The End of Two Weeks of Fast Break

I am at the end of my 2 weeks of Fast Break on Sparkpeople. I have been struggling so hard not to lose everything I have gained, but it is really difficult. I feel like I have gained all of my weight back. I am having significant problems with tracking and with moderating how much I eat. I feel like I have had a week long binge. It is discouraging. My consolation is that I still care, and I still try to log on to SparkPeople daily. If I can't track what I eat online, then I "log" in my head. I try to keep a running tally, but that is difficult, because I am not in a place mentally where I can eyeball servings yet, or even guess the health values of most foods.

On my honor, I swear that from this night forward, I will make a harder attempt to track before I eat, and to not "justify" in my head.

Last weekend was my undoing, and this weekend I will be in a similar situation, so I am making some guidelines. I shouldn't eat chips this weekend, so I won't. I shouldn't drink soda this weekend, so I won't. I shouldn't eat dessert this weekend, so I won't (unless there is a lemon bar in which case a bite or two should suffice). I can make better decisions for myself and feel good about them.

Weight Loss Milestone Rewards

Nora's Weight loss rewards:

140: get a manicure
135: Flat boots
130: Pencil Skirt
125: Belly Button Ring & Hollister Jeans (on the same day) :-)
120: New Backpack- that fits right
115: Weight loss ring- to always wear and remember how far I have come
110: The Dooney & Bourke Giraffe Print Bag I have wanted so bad for the last year

I have been thinking about ways to keep myself motivated so that I can reach my goals. As I was going through the SparkPeople message boards I saw some people with their rewards lists under their comments. I decided to make a list of my own.

As I was writing down the weight "milestones" I finally reached 120lbs. My heart dropped, and my eyes welled up. I haven't been that light since I was in junior high, and I can hardly imagine being that small and slender again. My end goal is 10lbs lighter than that at 110lbs and I can hardly wait. I am so ready to lose this weight. I feel like it is holding me back.

So. Whenever I reach a milestone on the way to my final goal it will be a celebration for me. I already feel empowered, and I haven't even been able to step on a scale in 2 weeks. I am already proud of myself for being this committed to my health and well-being.

Tracking Food Calories

For me, tracking the food that I eat is the key to weight loss. My problems come when I forget to write down what I eat. When I have to write down everything I eat and keep track of how many calories are in each meal, it gives me a reality check. I will think twice about eating something that is high calorie, low nutrition if I know I have to be honest with myself and write it down.

Sparkpeople.com is especially helpful because everything there has the calories already programed into the system so as long as I have internet, I can track. If I am at work, and I eat a candy from the (damn) candy jar, I can go online and track it and the reality of having 1 or 2 bites account for 100 or 150 calories will keep me from eating another. The internet is everywhere and SparkPeople keeps me honest.