My Virtual Weightloss

Weight: 214.3

So I remembered www.myvirtualmodel.com again. It's been a long time, so I made a new model, and guess what? They've added a new feature, to create a before and after model for weight loss. I actually did this before the feature was added, I just created 2 different models, current weight and goal weight. Well, I guess enough people did this, so they decided to add it. You can even add your face to make it look more like you.

So I'm at 214.3 now. I'm following the podcast of Inside Out weight loss, and it's a very good one. It's logical, and get's down to the nuts and bolts of my behavior and tells me very clearly how to create better behavior. It's very straightforward, and doesn't leave anything unclear or subjective.

It's really working for me, especially when it comes to noticing my hunger. I've realized how I eat a good bit more after I've satisfied my hunger. And I am learning how to be calm and relax when it comes to my appetite. I usually get a feeling of panic when I get hungry, which it probably why I didn't let myself get that hungry. I am becoming aware of this panic feeling, and I'm learning to relax when I do feel it. It's just a feeling. I am not at the point of starvation, far from it!

A partial solution to the night eating

Ok, tonight, right before I put the girls to bed, I grabbed a diet snapple. I was thirsty, so I drank a few gulps and sipped almost the whole bottle before coming out of their room. This filled me up, and I only had a small low fat cone for dessert, and I didn't want anything else because I was not hungry.

I know this sounds ridiculously simple and pretty obvious, but it is not a behavior that I normally have during the evening. My drinking usually tapers off by the time I'm getting the kids ready for bed.

I don't like to drink too much diet drinks, so I'll try water as well.

A challenge...

I've honed the time of day which I usually binge to be at night after the girls go to bed (Sam's still awake) and before Mike get's home. It's a cross between a stress release and a reward for a long day. I have to come up with a behavior to trade the binging with.

I don't like ruining a good day's eating, especially since Grace and I made a great pasta dish tonight. Barilla pasta has a website and has a bunch of recipes that have a nice Italian flavor and are really pretty easy.

Here's the one we did tonight:

WHOLE GRAIN SPAGHETTI WITH CHERRY TOMATOES AND BASIL

http://www.trybarillawholegrain.com/Pages/RecipeDetails.aspx?RecipeID=1

It looks so good in the picture that I had to try it, and by golly, it was delicious. The girls ate a bunch of it! The only change I made was I switched Parmesan for Romano cheese.

I'm finding that cooking with Grace keeps her occupied; and being that she requires the highest maintenance of all my kids, this enables me to actually make dinner instead of tasking for her and the others.

All in all a pretty good day, but I want to improve on my night's eating.

Gently green

I'm trying to find new ways to become more green in our household. We've already gone to energy efficient light bulbs, but there are other things that we are seriously considering.

One of them is a dual flush toilet. Now that the older 2 kids are finally toilet trained, it seems like the toilet is flushing all day long. With a dual flush, it will drastically reduce the water use. But it's not always easy finding dealers on SI who carry these products at this time. Maybe I'll have more luck with someone from Brooklyn.

Also, I'm interested in composting, as I want to start a vegetable garden next year. But I am really sensitive to smells, and a stand alone compost bin is a pretty messy and stinky job to turn and maintain. So I've been pricing compost tumblers. They're expensive, but I've found a site that shows how to make a compost tumbler out of a garbage can. Then I can freecycle the old compost bin.

http://thepleasuresofhomemaking.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-to-make-compost-tumbler-for-cheap.html

We'll see how this all pans out. Little by little, we trying to make the switch to a greener lifestyle, which also appeals to my frugal side, since all this is supposed to save you a lot of money as well.

The cloth diaper idea, though, proved to be much too much for me :-).

Oh, and I've been really paying attention to my hunger this week, when it starts and more importantly, when it ends during eating. I'm realizing that I eat a lot more than it takes to make me satisfied. That's a really good thing.

Beth

Krazy Glued to the Saddle...

Weight: 218


Ok, so I'm not only back in the saddle again, I am krazy glued to it. It's been a long time since my last podcast, and there are 2 new additions to the family.

My body definitely has some war wounds, and lots of stretch marks. So now that I am post pregnancy #4, I am at 218 lbs and I'm not losing anymore from having the baby. This weight is all mine :-).

I'm here again to stay motivated, stay inspired, and get a handle on my health. I now have 3 girls, and teaching them to have a healthy relationship with food is not only important, it is essential.

Just the other day, together my 4 year old and I made a whole wheat pizza with spinach, and they ate it! I made it a point to go on about how delicious it was going to be, and it worked.

So I'll begin by saying hi again to everybody, and as I go through the journey again, maybe I'll be interested in doing a podcast again, it was such fun!

Remember, every day is a new day to change your life. Make today that day!

Beth