Incorporating : samidasweightlossjourney.blogspot.com

As it says in my header above, now that I am moving further out from my surgery and starting to really morph into the "NEW ME" portion of this blog I want to start addressing my weight loss issues.  I tried to access my old blog to do it: blog here  The entire archive is there but for some reason I cannot access it to update it - only this blog shows on my dashboard.  So, instead of starting yet ANOTHER blog I think I shall merge the two here.  I will still have plenty of news on my new knee, but I have to seriously get to work on the new me part of it!

I've been talking a lot about cycling through various weight loss programs.  My daughter wanted me to sign up on South Beach with her (which I did with a Groupon coupon) and I am happy to provide her the support (we talk about recipes, points of the program, etc.) but I am currently doing the Weight Watchers "Turn Around" program.  It is the one just before Momentum.  The points are all the same but the difference is that Turn Around called their alternative program "Core" and Momentum called it "Simply Filling" and also introduced the concept of set points, which disappeared with the Points Plus program.  The only reason I chose Turn Around over Momentum is that I like the Turn Around materials much better.  But really, as long as I do Points it doesn't matter which one I say I am following.  However, the alternative programs: Core vs. Simply Filling, do have differences so I would have to choose one or the other if I was doing the program other than Points.  Actually Points Plus was the only major change since Points were first introduced.  "1,2,3," "Winning Points," "Turn Around," "Momentum" - all the same except between a couple of them couscous (and maybe one or two other starches) were changed from 2 Points a cup to 3 Points a cup.  Can you tell I've done them ALL???????????  I also have several sets of starting materials for each of them, and about 2 dozen points calculators - paper and electronic!

I understand WW's feeling that people were eating too many empty snacks and by changing their formula they would change the way people approach carbohydrates.  But I was not one of those people.  I always felt comfortable on South Beach (but eventually abandoned it because I did want more variety and more freedom) because I am a very avid complex carbohydrate fan.  I didn't appreciate that my favorite WW wheat berry casserole went from five points to nine, or that my barley soup was now 5 points instead of 2.  Granted you get more points, fruits are free, yada yada....  but I don't like being forced to use up all those extra points on things that are actually healthy choices.  So, I'm comfortable with the older programs, and that's why I picked one of them. 

So at this point in my knee recovery, I am certain about this: My extra weight is hampering my comfort and progress.  If you have been reading my most recent blog entries you know that I have been facing some setbacks.  But other than what I did to myself (by doing too much too soon) the other element in my discomfort and lagging recovery is my weight.  I don't know this for certain - and I don't have a HUGE amount to lose, but I know that it is a struggle to move my body.  Part of it is that my legs/knees won't support me, but built into that is that too much weight is hampering that support, along with the structural difficulties. 

I am going to take one day, one meal at a time.  I am not even going to look at the bigger picture and future payoffs.  Right now it is so that I feel better tomorrow than I do today.

Today I did not fight with myself.  The meals and decisions about meals came easily.  I have a fruit left for later, a well as an extra point if I need it for something.  I am going to try to make this blog a daily food diary as well as a journal on what I feel about the dieting process and the progress on my knee.  It will be very interesting to see if a weight loss truly does improve my knees!

Breakfast:  WW bagel   (3)
                 2 Laughing Cow lite cheese wedges (2)
                 sliced tomatoes
Lunch:       HUGE salad with 2 tsp olive oil and vinegar (2)
                 4 ounces grilled swordfish  (4)
Snack:       Lentil Soup  (4)
Dinner:      Whole Wheat shells (2 oz)   (3)
                 Tomato primavera sauce with ground chicken  (3)  (This is the old WW Turkey Eggplant Casserole recipe without the breadcrumbs!)
                 2 TBS  Parmesan Cheese  (1)
Fruit:         1 apple, 1 cup grapes  (2)

Total: 24 out of 25