Hello, goodbye

Last week was a bit crazy. I had some early morning appointments so weighing in before breakfast went completely out the window, and then, I just decided to wait until this week.

Good news, though. Looks like I'm holding steady at 163.

That's definitely a better place to be than where I started off eight months ago. Slower than I would have liked (-0.5 lbs per month is not exactly shocking), but still, it's definitely an improvement.

Now, though, as we approach the end of the year, I've started to think about how long I should keep up with the blogging.

The simple truth is, I don't spontaneously have enough stuff to share to fill up a week. And, I don't have time to dedicate so that I can think up or create content. I tried that when I first started this blog. I figured, maybe I can do a healthy menu with recipes on one day, and I can do something about fashion or shopping on another, etc., etc. But, I lacked the time and--especially--the motivation to keep it up.

So, if you've been reading this blog, you know by now that the last couple of months I've just checked in once a week. Hardly ground-breaking or exciting blogging, I'd say.

The French diet is a long game. It's about moderation, consistency, and, above else, self-respect. There are no quick fixes, and therefore, no quick "tips" or "tricks" that I can blog about.

Given that, I have decided to take a break from blogging. If I am feeling inspired, I may pick it back up after the holidays.

If you've stuck around for any of this, I thank you. And I hope that you will conduct a French Experiment of your own, and that it will be a smashing success.

Adieu!

Careful, now

So, as I wrote a few days ago, my weight is at the lowest it's been in...what?...a few years now? Yes, I think that's right. I think it's been a few years, at least, since I was at 163.

You'd think that that would have been enough to send me running to a week of steamed veggies and fish or lean chicken, right?

Wrong.

Last night, I had Patxi's deep dish pizza and a Caesar salad.

Monsieur and I typically order a mushroom and onion pizza, and usually I have 1 slice and plenty of salad.

For whatever reason, last night I was pretty hungry, so I ate two slices and plenty of salad.

It has been a really long time since I had deep dish pizza. I find that it is much more enjoyable if you have it infrequently. Last night, it was super enjoyable!

Now, according to the French diet, this should not be a problem. There are no "bad" foods (excluding, of course, fake/highly processed foods) only poor portion control. In this specific case, since my lunch was fairly small, having two slices of pizza wasn't in itself such a terrible thing. After all, I felt okay after eating and not overly stuffed and regretful.

But, I do have to be careful. Why? Because it has happened in the past that when I've made some progress with my weight (i.e. it's gone down!) I've had a somewhat unconscious tendency to sabotage myself. I don't really know why, but I have noticed it after it's happened. I want to make sure I don't let that happen again.

So tonight, I will go back to a lighter dinner option.

Perhaps I will even have some fish.

Monday Check-In

Well, it's another Monday morning and that means, it's time to check in again.

Without further ado...

Monday's weigh-in: 163.0. (-0.5 versus last week and -4.0 to date)

I have to admit, I was just hoping that the number on the scale hadn't gone up too much. Seeing that the number actually went down was an unexpected treat!

If I look back on the week, the one thing that sticks out in my mind is that my dinners were generally quite a bit smaller than they used to be. I've been serving myself small portions, knowing that I can always get some more if I'm really hungry. But what I've found is that, in general, I have felt sufficiently satisfied.

The thing is...typically, about an hour or so after dinner, Monsieur and I have a cup of coffee or some herbal tea and a small sweet treat. This might be a cookie, or a mini cup of ice cream, or a piece of chocolate. So this past week, the combination of a small dinner (think appetizer serving size) plus the after-dinner treat has been perfect. It's not like I've been going to bed hungry.

On the other hand, I have also responded to my body's requests. So, while most nights dinner was on the smaller side, on one night, I really felt hungry, so I ate a pretty large dinner. Not to the point where I felt overstuffed, but I was hungry, so I ate. And on that night, I had an after-dinner tea, but no treat. I wasn't craving one, so I figured why have it "just because"?

This is the only thing I can think of that may have contributed to the last two weeks' results. Otherwise, things were much as they were before: mostly healthy, home cooked dinners; lunches were a mix of at home and out; breakfasts were nothing out of the ordinary; and exercise was less than I'd like.

