As of January 31, I've lost about 10 pounds. I say "about" because my body seems to fluctuate throughout the day. I can "gain" up to three or four pounds during the day, mostly due to the clothes I'm wearing and/or time of day, and "lose" it all the next morning. I'm not really sure how it's all supposed to work. Basically, scales lie. But whatever. I can see and feel the weight coming off a little bit, and my clothes seem to fit a little better. The most noticeable change is that I can slip my wedding rings on and off much easier without needing to wet my hands or lather on lotion first. That's a big deal to me, because had I not started this weight loss initiative, I probably would have needed to get them resized very soon. So glad that isn't the case now!!
My weight loss plan of attack has probably been the most casual one I've ever tried, which is probably why it's also been the most successful. Basically, I'm counting my calories (but not religiously because it's just easier to estimate) and being more active. I don't want to fool you -- I'm still terrible at working out. But I have committed to yoga at least twice a week, and using free weights at least twice a week. The latter is usually accomplished while watching Netflix. It's not much, but it's a start.
Counting calories has been pretty much a breeze, too, and I haven't really had to cut anything out completely. I'm teaching myself to build better meals based on healthy things I already knew I liked but just didn't buy very often. I've largely cut back on what used to be my major stumbling blocks -- cheese, alcohol, drive-thru breakfasts, bread, bagels -- and added in much more healthy stuff. My go-to quick meals and snacks usually involve tuna, spinach, cottage or string cheese, eggs, rotisserie chicken, or unsweetened applesauce with cinnamon. Again, not a whole lot different than what I'd normally eat, but I'm making more conscious decisions to choose these options over the bad-for-you ones.
I've also embraced the land of healthy convenience meals. That's been a little difficult, because I try to make homemade food as much as possible and avoid overly-processed stuff. I used to be really resistant to Lean Cuisine-type frozen items because I assumed they were crappy. And it's true that a lot of them are. But some of them aren't. When I'm in a pinch and don't have a lot of time or resources, they're super easy to throw in my lunchbox on my way to work. The Michelina's version is super inexpensive and surprisingly tasty, with hardly any mystery ingredients. They're on the small side, but a side of fruit and veggies rounds it out. I also like steamable Bird's Eye pasta and veggie bags.
And tortilla pizzas. OH, THE TORTILLA PIZZAS! So easy to mix and match, so quick to cook, and so few calories. To amp up the nutrition even more, trade the flour tortillas for flax-studded lavash bread. I can't express enough how much I love these puppies.
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| Plain canned tomato sauce, herbs, spinach, deli ham and cheese on a flour tortilla. Easy. Classic. Delicious. |
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| BBQ sauce, chicken, spinach and cheese on lavash bread. That whole thing is like, 200 calories, max. And it's huge. |
As for our standings in the corporate weight loss challenge, we aren't exactly winning, but we're not at the bottom either. I'm not worried. There's still two months left and we all have a lot more to lose. I've read that once you've lost a substantial amount at that beginning that the weight starts getting harder to shed, but that's okay. Even if we don't win any money, I think this will be a rewarding experience for all of us. I'm glad I'm approaching it in a way that I can sustain for a long time, not just temporarily!
