I have not been to yoga yet, just too tired and discombobulated but tomorrow after two weeks off I am returning. So, here is what I have discovered this week, the first week of my new me. I need to keep my mind busy and positive. I have been doing this by thinking about how good it feels to be lightening up. How good it feels to give my jaws a rest haha. But in all seriousness I am all about the veggies and just counting calories generally speaking as long as I aim for 300, with the oil I use to cook and the sprinkles of parmesan etc. it evens out to about 400 a meal give or take. I am keeping my fruit to a couple a day too because I can eat pounds of fruit.

Here’s a cool tip. Take your favorite salad dressing-like Seven Seas red wine vinagrette- and pour off the oil, add a bit more vinegar and water. It lowers the calories and you don’t have to buy low cal sweetened nonsense. Plus now you have some flavored oil that is great to cook with!

At 5′8″ and 200 lbs I am REALLY back from vacation. The vacation from eating normally. I am dusting off my scale and my measuring cups. I am still super jet lagged but I noticed my dog is fat too. Jeez. My husband and I have about a hundred pounds to lose between us.

Today was a good day because I was home and could eat an egg white omelet with veggie bacon, tomatoes and peppers. And for lunch I had a ww tortilla stuffed with arugala, zuchini from my garden garbanzo beans and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. I also copied Aroma restaurant in Buffalo and put a few pepperoncinis on for a bite of exciting flavor.

So,  I went on a calculator:  http://www.dietitian.com/calcbody.php and figured out what I can eat at my ideal weight and what I have to eat to lose weight. To maintain my ideal weight (the weightI have been most of my “normal” life i.e.not having kids) I can eat 1776 calories per day. To lose weight however I should only consume 1200. Even at this low level it will take me about six months to lose the weight I have gained in my menopausal funk.

So now I know that three meals of around 400 calories would be it. If I want snacks I need to lower the meal amounts or up my exercise. I am a sedentary person. Not because I want to be but because of my demanding work. Work where I sit…. So good news is I have six months to learn how to eat properly for the rest of my Independence Day calorie level life

So tomorrow I plan to go to yoga and ride the bike. I may ride my bike to yoga…but probably not until the next day. I am beat from my trip to fried food land.

I just want to say that I realize that “surrounded by veggies” may not seem like it could make you gain weight but I can do it. It’s the fat, the nuts the cheese all used in recipes using those veggies and PORTIONS that does it. So, next week I have a feeling portions will be my next excitement….

Last year 50 snuck up on me! I panicked and went on a DIET. Yup. I did. And I was good. Really good. I lost about 40 lbs and I threw out all my clothes and bought a bunch of size 10’s even a few 8’s. I was riding high. I was also eating no carbs and I was not healthy. I didn’t feel good. I felt thin.

Then we moved to Fresno California and surrounded by every veggie known to man and the stress of losing my job, my house my credit blah blah…I gained weight. Yup so now at 200lbs I am fatter and 52 approaches and well, I cannot do the diet thing again. So I am going to do the blog thing and try to figure out how to get myself back on a normal eating plan, that is intuitive not forced and that I can maintain. I am going to keep going to Bikram yoga everyday and I am going to start riding a stationary bike.

Right now I am in Dunkirk NY and WOW all these relatives eat are lots of potatoes and meat and sweets. I have been having a colon-challenged vacation. I can’t wait to get back to my veggies!!!

I think every new decision I make on my weight loss plan will be a different color. So this week I will start with Bikram Yoga every day and stationary bike 30 minutes every day.

I have been doing Bikram every day pretty much for the last year, well, working up to it, I go at least 6 days a week now and so the next change is really just adding the bike, the dusty bike.

And I am aiming for everyday so I’ll let you know my progress. See we ole ladies have to work up to these things haha