Down With The Count….

Counting that is…and while my counting efforts are down, my weight loss is not!

Over the last five weeks now I have hovered up and down between the same three weights.  I had no doubt that by the end of November I would have crossed another 0 and be in the 160s…a sure victory!  And I was pretty excited about this.

But that has not happened at all.

And I am kind of frustrated.

When I first started Weight Watchers back on July 20 I counted my points religiously.  I weighed, measured, and entered in my online tracker everything that went into my mouth.

I entered recipes into the recipe tracker and carefully divided the portions so I would know what I was getting.

I hoarded my weekly allowance points for the weekends when FabHubs would cook his mega-point breakfasts.

And my weight slowly but steadily went down!  I ate well…but tracked well.  And while the weight never dropped like a rock, it descended steadily at a beautiful and encouraging pace.

And then as I began to drop more and more processed foods and meat products from my diet I began to stop measuring.  After all, most of the points were in the meat…not the veggies!

But after five weeks it is clear that just because I am eating a mainly plant-based diet, the weight is not going to come off on its own. 

Somehow and I really am not sure where…I am getting too many points for my body.

I think it is a combination of too many points AND I really really really need to find a way to make time to exercise daily.   The time is still a problem for me….

• I work,
• I blog,
• I have a camping website,
• I do Boy Scouts,
• I do Girl Scouts (and am the cookie chairperson for our troop….with cookie sales starting NOW!),
• I am room mom in my daughter’s school and help in the school  and go on all the field trips,
• I am the coordinator for my neighborhood’s weekly organic produce delivery,
• I cook,
• I run the house,
• and I am sure there is more I can’t think of right now!

I need more hours in the day!

But back to the topic at hand.

I am still paying for my WW online program but I am not using it right now…and that has to change.

I need to focus!  I need to set goals!  I guess the new year coming is the perfect time for that, isn’t it!

I need to track my points and commit to exercise!

Overall by the time July 20, 2010 comes around I  would like to have reached my goal and be down 50 pounds from where I started. 

After floundering and flip-flopping up and down, I think it is time to recommit to my goals.

The year-end is approaching, a great time to review your year and to commit or recommit to your goals.

Have you started thinking about yours yet?

A Power Breakfast and Lunch For My Boys

Today my two sons, 18 yo Fabteen and 12 yo FabStepson, (along with a few hundred other Boy Scouts) walked 13 miles, from downtown to the southern portion of our county.

Getting off this morning was chaotic…we were given tickets last night to the NASCAR championship races at the Homestead Speedway and got in rather late…..then the boys had to leave the house by 6 a.m.

I got up at 5:45 (YUCK) and in 15 minutes worked like a maniac to make them a satisfying breakfast that would support walking, and get them a filling and healthy lunch.

I was pleased that I was able to draw on a lot of the good nutrition practices I have learned over the past few months to to help fuel them.

First came breakfast (no time for pictures this morning!).   Breakfast was 1/3 cup of oatmeal cooked with 1/3 cup almond milk and 1/3 cup water.  I also sliced up a banana, splitting it between the two bowls.  I micro’d the oatmeal (they loved the bananas cooked…I do too!) and put it in a to-go cup for each one of them.  I knew between the time they left the house and the time they started walking, they would have time to digest the oatmeal so it wouldn’t be sitting like a lump in their tummies….but at the same time it should stave off the hungries for a while.

To supplement the oatmeal, I also made them each an Amazing Grass Amazing Meal shake.  I have had two huge unopened tubs of the Amazing Meal, which has more protein than the Superfoods, which is what I normally use…but today I broke out the big guns and opened the tub thinking that the extra protein would help fuel their muscles. 

I made them each an Amazing Meal shake with one scoop Amazing Meal, one cup almond milk, half a banana, and a few huge handfuls of spinach.  The spinach also adds a lot of staying power to the shake….I know it keeps me full for a while!

They had to drink these on the go too!

Lunch and snacks were PB&J on Arnold Sandwich Thins (one for FabStepson, two for FabTeen).   Two little crimson apples for FabStepson and two large organic Honeycrisps apples for FabTeeen.   One of Oh She Glows Glo Bar for each as a healthy energizing snack.  And of course plenty of water.  Our troop had a water truck that met them at certain points along the way for refills.  I was so glad I packed them lunches…those that didn’t got the opportunity to buy hot dogs, hamburgers, and sodas. 

Both of them said the food carried them through the day very well and they were very happy with their lunches….I think the junk sold didn’t appeal to them at all. 

Both of them completed the whole walk and I am very proud of them.

Next year I want to do the hike with them!