Another fairly blah day yesterday, still depressed, tired, and moody. Got both my exercise sessions in, though! I have been slacking on my arm workouts with my little 5-pound hand weight, though. Gotta get back into it, although for the present I'm classifying that as a "bonus" exercise rather than a daily requirement. I know that the exercising is at least as important a part of the whole program as the intake is, so I'm really trying to make sure it happens, unpleasant as it is right now. Plus, the exercise in and of itself will help me to get closer to a couple of my "Top 20," such as being able to participate in activities and making working out an enjoyable thing to do again.
Yesterday's intake was pretty average, although I did try a salad for lunch for the first time...it was a rather boring salad since I hadn't done much prep of low-carb condiments for it. I did add some ground flaxseed for the first time. I'm starting with 1 tbsp. per day, though they recommend two. I don't want my digestive system giving me any surprises!
Breakfast: 1 egg, scrambled, 3 pieces bacon - 1.55g
Lunch: 3 oz salad, 1/2 oz chopped pepperoni, 2 tbsp Caesar dressing - 4g
Snack: 1 oz almonds - 2g
Dinner: 6 oz ham steak, 1 cup frozen green beans - 10.5g
Dessert: None
Total: 18.05g
An interesting question has been raised by a couple of different people. Is it possible that I'm actually not eating enough, and therefore putting my body into starvation mode and slowing or eliminating my weight loss? While I'm not officially counting calories, just carbs, my tracker app does automatically calculate my calories as well. I very rarely go over 1300 calories a day, and I'm under 1000 per day at least a third of the time. I don't feel hungry unless I get off schedule, and I'm generally full after each meal, but I'll be the first to admit I'm certainly not an expert in diet and metabolism. I'm not entirely sure how to increase my calorie intake without going over my carb limit or making myself over-full, though. Eating myself sick is definitely something I've had a real problem with in the past, and I want to break that habit once and for all. Suggestions and opinions?
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Blah
Yesterday was a very blah day. I woke up exhausted, depressed, and irritable and it didn't improve much through the rest of the day. I actually fell asleep on the sofa for a couple of hours in the morning and missed my morning walk, which didn't make me very happy. I did do my afternoon session though, so I got my one required daily exercise period in. I also somehow miscounted my carbs at dinnertime and ended up going over my allowance. It was by less than one gram, so it's probably not the end of the world, but it was still rather irritating. Then again, everything was rather irritating yesterday, and seems to be shaping up for the same today.
Breakfast: 1 egg, scrambled, 2 pieces bacon - 1.48g
Lunch: 4 oz deli ham, cheese stick - 3.38g
Snack: 1 oz almonds - 2g
Dinner: Chicken w/Red Wine Sauce, 1 1/3 cups frozen green beans - 12.97g
Dessert: 1/2 cup Sugar-free Jell-O, 2 tbsp cream, whipped - .8g
Total: 20.63g
Since my motivation has been low and my frustration level has been high lately, I thought today I'd share another tool that I've been using to keep myself focused and ride out the bad times. Several years ago, when I was on one of my many unsuccessful diets, I made a list entitled "Reasons I Hate Being Fat" as an attempt at motivating myself. Although that particular attempt wasn't successful, I still think the idea is a good one. Since that time, I've learned that, unnatural as it is for me, stating things in a positive manner works much better, so I went through the list, tightened it up, and restated each item as a positive. The result is a new list entitled "Top 20 Reasons to Lose Weight," and as you've no doubt noticed already, I've posted it at the side of the page so that I'll see it every day and learn to take it to heart. See you tomorrow!
Breakfast: 1 egg, scrambled, 2 pieces bacon - 1.48g
Lunch: 4 oz deli ham, cheese stick - 3.38g
Snack: 1 oz almonds - 2g
Dinner: Chicken w/Red Wine Sauce, 1 1/3 cups frozen green beans - 12.97g
Dessert: 1/2 cup Sugar-free Jell-O, 2 tbsp cream, whipped - .8g
Total: 20.63g
Since my motivation has been low and my frustration level has been high lately, I thought today I'd share another tool that I've been using to keep myself focused and ride out the bad times. Several years ago, when I was on one of my many unsuccessful diets, I made a list entitled "Reasons I Hate Being Fat" as an attempt at motivating myself. Although that particular attempt wasn't successful, I still think the idea is a good one. Since that time, I've learned that, unnatural as it is for me, stating things in a positive manner works much better, so I went through the list, tightened it up, and restated each item as a positive. The result is a new list entitled "Top 20 Reasons to Lose Weight," and as you've no doubt noticed already, I've posted it at the side of the page so that I'll see it every day and learn to take it to heart. See you tomorrow!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Getting Through the Day
After yesterday morning's bad news on the scale, getting through the rest of the day was pretty much a matter of sheer stubbornness and crying on all available shoulders. Thank you very much to those of you who allowed me to vent my frustration and discouragement to you. You have no idea how much you help. Thank you also to those who left me comments or messages, I love getting that feedback and knowing that you're out there reading and cheering for me. The urge to eat something horrible was strong yesterday, but it was outmatched by the support I get from you guys and by my sheer, heel-digging, stubborn need to show this diet that it's not going to win. Yes, I'm completely aware that this is a totally illogical feeling, but hey, if it works...
Anyway, I stuck to the program, I did my walking - 6 minutes per session this week - and I used my new hand weight to do some arm work. Yesterday's intake:
Breakfast: 1 egg, scrambled, 3 pieces bacon - 1.55g
Lunch: 4 oz deli ham, cheese stick - 3.38g
Snack: 1 oz almonds - 2g
Dinner: 6 oz ham steak, 2/3 cup frozen green beans - 9g
Dessert: 1/2 cup sugar-free Jell-O, 2 tbsp cream, whipped - .8g
Total: 16.73g
Yesterday was the first day that I've officially eaten all five of my planned meals! It was nice to have a little something sweet for dessert, and fabulous to have something other than a cheese stick available for my afternoon snack. I have nothing against cheese sticks, but having eaten two a day nearly every day for the last three weeks, I was getting a wee bit tired of them. Options are a good thing. If I get too bored, eating the same thing every single day, I'm a lot more likely to succumb to cravings. I really don't mind having the same breakfast every day, but lunch and dinner are a different story!
Anyway, I stuck to the program, I did my walking - 6 minutes per session this week - and I used my new hand weight to do some arm work. Yesterday's intake:
Breakfast: 1 egg, scrambled, 3 pieces bacon - 1.55g
Lunch: 4 oz deli ham, cheese stick - 3.38g
Snack: 1 oz almonds - 2g
Dinner: 6 oz ham steak, 2/3 cup frozen green beans - 9g
Dessert: 1/2 cup sugar-free Jell-O, 2 tbsp cream, whipped - .8g
Total: 16.73g
Yesterday was the first day that I've officially eaten all five of my planned meals! It was nice to have a little something sweet for dessert, and fabulous to have something other than a cheese stick available for my afternoon snack. I have nothing against cheese sticks, but having eaten two a day nearly every day for the last three weeks, I was getting a wee bit tired of them. Options are a good thing. If I get too bored, eating the same thing every single day, I'm a lot more likely to succumb to cravings. I really don't mind having the same breakfast every day, but lunch and dinner are a different story!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Arghh!!!
Welcome to the weigh-in day from hell. It's been a Murphy's Law morning so far, and the scale simply continued the trend. I gained a pound. Yes, you read that right. I gained a pound. I never went over on my carbs. I was under 1300 calories consumed every day, and under 1000 on four days. I exercised every day, and exercised twice on several days. And I gained a pound. Yes, I zeroed the scale before I got on it, and I was wearing the same type of clothing I have on every other weigh-in, and I weighed at the same time of day. No, I haven't exercised enough to build that much muscle mass yet. I am SO frustrated right now I could scream.
