Portion Creep, Weight Creep, and the Big Wake-Up Call....and the Good (bread) Plates Come to the Rescue. :D

Um, well, dang. Today, the scale said, "Hey, you're gaining too much weight, Missy."

174.4

The lowest was, for a brief few days, 169.8. Then back to the 170s.

I've had a bad case of portion creep. Or portion dump. Appetite came back with a vengeance with the release of tension once hubby found a nice job.

I've just been dumping food on my plate and going to town.

So, today, I went to the cabinet and got out the gold-rimmed heirloom Bavarian china that's decades old, plates I inherited from my mother-in-law. I figured if I was gonna eat less, I was gonna eat it in style.

Breakfast today got served on very small, very shiny/gleamy/pretty plates that are about 6 or 7 inches wide (though the serving area is only like 5 inches, the rest is rim.  They're pretty much bread plates. Or VERY TINY salad or appetizer plates.

Here's how I put the pretties to use: One for my protein. One for my fruit.

To keep the beautiful vibe going, I had my coffee in a matching ivory and gold-rimmed (though not Bavarian) Noritake teacup (so pretty) and Ralph Lauren saucer (so classy). I had acquired those years ago at a big sale where mismatched stuff got hugely discounted over at Macy's. It was a steal. The Noritake cup had no saucer. The Lauren saucer had no cup. But the pattern and colors matched, so I snapped them up super cheap. Less than 15 bucks for both, real china, real gold. SHAZAM! I use them when I am in the mood to jazz up my coffee or tea.

Those small plates means not a lot of food, but lots of eye-nourishment to help make up for it.

I figure my first meal of the day had crept up to 800 calories in the last couple weeks.

Today, it was 420. Much better.

I need to maintain or reverse the gain and lose some more again. The time of portion insanity ends...today....

Are you letting portion creep into your life?
Are you using old dingy plates?

Make your smaller portions prettier!

Use color or go get one of those "special china" pieces and use it, cause YOU are special, and once we're dead, the china does us no good. Use it now.

And on we go, in the fight against fat.

Next project--tackle the sloth and get back to movement. AKA "Where have my lovely muscles gone?"

Take care, all. Be well...

Probably up some from crazy appetite this week, and thanks for the prayers!

I haven't weighed in a couple days, but last time it was 171.8, so up 3 lbs from lowest. Been eating really, really salty and two days I just ate too much. Hunger is way up...so must address this.

I do want to say thank you very much. Hubby began his new job this morning. So, nearly 7 weeks searching, dozens of applications, only two interviews, but hey, one stuck. :D  It's not contract though most of the open positions were contracts, no benefits, and half or so his previous salary. It's full-time, salaried, with benefits. Not the same pay as previously, but more than the other jobs he'd been pursuing.  God is good!

My gratitude overflows for those who remembered us in prayer.

I have to get to my own work now. I have a lot of writing to do and a lot of work in the home to do (the decluttering and organizing project which is MASSIVE). We need to do some repairs and updating (costly, but I guess we'll do it bit by bit). And I need to prepare a budget to squeeze money for the home fix-ups from the new salary.

And I need to get back into an exercise routine, which has been non-existent for nearly 2 months. My bad. It's astounding how much muscle you lose being a slug again. I can feel the change, see it. My hard legs and arms have gone to mush. Sigh. I regret that.

My only other regret today is we didn't get to have a week's vacation. He was so busy studying and applying for jobs, and I figured we'd have some days or a week before the new job. But they wanted him to start immediately. It would have been nice to take a week to just bum around the city seeing sights and having fun.

That will come. For now, just some easing of the major stress.

Thanks again. Be well...

The Ease with Which New Habits Fade and Old Habits Reimpose...it's Scary! AND Some Pics of Me Now at 170 lbs.

I'm still alive. :D  Stress is a daily thing and hubby is still hunting for work, but we took time yesterday to enjoy a beach worship service.

My legs, loose capris, and the gospel of Luke

The sand fleas and mosquitoes were fierce, and before we were done, lots of scratching going on--blame it on not enough wind, a flattish sea,  and the stagnantish water from the Intracoastal. The strip where the service went on was a narrow bit of beach between Intracoastal and the Atlantic.

The pastor said it was usually fine when the wind blew well. Pelicans and seagulls flew overhead and beachgoers laughed and bathed. Some swimming and paddleboarding. Some fishing off the pier. Nice to see some roped off areas where sea turtles were being protected prior to hatching. :D

I sat on a nylon bag on the sand and looked at how I've lost muscle off my legs. Seriously, I have not exercised in more than a month, and it shows. I feel less dense. I feel less strong. Bad old habit reimposed. And now I have to remotivate myself to move and recreate the nicer shape/density I had. It's tough. Nearly back to being the old slothful me. Not good.

Yes, it's THAT easy to get out of good habits. 

Hubby sat behind me, much less attacked by the wee bitey things. I guess I was his wall of protection. They were too busy munching on me.

Hubby with the Dania Beach pier behind him

After we closed the service with a worship song--"His love never fails"--I headed to the water to get some saltwater on my bites. I rolled up my loose capris and splashed water on arms and legs and then just played a bit.

beach joy

It was a lovely respite from studying, writing, job hunting, worrying. Yay for sun and water and seabirds and songs and kids laughing and encouraging words and an amazing moon rising over the ocean. (I didn't get a good pic, sigh).

Sunday I was 170.4, and then had a family thanksgiving dinner (a relative was healing well after a life-threatening event and ICU stay). I ate traditional Cuban fare--meaning not a whole lotta veggies, lots of starch, and flan. First time I have a really sugary regular dessert in ages. I forgot how good that crap is. ; )

I'm at 170.0 today. Appetite returned to normal (not binge normal, just normal for the last couple years), and I'm back to my two meals and roughly 1600 calories, not the 500-800 when the anxiety first hit.  My lowest was 168.6, and then I bounced up to 172 and back down, depending on the salt level of my foods.

So, my body is mushier sans nearly daily exercise, sans Pilates. My appetite is normalized. And I keep the faith that good things will come.

But I definitely need to set goals again for movement and not mess up after good progress.

Habits die hard if they're bad, and die easy if they're good sometimes. So, we must be on the alert. Always. Always....

God bless. Be well.