Day 28 Son of DDDY Challenge: Is this finally the dreaded carb uptick? Dunno. But Sucks...food/water log

Sooooooooooooooo sleepy. Only slept five hours. Ack.

Tanita-san says, "241.8"

What the hey?

Okay, I was waiting to see how my ever-increasing carb intake (still trying to find a way to test that DNA test result recommendation, but breaking eating habits is hard) takes a toll. Yesterday may have started the initial carb stall/uptick.

I had: ww bread, potatoes, rice, corn, beans, fruit (including the low-carber's dreaded BANANA, well, half), bran cereal, raisins.

And I'm up a pound a change in the last three days without going over my calories.

I knew this would be hard--it's hard--and that this is just what carbs do to a body and if I'm gonna ratchet up to 55 to 65% carbs, I had to expect it.

Don't like it, though. I don't know if I can be patient and do this. We'll see. I expect it's a temporary body adjustment thing and as long as I stay in a good caloric range, the drop will eventually come.

Still hard. I was spoiled with a pretty consistent rate of loss in the last 3 months, so this irks. And is a tad scary.

So, will I stick it out or go back to my lower carb ways? Hah!

For now, staying the carby course to test the genes.

food log:

BREAKFAST:
2 slices ww toast
1/4 cup egg whites and 1 slice 2% cheese
1 cup fresh papaya chunks
2 cups coffee
6 glasses water

calories: 239
fluids: 64 oz

Pilates: 55 mins with trainer
4 glasses of water afterwards

LUNCH:
1 can Amy's lower in Sodium MINETRONE soup
1/4 cup kidney beans (added to soup)
1/4 cup reduced fat mozzarella (added to soup)
1 tbsp shaved parmesan (soup topping)
8 glasses water
2 glasses iced tea

calories: 266
fluids: 80 oz

Day 26 Son of DDDY Challenge: How do you see .8 lb up on the scale while eating 560 calories less than diet allotment? Well, let me tell you, so you don't freak when it happens to YOU....food/water log...

Tanita-san 241.4

My scale has been a rollercoaster due to my freaky sleep and salt habits this week. I have not gone over my goal-weight caloric level at all, and have had many less-than (by hundreds of calories days). For instance, yesterday: 1156 calories. One of my lowest eating days this year.

I had two meals. My first meal was tiny calorically. My second meal with huge (relatively speaking). But together, they were less than 1200 cals. I drank a lot of water, but given the super-salty nature of the food (divvying up my take-out Thai), I should have had extra water and more potassium rich foods/beverages.

I got lazy.

So, here is how you can make your scale go up without overeating:

1. Yes, eat a salty Asian or other restaurant meal
2. Don't eat potassium-rich foods (fruit, sweet potato, coconut water)
3. Don't get enough sleep (this one guarantees a scale upsy for me, always)
4. Don't up the fluid intake to flush the sodium
5. Don't eat enough fiber to move things along

Oh, yes. That last one is key. I had a lot of salt and little fiber and guess what my bowels did? Yes, they didn't. Exactly. My first morning with NO pooing in, um, months. I'm usually an "I'm awake, time to poop" kind of gal. No poop this am. Damn you, fiberless, sodium-riddled day!

Anyway, not sure if I should just send that to Allan or wait til tomorrow. We have a family thing tomorrow and, knowing me and my talent for "Cuban time" lack of punctuality, I'll be running around and forget to weigh-in or email. I may just send this weigh-in for SPAWN the THIRD.

Anyway, hope your scale was smiling upon you today. Be well...

FOOD LOG:

Breakfast:
WS hotcakes with sugar-free syrup and applesauce
1/2 cup Egg Beaters with 1 Slice 2% cheese and mushrooms
2 cups coffee
8 glasses water

Face the Truth Friday/Day 25 Son of DDDY Challenge: Getting really close to next "decade" and hips give up another 1/2 inch, craving potatoes and that hunger thing...plus food and water log

240.6 on Tanita-san's happy face...

Yesterday was 241.2, so that's 3/5ths of a pound. I figured once I released water it would look better. I did eat salty stuff yesterday, but I drank two glasses of coconut water, and that always helps. I used to drink it daily, but due to the calories and carbs, I had cut back. I may re-incorporate, especially when I hit the salty soups (I had a Dr. McDougall spring onion with rice noodles soup yesterday, vegan, low cal, high salt.)

It's 1.4 pounds lost since last Friday. This seems to be consistent with my caloric intake. I'm not a mega-loser. I've had several days well under the "maintenance" level and no days over. It's a rate I'm okay with. Allan would glare at me, but there it is. I had initiated this blog expecting a 1 lb per week loss. 1 and a half (almost) exceeds original goal. Continuing at such a rate would get me to goal sooner than 2 years. But I gave myself two years. If I make it in 1.5 or, shoot, 1, I'd be thrilled.

TRUTH I AM FACING: Measured waist and hips. Waist doesn't wanna cooperate. Hips down 1/2 inch. Old New Flash: I'm still an apple.  (Note: I have no idea if my tape measure is accurate. I have three of them and they all give a different number. So, I just use the one I've used the longest, cause that's really weird.) No matter how slim I get, I'm always gonna carry in the middle. I suspect if I ever got really thin--not gonna happen, but theorizing--I'd be like a spider. Roundy torso and hair-thin appendages. Not a pretty image.

I had a craving for potatoes yesterday. I don't get these potato-cravings often, and I had rarely eaten potatoes this year due to having done lower-carb, but man, it was hours of my mouth wanting potatoes so I caved. I had some organic potatoes from the co-op last week that I hadn't touched, so I scrubbed and boiled me up a bunch. Hubby had his with butter and turkey and carrots.. I had mine with EVOO and spinach and mushrooms with eggs for protein. Very, very satisfying. Very delicious. Just what I wanted.

TRUTH I AM FACING: I did notice I was hungrier--like 2 hours--afterwards. So that glycemic index thing, yeah, I guess it operates on me and my insulin resistant body. They tasted great but did send me into hunger zone pretty fast. I won't cross potatoes or noodles or any carb right out of my diet, but I can't have potatoes daily if they make me this peckish afterwards. I really wanted to stuff my face.

I kept my calories just under 1400, but man, I felt hungry yesterday. Drank loads of water and coconut water and coffee and soup (for more fluids).

Lovely weather in Miami. It's cool. Yay, it's cool. No sweating when one goes outside. One can wear a sweater. Hurray!

Food Log:

BREAKFAST:

4 Vietnamese rolls with chili sauce and almost 1 tbsp of peanut butter (I like to smear the roll pieces with PB, mmmmmmm)
3 skewers of Satay Chicken with 2 teaspoons of peanut sauce (I love the stuff but it's killer calorically)
2.5 cups coffee
8 glasses of water (4 before, 4 after)

LUNCH:
Pad Thai and 2 cups Watermelon chunks
2 cups decaf
8 glasses water
supplements

No Dinner, No snacks

Total Calories: 1117
Total Fluids: 164 oz

Day 24 Son of DDDY Challenge: Most bloat gone, and really, just boring me today....but info on SPAWN Challenge is out now...

Scale: 241.2

Back to weight on Tuesday. As I've eaten at or under caloric level for challenge, I assume there's anothe 1/5th of a pound loss lurking there. :)

I am still wanting salty. I had a salty carby dinner last night, but yesterday came in UNDER 1600 cals and at almost 200 oz fluids.

Really, have not much to say. I posted already today on other topics, so I guess I'll just log my food. I do enjoy the cooler weather we're having and my curls are gonna be getting a protein treatment tomorrow so I can have perky sproings for the weekend. See...boring... :)

Oh, hang on, this is not boring: Allan posted some more info on the next challenge phase that starts on the 7th. Read it at his blog, and get the new (weird, hah) badge, but here's a snippet:

From you I need an email on Sunday with your blog name, your email address, your starting weight and your goal weight. From there I will compute everything and send you via email a packet with instructions. As of right now the packet is 20 pages long. The instructions are very simple, and the Challenge is for your benefit not to make you mental. We are working on the Christmas and New Year's Eve parts this weekend.

FOOD LOG:

BREAKFAST:

LUNCH:

DINNER:

Total Calories:
Total Fluids:

Day 23 Son of DDDY Challenge: Where I salted my way up 1.2 pounds and where I wonder why it's so hard for me to heat high carb/low fat...food and water log, too!

242.4

Up 1.2 pounds.

If you see what I ate last night, I stayed well under challenge calories, drank my accelerated rate of water (and then some), but I ate salty stuff. Dinner was essentially a 'snack' sort of meal: salty protein snack mix, sugar free chocolate almonds, and a pear. (I was wanting salty and sweet, notice the bag of lower-sugar hybrid cookies with breakfast, where I had shredded parmesan on my salad and I salted the tomato like nobody's business.)

I often wonder why I have such salt-craving days. I no longer have a menses, so it's not PMS related. I just want salt some days, want it bad and often want to counterpoint it with something sweet (fruit, snack treats, chocolate).