No, I'm not going to quit the program. Yet. For one thing, all of you would probably get together and come hang me up by my toenails, and I'd really rather avoid that. For another, I do know that there are sometimes weeks on a diet when you do everything right and don't lose any weight. Not losing is one thing, and gaining is quite another, but I'm going to stick to it and see if I can get past this. Not that it really matters at this point, but yesterday's intake was...
Breakfast: String cheese - .8g
Lunch: 4 oz deli ham, string cheese - 3.38g
Snack: Cheese stick - .8g
Dinner: Bacon, mushroom, and cheese omelette - 7.37g
Dessert: None
Total: 12.35g
I'm not exactly in the mood for a long post today, so we'll try this again tomorrow morning.
No, I'm not going to quit the program. Yet. For one thing, all of you would probably get together and come hang me up by my toenails, and I'd really rather avoid that. For another, I do know that there are sometimes weeks on a diet when you do everything right and don't lose any weight. Not losing is one thing, and gaining is quite another, but I'm going to stick to it and see if I can get past this. Not that it really matters at this point, but yesterday's intake was...
Breakfast: String cheese - .8g
Lunch: 4 oz deli ham, string cheese - 3.38g
Snack: Cheese stick - .8g
Dinner: Bacon, mushroom, and cheese omelette - 7.37g
Dessert: None
Total: 12.35g
I'm not exactly in the mood for a long post today, so we'll try this again tomorrow morning.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Panicking...
Morning all...well, as the title of today's post indicates, I'm panicking about tomorrow's weigh-in this morning. I hadn't really been thinking about it until this morning, and suddenly I realized it's tomorrow! Arghh! Anyway, I'll be spending today trying to hold myself together. So yesterday was a fairly average day, nothing particularly good or particularly bad. I got all my meals in, although dinner ended up being a little dicey, since I didn't realize until after I'd put it in that my bottle of olive oil had gone nasty. Yuck!
Breakfast: 1 egg, scrambled, 3 pieces bacon - 1.55g
Lunch: 1 oz sliced pepperoni, cheese stick - .8g
Snack: Cheese stick - .8g
Dinner: Chicken Paprikash, 1 1/3 cups frozen green beans - 16.52g
Dessert: None
Total: 19.67g
I only exercised once yesterday, which was a bit of a bummer. That's really all I'm requiring myself to do, but I'd done so well doing it twice a day for several days in a row that forgetting my second session made me mad at myself. I did get a little 5 lb. hand weight to use for a different type of exercise though! I'm going to use it a few times a day when I'm reading or watching TV to do some sets of curls, tricep extensions, etc. Not only will that burn a few extra calories, it will help build a little muscle mass, which in itself burns more calories. It's a win-win.
Breakfast: 1 egg, scrambled, 3 pieces bacon - 1.55g
Lunch: 1 oz sliced pepperoni, cheese stick - .8g
Snack: Cheese stick - .8g
Dinner: Chicken Paprikash, 1 1/3 cups frozen green beans - 16.52g
Dessert: None
Total: 19.67g
I only exercised once yesterday, which was a bit of a bummer. That's really all I'm requiring myself to do, but I'd done so well doing it twice a day for several days in a row that forgetting my second session made me mad at myself. I did get a little 5 lb. hand weight to use for a different type of exercise though! I'm going to use it a few times a day when I'm reading or watching TV to do some sets of curls, tricep extensions, etc. Not only will that burn a few extra calories, it will help build a little muscle mass, which in itself burns more calories. It's a win-win.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Late Dinner Again...Not So Good
Most of yesterday went pretty well and on schedule...Chad was very late getting home though, so I didn't end up getting dinner until two hours late. My system doesn't like that at all anymore, it's gotten accustomed to eating on a schedule and deviations are not tolerated well! From now on, come hell or high water, I'm eating on time. I continued the Great Breakfast Experiment, since it went so well yesterday, and managed to eat all of my meals. Well, except dessert, which I didn't need anyway since I ate dinner so late. I do have some sugar-free Jell-O now, so I'll make up a package of that and have it available for desserts. I know I mentioned in a previous post that one of my compromises with dinner recipes was going to be to increase the amount of meat while keeping the carb-containing sauces to an official "portion". Well, I did that last night, and Chad ended up eating half my dinner because I was too full to finish it. Seems like good progress on my part towards becoming used to smaller meals! I went ahead and included the full portion of carbs in my day's tally, because I'm not quite sure exactly how much I ate, and I'd rather overestimate than underestimate.
Breakfast: 1 egg, scrambled, 3 slices bacon -1.55g
Lunch: 4 oz deli ham, cheese stick - 3.38g
Snack: Cheese stick - .8g
Dinner: Creamy Chicken w/Mushrooms, 1 1/3 cup green beans - 11.39g
Dessert: None
Total: 17.12g
Thanks to Barry for bringing up a good point about fiber yesterday! I hadn't really thought about fiber very much, except knowing that I don't have to count fiber carbs in my total. Apparently, however, fiber has a number of benefits for weight loss as well as general health. It helps you to feel full faster, sustains the feeling of fullness for a longer time, and also prevents the absorption of some of the calories you eat. I'm definitely going to be adding some fiber to my diet, probably in the form of ground flaxseed and almonds. The vegetables that I'm already eating, such as green beans, broccoli, mushrooms, and peas, are all fairly high in fiber, as is sauerkraut, to my surprise. Sauerkraut and sausage, anyone?
Breakfast: 1 egg, scrambled, 3 slices bacon -1.55g
Lunch: 4 oz deli ham, cheese stick - 3.38g
Snack: Cheese stick - .8g
Dinner: Creamy Chicken w/Mushrooms, 1 1/3 cup green beans - 11.39g
Dessert: None
Total: 17.12g
Thanks to Barry for bringing up a good point about fiber yesterday! I hadn't really thought about fiber very much, except knowing that I don't have to count fiber carbs in my total. Apparently, however, fiber has a number of benefits for weight loss as well as general health. It helps you to feel full faster, sustains the feeling of fullness for a longer time, and also prevents the absorption of some of the calories you eat. I'm definitely going to be adding some fiber to my diet, probably in the form of ground flaxseed and almonds. The vegetables that I'm already eating, such as green beans, broccoli, mushrooms, and peas, are all fairly high in fiber, as is sauerkraut, to my surprise. Sauerkraut and sausage, anyone?
Friday, September 24, 2010
The Great Breakfast Experiment
So yesterday was the day of the Great Breakfast Experiment. I cut my breakfast by half to see if it would help me to be hungry for lunch, and it helped! I didn't really feel quite full after breakfast, but it wasn't intolerable, and I wasn't horribly hungry at lunchtime or snacktime, but I was able to eat both. I cooked and ate dinner at a reasonable time, and I was definitely in a better mood in the evening. I think I even had more energy, judging by the fact that I exercised not once, but twice yesterday! I was pretty hungry in the evening, though, so I definitely need to get some sugar-free Jello and have it available for desserts. Yesterday's meals:
Breakfast: 1 egg, scrambled, 3 pieces bacon - 1.55g
Lunch: 1/4 lb deli ham, string cheese - 3.38g
Snack: String cheese - .8g
Dinner: Chicken with Red Wine Sauce, 5 oz broccoli - 12.68g
Dessert: None
Total: 18.41g
I've made a couple of changes to the layout of the blog, as well. As you've probably noticed, I added a pair of text boxes to the right-hand column, one for goals and the other for the song of the day. I thought it would be a fun and easy way to keep track of them.
