How I Am Avoiding Over Indulgence

12 days in.  Wow... the changes already!  (BTW, I haven't weighed again because I don't want to see myself still stuck... so I'll be waiting until Thursday AM, but I feel and see a difference!)

I'm not really craving sweets.  This is an extraordinarily weird experience for me!  I did enjoy a mug of homemade cocoa and a slice of buttered toast yesterday (comfort food!).  Othewise, I've had only a couple treats in nearly two weeks.  Since I used to eat treats daily (because my body/brain CRAVED chocolate), this is amazing!

How I'm avoiding over-indulgence:

I'm eating every 2-3 hours (6am, 9am, 11-12, 3pm, 5-6pm, maybe a light snack in the PM).  This way, my body is nourished so I'm not feeling deprived, although I am feeling hunger. 

I'm adding REAL fat to my meals... too little fat is not a good thing.  I enjoy a bit of cheese, real butter, whole milk, coconut or olive oil.  (I've been enjoying veggies with olive oil and salads with cheese.)

I'm limiting sugar.  We only use SuCaNat (pure evaporated cane w/ minerals intact), Stevia, Raw Local Honey, and Organic Maple Syrup.  That said, I have purchased a couple of "diet" frozen treats... I'm really not sure why.  I can scoop up some nourishing ice cream or real whipping cream and berries just as easily.  

My breakfast consists of whole grains (oats and whole sprouted grain breads), fruit, & protein (almonds, eggs).

For a morning snack, I enjoy fruit.  It's plenty sweet. In the afternoon, I try to switch off fruit to veggies.  I'm eating a lot of veggies and a couple fruits a day.

When hunger strikes, I opt for protein if possible (by adding some almond or peanut butter to my fruit, having a few nuts, a chunk of cheese, real hot cocoa).

I'm altering my thinking.  I realize that 80-90% of what goes into my body is responsible for fat loss (or retention).  That's no small thing.

Did I mention, I don't even miss soda anymore?  Really, I don't.  I am working on some kefir blueberry soda... it'll take a few days, but should be promising!

*Water kefir grains (avaliable at Cultures for Health), turn sugar water into a fermented, healthy, good bacteria filled beverage.   Think yogurt goodness in a soda like beverage. 

Early Plateau?

For three days now I've been stuck... (yes, I'm weighing daily even though I was trying to wait a week!).  I'm eating between 1400-1600 calories and my fat is staying around 30-35 grams/day.  I'm still recording everything I eat and drink.


I'm combating with the following tactics:

*Increase water intake
*Decrease sodium intake (no freezer meals for a couple days at least)
*Take my natural cleanse to flush excess water
*Increase activity level
*Decrease calorie intake to 1200 cals for 2 days, then back to 1400. 

I'm trying to add 30 minutes of planned physical activity a day (I already move, A LOT... so this focus is on planning/intentional activity).  Today I rediscovered the mini trampoline.  I keep it with the kid toys and they LOVE jumping on it.   Even if I only jump for 5 minutes several times a day, that will add needed activity.  I'm also going to go dig up the kids jump rope... these are activities I can do even with the kids running around like crazy.

I have too much weight to lose to plateau this early in the game... and I didn't cheat at all over the weekend.

Yesterday I did have a nonfat 12 oz mocha (150 cals) and had lunch at Taco Bell (Fresco Chicken Burrito Supreme + water 340cals/8g fat).  My daily total was 1440 cals/ 30 grams fat.

Breakfast today:

1 slice Dave's Killer Bread, 1 egg scrambled + 1 Tbs grated cheddar cheese (235 cals/10.5 grams fat)

I'm skipping my coffee and creamer that adds 150 cals/5 grams fat, so I ate more fat at breakfast since I've been pretty low.   This will help keep me closer to 1200 cals/day.  Today's breakfast was also ~70 cals less than my normal breakfast of oatmeal.