Curves Weigh-in/Anniversary Getaway

Today was weigh-in day at Curves...I already knew I'd lost weight since last time (3 pounds) but I was happy to see I also lost another 2 inches which brought me to 113 inches that I have lost since January 2007. My body was was down to about 19.6% which was a happy moment too. Hard to believe when I started this my body fat was 47.00%!! Almost HALF of me was nothing more than fat. Sad and so scary at the same time! My mom also lost 3 pounds and 2 inches this month so I'm totally proud of her and the efforts she puts in (though she quickly says she hates to exercise and it will never get better lol). Tonight after my dear husband gets home from work, we'll sleep a couple of hours and then head off for our long weekend anniversary getaway without the kiddies to Nashville (about 6 hours from here). I am excited but as always, hesitant about getting into a situation where there will be so much eating out. I will try to do my usual and find a hotel with a kitchenette so we can have some healthy meals in the room. If not, I'll try to focus on portions and making healthy choices on the menu. I already know that I'll come home with at least a small gain, and that's okay. I have come to realize that the ups and downs on the scale are a part of life, and while I never like seeing the numbers higher than they were the day before, I find it empowering to look at the numbers and say "Yes I gained, but I enjoyed the splurge and now its time to get back to my normal way of eating". Normal...thats an interesting word. The other day I thought about a typical daily menu now and then compared it to "before"...I was shocked at the result. With the food eduation I now possess, there is no wonder at all that I weighed nearly 300 pounds!

Before Jan. 2007 Sample Menu:
Breakfast: One can of soda; 2 poptarts OR a Sausage, egg, cheese McGriddle, hashbrown, and large coke
Snack: Bag of chips or cookies and a soda
Lunch: Ramen noodles OR whole frozen pizza (about the size of a dinner plate) OR Big Mac, large fries, large coke
Snack: 2 Krispy Kreme donuts OR cookies OR someone at the office might go to the store and get Klondike bars and a soda
Supper: 2 cups of hamburger helper, corn with butter, 2 biscuits with butter & jelly, at least 2 large glasses of coke
Snack: 1 or 2 Little Debbie snack cakes OR hubby and I might order a pizza sub OR we might share 5 or 6 large sausage with BBQ sauce, coke

Now Sample Menu:
Breakfast: 1 serving of instant sugar free maple & brown sugar oatmeal, large banana, water
Snack: 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese, large peach, water
Lunch: 3 cups steamed cabbage, 2 fat free hot dogs, 24 baby carrots, water
Snack: apple, light yogurt, and 1 Tbs. granola, water
Dinner: 4 oz. grilled chicken, 3 cups steamed veggies, water
Snack: Sugar free pudding cup or fresh fruit, water

As you can see, a huge change is that I no longer drink coke. When I look back at a day and see how many calories I wasted on sodas! I see now that a large portion of my weight gain was most likely due to that, then you factor in all the crap I was eating and I was a walking recipe for disaster. We used to eat Hamburger Helper quite often simply because we liked it. When I really started looking at labels, I checked the things that were in my pantry. I nearly choked when I read the label for HH. One of our fav kinds had over 300 calories for one serving, then when I saw a serving was HALF A CUP!! Geez...I know I'd eat at least 2 cups at supper and that alone was over 1200 calories! Throw in some biscuits and those huge glasses of coke and I was having more than a whole day of calories in a 30 minute meal. When Gary and I started making a habit of what we called a snack but let's be realistic, it was another supper, AND it was usually around 10 or 11 at night! What were we thinking! Sometimes I go grocery shopping and I still laugh when I look in my buggy at the checkout, bag after bag of fresh fruit and veggies, fat free dairy products, granola bars, etc. Before it was packed with everything processed, and tons of junk food. I never bought fruit or veggies. I wish I could have seen the problems years ago but back then, my buggy looked "normal". Isn't it amazing how "normal" can vary so much in a couple years time? Has your normal changed? Better go get packed, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I'll post on Sunday with how eating on the trip went. Hopefully the weather will be nice and we'll be able to get a lot of walking in to offset any splurges.