tap your troubles away…

-.60

Not too shabby considering Easter and Spring break and such.  So…NLP – good thing or bad thing?  I saw a bit of ” I Can Make You Thin” with Paul McKenna on TLC during the break. I have to admit that I have tried the tapping technique he describes to short circuit binging. It kind of works. Mainly, I think it works because it puts some time between the intial urge and the actual accomplishment of it.  Time to get distracted by something else or figure out a redirection of some kind. Is my mind really getting re-wired? I dunno, but it doesn’t appear harmful.

late

- .20…back to square one….Fuhrman’s book is too extreme. It’s calorie reduction by eating only fruits and vegetables and maybe a few legumes.  While they are healthy, I do not think it’s a well rounded diet and the weight lost through calorie restriction is most likely going to return when the person resumes a somewhat more balanced eating pattern. I’m sticking with my attempts at a dairy-free Zone  existence.

Easter is tomorrow and the treats are beginning to proliferate. Must. Be. Strong.

March 13

+.20 

Well, it could have been worse.

I have discovered that I sleep better when I stick to Zone proportions with my food. That means eating very few grains in addition to being dairy-free, which I have been for several months now.  I wish it were easier, but I really need to get a handle on my insomnia and I do not want to take pharmaceuticals to do it. Melatonin and valerian are my new best friends! The upside of  sticking to the Zone is that I will bust through this plateau.  Look for better news next Thursday.

I have Joel Fuhrman’s Eat to Live on hold at the library. I’ve looked at  this book before, but was put off by its seeming extremes – sounded like it was vegan with very few grains.  Since then, I have quit dairy and eat way more produce, so it may be worth a second look.

march 6

-.8

…getting back in the groove. Still working on Mindless Eating goals. I pick three every month then check off every day if I did them or not. I try to get my percentage of compliance higher every month. This month I am aiming for greater than 80% compliance. My goals are to 1) have a protein serving and 2 produce servings at every meal and snack, 2) no coffee or alcohol, and 3 ) finish the bite I am chewing before taking the next bite. The first two goals aren’t directly out of ME, but I need to work on them. I try to word the goals in a neutral or positive way, but couldn’t do it with #2. I suppose I could write ” drink water or tea”…hmmmm…maybe I’ll change it. I think a positive wording helps me to feel as though I am not banning items or denying myself; rather I am choosing a healthy goal.

Ok…so I may be back

Most of my blogging is happening over at WKD, but I am kind of missing the Thursday Weigh-ins (even if I am the only one who reads them).   They just don’t seem to fit in over at the other blog, so I may be resurrecting them here soon.

I am in one mother of a plateau…so I shall be throwing whatever I can at the wall to see what sticks.

Stay tuned!

Relocating….

…to my new blog, WhatKatyDid.

I reached 20-lb goal and knit the “reward”. With a new finished object to debut, I figured it was a good time for the new blog to make its debut as well. Check it out!

No cheese

Alisa  of Go Dairy Free has a good article today, called Surprising Foods to Ease Your Budget Into Organics.  She references a new book called Raising Baby Green, by Dr. Alan Greene.  Well, that was a trip down memory lane for me, as I used to use Dr. Greene.com for medical reference frequently when my kids were younger. I had not been over to his site for awhile, so I am happy to report it’s still there and just as helpful as ever.

You may be asking yourself, “Self, why is Ms. Picky looking at a dairy-free blog?”  Why indeed.  This is on the advice of my very nice naturopath. I don’t think she gets a perverse thrill out of putting her patients on dairy-free, wheat-free diets. She has given me very good reasons why this will help with some of the annoying symptoms I’ve been experiencing, none of which I can remember when I stand in front my fridge and cry because I can’t have cheese.  I have to admit that I am sleeping better and my allergies bother me much less, so I reluctantly agree that there is something to it.

The great irony is that this blog was created on the premise that I was the least picky of the Pickies. 

 Ms. Picky is going to go blow big raspberries at the universe, then check out Amazon for some books on elimination diets….

Weighing in on Thursday, 10/4

-.5 

I had mentioned way back when that I would revisit Mindless Eating . I may not have blogged about it, but I have been slowly working to change some of my eating behaviors as outlined in this book.  I adopted Wansink’s suggestion of picking two or three goals, then setting up a 30-day checklist.  I just try to get more checks this month than I had last month. Pretty simple, and I find it works better for me than the 21 day strategy. I am improving at sitting for all meals.  I am getting pretty good about not reading while I eat.  I am eating most of my meals on small plates.

However…

PickyGirl has been sick this week.  She has a fever and a stuffy nose that is making her young life miserable. She requested I read Roberto the Insect Architect to her 3 times  in one day. I love that book, so I obliged. Then she wanted me to read Goldilocks and the 3 Hares. 5 times. I can’t stand this book, but she likes those annoying little mice.  When she gets better, this book will be very quietly making a little trip to Powell’s where old books go to die, and maybe make us a little cash.  When I am not reading to her, she wants me within reach or eyesight, and the inactivity has been frying my brain cells to the point I caught myself eating cold spanakopita over the sink yesterday. Mindlessly. 

To lift a quote from Lilly’s Plastic Purse ;

“Tomorrow will be better.”

Life in Oregon

Today in the Oregonian….

So true.  How ironic that in a state known for its precipitation people still get caught off-guard by slippery roads.  Bet Mr. P’s late for dinner…..

Thursdays revisited

Well, whaddya know?  It’s Thursday.  Thursday is weigh-in day at ChezPicky, though you wouldn’t know it in blogland these days.  It is still a food and family blog, with a weekly update on MsPicky’s ongoing relationship with the scale.  Summer was particularly busy, and fall has proven to be as well.  I realized that blogging my weekly weight change does hold me to some accountability, though I really don’t think the 900-some folks who have found this blog since April are really looking to see that I gained .3 lbs last week.  While it does feel a bit self-indulgent, or obsessive-compulsive, or whatever, I’ve decided to continue. 

I have found accountability in so many of the wrong places over the years, as in losing weight to please people, look more attractive, etc.  That kind of accountability is fleeting.   Leads to the “disease to please”.  Bad.

I have put my accountability onto other people by over-reliance on weight loss support groups.  Support is great, but I have found that I burn out on groups over time, and I need to learn to rely on myself which is the hardest thing to do because I also cut myself the most slack… a nasty little habit. Supporting others is so rewarding and, weight or not, it’s plain good to have friends who can relate to the struggle.  However, finding a balance where people are supportive without owning other people’s problems is difficult.  After awhile, though, the relationships just can’t revolve around weight.  Hence, the blog. 

I am accountable to ether, and if someone finds this blog and finds it helpful, well, that just makes my day.

Quick shopping tip o’ the day

We have discovered delicious corn chips at Winco.  They are called Flax Seed Corn Chips, and they can be found in the bulk food bins.  The ingredient list is short and sweet:  masa, flax seed, soybean oil, and sea salt.  Swear to God, they taste just like Fritos.  And, as usual, PickyGirl won’t give them the time of day.  They have brown things on them, you know…sheesh.