Pondering my Slimmer This Summer Challenge Goals...and hey, my blog is "Adorable"!

Before June 6, I will be posting on what my specific, measurable goals are for the Slimmer This Summer Challenge. I put my tentative goals (subject to change) on my sidebar badge for the challenge (see upper right sidebar).

I'm still fighting the mood thing, though the sleep thing is better. (Thank you, foam mattress topper that will hold us over until we get a new mattress.) We went mattress shopping and could only agree on two models, both memory foam, one a no-name that seemed overpriced and other other the very expensive TempurPedic. Ouch. More than 3K for the only one we both said, "Ah, comfy."

3K+. Excuse me, really? Wow. Ow.

Oh, but they had a $200 off deal.

Excuse me while I snort...

Weight has bounced from 196.4 to 197.4. Focusing on goals is necessary for me. Without goals, it's too easy to get lax. I have been great NOT eating junk or reverting to old ways. I have been lazy about measuring. It's good that one of the rules of the challenge is daily tracking. You may be cool without it. I need it.

On the plus side, at the size I'm now, every pound starts to be noticeable and count. My trainer said she can notice differences every week, see more musculature be visible, see better when I'm doing X or Y move. Well, hey, that's good. :) I know I seem to feel more bones every week...

Back to the challenge: One of the other rules is to stay between 1200 and 1400 calories. My personal goal is to stay under/at/close to 1200. It just is a better losing rate for me. I'm way smaller than I was, so if I go over too much, my rate of loss will just slow frustratingly.

I plan (as long as budget allows, which basically means SAVING LESS for retirement right now) to continue my 2x a week private Pilates sessions. I have talked with the instructor about adding one Reformer class. I love using the Cadillac and Reformer. Now that I'm way smaller than when I started Pilates, I feel like I can keep up with a class with minimal modification. She's already letting me do most exercises without big mods for what used to be a supadupa-crazy-huge belly and now is just a big belly. So, this is one of my considerations for the challenge: add an equipment class of Pilates.

Another possibility is to do something altogether different--like try to get in on the aqua-aerobics class (which was full last season when I checked). I'd need a unitard for that (no one will be seeing these crinkly deflated inner thighs!) Or tai-chi. They have a class nearby. I might even sample Zumba once I'm at or under 185 (ie, not obese anymore). I honestly think my knees will be an impediment, but I won't know unless I *try*. Challenge means I should do things out of my comfort zone, so why not?

And that's why I would love to finally, finally, finally do normal push-ups. 4 of them. I made them a goal. I've never in my whole life been able to to pull-ups, chin-ups, or non-modified full push-ups. So, that's probably my hardest challenge for this summer.

I plan to continue walking as long as I can tolerate the heat. I like what it does for my stamina and the shape of my legs. My legs look really good since I started walking! I just got back from PlayWalking with hubby (garsh, it was muggy), and the allergens are on full out there. My eyes are itching like mad. We threw around a football as we walked. Fun. :)

June is the number one month of milestones for hubby and me. We first met, first dated, first kissed, first said "I love you", got married, and first did the big whoopie in June. It's also his birthday month. So, we have many celebrations. I don't plan to have cakes, boxes of chocolates, massive dinners out. Having the challenge begin 6/6 means almost all the milestones will be DURING the challenge, and it will help me not derail. It's all to easy to say, "Oh, it's a special occasion. I'm having crap and cake with cream on top!" I stayed very close to plan on Valentine's and on my Birthday, so why not on my love milestones, too.

We can always celebrate with music, dancing, sightseeing, beachwalks, fresh summer fruit and veggie-packed salads, and lotsa whoopie.

So, I will continue to ponder my goals and make a decision by June 5.

I know this: I have 36 to 37 pounds to lose. These are the HARDEST to lose. Not just cause I have multiple strikes against me--post-menopausal, hypothyroid, insulin resistant, plus other chronic health issues and various meds, including several that make you HUNGRIER- but cause the smaller you get, the fewer calories you need, the smaller the caloric deficit when eating the same calorie level (ie, 1200 ). But there is no choice but to hang in and think long haul and lifestyle and lifetime.

If I lose 1 pound a week, I get there by my birthday in Feb of next year.

If I lose 2 pounds a week, I make it by Halloween. :)

Either way, I will get there. Then I will have a whole new journey: Maintenance. That one is crazy hard, too. But at least you wear more stylish clothes there and don't fear breaking chairs or getting in and out of booths (or NOT getting in). :)

Are you pondering your summer health, weight, fitness goals, too?

~~

I'd like to thank Sarah of On My Weigh To Happiness blog for a bloggy award. It's lovely to be thought of.

She listed these as the rules:
Thank the person who gave you this award, and link back to them in your post. (Thanks T)
-Tell us 10 things about yourself.
-Nominate your bloggers.
-Contact these bloggers, and let them know they received this award.

I normally don't continue to the chain, and this time, no different. If I visit your blog, comment, have you on my blogroll, it means I like your blog and prolly think it's "Adorable!" :)  If I'm a regular for you--and you know if I am a regular, cause I have commentorrhea, also known as making long, rambling comments that sometimes verge on the pompous!--then yes, you are adorable!

Anyway, 10 things about me (you may leave now if this bores the helloutta ya):

1. I was born in revolutionary historic city in eastern Cuba. Sort of like the "Philadelphia" of Cuba.
2. I have lived in NYC (the Bronx) and South Florida. That's it. Only places I've lived.
3. I am an otaku with regard to anime/manga/sci-fi/fantasy. Look it up. :)
4. I'm a member of three different museums, cause art rocks!
5. I have seen ghosts.
6. I have multiple phobias, including swimming in the ocean (sharks!) and flying on planes. I plan to overcome the latter one, since my weight loss reward (if I keep it off at least 2 years) will be a trip to TUSCANY! (Unless we're uberbroke.)
7. I love surrealistic art (especially Remedios Varo and De Chirico)  and the Pre-Raphaelites. (Look it up.)
8. I find the Scottish accent and Asian features the sexiest in the world. So, if an Asian dude with a Scottish accent came up to me, I'd either have serious cognitive dissonance and zone out, or faint right off at the dual hotness.
9. I've seen Sense & Sensibility 16 times (and still have a mad crush on Col. Brandon).
10. I own thousands of books (yes, I have a book hoarding issue).

