Progress: Weight (January 25, 2013 Weigh In)

Weight Loss Goal: 50 lbs.
This Week's Result: -3.6 lbs.
Yearly Total: -9.6 lbs.
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Weighed in today and felt good about it.  I've been working really hard this week so I was happy to have a loss again. 

Today, I mark a weekly loss of 3.6 pounds which gives me a yearly weight loss total of 9.6 pounds.

Two Things To Look Forward To

1,200...I'm really looking forward to tomorrow for two reasons.  One, I'm excited to weight in.  Friday is my official weigh-in day of the week and I've been watching my diet so, so carefully.  I've also been doing some research on BMIs, BMRs and TDEEs and learning a lot about what those acronyms mean for my dietary health and progress.

I've also been looking into new low calorie recipes.  If I didn't mention it before, I'm on a calorie-based diet and my daily goal is 1,200.  Sometimes I hit that number, sometimes I don't but I never consciously go below that limit.

Since I'm limiting my caloric intake, I'm not really focused on the breakdown of those calories (i.e. carbs, fat, sugars, etc.).  I have cut out most fried foods and desserts from my diet so I figure whatever falls within that 1,200 range is pretty much allowable, by me.  I'm not setting myself up to fail by dissecting every bite I take or worrying about carb versus fat versus protein.  I do try to ingest healthy proteins (lean red meats, skinless chicken, turkey, soy and almonds) but I don't try to make that the bulk of my diet, a la Atkins-style.  The bottom line is, I'm trying to remain balanced.  If I want bread, I eat it...I count the calories in it, but I eat it.  Same goes if I want pasta or potatoes.  If I want a veggie burger or a small lean sirloin, either one is an acceptable choice for me.  The only thing I'm stringent about is the calories, period.

The second thing I'm looking forward to tomorrow is paying off a small bill.  I haven't been paying down any balances in the past week or so, but tomorrow I'll be making the final payment on a relatively low-balance credit account.  The amount isn't as important to me as the ability to check the account off my list, at the moment.  With my new budgetary guidelines and saving plan, I know tackling the bigger accounts is just down the road...slow but sure wins the race.

Reverse Anorexia and Avoiding the Mirror

I'm disappointed that I've waited so long to get this diet going. I feel like I'm finally on the right track with eating, portions, moderation and I'm ready to incorporate the physical activity. However, I have a good 50+ pounds to lose, though 50 is my current goal. I didn't realize just HOW BIG I'd gotten until I saw my reflection in a sliding glass door while at a friends house. I was sitting along side of it, it was dark outside with lights on in the house and you can see how this would make for the perfect 'mirror reflection'. When I saw how big I looked from the side, it literally shocked me. Until then, I'd look in the mirror and think, "Yeah, you don't look so bad..." - almost like a reverse form of anorexia. I was in complete denial, and the charade was easy to maintain...I avoided fitting rooms with full length mirrors, I had no full length mirrors at home and I began to avoid having my picture taken at all costs - to the point of appearing as a poor sport or even bitter. What I'd see from the shoulders up never really changed much in my eyes.

My advise is, get next to yourself and embrace your reflection. Check the full length mirrors even if it's hard. It's all to easy to fool ourselves and once we're in that mode, it's easy to pack on the pounds without acknowledging what's really happening.

Baked Eggplant Slices

One of my very favorite foods is Eggplant Parmesan.  It's one of those foods - you know, the ones that come to mind when someone asks, "If you had to eat the same food for the rest of your life, what would it be?".  I'd have a few answers at the ready and one of them would certainly be eggplant.

Although I love Eggplant Parmesan, my diet does not.  Personally, I'm attempting to avoid fried foods of any kind (oh, how I miss french fries...).  Although eggplant is a nice healthy vegetable, it morphs into a calorie-whopping nightmare when plunged into hot oil.  This is where my new method of preparing eggplant comes into play.

Baking eggplant is nothing new, in general, but for me it is.  I typically eat eggplant at restaurants where someone else can do the cooking but since there are no restaurants that serve baked eggplant where I live, I needed to resign myself to making it at home (plus, I save money in the process...win-win).

Eggplants at my local grocery store run about $2.00 per pound and since I only needed one for my recipe, it was a night full of cheap-eats at home.  With breadcrumbs already in the cupboard and eggs in the fridge, all I needed to do was cook.

Here's what I did:

1.  I sliced an entire eggplant into thin slices.
2.  I poured 3/4 cup breadcrumbs into a bowl and added some Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.  I then threw in about a tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese (the Kraft kind, right out of the plastic container - nothing fancy!)
3.  I broke a couple of eggs and poured the whites into a dish.  Yep, I got a little yolk in there too but I didn't stress about it...a little extra protein isn't going to sabotage my diet.
4.  I sprayed a large pizza pan with olive oil flavored Pam cooking spray.
5.  I took the eggplant slices, one at a time, and dredged them through the egg wash, then into the breadcrumbs, coating on each side.  I then placed the slices onto the pizza pan.
6.  Once I was finished breading all the slices, I sprayed them with a little Pam (right on the slices) and popped them into a 400 degree oven. 
7.  I let them bake for about 15 minutes then took them out.  I flipped them, sprayed the other side with a little more Pam and then back in they went.  This time, I turned the heat up just a bit and let them bake for about another 15 minutes.