Okay, so I better make sure I get some potassium in today to get the bloat down.

I'm also finding it really hard to up my carbs. I've made some gains in reducing fat--using PAM spray more, using less EVOO and Smart Balance, etc--but I still have this mental block about upping the carbs to put that DNA result to the test. I have a REALLY hard time being 65/20/15 in the carbs/fat/protein ratio.  I slipped back into ZONE-like eating yesterday, although I gave it the good ole try by having a full cup of rice instead of half a cup or even 1/4 cup as I have had in the past. I ordered some Dr. McDougall's vegan soups (black bean; spring onion noodle) to have something low-fat/carby to nosh on that's quick and has no weirdo ingredients.

FOOD/WATER LOG:

Breakfast:
2 slices Ezekiel bread with 2 eggs and 1 slice 2% cheese
1 cup papaya with lime juice
2 cups coffee
8 glasses water

calories: 421
fluids:  80 oz

Lunch:
Shredded chicken wrapped in iceberg lettuce leaves with
1/4 cup mozzarella, 1 tbsp lite cream cheese, 1/8 cup corn niblets
1/4 cup BBQ sauce and 1/2 cup baked beans
1 thick tomato slice with 1 cup mixed baby lettuces with 1 tbsp blue cheese crumbles
1 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette
2 cups coffee
8 glasses water

calories: 540
fluids: 80 oz

DINNER:
rotini pasta with mushrooms, broccoli and mozzarella
assorted supplements
BariWise protein bar
2 cups decaf
2 glasses water

calories: 588
fluids: 32 oz

TOTAL CALORIES: 1549
TOTAL FLUIDS: 192 oz

Day 22 of Son of DDDY Challenge: Breathing is getting almost to normal, about dang time, and I slept 13 hours, and here's some nice J-Pop.

And Tanita-san says: 241.2

1/5th down since Sunday. I was wondering if the increased carbs yesterday (I had a big ole serving of oatmeal with fruit as a nighttime snack) would stall things. Slow, maybe, but not stall so far. We'll see as the carb-experiment continues.

Breathing is not normal yet, but it's getting there. I was able to finally sleep--13 hours total--which is always what I do when the asthma starts to ease: I crash and make up for the crap sleep in previous days/weeks.

Hubby is picking up rotisserie chicken, rice, salad for supper. I'm totally lethargic. The Long Sleep took its toll on my energy levels. And totally freaked out my schedule. I got up at 6pm. I hate having to make corrections and be on more normalish hours. Sucks.

Nothing big to report cause, well, I've been ASLEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I am mellowing to Utada Hikaru music...she makes me wanna sip coffee and look out the window and chill...seriously. Gotta put some on the iPod: "Beautiful World", "Stay Gold", "Prisoner of Love", "Nichiyo no Asa" (which relaxes me so much I wanna go back to nap). Here's some Neon Genesis Evangelion clips with  "Beautiful World" as the music. (The song is used in the anime, and it's really obvious the dude who put it up likes Rei, as he features her nekkid scenes, R rated): 



Nice song, huh? Translation here.  Love the piano bit going through. Makes me get a similar feel to the great intro theme in ANGEL BEATS, but without the initial melancholy.

So, hubby's home and it's CHICKEN time!

Food time:

BREAKFAST:
5 oz chicken breast (rotisserie, no skin) and 1 cup white rice
1 tomato and 2 cups lettuce with vinegar and 1 tbsp shredded parmesan
2/3 tbsp EVOO
2 cups coffee
1 bag Nutritious Creations hybrid cookies
8 glasses water (4 before, 4 after)

calories: 648
fluids: 80 oz

LUNCH:
Egg white omelette with 2% cheese and mushrooms
1 cup cooked spinach and 2 Morningstar soy sausage patties
2 cups decaf
8 glasses water

DINNER:
1 bag Kay's protein mix sweet BBQ flavor
1 serving sugar-free chocolate almonds
1 medium pear (mostly eaten)
2 glasses water


Calories for day:  1458
Fluids for day: 184 oz  (41c/30f/29p<--more like Zone than Low-Fat/High Carb...)

Day 21 of Son of DDDY Challenge: No Weigh-In, Made it to Pilates (a bit late), wheeze is improved, and the new WW encourages more healthy produce consumption!

No good word from Tanita-san. Had to rush like the dickens to make it to Pilates, and I came close to cancelling. I was shaky from my meds and hated driving. Fortunately, the studio is just a few minutes drive away. So, got a work-out in. Not at my maximum exertion or even close, but hey, still got the muscles going.

Nothing much to report. I did sign up for the 3rd part of the Challenge--Spawn of....I forget. I won't do 1200 calories, but I'm gonna try to bring down my level from 1760, ideally to 1600. I've been making some days at that level, so it's not impossible.

Still feeling relatively calm about food. I like that. I like not feeling obssessed and wanting to stuff. Sure, I want to eat all sorts of things I am not allowing myself, and it takes some self-talk and clear NO, IT IS NOT AN OPTION. But I am also allowing myself things I enjoy, so that I don't feel utterly deprived. I think I'd feel deprived at 1200. Just saying...

I don't know why I'm calmer about food since the summer--is it the Cytomel? Is it some psychological switch that flicked? Is it temporary or a real change? I do not know. But I want it to keep happening. I want to make even better choices and stay at a lower eating level and get down.

I was happy to hear a couple months ago that Weight Watchers was making changes to encourage the consumption of fruits and vegetables (or rather, more consumption of, as most veggies have had zero points for a while now). It's been a long time coming. I remember when I used to go to meetings, that the ladies (the group was mostly women) would fill their journals and discussions with talks about the lowest point cookies and candies and stock up on the WW brand Franken-treats (if you read the ingredients, you'd know what I mean). Sometimes, those journals would have 3 or 4 or more of these fake treat foods taking up points and show very poorly in the veggie and fruit department. I understand that not everyone likes veggies, but to eat several of those choco or fudgo or whatever instead of an apple or a cup of melon or a mango or papaya or a couple kiwi or oranges or bananas or pomegranates or berries was nuts.

I use fakey foods--mostly for protein, occasionally cause I crave chocolate, mostly for convenience. But when I did WW and I had X points, I tended to eat 11, 12 fruits and veggies. I figured if I got a lot of zero point veggies and some 1 point fruits, I could fill up with few points. I still try to get in at least 6 fruit/veggie servings a day, and want to work my way up to a better eating plan that has at least 9 servings. There is so much nutrition in produce, it behooves us to take advantage of the array of colors and phytonutrients and goodies in there, including the potassium that fights salt-bloat.

Bringing the points value of fruit to zero is a needed corrective to a diet that often encouraged the use of those crap ingredient-laden treats for 1 and 2 points. Non-nutritive stuff should carry a point-penalty. Healthful foods--real food that's low in calories and higher in fiber and nutrients, should have a bonus. Now, they do with POINTS PLUS, as do "satisfying" foods--foods that help you feel full longer: "You make smart choices; you won't feel deprived."

It's about healthy, filling, value-added food.

My suggestion for those doing the WW plan: Don't count your activity points. Yeah, do your movement, but don't count it to eat more. Stick with your daily + allowance points. And, if you can manage it, don't splurge the 49 points in one day. My experience (and the studies do back this) is that big overeating on one day makes it harder to get back on plan in the days/weeks that follow. You re-activate those habits to overeat--IN YOUR BRAIN.

Here are my particular Points Plus parameters:

Your PointsPlus budget

Your daily PointsPlus Target: 34
You'll continue to try to stay within this number each day.

Your weekly PointsPlus Allowance*: 49
You’ll still have this weekly Allowance for treats and extras.

I haven't read all the new point figuring particulars. The old points system was basically 1 point for every 50 calories (more or less). So, if I was allotted 36 points, that meant I was eating basically eating 1800 calories.  Don't know what that 34 daily is now. Given they allow 7 points extra per day as needed (if the allowance is divvied up), to make for 41 points per day, I'm thinking that it definitely has changed. It will mean more calories per point. I'm sure someone has worked it out already.

If you're interested, here are the SEVEN RULES FOR FOLLOWING THE POINTS PLUS PLAN:

~Get to know PointsPlus™ values 
~Don’t deprive yourself 
~Make smarter food choices 
~Get physical activity 
~Track with the Plan Manager  

~Set inspiring goals 
~Fill up on Power Foods 

 Make sure to check the  points on your fave foods. The Fiber Gourmet Cheese crackers no longer count 1 point per bag; now they are THREE points per bag. Your former go-to one point snacks may have gone up.

