An update ...

I forgot that yesterday was supposed to be my measure day, so I did it this morning ... I've lost another 1/2 inch on my bust, one inch on my waist, and 1/2 inch in the hips. Not too bad, considering I ate fattening and sugary food throughout the day on Tuesday.

I didn't weigh myself, not sure why. Probably because of the pigout day I had, not to mention I'm entering the PMS stage, which means BLOAT CITY.

I was chatting with my BFF Steph this morning, who, by the way, is svelte and gorgeous and has about the cutest baby daughter I've ever seen (besides my own, of course), and she mentioned a conversation she had with her sis wherein the topic was being able to eat whatever without repercussions.

I see the phrase "I eat whatever I want" occasionally in interviews with slim celebrities and what not, and not only is it a grating comment, but it's also misleading to those of us who eat emotionally or compulsively. We gnash our teeth and tear at our clothes because So-and-So is able to remain a size 2 while eating anything she wants, but the truth is, she probably doesn't WANT to eat a dozen Double Stuf Oreos at a time, or several scoops of butter pecan ice cream (is that an "old person's" ice cream? Once when I mentioned it was one of my faves, an acquaintance asked me if I was 80.), or half a pepperoni pizza, or a cheeseburger and large fries, or an indulgent dessert after a sizeable meal, etc. What I want to eat and what a normal eater wants to eat are entirely different things - hence the weight difference.

So what I've got to want is to eat foods that will get me closer to those smaller jeans AND not feel deprived while eating them. Tall order.

Though the one thing I have going for me is that I do enjoy working out. And I also tend to just automatically make better food choices when I do ... I may have mentioned that before.

I get an email newsletter from Get-Fit Guy, and today's was about the ideal weight. If all his calucations are confusing, he also conveniently provided this very helpful and very interesting link. I was pretty happy with what it considered my ideal weight to be, though I haven't been there in several years. Sigh. I also did the weight loss calculator and was surprised to see that my "to lose weight" daily calories were 1,000 cals lower than my "to maintain" calories. 1,000 ... that seems like a lot of extra food, which I'm obviously eating during weeks that I don't lose weight. Seeing those hard figures is always eye-opening.

Caffeine free and okay with it

What a difference a few days can make.

Today marks exactly a week that I haven't had coffee. Headaches are gone, sleepiness is gone, I feel pretty good actually. I had one diet Pepsi this past week, but then figured that soda probably wasn't all that great for reflux, so I've avoided that as well.

I read that fatty foods can cause problems with heartburn, and I really haven't done too bad in that department ... I ate some chips with a sandwich (that had horseradish/dijon mayo on it ... have you had this yet? Delish ... Kraft makes it), and I was fine. Though I don't think I'll be ordering fries any time soon.

One thing I have also avoided is sugar. I know. Where did this new Sheri come from? But remember in my last post I had eaten ice cream and had pain? I think the most sugary thing I've eaten since vacation was a bowl of Raisin Bran Crunch. Oh, no wait ... I had a mini Snickers at work. But still ... I made Rice Krispies treats a few days ago and didn't eat any of them. I was running late for work and thought about just grabbing a Pop Tart and throwing it into my bag for later, but I felt my stomach acid gearing up to give me trouble at just the thought of eating a sugary Pop Tart. So, I took the time to put some shredded wheat in a baggie and took that instead. 

((should I be using generic sounding names, like "crisp rice treats" and "toaster pastry"? I'm seriously not trying to do product placement, it's just happening.))

There was a plate a jumbo chocolate chip cookies in our break room and I walked right on by and filled up my water bottle. So, yeah, I feel good. It's kind of like my body has forced  me to finally make good choices and to eat only until satisfied, or risk nausea and nasty pain. I feel like a normal eater, taking time to evaluate my food choices a bit and really listening to my body rather than just shoving food and treats down my gullet. I'm being more thoughtful when it comes to food, by which I don't mean I'm buying my lunch flowers and telling it how nice it looks ... I'm just putting more thought in how I eat.

And the refreshing thing is that I'm not restricing what I eat in order to lose weight. I haven't even considered that at all. That always feels like such deprivation, forgoing what I really want to eat in order to see a number on a scale go down. Right now, some of the things I used to eat have the possibility of causing me great discomfort, and it's not worth it. 

Oh, and that acid reducer that shall not be named? (That's my shout out to HP in honor of the final movie.) I'M OFF IT! I was SO sick and miserable while I was on it, it was awful. My doc is supposed to contact me on Monday, and I'm hoping that I can talk him into letting me see what I can do by avoiding any triggers and (hopefully) losing weight. 

An entire blog post about my health condition? I'm getting old.

Okay ... I'll turn off my Toshiba laptop now, brush with Colgate Total, then lotion my hands up with Bath & Body Works lotion before calling it a day. Thought I'd end with a few more brand names.