228.5 - Whew! It's definitely the "food is just gross" stage of pregnancy, where you can't decide what to eat, because you're not sure if it's going to make you feel sick, and sometimes you just give up and eat nothing.
Okay, here's what's what for the past few days. I don't remember what I did since my last post, but here's what I can remember:
Thursday? - elliptical 20 min, 2345 strides, 1.57 miles, 263.3 calories
Friday - 230.5, exercised 30 minutes on the elliptical, but I kept pausing because I was watching the news on the tv (I wish they would not put a tv anywhere near the exercise machines!!!), and the readout cleared, so I have no idea what the stats were.
Saturday & Sunday - no exercise
Exercise - Today, I swam, for the first time in over three weeks. I did 12 laps, 3/8 mile, only about 20 minutes, kind of lame, but I ran out of time, before I had to get the plates renewed on my car, and get to Dani's dr appt on time.
Today, I decided I LOVE swimming. It's all I want to do now for my exercise. Because it's more than just the exercise. Being in the water is just mentally therapeutic, and these days, I need all the mental health boosters I can get. That's more important to me now than to be the push-yourself-to-the-limit exercise nazi. And tonight, I ordered a sassy new swimsuit/swimdress on eBay, only $31 with shipping, that will probably be big enough to hold all of me as I grow with this pregnancy. I had a size 22 that worked great when I was pregnant with Connor, and that's the size I ordered tonight. That particular swimsuit is all stretched out and almost see-through, or I'd be wearing it now. I definitely got my money's worth out of that one.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - as usual, I got started so late today, that I missed breakfast. Tomorrow, I'm kicking my rear out of bed, and exercising first thing in the morning.
Lunch - what lunch? It was more like a snack-fest all afternoon. On the way to get my plates renewed, I drank a Sobe lifewater, mango-melon flavor. I also ate a snack-bag of Sun Chips. Then I had a chocolate-dipped cone at Artic Circle. I grabbed a banana later, on the way out the door to Dani's appt. When I was shopping at Wal-Mart, I got a 1/4 pound container of macaroni and cheese from the deli. Then, on the way to Gil's tennis practice, I grabbed an apple and a Country Time raspberry lemonade.
Dinner - I made lasagna, garlic bread, and an olive-tomato cesear salad with feta cheese (so good!) I snitched as I cooked, so who knows how much I ate. I just know that by the time dinner was ready, I wasn't very hungry, and just ate some of the salad, and a piece of garlic bread. Then, crystal light flavored water.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
I'm Sorry I'm A Brat
I'm sorry, and for some reason this makes me feel like an attention-hogging brat, but I'm not waiting two more months down the road, as seems like the usual time or right time to do this, but I'm making an announcement here and now. The biggest reason behind my weight struggles over the past month is that (drumroll...)
I'm expecting! Yep, I'm pregnant. Knocked up. Bun in the oven. In the family way. All that good stuff.
My kids don't know yet, so I'm not putting my announcement on my regular blog, for now. Although, I've been laying hints all over the place when I talk to the kids, especially when Emma does something cute. "Aren't babies woooooonderful! We need to have another one," and all that sort of thing. The other day, Gil said, "You need to wait until I've graduated from high school, thennnn have another baby." I think that statement was about financial concerns and HIS needs, but you know, he's a teenage boy. Little does he know, he's too late for his opinion to have any effect, not that it really would in the first place, on this issue. Plus, I want my kids to have a chance to know each other, at least a little, before they start leaving home. Gil's only going to have two years with this one, maybe three if he lives at home a little while before his mission.
Why another one? And first, let me say, it was on purpose, not a "happy little accident." I just thought, "Well, either we're done, or we're not, and if we're not, let's get it over with ASAP, because I don't want to be pregnant when I'm 40-plus." Not that it isn't okay, even necessary, for some people who yearn for children and have great difficulty having them, but personally, I don't want to be in that boat. I have been blessed with more than my fair share of children, two boys & two girls, and I don't think I need to be going into my 40's with the whole pregnancy/newborn experience. And there will be a nearly-16-year gap between my oldest and this coming youngest, as it is. I think that's plenty. I'm done.
So, that's that. I'll be due about the end of March, which with my track record, means the first week of April. I know, it's a long way off, and I'm only about nine weeks along right now, but I've felt like I needed some kind of vindication for the crazy appetite and weight fluctuation almost since I started this blog six weeks ago. The past four weeks, I just kept thinking, "I'm REALLY not this pathetic, I know I can do better!!!" I'd wanted to shout it out here on my blog, but I felt like it should be a secret for a while longer. But I just can't stand it any longer. I need a place to whine about my body, now that I pretty much have to postpone any serious weight loss for about another eight months (seven more months of pregnancy, plus at least a month recovery, maybe more.) Yeah, it's the emotional/hungry/nauseated/tired/whiney stage of pregnancy, which I guess is pretty much the whole thing, come to think of it, with a few good months in the middle, when the energy comes back for a little while.
Weight yesterday - 230.5
Weight today - 231.0
Exercise Yesterday - PRECOR Elliptical EFX 556, 30 minutes, resistance 7 for 15 min and resistance 8 for 15 min, 2.44 miles, 3807 strides, 414.8 calories. I think that's the most calories I've ever racked up on that machine in 30 minutes. I felt awesome. 400 calories in 30 minutes, Yeah!!! I didn't exercise Saturday or Sunday, and I guess the "horses" were ready to run.
Exercise Today - PRECOR Elliptical EFX 556, 30 minutes, resistance 7 for 15 min and resistance 8 for 15 min, 2.36 miles, 3525 strides, 396.5 calories. Somewhat less than yesterday, but still good. I get more and more out of breath each day, it seems like. Especially towards the end of the day. I huffed and puffed getting up the stairs tonight, which is usually easy for me. Sheesh. I'll be down to walking by about 5 or 6 months, because my thighs will keep bumping into my pregnant belly, and it will become painful. I know this from past experience.
What I Ate Today -
Breakfast - 32 oz. water during and after workout, about 2 cups generic brand Total with dried strawberries, half of a banana, and a nectarine.
Lunch - honestly, I have no idea. I think I skipped lunch, because I ate breakfast around 11:30 this morning. I remember midafternoon drinking a Sobe life water (?), which is a mildly sweetened, vitamin-enhanced drink. I probably grazed on some Goldfish crackers, but that's about it.
Dinner - homemade beef stew, about 2 cups, then 5 or 6 mini biscuits (for you international blog stalkers, these are American biscuits which are probably what you would consider a non-sweet scone), they measured about 1 to 1-1/2 inch across. Cute and little, and that's why I ate half a dozen with a little dab of jelly on top. To drink, I had about 16 oz. 1% milk
I'm expecting! Yep, I'm pregnant. Knocked up. Bun in the oven. In the family way. All that good stuff.
My kids don't know yet, so I'm not putting my announcement on my regular blog, for now. Although, I've been laying hints all over the place when I talk to the kids, especially when Emma does something cute. "Aren't babies woooooonderful! We need to have another one," and all that sort of thing. The other day, Gil said, "You need to wait until I've graduated from high school, thennnn have another baby." I think that statement was about financial concerns and HIS needs, but you know, he's a teenage boy. Little does he know, he's too late for his opinion to have any effect, not that it really would in the first place, on this issue. Plus, I want my kids to have a chance to know each other, at least a little, before they start leaving home. Gil's only going to have two years with this one, maybe three if he lives at home a little while before his mission.
Why another one? And first, let me say, it was on purpose, not a "happy little accident." I just thought, "Well, either we're done, or we're not, and if we're not, let's get it over with ASAP, because I don't want to be pregnant when I'm 40-plus." Not that it isn't okay, even necessary, for some people who yearn for children and have great difficulty having them, but personally, I don't want to be in that boat. I have been blessed with more than my fair share of children, two boys & two girls, and I don't think I need to be going into my 40's with the whole pregnancy/newborn experience. And there will be a nearly-16-year gap between my oldest and this coming youngest, as it is. I think that's plenty. I'm done.
So, that's that. I'll be due about the end of March, which with my track record, means the first week of April. I know, it's a long way off, and I'm only about nine weeks along right now, but I've felt like I needed some kind of vindication for the crazy appetite and weight fluctuation almost since I started this blog six weeks ago. The past four weeks, I just kept thinking, "I'm REALLY not this pathetic, I know I can do better!!!" I'd wanted to shout it out here on my blog, but I felt like it should be a secret for a while longer. But I just can't stand it any longer. I need a place to whine about my body, now that I pretty much have to postpone any serious weight loss for about another eight months (seven more months of pregnancy, plus at least a month recovery, maybe more.) Yeah, it's the emotional/hungry/nauseated/tired/whiney stage of pregnancy, which I guess is pretty much the whole thing, come to think of it, with a few good months in the middle, when the energy comes back for a little while.
Weight yesterday - 230.5
Weight today - 231.0
Exercise Yesterday - PRECOR Elliptical EFX 556, 30 minutes, resistance 7 for 15 min and resistance 8 for 15 min, 2.44 miles, 3807 strides, 414.8 calories. I think that's the most calories I've ever racked up on that machine in 30 minutes. I felt awesome. 400 calories in 30 minutes, Yeah!!! I didn't exercise Saturday or Sunday, and I guess the "horses" were ready to run.
Exercise Today - PRECOR Elliptical EFX 556, 30 minutes, resistance 7 for 15 min and resistance 8 for 15 min, 2.36 miles, 3525 strides, 396.5 calories. Somewhat less than yesterday, but still good. I get more and more out of breath each day, it seems like. Especially towards the end of the day. I huffed and puffed getting up the stairs tonight, which is usually easy for me. Sheesh. I'll be down to walking by about 5 or 6 months, because my thighs will keep bumping into my pregnant belly, and it will become painful. I know this from past experience.
What I Ate Today -
Breakfast - 32 oz. water during and after workout, about 2 cups generic brand Total with dried strawberries, half of a banana, and a nectarine.
Lunch - honestly, I have no idea. I think I skipped lunch, because I ate breakfast around 11:30 this morning. I remember midafternoon drinking a Sobe life water (?), which is a mildly sweetened, vitamin-enhanced drink. I probably grazed on some Goldfish crackers, but that's about it.
Dinner - homemade beef stew, about 2 cups, then 5 or 6 mini biscuits (for you international blog stalkers, these are American biscuits which are probably what you would consider a non-sweet scone), they measured about 1 to 1-1/2 inch across. Cute and little, and that's why I ate half a dozen with a little dab of jelly on top. To drink, I had about 16 oz. 1% milk
Friday, August 21, 2009
230.25
230.25 Thank goodness.
I think for now, I'm just going to let the cards fall where they may. I'll keep up my exercising, try to drink more water to stay hydrated and cut down on the munchies, and just try to quit eating when my body tells me I'm full.
Exercise - PRECOR Elliptical EFX576i, 30 min., 2.14 miles, 3402 strides, 338.0 calories. Crossramp 7, resistance 7, and I did 5-minute intervals forwards and backwards.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - 32 oz. water, banana after workout, then picking up kids from tennis, and for some reason, we got on the topic of Scout Camp, and that led to Mountain Man breakfast (hash browns, sausage, eggs, cheese all mixed together), and that led to making it. So, I had a couple small bowls full. Plus, I made strawberry smoothies (frozen strawberries, 1% milk, vanilla, a little sugar). Had at least 24 oz. of that.
Lunch - too full from breakfast
Dinner - nibbled a little on Mountain Man breakast, and a little of the leftover smoothie, then we went up to Firehole Canyon campground for the ward campout. Had hamburgers, a variety of salads, lemonade, and cobbler. One plateful, plus dessert.
I think for now, I'm just going to let the cards fall where they may. I'll keep up my exercising, try to drink more water to stay hydrated and cut down on the munchies, and just try to quit eating when my body tells me I'm full.
Exercise - PRECOR Elliptical EFX576i, 30 min., 2.14 miles, 3402 strides, 338.0 calories. Crossramp 7, resistance 7, and I did 5-minute intervals forwards and backwards.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - 32 oz. water, banana after workout, then picking up kids from tennis, and for some reason, we got on the topic of Scout Camp, and that led to Mountain Man breakfast (hash browns, sausage, eggs, cheese all mixed together), and that led to making it. So, I had a couple small bowls full. Plus, I made strawberry smoothies (frozen strawberries, 1% milk, vanilla, a little sugar). Had at least 24 oz. of that.
Lunch - too full from breakfast
Dinner - nibbled a little on Mountain Man breakast, and a little of the leftover smoothie, then we went up to Firehole Canyon campground for the ward campout. Had hamburgers, a variety of salads, lemonade, and cobbler. One plateful, plus dessert.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Let's Catch Up
Okay, when I left on vacation last Thursday, I was 227. Tonight when I went to the Rec Center, I was 233. Which, honestly, wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. As bloated as I've been feeling, I was thinking, "Please don't be over 240, please don't be over 240..." So, I guess it was a small triumph. As most of you know, the campout was really interesting this year, as it rained and hailed on us. By the time we got off the mountain, my nose was stuffy and my ear was plugged up, and I have spent most of my time since then in a haze of doing-a-whole-lot-of-nothing, no exercising and just snacking for absolutely no good reason other than lack of motivation and boredom. Hence, the bloating.
I did exercise tonight, almost as an afterthought. I went by the rec center to see if the Stretch and Strengthen class was going on, and even though it wasn't, I thought, "Well, I'm here, I might as well do something." So, I put in 20 minutes, 1.53 miles, 254.3 calories on the downstairs elliptical, the PRECOR Elliptical EFX 556, resistance #6 most of the time.
I think I really, really need to pay attention to my water intake, as Sue and Lori are doing. I think it would really cut out a whole lot of snacking.
I did exercise tonight, almost as an afterthought. I went by the rec center to see if the Stretch and Strengthen class was going on, and even though it wasn't, I thought, "Well, I'm here, I might as well do something." So, I put in 20 minutes, 1.53 miles, 254.3 calories on the downstairs elliptical, the PRECOR Elliptical EFX 556, resistance #6 most of the time.
I think I really, really need to pay attention to my water intake, as Sue and Lori are doing. I think it would really cut out a whole lot of snacking.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Should I or Shouldn't I?
229.5
I'm debating whether or not I should step away from my health blog for a few weeks. I'm going on vacation again, and there are some other things going on that are contributing to the weight gain. Maybe I'll pick it up again when the kids are back in school.