Okay, if you managed to get through that...enjoy rest and family and loved ones on this holiday weekend. And while you enjoy your leisure, and while I enjoy mine, let's please remember those who gave their lives for our freedoms (and the freedoms of other nations), and pray for the families of the fallen of our more recent wars.

Day 14 Spawn of SoDDDY Challenge: Pilates, Rediscovering My Love of Orange Pekoe, and Not Weighing Today since I did the Soy Sauce thing Yesterday...and that means..well, you know. :)

I felt really good and strong today in Pilates. Breathing was great. Allergies weren't clogging my nose. Did have some eczema flare-up and some stiff joints (probably all related, ie, inflammation), but just moved past the pain gently and felt better afterwards, though I'm still joint-achey. Some days, I just feel like I can really do the whole hour-long routine with good stamina, and this was one. I did not feel remotely pooped out afterwards, just like I got some good strength and flexibility done.

I didn't weigh in cause we did teriyaki and sushi last night, and I don't handle Asian soy well. I felt the bloatiness in my tummy this AM (well, only sleeping 4.5 hours didn't help), and decided to spare myself the sodium affected weight check. Not a big deal. I have an official weekly weigh-in on Friday or Saturday (Friday for this blog, Saturday for Challenge). It's just a way for me to see how what I eat affects things. I know how soy sauce affects things.

Yesterday's calories: 1342  (ratio: 46c/28f/26p)
Fluid intake was more than accelerated.
All is well, challenge-wise.

Today, I feel more peckish than yesterday. Breakfast was a light 161 (egg whites, fat and 2% scheese and 2 slices light 7-grain with tea and milk), lunch was 447 (skinny vanilla latte, meatball salad, 1/2 grapefruit), and I had a snack (as I said, peckish) that came to 250 (1 hard boiled egg, a small muesli roll, 1 tsp peanut butter, 1 tsp fruit spread, and tea with milk). I need a bit more water/fluids to make my level. :)

I usually hit the coffee (reg and decaf), but today, I had a yen for tea. Specifically, this was due to watching a YouTube video on making Royal Milk Tea (which I've never had). This gave me a serious milk tea craving...so I've been having it today. I love Twining's Orange Pekoe, which is super numsy with milk and sweetened. Mom used to make it like that for me (back when the only caffeinated tea we had in the house was Lipton). Nice change...

Total Calories so far:  858
Total Fluids: 112 oz

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Day 12 Spawn of DDDY Challenge: Where I missed a day of blogging, got new bras and undies (in a smaller size) and hit the salt again, cause, you know, it's my weakness, hunger when water is delayed..... food/fluid log

Scale: 238.2

Was out and about Friday and made up on lost sleep today, hung around with hubby, did some shopping--finally got the new warm blankets and throws, got a hoodie and sweater for me, and got myself measured for new bras to fit my shrinking tatas and body. So, missed blogging Friday.

Since I had an endocrinology appointment, traditionally, we hit the Greek place next door. It was my breakfast. That meant a lot of sodium--feta, kalamata olives, tzatziki, stuffed grape leaves. I stayed under my caloric allotment, but expected a sodium uptick, as I had Greek twice (took half of my veggie gyro home and had a greek salad, small, to go with it for my second meal). I made sure to get in fruit to get nice postassium to balance some of that sodium, which I think did help, as the weigh-in was minimally up, as opposed to 2-5+ pounds up.

Calories yesterday: 1651
Breakdown: 40c/40f/20p (crazy!)

I had too much fat (double the ideal, really), but feta and Greek dressing alone adds up pretty fast. I had very little fiber (dang) and a whole lotta sodium. Not my most balanced day, though I got 7 servings of fruits/veggies and a good amount of protein.

Anyway, the tatas are now 44DD. I was really surprised about the DD. I was wearing D's, then those got big. But I got measured at Lane Bryant, TWICE, as I insisted she had to be wrong. hah. I tried the 44DD and it was snug but fit fine. I do wonder how big the puppies must have really been in those D's when I was 299+. Anyway, got a few bras and undies, as the ones I have now are just not supportive and, in some cases, ridiculously loose.

Most of the stuff I tried on, I had to go back for the smaller size. I kept estimating wrong which one would fit. A nice problem to have. I got a sweater in 18/20. Most of the stuff didn't appeal to me or just didn't suit, so I'm hoping by the time I need to get more outfits, they have a nicer selection. Pretty blah inventory yesterday. Anyone else disappointed with Lane Bryant's current offerings?

My skinny jeans that I started wearing last month are now being held up with a belt. The waist is too loose. Heh. And I put on a top and kept staring in the mirror as it really looked slimming on me (one I bought a few weeks ago and it was snug, just right now). Hubby commented numerous times on how I looked decidedly leaner. I think because the waist/belly finally stopped resisting and losses were showing there, that made a difference.

If anyone were to experiment with the water, I'll tell you what's gonna happen: You'll be really hungry if you don't drink it.

Now, don't get me wrong. I was NOT being rebellious or smug. I simply had a 35 minute drive on I95, and when I drink the usual water with breakfast, I end up haing to go every 20 to 30 mins. As anyone who drives a highway in a largish metro area knows, an accident or delay can happen unexpectedly. The LAST thing I wanted was to pee my pants on the way to the doctor. I still shudder to remember the horrendous nastiness of an impromptu but VERY necessary drop-in to the KFC bathroom last week. Pee didn't get on my pants groin, but I stepped in a puddle of pee and got it on my pants hem. Washing one's pants leg and lifting one's leg to dry it in a hand-blower in a cramped public bathroom is DISGUSTING!

So, I forewent the water (figured 'd catch up in the afternoon when I was not driving everywhichway). And I was HUNGRY.

But I didn't whiz on myself, and that was worth it.

It was a real hard effort not to polish everything off in the Greek place and then ask for more and eat hubby's as well. I kid you not, my appetite was on INSANE. I drank water there, had decaf x2, ordered an iced tea (yes, all three ordered at once just for me, which made the waitress go hmmm?) But it does catch up to you. I felt hungry a lot yesterday and I know it was the delay in getting the agua. Do not try this--unless you also can't pee your pants on the highway or something.

Today is fine. Had my water with breakfast and do not feel nuts. Niiiiiiice. :)

I'm gonna send Allan today's weigh-in, cause if we head out to enjoy the city tomorrow, I don't wanna forget and miss the deadline.

I hope my challenge-mates are rocking the calories and water. Happy Weekend, people!

