I had originally hoped that today’s weigh in would be my 10%, but I’ve got another 5 pounds to go! I’d love to hit that in 2 weeks. I’m not holding my breath, however. I’ve been avoiding the crap, but it’s getting harder with Christmas nearing!

Last Saturday we didn’t go to the burger joint because it isn’t wheelchair accessible so we ended up at a breakfast place. I went off the Core plan with the wheat in my whole grain pancake (but at least I had the healthier pancake choice) and the sugar in the syrup. The rest of the meal was okay, though, and I was soooooo full I didn’t eat anything else that day. Or most of the next day, actually. But during the week I ate some perogies. So those are my food confessions for the week.

NO CANDY THOUGH, AND I REALLY WANT M&M’S! Christmas can’t come soon enough for my little “break” from Core Balance. Actually, that break will begin as soon as my friend delivers me my annual tin of baking. She’s celiac, though, so there will be no wheat or gluten, but there will be sugar. Lots of sugar. The taste of the holidays!

But let’s not focus on what hasn’t happened or been eaten yet, and just figure out today. Hard boiled egg for breakfast, apple and almond butter/kamut bread sandwich for lunch, and I’m going to eat some organic gouda for a snack right now. Supper is undecided, I’m planning to order in because nothing is defrosted. Probably Swiss Chalet unless I decide to cheat. I’m going for the 85/15% rule which gives me a bit of leeway… except for CANDY!

It’s nice to see that number slowly trickle downward! Some day soon I will reach my 10%. And one day soon I will have less than 100 pounds to lose. And then one day soon my BMI will be under 40! All things to celebrate.

Recently I celebrated the fact that my pants fell down to my ankles as I was walking up the hallway! Now, 20 pounds did not do that, but I was wearing the pants I wear today (comfy yoga pants, I have about 5 pairs!) when I was my highest weight on record, over 50 pounds ago. I just ordered a pair a size smaller. They’re off eBay, catalogue returns and not perfect, so they all fit a little differently. The other ones should be okay for awhile, although I’m constantly pulling them up. I expect their “falling off” days may be near, but I just need to look through my closet for pants that will fit better. God knows I still have a few sizes in there.

I’m doing good sticking to the Core Balance plan. Thursday night I went a little off with my dinner… that can happen when you’re not prepared. Today I’m not expecting to be perfect either, a friend is picking me up soon to go for lunch and I think we’re hitting a burger joint we’ve ALWAYS wanted to visit, for years and years (at least I have). Must jump at opportunities when they present themselves, one meal won’t kill me! Supper is already planned with a big organic salad to make up for whatever is done today. Then tomorrow is a fasting day with liquids only (not Core Balance, just something I want to do once/week for 6 weeks) so hopefully I won’t mess up my whole week.

See you next week!

Last week my weight didn’t change, so I never bothered to update. I wasn’t trying in any way. By the way, my last entry sounded like I was really putting Weight Watchers down. That was not my intention; I don’t hate WW or anything. I know people have lost lots of weight and kept it off with WW. I’m just not one of them! I need to look at my food as medicine, not Points.

So, last weekend I went through my kitchen and gave away all of the food that contained sugar and wheat. It was sad to say goodbye to my full container of Peanut Butter Panda Puffs cereal, but at least they went to a good home where they will be appreciated (my brother’s girlfriend munches on them every time she comes over, now she has her very own!). I got myself all ready to start Core Balance on Monday. So far, so good! To see a 3.2 pound loss after only 5 days when I never saw that in a week on WW was pretty damn assuring! I was worried I wasn’t eating enough to see a loss (WW mentality) but I guess the quality of food you eat does play a role in that! I’m still getting natural sugars from fruit, veggies and grains, so it’s not like I’ve gone “low carb” or anything. A little carb controlled maybe, and better quality carbs. I’m starting to feel the sugar withdrawal though, and I’m CRAVING chocolate. I just need to hold off until Christmas, however. Core Balance until Christmas, then a break, then back on for a few weeks. Until I crave chocolate again!