Exercise - PRECOR EFX576i elliptical, I did over 30 minutes, but I got a few texts in the beginning, and the readout on the machine cleared, so I only have the stats on 25 minutes: 1.82 miles, 2895 strides, and 289.01 calories. Still kind of lame, but my tail was really dragging.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - at least 20 oz. water during and after my workout, strawberry frosted mini wheats, 1% milk
Lunch - multi-grain bread 2 pieces, miracle whip light, one slice american cheese, one slice swiss cheese, romaine lettuce, 6 to 8 baby carrots
Dinner - from Wendy's, double cheeseburger, large vanilla Frostee, and around bedtime I drank a TON of caffeine-free diet cola.
P.S. Lori, thanks for the tip about water. I know I definitely need to be drinking more of it, and going low-sodium would help.
I'm debating whether or not I should step away from my health blog for a few weeks. I'm going on vacation again, and there are some other things going on that are contributing to the weight gain. Maybe I'll pick it up again when the kids are back in school.
Exercise - PRECOR EFX576i elliptical, I did over 30 minutes, but I got a few texts in the beginning, and the readout on the machine cleared, so I only have the stats on 25 minutes: 1.82 miles, 2895 strides, and 289.01 calories. Still kind of lame, but my tail was really dragging.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - at least 20 oz. water during and after my workout, strawberry frosted mini wheats, 1% milk
Lunch - multi-grain bread 2 pieces, miracle whip light, one slice american cheese, one slice swiss cheese, romaine lettuce, 6 to 8 baby carrots
Dinner - from Wendy's, double cheeseburger, large vanilla Frostee, and around bedtime I drank a TON of caffeine-free diet cola.
P.S. Lori, thanks for the tip about water. I know I definitely need to be drinking more of it, and going low-sodium would help.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Like the Holidays?
229.75
Seriously.
Okay, is this like it is around the holidays, where it seems like you are fighting a losing battle? And should I just start again after the kids are in school, and everything is on a regular schedule?
Exercise -
PRECOR Elliptical EFX576i, 30 min., 2.21 miles, 3612 strides, 355.1 calories. Crossramp 7, resistance 7, and I did 5-minute intervals forwards and backwards.
Also, the ice rink has opened again, and I put in about 30 min.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - 1/3 cup Malt O Meal, cooked with 1 C. water and frozen strawberries. It seems like I ate something else, too, but I can't remember now.
Lunch - 1 sloppy joe (1 white hamburger bun, hamburger mixed with sauce), about 1/2 cup sloppy joe filling eaten with tortilla chips. About 1/2 hot dog, and a few spoonsful of turkey chili. Water flavored with crystal light.
Dinner - whole grain pasta (2 different shapes) and my homemade spaghetti sauce, also some jar alfredo sauce (about 1/2 a large dinner plate's worth of pasta), 1 piece garlic bread, about 1 to 1-1/2 cups salad (romaine heart, roma tomato, light ranch dressing, Salad Toppins), water flavored with crystal light
Post Dinner - 9pm We had a birthday cake for Connor, so I shared a bowl of chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream with Emma
Seriously.
Okay, is this like it is around the holidays, where it seems like you are fighting a losing battle? And should I just start again after the kids are in school, and everything is on a regular schedule?
Exercise -
PRECOR Elliptical EFX576i, 30 min., 2.21 miles, 3612 strides, 355.1 calories. Crossramp 7, resistance 7, and I did 5-minute intervals forwards and backwards.
Also, the ice rink has opened again, and I put in about 30 min.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - 1/3 cup Malt O Meal, cooked with 1 C. water and frozen strawberries. It seems like I ate something else, too, but I can't remember now.
Lunch - 1 sloppy joe (1 white hamburger bun, hamburger mixed with sauce), about 1/2 cup sloppy joe filling eaten with tortilla chips. About 1/2 hot dog, and a few spoonsful of turkey chili. Water flavored with crystal light.
Dinner - whole grain pasta (2 different shapes) and my homemade spaghetti sauce, also some jar alfredo sauce (about 1/2 a large dinner plate's worth of pasta), 1 piece garlic bread, about 1 to 1-1/2 cups salad (romaine heart, roma tomato, light ranch dressing, Salad Toppins), water flavored with crystal light
Post Dinner - 9pm We had a birthday cake for Connor, so I shared a bowl of chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream with Emma
Monday, August 10, 2009
Back From Vacation
228.5
Oh, joy.
Although, the way I ate this weekend on my "vacation", it doesn't come as much of a surprise.
Exercise -
PRECOR Elliptical EFX576i, 30 min., 2.20 miles, 3545 strides, 348.0 calories. Crossramp 7, resistance 7, and I did 5-minute intervals forwards and backwards.
What I ate today -
Breakfast/Lunch - 1/3 cup cooked Malt O Meal (add 1 cup water) and frozen peaches. Then, I ate potato chips, fat free sour cream, and a pile of these mac n cheese rounds (think tator tots, except with mac n cheese in the middle). How did those NOT make me sick?
Snack - late in the afternoon, went to a movie with Zen, had buttered popcorn, nachos and diet Pepsi (I know, it's kind of stupid picking diet, when you're going to defeat the purpose by eating buttered popcorn)
Dinner - baby carrots, two sloppy joes (about 1/3 to 1/2 seasoned hamburger on a hamburger bun), and about 1 cup neopolitan ice cream
Sheesh, I could do better tomorrow.
Oh, joy.
Although, the way I ate this weekend on my "vacation", it doesn't come as much of a surprise.
Exercise -
PRECOR Elliptical EFX576i, 30 min., 2.20 miles, 3545 strides, 348.0 calories. Crossramp 7, resistance 7, and I did 5-minute intervals forwards and backwards.
What I ate today -
Breakfast/Lunch - 1/3 cup cooked Malt O Meal (add 1 cup water) and frozen peaches. Then, I ate potato chips, fat free sour cream, and a pile of these mac n cheese rounds (think tator tots, except with mac n cheese in the middle). How did those NOT make me sick?
Snack - late in the afternoon, went to a movie with Zen, had buttered popcorn, nachos and diet Pepsi (I know, it's kind of stupid picking diet, when you're going to defeat the purpose by eating buttered popcorn)
Dinner - baby carrots, two sloppy joes (about 1/3 to 1/2 seasoned hamburger on a hamburger bun), and about 1 cup neopolitan ice cream
Sheesh, I could do better tomorrow.
Friday, August 7, 2009
225.5
225.5
Well, at least I didn't gain any more weight, lost 1/2 pound. Okay, I won't cry today.
Exercise -
PRECOR Elliptical EFX576i, 30 min. (15 min at crossramp 10, resist 5, and 15 min at crossramp 7, resist 7), 2.23 miles, 3840 strides, 351.2 calories. I did 7-1/2 minutes intervals forwards and backwards.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - 32 oz. water during and after workout, 1/3 cup dry Malt-o-Meal (add 1 cup water) cooked with frozen peaches, 3/4 cup or so of lowfat pineapple cottage cheese, 8 or so large round wheat crackers, a handful of fresh cherries
Break - I'm posting this early, about half-way through. I'm going out of town for a few days, and so will not be able to post, but I'll post when I get back.
Well, at least I didn't gain any more weight, lost 1/2 pound. Okay, I won't cry today.
Exercise -
PRECOR Elliptical EFX576i, 30 min. (15 min at crossramp 10, resist 5, and 15 min at crossramp 7, resist 7), 2.23 miles, 3840 strides, 351.2 calories. I did 7-1/2 minutes intervals forwards and backwards.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - 32 oz. water during and after workout, 1/3 cup dry Malt-o-Meal (add 1 cup water) cooked with frozen peaches, 3/4 cup or so of lowfat pineapple cottage cheese, 8 or so large round wheat crackers, a handful of fresh cherries
Break - I'm posting this early, about half-way through. I'm going out of town for a few days, and so will not be able to post, but I'll post when I get back.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
No Comment
226.0
How about gaining nearly another two pounds?!
Exercise -
PRECOR Elliptical EFX 556 downstairs, 5 minutes warmup, 75 calories, 0.44 miles, 700 strides, 1/2 forwards, 1/2 backwards. Then, I did 16 laps, 1/2 mile, 32 minutes, in the pool.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - got done exercising and was back home by 8:40am. Decided I was going to eat more healthy things today, so I started off with 1/3 cup dry Malt-o-Meal (add 1 cup water) cooked with frozen peaches and blueberries.
Lunch - about 1/2 cup of the leftover baked beans, 1 whole wheat tortilla, some of the cooked hamburger left from last night, cheddar cheese, fat free sour cream, guacamole, lettuce, tomato. Then, I wolfed down about 1 cup lowfat cottage cheese and 2-1/2 to 3" round wheat crackers, maybe a dozen? And crystal light flavored water.
Dinner - Around 5pm, I decided that I really wasn't all that hungry, I was still feeling a little full from lunch so I was going to skip dinner. I did snack on a few more wheat crackers. Then, the power went out, with all the storming and lightening going on, and after getting out of the house a few times, Dani, Connor, Emma, and I (Zen was out in the field, and Gil was at Scout Camp) all sat around the dining room, where the most light was coming in the house, and I read a book while the kids watched the lightening and played. By 8pm, Connor asked for an ice cream cone, and I was in that well-there-goes-my-productive-night kind of zone, so I just sat down with 1/2 a tub of Baby Ruth ice cream, and ate it all. Shame, shame, I know your name. We all went to bed early. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.
How about gaining nearly another two pounds?!
Exercise -
PRECOR Elliptical EFX 556 downstairs, 5 minutes warmup, 75 calories, 0.44 miles, 700 strides, 1/2 forwards, 1/2 backwards. Then, I did 16 laps, 1/2 mile, 32 minutes, in the pool.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - got done exercising and was back home by 8:40am. Decided I was going to eat more healthy things today, so I started off with 1/3 cup dry Malt-o-Meal (add 1 cup water) cooked with frozen peaches and blueberries.
Lunch - about 1/2 cup of the leftover baked beans, 1 whole wheat tortilla, some of the cooked hamburger left from last night, cheddar cheese, fat free sour cream, guacamole, lettuce, tomato. Then, I wolfed down about 1 cup lowfat cottage cheese and 2-1/2 to 3" round wheat crackers, maybe a dozen? And crystal light flavored water.
Dinner - Around 5pm, I decided that I really wasn't all that hungry, I was still feeling a little full from lunch so I was going to skip dinner. I did snack on a few more wheat crackers. Then, the power went out, with all the storming and lightening going on, and after getting out of the house a few times, Dani, Connor, Emma, and I (Zen was out in the field, and Gil was at Scout Camp) all sat around the dining room, where the most light was coming in the house, and I read a book while the kids watched the lightening and played. By 8pm, Connor asked for an ice cream cone, and I was in that well-there-goes-my-productive-night kind of zone, so I just sat down with 1/2 a tub of Baby Ruth ice cream, and ate it all. Shame, shame, I know your name. We all went to bed early. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Slowing Down?
224.5
Well, at least I didn't gain another three pounds today.
Exercise -
PRECOR Elliptical EFX576i, 30 minutes, 2.25 miles, 3748 strides, 358.0 calories. After yesterday, I figured I had it in me to increase the intensity, so I did a crossramp of 7, and a resistance 7. It kicked my tail, but a good workout is always satisfying.
What I ate today -
Breakfast/Lunch - Today was one of those didn't-eat-until-lunch kind of days. I had 32 oz. of water during/after my workout. Then I had four of the chocolate striped shortbread cookies, a small bowl of strawberry honey bunches of oats cereal, and about 2/3 to 3/4 of a can of baked beans. I was in a weird mood today.
Dinner - Had some baby carrots to snack on while I cooked dinner. I made the most luscious tacos. Hamburger, cheddar cheese, salsa, fat free sour cream, guacamole, lettuce, and tomatos. I ate 3-1/2, when I could have stopped at two. I also had about 16 to 20 oz. crystal light flavored water.
I was reminded at dinner, that I tend to eat food sometimes just for the sheer pleasure of keeping the party going on my tongue, the marvelous flavor and texture of food, when in fact, my stomach is telling me, "Enough already, I feel sick!"
I'm looking at what I ate today, and I'm thinking, "That doesn't look too over-the-top. I must have eaten more, I felt stuffed!" But maybe the excesses of the past week, whether phsyically or psychologically, are perhaps, slowing down, finally.
Well, at least I didn't gain another three pounds today.
Exercise -
PRECOR Elliptical EFX576i, 30 minutes, 2.25 miles, 3748 strides, 358.0 calories. After yesterday, I figured I had it in me to increase the intensity, so I did a crossramp of 7, and a resistance 7. It kicked my tail, but a good workout is always satisfying.
What I ate today -
Breakfast/Lunch - Today was one of those didn't-eat-until-lunch kind of days. I had 32 oz. of water during/after my workout. Then I had four of the chocolate striped shortbread cookies, a small bowl of strawberry honey bunches of oats cereal, and about 2/3 to 3/4 of a can of baked beans. I was in a weird mood today.
Dinner - Had some baby carrots to snack on while I cooked dinner. I made the most luscious tacos. Hamburger, cheddar cheese, salsa, fat free sour cream, guacamole, lettuce, and tomatos. I ate 3-1/2, when I could have stopped at two. I also had about 16 to 20 oz. crystal light flavored water.
I was reminded at dinner, that I tend to eat food sometimes just for the sheer pleasure of keeping the party going on my tongue, the marvelous flavor and texture of food, when in fact, my stomach is telling me, "Enough already, I feel sick!"
I'm looking at what I ate today, and I'm thinking, "That doesn't look too over-the-top. I must have eaten more, I felt stuffed!" But maybe the excesses of the past week, whether phsyically or psychologically, are perhaps, slowing down, finally.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Oh, How the Mighty Have Fallen
224.5
7am - writing late. Man, I think I gotta forbid myself from setting foot in the kitchen today. I gained three pounds in one day?! And this morning's weigh-in is not going to be any better. I need to focus, again.
Exercise - PRECOR Elliptical EFX576i, 30 minutes, crossramp 6, resistance 6, 2.18 miles, 3613 strides, 335.5 calories, alternated forwards and backwards every five minutes. I could feel that I'm getting used to the backwards motion, when it outrageously was kicking my tail a week ago. I could probably increase the crossramp or resistance.
