Starting Out - 215.0

The nutritionist I'm working with right now suggested that I write down how I did on my weight loss journey this week and why I think I did well or poorly, so I can start to understand where I struggle.  I'm currently on a plan that includes:

• Small portion sizes (e.g. 3-4 oz of protein per meal)
• Half my plate must be veggies or fruit
• Whole foods only - nothing processed, no fake sugars
• Limit high-fat items like nuts (1/4 cup) or avocados (1/4 avocado)
• Limit carbs - no more than 1/4 of my plate

Anyway, this week, I am up 5 lbs from 3 weeks ago, but down 2 lbs from when I weighed in at the nutritionist's office last Monday.  I will decide to call that a WIN.  If you're following the math, you may be wondering what on earth I could have done to gain 7 lbs in two weeks.   Well, my body has been bred to store fat by many generations of German peasants, like a polar bear in winter.  I go off track a bit, I gain a lot.  I was dealing with some stress eating situations.  Plus, I was on vacation with my sister who eats perfectly all the time and is a little bit self-righteous about it, and it gave me a case of the "fuck-its."  I need to find a way to work my food plan, no matter who I'm with or how much stress I have in my life.  When I've been successful, it's when I've gotten into a steady mindset.

Anyway, I worked out three things with the nutritionist this week, after my 7-lb debacle: 1) No fried foods.  Period.  and 2) Any sweet treats have to be under 150 calories.  This includes Halo Top ice cream, an AWESOME new find, and chocolate or rice pudding. 3) If I have popcorn at the movies, I only can have a medium - no more "sharing" a large with my son.  And, I have to eat only vegetables for dinner that night.

I've been really good at the fried foods thing - I've avoided getting fries on my plate in restaurants (because I know I'd eat them!) and I found some new rolls at the sushi place that don't contain tempura.  It helped that I was eating sushi with a co-worker who's gluten free.  Anyway, that was all good.  

#2 & #3 I messed up on a bit.  Here's the deal - I went to the movies last night and got a medium popcorn and a coffee, which always makes me feel less deprived than water.  So far so good.  I was good with the popcorn size - just ate slowly.  Then, I went home and had some hummus and a king sized Snickers bar for dinner, which breaks both rules.  A couple of thoughts here - late night eating is part of a self-destructive cycle I fall into, brought on by stress.  The later it is, the worse I eat.  I need to get to bed earlier!  This is going to be my new campaign.  Also, I created a shelf for my son to store his candy on, above my eye level, but I've gotten lazy about using it.  That ends today - not so much candy in the house to begin with, but anything definitely has to be on Parker's shelf.

Anyway, those are my thoughts for this week.  I'll check in again next week.