Momentum

[AnnF]

Gail, you are always so encouraging!

Today I will be doing some last minute errands (mani-pedi, finishing up packing, paying bills) and then heading off to the airport. It's absolutely throwing down rain out and I am hoping it lets up before I have to haul my suitcase around.

I also plan to try on the shapewear I bought with my new dress to see how it all comes together. *gulp*

I get into London tomorrow morning and then we'll fly to Glasgow Sunday. From there we'll rent a car and drive up to Argyll. The hotel is very remote and we'll take small roads for the scenery unless the weather is bad. Then a walk around the grounds and along the loch will be in order.

I'll try to write in this journal, but will likely be sporadic about it. I suspect what I do write will be confessional in nature.

Happy holidays everyone!

[AnnF]

Here I am in rainy chilly London. Did well with food on the flight-- had a steak and green beans and ignored the potatoes and ice cream and then slept for three hours. No breakfast, as the pre-landing offerings were pretty poor. I've had a nap here at the flat and will have a burger for dinner with roasted green beans.

Tomorrow we get up at the crack of dawn and fly to Glasgow and then drive up to our hotel. We plan to stop at the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar on the way and indulge in, well, oysters!

[GailyGail]

Ann, you are doing great! You have everything so perfectly planned too! I kow what you mean about the pre-landing breakfasts on flights -- always muffins, orange juice, bagels, sugary yogurt -- crap we can't eat. Please keep us posted on your adventures in Glasgow! We are thinking of you!

[GailyGail]

Ann, Merry Christmas to you, wherever you are! I hope you are having a fabulous time in Glasgow. xo!

[AnnF]

Merry Christmas, Gail! It's already Christmas morning here and we've been having a lovely time. Enjoy the day!

[GailyGail]

Ann, thinking of you and hoping you are having a marvelous time in Scotland! I also want to wish you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR! You will have continued great success in 2013 -- I just know it. You have great determination and a fabulous attitude! xo

[AnnF]

Wow, it’s already January 3rd! I am attempting to write this with a lap full of computer and kitty. We re-homed Rosie on New Year’s Eve and she has very quickly adopted us and the flat. She’s an extremely affectionate tortoiseshell, a former street cat and quite small. Right now she is feeling the London chill and insists on warming her cold little paws on my lap.

Scotland was beautiful, though rainy and cold. We took walks every day and I tried to negotiate my way around the carb-rich meals. All menus were set, though one could choose at breakfast. Breakfast was easy enough—I just requested the full Scottish minus potatoes every day, which consisted of eggs, bacon, sausage, and fried mushrooms. Lunch was fairly easy too—just ate the meat and salad and left the bread. Dinner was a challenge. The chef was very, very good and every course beautifully presented and appealing. Of course I left the obvious carbs on the plate, but probably ate quite a few hidden in sauces.

We were back to London on the 27th and I decided to buy and cook a turkey with all the trimmings, as I was missing left-overs. For Jack I roasted potatoes and made stuffing. For myself I roasted an enormous amount of green beans. The left-overs have since been turned into various frozen meals for Jack (turkey lasagna; turkey, sweet potato and black bean soup; containers of sliced turkey with stuffing, potatoes, green beans and gravy).

My birthday was on January 1 and I made the choice to have a favorite pasta dish. Lord it was good. I don’t regret it and have since gotten back on track. I have no idea what I weigh and won’t know until the 7th, when I’m home again. My clothes don’t feel much tighter, so that’s somewhat encouraging. I also know I will continue to lose weight and that any upticks are temporary.

Somehow the morning has gotten away from me and I’m hungry. Time to go and make an omelet!

[GailyGail]

Ann, congratulations -- it sounds like you did really well! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY! How fun that you are a New Year's baby and a Capricorn to boot. I love Capricorns -- they are intelligent, responsible, dignified, honest, results-oriented and have very good taste too. I think it is a good sign that your clothes still feel the same -- I can't imagine that you gained weight given your regime so far.