What I ate today - Now, this is the six million dollar question. I pretty much ate the whole kitchen, I think.
Breakfast - somewhere around 9am. I started off with good intentions. Ate my malt o meal cooked with frozen strawberries and peaches. Then, I eyeballed the bagels left on the counter. Ate what was left of the strawberry one. It all gets fuzzy from there, the whole day.
Lunch - For some reason, this is the one I can't remember very well. I think it was chips and salsa, then I cooked some mini bowtie pasta to go with the leftover spaghetti sauce, and added some parmesean cheese.
Dinner - tortilla chips (maybe 1/4 bag?), fat free sour cream (1 cup?), salsa (1 cup?), some bites of canned ravioli I fed to Emma, then I downed a whole pitcher (six cups?) of lime julius. I could pat myself on the back that I didn't add any sugar, but you know, I think the concentrate came with plenty already. I also had some chocolate shortbread cookies, 1/2 dozen, I think.
Well, time to go to the rec center and face the scales. Maybe it will inspire me to get back on track. Or scare me to into getting back on track.
7am - writing late. Man, I think I gotta forbid myself from setting foot in the kitchen today. I gained three pounds in one day?! And this morning's weigh-in is not going to be any better. I need to focus, again.
Exercise - PRECOR Elliptical EFX576i, 30 minutes, crossramp 6, resistance 6, 2.18 miles, 3613 strides, 335.5 calories, alternated forwards and backwards every five minutes. I could feel that I'm getting used to the backwards motion, when it outrageously was kicking my tail a week ago. I could probably increase the crossramp or resistance.
What I ate today - Now, this is the six million dollar question. I pretty much ate the whole kitchen, I think.
Breakfast - somewhere around 9am. I started off with good intentions. Ate my malt o meal cooked with frozen strawberries and peaches. Then, I eyeballed the bagels left on the counter. Ate what was left of the strawberry one. It all gets fuzzy from there, the whole day.
Lunch - For some reason, this is the one I can't remember very well. I think it was chips and salsa, then I cooked some mini bowtie pasta to go with the leftover spaghetti sauce, and added some parmesean cheese.
Dinner - tortilla chips (maybe 1/4 bag?), fat free sour cream (1 cup?), salsa (1 cup?), some bites of canned ravioli I fed to Emma, then I downed a whole pitcher (six cups?) of lime julius. I could pat myself on the back that I didn't add any sugar, but you know, I think the concentrate came with plenty already. I also had some chocolate shortbread cookies, 1/2 dozen, I think.
Well, time to go to the rec center and face the scales. Maybe it will inspire me to get back on track. Or scare me to into getting back on track.
Monday, August 3, 2009
There Are About 50 Mouths Inside My Body
221.5
I swear, I had an appetite that wouldn't quit today. The logical part of my brain was not in charge of my body today. Jenn would feel better if she were still reading my health blog.
Exercise -
Did a brief warmup on that elliptical/stairmaster hybrid machine. Still don't know what to call it. 7 minutes, 0.3 miles, 70 calories. Then, I hit the pool for laps, and I did 16 laps, 1/2 mile, in 31 minutes. Man, I love swimming. Totally creeped out by deep water, but love the feel of the water over my skin, and the freedom of moving every part of my body, all at the same time. If I thought it was going to give my body the challenge it needed all the time, it's the only exercise I'd be doing.
I was really tired this morning, I probably only got five hours of sleep, but I went to the rec center anyway. It's funny, I can make myself exercise. It makes me feel energized and ready for the rest of my day. I've got plenty of willpower for that, but my willpower over my eating urges is just pathetic, especially over the past week. Monkeys!
What I ate today - Honestly, I'll try to remember, but I know I'm going to miss some things.
Breakfast - Thankfully, I got out and exercised first thing this morning. Was done showering, dressing, and got back home by 8:30. I have GOT to fix my sleep schedule, so I'll be ready to drag myself out of bed at 5:30am or earlier, so I'll be "on deck" and ready to be the mom early in the morning when school starts again.
Okay, back to breakfast. At 9am, I took Dani for her dental appointment. We were late by 10 min., and the secretary was totally annoyed with me. I have serious time management issues. There's a special place in hell for me, I just know it. Anyway, the dental office is in the mall, and I thought it would be fun to wander around the mall while we waited, so I had Emma in the stroller, and Connor running like crazy. The only place open was the pretzel stand, and a fun bakery called Sage Creek Bagels. Yep, we went in and bought fresh bagels. Freshly baked bread is nothing like the stale, preservative-laded stuff you can buy on the shelf at the grocery store. I bough half a dozen, and ate them all. Just kidding, but only half-kidding, I probably had about 1-1/2 total, tearing little chunks out of several different flavors - spinach feta, sun dried tomato, and banana nut. And, I just had to try out the little 2 oz. sampler containers of cream cheese - parmesean artichoke and strawberry. Connor picked a Sobe drink, and I probably had 1/4 of it.
Lunch - grazing time, who knows what I ate? I definitely had what was left of the 3 bagel flavors I had earlier, plus the part of the blueberry one. I made Emma this microwave mac & cheese dish, and had three or four bites of that. I also had a slice of cheddar cheese. Crystal light flavored water, maybe 10 to 12 oz. Later in the afternoon, I had an ice cream bar popsicle.
Dinner - 2 of those mini-dinner 8oz. microwave dishes, one was pepper steak on rice, and the other was chicken fried rice. I had a slice of American cheese Emma wouldn't eat. I also had about 24 oz. of a lime julius shake. I took half a can of lime concentrate, added ice and 1% milk. I drank most of it, the kids had the rest. I ate a whole little pack of pink grapefruit-flavored Tic Tacs. They were a limited edition flavor several months ago, and I liked them so much, I bought some to keep. Maybe it's a good thing they're gone, or I'd be buying them all the time. Sure, they're only 1 calorie a piece, but come on, who can eat just one? I was cooking a big batch of hamburger to freeze, and I had a few bites of that. And a few oz. of 2% milk I snitched out of the jug.
Man, who turned on the food beast, anyway?!!! Where'd my self-control go? And would it come back, please? Maybe I need to get more fluids in me. There's a tendency to eat, when really, your body is just thirsty, especially in the summer months. Also, I should probably start taking a multivitamin, in case my body is craving some kind of nutrient, and I'm just chucking random food at it to make the craving shut up.
I swear, I had an appetite that wouldn't quit today. The logical part of my brain was not in charge of my body today. Jenn would feel better if she were still reading my health blog.
Exercise -
Did a brief warmup on that elliptical/stairmaster hybrid machine. Still don't know what to call it. 7 minutes, 0.3 miles, 70 calories. Then, I hit the pool for laps, and I did 16 laps, 1/2 mile, in 31 minutes. Man, I love swimming. Totally creeped out by deep water, but love the feel of the water over my skin, and the freedom of moving every part of my body, all at the same time. If I thought it was going to give my body the challenge it needed all the time, it's the only exercise I'd be doing.
I was really tired this morning, I probably only got five hours of sleep, but I went to the rec center anyway. It's funny, I can make myself exercise. It makes me feel energized and ready for the rest of my day. I've got plenty of willpower for that, but my willpower over my eating urges is just pathetic, especially over the past week. Monkeys!
What I ate today - Honestly, I'll try to remember, but I know I'm going to miss some things.
Breakfast - Thankfully, I got out and exercised first thing this morning. Was done showering, dressing, and got back home by 8:30. I have GOT to fix my sleep schedule, so I'll be ready to drag myself out of bed at 5:30am or earlier, so I'll be "on deck" and ready to be the mom early in the morning when school starts again.
Okay, back to breakfast. At 9am, I took Dani for her dental appointment. We were late by 10 min., and the secretary was totally annoyed with me. I have serious time management issues. There's a special place in hell for me, I just know it. Anyway, the dental office is in the mall, and I thought it would be fun to wander around the mall while we waited, so I had Emma in the stroller, and Connor running like crazy. The only place open was the pretzel stand, and a fun bakery called Sage Creek Bagels. Yep, we went in and bought fresh bagels. Freshly baked bread is nothing like the stale, preservative-laded stuff you can buy on the shelf at the grocery store. I bough half a dozen, and ate them all. Just kidding, but only half-kidding, I probably had about 1-1/2 total, tearing little chunks out of several different flavors - spinach feta, sun dried tomato, and banana nut. And, I just had to try out the little 2 oz. sampler containers of cream cheese - parmesean artichoke and strawberry. Connor picked a Sobe drink, and I probably had 1/4 of it.
Lunch - grazing time, who knows what I ate? I definitely had what was left of the 3 bagel flavors I had earlier, plus the part of the blueberry one. I made Emma this microwave mac & cheese dish, and had three or four bites of that. I also had a slice of cheddar cheese. Crystal light flavored water, maybe 10 to 12 oz. Later in the afternoon, I had an ice cream bar popsicle.
Dinner - 2 of those mini-dinner 8oz. microwave dishes, one was pepper steak on rice, and the other was chicken fried rice. I had a slice of American cheese Emma wouldn't eat. I also had about 24 oz. of a lime julius shake. I took half a can of lime concentrate, added ice and 1% milk. I drank most of it, the kids had the rest. I ate a whole little pack of pink grapefruit-flavored Tic Tacs. They were a limited edition flavor several months ago, and I liked them so much, I bought some to keep. Maybe it's a good thing they're gone, or I'd be buying them all the time. Sure, they're only 1 calorie a piece, but come on, who can eat just one? I was cooking a big batch of hamburger to freeze, and I had a few bites of that. And a few oz. of 2% milk I snitched out of the jug.
Man, who turned on the food beast, anyway?!!! Where'd my self-control go? And would it come back, please? Maybe I need to get more fluids in me. There's a tendency to eat, when really, your body is just thirsty, especially in the summer months. Also, I should probably start taking a multivitamin, in case my body is craving some kind of nutrient, and I'm just chucking random food at it to make the craving shut up.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Slow Day
Not much happenin' today, except I made the most luscious not-very-healthy lunch/dinner, Schnitzel. Aaaaahhh...
Exercise - again, it's Sunday, so I take the day off.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - none, out the door to church
Lunch - a few pieces of my improved-recipe banana bread, then a lunch/dinner around 2pm of a Schnitzel steak (breaded and cooked in canola oil), about a cup to 1-1/2 cups of homemade mashed potatoes (I add 1% milk, and Smart Balance to cooked potato cubes, then blend it together), a skillet-drippings-made mushroom gravy to go on top, and green beans with Smart Balance light. Then crystal light flavored water. I had two Klondike bars (naughty!!!)
Had my big Sunday nap.
Dinner - around 8pm, about a cup of the mashed potatoes, 1/2 a Schnitzel steak, about 1/2 cup mushroom gravy to go on top, and about 10 to 12 pieces of raspberry almond M&M chocolates.
Note - after HOURS of tweaking, I finished the layout for my Becky's Kitchen Creations blog. It's almost 11:30 pm, so I won't post any recipes tonight, but I'll slowly add recipes over the next week, including the recipe/pictures for the Schnitzel I made tonight.
Exercise - again, it's Sunday, so I take the day off.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - none, out the door to church
Lunch - a few pieces of my improved-recipe banana bread, then a lunch/dinner around 2pm of a Schnitzel steak (breaded and cooked in canola oil), about a cup to 1-1/2 cups of homemade mashed potatoes (I add 1% milk, and Smart Balance to cooked potato cubes, then blend it together), a skillet-drippings-made mushroom gravy to go on top, and green beans with Smart Balance light. Then crystal light flavored water. I had two Klondike bars (naughty!!!)
Had my big Sunday nap.
Dinner - around 8pm, about a cup of the mashed potatoes, 1/2 a Schnitzel steak, about 1/2 cup mushroom gravy to go on top, and about 10 to 12 pieces of raspberry almond M&M chocolates.
Note - after HOURS of tweaking, I finished the layout for my Becky's Kitchen Creations blog. It's almost 11:30 pm, so I won't post any recipes tonight, but I'll slowly add recipes over the next week, including the recipe/pictures for the Schnitzel I made tonight.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Worked Too Hard, Ate Too Much
221.0
Food, food, food. I don't even know what to say. But I'll try to remember as much as I can:
Exercise - Hallelujah, I actually got my workout done early enough to eat breakfast. I went to the rec center, and worked out on the PRECOR Elliptical EFX 556 downstairs. It does not have the crossramp feature like the newer ones, but compared to the newer ones upstairs, I'd say it's about a comparable crossramp incline of 3 or 4 out of 10. I set it to a resistance of 6, and did 30 minutes, alternating forwards with backwards every five minutes. I pushed myself hard this morning, doing 2.43 miles, 4003 strides, and 396.0 calories. I was pushing for 400 calories near the end, but missed it by only a few. Next time I'm so close, I'll just up the resistance. I can always put in a burst of speed at the end, it's just the way my body works. The beginning is always the hardest, at least psychologically. But this was a great start to the day, although I wore myself out as the day progressed, starting with cleaning the downstairs bathroom when I got home, to helping the kids clean the upstairs. Check out the detail below.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - And that's where the positive list ends. I made a pancake breakfast for the kids this morning, just felt all warm and squishy about family togetherness. Anyway, I made pancakes from scratch, but at least I made the batter half whole wheat flour. While I was cooking, I had a piece of banana bread (the more nutritious variety I made a few days ago), and had a small piece of cheddar cheese. Then I had one of the pancakes, no syrup. I also had some orange juice, but I ate a lot of the omelet scrambled eggs I made, somewhere around three or four eggs worth.
Lunch - I think I skipped this, technically. After feeding the kids, I got busy getting them to all the clean the upstairs, and I kept at it, organizing the toy/baby room, then repairing the cushion on the couch in Gil's room, and taking the bottom backing off two of the couches, looking for things that had fallen through the cracks. Found a few treasures, but not the ladybug binky chain I was looking for. Drat. But, I tell you what, I was soooo exhausted after all that, not sleepy-tired or hurt, but just exhausted, like my muscles were saying, "Sorry, sister, we got nothing left." I just wanted to sit down and be still. But, I knew if I stopped, I'd never get back up, and I had errands to run, so I took a shower, got dressed, and then took Connor to the library, KMart, and Smith's. Before we left, I munched on some tortilla chips and fat free sour cream dip. But at Smith's I bought a ton of ice cream treats on sale. I had some more chips and dip at home.
