Finally (158.5 lbs)

Okay.....so we got a Wii the other day and I have been playing with it since! So now I am sore! So exercise plus I have been busy running around yesterday so I didn't eat as much as I normally do....got the weightloss going again.

But again..since I feel that I should start taking care of myself before I end up on medication for high blood pressure or cholesterol....I really haven't had the wants to "cheat"...even with the lack of weightloss lately. I just don't want to. I feel better eating this way. I don't have the emotional ups and downs and my energy levels are great!

Anywho.....until then..

No weight loss...but keeping on this! (160 lbs)

I don't understand the lack of weightloss. I am frustrated..but I want to continue this journey because I do feel 100% better. I am not sure if it makes you smart of not..but I do feel more alert these days.

I have to admit...it's very difficult to avoid salt. It's everywhere. It's not so bad if you are home....as long as you eat fresh foods, rice, etc. I think...not sure...but I think the only thing keeping me from losing weight is still portion control. I have been eating 3-4 meals a day these days. And....here I thought...if they are healthy meals.....that should be okay. Well....I suppose it is if I want to maintain this weight...as I haven't been gaining any..and I have been eating alot. But I am going to have to cut my portions down alot.

I didn't realize that salt (like sugar) is a HUGE appetite stimulant. That alone keeps me from wanting to grab the salt shaker. I have been using Mrs. Dash-sodium free salt on my food.

Well....hopefully my next post will show something more exciting!

Until then....

Too much salt! (159.5 lbs)

My friend who has her son on a gluten/casein free diet told me about how you start to figure out what to avoid when you do the "elimination" diet. So....I have been gluten free for 3 weeks now and gee...no more weight loss! So frustrating..but then I realized the hidden gluten in hair gels and other foods that I thought were okay. THEN..I thought I was ingesting too much dairy. Well..I found another culprit! Salt! Oh my goodness...I took a good look back on my usual dietary intake on sodium..and it was HIGH! I think I ate more than the daily requirement.

I think I started looking at that because I still felt bloaty and tingly at times..even when I was eating gluten free. And after I cut out most of my dairy. Yesterday I took note of that and ate a low sodium diet and I felt 100% better. I stayed gluten free of course. I researched sodium..and it's just as much an appetite stimulant as sugar.

So I am on my next venture to continue to eat healthier. Now mind you....I did do a cheat the other day. Ballooned up 4lbs. I was frustrated with the lack of weight loss...and then I realized the salt deal..so I am back down from those 4 lbs. So wish me luck that my future blogs will reflect a lower weight!

Until then!

Back on Track (159.5 lbs)

Well..I immediately did damage control when I realized that too much dairy in my diet can cause the same effect as gluten. I don't think I will do a gluten/casein free diet just yet. I only notice it when I have more than 1 cup's worth of milk at one time. If I put some in my coffee...it's no biggy.

Oh...and I had the rest of the shrimp, veggies and rice that I made the other day in which I thought it was the oil in it that was giving me problems. Well....it wasn't. I definitely blame that hair gel that I accidentally ingested. Who would think they would be eating their own hair gel? Gross, I know. But you don't think about it when you are just pulling your hair back in a ponytail and then handling your food. It only took that to give me the reaction. Crazy.

Well...I am trying to put my daughter on the same diet because she tends to be overly emotional..and I know I can be that way. And if diet has cured me..it is worth a try. The good thing is...I am getting her to eat healthier. Plus...her belly still looks like a toddler's. And I believe it's bloatiness. It's enough to have to watch your own diet..but to take away the yummy stuff from a kid? So I am going to try my best and allow her to have the yummy foods in moderation and see how that works. Thankfully....it's not life threatening when she eats these foods. She's not going to escape it at school or at family gatherings.

Anywho.....I am determined. I haven't had any gluten (except the hidden ones) since realizing that I had a gluten issue. I was at a birthday party and I had no cravings for the pizza or cake. What motivates me is knowing that if I ate that..I would feel horrible afterwards. I stuck with the cheese, veggies and fruit.

Until then....

That's it! I'm going full force (160 lbs)

Okay..so now I am gaining weight again. UGH! I had some gluten free cereal with milk this morning...and immediately felt agitated and tingly. Okay...so now I have to avoid dairy too? Well...maybe not. I looked at my food diary and the first week I had coffee in the morning with my usual small amount of milk and splenda. Then I just ate rice, veggies, fruit and corn chips.

This week however...I started getting a bit creative and been having more food. So I have been having cereal or chocolate milk, etc. And now that I am looking at my food diary..too much milk seems to bloat me up. Nothing new there...but from what I am told...you really start to see what gives you reactions when you eliminate foods and you still get reactions with other foods.