Yay, a pound! I stopped tracking Points and cancelled my Weight Watcher’s online membership so this was just me. I didn’t like their ideas for “Simply Filling”, which is supposed to be about eating more real food and not tracking Points. BUT they include low fat/fat free dairy and sugar free pudding (read: Aspartame) and other crap in that category, and I don’t. So I’m going to get on Core Balance in the next few weeks and I’ll get more into it here when I officially start.

Although I haven’t officially started Core Balance, I’m getting there. I need to get sugar out of my kitchen first… lots of cereal to eat! I didn’t order in at all this past week and ate several salads! Mixed organic baby greens, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, roasted chicken breast, Renee’s vinaigrette… Best.Salad.Ever. And totally healthy. I’m not bringing any more non-Core Balance foods into my home, but I want to eat what’s in my kitchen before I start, and get my supplements organized. I’m not too far off.

Another thing I’ve started doing is going to the pool! I got a commitment from my dad for two days/week to take me and help me in and out of the pool, and a caregiver meets me there to help me in the change room. We have gone three times so far. It’s been a LOT harder than it used to be! I need a lot of help getting in and out, as well as once I’m in, because I have lost all control of my right side. My dad has to help hold me up and moves my arm for me. I try to move my legs around but I can’t even kick my right leg anymore! It’s crazy. It’s also exciting because I KNOW this is going to help me in every way and it WILL get better and I WILL get stronger!

I am getting very frustrated with these teeny weeny losses or no loss at all (last week I was the same, again, which is why I didn’t bother recording it here). I have decided I will cancel my Weight Watchers online membership before the next time they charge me (which will be mid-November).

I downloaded a really good book called Core Balance and have been listening to it a lot (wishing I had the hard copy so I’d already have the lists I need in writing) and it makes a LOT of sense. Between what she says in this book and the results of my recent hair analysis, I have a pretty good idea of how I need to change my diet and the supplements I need to be taking. I also need to do some major detox work, but I think if I follow the Core Balance program to start, for 6 weeks or so, I will be able to ease into a detoxification program without too much trouble.

I’m not sure exactly when I will implement the Core Balance plan, because I have a lot of food here I need to use up first. Organic Evaporated Cane Juice is still sugar, and I need to get it out of my diet for awhile. Goodbye organic EnviroKidz Panda Puffs cereal! No sugars except a little pure maple syrup (on my steel cut oats!) and Agave Nectar (in my lattes). No more Reese’s peanut butter cups to up my daily Points that I have trouble reaching almost every day! I’ll be eating a lot of whole and organic foods (which I do stock up on, anyway, but no more organic products with cane juice or organic “junk food”) and cut out the treats. Goodbye Skinny Cow fudge bars, hello organic dairy, nuts and seeds for snacks. And APPLES.

Anyway, I think changing what I put inside my body instead of just counting Points will change how my body works and I’ll lose weight easier. I know WW has their “Simply Filling” plan which I could use along with Core Balance, but I’m not so sure I want to pay a monthly fee for that. Lots to think about and prepare for!

I didn’t post an update last week because a) my weight didn’t change, and b) no one reads this anyway, so who’s gonna check?

I got a NICE big surprise when I went to log in my weight at the Weight Watcher’s site this morning (a day late). It popped up with a “you have lost 5% of your weight!” and I was all “WHAT?!” because all this time for some reason I had recorded that 5% would be 273.6 so I thought I still had a ways to go. But that pop up greeting of excitement was correct, after a little recalculating my 5% was actually 277.4, and I have REACHED it! By my actual goal date and everything. (I fixed my goal dates to reflect that I weigh in on Fridays now instead of Thursdays). So my first goal has been reached, yay me!. And I can order those Office Season 5 DVDs anytime now.

I also had it proven to me once again that I MUST eat all my Points. The reason the scale didn’t move last week is because there were about 5 days that I ended up far below my daily Points target. I was not starving or anything, but I ran out of the foods I usually keep around to up my Points at the end of the day if I haven’t eaten enough (read: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups) and I couldn’t get to the mall. I also ran out of cash to do my usual ordering in a couple times/week and I couldn’t get to the bank. Last week was difficult for me in terms of getting out. I am not looking forward to winter and the way the snow keeps me trapped inside for weeks at a time. I need to call some volunteer places and see if they can send me someone to take me out shopping once/week. It’s getting harder and harder to do on my own…

Anyway, my freezer is full of Peanut Butter cups again and a loss showed up on the scale. People don’t believe me when I tell them I’m losing weight eating Reese’s. Hehe it won’t last forever, I won’t always be scrambling to get those Points in, but I sure am enjoying this part while it lasts.