Let's see how this week goes. Maybe this will prove to be my best way to be French.

The French (Baking) Diet?

Hello again!

Let's jump straight ahead and get the weigh-in done.

Monday's weigh-in: 163.5. (-1.0 versus last week and -3.5 to date)

Alleluia!!!!!! Yipee!!!!! Hurrah!!!!! [Insert cartwheels of joy here] 🎉

What happened??!!

I wish I knew! This past weekend, I did some more baking. This time, it was chocolate croissants.  

Maybe it's the French pastry diet?  Hehe

No, it's not. Last week I behaved reasonably well. I tried to eat reasonable portions, and I tried to eat mostly home-cooked meals. But the truth is, I also did eat out sometimes. And, last night, I had a tiny dinner because I had an upset stomach. I don't think it was from the croissants, since I only sampled 1/2 of one (to make sure it was good). So, the truth is, I'm not sure why I saw such a big loss this week.

But, I'm not complaining! In fact, if anything, it has motivated me to be extra careful this week. And, I'm going to be better about jotting down what I'm eating, if I'm exercising (and how much), and how my tummy reacts to it all. Hopefully that way I will have a better idea of why my weight fluctuates.

In the meantime, I'll just enjoy this new weight (probably my lowest in over a year) and hope that the downward trend continues!

Getting back into the swing of things

As I mentioned last time, I spent the previous week baking delicious treats and I was reasonably pleased to see that I hadn't completely gone overboard.

This past week, the trend towards more French behavior continued (moderately) as I focused on more home-cooking and got a bit more exercise in. But, on the downside, the approach of Halloween has meant that there has been more free candy crossing my path, and it's hard to resist candy miniatures. 

Monday's weigh-in: 164.5. (-0.5 versus last week and -2.5 to date)

Phew! Am I relieved!

For this week, my focus is going to be on menu planning, healthy meals, and moderate exercise. Today's been a scorcher, so I'm not really in the mood to go out for a walk or a bike ride, but temps should drop later in the week, so hopefully a few brisk walks will work their way into my schedule.

p.s. My new goal is to lose between 0.5 - 1 lbs each week. I'm hoping to be a bit lighter by the time I travel back east to see my husband's family at Thanksgiving. And, my Maman's family may be coming to visit for Christmas, and I really don't want them to see me as I am right now!  So, I have two things to motivate me.

Back again, baking again

This past weekend I took another baking class: Viennoiserie at Home. Viennoiserie refers to "laminated" dough, like the one used for croissants and Danish pastries. So, we made croissants, pain su chocolat, assorted fruit Danishes, and brioche. 

Of course, this meant we had to taste what we made. :)

We each went home with lots of goodies. I kept some but gave a bunch away. 

Despite this, I'm sure these delicious treats didn't leave my waistline unscathed. 

Tuesday's weigh-in: 165. (-0.5 versus last week and -2.0 to date)

I guess I'll call this a success, since I managed to go back down a bit despite the enjoyment of numerous buttery baked goods. 

Now, the treats are gone. Time to get serious!

And, we're back!

Well, I'm back.

If you're following this blog at all, you already know that last week Monsieur and I went on vacation. We decided to drive to Santa Barbara, and boy, was it relaxing. Guidebooks call that area of California the "American Riviera". When I first read that I thought to myself, "Yeah, right. Nice try." But I think there may be something to it. Strolling along the tree-lined, extra-wide sidewalks you feel like you could be in some delightful European beach town. It really was wonderful and I would definitely go back.

I think I was pretty good about portion control. Monsieur and I typically would split lunches and share appetizers. And, I actually did take part of my dinner back to our hotel one evening because I already felt more than satisfied. But I do think I ate more at dinner time than usual.

I also discovered a wonderful ice cream shop that is based in Santa Barbara: McConnell's. 

They have as assortment of delicious flavors, but my favorite (by far) was Black Coffee Chip. It's a blend of espresso and drip coffees plus some very finely shredded Guittard chocolate. Heaven! So, I was a bit relaxed about my treat intake.

On the plus side, we took some long walks and swam almost every day, so I hope that helped to balance things out a little bit.