So now I know. So after this morning's saga...I have only eaten fruit, veggies and a small amount of cheese. No issue..I feel great. And I stepped on the scale (not that I should have done that in the middle of the day)...but I did...and I am the same weight as I was this morning..which tells me that hopefully I will be down tomorrow.

So...as of now my friends..I am going full force. I remember when I started the low carb diet..I stuck to the basics. Eggs and bacon for breakfast, tuna salad for lunch and meat and salad for dinner and the pounds were coming right off. But as soon as I started playing around with recipes and making low carb shakes, etc.....I was having issues. Dairy always stalled me..but I didn't think about it til now. So..I will have a little dairy..but not go overboard.

It's veggies, fruit, proteins, and rice for me! Oh..and wine! Can't forget the wine! ha ha.

Until then my friends!

Hair Gel causing the issue? (159.5 lbs)

Oh my goodness. Could it be the hair gel that is causing me to bloat? I bought some from Target on Tuesday and started using it on Wednesday. And now I have been gaining weight and feeling the bloatiness and irritability. UGH!

I ran upstairs this morning to blow dry my hair and I was just about to put the new hair gel on again....until something made my hand flip it around and read the ingredients! Oh my goodness...it has wheat and oat proteins in it. UGH! Could this be the culprit? I guess I will find out soon enough.

Until then.....

UPDATE: Okay....it's evening now and I had oil in my salad and nothing happened. I started to think about that hair gel...and there were more than a few times that I had touched my hair and then touched my food. Especially since I was working with seafood yesterday. Peeling the tails off the shrimps and then getting the crab meat out of the crab legs...so that makes so much sense that it was the hair gel and it was ingested. Sigh.....it's good to find an answer. I was really feeling bad yesterday. Bloaty, super hot and irritable beyond belief!

That's all!

Something's up! (159 lbs)

Okay....it's night time and I am 4 lbs up right now. How? I have no idea..but it couldn't possibly be anything but water weight. My fingers are swelling, my thighs are tingly, I am kinda irritable and hot (temperature wise). It's winter, it's supposed to rain and I am wearing tank top PJ's and might change into shorts instead of the pants that I am wearing. Weird! Something is definitely up.

The only culprit that I can pin down is oil. Canola and Olive oil. Not sure though. But I did try the Shangrila diet in the past and I would gain weight on it. As soon as I stopped it....the weight dropped off again. But why oil? I have to go research.

Until then....

I did it! (158.5 lbs)

Wow. So I was on a mini vacation this the last two 1/2 days. I brought my gluten notes but you never know with restaurants and what they put in stuff. I did manage to ask the waitress if they had any gluten free meals and she had to ask the chef. I think, just like the low carb diet, this gluten free diet will become more well known. I remember those days.....I had to order stevia and splenda online and gut everything at the restaurant. But then...the Atkin's came back in full force.

So I ate good and drank wine and still managed to lose weight. My husband had some beers at Seaworld and he came back 6 lbs heavier. I avoided the beer! I think this gluten thing is fairly common with alot of folks and they don't even know it. I am trying to get my little girl to eat gluten free stuff now. Trader Joe's has some great gluten free pastas, breads, pancakes and cereals. I think her temperament will be less "drama" without gluten. It's hard to avoid it though with kids since everything is gluten in what they eat..as far as convenience foods and happy meals go.

Anywho....I am anxiously awaiting on my Gluten Free diet for Dummies book.

Will keep you posted!

Gluten globbin....(159 lbs)

Wow...what a test. I defintely ate a hidden gluten. That reminds me of those hidden Mickey's at Disneyland. Okay..where am I going with that? Anywho......I felt REALLY tingly in the legs. My fingers were swelling too. Nice eh? So I was really happy to see no weight gain.

So wish me luck..going to San Diego for a couple days and I am going to be tested on how I can eat. I definitely know it's not right after the fact since I get swelled up minutes after. I also noticed that I get irritable. Fun!

Anywho.....talk to you later. If anyone is even reading this. Maybe I am just talking to myself. Oh well...at least I know the conversation will go good. ha ha.

Until then...

Gluten free baby! (159 lbs)

Wow...what a difference these past few days have been. My energy levels are way high. I went to bed after midnight but still woke up at 6:45am with no problem. I also haven't had any cravings. I thought eating basic with no sauces (I love sauces) would drive me crazy..but it hasn't. Food hasn't been on my mind at all (except on what not to eat. But as far as cravings and eating...it has not). AND I don't feel all swelled up.