Food Log:

Breakfast:
2 jumbo organic eggs fried in 1 tsp Smart Balance
1 cup fresh mushrooms sauteed in water with 1/4 cup onions and 1/4 cup fat free mozzarella
2 slices lite 7-grain toast with 1 tbsp whipped Smart Balance and 1 tsp Smuckers orange marmalade
2 cups coffee
8 glasses of water
calories: 450
fluids: 80 oz

Lunch:
1 serving Buitoni mushroom agnolotti (leftovers from earlier in the week) topped with
1/2 cup fat free mozzarella
1 (roughly) cups worth of asparagus and a tossed salad made with: 2 cups iceberg, romaine, and mixed baby lettuces, red/green/yellow pepper strips, cucumbers, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp EVOO, oregano and 2 TBSP shredded parmesan
2 cups decaf
6 glasses water
calories: 756
fluids: 64 oz
calories so far: 1206
fluids so far: 144 oz (requirement met)

Dinner:

Total Calories:
Total Fluids:

Day 10 Spawn of SoDDDY Challenge: Yes, yet another drop, and noted BMI is below 39 now... food/fluid log

Tanita -san: 238.0

I weigh three or four times and take the number that comes up the most (say 2 out of three). Today it was 238.0, 237.8, 238.0. So, feels good. Almost another half-pound down. Last week's mess up has been more than made up for. This is what I weighed in 1998. The dieter's Time Machine. :)

This puts my waist at 41.25 or 41.5 inches, depending on the measuring tape. My BMI is 38.4. It's so sweet not to see FORTIES in the BMI anymore. Next measuring milestone goals will be:

1. Out of the 40's in waist size
2. Out of the 230's in scale measure
3. A normal size 20 in Women's clothing

The next Super-Milestone would be reaching 216: no longer severely obese, just regular obese. Hey, it IS a mental biggie for me. And a health biggie.

I not only have issues with my loose rings. I have issues with my LOOSE SHOES (as I posted about before.) I hate the idea of buying shoes to not have them fit 35 pounds, 40 pounds from now, since they're pricey. So, I'm gonna get ring guards and find a way to make the shoes I have fit better for a while. My shoes run about 100 bucks a pair, some more, some less, but since I have problem feet, I buy shoes with cushy insoles and made from foot comfort (SoftWalk, Easy Spirit, Naturalizer, Clarks...). But my sandals are swimming on my feet (not that I'm wearing them in this weather.  I've succumbed to sneakers more often just cause they're easy to fill out with puffy socks. :D

Yesterday's calorie count topped at 1298.  Again, I MEANT to eat at goal-level, but I just wasn't hungry for a big meal, so dinner was some crockpot made oatmeal with blueberries, peaches, and cinnamon. Felt very warm and comforting.  Then I was having a crazy pizza craving, so I took 2 string cheese and put 2 tbsp of marinara sauce on top wit sprinklings of oregano and garlic powder, nuked it until it was warm and gooey and ate that. Gave me the pizza vibe without the pizza calories.

Ratio of calories:  45c/31f/24p

I figure I'll just do this for now--eat at maximum goal-level on hungry days and eat less on less-hungry days, instead of just trying to hit ONE number. If nothing less, having the lesser days will leave room for a bit more feasting when we dine out, if I desire it.

Less cold today, though last night was still a chilly one for me. If it's the shivering making for the losses, then bring on the cold fronts.

Happy Thursday, make it healthy!

Food Log:

Breakfast:
3/4 cup egg whites made into an omelette with: 1 cup broccoli slaw, 1/2 cup cooked mushrooms, 1/4 cup chopped onions, 1 slice 2% American and 1/4 cup 2% shredded Cheddar, using 1 tsp of ICBINB spread to smear on the pan.
1/2 multigrain bagel w/ 1 tbsp organic Neufchatel and 2 tsp St Dalfour Four Fruits spread
1/3 cup red grapefruit sections
2 cups coffee
6 glasses water
calories: 524
fluids: 64 oz

Lunch:
Dinner:

Total Calories:
Total  Fluids:

Day 9 Spawn of SoDDDY Challenge: Another drop, Which Makes me Think Shivering is Good For Weight Loss! A look at my ratio and where I fell short in nutrients on my "vegetarian eating day", and Clothes I blew Right Past and Never Got To Wear!...Plus food/fluid log

Scale: 238.4

2/5ths of a pound down from yesterday. Nice.

Well, apparently, as long as one stays clothed and has a good blankie, one can survive being in the 30's temperature-wise and not use a heater. We're proof.

We only have ONE warm blanket, so last night was not very comfy for sleeping, especially when I first went to bed and everything on the bed was COLD!  This is Miami, for Pedro's sake! I don't own any substantial sweater. Don't own a coat. Don't own a warm cap or gloves. Never fricken need multiple blankets.

I need to go buy a coat and blankets. If January and February bring more of this, I need to be able to sleep better. I need a big, warm comforter, methinks. And jammies. I don't own warm jammies. I normally sleep nekkid.

So, maybe shivering does help with the losses. hahah

How low does it have to get outside before you put on the heater?

Yesterday's calories settled at 1566. I had a vegetarian day--only noticed at dinnertime I had had no chicken/meat. I had seven servings of fruits/veggies, and I just ran the nutritional feedback on SparkPeople and it came to this ratio: 56.5/25.2/18.3 in terms of carbs/fats/protein.  (Note: the DNA test said I should eat at 65/20/15 for optimal loss. )  I was low on a lot of nutrients: zinc, selenium, iron, panthothenic acid, copper, B12, etc. So, today, I'm gonna focus on getting in those nutrients, even if it means supplements. I'm always, always low on zinc and almost always on selenium and iron and B12 and folate. I'm used to being low on those (not being able to eat seafood, not being willing to eat organ meats, and limiting nuts effects such things).

On an NSV front: More clothes that fit and some that I was holding until "I got smaller" and now are too loose. I missed my chance. So, the pile of clothes barely or never worn for Goodwill or the Salvation Army is growing. I will encourage y'all in the challenge to try clothes on FREQUENTLY, especially if you've been saving outfits. I cannot believe how fast they were  in the category of "too loose". And one that I put away as too tight is now wearable and has a bit of looseness in the butt and thighs. So, stay on top of the "clothes waiting for a smaller size." You might bypass them altogether. And that sucks! Wasted moolah.

Here's to you and me and everyone in the challenge and all those NOT in the challenge but looking to lose some excess fat-baggage having a really good low-cal eating day. STAY WARM (or not...shiver away the pounds!)

