Face the Truth Friday Becomes Speak What The Scale Says Saturday!

I hardly touched the puter Friday--too busy--so I missed Face the Truth Friday. So, we'll call this Speak What the Scale Says Saturday:

238.2

That's 2.6 down from last week's "official" weigh-in on Friday, before the post-concert fiasco. Not only was the fiasco made-up for, but that's double my usual loss. Perhaps those 1200 or so calorie days helped, huh? :)  I don't expect this to continue (ie, this rate) at goal-level.

It's wonderful to be working the diet in a new decade. It's great to see some size 20's fit me, some. :)  It's great to have new bras to keep the puppies in check. It's great to look forward to the 220's and new milestones.

I have nothing bad to say about showing a loss for a week where I ate MORE than last week. It's all good. I like eating more. I know the imperative that Allan and others feel to do this speedily and reach goal weight in the coming spring--his estimate for me has me at goal in May, 2011, though my rate of loss is slower than estimates show. Even when I was eating my calories perfectly at or below goal before Spawn, I didn't see 239 at the expected time. Took me longer. But even if it were June or July of next year, that's a year plus ahead of my own bloggy schedule. Amazing. Still....I like having the goal-level calories for flexibility and satisfaction. It'll take longer, but I will enjoy the journey and eat out with hubby without feeling overly constrained. That does matter to me. It may be a cop-out in some eyes, but it works for me so far.

Anyway, that's a Friday truth on Saturday, and it's still all good to me. At this rate, I will be under 200 pounds by my Anniversary. I intend to buy me a kick-butt dress and show of my legs to celebrate. And I have eschewed dresses for years. Hopefully, the sagging elephant skin won't be an impediment to that. If so, then I guess I'll become acquainted with Super Spanx. :D

Happy Weekend to all and to all an almost goodnight.

Face the Truth Fridays: My Body Must Be Effed Up! How Can I have the lowest eating week of my adult life and weigh MORE?

Scale = 240.8

Yes, that's + 1/5th of a pound from last Friday's weigh-in.

You would not like the expression on my face right now.

And yet--and I'm am NOT bee-essing you here--this has probably been the lowest eating (calorically) week of my adult life. So much so that I have been in wonder that I haven't gone all binge-nuts.

I have taken time out of every day--usually right after a meal when possible--to log every bite and drink. When at home, I measure/weigh. When it's a a restaurant, I deconstruct, and then add a bit extra in case I deconstructed "off". I look up restaurant sites for caloric info. I've had to wrestle myself down during some cravings.

I've been a ridiculously good girl, better than at any other week in my adult life, calorie-wise. I ate more the week I had an appendectomy had had one NO FOOD DAY, seriously!

Anyway....

Lookee:

12/09 = 1480
12/08 =  1297
12/07 = 1247
12/06 = 1208
12/05 = 1039
12/04 = 1469
12/03 = 1117

Add in two sessions with my personal trainer (meaning hard work and very sore 24 hours later).

How can I be eating THIS LITTLE and busted my Pilates ass at least twice and not have at least a 1.5 to 2 pound loss?

The carb/extra fruit factor? Maybe. I've gone out of my way to add more grains and fruit than I have been since May.  My thyroid is doing something weird? Maybe. Does a possible UTI do this? Who knows. (Got a call from doc yesterday that I had bacteria in my urinalysis and she wants a culture. Fine. Maybe the pain down there isn't all the Pilates lower abdominal work....)  Or is this the dreaded PLATEAU? (I have been losing since June, so...)

Honestly, it's making me a wee bit nuts today. First day I'm truly frustrated on this eating plan. I don't expect mega-losses. I do expect what I've had even eating 1700 calories--about a pound or a bit more a week.

The Truth I'm Facing: This week the math isn't working. Other factors--maybe not all accounted for--are at play. But definitely, this is one of the freaking-factor weeks. Eating less. Measuring. Weighing. Drinking Water. NOT moving less. Gaining.

Eff that crap!

I will persist. But I'm pissed at my body today. I may have to slap my own face. :P  If it wouldn't scare the neighbors, I'd go outside and holler. Instead, I'll yell internally and get it out of my system.

Okay, vented. Got that out. Time to drink water, eat breakfast, and not let any damn thing--not even an anti-Math week--get me down.

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

Face the Truth Friday: Black Friday Edition, with my best weekly weight loss of the year and one old and one new truth in my face....

Shinjitsu/Truth

Oh, happy Black Friday!

Weigh-in: 242.0

That's a 3 pound loss from last Friday. More than twice my usual weight loss rate. I'm ridiculously pleased. Makes up for the asthma-crap.