Dinner - after the day's activities, my body was just screaming at me, and I just totally caved, "Who cares?" I felt like I'd climbed Mt. Everest, I just wanted to be still and just chill. So for my dinner around 5:30pm, or maybe it's the pre-dinner appetizer, I chowed half a box of Rocky Road ice cream. Yep, I said it, and I ate it. Then, after a sort-of restful nap with all the noisy kids in the house, I got up and did some things for them. Then, around 7:30pm I had a small bowl of linguine with spaghetti sauce, a few handfuls of various chips with fat-free refried beans, some crystal light flavored water, nearly a whole container of fresh blueberries I shared with Emma (little moocher), some more chips when Zen came home around 9:30pm. At around 8:30 pm, I called my sister, who is out in Minnesota visiting with one of her good high school buddies (BFF, right?!) to request an intervention, because I just could not stop putting food in my mouth. It was so funny. Sue is one of those people who will talk on the phone to you and to everyone else in the room with her at the same time. Gets kind of confusing. This time around, I kind of got some feedback with the people she was with. It was weird, in a completely funny kind of way, because all I said to her when she answered the phone was, "Help, I need an intervention!" She repeated it to those around her, and they said right back, "Don't eat it!" How did they know we were talking about food?! So, a big shoutout to Lori, who I hear is stalking this blog. Good to know. Eat some Target cake for me.
So, eventually I quit putting stuff in my mouth at about 10pm. Holy Monkeys! I wonder what I would weigh tomorrow, Monday's weigh-in will be interesting.
I'm so stinkin' hungry/munchy all the time. Aaarrrgh!!! It's the worst at night when I'm slowing down, and not so busy doing things that distract me from eating.
Food, food, food. I don't even know what to say. But I'll try to remember as much as I can:
Exercise - Hallelujah, I actually got my workout done early enough to eat breakfast. I went to the rec center, and worked out on the PRECOR Elliptical EFX 556 downstairs. It does not have the crossramp feature like the newer ones, but compared to the newer ones upstairs, I'd say it's about a comparable crossramp incline of 3 or 4 out of 10. I set it to a resistance of 6, and did 30 minutes, alternating forwards with backwards every five minutes. I pushed myself hard this morning, doing 2.43 miles, 4003 strides, and 396.0 calories. I was pushing for 400 calories near the end, but missed it by only a few. Next time I'm so close, I'll just up the resistance. I can always put in a burst of speed at the end, it's just the way my body works. The beginning is always the hardest, at least psychologically. But this was a great start to the day, although I wore myself out as the day progressed, starting with cleaning the downstairs bathroom when I got home, to helping the kids clean the upstairs. Check out the detail below.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - And that's where the positive list ends. I made a pancake breakfast for the kids this morning, just felt all warm and squishy about family togetherness. Anyway, I made pancakes from scratch, but at least I made the batter half whole wheat flour. While I was cooking, I had a piece of banana bread (the more nutritious variety I made a few days ago), and had a small piece of cheddar cheese. Then I had one of the pancakes, no syrup. I also had some orange juice, but I ate a lot of the omelet scrambled eggs I made, somewhere around three or four eggs worth.
Lunch - I think I skipped this, technically. After feeding the kids, I got busy getting them to all the clean the upstairs, and I kept at it, organizing the toy/baby room, then repairing the cushion on the couch in Gil's room, and taking the bottom backing off two of the couches, looking for things that had fallen through the cracks. Found a few treasures, but not the ladybug binky chain I was looking for. Drat. But, I tell you what, I was soooo exhausted after all that, not sleepy-tired or hurt, but just exhausted, like my muscles were saying, "Sorry, sister, we got nothing left." I just wanted to sit down and be still. But, I knew if I stopped, I'd never get back up, and I had errands to run, so I took a shower, got dressed, and then took Connor to the library, KMart, and Smith's. Before we left, I munched on some tortilla chips and fat free sour cream dip. But at Smith's I bought a ton of ice cream treats on sale. I had some more chips and dip at home.
Dinner - after the day's activities, my body was just screaming at me, and I just totally caved, "Who cares?" I felt like I'd climbed Mt. Everest, I just wanted to be still and just chill. So for my dinner around 5:30pm, or maybe it's the pre-dinner appetizer, I chowed half a box of Rocky Road ice cream. Yep, I said it, and I ate it. Then, after a sort-of restful nap with all the noisy kids in the house, I got up and did some things for them. Then, around 7:30pm I had a small bowl of linguine with spaghetti sauce, a few handfuls of various chips with fat-free refried beans, some crystal light flavored water, nearly a whole container of fresh blueberries I shared with Emma (little moocher), some more chips when Zen came home around 9:30pm. At around 8:30 pm, I called my sister, who is out in Minnesota visiting with one of her good high school buddies (BFF, right?!) to request an intervention, because I just could not stop putting food in my mouth. It was so funny. Sue is one of those people who will talk on the phone to you and to everyone else in the room with her at the same time. Gets kind of confusing. This time around, I kind of got some feedback with the people she was with. It was weird, in a completely funny kind of way, because all I said to her when she answered the phone was, "Help, I need an intervention!" She repeated it to those around her, and they said right back, "Don't eat it!" How did they know we were talking about food?! So, a big shoutout to Lori, who I hear is stalking this blog. Good to know. Eat some Target cake for me.
So, eventually I quit putting stuff in my mouth at about 10pm. Holy Monkeys! I wonder what I would weigh tomorrow, Monday's weigh-in will be interesting.
I'm so stinkin' hungry/munchy all the time. Aaarrrgh!!! It's the worst at night when I'm slowing down, and not so busy doing things that distract me from eating.
Friday, July 31, 2009
A Revolutionary Concept
222.0 today
Yep, I paid for all that late night food. Sigh...
A revolutionary concept has been rattling around in my head for at least a week now. I think it's time to do some serious planning as a family, and sit down together to plan all the types of meals and snacks we will have in the house, and try to be as nutritious as we can stand. Then, don't buy any other type of food! Just quit buying unhealthy snack/convenience food altogether.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - Once again, I didn't get to this at all today. Darn it! I woke up at 5:30 am (not really on purpose), but I still didn't get to the rec center until nearly 10am, then I picked up my paycheck, deposited at the bank, did the shopping, and didn't get home and start eating until almost 1pm. Aaaarghhh!
Lunch - 1pm. The downside to waiting so long to eat, is that it makes you ravenously hungry. I ate about four dried apricot halves, had about 1/2 serving (around 25 crackers, maybe less) of whole grain chocolate Goldfish, 4 ot 5 bites of the mozz cheese scrambled eggs Gil made for breakfast, 1 banana wheat pancake no syrup, about 16 to 20 oz. fruit smoothie (1% milk, frozen strawberries, 1 overripe banana), 1 whole wheat tortilla with chicken breast and fat free sour cream dip, now about 20 oz. flavored water (apple generic crystal light).
Dinner - 6pm. about 1 to 1-1/2 cups pasta with spaghetti sauce and meatballs. Also about two cups romaine hearts lettuce and tomato salad with fat free raspberry vinaigrette and Salad Toppins. At least 30 oz. flavored water (apple generic crystal light).
Exercise - 10 min. on this machine that is kind of a hybrid elliptical and stairmaster, then 8 laps (1/4 mile) 15 min. in the pool.
Yep, I paid for all that late night food. Sigh...
A revolutionary concept has been rattling around in my head for at least a week now. I think it's time to do some serious planning as a family, and sit down together to plan all the types of meals and snacks we will have in the house, and try to be as nutritious as we can stand. Then, don't buy any other type of food! Just quit buying unhealthy snack/convenience food altogether.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - Once again, I didn't get to this at all today. Darn it! I woke up at 5:30 am (not really on purpose), but I still didn't get to the rec center until nearly 10am, then I picked up my paycheck, deposited at the bank, did the shopping, and didn't get home and start eating until almost 1pm. Aaaarghhh!
Lunch - 1pm. The downside to waiting so long to eat, is that it makes you ravenously hungry. I ate about four dried apricot halves, had about 1/2 serving (around 25 crackers, maybe less) of whole grain chocolate Goldfish, 4 ot 5 bites of the mozz cheese scrambled eggs Gil made for breakfast, 1 banana wheat pancake no syrup, about 16 to 20 oz. fruit smoothie (1% milk, frozen strawberries, 1 overripe banana), 1 whole wheat tortilla with chicken breast and fat free sour cream dip, now about 20 oz. flavored water (apple generic crystal light).
Dinner - 6pm. about 1 to 1-1/2 cups pasta with spaghetti sauce and meatballs. Also about two cups romaine hearts lettuce and tomato salad with fat free raspberry vinaigrette and Salad Toppins. At least 30 oz. flavored water (apple generic crystal light).
Exercise - 10 min. on this machine that is kind of a hybrid elliptical and stairmaster, then 8 laps (1/4 mile) 15 min. in the pool.
6AM Addendum
Confession time. AFTER I posted last night, I went and ate some more potato salad, about five or six bites out of the container, then I made a batch of kettle corn (lightly sweet and salty popcorn), about 12 cups, and ate nearly all of it. "I can't believe I ate the whole thing!" Man, I was so stuffed. It was definitely emotional eating, because my body was telling me, "Don't do that, you'll regret it!" Sure enough, as I lay there, trying to fall asleep, I was so bloated and uncomfortable, understanding the appeal of bulemia, wishing I could get all that stuff out of my body. But, you know, that's just gross, and I don't need an eating disorder on top of all my other issues, so I just lay there and sucked it up like a man, or should I say, like a woman (you go, girl!)
I think I'll drink about five gallons of water today. And I feel like doing about 50 laps in the pool. I'm going to go get ready for the gym, and get that done first thing this morning. Lots of things to do today, let's see if I can get back into a good rhythm.
I think I'll drink about five gallons of water today. And I feel like doing about 50 laps in the pool. I'm going to go get ready for the gym, and get that done first thing this morning. Lots of things to do today, let's see if I can get back into a good rhythm.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Fell Off The Wagon At Dinner
220.5
Yep, knew a late dinner would show.
Exercise - 30 minutes running/walking on the treadmill. I did 1.75 miles, and it said I burned 185 calories. I tried jogging at first, but my knee started hurting in the first few minutes, so I thought I'd better switch to fast walking. But it felt like a good workout, I was totally pushing myself, my heartrate stayed up around 130.
What I ate today
Breakfast - 32 oz. water before, during, and after my workout, then nothing. Man, I gotta quit doing that. My brain is the most active in the morning, once I get going, and I have to get stuff done before I exercise, when I'm under a deadline. Then, I can go workout, but I don't want to eat before I weight myself at the rec center. Maybe I should just get over that, and eat anyway, when I'm not going to get to my workout for three or four hours.
Lunch - 1pm. 1 whole wheat tortilla, fat free refried beans, chicken breast, salsa, sour cream, romaine lettuce, tomato. Some baby carrots, one thick piece of my homemade wheat banana bread. Later, running errands, I probably had another 8 to 12 oz. water.
Dinner - 8pm. Here's the kicker. I was just at a point in the night where my brain hurt, and I just didn't want to think anymore about strategies to stick to my rules. And again, I should have eaten two or three hours ago. I made hamburgers for dinner, white bread rolls, slice swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard, Miracle Whip light, and about 1/4 pound burger. Then I had potato chips, and potato salad. While I only had one plateful, it was definitely NOT a lowfat dinner. Then I had a thick piece of my homemade wheat banana bread, and about 1/2 to 3/4 cup vanilla bean ice cream, with about 12 oz. 1% milk to drink.
Okay, I pretty much threw in the towel, tonight. I was going to be ultra careful with my eating at dinner, and then I just said, "the heck with it." I think there are going to be days like that, but I'm going to try to get started a lot earlier tomorrow with my food, workout first thing before trying to tackle anything else.
Yep, knew a late dinner would show.
Exercise - 30 minutes running/walking on the treadmill. I did 1.75 miles, and it said I burned 185 calories. I tried jogging at first, but my knee started hurting in the first few minutes, so I thought I'd better switch to fast walking. But it felt like a good workout, I was totally pushing myself, my heartrate stayed up around 130.
What I ate today
Breakfast - 32 oz. water before, during, and after my workout, then nothing. Man, I gotta quit doing that. My brain is the most active in the morning, once I get going, and I have to get stuff done before I exercise, when I'm under a deadline. Then, I can go workout, but I don't want to eat before I weight myself at the rec center. Maybe I should just get over that, and eat anyway, when I'm not going to get to my workout for three or four hours.
Lunch - 1pm. 1 whole wheat tortilla, fat free refried beans, chicken breast, salsa, sour cream, romaine lettuce, tomato. Some baby carrots, one thick piece of my homemade wheat banana bread. Later, running errands, I probably had another 8 to 12 oz. water.
Dinner - 8pm. Here's the kicker. I was just at a point in the night where my brain hurt, and I just didn't want to think anymore about strategies to stick to my rules. And again, I should have eaten two or three hours ago. I made hamburgers for dinner, white bread rolls, slice swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard, Miracle Whip light, and about 1/4 pound burger. Then I had potato chips, and potato salad. While I only had one plateful, it was definitely NOT a lowfat dinner. Then I had a thick piece of my homemade wheat banana bread, and about 1/2 to 3/4 cup vanilla bean ice cream, with about 12 oz. 1% milk to drink.
Okay, I pretty much threw in the towel, tonight. I was going to be ultra careful with my eating at dinner, and then I just said, "the heck with it." I think there are going to be days like that, but I'm going to try to get started a lot earlier tomorrow with my food, workout first thing before trying to tackle anything else.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
220
220.25 in my clothes
216.5 in my birthday suit
It's about freakin' time! See, that's what not-eating-after-dinner-and-resisting-the-dessert-buffet-last-night got me.
Exercise - 15 min. on the PRECOR Elliptical EFX576i, 1.10 miles, 1881 strides, 170.5 calories, crossramp 5, resist #6, then I swam 8 laps, which is 1/4 mile, in 15 min.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - 8oz. orange juice about 10 am. I kept telling myself that I was only going to eat after I had my workout, but my sewing repairs just kept taking forever, then I had to run them down to the dry cleaners.