I haven't talked much about goals in the blog so far, so I'll go into that a little bit today. Of course, my long-term goal and the reason for changing my eating habits in the first place is to lose a bit over half my body weight and reach my eventual goal of 175 lbs. I know that according to the "standards" I should weigh around 130 lbs, but I also know that to expect to weigh less than I did in high school when I'm now pushing 40 is ridiculously unreasonable. I looked great (although I certainly didn't believe it at the time) when I was 17 and 150 lbs.
Me at 150 lbs, 1989
Anyway, I think 175 is quite a reasonable, reachable, and maintainable long-term goal. Based on my friend Jocelyn's recommendation and some of the research I've done, however, it's important to also have short-term, achievable but not easy goals. I've decided to make my short-term goals on a monthly basis. If and when I reach my goal, I will earn a predetermined, non-food-related reward. My initial monthly goal was to get under 400 lbs by the end of September, based on my estimated pre-diet weight of 415 lbs. When I proved on my first weigh-in to be 397 lbs, that goal was accomplished without even doing anything, so I set another one for September.
My goal is now to weigh 375 or less by the end of this month. Because I weigh in only on Mondays, "the end of this month" actually ends up being October 4, but since it's really an arbitrary date anyway, it's not all that important. After my 8 lbs lost so far, I'm at 389, so I have two weeks left to lose another 14 lbs. Based on my numbers so far, I'm fairly concerned that I won't be able to lose the 7 lbs. per week necessary to reach my current goal. The goals are simply something to work toward in order to earn a reward, however, so if I don't reach it, this month's reward will simply become next month's reward if I reach the new goal I'll set for October. I hope I reach it this month though, because I've decided my reward will be to spend my birthday money on a new tattoo!
Breakfast: 1 egg, scrambled, 3 pieces bacon - 1.55g
Lunch: 1/4 lb deli ham, string cheese - 3.38g
Snack: String cheese - .8g
Dinner: Chicken with Red Wine Sauce, 5 oz broccoli - 12.68g
Dessert: None
Total: 18.41g
I've made a couple of changes to the layout of the blog, as well. As you've probably noticed, I added a pair of text boxes to the right-hand column, one for goals and the other for the song of the day. I thought it would be a fun and easy way to keep track of them.
I haven't talked much about goals in the blog so far, so I'll go into that a little bit today. Of course, my long-term goal and the reason for changing my eating habits in the first place is to lose a bit over half my body weight and reach my eventual goal of 175 lbs. I know that according to the "standards" I should weigh around 130 lbs, but I also know that to expect to weigh less than I did in high school when I'm now pushing 40 is ridiculously unreasonable. I looked great (although I certainly didn't believe it at the time) when I was 17 and 150 lbs.
Me at 150 lbs, 1989
My goal is now to weigh 375 or less by the end of this month. Because I weigh in only on Mondays, "the end of this month" actually ends up being October 4, but since it's really an arbitrary date anyway, it's not all that important. After my 8 lbs lost so far, I'm at 389, so I have two weeks left to lose another 14 lbs. Based on my numbers so far, I'm fairly concerned that I won't be able to lose the 7 lbs. per week necessary to reach my current goal. The goals are simply something to work toward in order to earn a reward, however, so if I don't reach it, this month's reward will simply become next month's reward if I reach the new goal I'll set for October. I hope I reach it this month though, because I've decided my reward will be to spend my birthday money on a new tattoo!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
I Exercised Again!
Well, nothing special to report for yesterday, except that I did go outside and exercise again. That's two days in a row, which is a record for me in this period of my life. Sometimes as I'm struggling back and forth for those five long minutes I think about the girl who ran several miles every day and wonder if that was really me...
Anyway, I got through it. I tried a slightly different timekeeping method yesterday and it worked well - since I've always been very connected to music and have frequently used it to change my mood, I chose a song from my music library that's exactly five minutes long, downloaded it to my phone, and used it as my timer. The speaker on my phone isn't all that loud, so it sort of faded in and out as I walked back and forth, but it was still much better than just setting a timer and walking back and forth in silence, wondering how long I had left. The music not only gave me something to distract me and helped me keep my pace up, it also helped me know approximately how much longer I had to go. Maybe I'll try to choose a different song every day and tell you all what I exercised to, that might be fun. Yesterday's song was Head Like a Hole by NIN.
Yesterday's intake...
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 5 pieces bacon - 3.25g
Lunch: None
Snack: String cheese - .8g
Dinner: 9 oz ham steak, 1 1/3 cup frozen green beans - 15g
Dessert: None
Total: 19.05g
Today is the day of the Great Breakfast Experiment. I ate half my usual breakfast this morning, so we'll see how it goes! Full report tomorrow.
Anyway, I got through it. I tried a slightly different timekeeping method yesterday and it worked well - since I've always been very connected to music and have frequently used it to change my mood, I chose a song from my music library that's exactly five minutes long, downloaded it to my phone, and used it as my timer. The speaker on my phone isn't all that loud, so it sort of faded in and out as I walked back and forth, but it was still much better than just setting a timer and walking back and forth in silence, wondering how long I had left. The music not only gave me something to distract me and helped me keep my pace up, it also helped me know approximately how much longer I had to go. Maybe I'll try to choose a different song every day and tell you all what I exercised to, that might be fun. Yesterday's song was Head Like a Hole by NIN.
Yesterday's intake...
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 5 pieces bacon - 3.25g
Lunch: None
Snack: String cheese - .8g
Dinner: 9 oz ham steak, 1 1/3 cup frozen green beans - 15g
Dessert: None
Total: 19.05g
Today is the day of the Great Breakfast Experiment. I ate half my usual breakfast this morning, so we'll see how it goes! Full report tomorrow.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Lunch...What Do I Do About Lunch?
Ok, so I missed yesterday. I realized I missed yesterday at about 10:30 last night, by which point it was a little late to write. Bad Kitty! Monday was a pretty average day though, other than frustration about the weigh-in and feeling like utter crap in the morning (by the way, I think I've nailed that down to a reaction to missing my medication on Sunday). Yesterday was also pretty average, including having an issue that's become fairly common over the last couple of weeks. I'm not eating lunch. Why am I not eating lunch? Because I'm not hungry at lunchtime. At first I thought it was just a result of learning to change my eating schedule...really, learning to create an eating schedule, since I really didn't have one before I started the program. I ate when I felt like eating...not necessarily when I felt hungry, because I ate at times I wasn't hungry, and didn't eat at times I was...but when I felt like it.
Now I'm trying to eat on a reasonable schedule, and to eat multiple smaller meals rather than a couple of large ones to keep my stomach happy and my blood sugar stable. My schedule is intended to be breakfast around 8:30, lunch at noon, snack around 3, dinner about 6, and possibly a dessert at 9 or so. Basically, I'm supposed to eat every three hours. From the reading I've done and the advice I've gotten from you guys, that's a good way to do it. The problem? I'm just not hungry at noon. I'm frequently not hungry, even after skipping lunch, at 3 for my snack. Then, of course, by dinnertime my blood sugar is low, I'm starving and crabby, and I have no energy and no desire to cook. I'm certainly not stuffing myself at breakfast, although I'm not hungry when I'm done either. Breakfast is almost always the same, scrambled eggs and either bacon or sausage. It's mostly been bacon lately, because it's lower in carbs than sausage. I'm wondering if maybe I should cut my breakfast back somewhat, even though I don't feel overfull after eating it, in order to hopefully feel hungrier at lunchtime. I don't want to leave myself feeling hungry, but I've got to get into a good eating routine. The more I have to think about what and when I'm eating, the more likely I am to start thinking about the foods that I can't have, and I most definitely think about and crave those foods when it's 8 at night and I haven't eaten for almost 12 hours. Anyway, unless I hear otherwise from you, my faithful readers, I'm going to try a little experiment tomorrow and have one scrambled egg instead of two, and three pieces of bacon instead of five. We'll see how that goes. For now, intake from the last two days...