Food Log:

Breakfast:
egg white omelette made with: 3/4 cups egg whites, 1 cup broccoli slaw, 1/4 cup shredded lowfat cheddar, using 1 tsp of EVOO to smear on the nonstick pan.
1 slice whole wheat bread with 2 tsp ICBINB spread and 2 tsp Smuckers apple jelly
1 Morningstar breakfast 'sausage' patty
1/2 red grapefruit
2 cups coffee
6 glasses water (2 before, 2 during, 2 after)
calories: 494
fluids: 64 oz

Lunch:
1 cup Amy's organic black bean chili with:
1 tbsp nonfat sour cream and 1/8th cup 2% shredded cheddar
1 pear (so sweet!) and 1 4-pack of Coconut Pocky (mmmmm)
2 cups decaf
6 glasses water
calories: 425
fliuds: 64 oz

Dinner:
1 cup cooked oatmeal with 1/3 cup blueberries and 1/2 cup canned peaches (in water, not syrup) and cinnamon/splenda
2 glasses water
calories : 201
fluids: 16 oz (not counting water in oatmeal)

Snack:
2 Organic Valley Stringles w/ 2 tbsp marinara sauce
2 glasses water
calories: 178
fluids: 16 oz


Total Calories: 1298
Total Fluids:  160 oz

Day 8 Spawn of SoDDDY Challenge: OMG! My Body is Such a Freak! hahaha Where I go Whoosh again the day after eating 500 calories MORE than the week of the Big Fail, and Where My Rings Fly Off In Public Toilets. Who understands this crap?! And one other "Honest Scrap" to Share with you. Plus food /fluid log.

Tanita-San: 238.8

Yeah, don't ask me. I don't get it. I didn't even poop this AM before weighing. I'll probably weigh something freaky again tomorrow or Thursday, ineplicably up and inexplicably down. I suppose it's either my body having a joke on me or it's the old wise perspective: just be consistent and eventually it will budge. 'm guessing it's a bit of both. Heh.

Anyway, that's like 4 pounds less than the Sunday weigh-in I mailed to Allan. And it's FINALLY an overall loss after dithering in the low 240s.

Yesterday's caloric intake was 1729 (caloric limit is 1760 for the challenge). My carbs intake was 215. That's ginormous for someone previously lowing lower-carb.

Don't get it. Got on and off that scale a few times to confirm, cause yes, say it with me: Freaky.

I also report my hands have lost weight (maybe the loss is appendage-related). My rings keep flying off in public bathrooms when I go wash my hands. It's a bit worrisome. I remember the last time I weighed close to this and had my ring fall into a public bathroom's trash when I threw the paper in there. So gross to retrieve it. (I don't wear any rings at home, not even wedding band. Hate having jewelry on when I'm at home.)

Now, another nice thing. Ann who is Living Large No More--and is no longer morbidly obese as of today, so go congratulate her-- handed me the HONEST SCRAP AWARD. Yes, scrap, not crap. Hah.  I made a typo! I guess it's cause I didn't fudge about messing up at the French Bistro or feeling emotionally deflated after eating less and not seeing a happy scale number, etc. So, thanks. No point in having a weight loss blog if I'm gonna fib about the fat/eating/setbacks and only share the good stuff, right? Do not lie--not to self and not to others. It never helps!

I would encourage ALL weight loss bloggers NOT TO BS. If you ate too much, say so. If you are having issues, be honest. It's for your good, not just your readers' good. Sometimes, we learn from the flubs as well as the triumphs.

One more Honest Scrap for today: I wish I could say like some other bloggers have that they have totally turned their tastes and desires around. I have not. If you put a big, gooey, hot uber deluxe pizza in front of me right now, I'd want to dive head-first into it and eat it until my pancreas goes on strike and my guts burst. Yes, I will want to. I still want to take a whole candy bar and sit down and go to town.  I have not had a miraculous change of desires. I want to eat my trigger foods and eat a lot of em.

But I have had some flip switched, and I mentioned it many posts back. I've been able to stay on a plan with pretty damn good consistency in a way I have never been able to in 50 years and change of being on this planet. So, clearly, some sort of epiphany hit.

I hope I can say one day as some bloggers do that my tastes and desires are permanently altered.

I suspect I won't. But I hope I will.

Until then, it's just learning to say no. A lot. A LOT.

And yes sometimes. :D

Happy Tuesday. Let's make it one where we win over the food and inertia!

FOOD LOG: calorie goal: no more than 1760; fluid goal: 135 oz

Breakfast:  (hungry, had a big one!)
3/4 cup egg whites with 1/2 cup broccoli slaw and 2 slices 2% cheese
1/2 multigrain bagel with 1 tbsp organic neufchatel and 1 tbsp St. Dalfour orange marmalade
1 cup fresh papaya with lime juice
2 cups coffee and 8 glasses water
calories: 601
fluids:  80 oz

Snack:
Vietnamese Rolls (romaine/carrots/celery innards) with 1/2 tbsp peanut butter and 1 teaspoon chili sauce
plus 1/8th cup Florida Avocado (I added it to the roll innards)
1/2 cup water-n-cinnamon-only oatmeal w/Splenda
2 cups water
calories: 201
fluids: 16 oz

calories so far: 802
fluids so far: 96 oz

Lunch: (felt like something Mexican-ey, and I had some raw organic yummies from Glaser Organic Farms, so I made a vegetarian Mexican organic wrap)
1 whole wheat lavash roll-up filled with:
1/4 cup black beans, 1/4 cup lowfat cheddar, 1/4 cup salsa, 1 tablespoon guacamole, 1 tbsp Fage lowfat Greek yogurt, 1 cup sliced red peppers/Cubanelle peppers
As a treat: 1/2 tbsp peanut butter mixed in a demitasse cup with 2 tsp Nevada Manna sugar-free chocolate chips (like a sugar-free, tastier Reese's cup)
4 glasses water
2 cups decaf

calories: 520
fluids: 48 oz

Dinner:
1 cup Barbara's Peanut Butter Puffins cereal
1/2 cup nonfat milk and 1/2 banana sliced
2 glasses water

calories: 244
fluids: 20 oz


Total Calories: 1566
Total Fluids:  164 oz

Day 7 Spawn of SoDDDY Challenge: Where ground is gained, Pilates is done, Knees ache from Bowling, and Good Mood is Back! Plus food/water log

Tanita-san: 240.4

Pretty much where I was last Friday before The Big Fail and the Friday before. It sucks to be in this holding pattern when I only, only, only had one over-calories day. ONE. I still do not understand that.

