labeling & portioning!

Part of my success has really been watching how much food I put in my mouth {aka portion control}. Seems simple, right?!? Well, not for me. That's why I got to where I was. My husband is the same way and I am proud of how far we have come!

One simple thing I recently started doing is labeling and portioning the leftovers for lunch. Sometimes my husband {who leaves for work before I do} would accidentally take the smaller portion. While I was sometimes secretly happy that I got more food for lunch, I knew that wasn't what I needed {but don't let yourself be fooled, I still ate the bigger portion}!

To aide in this I've started to label the portions, that way my husband can't grab the wrong meal when he leaves at 5am!

My method is simple. Small square post-it notes and a pen. It isn't anything special but it is working to help us control our portions! And I'm proud of myself for not color coding the tupperware like the freak organizer in me really wanted to...

J = Jason and A = Annie. Trust me - this method is husband proof!!!

1 = 1 portion
1.5 = 1 and a half portions

My husband generally gets 1.5 portions because he is just overall a bigger eater and guy {and gets WAY more WW points than I do}. It took me until about, oh, last week to realize this. We were talking about a picnic lunch we'd been on a few months ago and how I'd packed him the same portions as me and it wasn't near enough for him. He said that sometimes he needs more than I do to function and it really got me thinking how true that statement was. I DON'T need a portion of a man because I am a woman. *insert lightbulb moment here*

For the last almost 9 years I've been serving up equal portions when I make food because I thought it wouldn't be "fair" if he got more food. All the while I was probably over-feeding both of us, myself in particular.

Fair isn't always equal - especially when it comes to portions between a husband and wife.

Fingers crossed {that I can keep up the portion control good thoughts}!

the definitions of...

 

 

PCOS {Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome}
PCOD {Polycystic Ovarian Disorder}

One of the biggest struggles with PCOS is informing people what it is really about, if we even know ourselves. PCOS is a crazy web of various symptoms that can seem like "normal" symptoms but when added together, they can equal PCOS.

SYMPTOMS OF PCOS            * = symptoms I have

• Infertility*
• Infrequent, absent and/or irregular menstrual periods*
• Hirsutism {increased hair growth on the face*, chest, stomach*, back, thumbs, or toes*}*
• Cysts on the ovaries*
• Acne, oily skin, or dandruff*
• Weight gain or obesity, usually with extra weight around the waist*
• Male pattern baldness or thinning hair
• Patches of skin on the neck, arms, breasts, or thighs that are think and dark brown/black*
• Skin tags - excess flaps of skin in the armpits or neck*
• Pelvic pain
• Anxiety or depression*
• Sleep apnea

Growing up, almost all of the symptoms I had were considered "normal". What teenager doesn't get oily skin? Gain weight? Is depressed? The problem is my family, myself, and my doctors did not know that we are looking for anything. So we carried on. We didn't know.

Fast forward.

Part of my goal of writing this blog is to inform others. That's also why I like talking about it. I honestly feel that the more people I inform of PCOS and it's symptoms - the more people I can help. If I write or talk to 5 people and they heard of the symptoms and they think of someone in their lives that could be affected by PCOS and they talk to them - then I have helped.

Fingers crossed {that I can do a good job informing and educating others}

my favortie coat {is mine again}...

For me, clothes have been a constant - life long battle. There are few pieces of clothes I've ever loved. There are many more than I have hated. There's some I bought and never wore. In between have been the ones I've been wearing for years. Simple, hiding, solid colored clothes.

But this post is about one coat in particular and our journey together.

Our {the coat and I's} journey started in college - maybe 2003/2004. Definitely by the fall of 2004 we were a pair because there is this awesome proof...

Burton Women's Size M.

Apple Cup 2004. Cheeseburger apparently mandatory.

 

For years it was the only coat I ever had. And then I started gaining weight and I started needing new coats...

 

Precision Mountainware Men's Size M.

North Face Women's Size L.

 

The Black North Face had become my coat but my beloved Burton always sat in the back of my closet. Until one day...

 

I gave my Burton coat to one of my best friends.

 

Sabrina in the Burton coat. My in my NF coat.

 

I didn't believe that I'd ever wear it again but I remember saying as I handed it over "If I ever get back down to that size - I might have to ask for it back". I'm sure inside I rolled my eyes, and she did too. She's a size tiny and I was a size not tiny. I wanted to have to ask for my coat back but I didn't think I would have too...

 

But then, this new life of mine started. The inches melted off, the weight went down and my desire to have my beloved coat back grew big enough that I worked up the courage to ask for my coat back. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I wrote this sappy email about how much this coat meant to me. I stated that it was something from my past that I never thought I would accomplish in my future. It brings back memories for me that are wonderful. This coat truly is my favorite coat and thanks to the kindess of one of my best friends - it is mine again.

