RESULTS: Lost 2 pounds for a total of 7 pounds!

This past week has been good, but more difficult than the first three weeks. The biggest issue for me was feeling hungry more often. I think part of the problem was that I'm juggling several tight deadlines and I spent more time at my desk and less time preparing healthy food, especially vegetables (really filling and very low calorie).

For instance, if I were to only count calories and not consider where those calories came from, I might eat 14 dark chocolate covered almonds for 200 calories while working at my desk. (And 14 is not a lot when you're hungry!) Compare that to a medium-sized baked potato (about 150 calories) with 2 tablespoons of sour cream (60 calories). For the same number of calories, one is satisfying for a little while, and one is a filling meal. One takes no time but I end up hungrier later; one takes a few minutes to prepare but I don't want to leave my desk.

I think that's why I was hungry more this week. But by Friday I'd figured it out and started adding more veggies back into my daily consumption. Since I really don't like feeling hungry and I really do like meeting my 1-pound-per-week weight loss goal (yay!), I'm going to take a few more work breaks and eat better. (Hint: If I bake 2 or 3 potatoes at a time, I only have to microwave them for the next couple days – even less prep time!)

Also, I think the reason I am “only” losing a pound a week is because I keep overeating on Saturdays. Saturday night we generally relax in front of the TV together. And eat. And get up and look in the cupboard during commercials. It's quite enjoyable honestly – haha! But then most Sundays I try to be really careful so that my Monday morning weigh-in shows good results.

And the fact is – while I could lose more if I were even more disciplined, I AM meeting my weekly goal! And it's WAY BETTER than my eating habits of the last couple years that caused me to GAIN weight every year. So while I feel competitive about this, I have to remind myself I'm doing great. 🙂  (And when I wrote this post a couple days ago, I was sure I'd only barely lose a pound this week, so I'm shocked and excited to lose two! And I'm more motivated again!)

I wanted to point out, as well, that it was my friends on Facebook and My Fitness Pal who helped me realized my lack of veggies was part of my problem. So find a friend or three to share your health journey with. My Fitness Pal has a great blog and last January they posted this encouraging article about how people lose the most weight when they do it with friends. I guess weight loss goals should come with a warning – “Don't try this alone!” – Hahaha!!

Last month, MFP also had this great article about 21 tips to jump-start your weight loss. I particularly like the tips to make breakfast protein-rich, and to slow down and enjoy your food with all your senses. And of course, what's working for me with a pound-a-week weight loss goal – set small, reasonable goals!

I think my only other change this week was that Thursday I left my 2-pound hand weights at home and brought my 3-pound weights on my walks. I did a bunch of arm exercises during my walks, and finally remembered to add sit-ups and squats after the walks. (One of my first thoughts upon waking this morning was, “Ow.”) Hopefully I'll keep remembering all of that. Though some days I feel like, “Man, I don't want to do this extra work because then I'll be too tired to work at my desk!” So far I'm overcoming that voice. But I do have sore arms now when I'm back at my computer typing. Haha!

That's been my week – how was yours? I hope you got one step further down the road to your best health yet! See you next week! 😀