Working on recipes, portion control and skipping the junk food.

Recipes... I am so used to "Iron Cheffing" it every night that I'm having to  work really hard at figuring out exactly what and how much goes into the food I cook. I am also having to work on NOT cooking extra because if I make extra we eat it. Not for lunch the next day but either at dinner or soon after. This is taking time, organization, and effort. None of which seems to come naturally to me. I seem only able to do this with copious amounts of paper,ink and time.

Portion control... I seem not to have a big issue eating a reasonable portion. I stop when I'm not hungry any more. Not when I'm full, just when I'm not hungry. Added bonus is that it helps with y reflux issues too.

Junk Food.... OK here's my big problem. I don't see to be able to "Just say No". It doesn't seem to matter if it's sugar fat or salt. I crave it. Controlling my cravings can cause me to sit in front of the pantry door depressed because EVERYTHING I want is either high in fat, sugar or salt. This is my biggest struggle.

Up and Down...

UGH! I gained back about 20 lbs. I"m back down 3 lbs and working on getting back on track. The whole family is trying to eat healthier. I'm cooking less at meals and making sure it's less calories per serving and still good nutrition. There have been few or no leftovers. The Down side is someties DH ends up eating a bowl of cereal as part of dinner. I still have trouble making the *Right* amount of food,as his needs change depending if he's been doing any heavy bike riding/exercise.

Life has been busy. I'm behind in just about everything. So I guess I really need to get busy. Summer is over so the camping gear will finally get put away in it's garage spot.  That should free up quite a bit of the mess and make it a bit easier to work on the rest.

Once I get a grip on that I need to figure out how to stay dry and still get back to using the Trike for the grocery shopping and other errands. I have been going to the Pool and doing the water arobics Monday Wednesday and Friday, but I had some minor surgery last week and can't go in the pool yet. So Wet and Sweat is out for one more week. But we will soon be back in the pool for an hour 3 times a week. Maybe we can start riding to the pool. Only problem is that adds even more time, time that I need to be working on getting other stuff done.

Speaking of getting other stuff done...

weigh in day again...

down 1.4 lbs form last week. Not great but OK. This week we are suposed to focus on filling foods. Veggies fruit low fat protien, high fiber etc. As this is what my DH is currently interested in we will see how it works.

Wish me luck!

Been quite a while and I wish I had good things to report but...

not horrid but I have gained a few lbs. Last report was 197lbs. Now up to 201.2 lbs. Not a horrid gain over the holidays, say Halloween through New Years, but up none the less. So time to get back to what WAS working. So what have I let slide, this blog for one. I will try to update at least 3 times a week. Next sliding issue, Tracking. I need to write down what I eat or I forget I ate it and eat it again! Sliding issue #3, Bike riding. Yep it's cold out there, and wet, but not currently snowy or icy so I need to start riding again. Bring on the more layers. I don't have any rain gear but I will dry out I'm not talking about riding several hours at a time, just getting off my rear and on my bike.

This by the way is NOT a New Years resolution. I've not been working at this for quite a year yet though it's close! This is a get back to it and stick to it. I lost 40 lbs in Year one. (and gained back about 5 of it.) So my goal for year 2 is to lose the 5 I've gained back and another 40 this year. It can be done. That would put me in the Overweight category instead of the Morbidly Obese category. Hey not perfect but improved anyway.

Another event this year would be in Feburary I'll be 50. One would think that at 1/2 a century in age I could control my eating and exercising.

Also I have an update on the trike shopping... I was thinking TerraTrike Tour and DH was looking at CatTrike Speed for him. We recently did a very short test ride They didn't have Tour set up in my size and we didn't have time to have them swap one around so I tried the CatTrike Villager, and my Husband tried it and the Terra TrikeTour. He left liking the Terra Trike and I left having really liked the CatTrike.

The CatTrike Villager was adjustable down to my size even though the specs say that only the pocket would fit me. The adjustment was simple and it could easily adjust from my leg length to DH's with a self adjusting chain that didn't requite any tools to adjust or any parts changed out. I'm thinking this would be good for my still growing daughter! The sales person wants us to come back and spend several hours riding several models before deciding. He thinks I will like the Pocket even better than the Villager. I'm wondering if the Villager wasn't quite set up for DH size and best fit. Though honestly his riding needs are different than mine so the TerraTrike may well be better for him. It appears that really there are a Lot of subtle differences in these trikes and until you actually test ride them under the conditions you ride in you may not be able to choose the best one for your application, body,or needs. So while I'm still open to a change, CatTrike is looking like it is in the lead for me right now.