(Not So) Weekly Weigh-In: Week 23

It's been a while since I've weighed in weekly (5 weeks to be exact), but I'm back and have put in the work this week to start getting myself back on track. As I said in my last post, I'd gained about 2 kgs in the past two weeks, after hovering around the same weight for the month that I stopped blogging. It wasn't nearly as much as I had expected to put on, so that was good. Even better is that it's come all straight back off in the past week. How's that for proving to myself that I can do it!

Seeing that big blue chunk after being so many weeks of being unmotivated feels amazing. It helps to know that as soon as I put a few simple steps into practice I see results.

This week I ate with moderation and consideration, exercised 4 days of the week and drank water. I didn't even count kilojoules this week, which is usually the first thing I am sure to do when I want to have a good week. Instead I tried to eat mostly whole foods, and stick to three smaller meals and two snacks. When I could, I kept a mental tally of the kilojoules, but not every day.

Moving forward, I've set myself a short term goal of losing 2 kgs in the next 2 weeks. I've been hovering just under the 20 kgs lost mark for nearly 3 months now, and I think it's about time I reached it. At the moment, I'm at 18.3 kgs lost, so losing 2 kgs will push me definitively beyond that point. If I can do it in 2 weeks, it will also mean that I will achieve it before heading off to Melbourne for a holiday on the 24th of this month.

I'm really happy with how I've done this week, getting myself back into good habits. After more than a month of my brain telling me it was just too hard, it was an incredible relief to see this week how easily I could get back into them. I just need to remember for next time it feels hard, that it really isn't. It's probably just my negativity and food addiction getting the better of me.

I'm Back!

Eek... It's been over a month since my last post. To be honest, I wasn't really doing much, weight loss wise, and really had nothing to write about. The good news is, I haven't completely fallen off the wagon, but the bad news is I haven't completely stayed on. I've mostly hovered around the same weight, with a 2 kg gain over the past 2 weeks. Nothing too major, for which I am thankful.

My eating habits over the past month have been very lax. While I've tried to keep good food habits in my mind, I haven't been very strict about what food and how much of it I am eating. In fact, it's starting to get to a point where my eating habits are getting worse the longer I'm not keeping myself in check.

Exercise has been minimal, but actually better than when I last posted. I bought some new workout a few weeks ago gear (always a good motivator), and have been trying to get outside to walk as often as I can. I usually go 3 or so times a week (up until this last week, when it has rained every single day). I'm really enjoying the walks, and am managing to stay motivated even though I have to get up at 6am to do them.

I am wanting to get back to concentrating on losing weight, and have been struggling in my attempts to find the discipline to do it over the past month. I'm finally getting back some of my resolve though, so I think this is the perfect time to get back to blogging and the added motivation and reflection that it gives me. I'm also heading to Melbourne at the end of the month, which should help to keep me motivated.

In other news, this month I'll be joining in on Fat Mum Slim's July Photo A Day Challenge. Lets see how far I get. You can follow along by following me on instagram (link to the right) or check out the action using the hashtag #FMSphotoaday. If you're joining in, be sure to let me know so I can follow you.

Weekly Weigh-In: Week 17

Last week I posted my first gain since I started losing weight back at the end of November. I knew gains were inevitable, but it was definitely a chance to reflect. It made me realise how important it was to me that I didn't go backwards. That's why this week it was time to get back to eating right and being good. I wasn't nearly as good as I should have been, but I must have done something right because I lost 2 kilos!

I was pretty amazed when I stepped on the scales this morning. I've done much more and lost less, so I wasn't expecting quite as big a loss. As you can see, I've still got a little chunk of last weeks gain to make back, but I can't believe I've lost nearly all of it in one week.

In terms of my short term goals to get myself back on the right track, I did ok. I recorded my kilojoules all but one day, and stayed under my kilojoule limit every day. I didn't do so well on my goal to eat no takeaway. Actually, I had it two nights in a row. I tried to make the healthiest decision I could, and avoided the types of (naughty) takeaway that are usually my weakness, so this one's a bit of a wash.

This week, I want to keep going with counting my kilojoules, and avoid takeaway all together. I would also like to start drinking at least 2 litres of water a day, and get back to reading my favourite weight loss blogs more consistently. I will report back of my progress next week!

Trigger Foods

The further I get into my weight loss, the more self-control I'm developing, but there are still some foods that I have to avoid overdoing. I like to call them trigger foods. The foods that I still have a lot of difficulty with. When I'm presented with the opportunity to eat these foods, I have a very hard time saying no, and when I do eat them, I have an even harder time stopping once I'm good and full. I've also found that the more I have them, the more I crave them, and it becomes harder to listen to the rational part of my brain that tells me I don't need it.

When I've been successful with staying away from my trigger foods, keeping to my meal plans and daily kilojoule intake is significantly easier. But, if they're around, it's almost like I revert straight back to the eating habits I had 5 months ago. Over the past couple of weeks while I wasn't really watching my eating as much, I indulged in some of these trigger foods, and I found it really hard to give them up again. It reinforced to me that this is a long and slow process, and that weight loss isn't the only measure of how far I've come. If I want to reach a place where I'm truly healthy and happy, I need to focus on changing my mind, as well as my shape. I may always have compulsive feelings towards food, but I want to work towards breaking that down as much as I can, while building on my ability to counteract it.

Here are some of my biggest triggers:

Chinese food. I love chinese food. Specifically Chow Mein and fried Dim Sims, but almost any will do.

Chocolate. The darker the better. A little chocolate is ok, but I just cannot have any in the house. It never lasts more than a day or two between the fiance and I.

Pizza. It's just too easy to eat WAY too many slices of pizza. Doesn't help that it's usually covered in delicious cheese.

Right now my plan of attack is to abstain from my trigger foods for a while. Let myself dry out a little. I have no doubt that I will eat them again, and I really do believe that it's fine to have them in moderation. I'm not at the point where moderation with these foods is easy, but I'm working on it.

Do you have any trigger foods? If so, what are they and how do you stop them from becoming a problem?