurt. The new shoes are on order but I have a weird size that they don't have in stock and there is a certain pair that fits me well. Also I have been reluctant to spend money on any "luxuries" recently, but it has now become a necessity.
So I wanted to share today's WW post after tracking my weight loss.
You lost again this week! Congratulations, and keep doing exactly what you're doing!

See you next week.
I honestly think they are trying to make up for something that they messed up really badly last week. AS if, last week they were really glad about my weight loss, last week they practically slapped me in the face. This week they are all "congrats" and everything. BTW the icon today was a trophy not a smiley face. I wonder what it takes to get a smiley face.
I think I am beginning to take this too seriously ;.
I need some advice from my trusted friends for this week, please.
I am desperate for a new snack type food for afternoon snack. Since I was a child I packed my lunch as a main dish, fruit, veggie and snack and I can't get away from it. I like eating a lot during the day and less at night. So since I am eternally fleishig (refer to previous blog), I need some pareve treats for the mid afternoon. Low cal/ points. So far what I normally eat is either soy chips or air popped popcorn.
I am getting all soyed and popped out. Any suggestions?
Thanks my friends. Happy Dieting and remember this concept brought to us by Mark Twain:
Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.

I didn't eat the flower (for you , Rivka)

I know I just posted about 5 hours ago, but I do agree with the recent comments made that this blog is a great confessional. And I must confess before I go to bed that the mantra I repeated fell flat in my ears as the chocolate dessert was placed in my face.
I titled this blog "I did not eat the flower" and it has two meanings.
Tonight there was a beautiful dinner in my home town honoring my parents who truly are great people. Yasher Koach to my aunt, brother and brother-in-law for a job well done. I sat with my sister and cousin, Deena who both have been reading the blog. I was reminded many times that they will post on the blog what i ate if I do not behave. My bro-in-law kindly removed the chocolate candies from in front of me. It was all going pretty well.
Then came the food, it was so yummy, potatoes (white and sweet) and spinach (a super healthy food) and chicken (what can be wrong with chicken). Oh and an edible flower. Basically, I did not eat the flower...waste of calories.
So I felt pretty full, as I listened to the Chief Rabbi of Israel speak, I am thinking how I will not eat the dessert. Then, dessert came. It was a chocolate cake with a chocolate flower on top. Deena tried to help me avoid eating the dessert but taking a bite herself and telling me "its not that good". I tried to resist. I repeated the mantra.
Basically, I did not eat the flower.

Home is where the heart is (and the calories)

So I am visiting my parents for a weekend and I told my sister today that all I can think about is food. Its like home is this giant food trigger. I get it. Its mostly because my parents home is now a vacation for me. I am generally off work for a few days and I most often come home for soem sort of holiday or celebreation. So its like all I can think about is when and what can I eat next.
But I will say there was a beautiful kiddush in shul this week with all homemade food and lots of yummy desserts. I surveyed the whole table, had one very yummy cookie and the rest of the time I ate salad and veggies things. I did get a very small bowl of cholent, but when it was being doled out I politely asked for a very small amount and it was perfect.
Its just that i slowly feel my resolve is weakening. Partyl because I am out of my routine and its really drab here at home and. The weather is not so cold its just really cloudy, so all I want to do is curl up and eat popcorn and watch movies. But, alas, I am on my way to the dinner for which I came. It should be nice, I am mentally preparing what and I will and will not eat. Iam only sorry I don't know the menu. I just keep repeating the mantra "I will not pig out, I will not pig out, I will not pig out!"
Ladies, SAY A PRAYER for me!

I want my smiley face

Hi my friends! How is everyone and their diets? I am okay. Still going strong, getting the pre Shabbos jitters but doing the mentally planning thing. I am going home to my parents and there will be a lot of festivities but I am trying to prepare myself. I also will make it a priority to exercise while I am home so I do not get off track. Rivka, we are going to walk on Shabbos, Sunday and Monday.