Still, given all that, I wouldn't be surprised if the scale wasn't as complimentary as it was before I left. 

Monday morning weigh-in: 165.5. (+1.5 since last week and -1.5 to-date)

Gulp.

So, I was hoping that the result would have been a bit better. But, I managed to get things moving in the right direction before, so I should be able to do it again, right? Right.

So, here we go!

Early check-in

Next week, Monsieur and I are going on a mini-vacation. Actually, it will be our first non-family, non-wedding-related trip in over a year. My last real vacation was three years ago now, and it was just before papa got sick. So, I am really looking forward to it. We are going on a road trip and several days of poolside lounging are planned.

Since I won't be around next week and I'm not planning on bringing my laptop (or my scale!) I thought I would check to see how things were going, weight-wise.

Friday morning weigh-in: 164. (No change since Monday and -3.0 to-date)

Of course, this is not quite the same as if I had weighed myself on Monday, but I am actually quite happy to see that things are holding steady.

This week has been a monster. Maman got sick this week, too, and our caregiver got the stomach flu, so for the past 3 days I have been 'on duty' full-time. As a result, my meals have been a bit erratic. Especially yesterday. But, the caregiver will be back today so that will (hopefully) give me a chance to regroup and get ready for my vacation.

See you in a week!

Checking In Again

It's Monday morning again, and that means it's time to check in.

First, in terms of sticking to the principles of the French Diet, I think I did fairly well. We did eat out more than I might have liked, but I think I was a lot better about portion control. I also ate more vegetables (specifically, tomato salads) as the first part of my dinner, and found that that helped me to scale back on the starch/protein portions of the meal.

Another thing that I think helped was that I was much more aware of my treat intake. I started to realize that little things do add up, so I tried to rein myself if a bit more. And, when I knew there would be dessert one evening as part of a celebratory dinner, I was careful to not overstuff myself during the earlier courses.

At first glance, I thought I hadn't really exercised much this past week. That's because I didn't go cycling or anything too strenuous (I only danced once). But then I realized that I did go for 20-30 minute walks at least 3 times during the week. And although this were at a more leisurely pace than my usual 40 minute walk, perhaps just the fact that I walked more frequently helped? At least, that's what I'm thinking after seeing the results on the scale. Which leads me to the part we've all been waiting for. 

How did I do?

Weekly weigh-in: 164.0 (-0.5 versus last week and -3.0 to-date) 

YIPEEEEE!!!!!

I was so happy to see the result on the scale this morning, because I really didn't expect that. This week, I'm going to try to continue to be more aware of treats and amounts I'm eating, and I am going to see if I can exercise more frequently, even if it's for less time or less strenuously, to see how that might affect things.

164 is the lowest I've been in who knows how long. If I can get below that, I will really feel a sense of accomplishment.

Marchons!

Monday, Monday

How does the old The Mamas and The Papas song, Monday Monday, go?

Monday, Monday
So good to me...
Monday, Monday
It was all I hoped it would be... 

Well, that sounds about right. At least, today it does.

Why? Well, let's just jump straight to the bottom line.

Weekly weigh-in: 164.5 (-0.5 versus last week and -2.5 to-date) 

To be honest, I'm not sure how that happened. I think I ate a bit less because this weekend I had to go help out mes parents more than usual/expected and so I felt like I ran around more and didn't have time to sit around and eat. There was definitely less snacking. Also, I ate more salad than usual because we reaped the benefits of our summer planting and I had tons of cherry tomatoes that had to be eaten or they would spoil. So, salad made up a larger percentage of my actual dinner meal. But, I also did some baking and we enjoyed the fruits of my labor. (Specifically, we enjoyed a strawberry & raspberry tart made with chocolate pastry cream filling and chocolate Pâte Sucrée.)

I've gotten a bit lax about recording what I've been eating in the past several weeks. I think perhaps I need to go back to that. That way I might be able to figure out what I did that worked (or that didn't).

In any case, I'm definitely happy to see things move in the correct (downward) direction. I need to remember this feeling the next time I think about buying some worthless candy bar or other junk dessert.