So, things are looking down..and up.

Yesterday, I ate fewer than 1300 calories. Not by plan. I simply saved hubby's dessert (homemade sugar-free apple compote over D'Lites low-cal, lower-carb dairy frozen treat) so late--when he wanted it, around 10:30 pm--then had some with him,  that it kept me from being hungry enough to eat my own dinner at a reasonable hour. (He and I are on different hours/rhythms, so when he's having dinner, it's MY lunchtime.)

As it was, I did not sleep my optimal hours (went to bed at 4:30 am, was up at 11 am to have time for breakfast before Pilates). So, I'm hoping to get more snooze tonight, as successful losing, for me, means I gotta sleep loads.

Pilates was great. My breathing is normal. The cool weather is refreshing. My hair looked insanely good (the protein treatment Friday made m y curls CURLIER and my hair shinier and softer). My top was too baggy (bought it 30 pounds ago, and it was really tight back then). My leggings were nicely snug. And I had enough energy to get the job done, although the knees were balking. They got stressed a bit bowling Saturday.

I'm feeling very good mood-wise, but the UTI is making for some lower abdominal achiness. Need to get the culture done this week and get that taken care of. Don't wanna be paining for Christmas.

Isn't it nice on those days when you feel full of vim and are happy and sing while walking around?

Anyway, not much else to report other than it's nice to see the scale go down again and my mood rise and I wanna wrap this up so I can visit blogs, respond to email, get my bloggy award (thanks, Ann!) and then go jump hubby's smexy bones. :D

Food Log:

Breakfast:
1/2 cup scrambled egg whites on top of a slice of Whole Foods whole wheat bread
with 2 slices 2% cheese
1 cup fresh papaya chunks
2 cups coffee
6 glasses water

Lunch: at bagel place
1 scooped and toasted multigrain bagel
3/4 of an egg white frittata with mushrooms and spinach (I asked for minimal oil)
1.33 tbsp whipped cream cheese and 1.33 tbsp Smuckers strawberry jam
2 cups decaf
6 glasses water

Calories for both meals:  891
Fluids so far: 128 oz (need to reach accelerated rate of 135 oz)

Dinner:
1 can Campbell's Healthy Request Select Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup
with this added: ~1/4 cup kidney beans and ~1/4 cup 2% shredded cheddar
and ~1 can organic Valley Fresh chicken breast (sooo nummy for canned soup)
1.5 cups mango slices/chunks
1/4 Florida avocado (like em better than Calif)
1 mini-pack of coconut Pocky 
2 cups decaf
4 glasses water
calories: 837
fluids:  64 oz

Total Calories: 1729
Total fluids: 192 oz

Day 6 Spawn of SoDDDY Challenge: The Horrendous Weigh-In and BAck to Goal Level Caloric Intake, Cause Clearly, 1200 Calories Raises My Expectations Too Much and My Inner Dieter is Not as Mature As I Thought...But where I got back on the horse fast, unlike years/decades past...

Scale: 242.6

This is a big uptick, and my first challenge no-loss weigh-in. Worse. Gain weigh-in. (But know this: Yesterday, the scale said 243.0. Yes...even more.)

Interestingly, there was only one Eff-Up meal. ONE. Yes. ONE. Let me just copy and paste from my email to Beth of Obesity Strike blog, that eloquent lovely in BritLand, who was kindly concerned about my blogging absence yesterday. (Not due to any major freaking. I had a family event, and I was gone from shortly after getting up to almost 11 pm, by which time I wanted to lie on the couch and have hubby rub my feet while I tried to make up for not drinking enough water.) Here:

Friday night--I had the delayed freak from the weigh-in and ate an insane amount at dinner. Not insane in quantity--was not stuffed at all. Insane cause somehow the French have a way of concentrating calories. 1.5 cup of a creamy soup, a vegetarian entree that was miniscule, but drenched, clearly, in EVOO and butters. And half of my husband's decadent dessert. I'm guessing 2000 cals, once the breadsticks and bean appetizer are factored in. Scary. I really was very upset by that weigh-in and think I went into "fuck it, I'm eating" mode.

But yesterday, I only messed up on not enough water....

We had a very lovely time at a sublime Christmas concert. We had a wee walk on Miracle Mile in Coral Gables in the cool night. Trees with twinkly lights, people having fun, giggling girls, toddler, old couples. Nice. Lots of smooching at a sidewalk French bistro's for me and hubby between bites/slurps. Very charming and romantic.

But, part of my control, yes, I felt it slip. Then a bit more. I started fine (breakfast and lunch were excellent and left me 500 cals for dinner at 1200). Water was too much for my UTI bladder. We had to duck into a fast food restaurant for me to pee half-way through the drive to the venue. (Ugh, traumatic bathroom experience, nasty)  At Miracle Mile, I had walked past the bistro after seeing a really unsuitable limited menu. Very oil/cream/butter rich stuff. But hubby got stabbed in the brain by a sniff of the goodies and the look of his face was control-slip-number-one.

Okay, I said. We sat. (First big mistake.)

I tried to find stuff I wanted and was not bad. Every soup was creamy or cheesy. I asked the waiter which soup would have the least fat/cream. Fine, bring that one....

Every salad was cheesy or meaty or creamy or oily. No salad as I was having the vegetarian entree, anyway. Yes, the only entree that looked like it might suit--the vegetarian one--was what I ordered, though not exactly what I wanted. I did not order dessert or the nice 3-course offerins (soup/entree/dessert) cause then I'd order dessert.

Little by little, I just felt something in my head start blooming. Control slipping. I ordered decaf. Had three cups. Asked for extra glasses of water.

Well, whatever. As described in my email excerpt: diet fail.

Yesterday, I was gone all day. I knew the event (bowling party then home party) would have a trigger food: pizza. I made an egg white scramble with some part-skim mozzarella, fresh basil, chopped tomato and I had a leftover half of a multigrain bagel, scooped out, that I added some of the chopped tomato, some of the 1/4 cup I used of mozzarella, some basil, some garlic, and tried to give myself the diet-pizza vibe without the pizza calories. To satiate my mouth a bit with flavors, so I could resist.

I did. I had NONE Of the two pizzas. I took an apple, two slices reduced cheese and a snack bag of high-fiber, low-cal crackers. That was my lunch, with water and decaf. Good thing, as this bowling alley has NOT ONE diet-friendly item on the menu. NOT ONE. Not one salad. Everything is a diet bomb: burgers, fries, hot dogs, pizza, chicken tenders, nachos.

