FOOD

A friend of mine recently started Weight Watchers and was asking for food suggestions on her blog http://pancakesandfrenchfries.com/2009/02/low-point-foods-that-helped-breakfast-lunch-dinner-dessert/

I gave her a pretty big list and it got me thinking; maybe there are others of you out there wondering what the heck I am eating. So whether you wanted to know or not here goes.

Crystal Light-I am not a big water fan so adding flavor without calories is perfect! There are generics out there and I am find them to be just as good.

Slim Fast High Protein Shake Mix-it's breakfast for me just about everyday. It's not grainy or chalky and tastes good.

tea-green tea will help speed up the metabolism and i need all the help I can get.

Weight Watcher frozen dessert/ice cream-currently eating their fudgsicles at only 60 calories a piece. Delicious.

Sugar free/fat free pudding mix or jello mix. I prefer to make my own, I think the texture is better than the prepackaged/refrigerated kind.

Fat free Cool Whip-A great ice cream substitute, delicious when defrosted and mixed with aforementioned jello and pudding.

Multigrain pasta-Not as grainy as wheat in my opinion. Generic is just as good for us.

Pepperidge Farm Bread-Light style 7 grain. It's small, thin and tasty.

Tuna Fish-one can is nearly 30g of protein, half of what I aim for each day. YUM!

Lettuce-Use it in salads or use large pieces (butter and bibb work best) to make wraps. I use lettuce wraps for tacos, fajitas, sandwiches....anything!

Almonds-packed with protein they fill you up and let you crunch.

Craisins-Yummy, chewy, fruit!

Wasabi peas-Find them in the Asian food section. They are crunchy and SPICY and oh so yummy. They have nearly as much protein as a serving of almonds with a lot less fat.

Morningstar Farms-Their hickory BBQ riblets and Ginger Teriyaki veggie cakes are surprisingly tasty to this skeptic. Thank you Susan for opening my eyes!

Reduced fat cheese sticks-cheese.....low fat....need I say more??

Laughing Cow Cheese wedges-My favorite flavor is French Onion....spread it on a cracker and YUMMO.

Newmans Own Dressing-Light Sundried Tomato and Light Balsamic Vinaigrette are quite good.

Campbells Select Harvest Light Soups-haven't found any I don't like yet.

Rice cakes-flavored ones are great substitutes for chips.

Fiber One Frosted Shredded Wheat Cereal-new and delicious.

Fiber One granola bars-a great substitute for a candy bar.

Hmm.....I know there are more great products out there but that's all that's popped into my head for now. Any other ideas people??

I Fell Off the Wagon

Where to begin.....

Last weeks news of the surgeons appointment being delayed sent me into a downward spiral. I was angry and disappointed and, unfortunately, I turned to food. I snapped out of it quickly and by Saturday I was back down to my low of 282. Phew. Then I landed face first, mouth open, into my son's second birthday party. The party was supposed to be at 2 but because of bad weather approaching a lot of guests decided to come earlier in the day. I ended up with people in and out from 9-3:45. It was a great time and we had a lot of fun. I also ate, a LOT. People in and out all day through off my schedule and I grazed all day long. I ate things I should not have and I ate too much. It wasn't pretty. I went to bed that night vowing that the next day I would get back on track. I did not. If I told you everything that I ate yesterday you would be disgusted. I have no idea what came over me. I am paying for it now though, the scale is not happy. I can not believe how much weight I put on in a few short days, seriously, it's bad. I know it will come off again but wow, it's an eye opener!

Now, on to the positives.
1) I realize I fell off the wagon and am owning up to it.
2) I have already started working on climbing back onto the wagon.

This morning my lovely little two year old got me up at 5:50 AM. I decided that if I was already up I might as well go for a walk so I did! It was about a 25 minute walk and it felt good! I hope that it sets the tone for the rest of the day. So far so good but it's only 8AM.

I have made a huge decision regarding surgery. When I was complaining about having to wait so long to see the surgeon a lot of people kept telling me that everything happens for a reason. I know that but at the time it was not what I wanted to hear. I thought about it a lot over the past few days and have decided that if I can lose another 20-25 pounds on my own before my appointment I will not get the lap band. Sounds crazy doesn't it? I mean, I reserve the right to change my mind but for now that's the plan. The way I look at it is this. I have never been able to lose that much on my own or stay dedicated to a program for that long. If I can do it then I will know/hope I can do more. The band is only going to get me down to around 200 pounds, ideally. If I can lose another 20-25 on my own I'll be half way to that goal without being cut open. I know that I have dieted before and I know that I have lost weight before and not been successful long term but this time really feels different. It's hard to explain but it's just does. One of the big differences this time is that I have made this so public. Support has been a key part of my success to this point and I know it will be as I continue. Maybe that's all I needed all along, support. I don't know but I do want to try.