Check-in time

Well, here we are again on a Tuesday and this time, it's the first Tuesday after a long holiday weekend. I hope everyone was able to relax and enjoy some time away from the usual routine.

Looking back over the past week, here are some highlights/thoughts:

• Last week, for some reason, felt incredibly busy and hectic. As a result, I did a lot less cooking and a lot more take-out. Not exactly the best when you are trying to eat carefully.
• Long weekends tend to go hand in hand with breakfasts that are eaten out. And breakfasts that are eaten out tend to be synonymous with pancakes/waffles/french toast for me. Again, not exactly a very French breakfast.
• Long weekends also frequently seem to include more treats than usual. This weekend, that meant sharing some patisserie and a milkshake with Monsieur.
• On the plus side, more free days with Monsieur often add up to more exercise, since he is often the one to encourage me to do something active. This weekend included some bike riding and swimming, in addition to my XBX exercises.

Weekly weigh-in: 165.0 (No Change versus last week and -2.0 to-date) 

Final Grade:  C

Bottom line:  I'm actually a bit relieved that my weight stayed flat, especially after some of the treats we ate. I now have a good idea of what inputs/outputs will lead to a status quo/flat weight, so what I have to do is be more aware and attentive if I want to lose any weight this week. Fingers crossed...

Checking in again

The past couple of days have been a bit hectic, so I haven't been able to sit down until now to prep this check in. But finally, I have a moment, so time to face the music. 

What happened since last week:

• I started doing my XBX exercises in the morning after Monsieur decided to start his 5BX exercises. I'm not sure yet if I prefer doing them first thing in the morning, or with some other aerobic exercise later in the afternoon.
• No major change in food patterns, except that I still need to avoid getting sweets to have around the house because I don't yet have the French willpower to say "non". 
• Monsieur and I have decided to go on vacation sometime in September. I feel that I need to step things up so that the vacation photos will not be so disappointing. :(

Weekly weigh-in: 165.0 (-0.5 versus last week and -2.0 to-date) 

Final Grade:   C+

Bottom line:  Things are a bit better, but, as I mentioned last week, the total amount of change since I started this is just too little.

Checking in

This past week, there were some things I did well, and some that I didn't.

Let's quickly recap:

• Exercise picked up quite a bit. I dusted off my Wii dance games and probably danced 4 days last week.  3 times I danced for 30-45 minutes, and once for only about 20 minutes. This is something I hope to continue.
• I decided to do my XBX exercises as a warm-up before starting my Wii dancing. That was good, but since I have to do those every day, it will only work if I dance or do some other exercise that reminds me to do the XBX exercises every day!
• Most dinners were home-cooked and reasonably healthy. Some lunches were eaten out again. This continues to be an issue.
• I made a lemon cake last week, and I also bought some peanut butter cups to have as the rare treat. Unfortunately, consumption of both was anything but "rare". Lesson: best to avoid having these things around until I think more like a real French person. Sigh...

Weekly weigh-in: 165.5 (+0.0 versus last week and -1.5 to-date) No change.

Final Grade:   D-

Bottom line:  Relieved that things haven't gotten worse, but really, after all this time, the miniscule to-date change is embarassing. :(

Checking In

I have to admit, this past week, I have not done a good job of being aware of what I've been eating. This makes doing a check-in difficult as all my answers to the usual questions (Did I control my portions? Did I snack?) would be vague at best.

So this week, I'm jumping straight to the bottom line.

Weekly weigh-in: 165.5 (+0.5 versus last week and -1.5 to-date)

Final Grade: D  

So, here's what I do know: 

• Lunches were (again) mostly eaten out.
• I discovered Five Guys and the fact that I can eat their fries (I'm allergic to canola and corn oils, which are frequently used in fryers) is probably dangerous.
• We had friends in town, friends staying with us, and friends having birthdays all in one week. Therefore, I had more dinners out, more treats, and less portion control overall.
• I decided I didn't want to forget everything I learned in my pastry class, so I made individual fruit tarts from scratch for our friends' birthday celebration. Pastry includes a lot of butter. 
• I got back on my bike (finally!) but only once, and for a relatively short ride. All other exercise was virtually non-existent.
• I'm in serious trouble if I can't even find 12 minutes a day to exercise (that's the amount of time needed to do the XBX exercises I wrote about last week).
• Pasta is delicious but makes me feel very bloated and unhappy the next day. :(

Anyway, I have to get back on the wagon and start planning my meals and being more aware of what I'm eating, how much I'm eating, and whether or not I'm moving enough. Otherwise, I should just abandon this experiment now and save us all the heartache.