Food logging:

BREAKFAST:
1 WS Vanila protein shake (made with 8 oz water)
1 green tea and Green Magma shake (made with 6 oz water)
2 glasses water

calories: 120
fluids: 26 oz

LUNCH:

1 Subway Meatball Salad (all veggies except pickles/banana peppers, mozza cheese)
2 cups coffee
8 glasses water

calories: 335
fluids: 80 oz

DINNER:
Leftovers: rest of Tulum Chicken salad, rest of refried beans and Mexican rice, pico de gallo
2 cups watermelon and 1 tsp sugar-free chocolate chips
8 glasses water and 2 cups decaf

calories: 664
fluids: 80 oz

SNACK:
1 WS Vanilla Shake (made with 8 oz water)
1 container Dr. McDougall's peach-raspberry oatmeal-barley cereal
1 can 100-calorie lite Peaches
2 glasses water
calories: 504
fluids: 24 oz

Total Calories: 1633
Total Fluids: 210 oz

Day 20 Son of DDDY Challenge: 3/5ths of a Pound Down and Still With the Wheeze, Anime-watching Day, and Now my Ears are Getting Stuffed Up!

Tanita-san's reckoning: 241.4

Yes, down after a day of holding. Yes! And that's after having a huge bowl of pasta and veggies yesterday (2 cups of pasta with 2.5 cups of veggies all in one bowl.) Yummy.

So close to teh 230s. It's making me eager.

Anyway, fine on water and calories yesterday.  Carbs should have been higher and fats lower, but still, not bad.

Was watching some anime stuff I needed to get caught up on (ie, some stuff I've been wanting to watch and never got around to). Both of the OVA follow-ups to the excellent brief anime series, HIGASHI NO EDEN (Eden of the East). Watched our adorable Taki-kun do his thing in the fascinating Noblesse Oblige game of the "Selected" saviors of Japan. Love how Taki handled it. If you haven't seen the series or the f/u films (King of Japan and Paradise Lost), its a very nicely done anime.

Also tried out the first episode of Togainu no Chi (based on a boy love--ie, homosexual--manga, methinks), violent sorta futuristic boy-fighting thing. The black-leather-clad dude in black with the vampirish red eyes and the black-sword was hot, but I don't think I'll be watching much more. Caught up with the latest episode of BAKUMAN, a school/life teenager-protagonists anime that has a very charming, sweet and sometimes comical heart about two 15 year olds who decide to become mangaka (write a successful manga) that will become an anime by the time they turn 18. The goal is tied up to a subtle romance. The romance drives the passion of the artist teen while personal adventure and pride drives the writer-teen. Very nice anime. it's cool watching them become partners and pals.

Watching those uber-skinny Japanese characters makes one wanna stay on plan, I tell ya! (Although I've yet to see a skinnier protagonist than Watanuki from xxxHolic.)

So, anyway, caved and took a dose of Sudafed cause my ears are stuffing up. Ick. Hate that sensation. The allergy-asthma fest here continues. I'm gonna wanna die in exercise session tomorrow. Should have cancelled. REally should have.

Anyway, food log:

BREAKFAST:

Pretty much same as yesterday, excepts mushrooms in the omelette instead of tomato and a tangerine into the mix to make up for only having 1/2 cup of papaya left.

calories:  582
fluids: 80 oz

LUNCH: Hubby wants Mexican, so we're hitting a small local place with authentic fare...one of our faves. I ordered soup and a "tulum salad" which has marinated chicken breas and organic greens and corn, black beans, tomatoes. I nixed the tortilla chips and cheese this time.
Yeah, had the Mexican: Sopa de aguacate (chicken broth with some shredded chicken, pico de gallo, and avocado pieces), 1 taco al pastor, half of the tulum grilled chickens salad with 1 tbsp of the cilantro-peanut dressing, 1/2 cup refried beans and 1/4 cup Mexican rice, with 1/4 cup pico de gallo on top.
8 glasses of water
6 oz iced tea, unsweetened
calories: 959
fluids: 70 oz

DINNER:
1/2 Chocolite protein bar
2 glasses water
calories: 48
fluids: 16 oz


Total Calories:  1588
Total Fluids:  166 oz

Day 19 Son of DDDY Challenge: Where I just keep doing what needs to be done and skim through the scads of lowfat cooking books, old and new, to find recipes!

Scale: 242.0

Same as yesterday. Fine with dat. Means yesterday's low weigh-in was NOT a fluke. Yay!

I ordered 4 new cookbooks, and I have some old lowfat ones that I dug out of the dust in which they were decaying from lack of use. I want to choose at least 4 breakfast, 6 lunch, and 10 dinner recipes I like to try (and that hubby will eat, which in itself makes it a huge challenge as he's a limited eater). I don't like to cook, but the reality is that I need to at least get a good repertoire of homemade meals to keep me out of tempting restaurants and to save some moolah. Eating out is expensive. I'm getting old. I need to save for retirement. :) Or at least to pay my trainer.

I have a yen for hot cakes for breakfast, so I may make my tried-n-true WonderSlim ones and enjoy with maybe eggs. I ate so little the last couple days that I may splurge on a nice big breakfast.

I hope this holiday weekend is treating you beautifully and you're getting rest and recreation. Eat less, move more, be well:

BREAKFAST:
WS Hot cakes with 2 oz natural applesauce, cinnamon, and sugar free syrup
1/2 cup egg whites made into omelette with 1/3 cup chopped tomato, garlic, and
2 slices 2% American cheese
1 tbsp Smart Balance divvied between both pans
1 cup papaya with lime juice spritzed
assorted supplements
2 cups coffee and 8 glasses water (4 before, 1 during, 3 after)
calories: 573 (59/15/34)
fluids: 80 oz


LUNCH:  made higher fiber, lower GI pasta
2 cups pasta with 1 cups sauce and
2.5 cups spinach, zucchini, mushrooms mixed in
 3 tbsp shredded parmesan
2 tsp EVOO (for pan in which I cooked veggies)
3 cups decaf
8 glasses water
calories: 755
fluids: 88 oz

DINNER:
1 BariWise Rocky Road protein bar
2 glasses water

 calories: 170
fluids: 16 oz

Total Calories: 1498
Total Fluids: 184 oz

Total Calories:
Total Fluids:

Day 18 Son of Double Dare Challenge: Just continuing on plan cause the 230s are so close!

Today: 242.0

Today's Plan: Eat no more than 1760 calories and Drink 160+ oz of fluid

Today's Plan: Try to breathe better and not shop myself into debt. :)

Okay, nothing much to add to what I already said in my previous post. It's just another Challenge Day to me, not so much Black Friday, as I used the coupons out there to buy from 3 online vendors (Danskin, my workout wear; SaraMButcher, an artist I like who had a sale; and Curl Junkie, my fave curly hair products line that's CG Method friendly and had a 20% off sale. If you do the CG method or have curly hair that needs moisture, this is the best line. Go to CurlJunkie.com and take advantage of the 20% off the products. I stocked up several months worth.)

Make today work for you, whether you need to burn off TD overeating or whether you need to get in your bargain-shopping (put on the sneakers and powerwalk that mall!), make it count towards your weight loss efforts.

We're playing couch-potato (well, I don't have much choice as my breathing is constricted) and I asked hubby if we could share a Volcano Chicken order from the Thai restaurant for supper. He's fine with that. I'll get steamed veggies for a side and get those amazing and super-low-fat-low-cal fresh Vietnamese veggie rolls. Looking forward to that.

Food and fluid log time:


BREAKFAST:  Take-out from Thai place
4 vegetarian Vietnamese rolls (these babies are less than 20 cals each)
3 oz grilled chicken with 8 tbsp chili sauce and 1.5 cups steamed veggies
3 pieces avocado sushi with soy sauce and wasabi and pickled ginger
1 cup papaya chunks and 1/2 cup fresh cherries
assorted supplements
3 cups coffee and 8 glasses water (total fluids = 88 oz)

LUNCH:
2 eggs fried and 2 slices Ezekiel bread, toasted
1 Morningstar Farms soy breakfast sausage patty
2 tbsp Nature's Hollow sugar free apricot preserves
1 medium pear
assorted supplements
8 glasses water and 2 cups decaf (total fluids = 80 oz)

DINNER: None. Not hungry.

Total Calories: 1139  (56c/25f/19p; fat was kept at desirable levels at last)
Total Fluids: 168 oz (less than I wanted, but quite a bit more than the "accelerated rate" amount as per the challenge parameters)

Day 17 Son of DDDY Challenge: The Asthma-Plagued Thanksgiving Edition and where drinking 40+ fewer ounces of water when eating high-sodium foods does actually take a 1/5th of a pound toll....food and water log....HAPPY THANKSGIVING! FELIZ DIA DE ACCION DE GRACIAS!

Scale: 243.4

I think it would have been a maintain or a loss had I drank the 200+ ounces of water. I had a very salty pre-bed snack (high fiber cheesy crackers, cheese along with the protein shake and apple for carbs). Without the usual evening barrage of water, I think it did bloat me a tiny bit. I felt it when I was lying in bed and touched my stomach/hips/torso as I always do before getting up to see if I "feel" less-of-me. Sometimes, I know a weigh-in is gonna be great cause I really do feel minimized in the belly/hips. Some days, I feel the actual bloat (you feel fewer bones, you feel squishier).

