Geez!!!

It just seems that no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to say no to sweets.  And I really need to find a way to get my sugar numbers under control.  I started to keep a journal to keep track of my weak times, because I'm just so frustrated with myself.  My kids tell me that I've always been able to accomplish anything I have set out to achieve.  So why can't I do it with my diabetes, my weight, and my self control??!!

What I discovered with my journal it that I'm lazy.  I don't want to take the time or put the effort into preparing healthy and delicious foods for myself, so I just grab whatever is handy.

While searching Pinterest for some healthy snack ideas, I came across this pin for a snack drawer.  I think this may just be a solution for me.  But to take it a step farther, I am also going to create a snack basket for myself.  I've had one for the grand kids for years, but now it's time for my own.  I also found this chart for clean eating snacks, and am going to use it as a guide for my snacks.

I am going to put some pretzel sticks into single serving bags for myself.  I love pretzel sticks, and can dip them into hummus, sugar free chocolate pudding, peanut butter or just eat them plain.  I am also going to portion out some Nilla Wafers for the nights when I crave something sweet.  Hope this will keep me better on track.

Off To A Good Start

I haven't gotten brave enough to weigh myself yet, but will probably do that tomorrow morning.  I've tried to figure out when my weak times are, and am doing my best to change them.  I love to have something sweet with my coffee after dinner, so Hubby bought me some Weight Watchers snack cakes.  They aren't much more than a bite, but do seem to satisfy my craving for that time of day.

I'm a person who likes to grab whatever is on hand.  This morning, with Hubby's help, we cooked for two hours and have some great things stashed in the refrigerator for this coming week.  The first thing we made were Toast and Egg Muffin Cups.  I have done these in the past, and loved them.  They remind me of one of my favorite childhood breakfasts - poached eggs on toast.  My mom had a five cup egg poacher for on the stove, and would make them on Sunday mornings.  To keep the tops of my egg cups from getting hard, I add 1/4 of a slice of fat-free American cheese to the top before I put them in the frig.  To reheat them, I just pop them into the microwave for 30 seconds or so and they are good to go.  We made a dozen because I have a feeling that little Jake will help me eat them.  I used 35 calorie bread and so two of these are very WW friendly.

Lunch is another hard time for me.  I have been pinning some lunch recipes on my board, and decided to try the ham and pasta salad for this week.  We made the salad pretty much by the recipe and used whole wheat pasta.  We did, however, reduce the ingredients to make two servings.  I love the mini sweet peppers, and one of the orange ones was enough for my taste and looked so pretty with the ham and green peas.  Of course, I had to test it.  It was very much to my liking, and will be a great lunch.   But I wanted to make something else for two lunches and I decided to try Hungry Girl's Scoopable Chinese Chicken Salad.  It's another recipe that I had pinned.  The only thing I changed was the scallions.  I had used scallions in an Asian salad once before, and they flavor was very overpowering.  Instead I substituted a couple of sprinkles of Tastefully Simple's Onion Onion seasoning.  I didn't think I would like the dressing, but it's pretty good.

So in just two hours, we cooked 5 breakfasts and 4 lunches.  Will let you know how it works.

A New Beginning - Again!

Here it is 2014, and I'm still battling the Diabetes Dragon.  And the dragon has a partner - Obesity.  I've made so many fresh starts, and I'm sure you are all rolling your eyes and saying, "Here we go again!"  I have to tell you that I have been on a sugar rush.  I have been eating everything I can find that's sweet - not good for a diabetic.  And I have not been checking my blood sugar because I really didn't want to know - also not good for a diabetic.  I know that some of it has been depression.  This was my first Christmas without my mom, who passed away in May.  Since Christmas Day was her birthday, it was doubly hard.  We returned from Disney and I came down with a cold the next morning.  My daughter says I have "Disney Depression" - resulting from no trip to look forward to.  And then our Mr. Willy cat passed away.  He had been attacked by a stray dog, suffered some serious injuries, but was on the mend.  A blood clot thought otherwise.

But, I've picked myself up, dusted myself off, and decided to make a serious fresh start.  I've discontinued the Victoza.  Every time I start to use it again, I experience more problems with my gall bladder.  This makes things a little more difficult.  I have to curb my appetite, account for what goes into my mouth, and I have to do it all my myself!  I have an entire bookcase of diet books, all shapes and sizes.  But I've always done the best with Weight Watchers.  But I still need to watch my carbs and sugar intake.  So, I'm planning on meals that are Weight Watchers and diabetic friendly.  I've cut out caffeine - seems that it makes diabetes harder to control.  I am now three days into the "No Cheat Area".  For some that doesn't seem like much, but for me I need to start with little steps before I can do a long jump.  So, here we go again.  Let's hope I will be successful.