I think I might be on to something!!! I am down 5 lbs since Tuesday.

The test is going out to eat. Wish me luck on that.

Until then my friends....

I hope! I hope! I hope! (161 lbs)

Okay...so I lost 3 lbs overnight without undereating? Hmmm.....I really think I have a gluten issue. I already feel 100% better. My nicer scale said I lost 4 lbs..but I thought I wouldn't go overboard. :)

I have to say.....trying to be gluten free is a bit difficult. It forces you to eat healthier. It's basically the low carb diet with added goodies like rice, potatoes, corn and fruit. So I know I can do this. The bummer was when I was at Costco looking at the ingredients to all those microwave type dishes and they all had wheat, soy and/or milk as an allergen.

Question is..is this becoming an epidemic? Or are people just more knowledgeable about their own health. My little girl's doctor never told me that her eczema could be a food allergy. He kept telling me it was the weather. Well......it took Sherlock Holmes here to finally figure it out. Sigh. Anywho....I am gonna stay gluten free all week and see what happens to my weight, irritability and energy levels. So far so good....and it's only been 24 hours. I don't feel all swelled up today..thank goodness. Hey..I wonder if I will finally have nice legs! ha.

Anywho.....chat soon!

A revelation---in experiment mode.....(164 lbs)

I am doing a food allergy experiment. I think I know why I am struggling with this weight. All stems down to my daughter who suffers eczema and I finally pinned it down to a food allergy. First I thought it was eggs...and then soy...but I think it's gluten. Soy is under that umbrella from what I read off the net last night.

There is no reason how I could have gained 3 lbs over night. And I started to think about what I ate and I realized that 1 beer or soy sauce or bread can bloat me up significantly.

When I was LoCarbCris.....I realized that if I had soy sauce.....I would gain 3-4 lbs overnight but lose it in one day if I low carb'd it. I didn't think food allergy...I thought sodium intake. But the same went for beer or any "carb" food. But the "carb" food was a wheat product....and that would stem to gluten. Hmmmmm....I don't know but I am going to do a food journal this week and avoid gluten products. I feel so water retained right now..it's not even funny.

So this ought to be fun. I will keep you posted. And hopefully this weight will fall off. I have been reading that food allergies can cause a huge amount of symptoms. I am going to put myself and my family on a gluten free diet as much as possible.

Anywho....until then....

It's allllllllllllllll good! (161 lbs)

Well....I can't say I enjoyed being starved yesterday...but I am glad I am putting myself through a quick boot camp just to knock some sense into me. I keep thinking of it as a new routine....and sometimes you have to keep at it until it becomes a normal routine.

It kinda reminds me of a route I drive....but now there is construction down the street...so I try to take the back way to avoid all the traffic. BUT...since I am used to going the old way...I forget. So I have to make a mental note everyday to go the back way. Soon....it will become automatic.

So I am down a pound which I am happy about. I ate more healthier yesterday. In fact..I think I might change up my shopping routine (whoa...another change here). I normally rely on Costco for everything...but the grocery stores carry a different selection and I noticed that yesterday. I bought some vegetables....and man they were good. Especially the radishes. Dang..those are sooooo flippin good. Nice and spicy!

Well anywho...that is my post for the day. I can't wait til I am at least 20 lbs down so I can put a better pic on the blog and update my other pics on the site.

Until then my friends!

Additional info for today....

I was reading a book about breaking bad habits...quite interesting. You really have to train your subconscious to change your bad habits. Just like one can never understand why one overeats, I can not understand how someone over-spends or bites their fingernails.

Anywho....I have been extremely good today. In fact....my stomach is growling and I am craving like a mutha...but dinner is soon and I decided to jump on the computer to pass the time. It's working quite well.

Until then....

Boot Camp (162 lbs)

Yeah yeah yeah. I know. Don't say it.....just stop reading now. ha ha.

I am gonna have to go ao Boot Camp and shape myself up AND then maybe it will be the new way that I think and act. Just like diet sodas....it took awhile to acquire the taste of that..but now..I never drink regular sodas. So....I will have to do the same with food.

I am not too bummed...but a bad habit is a bad habit. And it doesn't just end overnight...so I will be patient....but I know me..and I need the discipline.

Anywho..hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I did. I think I had a bit too much drinkie drinkie so I suffered a nice little headache yesterday. That's always fun...NOT! I kept thinking that food would kick in the aspirin..but it never did. Just sleep.

Okay...well it's a brand new day. The kids have already taken almost all the ornaments OFF the Christmas tree. SIGH. So I have my work cut out for me. I think I will be trimming the tree 10 times a day until Christmas....ha ha.