I stayed well within my weekly caloric allotment and I drank my "accelerated rate" of water every day and then some. I will say it again: Lots of water helps. Lots of water right before eating helps the most. Drink water until you feel the pangs of a "stretching stomach", that "fullness pang", and then eat. You'll eat less unless you're bound and determined to binge.

What truths am I facing? Again, that even sick, I don't have to turn to food to comfort me. I normally would not lose weight when ill, cause I stuff up with the creamy/fatty/carby comfort foods. I didn't do it. I dropped pounds.

I learned that it's not gonna kill me to throw out holiday leftovers if they are too tempting. I grew up in the era of "hungry kids in China, so finish your food", a member of the plate-cleaning club and leftover-packaging club. Yesterday, I dumped all but one of the leftovers, and I won't cry over it.

Okay, I'm still gaspy but I'm happy and I plan to stay within my 1760 calories today. And to drink a bunch of water. Cause I've got many more stubborn old pounds that need to be tossed in the trash with the leftovers.

Happy Black Friday to you all. Don't spend more than you can frugally afford to. Debt is as bad as fat.

Face the Truth Friday: 54 pounds down, waiting for those DNA results, still wheezy, still motivated, but more cravings this week...and begging the Young and the Fat to face their truths ASAP!

245.0

That's 54 pounds down from my highest (without clothes, at home) back in 2004. My highest at my primary care doc's office was 303, with shoes, clothes, some water intake. So, I think my scale at home was pretty accurate.

I weighed 267 on the first day of January of this year, so 22 lbs lost so far this year. My best year's lost since, well, years. 

The truth I'm facing: It finally feels like it's my time to do this weight loss thing. I know, all dieters have done this over and over and over, especially if you've been overweight since your twenties and are now looking at AARP age just ahead. But I've never felt calmer and less fumbling and uneasy eating less. I've never felt less binge-prone.

That's not to say it's easy. When craving hit--and they have this week--it's a battle. The battle is shorter than in times past. I am succeeding more in saying no to myself than in times past. But it's still a hard thing. I am a bit worried about the bounty of Thanksgiving dinner, but I just say to myself, I'll cope. I'll manage. I'll get it done. And it doesn't feel like some big fat lie. I feel as if it's possible. :)

What cravings? Chocolate. Last night I wanted it bad, and no, I didn't want high protein chocolate shakes or puddings. I wanted chocolate. So, I had a few sugar-free chocolate covered almonds (don't affect blood sugar to set up more cravings, and I saw more than one comment from those in ketosis--which I'm not--who ate these and stayed in ketosis). It was hard to stop at half a serving (and as you may guess, a serving of anything with nuts is miniscule), but I did. Earlier in the week I was having crazy pizza cravings. I got the stuff to make it at home, but the craving passed (for now).  I also get frequent cravings for salty chips and salsa. Sometmes, I can cure that with a high protein salty snack. Sometimes, I just have to wait it out. 

And I keep noticing that on my SparkPeople Nutrition tracker, I show greater losses on the morning after days when I eat high-fat, lower carb, normal protein. I don't know if that's a function of water loss from the lower carb (and I notice this even if my salt intake is higher and calorie level is unchanged from the norm on this challenge) or that my body handles that combination better due to Metabolic Syndrome (I have a book by an endocrinologist I got in the 90's when I was diagnosed with Syndrome X, now called Metabolic Syndrome, that recommends a higher fat diet). 

I am still waiting for the results of my DNA test for optimal 'diet type' for my body. Another week or two, I guess. I am eager to see how it jives with what I'm seeing (ie, I do better on lower carb, higher fat, middling to higher protein).

I will say to those younger fatties out there: Get it done. Read the books. Drink the water. Follow the blogs. See a cognitive therapist. Join a group. Write a journal. Start a blog. Sign up with a trainer. Do whatever it takes to get it off while you are young and your flesh is elastic and you can develop good eating habits for life. Do it NOW. If you procrastinate like I have, you will regret it. I promise you: YOU WILL REGRET IT.

Your metabolism when you're young, your energy, your joint health...all that helps. If you let yourself stay fat you will damage a lot of stuff and that damage will not go away: skin will not return to snugness, knees will not regenerate, arteries may or may not unclog, liver may or may not heal.

Do it now. Face that truth today. However you must do it, do it aggressively before you hit middle age or old age. It only gets HARDER with age and entrenched habits.  Save your own life.

Face the Truth Fridays: Met Goal, Still In DDDY Challenge and My Big Accountability Button

248.8

The scale shows 1 pound down and I've met my blog's weekly weight loss goal.

