Mamavation Monday Wednesday

I finally made it back to my Weight Watchers meeting this week, which was a good thing. With travel and family outings, I had missed a few in a row. The good news is that I only gained 2# with all of the fun I was having. Now, I need to get moving in the right direction. I know from my home scale that I gained that all on one weekend and been doing a great job of maintaining since then.

It's funny, I have been trying to figure out what has been so different that has caused me to plateau, and this morning, in reading Money Saving Mom's P90X on a Budget post, it struck me. She talks about avoiding non-nutritious food and feeling empowered. Back when I first started on the P90X program and on Weight Watchers, I was more strict with myself and what I would eat. After a while, if I ate cookies or chips (or other things that aren't so healthy), I would very blah - I no longer wanted this type of food. For the most part, I had no interest in eating that food. I was determined and motivated and knowing how it would feel like a brick in my stomach after eating it, there was not really any temptation to eat it. I think though, that as I went through the holidays, I started to allow the occasional treat into my diet. I discovered that when I let myself enjoy those treats, the results weren't negative, just neutral - I wouldn't gain weight, but I would maintain.

Now, as I thought about it in reading Crystal's post, I'm back to the point where eating a cookie or some chips doesn't make me feel blah - sometimes it has the opposite effect and serves as a trigger food (this week's Weight Watcher topic) - the flavor makes me want more or want a counter (i.e. a sweet to counter the salty). I'm staying within my Points range (daily and weekly), but honestly, how many times am I under counting the Points on a treat - do I really know how many Points are in something like that? Take pizza as an example, unless it was homemade, I didn't eat much pizza early on. When I did eat it out or pick it up from a pizza shop, I limited myself to one slice and enjoyed a salad with it - enjoying a bit of the taste without eating too much. Now, I find myself having two slices when I eat pizza from a pizza shop. For pizza, most included in the database are 4-5 Points per slice for cheese or veggie. What if the person building my pizza was heavier on the cheese or the sauce has more sugar? How accurate are the Points then? How many Points am I likely going over my allotment, just because of underestimating portion/under calculating Points on an item? Sure, if you have these types of items occasionally, they probably balance out with something you over count, but if you have them regularly, then it magnifies estimation/calculation errors and there aren't as many things to balance with. Plus, I am more tired now than I was when I first started working out and watching my food intake (minus the first week where my body was adjusting). I think that I am not getting all of the good nutrients that I was then and as a result, I feel more sluggish. It shows in the morning, when I struggle to get up when my alarm goes off. It shows when I rely on snacks to help keep me awake.

It probably doesn't help that I have learned that I can maintain my weight, while enjoying all of my favorites. I need to get back to enjoying less of my favorites - not depriving, because that could lead to over-doing it, but just enjoying less. I think I need to re-focus the types of "treats" I allow in my diet. I need to go back to having healthy treats that can satisfy the need for sweet (think fruit or yogurt) or salty (think cheese or crackers or even salted celery). I know that I can do it and I am hoping that this new found insight will help me to refocus and re-energize.