Brain tricks

Ever wonder how some weeks you can be totally on program--fully committed to your weight loss efforts, happy with all the great healthy foods you're eating and able to resist temptation? And then other weeks...well, it all goes to hell? One bite of chocolate cake or potato chip leads to another, and another and another...and before you know it you've gone through two weeks worth of food in a matter of hours?

Apparently there's some research that tells us why. I'm no science geek (maybe a wannabe), but this info caught my eye.

UT Southwestern Medical Center finds evidence that fat from certain foods makes it's way to the brain blocking the appetite suppressing chemicals which tell your body that you've had enough. So upon consuming fatty foods, the brain "gets hit with the fatty acids" becoming resistant to those other chemicals (insulin & leptin) which tell you to stop eating.

Palmitic acid was found to be the main culprit--part of the saturated fat found in milk, butter, cheese and beef. So the for ice cream fans out there...you can blame those empty cartons on your brain chemistry!!

I guess that doesn't explain my trigger foods (salty/crunchy/fried food like potato chips) but I definitely see the difference in my willpower when I indulge in these foods vs. avoiding them, so maybe there's a similar effect.

Now I don't know if this will stop me from eating those trigger foods or those Palmitic fueled foods (I certainly don't plan on giving up milk, cheese or ice cream anytime soon), but maybe it's something to think about when making those food choices. If I have this cheese, will I be more likely to want chips tomorrow, and then fried food the next day, sending me into a spiral pattern of eating and weight gain until I can get myself back in control? I don't know, but it's certainly an interesting perspective.

What do you guys think? Some truth to this? Will knowing this influence the way you eat? Are any of you now craving ice cream like I am?

Until next time

Return to Reality

Hi All--

Yes, I've been MIA for a month--but it was a crazy month filled with drama, adventure, and absolutely no regard to holding up my plans for boot camp or minding my food routine.

Right after my last post, I managed to come down with a horrible case of tonsillitis and mono (of all things!) and spent the next two weeks in bed. Once I began to feel better, I got back to walking, but not regularly, and although I made mostly healthy food choices, I didn't track anything. As of my last weigh in I was down to 181.6 (from 184.2).

Then I went on a road trip which was ever so slightly detrimental to that, filled with lots of drinking, tasting some very rich southern food, sporadic exercise, and a highly emotional visit to a friend. Returning home this week has proven no better and I have knowingly overindulged in all those taste-so-good-but-so-bad-for-you foods. I have yet to weigh in since then. Tonight I will find out the damage.

This week is my return to work, and my return to routine. Whatever the scale says tonight, I once again am returning to my quest for health. My body needs it. So does my mind.

I missed being in touch with the blogger world and I hope to regain some of the spirit and motivation I had before all hell broke loose in my life.

Wish me luck!
Until next time

Day One

Okay--so I was all about the WW points system...now I am thinking I should have gone with the Core plan. Counting points is almost worse than counting calories because I have to keep looking everything up! I guess the more I do it, the easier it will be...
I have 29 daily points to start out with...I don't know what's normal, but I used 7 for breakfast (only had time to grab a PB&J sandwich), and another 7 for lunch. I have 14 points left for the rest of the day. Is that a lot? Is that not enough? What is my dinner (and dessert?) going to come out to? I guess it would have helped if I planned this kind of stuff ahead, but who has the time to do that?

Plus in addition to the daily allowance of points I have to make sure I have 5 servings of fruits/veggies, 6 glasses of water, 2 servings of a milk product, plus two servings (1 Tbsp each) of healthy oils. WHAT THE HELL??? Do they expect me to pour myself a nice spoon of Canola twice a day? Or how do I know what has oil added to it to be able to count? Considering I rarely make my own food, how am I supposed to keep track of that? And I guess the fruits & veggies thing is doable, but I never drink that much water in one day!! I'm lucky if I have two sips out of the water bottle which sits on my desk. Now I've gone through almost a bottle since 12ish...and I have to pee.

And I haven't even added exercise to this whole new routine. That starts next week apparently. They want us to get a handle on what and how we eat before we start moving around. As if we can't multitask. Yeah, I suppose they're right.

Tonight my plan (aside from doing the heap of laundry that contains almost all of my underwear) is to go food shopping so I can start planning these meals. But of course with my limited kitchen (and acclimation to procrastination), who knows how that will turn out.

Until next time...

Kicking it off

Well, today I'm starting out on the road to health & happiness. Well..maybe continuing is more appropriate...continuing with a vengeance?


Whatever the case, I plan to use this as a journal for my well-being, writing both from a physical and emotional perspective. Today I'm starting with Weight Watchers for the first time (since I was much younger), and I want to track my progress, bitch about it, and celebrate my (potential) successes.

This newfound motivation is due to a general dissatisfaction with my life, and how I feel. There are plenty of good things happening, but I want to take steps in the right direction of improving my health. I was on the right path in 2006, but failed to continue my great progress, and once I was off the wagon (or is it on the wagon), I just continued to go downhill.

But as I'm approaching my 28th birthday, I am realizing what this is doing to my health & well being. I want to make this blog enjoyable for both myself and anyone who reads it, but as this is the first one, I'm laying out the cards. I have never been one of those people who felt that I have to be a perfect size 6 to be happy--but I do realize the limitations and risks of being overweight, and it will only get harder as I get older.

I'm 27 and 11 months as of tomorrow, I've been out of high school for 10 years, and I'm overweight with a job that I don't really enjoy anymore and am not motivated to do. So with all this as my starting point, I'm picking up & moving forward onto a newer, smaller, and happier me.

And we're off.
-Julia