I bowled 2 hours non-stop (I took two spots on the roster so I kept moving). And I never sat down for 2 hours. My family kept asking me to sit down between turns, and I said, no, burn more calories standing up.  I jumped around. I danced with the kids.

The family then moved to brother's home for the dinner/cake part of the festivities. I pit-stopped at a nearby Japanese place and got vegetable sushi, steamed gyoza, salad and green tea to go. (Hubby got chicken teriyaki and brown rice, so I had the grilled veggies he didn't like: zucchini, onions.)  I had no cake. Instead, 2 strawberries dipped in fat-free whipped cream (niece is dieting, hence the option). Then I picked up a clave and my brother the maracas we had a mini pachanga, singing to Christmas carols to a salsa beat while dancing and making noise. (Family tradition: for Nochebuena, we take bags full of percussion instruments and just jam and dance and make a happy, celebratory noise to salsa tunes.)

Played scrabble. Had ONE chocolate kiss. Went home. Drank coconut water and regular water. Watched anime a bit with hubby. Dozed off on couch.

Today, I finally had a breather to consider Friday's debacle at dinner. I really do think that not seeing any loss after such a controlled eating, lower calorie week hurt me internally more than I had even realized. It really put me close to an all-out binge.

(Believe it or not, those 2000 or so calories was not even CLOSE to a binge. My stomach was not stuffed in the least. It was a small amount of very concentrated fatty calories. The veggie plate was, literally, 1 portabello mushroom cap, 1/4 cup spinach which I shared with hubby, 1 artichoke heart, 1/4 cup wild rice, and one tablespoon each of beet coulis, red pepper coulis, sweet potato whipped, yukon potato whipped with anise or fennel. That's it. I could have held most of it in the palm of my hand. hahahah. It all tasted primo, very nicely done, but miniature servings.)

I'm going back to more "goal weight" level. I can take disappointing losses if I eat that way. If I eat at 1200 and don't get significant drops (2+ pounds) a week, I will freak. I saw a small gain afer eating at an average of about 1300 cals a day. I did not handle it well at all, it seems. I thought I was okay. I was not.

My inner dieter is apparently 13 years old.

242.6

Dang. I don't care that most is bloat. I don't care. I hate that number.

It was hard emailing Allan with a GAIN. (Ugh) So, reset button, fresh week, fresh start.

Onward, with hope and resolve:

Food Log:

Breakfast:
1/2 cup egg whites made into omelette withorganic goodies: 1.5 oz feta, 1 cup chopped tomatoes , 1/2 cup chopped red bell peppers, 1/2 cup strips of Cubanelle peppers, fresh oregano, dried oregano, salt, pepper.
1/2 teaspoon of olive oil that I smeared on non-stick pan
1/2, scooped, multigrain bagel with 1 tbsp organic neufchatel and 2 tsp Dalfour Four Fruits spread
2 cups coffee
6 glasses water
calories: 443
fluids: 64 oz

Day 4 Spawn of SoDDDY Challenge: Where I Scream, Calm down, Enjoy some Hawaiian Mokka Java and Recommend Great Decafs for You Joe-Addicts, look forward to purdy Christmas Music, and Refuse to Let Frustrating Weigh-In Get to Me! ...and food/water log

Aah, Friday.

Hubby and I slept until 10 am. I love waking up and seeing his adorable sleeping face. I hated getting out from under the warm blankies, but I needed to do my poo/weigh-in/breakfast/water and get ready for a hair appt.

Weigh-in you already know. See previous post. Echoes of my holler in Miami probably reached you at a seismic-effect-inducing level.

I'm better now. I had my uber-veggie egg white omelet. Half of the multigrain bagel (w lowfat cheese), the one I bought Wednesday when I had a breakfast-out at the bagel place. Saved it in a Ziploc in the fridge and it toasted up fine, though Allan will attest to the fact that any bagel is best early in the morning when it's just out, all warm and nummsy.

Sipping my second cup of Hawaiian mokka java (it's actually intended for espresso, but I like it in my drip Technivorm. It's dark and good. If you love good coffee, visit Paradise Roasters or George Howell's Terroir coffee. Amazing beans from those places. Amazing. My fave coffee is a great Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. I used to prefer the Terroir Ademe Bedane full flavor roast, but they stopped having it. I called. No more. Made me wanna cry. Both roasters have excellent Ethiopian, Brazilian, Guatemalan, and Sumatran coffees (those are my fave regions for coffee, in descending order. My fave roast is medium. My fave flavor profile is chocolatey/nutty or chocolatey/fruity, but I can go for chocolatey/spicey. Yes, you see a trend, right?)

I never used to like decaf. Then I tried GOOD decaf beans, and I was impressed. Then I tried the Costa Rican decaf Terroir is carrying in its GHH Select line, and I swooned. It has the sweet chocolate/nutty profile I adore. I actually have to check the bag at times, cause I find it hard to believe it's a decaf. Nice rounded cup, not the flat taste effect that is either subtle-to-prominent in decafs. The Paradise Roaster decafs have been very nice, but man, that Costa Rican one rocks my mouth!

Back to my mokka java: I made it strong to wake myself up. This is my first day getting up before 10:45 am in a while. :D Last week, I had several up after 4pm days (I am a vampire, really.)

I have calmed down considerably since post one (previous).

Allan sent out his encouragement emails. He cracks me up. The man is nothing if not passionate. I like that. I like people with that sort of intensity and energy. It wakes you up the way a good mokka java will. :)

Anyway, hair appt got postponed to 2:30, so I can chill with my coffee and water and messy hair. I'll go pick out what to wear to stay warm enough during the concert tonight. Maybe think about whether we'll hit a Coral Gables eatery afterwards (if concert runs 90 mins, we should be out by 9-ish, which is okay for dining). Hope it's a lovely day....and the echoes of my frustrated scream fade completely to make room for beautiful chorale music.


Food Log:

Breakfast:
1 cup chopped mushrooms, zucchini, yellow and red peppers egg white omelette (no oil)
1/2 multigrain bagel with 1 slice 2% cheese and a smallish tomato sliced.
3 cups coffee
6 glasses water (2 before, 2 during, 2 after)
calories: 324
fluids: 72 oz


Lunch: keeping fluids low-ish, cause I don't wanna be running to the bathroom every 30 mins during the concert. Had to go THREE times at the beauty salon. Pish.