Lunch - 32 oz. water during and after my workout, 1 cup lowfat pineapple cottage cheese, 2 oz. tortilla chips, about 10 baby carrots.
Dinner - late, around 8pm, but I started cooking around 6:30, and was snitching as I cooked. I had a bag of baby carrots out on the counter, and just grazed out of the bag. I kind of think it's not a bad way to deal with cooking in the kitchen. I totally snack as I cook, so until I can break that habit, I think having healthy food to snack on is a good compromise. I made a healthy banana bread recipe, substituting a lot of the "bad" stuff for healthier stuff. Instead of 4 eggs, I did two eggs and 2 egg whites. Instead of 1 cup butter, I did 1/2 cup canola oil and 1/2 cup applesauce. Instead of 3-1/2 cups white flour, I did half whole wheat and half white flour. Instead of 1-1/3 cup sugar, I only did 1 cup. It was still really good. I had two thick slices, with Smart Balance butter spread. Yeah, I know, it's not fat- or sugar-free, but it's an improvement. For dinner I had about 1/2 cup pesto spaghetti, and about 1 cup whole grain spaghetti with my homemade meat sauce, lean ground meat (cooked and drained). Also, 2 cups romaine heart lettuce with chunks of fresh roma tomatoes, just a little bit of Light Ranch and Salad Toppins. I also drank around 16 oz. 1% milk. Also, at least 16 oz. of water before bed.
The scales will not be kind to me in the morning. Too much food this late at night.
216.5 in my birthday suit
It's about freakin' time! See, that's what not-eating-after-dinner-and-resisting-the-dessert-buffet-last-night got me.
Exercise - 15 min. on the PRECOR Elliptical EFX576i, 1.10 miles, 1881 strides, 170.5 calories, crossramp 5, resist #6, then I swam 8 laps, which is 1/4 mile, in 15 min.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - 8oz. orange juice about 10 am. I kept telling myself that I was only going to eat after I had my workout, but my sewing repairs just kept taking forever, then I had to run them down to the dry cleaners.
Lunch - 32 oz. water during and after my workout, 1 cup lowfat pineapple cottage cheese, 2 oz. tortilla chips, about 10 baby carrots.
Dinner - late, around 8pm, but I started cooking around 6:30, and was snitching as I cooked. I had a bag of baby carrots out on the counter, and just grazed out of the bag. I kind of think it's not a bad way to deal with cooking in the kitchen. I totally snack as I cook, so until I can break that habit, I think having healthy food to snack on is a good compromise. I made a healthy banana bread recipe, substituting a lot of the "bad" stuff for healthier stuff. Instead of 4 eggs, I did two eggs and 2 egg whites. Instead of 1 cup butter, I did 1/2 cup canola oil and 1/2 cup applesauce. Instead of 3-1/2 cups white flour, I did half whole wheat and half white flour. Instead of 1-1/3 cup sugar, I only did 1 cup. It was still really good. I had two thick slices, with Smart Balance butter spread. Yeah, I know, it's not fat- or sugar-free, but it's an improvement. For dinner I had about 1/2 cup pesto spaghetti, and about 1 cup whole grain spaghetti with my homemade meat sauce, lean ground meat (cooked and drained). Also, 2 cups romaine heart lettuce with chunks of fresh roma tomatoes, just a little bit of Light Ranch and Salad Toppins. I also drank around 16 oz. 1% milk. Also, at least 16 oz. of water before bed.
The scales will not be kind to me in the morning. Too much food this late at night.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Buffet and Potluck Are My Weaknesses
222 even. Whatever.
But, if all I can lose is 1/4 pound a day, take that out over a year, and I can weigh 135 a year from now. That's a loss of 91 pounds. Not bad, not bad. Of course, I don't think my body will put up with that, 150 is probably more realistic. My bod is just dense, and I don't think it's all about the fat.
Exercise - 30 min. on the PRECOR Elliptical EFX576i, 2.18 miles, 3732 strides, 334.5 calories, crossramp 5, resist #5. I tried alternating 5 minutes forward strides with 5 minutes backwards strides. Man, it really kicked my butt. I was rhythmically breathing (one breath in, three "puffs" out) the last ten minutes or so, just trying to get through it.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - 32 oz. water during/after workout, 1/3 cup dry Malt-o-Meal (add 1 cup water) cooked with frozen strawberries and peaches, 2 Tbsp sliced almonds. I know this is repetetive, but I honestly like this stuff, and I'm just so busy, and motivated that time of day, I don't want to waste my productivity on cooking food. But when Gil made breakfast, he insisted I eat some, so I had two bites of his omelet-style scrambled eggs, and half of a small banana wheat pancake.
Lunch - skipped it again, but not on purpose, really. I was just under this deadline, trying to get these repairs and alterations done because they were due today, and then I was rushing like a madwoman trying to get dinner ready for the missionaries by 5pm. Yesterday, I said I was going to be naughty and bake some treats, but all I did was make banana bread, and promptly gave it away to the missionaires. Which reminds me, I did lick the spoon, probably about 1 tablespoon of batter.
Dinner - 5:30 pm, awesome tostadas, made using corn tortillas (lightly sprayed with canola oil, and crisped in a non-stick skillet), fat free refried beans (added sauteed onions & cumin), chicken breast, fat free sour cream, tomatoes, and salsa. I can't believe I only had two, but I did some snitching while I was cooking, had some pieces of chicken, several spoonsful of the refried beans, and about 1 oz. worth of cheddar cheese.
Okay, I had soooo many temptations, from the yummy chocolate treats at the checkout counter at Staples (cookie dough chocolate-covered bites, decadent), to the dessert table at the barbeque tonight (after dinner, I went to it with Gil for his youth activity), it was rough. I tell you what, if I wasn't blogging, and had this commitment to being accountable for my food intake, I definitely would have gorged myself at that barbeque tonight. Forget that I had just eaten, I would have snagged a hot and fresh hamburger, some yummy baked beans, a piece of that poppy seed cake and fruit pizza, no question. And that's just to start.
No doubt, buffet and potluck have always been my weaknesses. It's fun tasting new things and also indulging in old favorites. And hey, not having to cook it always makes it seem more appealing. Not that I'm a bad cook, in fact I do pretty well, but I just feel more indulgent when I eat someone else's food.
But, if all I can lose is 1/4 pound a day, take that out over a year, and I can weigh 135 a year from now. That's a loss of 91 pounds. Not bad, not bad. Of course, I don't think my body will put up with that, 150 is probably more realistic. My bod is just dense, and I don't think it's all about the fat.
Exercise - 30 min. on the PRECOR Elliptical EFX576i, 2.18 miles, 3732 strides, 334.5 calories, crossramp 5, resist #5. I tried alternating 5 minutes forward strides with 5 minutes backwards strides. Man, it really kicked my butt. I was rhythmically breathing (one breath in, three "puffs" out) the last ten minutes or so, just trying to get through it.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - 32 oz. water during/after workout, 1/3 cup dry Malt-o-Meal (add 1 cup water) cooked with frozen strawberries and peaches, 2 Tbsp sliced almonds. I know this is repetetive, but I honestly like this stuff, and I'm just so busy, and motivated that time of day, I don't want to waste my productivity on cooking food. But when Gil made breakfast, he insisted I eat some, so I had two bites of his omelet-style scrambled eggs, and half of a small banana wheat pancake.
Lunch - skipped it again, but not on purpose, really. I was just under this deadline, trying to get these repairs and alterations done because they were due today, and then I was rushing like a madwoman trying to get dinner ready for the missionaries by 5pm. Yesterday, I said I was going to be naughty and bake some treats, but all I did was make banana bread, and promptly gave it away to the missionaires. Which reminds me, I did lick the spoon, probably about 1 tablespoon of batter.
Dinner - 5:30 pm, awesome tostadas, made using corn tortillas (lightly sprayed with canola oil, and crisped in a non-stick skillet), fat free refried beans (added sauteed onions & cumin), chicken breast, fat free sour cream, tomatoes, and salsa. I can't believe I only had two, but I did some snitching while I was cooking, had some pieces of chicken, several spoonsful of the refried beans, and about 1 oz. worth of cheddar cheese.
Okay, I had soooo many temptations, from the yummy chocolate treats at the checkout counter at Staples (cookie dough chocolate-covered bites, decadent), to the dessert table at the barbeque tonight (after dinner, I went to it with Gil for his youth activity), it was rough. I tell you what, if I wasn't blogging, and had this commitment to being accountable for my food intake, I definitely would have gorged myself at that barbeque tonight. Forget that I had just eaten, I would have snagged a hot and fresh hamburger, some yummy baked beans, a piece of that poppy seed cake and fruit pizza, no question. And that's just to start.
No doubt, buffet and potluck have always been my weaknesses. It's fun tasting new things and also indulging in old favorites. And hey, not having to cook it always makes it seem more appealing. Not that I'm a bad cook, in fact I do pretty well, but I just feel more indulgent when I eat someone else's food.
Monday, July 27, 2009
222-1/4 Pounds
Weighed myself at the rec center, and I was down a whole 1/4 pound. Sheesh. I am so giggling right now, because I am writing about 1/4 pound. Whatever.
Exercise - Body Bar Conditioning class, about 50 minutes, totally kicked my butt! 7:30 pm - Put Connor in the bike trailer and we rode down to the library, about 5 minutes each way. 8:30 pm - Moved the furniture around in Dani's room, and honey, that was some work, because that stuff was heavy.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - 32 oz. water during/after workout, 1/3 cup dry Malt-o-Meal (add 1 cup water) cooked with frozen strawberries and peaches, 2 Tbsp sliced almonds
Lunch - I got so busy, I skipped it. That was probably stupid, because I sure made up for it at dinner time, and should have burned those calories earlier in the day. Plus, my metabolism probably dropped a little, having nothing to "chew" on. But I drank about another 16 oz. water.
Dinner - 5:30 pm, 8oz. cooked spinach with a little Smart Balance butter spread, 1 plum, 6 to 8 baby carrots, 1 cup salad (romaine hearts, roma tomatoes) with a little Light Ranch & Salad Toppins, about 1/2 to 3/4 cup basil pesto linguine (whole wheat), about 1/2 to 3/4 cup sun dried tomato pesto linguine (whole wheat), two corn tortillas (which I crisped in a non-stick skillet, no oil needed) topped with about 1/4 to 1/3 cup fat free refried beans (to which I'd added cumin and onions sauteed in Smart Balance Light) and fat free sour cream, plus probably a few more baby carrots, about 16 oz. water flavored with Crystal Light, and I will probably have some more water at bedtime. Okay, kind of piggy, but at least it there were a LOT of veggies and whole grain things in there, plus things were low fat or no fat.
Man, those tostadas were awesome!!! The missionaries are coming to dinner tomorrow, and I think I'll make a tostada bar, make a chicken fajita filling again, plus any other yummy veggie-type topping I can think of. Okay, I like making treats for the missionaries to take home with them, so I might be a bad girl tomorrow, and make some naughty baked goods, and obviously, I will probably eat some. But I am going to try out a modified banana bread recipe, taking out the butter, and putting canola oil and applesauce in its place, also put in egg whites instead of whole eggs, and maybe make it half whole wheat flour, half white flour.
Exercise - Body Bar Conditioning class, about 50 minutes, totally kicked my butt! 7:30 pm - Put Connor in the bike trailer and we rode down to the library, about 5 minutes each way. 8:30 pm - Moved the furniture around in Dani's room, and honey, that was some work, because that stuff was heavy.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - 32 oz. water during/after workout, 1/3 cup dry Malt-o-Meal (add 1 cup water) cooked with frozen strawberries and peaches, 2 Tbsp sliced almonds
Lunch - I got so busy, I skipped it. That was probably stupid, because I sure made up for it at dinner time, and should have burned those calories earlier in the day. Plus, my metabolism probably dropped a little, having nothing to "chew" on. But I drank about another 16 oz. water.
Dinner - 5:30 pm, 8oz. cooked spinach with a little Smart Balance butter spread, 1 plum, 6 to 8 baby carrots, 1 cup salad (romaine hearts, roma tomatoes) with a little Light Ranch & Salad Toppins, about 1/2 to 3/4 cup basil pesto linguine (whole wheat), about 1/2 to 3/4 cup sun dried tomato pesto linguine (whole wheat), two corn tortillas (which I crisped in a non-stick skillet, no oil needed) topped with about 1/4 to 1/3 cup fat free refried beans (to which I'd added cumin and onions sauteed in Smart Balance Light) and fat free sour cream, plus probably a few more baby carrots, about 16 oz. water flavored with Crystal Light, and I will probably have some more water at bedtime. Okay, kind of piggy, but at least it there were a LOT of veggies and whole grain things in there, plus things were low fat or no fat.
Man, those tostadas were awesome!!! The missionaries are coming to dinner tomorrow, and I think I'll make a tostada bar, make a chicken fajita filling again, plus any other yummy veggie-type topping I can think of. Okay, I like making treats for the missionaries to take home with them, so I might be a bad girl tomorrow, and make some naughty baked goods, and obviously, I will probably eat some. But I am going to try out a modified banana bread recipe, taking out the butter, and putting canola oil and applesauce in its place, also put in egg whites instead of whole eggs, and maybe make it half whole wheat flour, half white flour.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Grazing Sunday
Okay, it's only 5:45 pm, and I've got to get my food written down, before I forgot what I ate, 'cause I was in "snacky" mode today.
Breakfast - one sweet potato pancake with a little Smart Balance butter spread, no syrup, a big glass of orange juice, probably about 16 - 20 oz.
Lunch - about two to two-and-a-half cups homemade beef stew (beef, pork, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, pureed canned tomatoes), 1 piece homemade cornbread with Smart Balance spread (when I get my recipe blog up and running, I've got to post this, I made some substitutes so it was healthier, and it tasted really good), a handful or two of tortilla chips/crumbs while I cooked, 8 to 10 oz. 1% milk, about 14 oz. crystal light flavored water
Late Afternoon - three or four bites of stew, about two Tablespoons grated cojack cheese, 1 piece mini banana bread, 1 piece cornbread, about 1/2 to 2/3 cup fat free sour cream mixed with about 2 Tablespoons green salsa and the last of the chip crumbs in the bottom of the chip bag, another 14 oz. crystal light flavored water
Sheesh. And right now I feel totally stuffed. I made myself leave the kitchen, and go back downstairs to my craftroom because, clearly, I was just grazing.