I must tell you the craziest thing. I remembered today to "track my weight" at WW.com. You can track your food and your weight and it gives you cute, often depressing graphs and things. Now usually when you lose weight a smiley face shows up and it gives you an encouraging message. Or if you gain (hush hush) it gives you a sad face.
SO I thought today I was going to get this large smiley face from ear to ear. In reality here is the message that came up:

"You're probably excited to be losing weight, but you're losing faster than is recommended. Although it's normal to lose over 2 lbs in 1 week, if you lose more than an average of 2 lbs per week over a 4-week period, this could pose health risks, such as heart irregularities, anemia or loss of muscle mass. Please slow your weight loss; your doctor can help you do this if you're not sure how, or ask your Leader for ideas."
Now I am surprised you all did not hear me throwing things and cursing at my computer. Are they kidding me? I lost 3 lbs in one week, not 40. Look, I have plenty of medical knowledge and if a patient came to see me and said I lost three pounds this week I would not exactly frown upon them.
Seriously, where is my #@@#%* smiley face????
SK
PS She-nerd: I know, I know, they are protecting themselves...blah blah blah.
:)
PPS: Check out this recommended to me by SaraK: super foods. who likes watercress?
http://www.neversaydiet.com/article/top-5-fruits-and-veggies-any-diet?nlcid=cv|12-10-2008|

Turkey for Breakfast

So all my work has paid off.
They said it so loud at WW that the guy in line behind me said congratulations-you’d think I’d had a baby.
Close enough. I lost 3.2lbs. and yes we are counting the .2 because it makes a big difference. I am feeling very proud of myself and you all for keeping me motivated here.
Let’s discuss what I can do to keep it off. This is the trend with me usually. I am motivated, I lose over one week and then I lose my motivation and eat everything in sight. Kind of like an electric toothbrush that runs on batteries. It goes strong the first week of the new batteries and then slowly peters out.
I have devised one strategy to staying thin.
Fleishigs for breakfast. I know most of you have wondered in your life how it is that we find very little temptation in a chocolate bar if we just ate a hamburger. I mean, even if you are tempted you wouldn’t eat it (except maybe if there is a heter vacation). I find it amazing that if I have a meat lunch I will not even consider the candy machine. All that I could eat there would be twizzlers (which I have been known to do) and chips (which are the one thing in this world I don’t really care for). Everything else in the machine is milchig. But if I had tuna for lunch, its all over. The candy machine calls my name all afternoon. So I am proposing that I wake up and eat a turkey sandwich for breakfast, chili for lunch and then chicken for dinner. The only thing I will have to contend with then will be nutty chews. I don’t think it is so preposterous, I mean people who don’t keep kosher eat bacon for breakfast, and sausage, and salami and eggs.
Actually I once did it. I was on a dieting craze and I went into work at 1pm once a week. So I woke up kind of late, and as I was making my lunch I ate a piece of the turkey that was supposed to go in my sandwich.
Around the holidays when there is chocolate in abundance everywhere I think this may be a worthwhile strategy. Nothing like religious practices to keep me thin.
You think that was G-d’s intention?

Chili

I love Sundays! Its my easiest diet day most often, because I usually don't eat anything till the afternoon. More importantly I don't have to work, so I get to do fun things.
Yesterday, I did not do too many fun things, but I did make a very yummy chili that I am going to post here. Its originally from WW and I modified it only by adding more beans and some corn. I am on a new kick, eating ground turkey. That will come as a shock to my mother who force fed me hamburgers my whole life. I do not eat hamburgers, I don't know why, but I don't like them. I don't like meat loaf or meat pot pie either. But I do like meatballs and taco salad with ground beef. And now I like turkey chili, which I am certain I would like with beef too, but why bother? Ground turkey is much leaner and healthier.
So I will be eating chili all week, because I am a huge leftovers person. I made a huge pot of it and I am happy to bring it for lunch every day this week and will possibly have some for dinner, too. Then I will get bored of it and find something new to eat-which will hopefully not be cookies.
Good and Healthy Day to all,
SK

Turkey Chili (from WW adapted by SK)

1 tsp canola oil
1 large onion(s)
2 medium garlic clove(s)
2 medium carrot(s)
1 pound(s) lean ground turkey
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
2 medium tomato(es)
1 cup(s) canned tomato sauce
1 cup(s) canned chicken broth
1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cup(s) cooked kidney beans
1 medium green pepper(s)
1/2 tsp table salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup(s) scallion(s)

here is what i added:
1 can of cannelini beans
1 can of butter beans
1 can of corn
1 small can of tomato paste
bay leaves

Instructions

• Coat a large pot with cooking spray; place over medium heat. Add oil and onion; sauté onion until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and carrots; cook until garlic is softened, about 1 minute. Add turkey; brown meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Stir to break up lumps.
  
