Eating bad. Sometimes.

So, it's been a few weeks since I have written anything and I guess it's time for confession. Bless me fath...no not that kind but still a confession none the less.

After vacation I did my weigh in and had only gained about 2 pounds. With everything I ate, I was shocked! I should have gained at least 5 but more like 10! I guess all the walking and little bits of hiking we did helped keep foods from sticking to me.

Since vacation (2 weeks now...feels like 2 months!) I haven't been eating the greatest. I have done great during the days most days but then when evening hits we have eating bad. I haven't had my amazing veggie patties until tonight...that killed me!

The hubby got hurt at work so he was off for a couple days and was super board at home. He's so used to working out at our 2 different gyms at least 4 days a week, before vacation, that he just about lost it. So, because he can't do anything physical we have mainly just walked, soaked in the hot tub or pool, shopped some and ate. And by eating I mean eating out.

I think I've made dinner like 6 times since being home. That leaves about 8 or 9 days of eating out. (ugh! the money we have wasted!!) Calories add up super fast eating out! We have gone to places like Outback, had some nummy Mexican food, ate frozen pizza and even had Sonic last night for dinner.

As I ate my popcorn chicken I glanced at the calorie count next to the number on the menu...1100 to 1200. (don't do that! Ever!) Holy moly. That's more then I should eat in a day right now. Freaked me out some so I ate the chicken, and only ate a couple of the onion rings and shared my drink with the little and tried not to think about it.

This morning I weighed in on my own scale. I'm still up my 2 pounds but not any higher. It's funny because I have been expecting it to keep climbing but it hasn't. It's like I'm testing myself. Like, well- this whole diet thing didn't work so I can give up now and just be fat forever. But it's not going up despite the horrible way I've been eating in the late afternoon and evening.

When I talked to my doctor at my appointment a week and a half ago she (a P.A. for my normal doctor) told me that I've kept my metabolism going by eating every few hours even when I was eating horrible on vacation. So, even though I ate horrible and have continued to eat that way some of the time, my metabolism is staying higher then normal.

If you don't understand I'll try and explain...hopefully I'm not telling it totally wrong! This is how my doctor explained it to me in a nutshell....

If you go hours and hours between meals your body thinks it may be your last for hours or even days so it freaks- stores all your food (fat) for energy later on. Then when you get you next meal it will do the same thing - store fat. Thus you'll gain weight or maybe just stay the same weight.
By eating every 2 to 3 hours your body is getting the nutrition it needs and it doesn't think you're starving. So it knows it can burn some of your excess fuel (fat). Once you've started eating every couple of hours for a few days straight your body knows you're not starving and decides to release excess fat. Thus you loose weight.

I think that is how it was explained to me so if I got a little messed up I'm sorry. Go ahead and Google away and you will find it explained to you very well by someone that knows way more about then I!

But here is what it had done for me. Because I have eaten on a normal schedule of every 2 to 3 hours (even bad meals) I've kept my metabolism up and haven't gained anything to speak of. I've been basically just sitting where I have been for a few weeks now.

So ask yourself...Are you eating enough? Are you keeping your body from freaking out and storing every bite you take in after 8 hours of not eating? I know it's hard to eat every 2 to 3 hours. That's why I have bars and premade protein shakes at my fingertips all the time. That way I know I can eat or drink something fast. Get it out of the way and go about my day. Now I know it would be great to eat bad food all day every 2 or 3 hours but you have to eat something healthy. No candy meals!

Don't like protein bars? Or Shakes? Grab a few slices of deli meat a string cheese and 2 hard boiled egg whites. You can come up with a lot of different meals if you're not ok with eating the same thing most days or don't like the shakes and bars.

Well here I am about a month into my journey and I'm down about 7-ish pounds. Its funny because 2 months ago I would be super proud and all woohooing at a 7 pound loss. This month, because I know I could have done better I'm upset with myself. Not in a bad way like I want to give up, or I'm shaming myself. Just in a way that I know I could have made better choices.

August is just a few days a way and I'm onto a new month and a new outlook. I have done great this month, failed miserably and had okay days in between. I'm still down some pounds and I'm happy about that. This month I want to loose another 7 pounds.

Here's to eating every 2 or 3 hours, getting lots of protein at every meal and eating a nice healthy dinner! Let's do this thing!!

Here's also to fall coming around the corner!! My favorite! Yay sweatshirts and boots!! Little early? Yea I know haha!

Vacation Overload!

Let's see here. I can lie, be honest but still keep some things in or I can be brutally honest. Which is me?

Yep- Brutally honest.

I have eaten everything in sight.

If it was there- I ate it. I didn't stick to my plan really at all. I'm sure I've gained weight, if not all of it back. My body holds on to calories like a dog with a bone. It ain't lettin go! And I have felt like crap every night!

