Victory (and a little Defeat)

OK, so the major victory is that I haven't had a soda in 6 days and have actually been feeling pretty good about it. The ultimate test was when I had a slice of pizza for dinner one night and didn't wash it down with my favorite Diet Pepsi. But I survived it and am headache free!

The downside is I weigh 158, as of this AM. I managed to gain 1/2 a pound this week, which stinks, especially because overall I was really good about my food choices (besides the slice of pizza). I ate a good breakfast every day, ate healthy snacks and cooked dinner at home almost every night this week. After doing some research on the Internet I think I figured out the culprit though-- I had been getting my caffeine fix at Starbucks in the mornings. I found out my favorite Starbucks beverage is 500 calories! So I sabotaged myself, but now I know. And the good news is that I haven't been craving my Diet Sodas the last few days, so I don't think that I will need a coffee drink to prevent me from drinking soda. I will just not drink coffee drinks next week, unless super desperate. At least I know where the extra calories came from!

Josh and I did make a decision about our couple goal. We want to lose 10% of our body mass by June 1st. When we accomplish it, our rebate check will get split 50/50 towards whatever we want. Should we fail, the money will go towards paying off our credit card. Either way, it's a win!
10% of my weight is 15 1/2 pounds and 10% for Josh is 23 pounds. So we will have to lose a combined total of 38.5 pounds, which will definitely be tough. I am hoping to lose a little more than my 10% goal, but 10% is a good first step. I am glad that he will also be trying to lose weight, it will make cooking at home much easier, when I want to try things like whole wheat pasta and he freaks out. Now I will have some leverage for healthy eating at home. =)

Update...

So far so good. I managed to avoid having a diet soda yesterday and even drank another 9 glasses of water. My weight is a little higher today b/c I am in the water retention stage of drinking water, but I think in a few more days, the water retention will be over. Let's see if I can go for Day 4 of no soda-- If I get through today, I am pretty sure I have conquered my battle against withdrawal. Woo hoo. On another note, I started a food diary (torture). I am not sure it will be as affective as a preventative tool, but at least I will feel more empowered to grab a healthy snack as opposed to a treat.

P.S. I am really proud of my brother who is also giving up soda. Yeah Matt! (He is doing much better at it than I am.)

Small Victory...

For the first time in LOOOONG time (maybe ever), I actually drank 1/2 my body weight in ounces like I am supposed to every day AND I didn't have any soda to dehydrate me either. And I did 30 minutes of cardio. Yay me!

I am in diet soda withdrawal mode though. I have been getting headaches so severe from the withdrawal that I can barely open my eyes and other forms of caffeine have not been working either. I can go about two or three days before the headaches become so severe that it interferes with my work and then I usually cave and have a small soda. I am at the end of day two with no soda and hoping to break through the withdrawal cycle tomorrow. I want to make it happen...

On another note, Josh and I are thinking about setting a weight loss goal as a couple: like if we lose a combined total of x pounds, we will do y. We just can't figure out what would really motivate us (that we can realistically afford.) I would love a weekend back in San Diego or renting a house on the coast, but I am not sure it is financially feasible. So if anyone has any good ideas on a y, let me know.

My goals for 1/21/08-1/27/08:
1) Multivitamin.
2) Eat breakfast at home every day.
3) Drink at least 6 glasses of water each day.
4) Work out 3x this week for at least 20 minutes each session.

Weekly Weigh In

As of this morning, I weigh 157.8, which is OK, I wish it were a little lower. I will definitely have to pump up my weekly goals to lose a little more this week.

Staying On Track...

For the most part I am staying on track. My portion sizes are better and I am eating a lot more fruits and veggies. I am mostly off of Diet Soda. I still have one occasionally, but having one every few days is a lot better than three Big Gulps a day. The main reason I will have one now is to get rid of the soda hangover-- no joke. I am having withdrawal from Diet Coke, complete with headaches, mood swings and overall crankiness. My goal is to completely give it up in the next few months (baby steps). Even reducing my consumption has helped me lose weight So I am hanging in there and moving forward on this whole diet adventure.

Weekly thoughts and new goals...

Last week's goals were the same as my first week goals, mostly because it's been difficult for me to actually meet those simple goals. My first week I did pretty well and even lost a few pounds, but at the end of my first week my 2 year old got an ear infection/ sinus infection combo which evolved into a lung infection this week. I am pretty good at sticking to my goals when everything in my life is going smoothly, but when the sleep deprivation and overall exhaustion from dealing with my son's illness hit me, I found myself going back to my old lifestyle choices out of convenience. Plus I had two really bad days at work and was pretty depressed which also lead to huge cravings for comfort sodas and sweets. BUT I am learning from this experience: 1) I need to be prepared for healthy eating. Devon got sick the day before my weekly shopping trip so it got postponed and left me scrambling to put together meals. I need to keep healthy (non-perishable) foods around so that I can live off those should I need to for a weekend. 2) I am an emotional eater. I didn't think I was, but when I got depressed this week, I really craved my comfort foods. Some of the cravings I managed to overcome, but I caved in on a few of them. I am not sure what I need to do in order to fight the emotional eating thing. Recite daily mantras? Talk to a counselor? I don't know. This week I relied heavily on talking to my mom. I know she has been through everything I am going through, plus she is trying to lose 30 pounds too. 3) I need to find some way to relieve stress and emotions that does not involve food. At some point really soon, I am going to have to bite the bullet and get up an hour earlier so that I can start exercising and relieving some of this tension.

All that being said, I am going to keep to my old weekly goals for the week, with some minor revisions. (1/14-1/21)
1) Take a multi-vitamin 2x a day.
2) Eat breakfast at home every morning.
3) Eat a piece of fruit or veggie with every meal.
4) Drink 4 glasses of water each day (I don't drink hardly any right now and 4 is actually a huge increase. I would like to gradually increase the number up to 8 or 9.)

Those goals are realistically achievable and hopefully will help in this whole weight loss process.

My starting weight from late December was 163.
I am currently at 158.4.
My goal weight is 135. (Which is 5 lbs. higher than my pre-pregnancy heaviest weight.)
Only 24 more pounds to go!