Un-Fazed: Moving Beyond Phase 2

[Chris55]

I've been on SB for 22 months, have met all my initial goals, but still need accountability so I don't drift back into my pre-SB ways of eating. I'm trying to find that balance between eating right and sneaking in some snacks while maintaining my weight or possibly losing a bit more. I was down to 150 years ago on WW but couldn't maintain it. I'd like to get there again and try to find a way to maintain without starving myself or having to exercise at a level that I can't maintain. It's taken me a very long time to lose the last 5 lb. and I probably can't stay on a very strict Phase 2 for long enough to lose 5 more, so I'm going beyond Phase 2 to see where my body settles. Phase 3 is too scary a thought for me, so I'm just hanging on in Phase 2 1/2 for now.

I'm journaling to force myself to write things down, especially my exercise (or lack thereof!).

Positives:
Today I did 30 min. on the elliptical at the gym. I had to drag myself there - many excuses not to go, but I got through the door.
I had my beans/cheese/egg for breakfast, peanuts for snack, some homemade soup from my freezer stash for lunch, a small apple. Dinner plans - marinated grilled beef, leftover winter squash, green beans with EVOO. NO ice cream.

Negatives:
Ritz crackers in the soup. I had some Kashi whole grain ones in the cabinet, but since they're whole grain they don't absorb the soup and do that crunchy/soggy thing. Bad move.

Lesson:
Shop for better crackers.

Will see how the rest of the day goes..........

[RedRox]

Sweet!! fun journal name!! You'll be fine!! Enjoy the adventure!

[Chris55]

Thanks, Red! It's nice to be back and trying to get focused again.

Starting to exercise again is making me hungry. The cold weather is making me hungry. But I did better than I thought I would today. I ended up with too much cheese, but at least I didn't attack the crackers again or something worse. To quote Miss Scarlet - "Tomorrow is another day"!

[Beaching It]

Hi Chris, you are doing well!! I've been eating the SB way for the past year and a bit and love it. I've found a good balance of eating healthy with the occasional treat. My body seems to like the weight it's at and doesn't seem to want to lose anymore but I will continue to pursue my goal. Glad the board is back up!!

[Chris55]

After being on SB for so long, I've discovered that I'm losing much more slowly and will plateau for really long periods, then shake it up a bit with some exercise or better food choices, and I'll lose a bit more. But I haven't gone back to those old bad eating habits. Been there, done that, and it doesn't work for me any more. I love the veggies, I love the energy I have, and I'm not going back to being a slug!

The plan for today is a morning exercise DVD, working at the polls this afternoon where I'm hoping people don't bring leftover Halloween candy, and making a nice healthy dinner.

[chefk]

Glad to see you in the Journals!!

I'm kinda where you are in long plateaus. I've held here since the boards went down. Hopefully we'll be up for a big drop to celebrate.

[Chris55]

Yes, we have to make SOME progress before the holidays hit.

So far today:
Positives:
Exercise (two days in a row!!): 30 min. walk DVD with 2 lb. weights
Breakfast - veggie/bacon omelet, apple
Lunch - will be chili, low fat cheese, ww tortilla
Bought some good groceries - eggplant, zucchini, lean meats. I need to work on the cracker issue.
No negatives so far, but it's early!
Snacked on nuts while working at the election, and 2 Dove dark chocolates with my thermos of coffee. Dinner was lean roast beef, leftover green beans with balsamic, and brussels sprouts. Made potatoes for the guys.

Negatives:
Crackers again - was starving when I got back from the polls. Had some cheese, but caved in and had about 6 crackers. Just needed something salty/crunchy and had already done my nuts for the day.

[chefk]

Have you tried roasted chick peas yet? They are the cure all for crunchy salty cravings. I love them. I wish my pictures were still there, but it is in my journal still on Page 21. I do them from dried because I love my pressure cooker and it's cheap, but canned works perfectly fine too just be sure to add enough salt. I'm making a double batch this weekend. Yummy!!

[Chris55]

I'm not a fan of the roasted chickpeas or chickpea soup or hummus for that matter. I love beans, like chickpeas tossed in salad and other dishes, just don't like them alone, I guess. I even tried some strong seasoning on them. And I'm off popcorn pretty much permanently after spending $4000 on a dental implant last year. Too bad because I love popcorn, but don't want to risk chomping down and screwing up another tooth.