So, more proof for the benefits of La Agua.

I was not well enough to risk cat exposure at my brother's, so I asked hubby to take the dessert which was our menu contribution (two cakes for adults, one strawberry white chocolate, one carrot, and two chocolate cupcakes for the grandniece and grandnephew). Told him to feast, enjoy himself, hang with the guys and bring me back goodies. I was very clear on what to bring--turkey, very small bits of stuffing, gravy and cranberry relish (my family makes it, not the cans), and two sides I love--sweet potato casserole (my sister makes it lower fat than tradtional recipes, no marshmallows, spiked with amaretto) and green bean casserole (henceforward GBC, niece makes one regular recipe, one lower fat recipe). This year, sis made two versions of my most-beloved sweet potato casserole (henceforward SPC) : One her lower-fat version, one her lower fat with mango butter added (and by "butter" meaning a compote, not a fatty thing, for those unfamiliar with fruit butters). Mango is my fave fruit. Yay.

I served myself 5.3 oz of turkey, 1/2 cup stuffing (also reduced fat), 1/2 cup SPC, 1/2 cup lower cal GBC, 2 tbspp relish, 1 tbsp turkey gravy.

What I ended up eating: all the SPC, only the green beans plucked out of the GBC (about 1/8th of a cup total), 1.5 to 2 oz of the turkey breast, 1 tsp of the gravy, all the stuffing, 1 tbsp of the relish. I drank 4 glasses of water beforehand and it fille dme up fine. Had 2 cups of coffee and one small bite of the strawberry-white chocolate cake. Decided to finish my second cuppa with some lower-carb and high-fiber chocolate mint brownie bites by Chocolite (30 cals each).

Hubby finished my cake. I threw out the remainder of the stuffing and GBC. I refrigerated the SBC, cause I love the stuff and plan to enjoy it in small doses in the coming days. Yum.

Total calories for my Thanksgiving "Feast":   337 cals

I talked to my siblings on the phone, wished them well, then chatted with my middle sis for an hour after eating. Would have preferred being there, but I have fallen ill pretty regularly round Thanksgiving. Haven't missed one in about 4 or 5 years, but happens. Something blooms this time of year that sets off my immune response/allergies/asthma....


 Hope you all stayed on plan and enjoyed your family time to the max. Family rocks!


Food Log:

Breakfast:
2 organic eggs fried (PAM spray in nonstick pan)
2 toasted slices Ezekiel Bread, 1 slice 2% American Cheese single
1 cup fresh papaya with lime juice
2 cups coffee
8 glasses water (4 before, 4 after)

Thanksgiving Food Lunch:
As described above.
8 glasses water
2 cups coffee

Dinner: None

calories total so far: 756 (102c/22f/41p)
fluids so far: 160 oz

Day 16 Son of Double Dare Challenge: Still with the asthma/congestion, down another 1/5th pound, the quest to up carbs even as my subconscious objects, and Thanksgiving Eve thoughts! Plus food/water log...

Scale = 243.2

A small downtick that pleases me, though yesterday's "whoosh" was fun.

Breathing is crap. Looks like I will miss Thanksgiving. Sucks. Guess I'll have to make Christmas even merrier to make up for it. What makes me even more frustrated is hubby has today through Sunday off, and I 'm not well to go out and enjoy the good weather and happy city with him. I want to go out and DO FUN STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ah, well.

So, yesterday didn't fit the genetic plan. Was low calorie and lower carb. I had 135 grams of carbs (the minimum according to the 65-20-15 plan of c/f/p would have been about 100 more for the caloric level yesterday, a bit under 1400), 100 g of protein. Fat was 57 grams, and I should have been closer to the low 30s.

I'm so used to eating lower carb, higher protein, that breaking the pattern is tough. I instinctively make take-out choices that fit the previous plan. I did meet the plan numbers at lunch and got close to breakfast, which I made at home and was able to tweak.

Well, I knew the first couple weeks would be bumpy with the reconfigurations.  I need to go to Whole Foods when I'm better and get some high fiber, low sugar breakfast cereal (like a multigrain flakes type thing that I can add raisins and bananas, too, and man, it's been a while since I ate bananas), and more low fat and maybe fat free dairy to get the fat down and good carbs up. Some sweet potatoes, some bulgur maybe. Brown rice. Lean cuts of meat (I have no meats/poultry in my freezer right now). Some breakfast soy sausages. Canadian bacon. Whole wheat tortillas (regular, not low carb, which I think taste better, anyhow). More fruit.

So, happy about continuing to see progress. Confused a bit about the eating plan journey. Sad that the holiday is nixed due to my gaspy bronchii. But life goes on and we will overcome, right? :)

Happy Thanksgiving Eve, people. Do NOT overeat tomorrow. Make the conscious decision now to eat light at breakfast, drink loads of water, get in some exercise before the visit to the relatives or feasting begins (even if it's putting on music and dancing with family), and enjoy the things you LOVE MOST and skip the stuff that's just okay or you can have anytime. I mean, really, mashed potatoes is common. Have the rarer, more special, more holiday stuff. Enjoy it in moderate portions. Eat it slowly and SAVOR the wonderfulness of that sweet potato casserole or herbed stuffing or roasted veggies or homemade cranberry relish with the turkey. Savor every bite. Look at it, smell it, let it sit on your tongue. Make that one healthful serving LAST. Be grateful for food and love and laughter. If you have a faith, give a word up to your deity to say you appreciate life and nourishment. Give thanks for the farmers and ranchers and all the people who make nourishment possible.

Overeating won't make you more thankful. Eating with joy and moderation will.

Okay, food log time:

BREAKFAST: (The balance ended up about 52%c/25%f/22p--not too bad)

Diet To Go mushroom-leek strata with soy sausage
1 2/3 cups papaya with 1/8th cup lime juice drizzed over
3 cups spinach cooked in 1 tsp EVOO and garlic
2 cups coffee and 6 glasses water (4 before, 2 after)


calories: 487
fluids: 64 oz

LUNCH: (wasn't overtly hungry, but had something that was in the fridge anyway to keep things stable)

1 cup pear and watercress soup (raw, organic, vegan)
3 small bites of raw vegan zucchini lasagna
2 cups decaf
4 glasses water

calories:  221
fluids:  48 oz

DINNER: Today is organic co-op pick-up day, and Hubby is going to the kosher Israeli restaurant, so I'm getting their very low fat bean soup, a bit of rice to dump on it, some Israeli salad, and maybe steal a couple of falafel and hummus from hubby's appetizers. There should be greens and fruits in the co-op share.

2.5 falafel with 2.5 tbsp hummus
1 cup white bean and carrot soup and 2/3 cup white rice
1/4 cup Israeli Salad
4 glasses water

calories:  681
fluids:  16 oz (should have had more)

SNACK: Got hungry around 1am

1 organic apple
1 bag FiberGourmet cheese crackers
1 slice 2% Kraft deli select cheddar cheese
1 WS Vanilla protein shake (made with 8 oz water)
4 glasses water

calories: 331
fluids:  32 oz


TOTAL CALORIES: 1720   (46/34/20, getting closer to 50/30/20, the intermediary step)
TOTAL FLUIDS: 168 oz  (enough to meet and exceep accelerated rate of oz, but less than I've been having. I attribute this to the bit of difficulty I had swallowing...harder to drink. But, must try harder.)

Day 15 Son of DDDY Challenge: 4/5ths of a pound down in one day (did I poop it all out or what?), and where the wheeze continues, making me worry about health and the holiday, and where carby love continues, and where I ask you to recommend a "buttery" lite spread that mono-sat heavy...food/water log, too

Whoosh. Yes, you just heard my sigh of relief. I was afraid that with my 1. super salty lunch from Pollo Tropical and 2. Super Carby Day of eating--268 grams of carbs, to be exact, when previously I tried to stay between 100 and 160-- that I'd have a water gain.

Maybe I pooped out more than water weight. hahaha.

Tanita-san says: 243.4

Yesterday was 244.2

Me happy.

I did feel hungry pre-bedtime. Very hungry last night. This may be a function of less protein in the raw vegan dinner meal. Mebbe. The protein oatmeal helped loads, but I definitely went to bed hungry. That hadn't happened but one other time on this challenge, early on.  Carbs do make me hungrier, but I just did what Allan said: add more water.

It doesn't help that when I'm all asthmatic and crap, I have to increase my steroid intake. Yes, I take TWO types of medications (maybe more, didn't research the others) that INCREASE APPETITE: steroids, antihistamines. Without these, I could not function. I know. When the allergens increase in the environment, not much I can do but suffer, as I am already dosed to the gills with asthma and allergy meds. Except for my low-dose blood pressure med (which I may not need anymore in about 25 to 30 pounds), all thre rest are to manage my asthma and allergies--a boatload of em. More than 250 bucks in co-pay's worth a month. But I can function, not fully normally, but enough not to want to slit my throat.