Monday
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 5 pieces bacon - 3.25g
Lunch: 4 oz deli ham, string cheese - 2.58g
Snack: None
Dinner: Bacon, mushroom, and cheese omelette - 7.37g
Dessert: None
Total: 13.2g
Tuesday
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 5 pieces bacon - 3.25g
Lunch: None
Snack: None
Dinner: 9 oz ham steak, 1 1/3 cup frozen green beans - 15g
Dessert: None
Total: 18.25g
I also have a good thing to report from yesterday! I actually went out and exercised! If you'd asked me while I was in the middle of it whether it was a good thing or not, I probably would have said something rude, being in agony at the time. However, I do know it's necessary and I'm going to do it again today. I can't do much yet, but I set a timer for 5 minutes and just walked back and forth in the yard...I know it probably doesn't sound like much to most of you, but I was out of breath, shaky-legged, and definitely had my heart rate up by the time I was done. For now, I'm going to stay in my own yard, because I'm terrified of trying to go for a walk down the block and running out of energy and not being able to get home. It was a bit depressing when I entered my exercise in my diet tracker app and discovered I only burned 31 calories, though. Oh well, at least I did something, I guess.
Now I'm trying to eat on a reasonable schedule, and to eat multiple smaller meals rather than a couple of large ones to keep my stomach happy and my blood sugar stable. My schedule is intended to be breakfast around 8:30, lunch at noon, snack around 3, dinner about 6, and possibly a dessert at 9 or so. Basically, I'm supposed to eat every three hours. From the reading I've done and the advice I've gotten from you guys, that's a good way to do it. The problem? I'm just not hungry at noon. I'm frequently not hungry, even after skipping lunch, at 3 for my snack. Then, of course, by dinnertime my blood sugar is low, I'm starving and crabby, and I have no energy and no desire to cook. I'm certainly not stuffing myself at breakfast, although I'm not hungry when I'm done either. Breakfast is almost always the same, scrambled eggs and either bacon or sausage. It's mostly been bacon lately, because it's lower in carbs than sausage. I'm wondering if maybe I should cut my breakfast back somewhat, even though I don't feel overfull after eating it, in order to hopefully feel hungrier at lunchtime. I don't want to leave myself feeling hungry, but I've got to get into a good eating routine. The more I have to think about what and when I'm eating, the more likely I am to start thinking about the foods that I can't have, and I most definitely think about and crave those foods when it's 8 at night and I haven't eaten for almost 12 hours. Anyway, unless I hear otherwise from you, my faithful readers, I'm going to try a little experiment tomorrow and have one scrambled egg instead of two, and three pieces of bacon instead of five. We'll see how that goes. For now, intake from the last two days...
Monday
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 5 pieces bacon - 3.25g
Lunch: 4 oz deli ham, string cheese - 2.58g
Snack: None
Dinner: Bacon, mushroom, and cheese omelette - 7.37g
Dessert: None
Total: 13.2g
Tuesday
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 5 pieces bacon - 3.25g
Lunch: None
Snack: None
Dinner: 9 oz ham steak, 1 1/3 cup frozen green beans - 15g
Dessert: None
Total: 18.25g
I also have a good thing to report from yesterday! I actually went out and exercised! If you'd asked me while I was in the middle of it whether it was a good thing or not, I probably would have said something rude, being in agony at the time. However, I do know it's necessary and I'm going to do it again today. I can't do much yet, but I set a timer for 5 minutes and just walked back and forth in the yard...I know it probably doesn't sound like much to most of you, but I was out of breath, shaky-legged, and definitely had my heart rate up by the time I was done. For now, I'm going to stay in my own yard, because I'm terrified of trying to go for a walk down the block and running out of energy and not being able to get home. It was a bit depressing when I entered my exercise in my diet tracker app and discovered I only burned 31 calories, though. Oh well, at least I did something, I guess.
Monday, September 20, 2010
The Two-Week Weigh-In
Hey guys...sorry about the lack of posts the last few days, it's not been a good week for me. Not in a going-off-my-diet kind of way, although I was very tempted a few times, but in my mental/emotional condition. It was apparently time for me to have one of my really severe, debilitating depressive episodes, and there's not a whole lot I can do when that happens. I think it may be over now, because although I was sick as a dog when I got up this morning, I'm feeling better now and I think my mood is up. Sick or not, I did force myself to go in and weigh this morning, and I lost another measly 4 lbs. I really don't understand it, because instead of eating constantly as I usually do when I'm having one of my bad times, there were several days when I ate very, very little. I was certainly well under my daily carb limits every day...so very frustrating. I'm not going to give up, because not only am I determined to actually stick to a diet this time, I also think that all of you would rise up in a mass and murder me. So the intake for the days I didn't make a blog entry was as follows...
Thursday
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 5 slices bacon - 3.25g
Lunch: String cheese - .8g
Snack: None
Dinner: 7.5 oz ham steak, 1/2 cup peas - 14.37g
Dessert: None
Total: 18.42g
Friday
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 5 slices bacon - 3.25g
Lunch: String cheese - .8g
Snack: None
Dinner: Bacon & cheese omelette - 5.2g
Dessert: None
Total: 9.17g
Saturday
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 5 slices bacon - 3.25g
Lunch: None
Snack: 1 oz pepperoni slices - 0g
Dinner: 8 oz ham steak, 1/2 cup peas - 14.88g
Dessert: None
Total: 18.13g
Sunday
Breakfast: None
Lunch: 4 oz deli ham, string cheese - 2.58g
Snack: None
Dinner: Bacon, mushroom, and cheese omelette - 7.37g
Dessert: None
Total: 9.95g
Based on those numbers, I really don't get the low weight-loss. I know some of you are going to say that 4 lbs is a good amount, but please remember at my weight that's only 1% of my body weight. Even if I go by calorie counting instead of carb counting, my highest day last week was 1288 calories, and three days I was well under 1000. SO frustrating! I've had a couple of friends prodding me about exercise, so I guess that unappealing and exhausting as it sounds, I'm going to try to do some exercise every day this week and see what happens. Please, anybody who has any other suggestions or any ideas as to why I'm having so much trouble, let me know! Any and all constructive suggestions are welcome, and I've already gotten a lot of good advice from several of you. Thanks, guys!
Thursday
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 5 slices bacon - 3.25g
Lunch: String cheese - .8g
Snack: None
Dinner: 7.5 oz ham steak, 1/2 cup peas - 14.37g
Dessert: None
Total: 18.42g
Friday
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 5 slices bacon - 3.25g
Lunch: String cheese - .8g
Snack: None
Dinner: Bacon & cheese omelette - 5.2g
Dessert: None
Total: 9.17g
Saturday
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 5 slices bacon - 3.25g
Lunch: None
Snack: 1 oz pepperoni slices - 0g
Dinner: 8 oz ham steak, 1/2 cup peas - 14.88g
Dessert: None
Total: 18.13g
Sunday
Breakfast: None
Lunch: 4 oz deli ham, string cheese - 2.58g
Snack: None
Dinner: Bacon, mushroom, and cheese omelette - 7.37g
Dessert: None
Total: 9.95g
Based on those numbers, I really don't get the low weight-loss. I know some of you are going to say that 4 lbs is a good amount, but please remember at my weight that's only 1% of my body weight. Even if I go by calorie counting instead of carb counting, my highest day last week was 1288 calories, and three days I was well under 1000. SO frustrating! I've had a couple of friends prodding me about exercise, so I guess that unappealing and exhausting as it sounds, I'm going to try to do some exercise every day this week and see what happens. Please, anybody who has any other suggestions or any ideas as to why I'm having so much trouble, let me know! Any and all constructive suggestions are welcome, and I've already gotten a lot of good advice from several of you. Thanks, guys!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Just Another Day
Well, yesterday was just another day...nothing special to report. I was still really depressed, I hope this increased dosage of my medication kicks in soon. I did manage to withstand the urge to jump headfirst off my diet, but I wasn't able to make myself eat anything that was actually on it until Chad finally nagged me into making some bacon and eggs about 9:30 last night. Not exactly the highest nutrient day I've ever had, but at least I didn't go carb-crazy! I'm hoping today will be better, I feel a little better this morning than I have the last few days...maybe I'll even muster up the energy and motivation to do something about the mess in the house, which is driving me nuts.
