keep it up

day 41 ...

woke up with a headache today from eating 3 slices of bread yesterday. the funny thing is, as i was eating it, i had completely forgotten about the fact that bread gives me headaches, but was acutely aware of the calorie load.

throwing out the rest of the chocolates as soon as i finish typing this, along with the rest of the crackers. the cheddar cheese and processed meats are already eaten, the beer has already been drank ... so no worries there. not much junk left, maybe some olives, but i am ok with eating them. looking forward to getting back to eating healthy as i definitely feel better when i do.

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

day 42 ...

threw away the remaining chocolates, chip and crackers. actually came close to success on the late-night eating as well as the clean-eating with only relatively minor transgressions in each area. i definitely feel better when i eat healthy; i feel "lighter" and "cleaner" somehow. junk food is gone, xmas guest is gone and i am glad to be back in the saddle, food-wise. holiday weight gain was about what i expected but still, it sucks to have to lose that 5 lbs. all over again. feeling upbeat about things though; i know i can do this.

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

day 43 ...

although i felt hungry during the night, i got through without eating ... 1 in a row !

reaching for water when my mouth feels like it "wants something" is starting to become a habit. there are still times when my thoughts turn to food, but i am really getting the hang of this water thing.

had a little lower intestine discomfort as well as a slight morning headache. after reviewing what i had eaten the day before i realized that i had used up the leftover tzatziki sauce on my spinach. it made a good combo but the yogurt used to make the tzatziki sauce was surely not lactose-free; so there's that.

the scale is recovering quickly from the holiday over-indulgence and so am i. it's great to go 3 for 3 on my checklist again !

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

day 44 ...

felt hungry again last night but got through it ... 2 days in a row !

avoiding late-night eating is the hardest for me, as it seems to be for SO many others here. i often wonder whether i am REALLY hungry or am i looking to fill some other need. my stomach and mouth tell me that i AM hungry, but could it just be that after so many years my body just EXPECTS a large calorie intake at this time of day ? regardless, i have been fighting hard in this area and will continue to do so, hoping for my body/mind to adjust to the new normal.

woke up with a headache due to eating spaghetti for dinner. i know that wheat has this effect on me but i have a hard time throwing away good food. it is gone now and i won't be buying any more.

tonight, being new years eve, i am allowing myself some wine and some yet-to-be-determined snack. i don't intend to go beyond this and won't be giving myself "fails" in tomorrows report unless i do go off the plan.

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

day 45 ...

went pretty much as planned but for 1 exception ... i had planned on some dry red wine but then realized that i had received a bottle of baileys irish cream for a christmas gift. i wasn't going to throw it out so i drank that instead. because of the immense sugar load, along with the fact that i really DID veer off the plan, i feel it's right to give myself a demerit on the clean eating portion of the program. the "cheat" day was planned but that's just way too much sugar to ignore. i still have 2/3 of the bottle left so i am going to have to use it as a planned weekly treat perhaps. or maybe i will throw it out ... TBD.

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

day 46 ...

had such a late dinner and such an early bedtime that the late-night eating wasn't so much of a challenge last night. the urge was still there, mind you, just not as lengthy or as intense as usual. that makes 4 successful evenings/nights in a row, and that is HUGE !

the scale punished me for the baileys irish cream indulgence but i am on the right path, having scored a 3 star day yesterday ... and scales are finicky things anyhow.

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

day 47 ...

it's always great to be able to check off all 3 boxes with a win. the scale is showing that i am on the right path, too. another BIG win on the late-night eating ... 5 in a row ... a new world record !!!

i have decided that each monday morning will be "current weight adjustment day" and so far, tomorrows adjustment looks to be a happy one. i have already shed all of the christmas fat and look forward to some good gains (losses). there are no birthdays until right near the end of the month and i intend to be in control on those "planned cheat days". no more 5lb overnight gains for me.