Let me start by saying I did have fun. Every day I enjoyed myself with my family. We walked and hiked and ate and saw the sights and shopped and hiked and walked and walked. And then walked some more. Which you would think that walking and average of12 miles a day would help cut the calories from sticking. I doubt it. Maybe for some but not for this ol bod. I look at food and I gain weight.

So, what am I going to do now that vacation is over in T-minus 24 hours? Start fresh in the morning! I'm not going to weigh myself when I get home. I don't want to know. I will weigh in with my doctor at the end of the week. I'm not going to think about all the nummy food I ate and think badly of myself. I'm going to move on. Start over fresh.

Normally I would be kicking myself by now. Hating myself for letting myself eat the things I've eaten. For overdoing it. I would be looking in the mirror at night in agony. Wondering when I was going to stop. When I was going to have the will power to loose weight again. Flopping my fat around pinching, here and there. Looking at my big ol' butt in the mirror and think- wow! That's a big butt!

But this time I'm not- I'm not going to let those thoughts into my mind when I look into the mirror. I know that I had fun. I ate and enjoyed my sweets and goodies and I also ate things that were good for me. I am on a journey-not a perfect one but a normal ups and downs kinda journey. Real life.

Tomorrow I will start the morning with a protein shake and we will do our last leg of our vacation. We are in Reno for the night again trying to break up the long drive between Salt Lake City and home.

When we get home we will be going grocery shopping for the week and getting everything we need to juice for a few days to get rid of all these horrible foods we all have been eating. As well as normal everyday food we are used too. The little won't know what to do....no sweets? Ha! Poor thing will be going through junk food withdraws with us! She normally eats super healthy so this week has been strange for her too. She's been in heaven though! A cookie, chocolate covered strawberry and an ice cream cone in the same day? Dang! My mom is the coolest!

No more though. No vacations planed for the next few months so healthy eating will be had by all, with no interruptions! I even have a gym date this week with my swole sister!

I also have to say that I really miss home. I miss normal food that I have to cook, driving to the gym and getting to swim. I miss being able to grab a cold protein shake from the fridge or cut up some fruit when I want. I miss my normal day to day eating and activities.

When you go from eating super healthy to super crappy you crave the good! And oh man does my body hate all this junk! By the end of the night I normally have a headache or a tummy ache. My body is trying to tell me to knock it off every day so far but I have been ignoring it until now. I can't wait to have a veggie patty with some fresh avocado and hopefully a home grown tomato tomorrow for dinner!! Yummmm!

Vacation time!

Vacations.
"Holiday", as my little would call it.

What do we do when we are around nothing but crazy good food? What if you're on a mission to loose weight but there is a beautiful slice of strawberry cheesecake looking at you saying "Eat me!". Well, in my case, I eat it. Maybe not all of it but I enjoy some of it.

Yesterday was the first day of our vacation.  We made our first stop in Reno, Nevada at a hotel that connects to other hotels. Lots of food and drinks all around me!

The trip to the hotel I did pretty well in my food choices. I did have some chocolate covered cranberries and some of those little round crackers with that horribly good fake cheese. But other then that I ate some grapes had a protein shake and a couple bottles of water.

Once we got to the hotel we walked around and decided to have buffet which of course was the hubby's first choice! It was great! I had little bits of different pastas with a salad, some fruit and of course I tried a bunch of those little deserts they have.  The little and I shared most of them and neither of us ate a whole one. It was perfect. I felt like I was having everything I wanted when I wasn't really eating a lot.

Later into the evening we decide to have more dessert...Gelato. so good! That was over doing it but, hey! I'm on vacation!! Haha!

Today we are heading to Las Vegas for a few days and we plan on eating at the buffets there too. I'll split up my good meals and "bad" meals. I'll try and eat as good as I can without going overboard but I do know I will be enjoying myself too. I have worked hard to get these first 10 pounds off and I don't want to gain any of it back.

Before we left home I made sure and went shopping for food that we could bring along and eat easily enough while driving. I cut up strawberries and packed blueberries, grapes and pineapple. I bought little packs of cheese with nuts and also brought some cheese sticks and lunch meat. These are our travel snacks and late night snacks if we need them. It helps in the calorie department and woth saving money. No sense in buying cut fruit at every gas station from home to Vegas at 3 times the price!

We will be doing lots and lots of walking and even a bit of hiking so we will work off some of the bad but remember you can't out work a bad diet. Sucks. But we can't.

I'll try and post a whole post of our vacation after we get back home. Pictures and all. Should be an amazing time visiting 3 different states. We have planned this trip for a few months now and I can't believe it's acatully happening! So much fun!!

Here's to being happy along this crazy  journey!