1 cup vegetarian split pea soup
2 Canadian bacon slices, chopped and added to soup
2/3 cup mashed instant potatoes
1/2 small banana, sliced, with 1 tsp sugar-free chocolate chips, nuked till hot, fat free whip cream dollop (very small but delish impromptu dessert for you all who like chocolate/banana combo, with fat free RediWhip for 67 cals)
2 cups decaf
4 glasses water
calories: 377
fluids: 48 oz

Calories So Far:  711
Fluids So Far:  120 (almost there)

.

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.

Day 2 of Spawn of SoDDD Challenge: Running Around, Tempted at Bagel place (but persevered), Haircut, Blood Drawn, and Body is in Stall Mode, Methinks!

Okay, first time today I can sit down and BLOG!

No weigh-in. I slept little and poorly and didn't want the bad news. But my body feels a bit bloaty (not enough fruit yesterday?)  I hope Friday's official weigh-in is not disappointing. I'd be pissed, considering I ate about 1200 calories each of the last two days, which is REALLY REALLY REALLY low for me. I have been in a semi-stall, despite water and great caloric intake. Happens. I have been losing for months and this is normal for me...a sort of "hiccup". I'll get past it. I'll lose more.

Today, I had blood drawn for two docs--my endo and my primary. And pee. I had fasted 12 hours and had not had much water (cause I didn't wanna pee my pants during the drive). Then they ask for pee. I'm like, "Oh, no. Should have had more water."  Got out maybe 1/4 cup's worth. No kidding. I laughed. I asked, "Is that enough?" She said, "Yeah." Good. There was no more.

Bought 3 bottles of water at the gas station (insane prices, but I needed the agua after not having any) and drank two as I drove to the stripmall with the bagel place to have breakfast. God, was I tempted to go omelettey nuts (like ham, bacon, pastrami, cheese, veggies). I drank more water and asked for coffee to get more fluids in me. Then calmly asked for the egg white frittata with mushrooms, spinach and onions, and asked for it to be cooked with minimal oil. Got the grits side (this place stores the tomatoes with the lox and nova and stuff, and they always taste fishy, so no tomato slices for me). Multi-grain bagel came with it--I asked for it scooped, toasted. No low-fat cream cheese. I decided to splurge and use sparingly of the real thing. I had half the bagel--brought the other half home, weighed it, 1.2 onces. So I guess their bagels run 2.4 or so ounces scooped. The frittata when it came really was non-greasy. The mushrooms and spinach were fresh, not frozen or canned (some of the spinach leaves were still partly intact, not a soggy mess), and I asked for the onions raw so they wouldn't grill em with grease.

The grits, sadly, were "margarined". I saw little blobs of yellow here and there.

I had all the frittata (not enormous) and 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the grits (I logged it as 1/3 and added 1 tsp of margarine to be safe to the log). 2.5 cups coffee. The 1/2 scooped bagel and 1 tsp of cream cheese and 2 tsp of orange marmalade. I added 2/3 of a tbsp of margarine to the log to cover what little fat they used for the frittata. Maybe that was optimistic, but there it is. My estimate.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I wanted to finish the cup o' grits and other bagel half. OMIGOSH, I just drank water and said, 'No." Drank water and said, "No!" Pushed the plate away and asked for a doggy bag.

Princess Curls--just done, still damp

SparkPeople's tracker says I had 434 calories. Well, I was still ready to eat a lot more, but didn't. After a while, I calmed down. I went to GNC and got multivitamins. Went as a walk-in to a nearby salon and got my hair trimmed. Can't eat while getting hair cut. Well, I can't. Felt better when my curls were in order. The water and food kicked in. It's now 5 hours later and I'm ready to have something. :)

<off to eat>

<back>

Okay, so hubby (who had dental work) wanted something not very chewy and went to Boston Market. I measured out one of the meatloaf bits (4.3 oz), went to the BM website and calculated the calories per ounce for their meatloaf (64) and multiplied accordingly. I had two steamed veggie sides. No cornbread. I made a big batch of mushrooms sauted in 1/4 cup lowfat mushroom gravy and put that under the meatloaf slice. 2 cups decaf. Wanted dessert. Had some D'Lites low-cal, lower carb chocolate dairy treat and chopped a banana onto it. 5 glasses of water (still sipping coffee and water), and plan to have 3 more to be done with that meal.

Calories for breakfast and lunch: 1084
Fluids so far: 140 (accelerated rate level exceeded)

Okay, got super hungry around 10:30pm. Heated up the half-scooped-out-bagel remnant from breakfast and toasted it with one slice 2% cheese and made a cup of WS protein hot chocolate. Water. Done for the day (though I really am wanting to eat more).

My body and mouth are REALLY noticing the drop in calories. I hope I can persist, but at 1600-1760, I was not particularly hungry. Often didn't use up all my calories. I woke up with a growling stomach Wed AM. I'm going to bed feeling a little "tummy-void". I've been experimenting with the lower caloric rate, and I am not done with the experimenting, but I'm up to 1300 today and still feeling unsatisfied.

My choices could be more filling/better, so let's see as this goes on :)

Total Calories: 1297
Total Fluids: 176 oz

Day 1 of the SPAWN of SoDDD Challenge: Can the Princess Dieter convince Princess Wuss to do the 1200 Calories? The Battle's On! And some thoughts on eating at goal weight level and the upcoming holiday temptations...

Scale: 240.4

The Spawn of the Son of the Double Dog Dare Challenge begins TODAY!

If you didn't join in, too bad for you. The info and packet with menus is OUTSTANDING. Allan and crew did a great job. Thanks to all who put that together.

This is a short and disciplined challenge. The goal (at the strict end) is to eat 1200 calories and NO MORE plus a set number of ounces of fluids per day. The fluids are becoming second nature to me. I haven't missed the fluids goal a single day. In the previous two challenges, I think I only went over caloric goals three days, and I made up for all those and then some by eating less other days. So, really, I've been pretty damn golden since this series of challenges began. Even ill, I didn't overeat. Even on Thanksgiving, I didn't overeat.

This is the longest period of consistent sane eating that I've done...EVER...since I chubbed up in my twenties. I'm fifty. Do the math.