I love my pressure cooker, too, especially for beans and soups. Best thing I've bought for my kitchen in ages!

Today's progress:
Oatmeal with peanut powder/Smart Balance/tiny bit of brown sugar for breakfast. Soft-boiled egg.
Good snacks - cheese sticks, nuts
Dinner - pork, cabbage, baked new potato.
35 min. on the elliptical at the gym. Thought I was tired from staying up late and would only do 20 min., but got involved in the news and ended up doing 35 min. WooHoo!

Negatives:
Two tiny Heath Bars (post-Halloween sale that was for my son!), but I was stressed from election madness today. I could have done much worse considering how I was feeling. The exercise helped avert a total disaster!
Pizza for lunch - tried a new place that was highly recommended for it's NY pizza - not worth the splurge. But I skipped the pepperoni.

I need to make a few pots of soup tomorrow. I'll be home and it will be raining - perfect day for the pressure cooker.

[SpoonSockSpork12]

Ooooh agreed with RedRox, fun title! Did you not have a journal before?

[Chris55]

Nope, hadn't done a journal before - just spent a lot of time on the over 50 board every day. But the rest of you have inspired me and I think just having a plan for keeping with the program will help me. I was trying an exercise chart for a while since that helped me with WW maintenance years ago, but it hasn't been working this time around. So now that I know how helpful the boards have been after being without them for the past month, I figured it's a good time. Plus we always have people asking about what happens when you reach your goal and how you keep from slipping back into old habits.

[chefk]

I'm completely envious of your stay at home soup cookin' day. Those are my favorites. I stay in comfy clothes and slippers and turn on a good blues or singer songwriter channel and get my mojo on!

Bummer about the chick peas. I'm hooked on them. I'll give some thought to your cracker dilemma this weekend though. I've been wondering if I could come up with a unique crunchy healthy snack.

[Chris55]

I finally did have some ww crackers. Generally I have Triscuits around but I've had too many other non-beachy things available due to living in a house with other people who like Ritz. The nuts usually take care of my crunchy salty cravings, except when I'm stressed. I'm planning on exploring Trader Joe's for some interesting crackers as soon as I can get there.

I had a good night's sleep, was up at 6:30 with coffee perking and batch of beans in my pressure cooker. They've been turned into a pot of soup with all my scraps of leftover fall veggies, so I've cleaned out my crisper drawer in the process. I'm soaking some of my Polish dried mushrooms for a creamy mushroom soup that will probably have more fat than I need, but maybe I'll have small servings and indulge a bit.

No exercise yet today. I'll probably do a little yoga this afternoon since my body is feeling cramped and unhappy.

Breakfast was OK - english muffin (not ww - the ones I've tried are like mush inside), egg, 2 slices pre-cooked Hormel bacon, lots of coffee. Snack - peanuts. Lunch will be my bean soup, maybe a cheese stick or a glass of milk.

[Chris55]

I started this journal so I would be accountable, so here's the moment of truth time! I did OK this morning, then started hitting the candy this afternoon. I think I ended up with 3 pieces and an oatmeal cookie by the end of the day. So much for staying home and getting on track. The exercise didn't happen either, but I took a nap!

Lunch: Bean and veggie soup - 2 cups, some leftover pork.
Snack: Cheese stick and apple. Kashi bar (to fill me up so I'd stop eating the candy. It worked briefly!).
Dinner: Stir fried chicken, veggies, brown rice. Glass of wine.

Negatives: Candy, white flour english muffin, cookie, some crackers some time after lunch. Yikes! Also sweet sauce on my chicken stir fry.

Positives: Lots and lots of veggies. Yummy veggie bean soup is made for lunch tomorrow and the freezer. Mushroom soup came out good and is waiting in the fridge for Saturday or Sunday. I also cleaned out my crisper drawer of oddball pieces of veggies like parsnips, turnips, leeks, and other things from my last few CSA pickups.

Lesson: Don't stay home

[Chris55]

Feeling a bit hung over from eating junk yesterday. Either that or I'm catching DH's cold. Stomach was not happy last night and I didn't sleep well. So the plan for today will include yogurt with banana, some soup for lunch, and I'll try and stay away from the bad stuff!