day 136 ...

no late-night eating ... 95 days in a row and another new world record !

really nothing to report so i thought i would use the next few journal entries to explain what i am doing and how i am doing it for anyone who may be reading now, or in the future. perhaps someone can benefit from my experience .

definitions for the 3 categories that constitute a "3 star day " ...

night -time eating ... officially, the kitchen closes at 9:00 pm, but i find myself making /eating dinner so late, and then immediately following it with a (usually) healthy dessert that i am sometimes not done with eating until 10:15pm or so; but after that, i am DONE. no getting up off the couch later for a quick snack, or getting up in the middle of the night for same. this is becoming habit, i suppose, but i am still tempted every single night.

water intake ... 4 eight ounce glasses minimum is the goal for each day. in the bad old days, i might go a whole month without 4 glasses of water, so this isn't the slam-dunk that it may appear to be. there is the occasional day where it's dinner-time and i realize that i have only had 2 glasses so far and i have to cram 2 more in me before bed. did this just last night, in fact.

clean eating ... this is a little harder to define. it started out meaning that NO cookies, bread, pies, cheddar, fast-food and such were permitted. as i progressed, i found that i was aligning myself more and more with what weight-watchers seems to be doing, i.e., NOTHING is banned, but there is a price to pay for eating processed junk. basically, if i have a "junky" food item and am otherwise eating healthy all day then i will consider that to be worthy of a "clean-eating" star BUT ... if i eat something "junky" 2 or 3 days in a row i feel that i should get a demerit for self-sabotage.

a 3 star day ... 31 in a row and another new world record !

night-time eating ... WIN;
water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN.

day 137 ...

no late-night eating ... 96 days in a row and another new world record !

as a follow-up to the previous post i will make list of the things i DO eat. as i stated, i am following fairly closely what i believe to be the basic weight-watchers plan. i am not, nor have i ever been, nor do i plan to be (too cheap) a member of weight watchers, but i really think they have the right idea. from what i can tell, their "points" system is nothing more than simplified calorie counting and, while i don't actually count calories, i am keenly aware of the calorie load of the food that i eat .

things that i eat every day and wouldn't want to be without ...

EGGS
TURKEY BACON
FROZEN FRUIT MEDLEY (strawberries, mangoes, peaches and pineapple) . thawed and warmed up in the microwave to slightly above room temperature ... delicious.
BONELESS, SKINLESS CHICKEN ... usually poached in water.
FRESH FRUIT ... bananas, apples, oranges.
COLESLAW ( in a package already shredded and add homemade oil & vinegar dressing)
FRESH BROCCOLI
FROZEN BEANS
FROZEN BRUSSELS SPROUTS
COTTAGE CHEESE (lactose-free)
OATMEAL (with a drizzle of honey)
FISH
COFFEE, BLACK ... around 4 cups a day
WATER ... OF COURSE ... minimum 4 glasses a day.
there are a few other things that i eat occasionally but try not to eat too often because of the calorie load . will list them tomorrow.

a 3 star day ... 32 in a row and another new world record !

night-time eating ... WIN;
water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN.

day 138 ...

no late-night eating ... 97 days in a row and another new world record !

well, it had to happen sooner or later ... or did it ?

yesterday was a family birthday. of course i knew there would be dessert, and plenty of it. knew it was coming, planned for it, gave myself permission for 2 servings of dessert. went off the rails, had 4 servings. not acceptable behaviour for me. this is not what people do when they want to achieve and maintain a weight they themselves deem proper. of course it's not the end of the world; the calorie load will only set me back a day. it's the lack of self-control when face-to-face with my "problematic" foods.

there will be other festive occasions where my favourite desserts will be on display. i intend to rise to the challenge at those times. as stated in my previous post, on my plan, NO food is off-limits, but there are self-imposed limits on the QUANTITY of certain foods that i intend to adhere to in order to achieve and maintain my goal weight (not to mention my self-esteem).

it did NOT have to happen; it's up to me what i eat and how much of it. period.

i also was treading dangerously with low water intake and had to drink 2 glasses late at night to achieve goal ... so there's that.

my world record for 3 star days stalls out at 32 in a row. it was a glorious run and the scale confirms it. re-setting the counter at "0" and getting back in the saddle.

night-time eating ... WIN;
water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... FAIL.

day 139 ...

no late-night eating ... 98 days in a row and another new world record !

spring is really here now and the ability to go outside and keep busy really helps to keep me from snacking. the only drawback is that i tend to forget about water, so i will have to develop a new habit of grabbing a glass of water during my trips back into the house. just realized that i am sleeping much better than in the early days. also, the temptation to eat at night is still there, but it's definitely not as intense as it used to be.

a 3 star day ... i only need 32 more in a row to break my own world record. this is exciting !

night-time eating ... WIN;
water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN.

day 140 ...

no late-night eating ... 99 days in a row and another new world record !

went a bit heavy on the snacking yesterday. all healthy stuff and almost certainly still ran a (SMALL) calorie deficit, so issuing myself a warning, rather than an actual demerit.