Disappointed But Determined

Well, another disappointing weigh-in.  It was another weight gain.  Not a lot, but still a gain.  Two bumpy weeks in a row, but I am more determined.  When I plugged my numbers into my weight tracker, the message said to review my tracker and see what changes I had made.  And that's exactly what I did!  Here's what I found.  The first few weeks when I had a significant loss, I had made a protein shake for breakfast.  It was quick and I didn't feel hungry before lunchtime.  For some reason, I have been eating cereal these last two weeks.  I noticed a rise in my mid morning blood sugar readings, and perhaps that cereal also contributed to my weight gain.  For lunch, I had been eating tomatoes with sandwiches or soup.  Our tomato season has ended, and store bought tomatoes just don't taste like our home-grown.  I had been eating one slice of thick sliced bologna on my sandwich.  Perhaps, this next week I will try thick sliced turkey with mustard and pickles, and drink a tomato juice (Mmm).  There were no significant changes in dinner, but I had changed my evening snacks.  Also, I found that I had not been eating my yogurt.  That will change!  This morning, I am making a protein shake, but I don't have any fresh strawberries.  I have strawberry protein powder which I haven't tried yet, so I'm going to add a container of strawberry yogurt to my milk and use the strawberry powder.  And, I will start pushing the water.

I am now realizing that although I am staying in my points allowed, what I choose to use for those points can, and does,  make a difference. I am so glad that I am using the Weight Watchers online site because I wouldn't have thought to look at my food tracker had they not suggested it.  Just as with my blood sugar numbers, what I choose to put into my mouth affects my weight numbers.  Its a fresh week and time to make a fresh start,

Was Last Week a Fluke??

Today was weigh in day.  I was very apprehensive because last week showed such a large loss.  Could it have been a fluke?? I stuck to the program just the way I have been, but when I stepped on the scale and looked down, it showed that I had gained 2.8 pounds from last week.  I was so disappointed, could last week have been a fluke??  I don't really know.  But time marches on, and so do I.  I'm not giving up.

Last night we made Weight Watchers Macaroni and Cheese with Broccoli.  It was delicious, and the rest of the family must have thought so too, since Rod had 3 helpings!  One serving, however was 7 points.  Right now those points aren't a big deal, but as I lose weight I will lose points and that could be a problem.  But in my Scarlet O'Hara mode, I won't think about that today.

This morning was really chilly for this time of year - 39 degrees.  It was the perfect morning for oatmeal.  I had 1/2 cup left over from Sunday, and I still had pumpkin with spices added that I had stored in the refrigerator.  So I took 1/4 cup of the pumpkin, added it to the oatmeal and heated it.  I added some milk, and mmmm it was so good! Fall is my favorite time of year - partly because I love apples and pumpkin.  I was born in the fall, I was married in the fall, and I guess that if Mother Nature asked me to help with the seasons, I'd pick fall.  Soup, apple butter, pumpkin pies, football games, and hot cocoa - what more could a person asked for.

Strange Things are Happening to Me

I started Weight Watchers on September 3, and I'm surprised by the "Strange things" that are happening to me.  Anyone who knows me knows that I am an uncurable chocoholic.  I have been known, on occasion, to search through a cupboard looking for just one chocolate chip that may have fallen out of the bag.  On Friday, I had a terrible craving for chocolate.  But I didn't want to ruin my determination to take off the pounds with just one moment of weakness.  I went to the cupboard and took out a box of Krave cereal.  Hmmm, 3/4 cup of that cereal was just 3 points - and it has a chocolate flavored center.  So I measured out my 3/4 cup into a little plastic bag, grabbed my Kindle, and went out to the deck.  I sat there all alone, listening to the birds, watching the fish in the pond, and munching my Krave (what a suitable name).  It was a relaxing and satisfying afternoon.  And. . .  no breaking plan.  And I'm discovering that I like sliced radishes as a crunchy snack better than potato chips.

But the strange things are continuing to happen.  Normally on the weekends, Rod cooks me eggs and bacon with toast for breakfast.  It's all "legal".  But for some strange reason, I woke up this morning craving oatmeal.  Rod makes the best oatmeal, and happily made me some oatmeal with dried cranberries.  Not the quick oatmeal, but the real stuff - full of fiber.  It was so good, and so filling.  I think my normal weekend breakfast has just been overhauled.

We have planned a trip to Walt Disney World in December, and I don't want to destroy my success for a one week vacation.  So I have been looking at our dining reservations, checking the menus, and planning what I should eat to stay, well pretty much, on plan.  I want to learn to "guesstimate" my portions.  I do have some really cute collapsible measuring cups and a mini scale to take with me, but still want to be able to "eyeball" my portions.  Last night for dinner, I cut a piece of steak and then weighed it.  I was only .5 ounce off the three ounces on my plan.  Pretty good, huh?

I'm delighted with these strange things, and hope I continue to witness changes.

Weigh In Day

Today is my weigh in day - the day I weigh myself and track my weight on the WW app.  I was very apprehensive about stepping on that scale this morning.  I did so well with my weight loss last week, and was afraid that this week's loss would disappoint.  I followed my Points Plus tracking very seriously, tried new recipes, and enjoyed my new way of eating.  But it wasn't just the eating.  I forced myself to move more -not too difficult for most people, but for me it was major.  And was it worth it???  Oh, Yea!!!

That makes a total of 12.5 pounds since I started Weight Watchers.  I realize that losing this many pounds in a week is not usual, and am not expecting this type of loss each week.  But for now, I'll rejoice in it and use it for incentive.