R.E.P.O.R.T. card

I may just have to make Tuesday my weigh-in days because I seem to have a hard time remembering to do so on Mondays.  Anyway, here goes:

• Real, natural foods: So-so. I've eaten out several times over the past week (usually for lunch).
• Enjoy the dining experience: Pass.
• Portion control: Pass. 
• Only at mealtimes--no snacking: So-So. There may have been some snacks...
• Run around--incorporate exercise naturally: Fail. For some reason, since I came back from Chicago, the last thing I've wanted to do has been to exercise. I mean, not even go for a walk! But I did start my XBX program. Unfortunately, I haven't been consistent. :(
• Treat yourself: No grade.

Weekly weigh-in: 165 (No change versus last week and -2.0 to-date)

Final Grade: C  Actually, I am a little disappointed because after seeing the scale go up to 165 last week, I was trying to be more careful about what and how much I ate, and mid-week I saw that I'd gone back down to 164.5. I know fluctuating 1/2 a pound is practically negligible, but I was still disappointed that I was back to where I was last week when I stepped on the scale this morning. :(

Bottom line: I think I need to get back into doing some aerobic exercise every day if I want to see the number on the scale go down. 

Le sigh...

R.E.P.O.R.T. card

I'm back from a really fun trip to Chicago and I'm slowly trying to get back into my routine. First thing on the to-do list was my morning weigh in.

• Real, natural foods: Pass. We ate out but the food was always very good. Fresh and well prepared. 
• Enjoy the dining experience: Pass. For the most part we were able to sit down and enjoy our meals.
• Portion control: Pass. Even though there were many meals eaten out, often they were shared or else I took home leftovers.
• Only at mealtimes--no snacking: So-So. My eating schedule was definitely off, especially in Chicago, so sometimes there were small meals at odd times.
• Run around--incorporate exercise naturally: Pass +.  Being in a new city with lots to explore = lots of walking for me, and even though I had been to Chicago before, that didn't lessen my exercise at all. TONS of walking around.
• Treat yourself: So-So. I definitely ate many more 'treats' than I would normally. But, I think that I partially made up for it thanks to the extra walking.

Weekly weigh-in: 165 (+0.5 versus last week and -2.0 to-date)

Final Grade: B+  Actually, I was very happy (and relieved) to see how things went, considering all the goodies I indulged in over the weekend. And, I'm actually wondering if I might have had a consistent weight reading had it not been for last night's spaghetti dinner. I hadn't made spaghetti in a while and last night's was delicious so I know that I ate much more than I needed to. :(  And, I have often noticed that my weight fluctuates up after a pasta dinner.  So, I'm hoping that things will come back down again soon.

So far, so good

Well, this week has been decidedly better than last week! I've been waking up early, exercising almost every day (just missed Wednesday), and generally taking a bit more time to take care of myself and enjoy the summer. I've also felt a bit less stressed out than usual because my papa is back home after his stint in the hospital, and we have had 24h care, so I haven't had to worry about him or my maman hurting themselves.

Starting today, however, our 24h care schedule is changing and we will instead have someone there for most of the day (9-5) and most of the night (9-7). This leaves the early evening hours 'uncovered'. We are going to see if that will work or not, and adjust accordingly. Thank God, though, that papa has taken all of this with the best possible attitude and he seems to be committed to doing his part for his rehabilitation. So, I am hoping that he will continue to get stronger and we will need to rely less on outside help.

Anyway, I was curious about whether anything had changed, weight-wise, since I was so (pleasantly) surprised at my last check in. I wasn't sure if it had been some sort of water weight fluke or some such thing. And I was wondering if the increased exercise had had any measurable effect. So, I decided to step on the scale, even though my general rule it to not weigh myself more than once per week.