I've been eating at "maintenance caloric level" (I suspect it's MORE than maintenance level, but I might be wrong.) An online caloric calculator says that at my new weight in the 240's, I maintain that weight at about 2200 (and change). Eating at 1760 calories, about 500 cals less a day than I need, translates to a 1 pound loss a week. So, this jives with my nutrition log. I've kept very close (sometimes over, mostly under or close to) 1760, and the week's total have been under the 1760x7 caloric amount. I've lost what the math says I should.

It's been novel drinking a lot of water. A lot for me. I used to struggle to get in 4 cups, and some days I had 1 or 2. On this challenge, I have to get 8 minimum, and I've been over 10 consistently. Yesterday I made it to 16. Today, I was out a lot and afraid to have to hit public bathrooms constantly, so I waited until I was on the way home to buy 2 16.9 ounce bottles to add to the 3 glasses I had earlier. Then I got home and had MORE. I'm at 10 glasses so far.

It's not been super duper easy to eat at 1760. It means not having a lot of my faves. It means avoiding most restaurants. It means some meals have just been protein shakes. It means a lot of salads and nearly no desserts. It means snacks are high protein, low fat, calorie-controlled.

But it has been DOABLE. I've had a hard time keeping under 2200 calories for the 3.5 years I've been blogging. To have almost completed two weeks at this caloric level has been giving me hope and encouragement.

So, the truths I'm facing:

1. I do better with the accountability of  reporting for a challenge.
2. I do better with the accountability of putting my food and weight here every day. Just knowing I have to type out what I ate and how much I ate (calorie wise) has made me NOT eat when I was tempted more than twice this week.
3. I don't like going to the bathroom this much (yikes), but I like how the water-filled belly calms my appetite some.
4. If I want to be 160 (or so) and stay there for the rest of my life, I will always have to be a disciplined eater and make up for excesses shortly after they occur (like right after) or have to suffer regains week to week.
5. Luxurious indulgences in whatever I want 3 meals a day are no more. Give and take, balance, has to be the rule of EACH day. Too much breakfast means less lunch and less dinner. And so on. I knew this intellectually, now, living like a "maintenance person", I see this in action, and it's a bitch. But it's reality.
6. 1760 calories is Not that much food. Sorry. Don't care about others' perceptions. For me, it's still restricting and giving up and sacrificing and it ain't bliss. It's not Eden; but it's not Hell, either.
7. It helps to tell myself, when dinner has to be a 200 calorie shake cause I overate at lunch, that "Tomorrow really is another day," and I can dream about what yummy breakfast I can have. Knowing there will be another chance to eat something delicious makes it less painful to have those "make up for the excess" meals. And water.

Back to #1--accountability.
I'm a person who always does better when I 'report' to someone. Someone makes me accountable in some way. It's not just me seeing weigh-ins or calorie counts. This makes me think twice when chocolate or pizza beckons. Maybe this is why WW meetings work for some people (I hate having to get dressed, drive, and sit in a room as specified, and much prefer the online way, but I can see how it would be an accountability tool.)

So, I'm sticking with Allan's challenge, though my urethra is having a conniption.

If you're someone who just isn't cutting it along. YOu slack off. You can't seem to make eating/drinking goals, then consider finding some sort of accountability structure. Consider using your blog to show your stats unflinchingly, even for a limited time. It might help.

Face the Truth Fridays: Met Goal at Week 7 (weekly and overall) and Learned I Can Overcome Urges for "Comfort Food" Self-Medication When Sick

681 days, 10 hours, and 91 lbs to go...

Last Friday's weigh-in was 252.8.

Today, Tanita-san (my scale) smiled a nice number at me: 251.0

I like even weigh-ins. Don't you? Especially if it's a lower round number.


- 1.8 lbs.


The original goal, as you may recall, was to lose 4.08 lbs per month, roughly a pound per week. This puts me back on track. This is my seventh weigh-in since setting my 98 lbs in 2 years weight loss goal. So, I should be 7 lbs down.

And now I am, after some iffy weeks.

Nice to be back on track.

I'm hoping that I can accelerate loss before Thanksgiving, cause once the holiday hoopla starts, the celebratory days may get dicey. Better to lose extra beforehand, just in case.

If I can lose 1.5 lbs for a few weigh-ins, rather than "roughly 1" (technically, 0.95 per week), I can get a nice cushion for holiday temptations. Although I do need to PLAN for those tempting episodes. That's the pre-holiday homework.

What truth am I facing?

I don't have to let my diet go all to hell cause my health deteriorates a bit. Normally, when my asthma/allergies act up, I hit the comfort foods hard. I slurp a ton of soup. I drink a lot of tea. And I go for the easy to swallow, warm, gooey comforting stuff (usually something cheesy or doused in gravy or swimming in olive oil).