I do worry that my breathing won't clear up in time for Thanksgiving, or get worse, and then I'll miss the family to-do. Screw the food --though last year's was so delicious I wanted to swoon, and I didn't have pie or cake, I'm talking just the yummy bird and sides--I like seeing everyone together and play games and laugh at the hijinks from the wee ones.

Well, worry fixes nothing. I'll just keep the hope all will be well. And eat my lower fat, higher carb food. I have to say, I look forward to chomping away on legumes. Love my legumes! Today, I wanna hit the pineapple and cherries, all nice and anti-inflammatory.

I may try to the the low fat Mayo Clinic type diet (more protein, cause I'm all about satiety) and then segue as needed to lower protein, more good carbs. In fact, for those who like their fruits, veggies and carbs, and who prefer lower fat, and who plan to do the next stage of Allan's Challenges Series (I forget the name, Spawn of Son of DDDY? Demon Spawn of...hehheh), here is a 1200 calories sample Mayo Clinic Diet menu.You could google up 1200 calories diet plan, and you'll get various options.

Anyone know any good, not freaky, not yucky lower-fat buttery spread thing with no trans fats and more on the monounsaturated side of things? Let me know.

Boring food log now:

BREAKFAST: (I tend to feel fuller with eggs/egg whites, and I still had some high fiber/low carb tortillas, so guess what I had...yep.)
Egg, lowfat cheddar cheese, tomato, onion, salsa in a 50-cal tortilla wrap.
1 cup fresh pineapple and 3 cups coffee
6 glasses water
calcium, fiber, and vit C with quercetin supplements

calories: 335 (30/13/33--the fat was okay, but need to reduce amount of egg whites next time to get more in "line")
fluids: 72 oz

LUNCH: (ooooh, look, I get to have TWO slices of bread!)
2 oz lean ham and 1 slice 2% American cheese on
2 slices lower-cal whole wheat bread
1/4 cup cucumber slices, 1/4 cup tomato slices, a few leaves of spinach
1 tsp lite mayo, 2 tsp dijon mustard
2 cups coffee
6 glasses water
magnesium, vit C and quercetin, Multivit, & cinnamon supplements

calories:  366 (49/9/26--this is more like it, low in fat, still a lot but less protein, more carbs)
fluids: 64 oz

Snack:
2 glasses water

Calories so far:701 (79/23/59)--about 49% carbs, 14% fat, 37% protein
Fluids so far: 136 oz

DINNER: (hubby wants Mexican, so it's gonna be Lime. I asked for two chicken tacos and a very small guacamole, small pico, small salsa--small meal for me, cause I loves me Mexican and usually order more. He's not home yet, but that will be the plan.)
2 crispy grilled chicken breast tacos (lettuce, light sprinkle of cheese)
salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole, black beans and mixed lettuces in a bowl for salad.
fresh cilantro
3 cups decaf
6 glasses water (4 before, 1 during, 1 after)

calories: 667  (56/34/41) balance is off again...
fluids: 72 oz

Total Calories: 1368 (37-28-35 <---total fail in terms of test rec's, this is "Better Balancer", not "Fat Trimmer")
Total Fluids:  208 oz

Note: I felt pretty unhungry most of the day, which is good. No snacks needed. However, about 1:30 in the AM I was mighty peckish. Was gonna have a protein smoothie (60 cals) but saw how late it was and nixed the idea. I kept the fat lower, but not low enough (should be UNDER 40 grams. The higher protein kept me satisfied. I think I'm gonna aim at first for 50/30/20, cause it's hard so far minimizing protein and optimizing carbs. I think I need to stepladder it to the genotype balance.

Day 14 of Son of DDDY Challenge: Where I begin my Carby Path, and Where I Still Can't Breathe Like a Normal Person, But Go Work-Out Anyway to Find that Lost Fat Makes some Pilates Stretches and Moves Soooooo Much Easier...plus food and water log...

Wow. Two more weeks of challengy accountability. What's this now? Four Weeks of Allan-Led Challenges?

It has been a long, long time since I've stayed on plan this consistently and this long and drank this much in fluids. Amazing to me. Gives me hope, I tell you.

Today's weigh-in kept me stable: 244.2

I did go to Pilates, even though I was gasping through it, couldn't control my breaths to coordinate with movements, and was suffering. I figured I needed the stretching and strength-training to keep me in the right focus. She tones it down some and I got through it. I must say, this asthmatic chick is proud of herself.

Since I am on the New Carb-riddled and Fat-eschewing Journey, I drove by Pollo Tropical to get beans, yuca, and rice. Oh, my. Granted, this is the food I grew up on and I love boiled yuca with garlic and EVOO. I love my black beans with a bit of rice (as opposed to the folks who do rice with some beans, I like a lot of beans and a little rice, even as a kid).  Because of the congestion, got me some Caribbean chicken soup for later. Got a salad at Subway (just veggies and some mozzarella) to split between lunch and dinner.

I really like seeing the progress in the mirror at the studio and in how much more I can move my arms behind me on the ladder barrel. I used to NOT be able to place my hands on the barrel when facing away from it to do a quad stretch--too much fat in my upper back and upper arms. I had to hold on to the ladder. Now, I can not only touch the barrel behind me, I can place my hands partway towards the middle of the barrel. I felt like throwing a party. Losing fat from your upper arms makes life easier, or at least Pilates. I totally feel the difference in some leg moves. More fat must have dropped from my belly and thighs, natch.

Okay, food loggie time--turn away if you get horrified by carbs, k?---->

BREAKFAST:
2 slices whole wheat bread, toasted
1 slice 2% Kraft deli select cheddar cheese
1/2 cup scrambled Egg Beaters
1 tsp Smart Balance spread
(made a sandwich with the above)
3/4 cup papaya, fresh, with wedge of lime's worth of juice on top
2 cups regular coffee
6 glasses of water

calories: 325
fluids: 64 oz

Snack:
2 glasses water
Iced coffee with some 2% milk (Starbucks) and sugar free cinnamon syrup (The Starbucks site calls it 24 oz, but with all that ice, I'm calling it 16 oz).

Calories:  190
Fluids:  32 oz

Calories So Far: 515
Fluids so far: 96 oz

LUNCH: Didn't feel very hungry 4 hours after BKFST (fiber!), but ate so as not to get overly hungry and then go nuts. Pre-emptive foodsy!

3/4 cup Pollo Tropical black beans
1/4 cup white rice
1 cup boiled yuca with 1/2 tsp olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
(felt full so saved salad for later)
4 glasses water

calories: 381 (calories so far-- 895)
fluids: 32 oz (met minimum)

DINNER: Wow. Definitely hungry 3 hours later. Had raw organic vegan stuff delivered.
3 cups corn and leek raw soup
1 serving raw green bean casserole
2.5 cups decaf
6 glasses water (2 before, 2 during, 2 after)
assorted supplements (Zinc, Calcium, Magnesium, C, quercetin, Multi)

(I had to deconstruct and guesstimate calories, but man, didn't know tahini was THAT loaded in calories/fat. Shoot, that threw off my ratios and ate up a lot of calories. Shoot. But that raw vegan green bean casserole was amazing, better than the Thanksgiving one. Yum.)

Calories: 717 (calories so far = 1613)
Fluids: 68 oz (fluids so far & not counting soup= 196 oz )


Snack: Hadn't planned on one, but was very hungry. Had intended to make a small bit of regular oatmeal with some milk, but the Quaker Oats I had had expired. So, I resorted to the WonderSlim protein oatmeal:

1 WS oatmeal
1/8th cup skim milk
2 glasses water
calories: 141


Total Calories: 1754
Total Fluids: 212

Day 13 of Son of DDDY Challenge: Down 1/2 pound, Not hungry at all so far, drinking my water, still breathing poorly and itchy and congested, and wish I'd cancelled training tomorrow...

Tanita-san says: 244.2  (already sent Allan the weigh-in for SofDDDY)

I am wanting to kiss Tanita-san today. Another tick down and it will be officially 55 lbs down.

Today, I'm moving towards cutting the fat as per my DNA test results (see previous post). I'm too breathing-impaired to move (activity makes me gasp really bad, asthma sucks). I'm not keen on adding too much carbs in right off, but I will begin to add more fruit and starches in the fiberlicious forms (whole grain breads, higher fiber resistant pasta, beans) and cut back on the fats. Hard, cause I'm a cheese freak.

Wish I felt better. I have a scheduled Pilates training session on Monday, as usual, and if I had cancelled 24 hours or earlier, I'd keep my moolah. Cancel later (like I did Thursday), and you lose your training fee. (Nearly 70 bucks.) Damn. I'll have to go or lose another wad of cash. I gotta learn to just cancel a couple weeks' worth when I'm sick, then reschedule when I can see I'm on the mend. Damn, I hate wasting the moolah like that.