I wonder why I was so "snacky." I think it's something about the psychology of lazy Sundays, backed with my lack of exercise, which I never do on a Sunday. I really think daily exercise helps curb your appetite. Not exercising on a Sunday is a religious thing ("resting from all your labors"), although honestly, I do use that as kind of an excuse. Any opinions on this, family?
9:30 pm - I have been lusting after food off and on for about four hours now, and I really, really want to eat a whole bunch of stuff. I want it so bad, I just about want to cry:
leftover chicken fried rice, more cornbread, ice cream (that's a craving that never goes away), chocolate (I made a treat bag for one of my VTeez, with totally yummy chocolate raspberry m&ms), chips and salsa, jalepeno poppers, cheesesticks, and the list goes on...
But I resisted all of them, because I know I have to write it down where other people will read it, and I have to face it, and I still feel a little bloated from all the food I ate earlier. Plus, I just know the scales are not going to be kind in the morning, and I don't want to make the damage any worse. Daily accountability, in some form, is really helping me out.
Also, I've been trying to drink lots of water since about 5pm. I figure it's going to help in the digestion, flush out the system better, so to speak.
Breakfast - one sweet potato pancake with a little Smart Balance butter spread, no syrup, a big glass of orange juice, probably about 16 - 20 oz.
Lunch - about two to two-and-a-half cups homemade beef stew (beef, pork, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, pureed canned tomatoes), 1 piece homemade cornbread with Smart Balance spread (when I get my recipe blog up and running, I've got to post this, I made some substitutes so it was healthier, and it tasted really good), a handful or two of tortilla chips/crumbs while I cooked, 8 to 10 oz. 1% milk, about 14 oz. crystal light flavored water
Late Afternoon - three or four bites of stew, about two Tablespoons grated cojack cheese, 1 piece mini banana bread, 1 piece cornbread, about 1/2 to 2/3 cup fat free sour cream mixed with about 2 Tablespoons green salsa and the last of the chip crumbs in the bottom of the chip bag, another 14 oz. crystal light flavored water
Sheesh. And right now I feel totally stuffed. I made myself leave the kitchen, and go back downstairs to my craftroom because, clearly, I was just grazing.
I wonder why I was so "snacky." I think it's something about the psychology of lazy Sundays, backed with my lack of exercise, which I never do on a Sunday. I really think daily exercise helps curb your appetite. Not exercising on a Sunday is a religious thing ("resting from all your labors"), although honestly, I do use that as kind of an excuse. Any opinions on this, family?
9:30 pm - I have been lusting after food off and on for about four hours now, and I really, really want to eat a whole bunch of stuff. I want it so bad, I just about want to cry:
leftover chicken fried rice, more cornbread, ice cream (that's a craving that never goes away), chocolate (I made a treat bag for one of my VTeez, with totally yummy chocolate raspberry m&ms), chips and salsa, jalepeno poppers, cheesesticks, and the list goes on...
But I resisted all of them, because I know I have to write it down where other people will read it, and I have to face it, and I still feel a little bloated from all the food I ate earlier. Plus, I just know the scales are not going to be kind in the morning, and I don't want to make the damage any worse. Daily accountability, in some form, is really helping me out.
Also, I've been trying to drink lots of water since about 5pm. I figure it's going to help in the digestion, flush out the system better, so to speak.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Yes, But I'm Still Cute
Wow, had my first totally random comment yesterday from a complete stranger. Thanks "J"! If you're still reading, I'm curious about how you found my blog, and judging from your use of kilos as a measurement, are you from Great Britain or Canada? I kind of think it's cool, though, to have people I don't know comment on this blog. Weight loss is definitely one of those things that benefits from a lot of input and support from other people.
As wretched as those beginning swimsuit pictures are, I still feel like I could say something positive - I may be a fat little budda, but I'm a cute fat little budda, so there. And I also like my face in this picture, for some reason, even though my expression is a little goofy.
Some good things to say about my body: I like my eye color (hazel), my hair color (kind of a dark blond/light brown with subtle variations in color), the shape of my calves (they're still too big, but I think they will look good when the extra weight comes off), and just the overall shape of my body. Yep, it's still too huge, obviously, but just like my calves, I think it's going to look great when I reach my goal. And I like the shape of my feet. While they are annoyingly difficult to fit because they are wide (there are so many cute shoes I can't buy because my feet are wide, and weight loss is not going to fix that, RATS!!!), I still like the shape of them, and my toes. And I am blessed with good skin. I rarely wear makeup, mostly because I hate the feel of it on my face, but also because I don't have to. Amen.
Speaking of which, what is my goal, really? I know I want to be smaller, and to be in good shape, physically, but do I have a goal weight? At this point, I'd like to weigh about 150 pounds, but even in college, it seemed like I couldn't get it under 155, so I guess we'll see what happens. And frankly, being a size 10 sounds great! I know it's not a six 6, or a size 2, like so many people with dieting successes seem to be showcasing (how in the world do people do that and still stand up straight without passing out?!), but I think it would be really awesome shopping for, and fitting into, a size 10. Being in the size 20's for most of my adult life makes being a size 10 sound heavenly.
Weighed 222.5 again at the rec center. I weigh myself with my clothes and shoes on, just because I want to be able to just pop on the scales whenever I'm there, and not worry about getting undressed just to weigh myself for an accurate base of comparison with other days.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - 32 oz. water during/after workout, 1 piece mini banana bread, 1/3 cup dry Malt-o-Meal (add 1 cup water) cooked with frozen strawberries and blueberries, 2 Tbsp sliced almonds, 8 oz. 1% milk
Lunch - 2 or 3 pieces of mini banana bread, 8 oz. 1% milk, a Very Veggie Burrito (1 whole wheat tortilla, stir-fried chicken breast, stir-fried onions, stir-fried bell peppers, stir-fried tomatillos, fresh tomatoes, green onions, shredded cabbage, fat-free sour cream). Then I had (gasp!) some Rocky Road ice cream, but at least I kept the portion small, around 1/2 to 3/4 cup. I figured if I was going to have some, I could at least keep the portion small.
Dinner - about 3 cups of a fruit smoothie. I used 1% milk, and frozen mixed fruit (strawberries, mango, pineapple, peaches), plus I added some wheat germ.
Funny this is, I felt kind of piggy this afternoon, but I look at it now, and really, I did a good job. When dinner rolled around, I just wasn't hungry. A lot of food sounded interesting, but I knew I could easily get by without eating much of anything.
Exercise - I wanted to swim today, but the pool wasn't open until noon, so I just did the elliptical, but I tried to keep it challenging by alternating frontwards and backwards strokes, and by pumping up the resistance level. I did the PRECOR Elliptical EFX 556, 30 minutes, 17 minutes at resistance #6, and 13 minutes at resistance #8. It was 2.39 miles, 3648 strides, and 386.8 calories. I know this may not be scientifically exact for my own personal body, but holy cow! I burned nearly 400 calories in one 1/2 hour exercise! Funny thing. I can always go faster & harder the second half of my workout than the first half. I think I'm better at endurance than speed.
I took about an hour nap in the afternoon, after lunch. I bet it killed some of the calorie burning. Oh, well, maybe my body needed it for something else.
Also, I didn't really work out in the evening, but I did work up a sweat going up and down the stairs constantly, with cleaning the house and bossing/helping the kids with various things, while trying to squeeze in work on clearing out my beading supplies.
As wretched as those beginning swimsuit pictures are, I still feel like I could say something positive - I may be a fat little budda, but I'm a cute fat little budda, so there. And I also like my face in this picture, for some reason, even though my expression is a little goofy.
Some good things to say about my body: I like my eye color (hazel), my hair color (kind of a dark blond/light brown with subtle variations in color), the shape of my calves (they're still too big, but I think they will look good when the extra weight comes off), and just the overall shape of my body. Yep, it's still too huge, obviously, but just like my calves, I think it's going to look great when I reach my goal. And I like the shape of my feet. While they are annoyingly difficult to fit because they are wide (there are so many cute shoes I can't buy because my feet are wide, and weight loss is not going to fix that, RATS!!!), I still like the shape of them, and my toes. And I am blessed with good skin. I rarely wear makeup, mostly because I hate the feel of it on my face, but also because I don't have to. Amen.
Speaking of which, what is my goal, really? I know I want to be smaller, and to be in good shape, physically, but do I have a goal weight? At this point, I'd like to weigh about 150 pounds, but even in college, it seemed like I couldn't get it under 155, so I guess we'll see what happens. And frankly, being a size 10 sounds great! I know it's not a six 6, or a size 2, like so many people with dieting successes seem to be showcasing (how in the world do people do that and still stand up straight without passing out?!), but I think it would be really awesome shopping for, and fitting into, a size 10. Being in the size 20's for most of my adult life makes being a size 10 sound heavenly.
Weighed 222.5 again at the rec center. I weigh myself with my clothes and shoes on, just because I want to be able to just pop on the scales whenever I'm there, and not worry about getting undressed just to weigh myself for an accurate base of comparison with other days.
What I ate today -
Breakfast - 32 oz. water during/after workout, 1 piece mini banana bread, 1/3 cup dry Malt-o-Meal (add 1 cup water) cooked with frozen strawberries and blueberries, 2 Tbsp sliced almonds, 8 oz. 1% milk
Lunch - 2 or 3 pieces of mini banana bread, 8 oz. 1% milk, a Very Veggie Burrito (1 whole wheat tortilla, stir-fried chicken breast, stir-fried onions, stir-fried bell peppers, stir-fried tomatillos, fresh tomatoes, green onions, shredded cabbage, fat-free sour cream). Then I had (gasp!) some Rocky Road ice cream, but at least I kept the portion small, around 1/2 to 3/4 cup. I figured if I was going to have some, I could at least keep the portion small.
Dinner - about 3 cups of a fruit smoothie. I used 1% milk, and frozen mixed fruit (strawberries, mango, pineapple, peaches), plus I added some wheat germ.
Funny this is, I felt kind of piggy this afternoon, but I look at it now, and really, I did a good job. When dinner rolled around, I just wasn't hungry. A lot of food sounded interesting, but I knew I could easily get by without eating much of anything.
Exercise - I wanted to swim today, but the pool wasn't open until noon, so I just did the elliptical, but I tried to keep it challenging by alternating frontwards and backwards strokes, and by pumping up the resistance level. I did the PRECOR Elliptical EFX 556, 30 minutes, 17 minutes at resistance #6, and 13 minutes at resistance #8. It was 2.39 miles, 3648 strides, and 386.8 calories. I know this may not be scientifically exact for my own personal body, but holy cow! I burned nearly 400 calories in one 1/2 hour exercise! Funny thing. I can always go faster & harder the second half of my workout than the first half. I think I'm better at endurance than speed.
I took about an hour nap in the afternoon, after lunch. I bet it killed some of the calorie burning. Oh, well, maybe my body needed it for something else.
Also, I didn't really work out in the evening, but I did work up a sweat going up and down the stairs constantly, with cleaning the house and bossing/helping the kids with various things, while trying to squeeze in work on clearing out my beading supplies.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Skip the Indulgences
I weighed 222.5 today, a half pound loss. Still goin'! I expect that I won't see dramatic weight loss all the time, or even that I'll lose weight. But it's fun to step on the scales, and see weight come off. It helps me avoid those little indulgences that pop up everyday.
Oh, I also wanted to write down my measurements, so I've got a starting point.
Waist - 42"
Hips - 52"
Chest - 39.5"
Bust - 46"
Thigh (widest point right at top) - 30"
Bicep (widest point) - 15"
What I ate today:
Breakfast - 32 oz. water during/after workout, 1 piece banana bread, 1/3 cup dry Malt-o-Meal (add 1 cup water) cooked with frozen strawberries and blueberries plus 2 Tbsp. sliced almonds, 8 oz. 1% milk
Lunch - about 1/8 of Emma's peanut butter jelly sandwich on wheat plus the crusts, 1 plum, 1 cup turkey chili with fresh tomato & fat-free sour cream, 12 tortilla chips (looking on the back in the back, this came to about 350 calories, yikes! maybe next time I could try crisping some corn tortillas in a non-stick skillet), about 8 baby carrots, water
Afternoon - 32 oz. water flavored with apple crystal light
Dinner - Very Veggie Burrito (1 whole wheat tortilla, stir-fried chicken breast, stir-fried onions, stir-fried bell peppers, stir-fried tomatillos, fresh tomatoes, green onions, shredded cabbage, fat-free sour cream). The only downside to my dinner, was that I didn't get to eat until very late, almost 8pm. It would have been better if it was more like 5 or 6pm. I bet that shows in the scales tomorrow. I also had most of one liter of sodium-free seltzer flavored with strawberry/orange/banana crystal light. I've figured out that what I love the most about soda pop is the cool and refreshing bubbles, so why not just buy carbonated water, and mix in my own flavors? This would go really well with juice concentrate. I should hunt down where I can get this sodium-free seltzer in bulk, and maybe some online source for drink flavors without the sugar or artificial sugar. Because $1 per liter of the seltzer is too expensive, even though I like it a lot.
I love this breakfast, it's so warm and filling, very much a comfort food, but one that's good for me!. I added the almonds today, I wanted to get more protein in, for all those muscles I'm building, right?
This tasted sooo good! I've been thinking about starting a food blog for a while, just a place to show recipes I've come up with, kind of like an online cookbook. It's not something I'd post on everyday, but when I find something that tastes good, I want to put it on there, especially now that I'm trying to eat healthier, and will be experimenting with food more. I've reserved the blog name, Becky's Kitchen Creations, but it might be a few days before there's actually anything on there.
There were lots of times today, when I was tempted to eat something I shouldn't, such as when Dani busted out a huge chocolate bar when we were cleaning her room. But I just kept thinking of stepping on the scales tomorrow, and whatever shows up, I don't want to have a lot of regrets about indulging in things I wish I'd skipped. And I soooooo wanted some ice cream today, especially when Connor had some orange cream ice cream. Yummmm!! But again, I didn't want any regrets, so none for me.