  
• Add chili powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, cumin, tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, vinegar, beans and green pepper; bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until meat and vegetables are tender, about 30 to 45 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper; garnish with scallions. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

What could have been

I know you are all anxiously awaiting my post Shabbos post and would love to know that I nibbled a few bites here and there and am feeling so proud of myself.
Here is the harsh reality, I ate a lot. But here is the other reality. I could have eaten a lot more, and I mean a lot more.
My friend Sara (yes, I have many friends named Sara) and I always discuss that in dieting unfortunately you never get credit for what you could have done but didn't. Meaning, I really did pretty good this weekend. I skipped fish, I ate more salad, I did not eat all the noodles, I skipped the dessert offered at one meal. But, there an oneg and I ate twizzlers, I ate a few pieces of (nasty) chocolate candies ( not worth it -jelly marshmallow candies, but if they were good, I would have done a lot more damage) and I had a sliver of peanut butter mousse (worth every single bite). What will show on the scale? Only time will tell, but the fact that Sara was intending to give me a much bigger piece of mousse but was kind enough to give me a sliver, and Yoch kindly removed the twizzlers from in front of me, and I did not eat a single nutty chew (which I normally would have eaten 10 or 12), those things never show up on the scale. Its only what I ATE that shows up, not what I COULD HAVE eaten.
I feel like scales should come with two weights when you get on it: what you weigh after a Shabbos, what you could have weighed had you eaten all the brownies in the house. that would be a good motivator.

Seriously, I am merely stating that dieting takes so much effort and sometimes we have to just pat ourselves on the back for trying the best we can.
I am not one for starving myself and depriving myself of a peanut butter pie. Honestly, I am just not good at that. On the other hand I cannot allow myself to eat whatever I want, because often what I want is way, way more than I need and should be allowed to eat as a human being. I have to find the balance that is right for me. And I think at this point if I ate every Shabbos , like I did this one I could lose some weight, maybe not so fast, but it would come off. Had I eaten this Shabbos what I could have eaten and wanted to eat, well frankly, I'd be too embarassed to tell the truth in this blog.
I guess you will never know...
Have a good , healthy, and well balanced week.
Looking forward to hearing from y'all.
SK
PS Does anyone know why they don't sell chocolate flavored gum? I could really use some!

Shabbos is coming

We're so happy!
Actually I am happy to have Shabbos, a welcome break from the week. And what a week it was.
Anyway, this week I have been on track, dieting and exercising and it all has potential to go downhill on Shabbos. But, I will not let that happen.
Because I now have so many people rooting for me (I appreciate it so much) I am going to have a fabulous weekend and I hope not to disappoint you all on Sunday's blog.
I have been reading the comments and I was talking to people at work and we all have the same struggles. We can all do this by sharing our frustrations and giving each other tips. It really helps me stay focused.
As a shout out, I owe a tremendous yasher koach to Sigmund Food for having me over to hang out last night and she did not offer me food at all. She was not even insulted when I quickly ran the nutty chews out of the room so fast that her husband had to ask " what's wrong, are you allergic?" I said YES I AM!!!!
Nutty chews are the death of every girl that has ever become fleishig in order to help her diet.
More on that subject at a later date. And I hope to find all sorts of ideas to combat some of the ideas discussed in the comments without being too boring.
I begin with the sage advice of Zehava(who apparently got the dominant genes in her family) who knows how to eat and she knows how to diet too, so you can trust her. I have added my own comments in parentheses.

1) drink a lot. Diet Soda, coffee, tea, water. Whatever does it for
you. I started buying Fresca and filling a big huge cup of it and
drinking it at night when I watch TV (what's that?), it really fills you up.
2) always eat veggies to fill you up. (I used to graze like crazy when
I came home before I went to the gym, now I dole myself out one spoonful
of hummus to eat with carrots and I let myself eat as many carrots as I
like and I have on 100 calorie sorbet bar and that's it before going to
the gym, instead of eating everything in sight.) I recently became
obsessed with turnips. :) ( as I have become with asparagus-but I won't eat those raw-Z probably would)I know they aren't for everyone, but I'm
sure you can find some equivalent.
3) Don't buy junk and don't have it around. Don't make cookies. If
it's not around you can't eat it. Simple as that.
4) become in tune with hunger. I can literally eat for hours beyond my
point of fullness, so much so, that I really didn't know what it meant
to be full. Now I try and pay attention and not eat beyond that point
(this especially comes into play at a Shabbos meal.)
5) Try to stay away from carbs as much as you can, especially at night.
I don't really eat any carbs at night besides for one fruit or a slice
of challah on Shabbos.
6) give yourself slightly more leeway on the weekends so you can enjoy
your Shabbos. I think that some of Shira Isenberg's ( our resident expert dietician) and strategies can
really work on Shabbos, though I don't know if you need to be that
extreme. I basically just try to eat more of the salads and veg side
dishes and stay away from all carbs as much as I can and never under any
circumstances have more than 1 piece of challah. For desert, have fruit
if they have and if they don't just skip it all together. Generally,
people will offer tea, which definitely helps. On Thanksgiving I went
with Mike to his sister and before the meal they were all sitting around
with chips and guac and stuff like that and I was just drinking the
Fresca and diet coke. ( BRAVO, Z!!)