164.5

No change since Monday. Actually, this is quite good news since (as I already mentioned) I thought Monday's results might not have reflected my true situation. Or perhaps, Monday's results really didn't, but the increase in discipline this week (both in terms of the French diet and the uptake in exercise) has led me to the same result. Either way, I'll take it.

Have a great weekend!

R.E.P.O.R.T. card

As I mentioned in my previous post, last week was a doozy. My papa was in the hospital for four days and most days my maman and I were running around just trying to take care of everything.  As a result, my eating was anything but typical. In some ways, this was actually positive because since I wasn't at home, I couldn't just walk over to the pantry to forage for a snack. And, to some extent, stress functions as an appetite suppressant. But, obviously, stress, poor sleep, erratic eating, and no exercise doesn't exactly lead to glowing health.

In any case, papa is back home now and I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that I will be able to recuperate this week from last week's stress.

In terms of grades, here we go:

• Real, natural foods: 50% pass, 50% fail. Some days, take out was the only option. 
• Enjoy the dining experience: n/a. It's not easy to enjoy dining when you are exhausted and stressed out from other things that are going on.
• Portion control: Pass. 
• Only at mealtimes--no snacking: Pass. See intro.
• Run around--incorporate exercise naturally: 50% pass, 50% fail. Did okay up until my dad hurt himself.
• Treat yourself: Fail. Not because I over-indulged, but because I didn't treat myself well at all. :( Perhaps I'll have to make up for that this week with a little pampering? ;)

Oh, one more thing. Yesterday's lunch really didn't sit well so for the entire rest of the day I didn't eat much at all. Dinner was some herbal tea and a slice of toast with a little peach jam. 

Weekly weigh-in: 164.5 (-1.5 lbs versus last week and -2.5 to-date)

Final Grade: Obviously, I'm thrilled with the number on the scale and I plan on fully enjoying its memory for about half of the day. However, I also realize that it is probably somewhat misleading since my stomach was upset and I didn't eat much at all yesterday. Since I hadn't planned on using fasting as a means of weight control, I don't expect that weight loss trend to continue! 

Now I think I just need to focus on sticking with the plan and really taking care of myself. Hopefully that will not result in a weight gain next week, if I'm careful about how I go about things this week.

R.E.P.O.R.T. Card

Despite the holiday weekend, I thought today would reveal nothing had changed. Instead, I was quite disappointed. But first, grades:

• Real, natural foods: Pass. 
• Enjoy the dining experience: Pass
• Portion control: Pass. 
• Only at mealtimes--no snacking: So-so. No crazy snacking that I recall but probably some. 
• Run around--incorporate exercise naturally: Pass. Actually got a bike ride in and some swimming. 
• Treat yourself: Fail. Definitely had some extra treats. Chocolate. Pancakes. Whipped cream. Ice cream. Did I mention chocolate?

Weekly weigh-in: 166 (+1.0 lbs versus last week and -1.0 to-date)

Final Grade: Sad face. 

Time to focus and take this experiment seriously. 

R.E.P.O.R.T. card

Luckily, I remembered to weigh myself before anything else this morning.

I had no idea what to expect today. Last week seemed to fly by and I didn't do a good job of recording what I ate. I certainly didn't do much by way of planning what I ate, either.

So, I think we'll have to take these grades with a grain of salt:

• Real, natural foods: Pass. I recall making dinner a few nights and eating things like salad, rice and some protein.
• Enjoy the dining experience: No grade.
• Portion control: Pass. 
• Only at mealtimes--no snacking: Fail. Some chocolate and a bag of gummy bears went missing last week. 
• Run around--incorporate exercise naturally: Fail. Monsieur and I went on one after-dinner walk, but other than that, I don't recall doing anything else other than thinking about how I should be exercising.
• Treat yourself: No grade. 

Weekly weigh-in: 165 (-1.0 lbs versus last week and -2.0 to-date)

Final Grade: YAY!! 

Now I really wish I had done a better job of keeping track of what I ate and how much I exercised so I could keep on doing it. I think I'll just have to stick to the French diet principles and see how next week looks.