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 1/2 lb sausage - 6.68g
Lunch: None
Snack: None
Dinner: 2 eggs, scrambled, 5 slices bacon - 3.11g
Dessert: None
Total: 9.79g
So nothing much to talk about today, it's a short post...I'll try to do better tomorrow!
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 1/2 lb sausage - 6.68g
Lunch: None
Snack: None
Dinner: 2 eggs, scrambled, 5 slices bacon - 3.11g
Dessert: None
Total: 9.79g
So nothing much to talk about today, it's a short post...I'll try to do better tomorrow!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Well, There's Always Tomorrow
So the birthday is over, and it's on to 38. Yesterday was a really crappy day. I'm not entirely sure why...it's so frustrating to be feeling so bad and not even know the reason. Part of it may be residual disappointment with my first week's loss, no matter how unfounded the disappointment may be; I think another part was that a birthday with no presents, no special dinner, no going out, and no cake isn't really much of a birthday. That really doesn't account for how bad I was feeling, though. I don't know.
Anyway, I did manage to stay on my program, but really only by accident and the fact that if I'd tried to send Chad out for non-allowed food he wouldn't have gone anyway. Even once we finally had dinner, it ended up being very frustrating, because although I'd eaten nothing but breakfast and a cheese stick, I ended up having to cut my portion of ham down by a third in order to be able to have more than 1/4 cup of vegetables. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong...if I'd eaten lunch, which isn't really optional no matter how many times I've skipped it, I'd have ended up with practically no dinner.
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 1/2 lb sausage - 6.68g
Lunch: None
Snack: String cheese - .8g
Dinner: 5.25 oz ham steak, 1/2 cup peas - 12.12g
Dessert: None
Total: 19.8g
On a happier note, I'm really loving my new FatSecret app and website. Much, much nicer than what I was using before. Hopefully today will be better than yesterday...
Anyway, I did manage to stay on my program, but really only by accident and the fact that if I'd tried to send Chad out for non-allowed food he wouldn't have gone anyway. Even once we finally had dinner, it ended up being very frustrating, because although I'd eaten nothing but breakfast and a cheese stick, I ended up having to cut my portion of ham down by a third in order to be able to have more than 1/4 cup of vegetables. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong...if I'd eaten lunch, which isn't really optional no matter how many times I've skipped it, I'd have ended up with practically no dinner.
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 1/2 lb sausage - 6.68g
Lunch: None
Snack: String cheese - .8g
Dinner: 5.25 oz ham steak, 1/2 cup peas - 12.12g
Dessert: None
Total: 19.8g
On a happier note, I'm really loving my new FatSecret app and website. Much, much nicer than what I was using before. Hopefully today will be better than yesterday...
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Happy Birthday to Me!
Welcome to the birthday edition of A Fat Lot of Help! I really appreciate all your encouraging comments about my 4-pound loss. It still seems like an awfully small first-week number to me, only a 1% loss when I'm aiming to lose about 56% of my body weight, but I've been overruled by the majority who say it's a good number, so thank you.
A special thanks to Barry this morning! He sent me an email yesterday with some great tips from his own experience, and one of them was a recommendation for a different carb-counting app. It's called the FatSecret Calorie Counter, and it's free, which is always my favorite price. It hooks up with fatsecret.com, and I can enter my intake either on the computer or in my phone and they sync up with each other. That's a feature I particularly wanted, and one that the LoseIt! app I tried also had, but FatSecret, although it's technically calorie-focused rather than carb-focused, does a much better job of carb tracking and display than LoseIt! did. When I went back and entered my meals for the last week as a test of the app and website, I also discovered that my misgivings about the food database in the tracker I had been using previously were well-founded. Many of the numbers were off, some of them by quite a lot, which ended up putting me over my carb limit by as much as 25% on a couple of days. I'm not sure how much that altered the amount of weight I lost, but it has to have affected it at least a little. Anyway, it's going to be FatSecret from this point forward, as it also allows me the option to track my exercise (haha) and there seems to be a huge amount of information and tools freely available on the website, which I haven't had the chance to fully explore yet.
So, yesterday's intake, counted with my new app...
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 1/2 lb sausage - 6.68g
Lunch: None
Snack: Cheese stick - .8g
Dinner: 7.5 oz ham steak, 1/3 cup peas - 12.01
Dessert: None
Total: 19.49
I did manage to get out of the birthday dinner thing, so I don't have to worry about that pitfall for a while yet. Also, much as I hate to, I'm going to have to start thinking about doing some exercise. I did do a little one day last week, but one day just isn't going to cut it. Sigh. I know a few of you remember the girl that ran several miles and lifted weights for an hour or more every day in high school...I wonder what ever happened to that girl? Surely she couldn't have become the fat lump sitting at this keyboard? Anyway, on to the rest of my birthday....
A special thanks to Barry this morning! He sent me an email yesterday with some great tips from his own experience, and one of them was a recommendation for a different carb-counting app. It's called the FatSecret Calorie Counter, and it's free, which is always my favorite price. It hooks up with fatsecret.com, and I can enter my intake either on the computer or in my phone and they sync up with each other. That's a feature I particularly wanted, and one that the LoseIt! app I tried also had, but FatSecret, although it's technically calorie-focused rather than carb-focused, does a much better job of carb tracking and display than LoseIt! did. When I went back and entered my meals for the last week as a test of the app and website, I also discovered that my misgivings about the food database in the tracker I had been using previously were well-founded. Many of the numbers were off, some of them by quite a lot, which ended up putting me over my carb limit by as much as 25% on a couple of days. I'm not sure how much that altered the amount of weight I lost, but it has to have affected it at least a little. Anyway, it's going to be FatSecret from this point forward, as it also allows me the option to track my exercise (haha) and there seems to be a huge amount of information and tools freely available on the website, which I haven't had the chance to fully explore yet.
So, yesterday's intake, counted with my new app...
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 1/2 lb sausage - 6.68g
Lunch: None
Snack: Cheese stick - .8g
Dinner: 7.5 oz ham steak, 1/3 cup peas - 12.01
Dessert: None
Total: 19.49
I did manage to get out of the birthday dinner thing, so I don't have to worry about that pitfall for a while yet. Also, much as I hate to, I'm going to have to start thinking about doing some exercise. I did do a little one day last week, but one day just isn't going to cut it. Sigh. I know a few of you remember the girl that ran several miles and lifted weights for an hour or more every day in high school...I wonder what ever happened to that girl? Surely she couldn't have become the fat lump sitting at this keyboard? Anyway, on to the rest of my birthday....