This time, when the breathing went downhill last Wednesday, got worse Saturday, and then got better before hitting a bump yesterday, I didn't go for the gooey-food-loves-me consolation.

It is possible to say no to food self-medication.

I need to remember that I did that this week when this temptation hits again.

So, while I'm not feeling great health-wise, I'm feeling great about my controlled eating and progress this week.

Hope this Friday finds you full of joy and health...

~~~   ~~~   ~~~

Face The Truth Fridays: Met Goal, Back on Track, and The Portion Thing...

702 days and 8 hours to go....

Ahhhh. It's nice to be back in the groove after the less-than-goal loss last week. I know that any loss is a good thing, but I'd prefer to stay on track with the 1 pound and a scosh. :)

Okay, so the weigh-in result:

252.6

So, I'm back on the correct loss rate/number to meet my ultimate goal, and I'm actually a bit over my rate/number so far, which is a nice little extra head start.

Total loss from high weight: 46.4

Total Loss of the 98 in 2 Years: 5.4

Loss to go: 92.6

At my worst, I remember looking down at the number to lose--139--and it seemed daunting. That's the size of a not-that-skinny averagish gal that I had to lose to be, NOT to be  skinny, just close to normal. Still overweight by medical charts, just not hugely so. Close to normal weight.

Now, less than 100.

That makes me feel good.

My next goal to continue at the original set goal rate is to lose 1 pound and a scosh by next Friday. But, I'd love to see a 2 lb loss and make the head start BIGGER.

Goal for next week: 251.4 minimum, 250.6 (ideal)

So, what Truth Am I Facing other than the number on the scale?

I can eat less and not freak out. I tested that this week while hubby was out of town. Instead of  my usual 1800 to 2000 cals, I had a 950 day, a 1500 cal day, and a 1700 cal day. Those days of lower caloric intake helped make up for the debacle that was Sunday. Make up for it  and then even move me ahead of goal.

I continue to see the correlation between calming appetite and 2 factors: filling breakfasts and lots of sleep. I always did better eating on days after I slept soundly-- and a lot of hours-- and on days when I ate a solid, tummy filling first meal.


The most filling breakfast that is lower carb that I've found is having the following:

~1 serving of WonderSlim hot cakes with Nature's Hollow sugar free maple syrup with cinnamon (I totally believe the cinnamon is having that positive effect on blood glucose and keeping hunger calmed.) I usually add a teaspoon of some fat for satiety.


~1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of egg whites or Egg Beaters (or an egg and some egg whites) with veggies and cheese (usually low fat)


~2 to 4 cups of water and coffee to fill up the rest.


~I'll occasionally add a small bit of fruit or some coconut water for Potassium.

The calories run about 400. Not bad for me at all and sets me up well to resist a lunch binge.

I've been allowing a bit more carb at dinner to provide the calming effect for sleep. :)

Today, hubby's back (yay) and he went out on errands. We normally have Mexican on weekends, so I asked for a burrito with double shredded chicken breast.

I cut the burrito in half, Tupperwared the half I wasn't going to allow myself to eat, and served myself half the refried beans. I had a few sips of Coke Zero, fresh homemade coffee,  and some water. That's it.

Normally, a visit to Cheen Huaye would be...

*a bowl of tortilla soup

*a side salad with cilantro peanut dressing (insanely delicious)

*chips and salsa, and usually guacamole, too

*a burrito (all of it)--(or all of the tostadas, or the flautas, or the quesadilla, or the fajitas...)

*side of beans (all of it)

*sometimes rice (usually half, but sometimes all of it)

*a sugary drink made from tamarind (love the stuff, even if it's poison!)

*coffee, maybe dessert

Today: No chips or salsa or guacamole (though I'd have liked some on the burrito for healthy fats and Potassium, etc). No soup and salad. No rice. No sugary drink. No dessert.

I had the half chicken burrito with half of the side of beans. Water. Coffee. Yum.

It was really good and I got fiber, protein, and some veggies (it had lettuce, tomato, onions, and a light tomato sauce).

Getting a handle of portions has never been easy for me, so I knew I was better off ordering to-go than eating in, where the temptation to order and EAT more is pretty huge. Especially when those chips and that salsa are right in front of you on the table.

I can have the whole burrito, mind you. Just not at ONE meal. I saved half and if I wanna have it for dinner, there it is. Or lunch tomorrow.

I can eat stuff I want. Just not all that I want. Just not each and every item at once. Just smaller amounts.

Those "justs" are so hard.

But there it is: the truth. I gotta eat less at each sitting if I want my butt to be smaller at each meal.

What truth are you facing today--scalewise or otherwise...

Happy and Fit Friday to you all!