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!