Two solid pounds this week! That feels good. It also brings with it a couple of exciting things… on my Progress page, my starting weight and current weight are finally far enough apart that they don’t overlap each other on the graph, and I lose a Point from my daily Points target. I’m actually happy about that, not just because that means I’ve lost enough weight to justify it, but because on most days I have a hard time meeting my Points target so this will make it a little bit easier. I know, woe is me, I have to eat more than I’m used to in order to lose weight! Crazy, I know, but it’s working. That’s because I’m getting a steady amount of food in me daily instead of barely eating some days and loading up on pizza or deep fried foods on other days. Weight Watchers keeps me in check and I think it really helps to have a program to follow so that you don’t eat too much OR too little.

I may actually make my 5% weight loss goal on or around my guesstimated date of Oct. 15! That will be great because I’m really looking forward to buying those Season 5 DVDs of The Office. Love that show. Jim and Pam get married next week! Oh yeah, it will also be great because I’ll weigh less than I have for awhile hee hee

Another week, another pound… that’s good. At this rate I won’t make my 5% goal by the date I guesstimated (October 15) but I will make it there eventually. And I guess that’s the main thing!

I may change my eating plan entirely soon. I sent my hair down to the U.S. to be tested for mercury, toxins, nutritional deficiencies, etc., and they are supposed to send me back a specially-designed-for-me diet. It will most likely include a detox program to start. I’m a little worried about this, as I’m pretty sure I will be asked to cut out wheat and dairy, which are believed to be only two of the trigger foods for MS. I REALLY don’t want to cut out breads and my iced coffees, so I’m trying not to think about it. Preparing food is close to impossible for me, so this would make my life… hell. If I can’t toss a Lean Cuisine in the microwave or order food in, I’d have to live off raw veggies and fruits that don’t need chopping. Which could very likely be the extent of what they’ll want me eating anyway (throw in some nuts and seeds) , and that to me is no life at all! Sigh.

I did weigh in on Friday, just haven’t bothered to post about it until today. I am entering this from my iPod Touch, so this will be short! Hopefully this works.

A nice solid 2 pound loss brings my average up to a pound a week. Not bad! I’d still like to average 1.5 pounds/week, but I’m not going to complain. I know by now that my body doesn’t lose at a fast rate, so I’m grateful for any downward movement. I attribute this loss to drinking lots of water and regular BM’s! That always helps. I also stayed within my Points and all that. Still having trouble eating them all! But I’ve proven to myself that it works better if I do, so eat up! In a couple pounds I’ll lose a Point and then every 10 pounds after that. So I best eat ‘em while I’ve got ‘em because it won’t always be this easy. Enjoy!

It’s so nice to have a stable working scale that gives me one solid number without flickering around! And when the number is lower, even better. When I input my weight into my WW Weight Tracker this morning, it said my average loss is 0.4 pounds/week. Man, I hope that number increases soon. It would be nice to average a pound a week, at least! My body is weird. It likes to hold onto the fat.

I feel like I need to get back “on track” this week, because I thought I pigged out too much this past week. After the night of Indian food and red wine, and finishing the leftovers the next day, a friend came by on Monday and brought me all kinds of treats (various chocolates and shortbread) from her trip to Hawaii. I have tried to ration it, and still have some left, but I did eat all the shortbread and a fair bit of chocolate within two days. I guess there is something to that EAT ALL YOUR POINTS thing, since I had a decent loss. I also drank a LOT of water and need to keep that up. My MS bladder hates it, though!

I’m getting my haircut on Monday and I’m going to get her to cut some from the nape of my neck to send in for a hair analysis. I’ve always wanted that test done, to see if I may have an overload of mercury and toxins in me that may be partially responsible for my MS symptoms. I’ve been reading Dr. Hull’s newsletters for years, so I think I’ll trust her with this!