I also think you are entitled to a nice treat on your birthday too! It must be so nice to be curled up with a kitty -- I love cats and tortoiseshells are so pretty. It sounds like Jack is very accepting of your food choices and you clearly did a great job making a lovely turkey feast that suited both of you.

[Z]

Happy Birthday! And it's good to have you back.

The thing about feral, or even abandoned but formerly domesticated cats, is that it sometimes takes a bit of work to "tame" them, but they often bond with their owner (for lack of a better word) far more strongly than fully domesticated cats. Once they trust that you aren't going anywhere, it's like they don't ever want to take that connection for granted again.

All of our cats were rescue kitties, but one of them was a true feral that my brother found in the woods and brought to us. It took us two years to "tame" her, and we really didn't do that so much as acclimate her to us. She's still shred anyone who isn't my wife or me, the moment they try to touch her. That said, of all of our cats, she's most affectionate.

[AnnF]

Well, I weighed in this morning and it was not as bad as I feared. Up 2 pounds from December 21, when I left for London and Scotland. Can't really complain after all of the holidays and events!

Today is really my first full day back to eating properly. Yesterday I was jet-lagged and out of sorts and skipped lunch and only snacked for dinner before I collapsed. Today I will resurrect my usual selection of food choices and record them in my challenge thread along with daily weigh-ins.

Originally Posted by GailyGail

Ann, congratulations -- it sounds like you did really well! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY! How fun that you are a New Year's baby and a Capricorn to boot. I love Capricorns -- they are intelligent, responsible, dignified, honest, results-oriented and have very good taste too. I think it is a good sign that your clothes still feel the same -- I can't imagine that you gained weight given your regime so far.

I also think you are entitled to a nice treat on your birthday too! It must be so nice to be curled up with a kitty -- I love cats and tortoiseshells are so pretty. It sounds like Jack is very accepting of your food choices and you clearly did a great job making a lovely turkey feast that suited both of you.

I'm glad I allowed myself the pasta, but now it's a new year and time to get back to routine. Z said something about putting his diet on cruise control, which I really love... that's exactly what I intend to do!

Originally Posted by Z

Happy Birthday! And it's good to have you back.

The thing about feral, or even abandoned but formerly domesticated cats, is that it sometimes takes a bit of work to "tame" them, but they often bond with their owner (for lack of a better word) far more strongly than fully domesticated cats. Once they trust that you aren't going anywhere, it's like they don't ever want to take that connection for granted again.

All of our cats were rescue kitties, but one of them was a true feral that my brother found in the woods and brought to us. It took us two years to "tame" her, and we really didn't do that so much as acclimate her to us. She's still shred anyone who isn't my wife or me, the moment they try to touch her. That said, of all of our cats, she's most affectionate.

Z, wow! It's so great that you're a cat lover! So true about rescue cats, too... Rosie seems to appreciate the little comforts we can provide in a very special way.

[GailyGail]

A two pound gain is so tiny! You will lose that super fast if you haven't lost it already. Good for you -- you did really well.

[AnnF]

I feel lazy. I don't feel like cooking. I wish there were convenience foods for this way of eating, but there just aren't. Right now I'd love to grab something from the freezer and nuke it (nevermind that I no longer have a microwave). Meh.

I know, I know, I could make meals ahead and reheat them. And sometimes I do. But right now, tonight, I don't have any pre-made meals and I really don't feel like cooking from scratch. Argh.

[Z]

This is why I like to cook packer cuts... A bit of tinfoil, a 23 pound chuck roll, an oven set to 250, and 18 hours and I don't have to cook again for two weeks.

[JMacB]

Ann, please don't ruin my fantasy that if I lived in NYC I'd be able to eat low carb easily because you can get anything there

Having said that, I know how you feel. The other night I had cheese slices for dinner because I just couldn't be bothered otherwise.

