Hi, my name is Colleen...

...and I am a food addict.


It's true. I have finally come to the realization that I am a food addict and that's why I haven't been able to lose weight and keep it off. Like an alcoholic is always an alcoholic even when they haven't had a drink in years, I will always be addicted to food.

The last time I lost a large amount of weight (65 pounds) I felt like I could skip keeping track of my food for a day or so. That turned into a weekend, which turned into a week or more, months and finally the weight came back on.

I will ALWAYS need to track what I'm eating. Forever. I will always need to go to a meeting once a week or once a month to keep myself in check. This is my public declaration!

On the upside: I'm down 2.2 pounds for a total of 7!!!! That's an average loss of 1.8 pounds per week! WooHoo!!!!!! I think next week I'll start taking and posting pictures of my progress!

Feeling a Bit Like a Tortoise

I know. Slow and steady wins the race. But I want immediate results!

Just kidding. I'm down a pound this week. It could have been much worse, I'm sure. I can't believe some of the garbage I ate this week. Including...McD... GAG!!!!!

Never again!

I am loving having my gorgeous garden outside! I hope it can withstand the insane heat we'll be having this weekend when I'm away! I'll only be gone two days but still. A lot can happen when it's 100 degrees outside!

Tonight's dinner: a delicious salad of fresh corn, green olives, grilled chicken and baby greens. Dressing: olive oil, canola oil and balsamic vinegar.

I'll need to do some major planning with the boat arriving next week. Boating means good times with friends. Which usually means good food (too much of it and usually late at night) and good drink (usually alcoholic and late at night). Definitely need to make sure my planning is in full effect!

Whew!

Ok, so this past week has been kind of hard with three graduation parties. BUT...(drum roll)....

I LOST!!!!!!

I was really worried that I would gain, or worse stay the same. But I'm down 2.8 pounds! I guess I must be doing something right. So, here goes...another week. Only one hockey game and then we own a boat next weekend. THAT will present a challenge. I will have to be extra diligent about planning.

When's It Gonna Stop?

THREE graduation parties this week! Ugh!!!!

I'm ramping up the water and veggies (Thank God it's summer and veggies are plentiful!) AND I added some walking to my daily routine. I think it's time for me to do it.

I'll see how things work out on Friday at the weigh in!

Really?

So I think I worked hard all week at staying on the program. I had lots of fruits and veggies. I had my daily dairy. I journaled everything!

I get to my weigh in and..........1

Wha???? Only one pound!!!! That scale MUST be wrong! I started thinking of all the variables that could have been different between my first weigh in and this week. What kind of clothes was I wearing? Did I have socks on or not? Had I just drank a glass of water? Did I poo before I weighed in? WHAT COULD IT BE???????

I've lost sight of the big picture. Yes, it's only a pound. A lot of people lose WAY more than a pound in their first week. But I still lost a pound! I LOST a pound!

Hockey Night

Well, the new hockey season has begun. This is going to be a challenge.

The post game trip to the burger joint wasn't as bad as it could have been. I had a grilled chicken sandwich with cheddar cheese and a bit of honey mustard. No fries. No onion rings. No milkshake.

Great!

Love, love, LOVE Summer Dieting!

This season is just chock full of fresh fruits and vegetables, it's hard to think about eating badly! Well, except for ice cream!

Today for example, I had fruit, salad, grilled chicken and fresh corn on the cob! Yum!!!!!

Next week the tomatoes should be ready! Can't wait! We'll have just corn and tomatoes for dinner at least thrice next week. Yup, that's right, I said thrice!

Declaring My Dependence!

Appropriate considering it is July 4th. I am declaring my dependence on tracking my food in order to be mindful of what I'm actually eating. That's how I started gaining all my weight back!

I didn't have a burger or hot dog today and I didn't mind. Actually, I had a delicious omelette inspired by some Mediterranean flavors I had in my house! Eggs, tomatoes, fresh basil from the garden, reduced fat feta cheese and a little drizzle of EVOO! Yumm!!!!!!

I'm also going to declare my dependence on keeping good foods in the house. I MUST make sure I food shop, no matter how tired or busy I am. The delicious fresh foods I have in my house right now are running low already. Mainly because I only buy enough for a couple of days. Waste not, want not!

Let Freedom Ring!!!! Even though I'm making myself less free by making this declaration! It still feels good!

That Was Then, This Is Now

Well, we've all been there. The struggle with weight loss is ongoing for nearly everyone I know. My mom, my sister, myself, people I work with, other family and friends. We've all been there.

I have decided to join a weight loss program again. This very weight loss program (which shall remain nameless since I'm not sure I'm allowed to post that here) helped me lose 65 pounds back about 4 years ago. But I fell into the "I'm almost to my goal, I can back off the tracking" trap and the weight crept back on. I kept going to meetings but wouldn't lose or I would (gasp) gain! So I quit.

Now here I am 17 pounds shy of my heaviest weight. The weight that forced me to change my ways. And I'm back to the weight loss program. But this time there's a difference...I have support close to home. I think it may have been the trip to the uniform store that shocked my wonderful husband into it, but he joined the weight loss program too! Now that we're doing it together, I think we have a chance! I feel like I'm more motivated this time. I think I can really do it!

Or can I? My first day on the program, we went to the shore to meet up with some friends from the docks. I drank 2 light beers, 2 glasses of wine and we ate cheese and deli meat and meatballs and sausage...I went over my points for the day BUT I counted each and every one of them! THAT made me proud! I could have just said, "eh, I'll start tracking tomorrow." But I didn't! THAT'S the reason I feel like I can really do it this time! I just have to stay motivated.

I hope that losing this weight will make me feel better physically. It will make my back hurt less and reduce the stress on my joints. That should be motivation enough, right? I also want to go shopping! I had to buy a size 20 dress to wear to my daughter's high school graduation. I wasn't too happy about that.

So this is my story! I weighed in yesterday at 220.6 pounds. Yuck! My first goal will be 5% of it. I hope it will only take me about 4 weeks to lose it. That's 11 pounds in 4 weeks. I think I can do it. We'll give it a try.

Wish me luck.