I sat there thinking, "Man, am I never going to let myself eat ice cream again?!" I doubt that will hold, but these daily indulgences I've been doing for a long time have to stop. And it makes me kind of sad to lose the comfort of running to the freezer for a bowl of ice cream at the end of a long day. But, hopefully, I'm giving that up, at least on a regular basis, for something better, a healthier body. I guess I can do fruit smoothies more often, just throw some frozen fruit and lowfat milk in the blender.
Exercise - 20 min on Elliptical - PRECOR EFX576i, crossramp 5 (of 10), resistance 6 (of 10), 1.49 miles, 2335 strides, 233.5 calories. I did the alternating forwards and backwards strides again, lots more intense. Then, I swam for 16 mintues, 8 laps, 400 meters, 1/4 mile.
Big thing - when I did all the cleaning and moving in prep for rearranging Dani's room, I took a good look at the Gazelle striding machine that I've had for years, and it occurred to me it might be a good idea to get rid of it. Our community rec center is really awesome, and I've been enjoying the variety of exercising I can do there, which is probably better for my body. I think my body just completely plateaued on the Gazelle, way too used to the same motion over and over, and even though it's been a great machine to have, after all, I lost nearly 50 pounds with that thing last go-around, I think it's time to move on. Besides, Zen will be so excited to have that thing out of our bedroom, and so will I.
It's been a good ride.
Oh, I also wanted to write down my measurements, so I've got a starting point.
Waist - 42"
Hips - 52"
Chest - 39.5"
Bust - 46"
Thigh (widest point right at top) - 30"
Bicep (widest point) - 15"
What I ate today:
Breakfast - 32 oz. water during/after workout, 1 piece banana bread, 1/3 cup dry Malt-o-Meal (add 1 cup water) cooked with frozen strawberries and blueberries plus 2 Tbsp. sliced almonds, 8 oz. 1% milk
Lunch - about 1/8 of Emma's peanut butter jelly sandwich on wheat plus the crusts, 1 plum, 1 cup turkey chili with fresh tomato & fat-free sour cream, 12 tortilla chips (looking on the back in the back, this came to about 350 calories, yikes! maybe next time I could try crisping some corn tortillas in a non-stick skillet), about 8 baby carrots, water
Afternoon - 32 oz. water flavored with apple crystal light
Dinner - Very Veggie Burrito (1 whole wheat tortilla, stir-fried chicken breast, stir-fried onions, stir-fried bell peppers, stir-fried tomatillos, fresh tomatoes, green onions, shredded cabbage, fat-free sour cream). The only downside to my dinner, was that I didn't get to eat until very late, almost 8pm. It would have been better if it was more like 5 or 6pm. I bet that shows in the scales tomorrow. I also had most of one liter of sodium-free seltzer flavored with strawberry/orange/banana crystal light. I've figured out that what I love the most about soda pop is the cool and refreshing bubbles, so why not just buy carbonated water, and mix in my own flavors? This would go really well with juice concentrate. I should hunt down where I can get this sodium-free seltzer in bulk, and maybe some online source for drink flavors without the sugar or artificial sugar. Because $1 per liter of the seltzer is too expensive, even though I like it a lot.
I love this breakfast, it's so warm and filling, very much a comfort food, but one that's good for me!. I added the almonds today, I wanted to get more protein in, for all those muscles I'm building, right?
This tasted sooo good! I've been thinking about starting a food blog for a while, just a place to show recipes I've come up with, kind of like an online cookbook. It's not something I'd post on everyday, but when I find something that tastes good, I want to put it on there, especially now that I'm trying to eat healthier, and will be experimenting with food more. I've reserved the blog name, Becky's Kitchen Creations, but it might be a few days before there's actually anything on there.There were lots of times today, when I was tempted to eat something I shouldn't, such as when Dani busted out a huge chocolate bar when we were cleaning her room. But I just kept thinking of stepping on the scales tomorrow, and whatever shows up, I don't want to have a lot of regrets about indulging in things I wish I'd skipped. And I soooooo wanted some ice cream today, especially when Connor had some orange cream ice cream. Yummmm!! But again, I didn't want any regrets, so none for me.
I sat there thinking, "Man, am I never going to let myself eat ice cream again?!" I doubt that will hold, but these daily indulgences I've been doing for a long time have to stop. And it makes me kind of sad to lose the comfort of running to the freezer for a bowl of ice cream at the end of a long day. But, hopefully, I'm giving that up, at least on a regular basis, for something better, a healthier body. I guess I can do fruit smoothies more often, just throw some frozen fruit and lowfat milk in the blender.
Exercise - 20 min on Elliptical - PRECOR EFX576i, crossramp 5 (of 10), resistance 6 (of 10), 1.49 miles, 2335 strides, 233.5 calories. I did the alternating forwards and backwards strides again, lots more intense. Then, I swam for 16 mintues, 8 laps, 400 meters, 1/4 mile.
Big thing - when I did all the cleaning and moving in prep for rearranging Dani's room, I took a good look at the Gazelle striding machine that I've had for years, and it occurred to me it might be a good idea to get rid of it. Our community rec center is really awesome, and I've been enjoying the variety of exercising I can do there, which is probably better for my body. I think my body just completely plateaued on the Gazelle, way too used to the same motion over and over, and even though it's been a great machine to have, after all, I lost nearly 50 pounds with that thing last go-around, I think it's time to move on. Besides, Zen will be so excited to have that thing out of our bedroom, and so will I.
It's been a good ride.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
My Magic Diet Pill Formula
Man, I gotta start writing these blog posts earlier in the night, because by now, at 1am, my brain is shot. And I don't get to say everything I thought about during the day.
Okay. HOLY MONKEYS!! OH MY UNHOLY MONKEYS!!! I weighed myself at the rec center this morning, and I lost another 2 pounds. What the?!!!! Dude, it's like I discovered my own personal magic diet pill. Here's the recipe:
1. Cut the simple carbs (things with table sugar, white-flour-based food like crackers)
2. Increase fresh fruits and veggies, as well as whole grain foods.
3. Watch portion sizes. Just eat until you are satisfied, not full. And yes, there is a difference. Quit thinking full is satisfying, or the goal of eating. There's a difference between satiety and being stuffed.
4. Recognize when you want food for emotional/impulse reasons, not basic physical reasons. Then, whatever it is, don't eat it!
5. Drink lots and lots of water.
6. Exercise!!! Man, you've got to push yourself. A casual walk isn't going to cut it. Constantly challenge your body. Never plateau and let your body get used to only one type of exercise. Either step up the level of intensity, or do a different exercise that your body isn't used to.
7. Do some type of light exercise after dinner, even if you just go walk around the block for 15 to 20 minutes. I'm not a scientist, so this is just my opinion, but it seems like it prevents your body from going into a sluggish shutdown, and thereby burning less calories and storing more calories as fat, at a time of day when most people have eaten the biggest meal of the day.
8. But my favorite rule for myself, and one that seems to be making the most difference, both now and in times past, is to QUIT EATING at least four hours before going to bed. And five or six will make an even bigger difference. Give your body the opportunity to burn off what you ate, so that it will go to work getting rid of fat while you sleep. Refer back to rule #7 about light exericise after dinner. I'm thinking I need to switch my cultural relationship with food, and start making lunch my biggest meal of the day, instead of dinner.
9. TIME. Just keep on trucking, sister. You know what to do, just keep doing it.
After all my experiences over the past two to three years, exercising and dieting, I know exactly what I need to do, for my own personal body. And, now that my head is back on straight, and I've left my big cocoon of procrastination, I feel like now all I have to do is apply the last ingredient of time. The decision struggles are over. I know what's going to work on my personal body. I just need to get it done.
What I ate today - 32 oz. water, 1/3 cup dry Malt-o-Meal (add 1 cup water) cooked with frozen strawberries and blueberries, handful of grapes, 1 piece of banana bread, 8 oz. 1% milk, 1 cup lettuce & tomato salad with raspberry vinaigrette dressing & Salad Toppins dry topping, 6 oz. cooked spinach, one more handful of grapes, 1 more piece of banana bread, about 1/3 of Emma's cheesy brat no bun, 2 thick pieces of wheat bread, ham & swiss cheese lettuce & tomato, 2 Tbsp. Miracle Whip Light, 3 baby carrots, a few more grapes. 1 piece of banana bread, 32 oz. water. I was done eating about 6:30 pm.
Exercise -
20 min on Elliptical - PRECOR EFX576i, crossramp 5 (of 10), resistance 6 (of 10), 1.47 miles, 2495 strides, 228.5 calories. Then, I swam for 20 mintues, 10 laps, 500meters. I felt great after all that exericise. I think a healthy body just likes exercise more, looks forward to it. The more you exercise, the easier it gets to push yourself into higher levels of exercise. After dinner, I cleaned out the garage, lifting boxes, etc.
Food temptations: It's hard not to eat the kids' leftovers. I kept trying to give Emma the last few bites of her hot dog, so I wound up eating it. I should have just thrown it away. And tonight, when I picked up Gil from the last play performance, he was determined to celebrate with a smoothie from Taco Time. It was torture smelling those great Mexican Food smells. I think I will make a healthy version of burritos tomorrow. Craving some Mexican food! Also, I love the banana bread, but I think I can take the original recipe, and make some alterations so that it has less fat and sugar, and more whole grain.
Okay. HOLY MONKEYS!! OH MY UNHOLY MONKEYS!!! I weighed myself at the rec center this morning, and I lost another 2 pounds. What the?!!!! Dude, it's like I discovered my own personal magic diet pill. Here's the recipe:
1. Cut the simple carbs (things with table sugar, white-flour-based food like crackers)
2. Increase fresh fruits and veggies, as well as whole grain foods.
3. Watch portion sizes. Just eat until you are satisfied, not full. And yes, there is a difference. Quit thinking full is satisfying, or the goal of eating. There's a difference between satiety and being stuffed.
4. Recognize when you want food for emotional/impulse reasons, not basic physical reasons. Then, whatever it is, don't eat it!
5. Drink lots and lots of water.
6. Exercise!!! Man, you've got to push yourself. A casual walk isn't going to cut it. Constantly challenge your body. Never plateau and let your body get used to only one type of exercise. Either step up the level of intensity, or do a different exercise that your body isn't used to.
7. Do some type of light exercise after dinner, even if you just go walk around the block for 15 to 20 minutes. I'm not a scientist, so this is just my opinion, but it seems like it prevents your body from going into a sluggish shutdown, and thereby burning less calories and storing more calories as fat, at a time of day when most people have eaten the biggest meal of the day.
8. But my favorite rule for myself, and one that seems to be making the most difference, both now and in times past, is to QUIT EATING at least four hours before going to bed. And five or six will make an even bigger difference. Give your body the opportunity to burn off what you ate, so that it will go to work getting rid of fat while you sleep. Refer back to rule #7 about light exericise after dinner. I'm thinking I need to switch my cultural relationship with food, and start making lunch my biggest meal of the day, instead of dinner.
9. TIME. Just keep on trucking, sister. You know what to do, just keep doing it.
After all my experiences over the past two to three years, exercising and dieting, I know exactly what I need to do, for my own personal body. And, now that my head is back on straight, and I've left my big cocoon of procrastination, I feel like now all I have to do is apply the last ingredient of time. The decision struggles are over. I know what's going to work on my personal body. I just need to get it done.
What I ate today - 32 oz. water, 1/3 cup dry Malt-o-Meal (add 1 cup water) cooked with frozen strawberries and blueberries, handful of grapes, 1 piece of banana bread, 8 oz. 1% milk, 1 cup lettuce & tomato salad with raspberry vinaigrette dressing & Salad Toppins dry topping, 6 oz. cooked spinach, one more handful of grapes, 1 more piece of banana bread, about 1/3 of Emma's cheesy brat no bun, 2 thick pieces of wheat bread, ham & swiss cheese lettuce & tomato, 2 Tbsp. Miracle Whip Light, 3 baby carrots, a few more grapes. 1 piece of banana bread, 32 oz. water. I was done eating about 6:30 pm.
Exercise -
20 min on Elliptical - PRECOR EFX576i, crossramp 5 (of 10), resistance 6 (of 10), 1.47 miles, 2495 strides, 228.5 calories. Then, I swam for 20 mintues, 10 laps, 500meters. I felt great after all that exericise. I think a healthy body just likes exercise more, looks forward to it. The more you exercise, the easier it gets to push yourself into higher levels of exercise. After dinner, I cleaned out the garage, lifting boxes, etc.
Food temptations: It's hard not to eat the kids' leftovers. I kept trying to give Emma the last few bites of her hot dog, so I wound up eating it. I should have just thrown it away. And tonight, when I picked up Gil from the last play performance, he was determined to celebrate with a smoothie from Taco Time. It was torture smelling those great Mexican Food smells. I think I will make a healthy version of burritos tomorrow. Craving some Mexican food! Also, I love the banana bread, but I think I can take the original recipe, and make some alterations so that it has less fat and sugar, and more whole grain.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Nighttime is the Worst
Weighed myself at the Rec Center scales in the locker room. It was 225. A loss of 2 pounds!! Watching portion sizes, packing in more nutrition, and not eating after dinner is everything.
What I ate today - one bite of Zen's Subway sandwhich, 32 oz. water during workout & after, 1/3 cup Malt-o-Meal cooked with frozen strawberries, one piece whole wheat bread with Smart Balance Light butter spread, 1 plum, one piece medium loaf banana bread, about a card-deck size pork steak, 1-1/2 med. potatoes with Smart Balance Light butter spread & fat free sour cream w/seasonings stirred in, 3/4 to 1 cup salad (romaine, tomatoes, raspberry vinaigrette), two pieces banana bread, 16 oz. crystal light, 32 oz. water. I had lots to drink, but no food after 4:30 pm.
I have super cravings at night, when I'm slowing down, and spending more time upstairs with the kids, passing by the kitchen a zillion times. After the bike ride, I was in the garage getting a quick mac & cheese microwave dinner for Emma, and I saw the Neapolitan ice cream, and I really, really wanted some, as well as the creamy mac and cheese, but I resisted it by remembering I'll be weighing myself tomorrow. I could get addicted to the thrill of success found at the scales.
Exercise - 30 min on Elliptical - PRECOR EFX576i, crossramp 5 (of 10), resistance 6 (of 10), 2.20 miles, 3757 strides, 345.0 calories. What I did differently, was I rotated between two minutes of forward strides and one minute of backwards strides. I'd never done the backwards strides, and it really worked a different set of muscles, so it was an intense workout. Also, took the kids for a ride down to the library, probably two rounded miles. While I'm certainly not going to make myself have two hard workouts a day, I think it's going to help if I do some kind of light exercise in the evening, like take a walk, or a leisurely bike ride with the kids.