In the meantime, I set the water to boil and made myself literally, less than an ounce of Angel Hair pasta.  The picture looks ridiculously deceiving because it's a close-up, but let me assure you, it was the smallest serving of pasta I've ever seen...and I've eaten a lot of Lean Cuisines and Smart Ones in the past.

The point of making such a small amount of Angel Hair was not to really indulge in a side of pasta as much as it was to simply fool myself a little into thinking I was actually enjoying a regular old-fashioned Eggplant Parmesan meal. 

Once the eggplant was done, I took it out of the oven and put tiny dollops of sauce (Hunts, right out of the can...I believe 20 calories per tablespoon?  Don't quote me on that...).  Then I placed the pasta on top.  That was it.  Plated it and ate it.

I have to say it was good.  In hindsight, I'll remember to slice the eggplant just a little thicker...I love thin eggplant slices but these were crazy thin and had really dried out a bit.  I'd also be a little more liberal with the amount of seasonings I used and go slightly more heavy handed with the salt and pepper as well.

I had quite a few eggplant slices remaining when I finished, so the next day I placed them into a lunch container and took them with me to work.  I had a frozen ziti entree in the freezer already at work (a diet entree) so I heated that up and placed half the diet ziti onto my eggplant slices.  It wasn't restaurant good but it wasn't bad either.  I actually enjoyed the eggplant both days.  It wasn't crispy the next day, having come from the fridge and been heated up in a microwave but hey, beggars can't be choosers and I'm on a diet...sacrifices, no matter how large or small, must be made. :)

My Fitness Pal Website

I'm sure if anyone's reading this, you're probably already familiar with the online weight loss tool, My Fitness Pal.  I was not but now that I've discovered it, I've created an account and downloaded the app for my iPhone.  I was able to add in my previous weights back to my starting point (January 1, 2013) and chart from there.  Now, I can weigh in daily, weekly, monthly, whatever - the choice is up to the user.  Since I've been doing daily weigh-ins for my personal tracking, I decided to go that route.  Many people don't recommend weighing in daily but for me, I can't see why not.  I'm aware that small fluctuations can take place due to water retention, etc., but at least it forces me to be accountable.  I avoided the scale for much of last year and it's the time period where I gained the most amount of weight, the fastest. 

Anyway, if you're conducting your own weight-loss journey, check out My Fitness Pal if you haven't already.  Speaking as someone who loves to chart and graph and make progress lists, I think I'm going to enjoy adding this to my methods.

Photo credit:  www.myfitnesspal.com

Progress: Weight (January 18, 2013 Weigh-In)

Weight Loss Goal: 50 lbs.
This Week's Result: -3.4 lbs.
Yearly Total: -6 lbs.
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Today is my second weigh-in of the year, after weighing myself initially.  I'm a little better than a tenth of my way to goal and that makes me very, very happy.

Today, I mark a loss of 3.4 pounds which also gives me a yearly weight loss total of 6 pounds.

Progress continues to be made however, given my own past dieting experiences, I know not to expect a three pound loss each week.  That would be nice, but not exactly maintainable. 

I will admit, a few of my eating practices this week have been healthful while a few others, not so much.  It's been a stressful week and I haven't always made the time to eat breakfast.  In fact, I've probably on done so twice.  I'm pretty savvy when it comes to nutrition and I'm well aware that skipping breakfast is a detriment and a saboteur of weight loss success.  Eating breakfast regularly is a habit I'd like to instill but I'm taking one small step at a time.  If I tried to implement every change into my diet and eating habits all at once, I don't think I'd last more than a few days on this weight loss journey.  I'm a believer in the "slow but sure" theory and for me, it's much easier to introduce new habits and changes slowly...giving myself the time needed to get used to a new way of doing things.

Facing the Scale...One More Day

Tomorrow is my second official weigh-in and I'm really keeping my fingers crossed for a loss.  I've changed up some habits this week and found two foods that have helped me stay on track:

1. Special K Protein Drinks.  Ok, these probably wouldn't win any awards for being the health drink of the year but each one includes 10 grams of protein and 190 calories.  I don't get too much into fat and carbs (I know I should) but I do pay attention to the amount of protein-to-sugar-ratio and I am very careful about calories.  These drinks have been a convenient grab in the mornings and since I'm not a breakfast person, I usually have mind somewhere around 9:00 a.m.  I feel less lethargic and less bloated after drinking them than with many other foods.

2.  BLTs - Yes, you read right - BLTs, except I get mine minus the "T".  I don't care for raw tomato slices on anything, so in this case, I have a BL.  I crisp up a few pieces of bacon (between 110 and 160 calories for three slices depending on the brand and type) and put it on whole wheat toast with lettuce.  No butter, no mayo, no frills and it's super satisfying.  I've been pairing one of those with a cup of soup or a small salad and I'm feeling pretty good about myself. :)

So they may be unconventional but those two things have been pretty regular go-to's as I went through the past week.  Of course I realize that either or both of those choices may not be right for everyone but we all do what works.  Tomorrow, the scale will tell me if I made some pretty good or pretty bad choices.  For the first time in a long time I'm looking forward to facing the scale!