Tweaking

I started my latest weight loss quest on March 28. I haven't really wanted to talk about this; however, I'll tell you now. For the first two weeks I lost NOTHING. In fact, I may have even gained a little.

I cannot tell you how frustrating this was.

But perhaps you've experienced it.

I followed my plan to the letter. NO cheating. Really, for the first two weeks I did not cheat. In fact, I consumed fewer calories than the minimum. But the scale didn't budge.

In the past I've given up at this point. One time I lamented to a friend in the grocery store...I can't do it, I told her. I can't lose weight. She was older than me--probably by ten years, which meant at the time she was in her mid-40's. Her advice?

Buy bigger clothes.

I think of her a lot, beautiful 40-something lady that she was, in her bigger clothes. I'm in my mid-40's now and here's the thing: I am NOT ready to buy bigger clothes (or frankly, any clothes right now...)

So I tweaked...my food diary that is.

Given that I was obsessive about following the plan and sure I wasn't cheating, I wondered if perhaps I wasn't consuming enough calories.

Scary, but I increased the percentage of everything--calories, fat, protein, carbs--and watched, and waited. For a week.

And guess what?

I lost some weight. The darn wii has stopped being so snarky and for the first time in six months or so, my bmi is in the "normal" range. Just barely. But it's worth celebrating.

So here's the moral of the story: if your weight loss efforts aren't working, don't give up.

Just tweak.

And in celebration, here's a recipe I like:

Oriental Salad

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
cooking spray
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons sunflower seed kernels
2 packages Ramen noodles, broken up
8 cups cabbage, shredded
2 cups carrots, shredded
1 8 ounce can mandarin oranges
2-3 grilled chicken breasts, sliced into strips

Combine first five ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Transfer to a small bowl and chill, covered.

Spray large nonstick skillet liberally with cooking spray. Add almonds, sunflower kernels, and Ramen noodles. Cook three minutes or until lightly toasted--watch carefully.

Combine cabbage and carrots, top with dressing, Ramen mixture and mandarin oranges.