SNACKING IS NOT MY HOBBY !

a 3 star day ... 2 in a row.

night-time eating ... WIN;
water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN (warning issued).

I thought this was a private kind of blog, VeggieManJoe; I scrolled thru pages and didn't see anyone else reply, so I didn't either (Like would I jump over a cliff if everyone else was also, lol) then I saw a post you made to someone recently to console them that their post didn't get any replies; you said that your pages and pages had only one comment. I have seen your progress and I applaud you!

hi, vermontmom ... thanks for looking in on me and for the kind applause !

no, nothing private about this "blog". i find it really helpful to look back through my early entries to see how much harder it was in the beginning. if anyone reads this and gets something from it that is a bonus.

in my time here i have seen several real people sign in and get no support, (undoubtedly because the old-timers have seen too many spammers to be bothered anymore) so i will usually direct them to a group.

thanks again and good luck with your plan/goal.

day 141 ...

no late-night eating ... 100 days in a row and another new world record !

the scale hasn't budged in a week but i am getting used to that. stringing together a few 3 star days has always gotten it moving in the right direction in the past. staying the course.

water is my friend.

a 3 star day ... 3 in a row.

night-time eating ... WIN;
water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN.

day 142 ...

no late-night eating ... 101 days in a row and another new world record !

scale still not moving.

water is my friend.

a 3 star day ... 4 in a row.

night-time eating ... WIN;
water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN.

day 143 ...

no late-night eating ... 102 days in a row and another new world record !

the scale showed a drop when i first stepped on it then when i stepped on it again it went back up to 184. usually when it does this it will move for real the next day ... as long as i work the plan.

water is my friend; snacking is not my hobby !

a 3 star day ... 5 in a row.

night-time eating ... WIN;
water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN.

day 144 ...

no late-night eating ... 103 days in a row and another new world record !

well, the scale finally moved, so that's a relief. i think there are 2 things going on here ... 1st, i weigh 25 lbs less than when i started, thus needing less calories and 2nd, i am eating just a bit more lately. together, the calorie deficit is not what it used to be so the weight loss, while still ongoing, is slower than it used to be. i was losing about 1.5 lbs per week. if it slows to 1lb. per week i am just fine with that (that was the original plan anyhow).

the plan for today ... same as yesterday ... stay the course, be wary of excessive snacking and drink 4 glasses of water minimum.

a 3 star day ... 6 in a row.

night-time eating ... WIN;
water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN.

day 145 ... no late night eating ... 104 days in a row and another new world record !

the scale stayed down, so i updated current weight.

in a previous post i outlined the foods that i rely on to keep myself in a calorie deficit. just thought i would expand on 'what i eat' in case anyone is interested.

my "guilty pleasures", or "permitted treats" whatever you want to call them are : sushi, canned pork and beans, prunes, ground beef, and muffins/croissants. all of these are high calorie foods so i try hard to limit my intake of them, but they all provide much-needed fibre ... so there's that. they also provide some welcome variety ... so there's that as well.

the plan for today ... same as yesterday ... minimize snacking and drink 4 glasses of water minimum.

water is my friend.

a 3 star day ... 7 in a row.

night-time eating ... WIN;
water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN.

day 146 ...

no late-night eating ... 105 days in a row and another new world record !

nothing much to report. glorious spring weather forecast for the next week or so, so boredom should not be an issue. will need to stay on top of my water intake though. water is my friend.

a 3 star day ... 8 in a row.

night-time eating ... WIN;
water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN.

day 147 ...

no late-night eating ... 106 days in a row and another new world record !

again, nothing much to report. the scale is being fussy again, but i know from experience that stringing together a bunch of 3 star days will eventually force it to move in the right direction.

the plan for today ... stay the course.

a 3 star day ... 9 in a row.

night-time eating ... WIN;
water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN.

day 148 ...

no late-night eating ... 107 days in a row and another new world record !

it occurs to me that i always write these entries immediately after having had a nice breakfast. i wonder what the tone would be like if i wrote them as i was experiencing a middle-of-the-night longing for a snack . i am not about to find out because if i chose to do that it would only prolong the urge, which usually subsides within a minute or so.

i think i have been eating too many canned beans. this is high-calorie stuff and i think it's really cutting into my calorie deficit. there's no more in the cupboard and i am going to avoid them for a couple of weeks; substituting a salad or cooked veggies instead.

a 3 star day ... 10 in a row.

night-time eating ... WIN;
water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN.