A Pause of Loss

Well, I hit that "pause" that I talked about in a previous post. I went down to 203, but came back up to 205 - and stayed there. No up....no down.
So.....I did something that I haven't done for a number of years - I walked. Almost a mile. From the marina to the grocery store, taking three rest breaks and stopping at the Post Office to mail some bills and the fitness center to check it out and inquire about cost. I did take a cab home, though, because I had groceries. And I didn't eat a thing - no stopping for snacks, etc. Not bad for someone who four years ago, when we first arrived in the harbor, was walking with a cane.
Plan on doing it again as long as the cool weather holds out.
I planned on the fitness center when I reached that level of losing weight where it tends to stall. So, sometime this week I'll get there and use the stationary bike, and whatever else they have for shrinking hips and stomach. 
And I'm wearing a pair of old pants right now that I had to paperclip to keep them from falling down. hahahaha

Made It Thru The Holidays

Well, I survived the holiday season....and I'm down to 203.

Christmas coming up, Can I still maintain?

I went to the store yesterday and did a weigh-in. I lost two more pounds and am now at 206. Just six pounds to my first goal, and 9 pounds to my half-way goal. 
We've had problems with our refrigeration system on the boat, so I had to put off my morning summer porridge. I have a glass of 100% pure juice in the a.m. or I make up a smoothie of Lo-fat choco milk (8 oz), vanilla yogurt (Chobani), a banana, chia seeds and a little ice. Sometimes, I add a teaspoon of pure maple syrup for a little more flavor.
I'm more busy now than before I started my eat-style program, so many days are no lunch days. Sometimes I will bring with me the fat-free flavored tuna packs with the crackers. If I'm at home, I will grab a burger bun with low cal mayo and a small pop-top can of tuna and make a sandwich.
Dinner is portioned controlled for chicken, pork, turkey meals. The turkey is usually ground turkey with a seasoning I got from Todd Wilbur's website. 
Snacks are my low-fat Lemon Meringue pudding cups, watermelon chunks, or the imitation crab bites. I also drink at least a bottle of water a day. About twice a month, Keith and I go out to the bar/restaurant for drinks and appetizers or dinner. I do portion control than, eating only half the dinner or a couple three of the appetizers, and sticking to light beer - no more than two - and I drink slowly. I usually skip lunch when I know we're going out.
So, even with all that, I'm still losing. 
So far, so good. 

Thanksgiving Weigh-In

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, I did a weigh-in. Success! I lost another pound and am now at 208.
For Thanksgiving Dinner, I had a slice of Turkey, green beans and about 1/2 cup of brown rice with 100% fruit juice to drink. NO PIE and NO DRESSING (my two favorites). I conquered!

Slow But Steady

So, I did my monthly weigh-in and blood pressure check a week ago today. I lost another 4 lbs. and the blood pressure is still good. That makes it only 14 more pounds to lose to get to my half-way point, and 39 total lost pounds to date. Cool!

Update #4

I went and did my monthly weigh-in and blood pressure check. 
Yippeee.....I lost the 2 lbs. I accidentally gained, plus another 3 lbs. I am now down to 214!
My blood pressure is now registering as normal. Since I started my eat-style program, it had been registering as "cautious". In other words, running a bit high.
I will get back to other, more thought provoking posts as soon as things return to normal in my daily life. Things are a bit up and down right now.

Update #3

So, less than two weeks after I last weighed in at 217, I was at the store and decided to do it again. I usually wait for a month between weigh-ins, but I figured 'what the heck'.
Oh no! 219! How did I manage to gain 2 pounds? 
Well, I'll tell you.
Between the weigh-ins, DH decided he wanted my Beans and Ham soup for dinner. Of course, that takes ham. So, we had two days of ham dinners before I made the beans and ham soup. The soup lasted 3 nights. 
I didn't know what the calorie count was for the soup (or the ham, for that matter), and having a very stressful week, I was not doing portion control. Now, you know where the 2 pounds came from.
When I finally got on the internet, I tried to find a recipe online that was closest to my recipe, and that also included a calorie count.
The closest I could find - 370 calories in 1 1/2 cups!
Yikes!
I know I had about 3 times that in my bowl - maybe even more.
That's the end of beans and ham for dinner. 
At least, for a while.
And I'll be doing much better in portion control when I do make it again.
Was all this a disappointment? 
Of course it was.
Did I fall off my program?
No. I don't see it that way. I see it as a human trait to falter once in a while.
Can I recover from it?
Yes. I can.
Will I be stupid next time?
Hope not.