Until then my friends....

A New Frame of Mind (162 lbs)

Yes..I gained 2 lbs. Don't go there! ha ha. So yesterday I definitely overate and I GOT into that EVIL Halloween candy again. But there was one good thing that came out of all this.....I had an epiphany. I decided to accept this weight and just focus on a new frame of mind. I want to focus on being 125 lbs..I want to actually think I am 125 lbs and think the way a skinny person thinks. Okay..so maybe I don't know how..but I know how to save money. I don't have a craving to go spend money...or bite my nails, or any other bad habits.

So....I know I can have this type of "frame of mind"...I just need to direct it to eating. I also know that if I take the extra 5 minutes to style my hair and put some makeup..I feel pretty. And if I feel pretty..I feel skinny, and if I feel skinny (even if I am not), I act skinny. And if I act skinny, I eat skinny. It's a domino effect.

If you ever heard about The Secret....that is basically what it is. It's the frame of mind. It's how you look at things and believe in things. You can cause your own issues and drama. Believe me..I know firsthand. ha ha.

Okay..well that is my post for the day. Will keep you "posted" on my new project!

Happy Thanksgiving if I don't post tomorrow!
Until then...

Making up for overeating (160 lbs)

So....Saturday I went to a bridal shower and definitely overate. But I figured that was okay....I made up for that yesterday. I didn't eat much at all. Now today...I had a big lunch..so I plan to eat very light for dinner. We decided to go out to lunch today. But to save money..I decided to just order a small salad and munch on the kid's meals since they never finish them. I hate to waste food....and I hate to buy more than we need.

I didn't want to overeat because I don't like feeling of being lethargic. But I know I ate more than my portion plate. Anywho...no biggy. Just like the skinny people in the world....they just undereat at the next meal.

So...there you go and I will chat soon!

Until then.....

Steady and slow wins the race! (160 lbs)

My scale kinda hopped back and forth from 159.5 to 160..so I thought I would just choose the 160 for sanity sake. :)

So...there is a book that I read my kids about the infamous turtle and the hare. You know the story....but at the very end, when the turtle wins....he says, "steady and slow wins the race!". I thought that was a good line for weight loss. I would love to lose 10 lbs in 3 days like these crash diets promise you...but all it does it gives you temporary weight loss and alot of loose skin since you didn't give your body enough time to adjust. I am actually more focused in retraining myself to think of food like I do spending money. I don't. I don't shop, I don't have the craving to shop and I can go for weeks with the same $20 bill in my wallet.

I believe that slower weight loss will stay off. Mainly because you have adjusted your eating lifestyle to be permanent. No one stays on a crash diet forever.

Well....talk to you later!

Keepin' up wit' da skinnies! (160.5 lbs)

I am getting there. I have been using my portion plate or at least my guidelines and trying to not really think about food. Trying to make it just part of my life...but not ALL my life. I believe it takes a few weeks/months to break a bad habit and create a good habit...so hopefully I will be like this without thinking about it.

Made a delicious dinner tonight. Since I am trying to save money too. Went through the freezer to see what we had around here and there was chicken, green beans with almonds and garlic potato wedges. Delicious! Cooking is so much fun. I even used my basil that I am growing outside in my patio. Fun stuff.

Well....the family is playing ball, listening to Johnny Cash, and I am blogging. What is wrong with this picture? Yeah...I best sign off now. :)

Until then....

Perspective and Appreciation (161 lbs)

It's funny that I would be excited about being 161 lbs. Years ago I would have been freaking out if I was even 140 lbs. It's all perspective and appreciation I suppose. Soon..I will look back at these ol' blogs and say "oh my gosh".....to be 161 lbs and excited.....those two just don't go together. ha ha. If you are curious at what I WAS...I used to be 120 lbs.

Well.....one thing I have noticed is the amount of sleep I don't need from not overeating. I went to bed late and woke up fairly early and I wasn't the least bit tired. It was rather strange actually. But nice. I hate waking up in a fog.

Okay...well I am boring myself now so I am going to stop writing.

Until then....

The Skinny on the Skinny (162 lbs)

I am okay about not having lost weight from yesterday. I had a few beers and I know they make me retain water. So I am sure I will see some weightloss tomorrow.

So..I interviewed some folks that I know who never suffer with weight problems. You can view it by going to this link: http://thinonabudget.com/skinny.htm

It's rather interesting to read what they think. All in all....they all don't really think nor care about food much..that seems to be the theme here.

