Weigh-In Wednesday: New Tactics

This Weigh-in Wednesday is dedicated (again) to my goal of balance. I was a little off-kilter from this goal over spring/Easter break last week and ate a bag or two too many of jelly beans. Or maybe this was balance as I allowed it and didn’t seem to care that I was gaining weight until it was time to get myself back on track and drop the extra few pounds. I enjoyed my week of a true break from dieting and even eating healthy. I ate junk. A lot of it. And you know what? Nothing bad happened. I gained a few pounds. And you know what else? I’ve been back to eating healthy since Sunday morning and as of today, I’ve already lost most of the few pounds I’ve gained. I still have a pound or so to go but I feel like it will be gone in no time if I stick to my good and healthy habits.

I think it was actually a last hurrah before my mind was mentally ready to get in a more serious gear before bathing suit season is upon us. I was happy at 160, like I said, but not true good with that number. This break last week allowed me to mentally prepare myself for cutting a few more things out of my daily habits and getting my eating under control just a bit more. I am still maintaining my balance — nothing is off limits — I just needed to be a bit stricter about when and what I was eating. A few less carbs and a few changes in timing is mostly all I am doing.

Yesterday, I ate plain Greek yogurt with mixed berries on top for breakfast around 8:00. At 11:00, my usual lunchtime at school, I ate a snack of carrots with hummus and packed of almonds, cashews and dark chocolate chunks from Trader Joes. Lunch came a few hours later, at 2:00, with a package of Green Giant mixed veggies and some tofu to top it off with protein. At 5:00, I ate two pieces of string cheese to hold me over until dinner time. At 8:00, I enjoyed an egg white omelet with some shredded cheesed and chunky guacamole. Dessert was a glass of red wine. It was great! I was, truthfully, hungry by every time I was planning to eat yesterday but I guess that’s mostly the way it is supposed to be AND my stomach is still trying to get used to not eating ridiculous portions like I did over break last week. I’m repeating things for the most part with my food today because… it’s easy and it was a tasty day yesterday.

The calorie count is pretty low, to be truthful. Food was about 1040 and with the added wine, I’ll say I ate around 1200 calories. I probably won’t stay this low too long and I know my body will stop reacting after a while (I have done better around 1500 calories/day in the past) but this seems like a good place to start to rev my metabolism back into gear and kick start things for summer time. Since I am not planning to track most days, the calorie count will naturally fluctuate a bit here or there and be higher or lower depending on what I purchase to eat each week.

I’m feeling really good about my balanced approach; nothing crazy and nothing cut out. No diets that require me to eat only egg whites, meat and beans (I seriously did a diet like this not too long ago) and nothing‘s off limits. I will likely still have ONE meal a week that is a free-meal and where I let loose. I feel that will always be a necessity for me and I think it helps me stick with things. Even up a pound or two from my break, I’m still is a great place. How cool is that?