Round and round

Sometimes, a change in lifestyle feels like a merry-go-round.  It's wise at those times to take a step back.  As of January 1, 2012, I had lost 37 pounds from my starting point.  (Up some from what was then my peak weight loss).  January was a pretty good month . . . we had a long weekend mid-month; and that included some culinary misbehavior.  But February 1, saw me 7.5 pounds lighter than January 1.

Febraury 1, I stepped onto the merry-go-round.  I managed to get down to my intermediate target of 50 pounds lost on Febraury 8, but then a series of full schedules and family celebrations sent me back five pounds up the scale.

I know these things, because I read through my "weight spreadsheet" where we record daily readings from the scale. . . right before I created a new version of it.

The new version is a reminder that as of this morning, we're back to Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet.  For the next 13 days, the grown-ups in our house will be free of any complex carbohydrates.   (We're expecting company on March 10, so carbs will be back on our table for lunch and dinner.)

Hoping for good results again, the last time we were on Phase 1, I shed 12 pounds in 14 days.

I'll keep you posted.

Of Scales and Swaps

It's been almost two weeks since my last blog post, but it's been a busy two weeks.

I wanted to reflect on a couple of really important tools on this weight loss journey.

First, the "other" scale.  I didn't own a kitchen scale until last May, when we added this.  At first, we kept it safe and sound in its box, but eventually realized we were using it so often that it now sits full time on the counter next to the microwave.  The South Beach diet is pretty serious about eliminating certain foods and limiting others -- but what I've found to be the most important part of losing weight has been strict portion control.

This little guy cost all of 19.99 at a local discount store.  It reads both grams and ounces, and the button on the right allows a "Tare" setting.  That is to say, I can put a plate on top of the scale, hit that button and the scale resets to zero, so I measure only the food, and not the container.  The scale is used a couple of times a day, almost every day.

The other tool is the swap.  We're regularly swapping ingredients for healthier alternatives. 

The perfect example of both of these was dinner last Wednesday night.  A local "Signature Dish" is called the "Horseshoe Sandwich."  In its original form it's a slice from a bone-in ham (shaped like a horseshoe, hence the name) served over a slice of bread with cheese sauce drizzled over it, and a scattering of french fries around it to represent the horseshoe nails.   In its modern form at most of the restaurants in town it's half a pound of meat of some sort, on Texas toast, with a giant pile of fries drenched in cheese.

My "swap" version on Wednesday was 4 ounces of ground turkey formed into a patty and fried, served on a slice of whole wheat bread, with 3 ounces of fries, and 1/8 cup of cheddar sauce with low fat cheddar cheese.  Still not the healthiest of foods, but the boy who requested horseshoes for dinner didn't notice the difference, and the dieters still managed to maintain weights that day.