The sweetest hubby in the Cosmos!

Nothing much else to say. I'm sick. Got my test results. My hips are tired of sitting. I want to breathe like a normal person. I want a metabolism like a normal person. I'm feeling a tad sorry for myself, but just a tad. Mostly, I'm glad I have a magnificent, wonderful, astonishingly great husband who got me a bit of groceries so I could just rest and recover, and who kisses me and tells me I'm doing great and how beautiful I am. This you can't put a price on, this sort of blessing.

Plus he's so hot he nearly makes me faint.

So, gotta focus on the positive. Not hungry, scale going down, hopeful that rejiggering diet may speed loss, and hubby rocks like Gibraltar.

Have a Sunday with some dose of bliss and beauty, okay?

Food log time:

BREAKFAST: (usual boring stuff, nothing to see here)
Egg whites with onions and mushrooms and 2 slices 2% singles
WS hotcakes with sugar free syrup and 2 oz natural applesauce
1 organic kiwi
1 tbsp Smart Balance to grease both pans used (1/2 of yesterday's usage)
2 cups regular coffee, 10 glasses of water, then 4 oz hot tea

calories: 464
fluids: 100 oz

LUNCH:
2 cups Turkish lentil beef soup
3/4 cup fresh papaya
2 cups decaf
4 glasses water

calories:  547
fluids:  48 oz


DINNER:
didn't really have dinner. More like 2 snacks

Snack 1:
1 apple
1.3 oz multigrain toast with 1 slice Deli Select 2% cheddar
1 cup decaf
2 glasses water

calories: 246
fluids: 24 oz

Snack 2:
1 WS vanilla protein shake
1 bag Kay's Sweet BBQ Mix protein snack
1 serving ChocoRite sugar free chocolate almonds
2 glasses water

calories: 395
fluids: 16 oz

Total Calories:  1652  (39c-28p-33f)
Total Fluids: 188 oz

Day 12 Son of DDDY Challenge: Where breathing issues persist, where I'm 1/5th of a pound down, and where I refuse to self-comfort with food...

244.8


Yes. Another 1/5th of a pound down.

Tomorrow I'll post about the results of my DNA test--the one I posted about a couple weeks ago, the one to detect what would be my optimal diet.

Today, I woke up late, but then I went to bed late...er, early. Almost 7 am. Breathing issues kept me up. When I finally conked out, it was a blessing. I did have an extra snack cause staying up so long left me hungry in the wee hours. I kept it modest and didn't go over my calories. Been drinking a ton of decaf--gourmet from Paradise Roasters early, easy to mix VIA instant (no sugar, Italian roast) late at night when I don't wanna make a pot. I prefer regular coffee, but in the last couple weeks, been trying to do more decaf so it doesn't mess with my sleep.

I've done fine not giving in to crazed comfort food cravings. They're hitting hard on and off, but so far, so good. I just keep reminding myself that I have far too many pounds to lose before I sleep (and Carb Tripper put that metaphor in my head).

Food log:

BREAKFAST: Ate it at 5pm, so ate with hubby and had non-breakfasty food
6 oz grilled chickens trips in herbs and olive oil
grilled veggies, brushed with EVOO
1/2 cup rice, basmati
2 cups salad with 1 tbsp Italian dressing
3 cups regular coffee (24 oz fluid)
10 cups water (6 before eating, 2 while, 2 in the hour or so after)

calories: 800
fluids: 104 oz

LUNCH: More like BKFST, as I reversed meals
3/4 cup AllWhites egg whites
2 Kraft 2% singles
1/2 cup mushrooms and 1/4 cup onions
WS hot cakes with sugar-free syrup and 2 oz applesauce
1 tbsp Smart Balance (to grease pans)
3 cups decaf with sucralose
6 glasses water

calories: 469
fluids: 72 oz

Calories so far: 1269
Fluids so far:  176 oz

This may be it , depending on when I manage to hit the sack.

Day 11 Son of DDDY Challenge: Weight Loss goals met so far since September, plans calorically for 2011, comparisons with older sis aka The Body, and accepting limitations on one's future food life...

653 days and 85 pounds to go...

Looking Toward 2011

Eleven weeks ago, I began this new blog--link to OLD blog here--to set concrete weight loss goals instead of fuzzy ones. To set a timetable. To have a goal date for goal weight. To be more accountable. My goal was to lose 1 lbs (and maybe a "scosh") per week. I began at 258 lbs.

I'm 13 pounds down to 245,  so I have met that weekly goal that I set and have 2 lbs of "scosh". :) I'm on the timetable.

I know there is much yet to do, but I have learned that lots of fluids has made a huge difference. Before, I always was extremely lax with fluids other than cofffee or tea. Getting in water was, well, rarely done. I had days when the only water I drank was what I needed to get medicines and vitamins down.

Now, I've learned that I need a whole lot more than I ever imagined. Eating a lot less food, including a lot less carby starches (where so much of my fiber intake came from during my more organic produce/beans/whole grain-heavy intake dieting period) meant poops were less ideal. Water helps. It moves stuff along. So does magnesium supplementation (which I need anyway, as I never get enough in my diet). So does fiber supplementation on days I don't have my Ezekiel bread or beans or good amounts of fibrous produce.

I like the caloric level at which I am now, the so-called "goal weight maintenance" level, as it allows me craving treats and dinner out without too much grief. I do see that I should start ratcheting down. The limit now of 1760 is great (not too restrictive, not too lax), but if I want to keep losing at goal or better, a slow decline of maybe 50 to 100 calories every few weeks may be in order. I want to see if I can be satisfied at 1500 calories (satisfied to MY way of thinking and eating, not anyone else's, satisfaction being subjective). I have talked with my middle sis, who had an insane body most of her life, and who at 62 , even with a few extra pounds and not being a gym rat, rocks a helluva butt/boob/leg combo. Men still look. (She was scouted by Playboy in the early 70's, so imagine what her bod looked like back then!)

I was always jealous of her figure. She got Papa's side, I got Mama's. Papa's is slimmer-hipped and bubble-butted with perky-boobs. Mama's is flattish butt, wide hips, poochy bellied and droopy boobied. Lucky me, right? We both got the broader shoulders from Mama's side and the nice hands/feet. (Yeah, I had gorgeous hands and feet until I porked up and they porked up with me.)

She's always been active and a careful eater, so her figure pretty much has always been amazing. Now, in older age, I asked her how many calories it takes to maintain. She is no longer at her ideal weight of about 130 (though she'd gone down to the 120's in her prime), but age, a chronic auto-immune illness, and occasional depressions  have added on about 20 lbs. She says she maintains her 150 lbs at abou 1600 calories unless she exercises, then she can eat more. She loves to walk and ride bike, always has, used to play handball back in our Bronx days. At 62, she bikes when the weather allows, which is often in Miami. So, I figure, using her as a reference point, that I would maintain 160 at about 1500-1600, since I have the thyroid issue and am less acitive generally.

So, my goal for the coming year is to learn to eat at 1500-1600 in a way that satisfies and becomes habitual. A way that doesn't require constant measuring, but understands, "this much on the plate of X and Y and Z = what I can eat in one meal."

I don't kid myself that this is a "until I'm goal weight" temporary thing. This is training, boot-camp of sorts, for how I gotta eat until my dying day. It doesn't make me jump for joy, such limitations, but growing up means facing facts. That's how the cookie crumbles (just not necessarily in my mouth).

Food log:

BREAKFAST: I went to bed in the am and slept til the pm, so asked hubby to get me veggie Thai stuff for my meals so I didn't have to make em.

Vietnamese rolls (only vegetables, steamed rice paper)
Thai Chicken soup (didn't eat most of the chicken, about 1oz, mostly broth and a few mushrooms)
3 pieces avocado sushi with pickled ginger and wasabi and bit of soy sauce.
1 WS vanilla protein shake (made with 8 oz water)
3 cups decaf and 6 glasses water (4 before, 1 during, and 1 after eating)
supplements

calories:  560
fluids: 80 oz (not counting soup)

LUNCH:
Homemade veggie and egg fried rice (took brown rice from Thai place, added most of my side of steamed veggies--cabbage, broccoli, zucchini, carrot, snowpea pods-- added two fresh eggs to scramble up with rice. Used 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil and 1.33 tbsp lite soy sauce.
3 cups decaf
6 glasses water (4 before, two after)

calories: 612
fluids: 72 oz

calories so far: 1172
fluids so far:  152

DINNER:
1 small whole wheat pita
WS vegetarian joe
1 slice Kraft 2% cheddar single
4 glasses water

SNACK:
made a high protein pina colada with 1/4 cup organic coconut milk &
1 BariWise pina colada fruit protein drink (8 oz water)
2 glasses water

SNACK: (couldn't sleep until almost 7 am due to breathing issues, got hungry around 2 am, had another snack)
1 organic apple
1 slice lowfat cheddar
1 cup decaf, 2 glasses water
1/2 serving ChocoRite sugar free almonds


Total Calories for day: 1716
Total Fluids: 232 oz

Day 10 Son of DDDY Challenge: Still Wheezy and Lethargic, Cancelled trainer session cause, well, can't breathe much, on commitment in the face of wanting comfort foods, and forcing myself to blog for accountability...