Monday, September 13, 2010
The Dreaded Weigh-In
Well, this morning was my weigh-in for the first week. I was very nervous about it, and terrified that I hadn't lost any weight. That's the biggest hurdle in weight-loss for me - keeping my motivation up when my progress seems to go at a snail's pace. When the numbers are small or worse yet, when I hit a plateau, I tend to give up because I think, "What's the point? It's not working anyway!" So my stomach was churning when I stepped onto the scale. I did lose some weight, but I have to confess to being rather disappointed with the number. I've only lost 4 pounds so far. It is at least a loss, but an awfully small one. I think when I was on this program the first time I lost something like 10 pounds the first week, and I weighed 100 pounds less then than I do now. So I'm a bit discouraged this morning, but I'm going to keep on plugging away at it. Maybe this week I'll do better.
So yesterday was a pretty average day for the diet so far. No raging hunger, but no skipping meals either. I started the day a little bit late, but not too bad, and kept my eating on schedule. I was actually quite full after dinner last night, which was nice. The first few days I'd eat a meal and then look around for the rest of it since my stomach was still growling! Hopefully it's started to shrink down and get used to several smaller meals rather than a few large ones. My energy levels still haven't started rising though. I'd really like to get to that part of it soon!
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 1/2 lb sausage - 2.7g
Lunch: 1/4 lb deli ham w/mustard, cheese stick - 1.3g
Snack: None
Dinner: 1/2 lb ham steak, 2/3 cup peas - 15.4g
Dessert: None
Total: 19.3g
This week will be interesting in another way as well...my doctor raised the dosage on my Effexor from 150mg to 225mg per day. We'll see if that helps with the mental/emotional side of this whole diet process, or if I even notice any difference. I'm so bad at evaluating my own mental state! I also have to think of a reason to give my mother for not having a birthday dinner tomorrow - I'm not telling anybody in my family I'm doing this so they don't nag at me constantly about it, and there's no way I can eat out without screwing up my plan at this point. My body and my brain are still thinking about carbs, and one carb-loaded restaurant meal and I'm back to square one. I am not willing to do that to myself, it was hard enough getting through the first week as it was! See you all tomorrow...
So yesterday was a pretty average day for the diet so far. No raging hunger, but no skipping meals either. I started the day a little bit late, but not too bad, and kept my eating on schedule. I was actually quite full after dinner last night, which was nice. The first few days I'd eat a meal and then look around for the rest of it since my stomach was still growling! Hopefully it's started to shrink down and get used to several smaller meals rather than a few large ones. My energy levels still haven't started rising though. I'd really like to get to that part of it soon!
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 1/2 lb sausage - 2.7g
Lunch: 1/4 lb deli ham w/mustard, cheese stick - 1.3g
Snack: None
Dinner: 1/2 lb ham steak, 2/3 cup peas - 15.4g
Dessert: None
Total: 19.3g
This week will be interesting in another way as well...my doctor raised the dosage on my Effexor from 150mg to 225mg per day. We'll see if that helps with the mental/emotional side of this whole diet process, or if I even notice any difference. I'm so bad at evaluating my own mental state! I also have to think of a reason to give my mother for not having a birthday dinner tomorrow - I'm not telling anybody in my family I'm doing this so they don't nag at me constantly about it, and there's no way I can eat out without screwing up my plan at this point. My body and my brain are still thinking about carbs, and one carb-loaded restaurant meal and I'm back to square one. I am not willing to do that to myself, it was hard enough getting through the first week as it was! See you all tomorrow...
Sunday, September 12, 2010
So Yesterday Didn't Go So Well...
First of all, no, I didn't go over on my carbs. Quite the opposite, in fact. Yesterday was an extreme reinforcement of the whole "eat on time" concept, however. Sleep in, have breakfast late, and screw up the rest of the day. I ate 3.5g of carbs yesterday. Yes, you read that right. I ate breakfast and a cheese stick mid-afternoon. That's it. BAD IDEA. I know it's not good for me, but frankly, I'm not really feeling any effects from it. I wasn't hungry when I went to bed last night, and I wasn't exceptionally hungry when I got up. I was definitely interested in breakfast, but certainly not ravenous. Before you all start leaving me nasty comments, I didn't plan to do that, and I don't plan on doing it again. I just wasn't hungry!
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 1/2 lb sausage - 2.7g
Lunch: None
Snack: Cheese stick - .8g
Dinner: None
Dessert: None
Total: 3.5g
I'm very nervous about what I'm going to find out in my one-week weigh-in tomorrow morning. I really, really hope that I've lost weight, or it's going to be very hard to make myself stick to the plan for another week. I certainly should have lost weight, I've really stuck to the program all week, but my body doesn't like to give up the pounds very much. I guess we'll see in the morning...
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 1/2 lb sausage - 2.7g
Lunch: None
Snack: Cheese stick - .8g
Dinner: None
Dessert: None
Total: 3.5g
I'm very nervous about what I'm going to find out in my one-week weigh-in tomorrow morning. I really, really hope that I've lost weight, or it's going to be very hard to make myself stick to the plan for another week. I certainly should have lost weight, I've really stuck to the program all week, but my body doesn't like to give up the pounds very much. I guess we'll see in the morning...
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Eating Late is a Bad Idea!
Another discovery yesterday, not that it's really a major revelation: Sticking to my schedule is a good idea, eating late is a bad one. Don't worry, I still managed to stick to the program, but it was definitely more difficult. I slept badly the night before and woke up late, cranky, and tired. As a result, my motivation was low and every meal I ate yesterday was late. I was hungrier, the call of unhealthy, high-carb food was higher, and I was in a generally bad mood all day, and I think it was because I wasn't eating when my body has come to expect me to. Additionally, dinner was especially late because Chad's plans were up in the air and I didn't know if I was cooking for just myself or both of us.
It seems odd to think of dinner as being "especially late" when it was only about 7 when I finally ate. For my normal eating habits, that's actually fairly early for dinnertime, but all week I've been wanting and eating dinner by 6 or even a quarter 'til. When you add that hour or more extra to the fact that I didn't eat a snack yesterday, I was starving by the time I ate. Bad idea! So of course, since today is Saturday I slept in and ate really late again. Smart, Erin. Very smart.
Anyway, on to yesterday's intake!
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 1/2 lb sausage - 2.7g
Lunch: 1/4 lb deli ham w/mustard, cheese stick - 1.3g
Snack: None
Dinner: 1/2 lb ham steak, 2/3 cup peas - 15.4g
Dessert: None
Total: 19.3g
Short entry today...see you tomorrow!
It seems odd to think of dinner as being "especially late" when it was only about 7 when I finally ate. For my normal eating habits, that's actually fairly early for dinnertime, but all week I've been wanting and eating dinner by 6 or even a quarter 'til. When you add that hour or more extra to the fact that I didn't eat a snack yesterday, I was starving by the time I ate. Bad idea! So of course, since today is Saturday I slept in and ate really late again. Smart, Erin. Very smart.
Anyway, on to yesterday's intake!
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 1/2 lb sausage - 2.7g
Lunch: 1/4 lb deli ham w/mustard, cheese stick - 1.3g
Snack: None
Dinner: 1/2 lb ham steak, 2/3 cup peas - 15.4g
Dessert: None
Total: 19.3g
Short entry today...see you tomorrow!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Lazy Night
Good discovery last night! I've found my official lazy night dinner for those evenings when I just don't want to cook. Ham steak and vegetables are perfect. Yesterday was an interesting day. I had good conversations with a couple of you about my diet, which was great. I like getting that kind of feedback, it helps to know that people are paying attention! The biggest question that's come up so far is regarding my fruit and vegetable intake, or lack thereof.