I was thinking today, one of the ways to celebrate along the way, is to recognize little goals. I think when I've lost about 10 or 15 pounds, I might treat myself to a cute exercise outfit. I can't wait to be back in a size 16. Gaining back 20 pounds this winter put me back in an 18, and honestly, it's a really tight fit. A size 20 pants is more comfortable. But I remember that being in a 16 made me feel great! Can't wait to be back to that.
What I ate today - one bite of Zen's Subway sandwhich, 32 oz. water during workout & after, 1/3 cup Malt-o-Meal cooked with frozen strawberries, one piece whole wheat bread with Smart Balance Light butter spread, 1 plum, one piece medium loaf banana bread, about a card-deck size pork steak, 1-1/2 med. potatoes with Smart Balance Light butter spread & fat free sour cream w/seasonings stirred in, 3/4 to 1 cup salad (romaine, tomatoes, raspberry vinaigrette), two pieces banana bread, 16 oz. crystal light, 32 oz. water. I had lots to drink, but no food after 4:30 pm.
I have super cravings at night, when I'm slowing down, and spending more time upstairs with the kids, passing by the kitchen a zillion times. After the bike ride, I was in the garage getting a quick mac & cheese microwave dinner for Emma, and I saw the Neapolitan ice cream, and I really, really wanted some, as well as the creamy mac and cheese, but I resisted it by remembering I'll be weighing myself tomorrow. I could get addicted to the thrill of success found at the scales.
Exercise - 30 min on Elliptical - PRECOR EFX576i, crossramp 5 (of 10), resistance 6 (of 10), 2.20 miles, 3757 strides, 345.0 calories. What I did differently, was I rotated between two minutes of forward strides and one minute of backwards strides. I'd never done the backwards strides, and it really worked a different set of muscles, so it was an intense workout. Also, took the kids for a ride down to the library, probably two rounded miles. While I'm certainly not going to make myself have two hard workouts a day, I think it's going to help if I do some kind of light exercise in the evening, like take a walk, or a leisurely bike ride with the kids.
I was thinking today, one of the ways to celebrate along the way, is to recognize little goals. I think when I've lost about 10 or 15 pounds, I might treat myself to a cute exercise outfit. I can't wait to be back in a size 16. Gaining back 20 pounds this winter put me back in an 18, and honestly, it's a really tight fit. A size 20 pants is more comfortable. But I remember that being in a 16 made me feel great! Can't wait to be back to that.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Feed Me Seymour!
Okay, there's so much I wanted to say today, but I just can't put in another 1:30am blogging session, so it's short and sweet.
What I ate today:
about 1-1/2 cup cooked Malt-O-Meal with frozen strawberries, two pieces mini-loaf banana bread, about 1/2 banana, about 1/4 of a piece of leftover pizza from last night (Emma's scraps), 1-1/2 nectarines, two pieces homemade wheat bread with Smart Balance Light butter spread, some fresh strawberries, about 5 to 6 oz. cooked spinach with Smart Balance Light butter spread, lots of water today with half-strength Crystal Light flavoring added, at least 64 oz. (I bought a 32 oz. jug today and I am keeping it full), around 6:45 pm I had two bowls of my homemade chicken fried rice, probably 2 to 2-1/2 cups each (almost no oil, very lowfat, w/lots of veggies), and I ate lots and lots of fresh strawberries, at least two cups worth.
I think I ate pretty healthy today, but I'd still like to be finished eating by 5 or 6 each night. I have a box of chocolate by my computer. Can you believe I didn't eat any? I better go hide it, so I'm not tempted tomorrow.
Boy, I was so lusting after food today. With small children, it's hard to stay out of the kitchen between meals, and I swear I could have easily eaten twice what I did today everytime I went in there. Things I thought about eating, but didn't: leftover sausage pizza, chocolate, cake and ice cream, pineapple cottage cheese with tortilla chips, and more of that yummy homemade bread. Can't wait to eat some tomorrow. It helps sometimes to think, "Okay, you've had enough to eat today. Go find something to do, and the time will pass quickly, so you can go to bed, and then eat that tomorrow." A little delayed gratification, instead of just "no, you can never eat that."
Exercise done: 20 minute bike ride to car dealership, about 2.4 miles, downhill the first 1/3, and flat the other 2/3's. My leg muscles are so stiff from the body bar conditioning class from yesterday. I'm going to stretch out again before bed. Tomorrow I'm going to try and get to that class again. It was hard, but I can tell it's going to build some muscle, and that's going to raise my resting metabolic rate, and who couldn't use that?
Okay, I was done, I posted this, and then I got an email of "Motivational Posters" from my brother-in-law. I just about died laughing. I don't know where they originated, and I'd like to give credit here to the creator, but I'm still posting them. Here's one I thought fit the bill today:
True. I'm so craving some real cake with orange cream cheese frosting
Yep, yep, yep. It's a classic lesson in dieting math.
What I ate today:
about 1-1/2 cup cooked Malt-O-Meal with frozen strawberries, two pieces mini-loaf banana bread, about 1/2 banana, about 1/4 of a piece of leftover pizza from last night (Emma's scraps), 1-1/2 nectarines, two pieces homemade wheat bread with Smart Balance Light butter spread, some fresh strawberries, about 5 to 6 oz. cooked spinach with Smart Balance Light butter spread, lots of water today with half-strength Crystal Light flavoring added, at least 64 oz. (I bought a 32 oz. jug today and I am keeping it full), around 6:45 pm I had two bowls of my homemade chicken fried rice, probably 2 to 2-1/2 cups each (almost no oil, very lowfat, w/lots of veggies), and I ate lots and lots of fresh strawberries, at least two cups worth.
I think I ate pretty healthy today, but I'd still like to be finished eating by 5 or 6 each night. I have a box of chocolate by my computer. Can you believe I didn't eat any? I better go hide it, so I'm not tempted tomorrow.
Boy, I was so lusting after food today. With small children, it's hard to stay out of the kitchen between meals, and I swear I could have easily eaten twice what I did today everytime I went in there. Things I thought about eating, but didn't: leftover sausage pizza, chocolate, cake and ice cream, pineapple cottage cheese with tortilla chips, and more of that yummy homemade bread. Can't wait to eat some tomorrow. It helps sometimes to think, "Okay, you've had enough to eat today. Go find something to do, and the time will pass quickly, so you can go to bed, and then eat that tomorrow." A little delayed gratification, instead of just "no, you can never eat that."
Exercise done: 20 minute bike ride to car dealership, about 2.4 miles, downhill the first 1/3, and flat the other 2/3's. My leg muscles are so stiff from the body bar conditioning class from yesterday. I'm going to stretch out again before bed. Tomorrow I'm going to try and get to that class again. It was hard, but I can tell it's going to build some muscle, and that's going to raise my resting metabolic rate, and who couldn't use that?
Okay, I was done, I posted this, and then I got an email of "Motivational Posters" from my brother-in-law. I just about died laughing. I don't know where they originated, and I'd like to give credit here to the creator, but I'm still posting them. Here's one I thought fit the bill today:
Yep, yep, yep. It's a classic lesson in dieting math.
Monday, July 20, 2009
The Fat Ugly Truth
Okay, people, let's start this blog off with the ugly truth, because hopefully, it can only get better, somewhere down the road the contrast of the "before" and after" will be that much more impressive, hopefully. And, besides, it gives me a starting place, despite the uncomfortable nature of discussing weight loss (pained expression on my face). "Battle for 200 & Beyond" - it's all about breaking the 200 pound barrier and to keep on going with the healthy habits so I can lose even more. I think I'd like to be around 150, and at least into a size 12. I'm an 18/20, and my pants are tight again. Time to lose that stiff, overstuffed feeling that comes from a sluggish body and tight clothes.
Let's start with the before picture:
Ughhhh
Weight at the Rec Center this morning: 227 (NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!) Yep, I was down to 202 right at my birthday in October, but then I went and blew it. Overindulged over the holidays, then went through the trama of having to close down my daycare, then just messed around for months after that. Let's see if I can get my act together again.
Right now, I think my problem is the eating. I have a weakness for ice cream, especially the whole carame-nut-chocolate category. And definitely I eat when I get stressed and bored, so I have that issue to overcome. And I've noticed in times past, that I lose weight, almost guaranteed, if I will STOP eating after 6pm. Those after-dinner snacks are a killer.
But the weird thing is I think I do pretty well at the exercising, at least for consistency. I've been exercising six days a week for months on my Gazelle 30 minutes a day, at the #2 resistance (it has four resistance levels, 0, 1, 2, 3.) However, I think getting it done everyday backfired on me, in a way, because it made me feel like I was still being useful, even though I was not getting a whole lot done, especially in the last two months. And, you know I ate more, just because I thought could because I was exercising, like it was an excuse to do whatever I wanted with my food. But I think I let myself plateau on the intensity of my workouts. I bet cardiovascularly, my heart is in pretty good shape. I'm pretty capable of long-term endurance, but I could be doing so much better. So, one of my goals is to push myself harder, try out different things, to keep my body challenged.
So, those are the starting points. Let's get down to the nitty gritty of the daily grind.
Exercise today - at Rec Center
1. 30 min on Elliptical - PRECOR EFX576i, crossramp 5 (of 10), resistance 6 (of 10), 2.23 miles, 3885 strides, 352.0 calories
2. 35 min of Body Bar Conditioning class - 8 lb. weight ball, 9 lb. weight bar, 8 lb. dumbells. As I was getting ready to leave after my elliptical workout, I poked my nose in at the upstairs classroom, and they were using weight bars. It looked so interesting, I decided to join them. At first it was pretty easy, but then it kicked my butt, which is a good thing. I really need to take advantage of this Rec Center, and do a variety of things, continually pushing myself to a higher level.
Food I ate today:
Morning - 32 oz. of water (definitely need to be drinking more throughout the day), 1 cup Honey Bunches of Oats w/dried strawberries & 1% milk, 1 banana
Afternoon - about 6 - 7 oz. cooked spinach w/1 Tablespoon Smart Balance Light butter (good stuff, it has the omega 3s in it, "healthy" fat), 1 to 1-1/2 Light mozzarella cheese sticks, 3 or so pieces Hershey Nuggets toffee almond, 4 to 5 pieces M&Ms Premiums raspberry almond, 1 piece of a mini loaf of banana bread (my VTs brought it), 4 pieces of grapefruit tic tac, 1 Squirt Soda Pop
Evening - 2 pieces of mini loaf of banana bread, 1 Propel fitness water, two pieces of homemade sausage bell pepper onion pizza, 8 to 10 oz. banana strawberry smoothie, a few fresh strawberries, 1 or 2 cups homemade kettle corn, about 14 oz. Crystal Light strawberry organge banana drink, 8 oz. water
Yeah, so I probably ate too much, and I should have quit eating around 6pm. I think that, plus portion size and drinking lots of water are going to be my starting focus for the food category.
First post, good starting point, keep on truckin'!
Let's start with the before picture:
UghhhhWeight at the Rec Center this morning: 227 (NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!) Yep, I was down to 202 right at my birthday in October, but then I went and blew it. Overindulged over the holidays, then went through the trama of having to close down my daycare, then just messed around for months after that. Let's see if I can get my act together again.
Right now, I think my problem is the eating. I have a weakness for ice cream, especially the whole carame-nut-chocolate category. And definitely I eat when I get stressed and bored, so I have that issue to overcome. And I've noticed in times past, that I lose weight, almost guaranteed, if I will STOP eating after 6pm. Those after-dinner snacks are a killer.
But the weird thing is I think I do pretty well at the exercising, at least for consistency. I've been exercising six days a week for months on my Gazelle 30 minutes a day, at the #2 resistance (it has four resistance levels, 0, 1, 2, 3.) However, I think getting it done everyday backfired on me, in a way, because it made me feel like I was still being useful, even though I was not getting a whole lot done, especially in the last two months. And, you know I ate more, just because I thought could because I was exercising, like it was an excuse to do whatever I wanted with my food. But I think I let myself plateau on the intensity of my workouts. I bet cardiovascularly, my heart is in pretty good shape. I'm pretty capable of long-term endurance, but I could be doing so much better. So, one of my goals is to push myself harder, try out different things, to keep my body challenged.
So, those are the starting points. Let's get down to the nitty gritty of the daily grind.
Exercise today - at Rec Center
1. 30 min on Elliptical - PRECOR EFX576i, crossramp 5 (of 10), resistance 6 (of 10), 2.23 miles, 3885 strides, 352.0 calories
2. 35 min of Body Bar Conditioning class - 8 lb. weight ball, 9 lb. weight bar, 8 lb. dumbells. As I was getting ready to leave after my elliptical workout, I poked my nose in at the upstairs classroom, and they were using weight bars. It looked so interesting, I decided to join them. At first it was pretty easy, but then it kicked my butt, which is a good thing. I really need to take advantage of this Rec Center, and do a variety of things, continually pushing myself to a higher level.
Food I ate today:
Morning - 32 oz. of water (definitely need to be drinking more throughout the day), 1 cup Honey Bunches of Oats w/dried strawberries & 1% milk, 1 banana
Afternoon - about 6 - 7 oz. cooked spinach w/1 Tablespoon Smart Balance Light butter (good stuff, it has the omega 3s in it, "healthy" fat), 1 to 1-1/2 Light mozzarella cheese sticks, 3 or so pieces Hershey Nuggets toffee almond, 4 to 5 pieces M&Ms Premiums raspberry almond, 1 piece of a mini loaf of banana bread (my VTs brought it), 4 pieces of grapefruit tic tac, 1 Squirt Soda Pop
Evening - 2 pieces of mini loaf of banana bread, 1 Propel fitness water, two pieces of homemade sausage bell pepper onion pizza, 8 to 10 oz. banana strawberry smoothie, a few fresh strawberries, 1 or 2 cups homemade kettle corn, about 14 oz. Crystal Light strawberry organge banana drink, 8 oz. water
Yeah, so I probably ate too much, and I should have quit eating around 6pm. I think that, plus portion size and drinking lots of water are going to be my starting focus for the food category.
First post, good starting point, keep on truckin'!
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