October Check-in

So, my goals kind of flew out the window this month. It was a tough one.

I'm up on the scale about as much as I was down, but I'm actually pretty happy with that:

Midway through September, we accidentally got a carton of low-fat no sugar added ice cream. Oops. Didn't taste good - it was full of chemicals and they definitely have a flavor. But the day after I ate it I was four pounds heavier. I've known for a while that I'm sensitive to chemicals, but this was a big reaction, even for me. Needless to say, I'm not interested in that kind of ice cream. (Normal sugary, fatty ice cream doesn't bother me like that.) Typically, if I have a soda or something like that, I'll gain, but it comes off in a day or two, so it's more annoying than anything else. This time, though, it took about two weeks for me to stop feeling fluffy and start seeing the scale creep back to where it had been. About that time, it was time for my cycle, and I always gain a bit right before that; it's normal for me. So, although I'm up just a tad from last month, I'm still pretty happy: the weight from the ice cream is pretty well gone, and the monthly weight will be over soon, and I can see where I'm at again for real.

September Check-in

So! It's another new month! I'm really liking having this blog active again, and I'm liking this monthly interval, too.

Here's how I did in August:

First of all, I'm down about 2 1/2 pounds for the month! Which is pretty exciting -- let's see if I can keep that rolling, rather than finding it again. That would be really nice. Given the stress that we've got at our house right now, I feel particularly good about a small loss: it's way too easy to stress eat and sabotage  yourself. I've done that plenty of times.

Checking in on my goals:

1. Find a whole wheat sourdough bread recipe: DONE. I blogged the whole saga, and the final recipe is here. The good news is, it's pretty easy to make with a stand mixer. Even better, when I want it to, the start will wait patiently in the fridge until I'm ready for it. And, if I'm not interested in going whole hog, then I can get a quick nutritional boost from something like zucchini bread or banana bread. Actually, just about any quick bread can be easily adapted to have some sourdough and wheat flour in it. If anyone wants some start, it's easy to mail.

2. Desserts no more than once a day: Doing pretty good, mostly. Even the chocolate chips.  We'll see if I can maintain it; I like chocolate.

3. At least 1/2 quart of water daily: Still need work here. I usually have water every day, but too often it's not enough.

4. Weekly bike rides: Still doing pretty well. We started school this week, so we'll see how well I'm able to maintain it, now that we're busier.

5. Notebook tracking: Only did this about half the month, which is less than useful. But I've started again. I need to streamline the process or something.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with how things are going. But I'm worried about how well I'll be able to keep it up. Winter is harder than summer, and it's coming.