I am planning to increase the amount of these items that I'm eating, as I get more accustomed to being on the low-carb program and more comfortable with the relative numbers of carbs in different items. As far as fruits, there are very few that I'm going to be able to work into my diet. Most fruits are high in carb content, although the carbs that they contain are the complex type and certainly more nutritious than simple carbs like flour and sugar. It looks like certain types of berries might be my best bet, particularly raspberries, blackberries, and cranberries.
For vegetables, the options are a little more widespread. I've been including a vegetable in my dinner each day, although canned green beans are certainly not my ideal in terms of either taste or nutrition. They do, however, have the advantage of being cheap, easy, and always in the pantry. Fresh steamed or sauteed veggies like zucchini, green beans, peas, carrots, mushrooms, and broccoli to go along with dinner would be best, I think. I'm also planning to look into salads and tomatoes at lunchtime. I've got to be careful with salads, since salad dressings are fairly high in carbs and I tend to drown my salads in dressing. I need to look into which of the types of dressings I like are lowest in carbs, since I'm really not a particular fan of vinaigrettes. More on the fruits and veggies issue in posts to come as I learn more! And now on to yesterday's meals...
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 1/2 lb bacon - 3.4g
Lunch: 1/4 lb deli ham w/mustard to dip, cheese stick - 1.3g
Snack: Cheese stick - .8g
Dinner: Ham steak, peas - 13.2g
Dessert: None
Total: 18.7g
If you've noticed that I ate the same lunch yesterday as I did the day before and came up with a completely different carb number, you're right. The food database in the carb counter app I'm using is very confusing and I think I managed to enter about four times as much ham as I actually ate on the previous day.
I want to tell you all about something I'm pretty proud of. I said at the beginning of the post that yesterday was interesting. Part of that interesting wasn't so good. I had a conversation with a friend yesterday evening after dinner that upset me rather a lot. Turns out this morning that most of it was misunderstanding and miscommunication, but I didn't know that at the time and I was unhappy. And I DIDN'T EAT ANYTHING! *pause for applause* Normally my immediate reaction to being upset and hurt would be to head for the cupboard or the fridge, and I sure had the urge last night, but I didn't give in to it. This was the first real test other than just general hunger and my normal chronic depression, and I passed. It probably doesn't sound like a big deal to most of you, but the emotional eaters out there know exactly what I'm talking about. Go me!
I am planning to increase the amount of these items that I'm eating, as I get more accustomed to being on the low-carb program and more comfortable with the relative numbers of carbs in different items. As far as fruits, there are very few that I'm going to be able to work into my diet. Most fruits are high in carb content, although the carbs that they contain are the complex type and certainly more nutritious than simple carbs like flour and sugar. It looks like certain types of berries might be my best bet, particularly raspberries, blackberries, and cranberries.
For vegetables, the options are a little more widespread. I've been including a vegetable in my dinner each day, although canned green beans are certainly not my ideal in terms of either taste or nutrition. They do, however, have the advantage of being cheap, easy, and always in the pantry. Fresh steamed or sauteed veggies like zucchini, green beans, peas, carrots, mushrooms, and broccoli to go along with dinner would be best, I think. I'm also planning to look into salads and tomatoes at lunchtime. I've got to be careful with salads, since salad dressings are fairly high in carbs and I tend to drown my salads in dressing. I need to look into which of the types of dressings I like are lowest in carbs, since I'm really not a particular fan of vinaigrettes. More on the fruits and veggies issue in posts to come as I learn more! And now on to yesterday's meals...
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 1/2 lb bacon - 3.4g
Lunch: 1/4 lb deli ham w/mustard to dip, cheese stick - 1.3g
Snack: Cheese stick - .8g
Dinner: Ham steak, peas - 13.2g
Dessert: None
Total: 18.7g
If you've noticed that I ate the same lunch yesterday as I did the day before and came up with a completely different carb number, you're right. The food database in the carb counter app I'm using is very confusing and I think I managed to enter about four times as much ham as I actually ate on the previous day.
I want to tell you all about something I'm pretty proud of. I said at the beginning of the post that yesterday was interesting. Part of that interesting wasn't so good. I had a conversation with a friend yesterday evening after dinner that upset me rather a lot. Turns out this morning that most of it was misunderstanding and miscommunication, but I didn't know that at the time and I was unhappy. And I DIDN'T EAT ANYTHING! *pause for applause* Normally my immediate reaction to being upset and hurt would be to head for the cupboard or the fridge, and I sure had the urge last night, but I didn't give in to it. This was the first real test other than just general hunger and my normal chronic depression, and I passed. It probably doesn't sound like a big deal to most of you, but the emotional eaters out there know exactly what I'm talking about. Go me!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
I Ate Lunch!
I finally both remembered to eat lunch and had food in the house to eat. Felt much better in the afternoon as a result! I'm really touched by the response I got to posting my blog on Facebook, you guys made me cry with all the support. I didn't think that many people would read it and be cheering me on! It gave me a big boost to my motivation, thank you all.
I felt a little less like I'd been run over by a truck yesterday, but still very tired. No headache, though, which was a definite improvement over Monday and Tuesday. I spent part of yesterday poking around looking at different carb and diet tracker apps and even tried one called Lose It! out, but it didn't quite do what I needed it to do. It's too bad, because I liked some things about it a lot better than the one I'm currently using. I definitely stayed within my carbs though, no matter which tracker I used!
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 1/2 lb. sausage - 2.7g
Lunch: 1/4 lb deli ham w/mustard to dip, cheese stick - 4.8g
Snack: Cheese stick - .8g
Dinner: Chicken with Indian Spices, 1/2 cup canned green beans - 9.5g
Dessert: None
Total: 17.7g
In yesterday's post, I talked about how nervous I was about switching to the "single serving" of my dinner items. I did that last night, and it was pretty successful! Well...I kind of did it. It occurred to me that all the carbs are in the sauces, vegetables, and so on in the recipes, not in the main ingredient. So what I did was use two portions of meat (in this case boneless, skinless chicken breast) and a single portion of sauce. I think this is going to be a good compromise, at least for a while until I get used to the program. It doesn't add any carbs at all, and when I'm using lean meat like chicken breast, very little in the way of fat and calories. On to today!
I felt a little less like I'd been run over by a truck yesterday, but still very tired. No headache, though, which was a definite improvement over Monday and Tuesday. I spent part of yesterday poking around looking at different carb and diet tracker apps and even tried one called Lose It! out, but it didn't quite do what I needed it to do. It's too bad, because I liked some things about it a lot better than the one I'm currently using. I definitely stayed within my carbs though, no matter which tracker I used!
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled, 1/2 lb. sausage - 2.7g
Lunch: 1/4 lb deli ham w/mustard to dip, cheese stick - 4.8g
Snack: Cheese stick - .8g
Dinner: Chicken with Indian Spices, 1/2 cup canned green beans - 9.5g
Dessert: None
Total: 17.7g
In yesterday's post, I talked about how nervous I was about switching to the "single serving" of my dinner items. I did that last night, and it was pretty successful! Well...I kind of did it. It occurred to me that all the carbs are in the sauces, vegetables, and so on in the recipes, not in the main ingredient. So what I did was use two portions of meat (in this case boneless, skinless chicken breast) and a single portion of sauce. I think this is going to be a good compromise, at least for a while until I get used to the program. It doesn't add any carbs at all, and when I'm using lean meat like chicken breast, very little in the way of fat and calories. On to today!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Hanging in There
Well, I got through Day 2 and it's on to Day 3. Although I really felt crappy yesterday as my body attempts to deal with the shock of starting this program and switch from a carb-based metabolism to a fat-based one, the great news about my starting weight helped keep my mood up a little bit. I was still more depressed than usual, very lethargic, headachy, and cranky though. I'm really hoping this part passes off quickly.