Thanks again to all for your tremendous advice and encouragement this week. It has really helped me stay focused. I appreciate all of your links and posts so please keep them coming!
SK
PS Don't forget Vsain Tal U'matar starts today

The Weigh In

So I finally went back to the scale to find out that I am FAT! Just joking, I am just heavier than I have been in I'd say 4 years.
For those of you that have never tried Weight Watchers, I am a big fan. But its always the same. If you lose they yell it out "great job, sarah, you lost 3 lbs this week". But you always know when you did not lose...the lady makes no eye contact with you and she says nothing. Then after you have sucked in all your gut on that scale and taken off every unnecessary piece of clothing she whispers barely audible..."you gained 3.5lbs" and then has the nerve to say something like..."the holidays are a difficult time". I am thinking to myself, "the holidays?? what holiday? try Shabbos EVERY week".
So here it is...I did gain about 3.5lbs since my last weigh in which was September 23. Mind you this was before "the holidays". The woman at the counter did say very kindly that it has been a long time since I was in and that is not so bad. But I am still 17lbs over my goal weight. Ugghhh! SEVENTEEN pounds. I only started at 22 lbs over my goal weight.
But its the new me, the motivated me, the inspired me and the blogging me. I can do this!
Wish me luck...

Its my family's fault

It seems that there has been quite an overwhelming response to my blog which makes me happy.
(except for the fact that my mother posted as my father -that makes me sad-sorry Ma, I know you tried).
Speaking of family...as you can obviously tell from my family's comments we LOVE chocolate. It does, in fact, make our clothes shrink. Now it would be easy for me to blame my weight struggles on the lot of them (as was suggested) but that will get me nowhere. They are really good people. And while my Mom and Dad are not the same person they both tried very hard to get us to eat healthy.
I am not sure if my father remembers, but when I was a child I liked Fruity Pebbles for breakfast. As far as I am concerned you may as well serve your children colored sprinkles for breakfast. Nonetheless, as most of my generation did, I ate them often. One morning the cereal looked different. I asked my father what is going on. He said "Fruity Pebbles made a new color, Brown". It took me a couple of minutes to realize that Fruity Pebbles had not in fact made a new color but my parents were trying to make me eat healthier breakfast and had added some kind of All Bran pebbles to my cereal.
But seriously, I am over the blame game. At this point in my life its MY fault. Time to take charge of my life and get over the branny pebbles.
In the same vain I think it is easy for us to blame society for what we have become, which is obsessed with being thin. Z sent me this link which I thought was worthwhile sharing about how society is obsessed with weight and body image.
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/12/the_secret_to_tina_feys_succes.html
Again, I am done with the blame game. I commit to at least trying to not blame anyone or any situation for the place I am in now. Now I am able to make my own choices and I will take responsibility for their consequences.
Anyway, today is the first weigh in day at WW since last month and I am nervous. I will keep you posted. Right after I finish my Branny Pebbles...

Here I Go (again)

So here goes.
Today I decided for the fourteen thousandth time that I need to lose a couple of pounds. Now for those of you that don't know me ( which should be no one), I will clarify. I am not obese and never have been but I struggle with keeping the weight I have previously lost, off. The major issue here is (that i am not married?) , or more likely, that I LOVE to eat. For all sorts of reasons, the number one being that it tastes and feels good.
But this has to end. So my dear friend/diet coach (you know who you are) suggested that I blog my weight loss and eating habits. I would do it on Facebook but too many people would know my weight loss struggle, oh and I don't have a Facebook account (thats two).
The goal here is to enlist you, my friends and family, to join me in my struggle and help me out. I want to be motivated and stay motivated so I would love it if you would comment on my posts and offer words of inspiration, motivation, divrei Torah (whatever works) that will help me along.
Feel free to add how you are doing and if you need some help and encouragement I will be happy to comment. If you don't need help and encouragment ( I hate you), I hope you will share some tricks and things that have worked for you. If you have nothing to add then please read and enjoy. My only request is that you do not forward this to anyone without my permission. Not because I don't trust you, but because I am certain this is "ois shidduch" for a lot of people.
So lets make this a fun and funny place to keep in touch about our weight loss struggles and the ups and downs of dieting.
Thanks a lot for your support and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sarah