If you want to see how sticking to goal-weight caloric level and drinking oodles of water does a dieter good, go see Allan's charts today at http://almostgastricbypass.blogspot.com and marvel. Goal weight caloric level is not starvation level. It is a disciplined level--you will have to plan, think, control, and not overindulge, but that's what it's gonna take to MAINTAIN a weight loss, especially a massive one from hyperconditioned overeaters such as I am.  If you can't eat day in and day out at  your GOAL WEIGHT CALORIC LIMIT level, you will NOT BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN A LOSS. Period.

So, if living at this level was burdensome and un-doable, I would have had to reconsider my goal weight. Who knows? I may have to reconsider it anyway due to other factors. Or maybe I'll be one of the lucky few who can even go lower than goal weight. Doubt it. I've never skewed slim, not even as an active teen. My teen weight was in the 130's to low 140's, and that was biking, swimming, and walking a lot with a normal thyroid and being too poor to indulge in restaurants like I did as an adult (and do).

I have learned that I can enjoy many nice meals at 1700 calories. I can have filling and delicious meals. Not as much as I want every time. Not everything I want every day. Not a lot of my fave indulgences. Very little dessert. But that's how it is. People don't stay normal weight glomming on pizzas and cheese-drenched mega-burritos thrice a week and shoving cake and chocolate bars down the gullet every night. People stay normal weight, stay slender, stay lean by eating with constraints . And if like me you are a metabolic disaster, you don't get to fudge as much as some others. Life is unfair, then you die. (Okay, so I have the hope of  Heaven, which blunts the awfulness of that, heh.) So what's new? I assume God gave me a great brain, a caring family, and a dazzlingly loving and passionate and monogamously devoted hunk of a hubby to make up for a defective respiratory system, weak teeth, acne, eczema, depression tendencies, a crap immune system, and a screwed-up metabolism. Hubby says so. :D

So, when I eat with my Great Big True Hunky Love, I don't get second and third helpings. I guess I'll just have more sex.

Now, back to food:

I have not fully committed to the 1200 level. I am committed to not going over my goal weight level, and even to staying nicely under.

But I did test the waters. Yesterday, I had the first day that was really close to the DNA test diet recommendations for me (65/20/15)My carb/fat/protein ratio was  63/15/22. I also ate only 1208 calories. I was not hungry. I did have cravings. I almost had another mini-meal cause of those cravings. But I persevered.

It wasn't a lot of food, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. I think because I had a lot of fiber (36 grams) that helped make me feel full.

So, for me, this is an ambivalent beginning, but I am determined to continue to the end, no matter where in the acceptable caloric range I end up daily. Christmas will be a challenge, moreso than Thanksgiving for me. Christmas has emotional connotations and is so saturated in nostalgia that it may trigger the emotional monster. I will do what I need to do to calm the grief-monster that emerges, too, since my parents and beloved aunt are deceased. I always miss the gone-folks most at Nochebuena (Christmas Eve, when we Cubans celebrate the holiday). Dad and my brother watching over the roast pig is a memory. Mom making empanadillas from scratch. My aunt always stirring something in some big pot. Singing Spanish carols that were my mom's fave. Stories of "old Cuba" from parents and siblings. (I have no memories, so I always felt a big hole, a bit left out, but I'd sit and listen to the reminiscences.)

If I can get through Nochebuena, I'll be fine. :)

So, onto the SPAWN CHALLENGE:

Food Log...

BREAKFAST:
2 slices WW toast made into a sandwich with:
1/3 cup egg whites scrambled with 1/4 cup chopped tomato/onion/bell pepper and
1 slice 2% American cheese
3 slices Canadian bacon
1 cup fresh papaya chunkes with spritz of lime.
Supplements: Calcium +D, Magnesium, Quercetin, Fiber, Multi, probiotics
3 cups coffee
8 glasses water (6 before, two after)

calories:  333
fluids:  88 oz

LUNCH:
2 cups Amy's light in sodium Minestrone Soup
1 tbsp shaved parmesan
3 skewers Satay Chicken with 1 tbsp peanut sauce
2 cups decaf
6 glasses water

calories:  517
fluids: 64 oz (not counting soup)


calories so far: 850
fluids so far:  152 oz

DINNER: Was craving both SWEET and SALTY and arugula...so the weird dinner you see:

Arugula and tomato salad with 2 tbsp shaved parmesan and 2 tsp EVOO
WS hotcakes with sugar free syrup, 1 tsp ICBInotButter , 2 tbsp applesauce, and cinnamon
assorted supplements
2 cups decaf
4 glasses water

calories:  397
fluids: 48 oz

Total Calories: 1247
Total Fluids:  200 oz

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

Rules of Weight Loss: #2 -- Keep Track of What You Eat

I had posted previously on what I put as the number one Rule of Weight Loss: Make the Decision.

So, let's say I'll make "Track what You Eat" as Rule #2.

I honestly believe (partly from what I've read from studies and blogs and partly from observation) that a lot of people lose track of what they eat and, more basically, have no idea just HOW much they are eating in terms of calories.

I've seen assorted systems. Exchanges (so many meat, so many starch, so many veggies) and Points (Weight Watchers) and Plate Portioning (half simple veggies, a quarter lean protein, a quarter complex starch) and the standby old-fashioned calorie-counting. I've seen successful losers do a countdown (a simple notepad they carry with allowed calories or points on top and then a countdown as they eat, subtracting to 0, then stop eating). Some do electronic tracking (on a smartphone, online, on some gadget). Some have nice journals. Some have great memories and just add it up in their heads as mouthfuls are consumed.

However you do it that is accurate enough to work for you, keep track of what you eat. Learn what makes for a weight loss or, if you are at goal weight, maintenance level of food (by points, by calorie, by plate configurations). Make sure you get your calcium, protein,, fiber, and nutrients by eating variety and taking good supplements on days when you fall short.

Unless you have a tracking system, whether simple or moderately detailed or really complex, it's easy to convince yourself you didn't eat that much so, goldurnit, why aren't ya losing!?  If you aren't losing, you still are eating too much. Don't kid yourself that the double-cheeseburger can't be more than, oh, 350 calories. It might be 700. Don't think that chunk of cheese was just 100, when it was two ounces and more like 220. Initially, tracking is a major pain in the keister, but it's a learning experience, that keister-pain. Then, you get better at it and can eyeball and track with greater ease.

Eventually, you'll habituate to what is a proper portion/ratio/quantity.

So, yeah. Keeping track of food intake. Studies* have shown it helps dieters. Awareness, no fudging, no lying. Knowing what is going in. It's important to learn how much should go in....

* Too lazy to look em up. You have a search engine. Use it. :)

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 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)