Sunday, September 28, 2008

Week Ten (can you believe ten weeks already?)



Another three pounds – I’m at 215 – a loss of 30 pounds. The extra pound is a surprise – I don’t do much exercise anyway and this week I missed a couple of nights due to my sore knee.

We went to Don Pablo's last night for my daughter's birthday. Before leaving I checked their nutritional info on the web and picked out what I wanted. Two tamales and one enchilada (all chicken) was around 13 points!

AUGH! The Seagull is this Saturday!!!! Beside my already sore knee I've been real busy, so not much saddle time... Is there a SAG in my future? Stay tuned.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

The Three Faces of Me



WOW! I must have had most of my weight in my face - quite a difference!

Triggers - From Weight Watchers

I ran across this WW article and, man, did it ring true! I stay away from all sweets now because if I eat one serving I'll eat 20. I ate a bowl of ice cream a while ago and the next night all I wanted to do was binge on ice cream! So, it's reassuring to know that I'm using a good practice.

"Identifying and understanding eating triggers can help you achieve weight-loss success.

JANUARY, 2007 — A trigger can be defined as something that sets in motion a course of events. For example, red wine can trigger a migraine headache in susceptible people, while seeing a spider can trigger a panic attack in those who have arachnophobia. When it comes to eating triggers, they fall into three separate categories: trigger foods, trigger feelings, and trigger environments.1 Trigger FoodsA trigger food is a specific food that sets off a course of overeating where control is lost and excessive amounts are consumed. The most common trigger foods are sugar/fat combinations (e.g. ice cream, cookies) and fat/salt combination (e.g. nuts, potato chips).2 Food triggers are fairly uncommon and should not be confused with favorite foods (foods that are highly preferred), comfort foods (foods that are linked to a sense of home and contentment) or food cravings (desire for a food that has not been consumed in a long time). With a true food trigger it is the food, not an emotion or situation, that triggers the out-of-control eating. For example, open the bag of potato chips and it will be gone, regardless of mood, time of day or place.

To help manage trigger foods, it is important to identify the food and avoid it altogether, at least for a certain period of time, and then reassess periodically.
Trigger FeelingsA trigger feeling is an emotion, good or bad, that sets off a period of overeating.3 Unlike food triggers, which initiate overeating of a specific food, after an emotional trigger any available food will do. For more information on this topic, read the Science Center library article, Emotional Eating. To manage trigger feelings, it is important to first identify the specific emotion that initiates the overeating and then develop positive strategies to cope with that emotion without using food.

Trigger EnvironmentsA trigger environment is a specific situation or place that sets off a period of overeating. Common examples include walking into a movie theater, going to a buffet restaurant, attending a sporting event or visiting a relative. To manage trigger environments, it is important to identify the specific location, people or events that set off the overeating. As with trigger foods, avoidance is an effective strategy for many people. For example, if the movie theater is a trigger, then going to a play or museum may be a better option. If visiting relatives in their home sets off an eating frenzy, ask to meet in a restaurant or elsewhere. When avoidance is not an option, it is important to develop tactics that minimize the likelihood of overeating.

Bottom Line – Inevitably, eating triggers happen. When this occurs, it is important to recognize them for what they are and think about how you could avoid it from occurring in the future.

----------

1 Wardle J. Conditioning processes and cue exposure in the modification of excessive eating. Addict Behav. 1990;15(4):387-93.
2 Hagan MM, Chandler PC, Wauford PK, Rybak RJ, Oswald KD. The role of palatable food and hunger in an animal model of stress induced binge eating. Int J Eat Disord. 2003 Sep;34(2):183-97.
3 Patel KA, Schlundt DG. Impact of moods and social context on eating behavior. Appetite 2001 Apr;36(2):111-8.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Nine Weeks of Weight Watchers


Yep, hard to believe! I lost another two pounds - just like WW says I should - I'm impressed. I'm now at 218 - a loss of 27 pounds since joining.


I rode 25 miles on the B&A this morning. I have a lot more energy and pulling hills is getting easier!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

10%!!!



This is a big step - the first big goal has been reached - I've lost 10% of my initial weight. I weighed in at 220 today, 25 pounds less than when I started! I feel so much better.

I celebrated by doing 25 miles on the B&A. Gad, it was so hot and humid I thought I'd die!

Monday, September 8, 2008

The B&A Trail and Pizza



Went out on the trail yesterday - beautiful once again! I was only able to do twenty miles due to time constraints, but anything is better than nothing!

I was hungry last night and my daughter was hanging around the house so we ordered Papa John's Pizza. Italian Trio - that stuff is great! I ate 28 points worth – I get 32 points for a day. Now, I can put away some pizza and in the old days that amount was on the low side of my usual helping. Sheesh - this helps me realize how much I used to overeat!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

WEEK SEVEN



Well, things are slowing down, as I expected. I'm OP just as much as in the beginning but each week the loss is a bit less. Down 1.5 this week. I'm happy, believe that, but this is the point where I used to lose my will. This time around, though, I feel so much better that even if I didn't lose weight - I'd still continue to use WW.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Another Great Day on the B&A!



Went out on the B&A Trail again yesterday - it was beautiful! I felt pretty strong and had plenty of energy - giving me good vibes about the Sea Gull coming up. The guys I ride with and I want to go do the Western Maryland Rail Trail some time later this month. Man, talk about beautiful!