Sunday, June 27, 2010

June 27, 210

Today I can't seem to make the scale show less than 210. I will have to weigh-in at 210. I am hovering. At least I'm not 217. My adherence to the diet is not strict this week. Most noticeably to my memory, there was Thursday when I worked from 9a.m. to 1 a.m. setting up for a concert - in 98-degree weather, sweating all day and laying out and pulling tons of heavy cable - and the day was catered - and I ate healthy but also had Gatorade and Klondike bars. Also Friday I was hungry at snack time and had too much bean dip and tortilla chips, then also a popsicle. And yesterday, while I had a good breakfast and lunch, in the evening I was with my Dad on an out-of-town trip and we had a sandwich from a restaurant for dinner and also a drink. Perhaps those three days in a row (despite the exercise) account for my failure to reduce this week, or at least for today (there's always the sodium-induced water-weight factor).

It is possible that for the coming month I will have more control over my time which I think will help. We'll see.

Actually - thinking about it - it's now almost July 2010. I first hit 220 last November. Ok, I did gradually get down to 201 before climbing back up to 210. But definitely the weight loss has not been what it was last summer. I wonder if I have it in me to do another "sprint." Or if I'd rather just take the turtle's route.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Jun 22, 209.5

I am preparing to quit ediets. Eradicating that $18/month charge for the ediets plan, although adding $20/month for the new internet my roommate decided to get even though we were doing just fine mooching off the neighbors' wi-fi - until their wifi went out for a few days in a row.

Anyway - I decided that I could make breakfast and lunch and snack easy enough, and then pull out a recipe for dinner that could last me 4 days or so in a row with leftovers. I still have to keep up with the meal planning, I guess, and calorie counting now becomes more important than ever. Right now I'm at 1800-1900 calories per day with the understanding that I should be exercising 5 days per week. Out of a book today I gathered that my maintenance calories should clock in at around 2600 (!!!) and that my goal weight might be around 170-175 if I stay on the high end for me to account for my muscularity.

So I used my gift card from Christmas to buy some cookbooks and now it's just a matter of making the commitment. It shouldn't be too huge a deal to quit since I can always rejoin if things get desperate.

It should be interesting to see if I can keep this up on my own :-) I really only use ediets for the meal planning and grocery list, and honestly it is a somewhat arduous process anyway and it might actually be easier for me to do it myself as long as I commit to doing it and don't get slack.

More good news is that my roommate is also dieting now. We're not doing it together - but it's just nice to know that she's on a parallel path and dealing with some of the same issues. She doesn't have a credit card so she is very focused on staying within a grocery budget and she's not following a prescribed meal plan or anything, just trying to make better choices and track her calories and stuff, so that will be a good influence on me as I make this transition.

More on the good news front - 1800-1900 calories isn't a strain anymore, and I'm not tempted to eat sweets. I *think* about Subway cookies, but then remember I am on a mission. This morning waiting for my egg substitute to solidify, I looked at the box of corn flakes and thought about eating a bowl of cereal in addition to my breakfast, but then I realized that I was just hungry and that eggs and cheese and 2 pieces of toast would stuff me let alone additional butter and fruit! And sure enough - after breakfast I was stuffed and thought about my silly cereal idea.

Now tomorrow I have to pack up food to take with me on my day. And then Thursday -well Thursday I face a real challenge because I'll be working in 95-degree heat for many many hours on end, starting at 8 a.m. and ending at midnight and there will be excellent catering. I'm not going to bother packing food to take in - I will take advantage of the catering. I did this last week (or the week before?) and the catering is healthy but my control was not great. Maybe now things will be a bit different since, as I said in the previous paragraph, my appetite and cravings may have changed. Then again, that could be merely due to some kind of digestive issues I was having today.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

June 20 weigh-in - 208

Ok, I dropped from 217 to 208 in like 4 days. That's crazy to me even for water weight. But welcome. I'm on 1800-1900 calories per day and I've been hungry! But I've been able to tolerate it. Now, I did cheat by having a slice of raspberry cheesecake when it was there one day, and last night went drinking. But I've been attentive and adherent to my eating plan otherwise. Exercise - well, one day I tried a new yoga vid but it turned out to be a set for relaxing for bed. For weight loss it was probably not so useful, but for total health it was okay - I think my body needs a little rolling. And I did one Jillian session. Today I'm not exercising because of last night's drinking. And I'm devoting my day to Dad so what he wants to do goes - but maybe I can encourage some activity.

My goal is still 192 so that's 16 pounds to lose. At 2 pounds a week maybe I can hope to get there by August 15! I'm still mostly just looking forward to weighing less than 200 pounds - I got so close ::wistful::

Okay, I can't think of anything else to say - I guess that's mostly it. Just trying to secure myself onto the wagon.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

June 17, 213

I fell off the wagon again. Work got in the way again. I know that there's no reason I shouldn't be able to maintain decent calorie intakes when I'm working, if I want to. Though it is harder in the middle of the night. But it seems I need to maintain vigilence in my attitude, because I do not naturally restrain from overeating. Sucks.

Anyway - work slowed enough for me to get on top of things again with a week of planned meals and a trip to the grocery store and getting the dishes washed so I have tupperware to pack it all in. Yesterday was Day 1. Today I already lost 4 pounds of that excess water. I have a new goal to get to 192 in 10 weeks. That might be ambitious at this weight but I think it can be done, and it's just a goal to keep me motivated, not an unbreakable law. My calorie level is upped to 1800-1900 calories per day because I am determined to incorporate more exercise. My exercises of choice are yoga, hiking, walking/running, Jillian's 30-Day Shred, the elliptical, and the recumbent bike. I did 4 days of the 30-Day Shred back in May and was actually already seeing results - but then that all stopped. This morning I want to do yoga. Before breakfast. Which I am hungry for.

I've had a lot of "fresh starts" lately so I hope that I can really commit over the summer and make some headway before the fall season brings more business.

I still have other goals and desires, too, now, that compete with the diet and exercise.