No message from Tanita-san. Didn't weigh.

Not going into the back room (only one with flat, even flooring) where it's not air conditioned and where it's dusty. My asthma is still plaguing me, and on top of that, I think my thyroid is in another active "attack" phase. Oddly happens sometimes when I have upper respiratory and allergy issues. Maybe cause the immune system and inflammation is in action, and it causes my thyroiditis to engage? Dunno. But hard to bend neck and I have to focus to keep posture straight or it's even harder to breathe.

No Pilates: cancelled. It's hard enough to breathe absolutely still. Moving is not on today's agenda. Other than bathroom runs, natch.

Have to go enter my food log stuff from last night into the previous blog post (didn't go over calories, stayed well under, drank lots of fluids). I had a hard time swallowing last night, so dinner took forever to chew and eat.

I got a delivery of new clothes (most of my old/new stuff is baggy already). That's cheering. :) Jeans and tops and one "basic black dress". One should always have a basic black outfit cause you never know when a funeral will be scheduled. Plus, easy choice for dinner out to a fancier place. For fatties like me, a nice basic black with 3/4 sleeves, a flattering neckline,  and good, bright accessories make for a wardrobe necessity. Though I"m a comfort clothes/bootcut danskin leggings and breathably cool empire-top sort of gal. I hate to be uncomfy in clothes and if it's not breathable fabric, whoa is me when the hot flashes hit.

Allan over at Almost Gastric Bypass blog talks about commitment today. I'm glad he did. Part of me is dying for comfort foods. Those easy to swallow, fatty, carby, creamy and so on foods that make you feel loved and warmed when you're sick. I want them. I want them now. But I"m committed to this challenge and my eating plan and I'm gonna have to find a way to nourish myself, find comfort, and NOT go nuts. And I will.

I wish they'd deliver my gourmet decaf from Paradise Roasters, cause I need lots of hot fluids today.

So, I've run out of stuff to say. I just don't feel like blogging. Doing it cause I don't want to get out of the accountability habit. But trust me, I'm a non-perky typist here.

Okay, food log time:

PRE-BREAKFAST: (got up with dry throat and felt draggy, so had this right away)
1 WS protein shake (made with 8 oz water)
1 teaspoon Green Magma mixed with powdered green tea and water (6 oz)
2 glasses of water



BREAKFAST part deux:
My usual egg white/mushroom/cheese and the WS hot cakes
3 cups decaf
supplements
6 glasses water

Calories: 568
Fluids: 102 oz

LUNCH:
Still full from breakfast, had crazy salty cravings so:
1 bag Kay's Naturals Sweet BBQ Mix protein snack
1/2 bag Kay's Naturals cinnamon toast protein pretzels
1 small pear
4 glasses water

calories:  262
fluids: 16 oz

DINNER:

Homemade turkey pastrami Reuben on rye with lowfat cheese
3 cups decaf, 6 glasses water
supplements

calories: 619
fluids: 72 ounces

SNACK:
1/2 servings of ChocoRite sugar-free chocolate almonds
1 cup watermelon, 1/2 cup slices of mango
4 glasses water

calories: 190
fluids: 32 oz


Total Calories:  1639
Total Fluids:  222

Day 9 of Son of DDDY Challenge: Milestone crossed, history in "numbers", blogging as a weight loss aid, water as "Gastric Band" for surgery-wussies, WonderSlim Discount, and Realizing I'm gonna have to learn to make soups....

This is a milestone!

Today: 245.2

I already posted about my milestone, but since this is the official post for the challenge, I'm gonna say it again (plus I like saying it): I'm no longer morbidly obese. I've joined the ranks of the many Americans who are "severely" obese. I hope to join those who are merely obese in a few months.

Eventually, I plan to settle into being "just overweight". I have no goal set to be utterly normal weight or utterly slender or even sorta-skinny. I just keep my eye on "roughly 160 lbs". I may settle down at a higher or lower number. Do not know how I'll feel with the saggy skin and all. I'm already mildly horrified by the looseness of my skin suit, even with the Pilates-regularly-for-2.5 years-muscle under there. And thank God for the muscle!

I started blogging in May of 2007 to try to motivate myself and get support for losing weight. I had a hard time losing weight since ages, but moreso when severely depressed in this new millenia. I treaded a lot of water, but I learned not to totally give up, which is not a "nothing" thing. It matters. Staying in there, still believing you could do it, waiting for something to switch on. It's not nothing.

I've seen bloggers spin their wheels for a long time, then--blam!--they're on a roll and get to or near goal weight and see things differently. They've dealt with issues. They've learned to cook. They've taken up walking or biking or marathoning or weight-lifting or yoga or Pilates. They've found what works for them and their tastes/appetites. They've learned boundaries.

Blogging is a way to express, to learn, to connect, to be accountable. It can be, anyway. It can be painfully obvious when the posts are all lined up by date to see when you are not doing what you need to, when you are slacking. It's also cheering to see results in posts, to see where things got learned. It's great to find camaraderie in the journey. It's AWFUL to see bloggers die--but also motivating. Reminds us time is fleeting and life is short. Shorter and more fleeting if we get some horrid fat-related disease prematurely.

So, I'm really glad I started blogging for weight loss 3.5 years ago. It kept me coming back to see how others were doing even if I was floundering. It kept me from giving up. And it led me to great tips that are helping me. And hell, lots of recipes. And humor. Humor helps. And some tough love that helps, too.

And the whole honesty and accountability I find essential. I put my numbers out there to force me to face them. I started food logging to remind me how much I'm eating calorie wise and to be able to analyze what makes for better "losing". It also makes me think TWICE AND THRICE when I eat if I know I gotta account for it on the scale or in a blog. If you need something to keep you a bit stricter, put your picture, your weight, and your food log right there where anyone can see it. See how that does it for you...

Here is my weigh-in history as it stands on my old blog, Once Upon a Diet, way down the left sidebar:

05/25/04: 299.0
05/16/07: 285.5 *(-3.5) (-13.5)
05/23/07: 284.5 *(-1.0( (-14.5)
06/06/07: 284.5 *(-0.0) (-14.5)
06/13/07: 282.5 *(-2.0) (-16.5))
07/29/07: 286.0 *(+3.5) (-13.0)
08/23/07: 284.0 *(-2.0) (-15.0)
08/22/07: 287.5 *(+3.5) (-11.5)
08/26/07: 283.5 *(-4.0) (-15.5)
08/29/07: 282.0 *(-1.5) (-17.0)
09/05/07: 280.0 *(-2.0) (-19.0)
09/13/07: 281.5 *(+1.5) (-17.5)
*waist=47 *hips=58 *BMI=45.35
09/18/07: 280.0 * (-1.5) (-19)
09/27/07: 279.6 * (-0.4) (-19.4)
10/04/07: 280.4 * (+0.8) (-18.6)
10/10/07: 277.0 * (-3.4) (-22.0)
10/17/07: 272.6 * (-4.4) (-26.4)
10/24/07: 275.6* (+3.0) (-23.4)
10/31/07: 275.6* (+/-0) (-23.4)
11/07/07: 275.2* (-0.4) (-23.8)
11/15/07: 274.8* (-0.4) (-24.2)
12/05/07: 278.2* (+3.4) (-20.8)
12/13/07: 274.4* (-3.8) (-24.6)
12/19/07: 273.2* (-1.2) (-25.8)
12/31/07: 274.0* (+0.8)(-25.0)
01/07/08: 271.0* (-3.0) (-28.0)
01/21/08: 272.6* (+1.6) (-26.4)
01/28/08: 272.0* (-0.6) (-27.0)
02/04/08: 271.2* (-.08) (-27.8)
02/11/08: 270.2* (-1.0) (-28.8)
02/19/08: 269.4* (-0.8) (-29.6)
03/23/08: 273.0* (+3.6) (-26.0)
04/25/08: 268.8* (-4.2) (-30.2)
Went AWOL, got to 278.8!
06/28/08: 272.2* -------(-26.8)
Waist: 44.5 Hips: 55.5 BMI: 44.5
07/22/08: 275.4* (+3.2) (-23.6)
--exercising as of 6/30, gaining muscle!
07/31/08: 273.4* (-2.0) (-25.6)
09/18/08: 272.0* (-1.4) (-27.0)
10//31/08: 273.0* (+1.0)(-26.0)
11/09/08: 271.8* (-1.2) (-27.2)

01/01/09: 277.8* (+6.0) (-21.2)
02/17/09: 279.6* (+1.8) (-19.4)
06/23/09: 272.2* (- 7.4) (-26.8)10/22/09: 276.8* (+4.6) (-22.2)
10/29/09: 273.8* (-3.0) (-25.2)