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

adding a P.S. to this entry ... last night, the scale was not telling such a sweet tale. i am used to weighing 3 lbs less in the morning compared to the evening, but according to the scale it was looking like my morning weigh-in would not be good at all. frankly, i was VERY discouraged. however, the morning weigh-in turned out to be even better than i had hoped for. the lesson to be learned here ... a bathroom scale (at least MY scale) is not a precision instrument ... stay the course !

day 48 ...

each monday, starting with today, i will update my current weight, whatever that may be. when comparing each mondays weight with the previous mondays weight i will be able to record a weight loss (or gain) and thus, be able to record a calorie-deficit win (or fail).

no late-night eating last night ,,, 6 days in a row ... another new world record !!!

yesterday was a good day; weather was dry through most of the daylight hours (for a change) so i got a little bit done outside. i seem to be falling asleep quicker and sleeping a bit more soundly lately so i am hoping that i am finally adjusting to not eating at night. slight morning headache today; the only "unusual" thing in my diet yesterday was that i ate both peas and lentils so will keep an eye on that.

night-time eating ... WIN;
water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
CALORIE DEFICIT FOR THE WEEK ... WIN !

day 49 ...

another win in the night-time eating department ... 7 days in a row ... another new world record !!!

i do think my sleep is just a bit better these days; i must be adjusting to the new eating style. on the downside, i allowed myself to get bored during the day and reached for the fruit more than i should have instead of reaching for water. i was doing SO GOOD in the water department, too ! not sure if i created a calorie overage in so doing, and i only keep healthy food in the house now, but regardless i will try to remind myself to grab a glass of water instead of falling into the old habit of eating something when bored ... better yet ...DON'T allow myself to get bored ! it's not as if i don't have plenty to do around here !

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

day 50 ...

no late-night eating ... 8 days in a row ... yet another new world record !!!

last night was a bit of a challenge though. had trouble falling asleep so, of course, my food-addicted brain told me that a quick snack would be just what i needed to relax. i didn't give in though.

have been craving one of my favourite treats; a starbucks oat bar. a ton of carbs and calories in these things. i was seriously thinking of getting one with my rewards points (love the starbucks !) then i looked at the calendar; i am less than 2 weeks removed from the christmas/new years indulgences ... too early. so despite a couple of challenges, i have stayed on course. need to find a way to reward myself that doesn't include a bunch of sugar.

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

day 51 ...

the good news ... no late-night eating ... 9 DAYS IN A ROW ... uncharted waters and another new world record for joe !!!

now the bad news ... while grocery shopping i took a stroll down memory lane AKA the baked goods section. examined a lot of items but the result was always the same ... massive calorie load. i stood my ground. then i veered down the cereal aisle ... MISTAKE ... examined a box of cereal that i am very familiar with, having bought literally hundreds of boxes of this in my lifetime ... " shredded wheat and bran". a healthy cereal by just about any yardstick you care to use, i sez, as i place it in my cart, somehow "forgetting" that wheat will almost always result in a morning headache, the intensity of which is in direct proportion to the amount eaten. fortunately i didn't go overboard but i compounded the issue by mixing in some salted sunflower seeds ... DELICIOUS, but packing a huge calorie load. so, for clean-eating, as i define it, i score a fail. now i am faced with the herculean effort of tossing out perfectly edible food. hope the birds appreciate this.

took a long time to fall asleep last night, but once i did, i slept fairly soundly.

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

day 51 ...

no late-night eating ... 10 DAYS IN A ROW ... new world record !!!

the bad news ... rather than toss out the cereal, which any intelligent person would do, knowing that it gives them a headache, i decided to eat a few handfuls ... DUH ! who had a headache this morning ?

tossing it out right after breakfast. i thought that giving up bread would be difficult, but this is bordering on pathetic.

once again, i have to give myself a fail on clean eating, as anything that makes you sick, no matter how healthy it may be for most others, is NOT clean eating.

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

day 52 ...

no late-night eating ... 11 DAYS IN A ROW ... ANOTHER NEW WORLD RECORD !!!

it came with a price though ... had a very difficult time falling asleep and was hungrier than i have EVER been since i started the new eating style, in spite of having had a large dinner and feeling full afterwards. it took a lot of effort to not grab something to eat to help "knock me out". in addition, i woke up with a pretty good headache despite having no wheat at all the previous day. i did have some uncooked oatmeal and that has been one of my suspects for a while. will be watching that closely. also had a lot of chick peas, and legumes of any kind are also on my"watch" list. anyhow, through all this i managed a 3 star day.

we have a break in the rain today, so that's always welcome in january.

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

day 53 ...

no late-night eating ... 12 days in a row ... another new world record !!!

fairly uneventful day. having achieved so much success in the late-night eating department i have noticed that i am getting a bit lax with my water intake; not enough to give myself a fail, but definitely falling back sometimes into the habit of snacking, rather than drinking water. will be correcting that. clean-eating is becoming a habit now, but i need to find a bit more variety. tomorrow is the weekly weigh-in and it's looking good for a 1 lb. loss for the week, which is the goal.

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