I also thought of a fun gift that I want for Christmas. Don't laugh...but it's one of those hop balls. They actually make them for adults. I am all about making exercise fun. Ha!

Well....that is my post for today. Talk to you later!

Rationalizing is for the birds! (162 lbs)

Yeah yeah....so I am up 1/2 lb. But I know why. See....I am merely doing this for all of you. I am the guinea pig of experiments..so here is what NOT to do. ha ha.

Okay....I had my 3 portion plates of food yesterday. My breakfast didn't really make the whole plate..it filled about half of it. SO...with that thought....around 10:00pm as I was having a glass of cheap wine and watching Desperate Housewives, I thought "hey..I can have some chips to make up for that half plate of food I didn't have for breakfast". Well....I deserve the small weight gain. A meal is a meal is a meal. If I don't eat it..than tough luck for me. I can't be dividing it up and eating all of it right before I go to bed. So there you have it. :)

Okay....today will be a better day for me. That's a promise.

I'm out!

The Motivator (161.5 lbs)

You know..it's always hard to start a new way of eating. You feel deprived..like there is something missing. As if you REALLY need to eat all flippin' day. But then...the infamous third day arrives and you are already on the new WOL bandwagon. Not so bad anymore.

What I don't miss anymore is the way I felt when I overate. Talk about tired. I can't afford to be tired...I work at home and I take care of my two little ones. Hello!

So if you look at my portion plate pics on my PLAN link off my website: http://thinonabudget.com/plan.htm I added some pics at the bottom that shows you how much that portion plate really gives you. I don't plan to bring my little portion plate friend with me to restaurants (as if I eat out all the time..ha ha). BUT...still....say a family gathering or something....I would look like a serious goober with my little pal. So I poured some cheerios on the plate and then I poured the cheerios out of it and onto a regular sized dinner plate and a good sized cereal bowl. That gave me a "guide". I was right on target with what I thought my meals should be. The cheerios filled the dinner plate up to where the rim starts to curve up. For height....it was about 2 cheerios high. So you MUST NOT pile high.....that is what I was doing. Hence why I bought the portion plate. I need the discipline.

Okay....well I have lost a few pounds..feeling good and motivated. I ate regular foods yesterday. I had fast food during lunch as I met a friend and the kids played at the playland. My friend is very thin...naturally. She says she eats alot..but then I asked, "what is alot to you?" She thought about it..and then said, "well my dinner portion is a salad plate full of food". Yeah...okay..so that's not alot. If you ever hear someone tell you that they eat loads and not gain weight..you might want to ask in more detail how much "loads" means to them. For me..that's two HUGE dinner plates of food. That was in my head when I asked her....so a salad plate is not loads in my thoughts.

Okay..well that's my post for the day. I wrote a book here. ha ha. Cya.

Willpower-figuring it all out! (163 lbs)

So....I just wanted to figure out this whole "eating in moderation" thing and really look at the way naturally skinny people eat. I talked to my friend today about it. The funny thing is...she doesn't really think about food much. She has the willpower to not overeat...but she struggles with other types of willpower issues, like spending money, etc.

So...here I have the willpower to save no problem. It's not even a thought or a craving to go out and spend. In fact..I find it more exciting to save money and pay my bills. Weird, I know. So what stops me from thinking that same way about eating? Just like spending..I am surrounded by items to buy like I am with food. Yet I don't go and buy it..so why do I go and eat it? Hmmm.

Anywho..down a pound today. Hooray. My goal is to NOT snack and try to not think about food so much. Not let it consume my thoughts at all.

Chat later!

The first post (164 lbs.)

So the reason why these journals have officially started now and not earlier when I lost the first 20-some lbs is because I really didn't think I had the motivation to do a website again. I used to have a great one in the past (before kids). I was pretty thin. I did the low carb diet and I went by locarbcris. It's not that I dislike the low carb diet at all..in fact....I love it. But when I cheated....it really took it's toll. I felt deprived at times too. You tend to not think about food as much if you know you can have anything you want.

So yesterday...I was eating alot of the Halloween candy that my girls collected. How rude huh? Well...I was trying to get rid of it. And what better way to do that than to eat it right? ha ha. Well...it was a dumb thing because I was in a funk the rest of the evening. I decided that Friday (today) will be my official "start back up" day..so I decided to just overeat too. Oh my...it wasn't worth it. I felt like crud and I looked like crud. I feel much better today.

I decided to drink iced tea more as it seems to make me full, and it acts as a diuretic too I have noticed. I feel good today..compared to yesterday. I have only indulged in a little bit of candy this time. A few m & m's in my trail mix. :) Well...chat later.