 

It may be a little tight in the chest and I probably couldn't fit a sweatshirt under it like I used to be able too but I can wear it.

 

Fingers crossed {that one day it might be a bit too big}...

a little zip{loc}...

We don't have very much processed food around here anymore {I bought these for a party} but when we do, this is what happens. We've been portioning out our foods into Ziploc snack sized baggies. This helps us to not just continuously munch and to be very aware of what, and how much, we are putting in our mouths.

Use snack size Ziploc baggies to portion out processed foods.

Then put the portioned food back into the original container.

It's the simple things that have been helping us on our food journey. I hope this little tip helps you too!!

Fingers crossed {that maybe this is the last processed chip in our house in a long time}...

don't buy....

...the kind of candy you like. So I didn't. I bought 4 kinds of candy - 3 of which I do not like. The one I do like doesn't have chocolate in it. I might be one of the few women ever who don't like chocolate. Well, I only like it if it is paired with peanut butter :)

Fingers crossed {that I don't eat all of the candy I like}...

It's HERE!!!!

I have reached the 50 pound weight loss milestone! I feel shocked, amazed, thankful, grateful, gracious and probably lots of other adjectives that I can't think of right now... I almost jumped up and down on the scale I was so happy but then I realized it was glass! I definitely shed a tear or two ;-)

I really can't quite describe what this means to me. The last 10 pounds have been a struggle to get off. They didn't melt off like the first 40. I know...rough...but it's true. But, I feel proudest about these 10 pounds. I cheated and I stumbled but I obviously worked my ass off too.

I know the person on the left was me but I don't feel like I know her anymore. But at the same time part of me is so afraid I'll slip back into all of that. But the other part of me knows how happy and healthy I am now. I'm one year into this journey, as of yesterday. My "tipping point" was at a Halloween party on 10/29/11 when two of my friends inadvertently shoved my weight in my face. I had been ignoring how overweight I was and was spiraling out of control.

That day changed it all. I chose my hard...I chose the road less traveled. The path my doctors are even shocked I took. I chose to figure it out now - instead of later.

I choose health. That's my hard.

Fingers crossed {but maybe not because this life of mine is changing}...

And I couldn't be happier!!!

this week i've fallen...

 

...off every bandwagon I've been on for the past {almost} year. And I can't seem to get back on.

I can see when it started. As weird as it is, it was right around the time of the barre3 challenge. I was worried about this before I went in, that this would happen. It was too much info and trying to change too much at once. I've gotten here, to where I am now, by taking it slow and making small, conscious decisions. And I tried to change that and now I am just off.

Like, I've been sneaking spoon fulls of brown sugar - off. Eating Chex cereal dry, out of the box, by the handfuls. Last night I had baked peaches with ice cream AND popcorn. UG.

When I signed up for the challenge I figured it was just about exercising and a bit more mybarre3. Well, it was A LOT about food. Food is my nemesis. It is my weakness. It is my devil. My brain does not do well with being told "what to eat". Now, I have to say...this isn't wasn't the plan was intended to do and I know that...but this is how MY brain took it. It went into OVERDRIVE and I made lists and bought all this stuff I'd never even heard of. And then I froze. I stopped. I stopped paying attention to myself. I stopped exercising. I stopped doing my mybarre3 workouts. I stopped caring - I guess.

 

This weekend I haven't really been tempted to give up, but I have temporarily given up on myself. I hope this is my breakthrough. I feel like utter shit right now. I know the decisions I have made the past few days are going to show up on that scale. And then I think I am going to feel worse.

 

So...my new plan is to get back on my old plan. Back to doing what I had been doing to lose 49.2 pounds in 40something weeks. I'm going to try to make each of the recipies for the mybarre3 challenge in the month of October. I'm going to keep their guide and start learning more about reading labels. I'm going to invest in more whole foods than I have already been doing.

 

 

I am going to let this setback week stregthen me.

 

***1 hour later***

When I am at home I STRUGGLE to make myself exercise. I find everything else in the world to do - except exercise. It's not even working out at home - it's working out by myself. There is a VERY good reason I pay people a crazy amount of money to make me workout. I am totally a "village" type of person. I need people to know what I am doing, I need attention, I need to feel like I am in a place where people are watching me so I better do my best.

That's one of the reasons I fell off the wagon. I tried to workout at home. I knew it wasn't going to work, it never has. I even posted on Facebook that it wasn't working... And that's how you know something is real...if it's on Facebook ;-)

At this stage in my weight loss/change/game I NEED my trainer, I need my barre3 studio, I need my newest place {FloresFitness} and their TRX classes. While I don't need/want to spend a lot {really, a LOT} on it, I HAVE to. It's just how I am and I need to accept that. Maybe someday it will change but for now - I need my people!!!

Back to classes I go. Wallet in hand.

Fingers crossed.