[Z]

Haven't seen you for a few days - how have you been? And by that I mean how have you, as a person, been the last week or so.

I'm not the diet police - That's a different person. I just want you to know that your absence doesn't go unnoticed.

[Patkid]

Geez, your life is so exciting!
and your weight loss!! Wonderful.
Blessings,

[GailyGail]

Ann, I hope are you doing well. I just popped to say that we miss you and are thinking of you! xo xo xo

[AnnF]

First, thanks for checking in, folks-- it's much appreciated! Nothing sinister about my absence-- between traveling at the beginning of the month, business trips in the middle and sheer procrastination the rest of the time I've neglected this little corner of the world in a bad way. The good news is that I'm down 6 pounds since I last reported in and I've been sticking to clean eating as much as possible between business dinners with foodie clients.

I have either 9 or 15 pounds left to lose, depending on how I feel when I hit 165, so I'm approaching maintenance. And I'm just plain bored with the low carb standards I eat everyday. Can't even think about eating broccoli anymore and tiring of green beans. Same with cauliflower. I still like zucchini, fortunately. I'm beginning to think about moving up the Atkins ladder, but I worry that I'll not have the discipline. Still, how I would love to have a sandwich on Ezekiel bread now and then instead of my daily salad! Or a side of butternut squash with dinner! Or an almond milk smoothie in the morning instead of eggs! And I miss beans, too.

It's odd that I'm suddenly feeling such a longing for these foods. I didn't miss them at all for five months. I don't crave sugar, and I don't crave chips (much!), but I really, really miss whole grains and a wide array of veggies and fruits.

Ah well, I'll work through this. Just need to keep enjoying the lighter me.

In other news, the kitten cam is still up and running and Ripley's kittens are growing like mad.

[GailyGail]

Congratulations on your weight loss! You are almost at goal and that must be a great feeling. In regards to your cravings, look at it this way -- at least you are craving healthy foods that are good for your body! Craving a bit of butternut squash or some Ezekiel bread or almond milk should all be doable once you get into maintenance too! I know lots of low carbers who enjoy those foods in moderation.

Glad you are back -- we missed you!

[AnnF]

Still hanging in there. Man, have I been busy. I seem to be in a stall, which is a bit depressing given how close I am to my goal. Still the scale isn't moving up, so that's a good thing. In other news I am off to London again for five days on Tuesday and then San Francisco shortly after that. Always harder to keep up the momentum when I'm on the road.

Thinking about a three day egg fast between the Lomdon and SFO trips.

[AnnF]

Down a pound this morning, so that's happy. Who said momentum is fast?

[Z]

Way to go!

[AnnF]

And down one more pound for 172-- just 7 pounds from my goal (12 if I push on to 160). Still feeling a bit bored with the food choices I have but definitely more motivated now that the scale is moving again.

I've been using an iPhone sleep cycle app for the past week which monitors movement and allows me to add "notes" that may or may not affect the quality of my sleep. I am recording the following variables:

Over daily carb limit
Drank alcohol
Drank coffee after 5PM
Ate late
Watched a movie in bed (so easy to do with an iPad)
Read in bed

I don't have enough nights yet to see any real pattern (and haven't been able to record all of the variables, such as alcohol, as I am not drinking right now), but it's interesting to see how much time I spend in the three sleep cycles (deep sleep, sleep, awake), as each has a range. On a bad night I spend a lot of time just under the awake line.

I'm mainly interested to see how diet affects my sleep and will be adding notes for the supplements I should (but often forget) be taking.

[JMacB]

I am thinking about getting a fitbit just for the sleep monitoring. What app are you using for the iPhone?

It's so true that movement on the scale can keep you going. So glad for you!

[AnnF]

Hi JMacB! It's called Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock. Really interesting!

[JMacB]

I got it last night and you are right - fascinating! I'm getting it on my husband's iPhone for him, too. Thank you!