Once again, I missed lunch yesterday. I've got to stop doing that. I was hungry at lunchtime, but I was really trying to get some housework done and I didn't want to weigh myself down with food when I was already running on dregs of energy. I've got to try to remember that eating on a low-carb program doesn't make me feel heavy and sick afterward like eating normal food does. By the time I decided I'd done as much as I was going to do, it was too close to dinnertime to be eating lunch. So yesterday's intake was...
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled; 1/2 lb. sausage - 2.7g
Lunch: None
Snack: None
Dinner: Creamed Chicken with Mushrooms; 1/2 cup canned green beans - 16.3g
Dessert: None
Total: 19g
So I managed to stay within my 20g, but that was without lunch. I've got to eat during the day, so I'm going to have to change how I'm doing dinner. The recipes I've had the last two days have both been out of one of my Atkins cookbooks, but they've been "double" portions. Their idea of a portion leaves a lot to be desired, in my opinion, since I'm still hungry after eating two! But if I'm going to stay within my designated number of carbs, their portions is what it will have to be from now on. The thought of how hungry I'm going to be is really scary. That must have been how I ate when I was on this program before, though, since I distinctly remember being able to eat lunch. It's been six years so the details are a little fuzzy, but I would remember going without lunch every day. We'll see how it goes today!
Once again, I missed lunch yesterday. I've got to stop doing that. I was hungry at lunchtime, but I was really trying to get some housework done and I didn't want to weigh myself down with food when I was already running on dregs of energy. I've got to try to remember that eating on a low-carb program doesn't make me feel heavy and sick afterward like eating normal food does. By the time I decided I'd done as much as I was going to do, it was too close to dinnertime to be eating lunch. So yesterday's intake was...
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled; 1/2 lb. sausage - 2.7g
Lunch: None
Snack: None
Dinner: Creamed Chicken with Mushrooms; 1/2 cup canned green beans - 16.3g
Dessert: None
Total: 19g
So I managed to stay within my 20g, but that was without lunch. I've got to eat during the day, so I'm going to have to change how I'm doing dinner. The recipes I've had the last two days have both been out of one of my Atkins cookbooks, but they've been "double" portions. Their idea of a portion leaves a lot to be desired, in my opinion, since I'm still hungry after eating two! But if I'm going to stay within my designated number of carbs, their portions is what it will have to be from now on. The thought of how hungry I'm going to be is really scary. That must have been how I ate when I was on this program before, though, since I distinctly remember being able to eat lunch. It's been six years so the details are a little fuzzy, but I would remember going without lunch every day. We'll see how it goes today!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
...And We're Off!
Great news to start the post today! I dragged my ass down to the doctor's office to do my starting weigh-in , and found out that I'm actually 18 pounds lighter than I'd been estimating. I'd been guessing I was about 415, based on my last doctor's appointment in the spring when I weighed in at 410. But my starting weight is actually only 397! It's like I lost 18 pounds in a day...or at least that's how I'm going to think of it.
I've already accomplished my first goal, which was to get under 400 pounds by the end of September. New end-of-September goal: 375 pounds. That one should be a little more difficult. I've got about two and a half weeks to lose 22 pounds. I think it should be do-able.
So yesterday's intake was a little strange because there wasn't much low-carb food in the house until mid-afternoon after Chad went shopping, but I managed to stick with the program even though I was starving!
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled; 5 pieces of bacon - 3.3g
Lunch: None (no food)
Snack: String cheese - .8g
Dinner: Chicken with red wine sauce; sauteed zuccchini - 16g
Dessert: None
Total: 20.1g
I ended up going over goal by .1g, but I think that's probably tolerable, particularly since it was the first day and my eating schedule was completely screwy. I got a carb-tracking app for my iPhone last night, so that should help some. There are a few things I don't like about it, so we'll see if I stick with this one or try out another app.
I'm proud of myself for managing to not go crazy and eat yesterday when I was so hungry, particularly since I didn't get any lunch. I was pretty crabby by the end of the day, though, and hungry even as I was finishing my dinner. We'll see how it goes today!
I've already accomplished my first goal, which was to get under 400 pounds by the end of September. New end-of-September goal: 375 pounds. That one should be a little more difficult. I've got about two and a half weeks to lose 22 pounds. I think it should be do-able.
So yesterday's intake was a little strange because there wasn't much low-carb food in the house until mid-afternoon after Chad went shopping, but I managed to stick with the program even though I was starving!
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled; 5 pieces of bacon - 3.3g
Lunch: None (no food)
Snack: String cheese - .8g
Dinner: Chicken with red wine sauce; sauteed zuccchini - 16g
Dessert: None
Total: 20.1g
I ended up going over goal by .1g, but I think that's probably tolerable, particularly since it was the first day and my eating schedule was completely screwy. I got a carb-tracking app for my iPhone last night, so that should help some. There are a few things I don't like about it, so we'll see if I stick with this one or try out another app.
I'm proud of myself for managing to not go crazy and eat yesterday when I was so hungry, particularly since I didn't get any lunch. I was pretty crabby by the end of the day, though, and hungry even as I was finishing my dinner. We'll see how it goes today!
Monday, September 6, 2010
The First Day
So. Welcome to my lame attempt at a weight-loss blog...
First, a word about the title. I'm depending on you, my faithful (I hope) readers, to help me get through this and be successful. My tries at weight loss have never been terribly successful before, and I think that a large part of that has been lack of support. Hence, the blog. I'm hoping that my friends will be "a fat lot of help" for me in this process.
Today is the first day of my diet. I'll be posting my daily food choices and carb counts in an attempt to keep myself accountable and on track. I'll also be posting my weekly weigh-ins on Mondays, and probably some progressive pictures as well. Unfortunately, I seem to have decided to start my program on a holiday, so I can't go to the doctor's scales and get my starting weight today. I'll have to go do it tomorrow morning. In addition, I'll be writing about how I'm coping with my new lifestyle, how I'm feeling, and how I'm doing emotionally.
I've chosen the low-carb approach because it's the only thing that's really worked at all for me in the past. My carb goal will be 15-20 grams per day. I'm also going to be trying as best I can to eat more natural and less over-processed and artificial foods.
I think the best way to go about the blogging portion of this is to do an entry in the morning about the previous day. If I try to do it before bed it's likely to be completely unintelligible.
I'll be back with a report on the first day tomorrow morning!
First, a word about the title. I'm depending on you, my faithful (I hope) readers, to help me get through this and be successful. My tries at weight loss have never been terribly successful before, and I think that a large part of that has been lack of support. Hence, the blog. I'm hoping that my friends will be "a fat lot of help" for me in this process.
Today is the first day of my diet. I'll be posting my daily food choices and carb counts in an attempt to keep myself accountable and on track. I'll also be posting my weekly weigh-ins on Mondays, and probably some progressive pictures as well. Unfortunately, I seem to have decided to start my program on a holiday, so I can't go to the doctor's scales and get my starting weight today. I'll have to go do it tomorrow morning. In addition, I'll be writing about how I'm coping with my new lifestyle, how I'm feeling, and how I'm doing emotionally.
I've chosen the low-carb approach because it's the only thing that's really worked at all for me in the past. My carb goal will be 15-20 grams per day. I'm also going to be trying as best I can to eat more natural and less over-processed and artificial foods.
I think the best way to go about the blogging portion of this is to do an entry in the morning about the previous day. If I try to do it before bed it's likely to be completely unintelligible.
I'll be back with a report on the first day tomorrow morning!
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