11/10/09: 271.6* (-2.2) (-27.4)

11/14/09: 268.6* (-2.0) (-30.4)

01/01/10: 267.0* (-1.6) (-32.0)

04/11/10: 266.4* (-2.2) (-32.6)
04/21/10: 270.0*(+3.6) (-29.0)

04/28/10: 267.0*(-3.0) (-32.0)
06/03/10: 266.0*(-1.0) (-33.0)

06/16/10: 263.2* (-2.8) (-35.8)

07/02/10: 261.4* (-1.8) (-37.6)
07/10/10: 259.6* (-1.8) (-39.4)
07/25/10: 258.6* (-1.0) (-40.4)
08/14/10: 256.6* (-2.0) (-42.4)
08/24/10: 255.2* (-1.4) (-43.8)


Moved to new blog:

09/03/10: 258.0* (-2.8) (-41.0)
09/10/10: 256.6* (-1.4) (-42.4)
09/17/10: 255.2* (-1.4) (-43.8)
09/24/10: 254.8* (-0.4) (-44.2)
10/15/10: 252.8* (-2.0) (-46.2)
10/22/10: 251.0* (-1.8) (-48.0)
10/29/10: 249.8* (-1.2) (-49.2)
11/05/10: 248.8* (-1.0) (-50.2)
11/17/10:  245.2* (-3.6) (-53.8)

As you  can see, something clicked THIS year, and the loss is better and more consistent. Whatever it was the clicked is also what led me to start this new blog that is more goal-oriented and accountable.

Okay, back to WATER: I'm starting to see water intake as a way to have a sort of gastric band without having one. I mean, it does require learing new eating habits. Instead of chew-chew-chew and such, it's glug-glug-glug. I find if I drink 4 to 8 glasses of water before a meal (not as much with 2, at minimum 4), I start getting those little "I'm starting to get full" stomach stretching signals and I can enjoy a smaller meal and, at times, head off a binge urge. But it must be consistent and it must be all day. Water all day. Water before meals. Water after if I'm craving dessert.

It gives that "stuffed" sensation which so many of us conditioned hypereaters find necessary to STOP stuffing.

The sense of fullness that surgery offers may be at hand with lots and lots of water. It may not be AS effective in cutting down portions, slowing down eating, but it has a very clear value that studies show--What? Didn't you read the recent headlines about water before meals?--and that I and others on this challenge are learning. Fill up the belly with insane amounts of fluids and you can start getting the "I'm full" signal before the food starts to hit the mouth.

And you poop better. Well lubricated intestines. hah.

Okay, so I just had my breakfast and need to log it. Which reminds me. For those of you who have been curious about my WonderSlim adjunct foods--Note: I don't do the WS Diet. I just use their producs, as well as BariWise and Kay's Naturals, all of which I get from Diet Direct or Netrition, low-carb product providers--they have a holiday sale going on. So, not only are the WS Hot Cakes I love on sale by a buck off, and not only can you get the standard 10% off for purchasing 149 bucks or more worth of products, but if you buy 49 or 165 bucks worth (to stock up) and use the holiday codes Holiday10 or Holiday15 respectively, you get either an additional 10 or additional 15 bucks off. So, I'm gonna stock up and get the $10 off and 10% off and $1 per box off. It adds up. I use these religiously and love the Vanilla and CocoMint protein shakes, so worth it for me to get them in here in bulk.  Makes breakfast a no-brainer for me.  www.dietdirect.com

Now that cooler weather is here, I've also been having soup cravings. I love soup. I buy canned or buy from restaurants, and on occasion have been known to make the Weight Watchers zero to 1 point soup (with tomato juice, chicken broth, and assorted veggies with spices and bay leaves). I really do need to get my crock pot out and learn to make some soups that aren't loaded with sodium. I don't like the bloat I get from canned/restaurant soups, though soups are a filling and easy lunch option. Anyway, must scour the web (and clean my crock pot). I adore bean soups and may make carby room for them. Make for yummy tummy and extra-good poops. heh (more poop talk).

Done with the rambling, on to the food logging:

BREAKFAST:
WS hot cakes with sugar free syrup and 1/4 cup natural applesauce & cinnamon
1/2 cup Egg Beaters with 1 slice 2% American cheese and 1/2 cup mushrooms
2 cups coffee
8 glasses water (4 before and 4 after)
assorted supplements (C, Quercetin, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, Multi, D, Fiber)

calories: 454
fluids: 80 oz

LUNCH: (feeling icky, souptime!)
1 cup Amy's lower in sodium Mushroom soup made with 1/4 cup organic lowfat milk
WS hot cocoa protein drink made with 4 oz water and 4 oz lowfat milk
1/4 cup mushrooms (in soup)
1/4 cup mashed potatoes mixed into soup
3.5 BariWise fat free biscotti
6 glasses of water (48 oz)

Calories: 382
Fluids: 52 oz

DINNER:
Big Ass Salad with organic goodies from Co-Op:
Spinach, cucumbers, tomato, 1 hard boiled egg, 1/8th cup blue cheese crumbles
2 tbsp blue cheese dressing, 1/2 haas avocado
1 Supreme Protein bar (small size)
1 cup decaf with sucralose (8 oz)
6 glasses water (48 oz)
various supplements

Calories: 682
Fluids:  56 oz

SNACK:

WS Vanilla protein shake made with 8 oz water
decaf coffee (8 oz)
Calories: 100
Fluids:  16 oz

Total Calories:  1618
Total Fluids: 204

Day's goals for calories and fluid met.

Day 8 Son of DDDY Challenge: Bloat uptick (no worries, just sodium), the pee challenge at Pap Exam, and happy that 97% lean beef has fewer cals than I guessed! Oh, food and water log, sure.

So, it's another new day, and it's the second week of the Son of Double Dog Dare You Challenge. Tanita-San knew I had slept half my optimal hours and ate salty deliciousness last night, so he is quite right to have me at 247.2. A pound of bloatiness. Not cause for concern. I know how/what I ate, and I didn't go over calories. Whenever I'm in doubt, I purposely add to my estimates.

This happened today. I bought some extra lean ground beef cause I wanted a cheeseburger. That's what my mouth wanted, not the salty chicken-veggie soup I got extra of last night as take-out for today's lunch. I hardly cook ground beef anymore, and it's usually hubby who orders it out, so I just assumed more cals than what the scale and te Sparkpeople food tracker tell me. Well, the scale was to measure out 4 oz portions x 4 of the 1 lb I bought. Precooking, natch. Less than 300 cals for my bunless cheeseburger (reduced fat cheddar) that I onioned and garlicked and salted and peppered to my own taste. Yay.

I had a tablespoon each of sugar free BBQ sauce and reduced-carb ketchup.

On the side: oodles of onion, mushrooms, and zucchini. Like 2.5 cups worth. Sauteed in a non-stick pan with 1 teaspoon of EVOO. (I smear it on with my fingers so I can use less to cook, and it works. I have a Misto, but never use it. Fingers work.)

It was satisfying.

It was my second meal. I had breakfast (same as yesterday, so I'm only gonna post the calories/fluids, and if you are curious, just see yesterday's log) before the gyno appt. I only drank 4 glasses of water cause after my scrupulous ablutions,--including shaving, creaming, and spritzing my expensive Musc Bleu where it normally doesn't get spritz--I didn't wanna have to go to the bathroom that often, if ya catch my nethery drift. I did, as always, take towels, baby wipes, and a two-sided big mirror to make sure everything was nice. And I used them after my emergency pre-Pap "gotta pee the dang breakfast water". Then another right after.

One nice thing about drinking tons of water: Pee has no smell. It's like mildly yellowish water coming out of processing. :D

Okay, so the food/water log:

Breakfast:
Same as yesterday in terms of food, coffee, supplements
2 cups coffee (16 oz) and 4 glasses water (32 oz)

Calories: 440
Fluids:  48 oz

Lunch:
As described above
2 cups coffee (16 oz) and 6 glasses water (48 oz)

Calories: 384
Fluids:  64 oz


Calories so far: 824
Fluids so far: 112 oz

Dinner:
3 cups sweet baby lettuce mix, organic
1 cup vegetable soup with 1 ounce chicken breast
1 tomato and 1/4 blue cheese crumbles for salad
2 tbsp blue cheese dressing
1/2 haas avocado
17 grapes
1/2 small Supreme Protein caramel nut bar
6 glasses water
2 cups decaf

calories for supper: 763
fluids: 64 oz

Snack: (couldn't sleep as asthma and congestion was bad--maybe coming down with something) and got hungry round 2 am.
1/2 cup egg whites (AllWhites)
1 2% Kraft singles cheese
2 cups decaffeinated coffee
Various supplements: extra C, quercetin, bromelain, magnesium, Calcium with D.

calories for snack: 110
fluids: 16 oz


Total Day's Calories: 1697
Total Fluids: 192 ounces