Looks like my weigh-in this week will be 240. Which is fine, for now I'm just happy to be 240. I'm sure when I get back from the weekend family reunion thingy - I could be anywhere. Food is to be provided - 3 meals and a snack - not like those family reunions where you pig out on fried chicken, watermelon, potato salad and deviled eggs, before you even get to sampling everyone's desserts. So maybe I can remain moderate. And I hope to get in some hiking this weekend.
Exercise over the past week has been:
20 minutes of yoga
weightlifting (for full-body, 1 hour - no abs still)
a one-hour walk this morning, a fine luxury
Despite the standstill weight reading, I'm still noticing changes. I was glad to have noticed a lot of new flexibility (more than I would have thought I deserved!) when doing the yoga. I notice my body is lighter when I climb stairs. With my hands, I feel differences in my rib cage (under my arms) my back and my shoulders. And, I suddenly remembered another old-time favorite garment that I haven't been able to wear and also haven't been able to get rid of - a black leather jacket. Yep, it fits now - would still like to be smaller in the midsection to really wear it well, but I couldn't wear it until fall anyway, so here's hoping!
I've noticed the little cheats. Of course, it's possible I've always cheated on my portion sizes in the diet - a fraction more of this or that, but then maybe that just compensates for all the times I leave off the cheese or forget to eat something, let alone skip dinner. This week I've been lax about fruit, piling on double helpings of watermelon and canteloupe at meals. Today I made a fruit cup and put in into one of the smaller bowls just to try and force myself not to overdo the fruit. I tried to anyway, stuffing fruit as much as I could into the little bowl. Still was better than yesterday. Yesterday I was presented with a gift of deep fried peanuts, pecan brittle, and chocolates. It was to be shared with my other two crew members. They happily snacked on the items, and I felt annoyed that it was all going to be gone and I wouldn't get any of these gourmet items that I would gladly have tasted. I did have one taste of the pecan brittle - it was delicious. I still have never had a deep fried peanut.
Well, I'm off.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Hangin' at 240
After weight-lifting the other day I've been hanging out around 240. This morning, I am a sliver below 240. It's starting to look unlikely that I will show a 2-pound loss for the week by Saturday's weigh-in. But I did predict that weight-lifting would slow down my scale loss, so, even though it's a bit of a drag, I'm not discouraged.
I'm also a little perturbed to think I might lose Saturday as a weigh-in date. This is admittedly a bit irrational, but I tend to get irrationally attached to a system. I'll be deep in a state park on Saturday, without access to my bathroom scale on its very exact placement on the grid of the bathroom floor. Taking the scale with me would do too much damage to the consistency of the measurement. What I may do is just drive on Saturday to internet access wherever I may find it, and weigh-in with Friday's weight.
Then feel regret about having lost the opportunity to change my weigh-in to Monday. Welcome to my psychosis. I'll spare you the rest.
I have time this morning to do some yoga before I put together all my food for the day, but I'd better get started on it now. I did sort of want to go to the theatre a little early and have some dark time before rehearsal.
I'm also a little perturbed to think I might lose Saturday as a weigh-in date. This is admittedly a bit irrational, but I tend to get irrationally attached to a system. I'll be deep in a state park on Saturday, without access to my bathroom scale on its very exact placement on the grid of the bathroom floor. Taking the scale with me would do too much damage to the consistency of the measurement. What I may do is just drive on Saturday to internet access wherever I may find it, and weigh-in with Friday's weight.
Then feel regret about having lost the opportunity to change my weigh-in to Monday. Welcome to my psychosis. I'll spare you the rest.
I have time this morning to do some yoga before I put together all my food for the day, but I'd better get started on it now. I did sort of want to go to the theatre a little early and have some dark time before rehearsal.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Bellydance
Well, I got that Bellydance DVD in the mail today and popped it in and, lemme tell you, it's going to take me a while to learn these moves! I'm up for the challenge, if I feel good results in the right places after the first time or two. Otherwise there's other stuff I wouldn't want to lose focus on. I feel like I want a mirror and some time to work with these moves. The chest isolation stuff? - I don't know how to do that - I'm not that limber that way right now. Also, moving the arms one way while the hips do something else will take a little while, but I did learn how to rub my belly while patting my head, so I figure I'll learn this, one step at a time.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
OoooOOOOooohhhh. (Weight Lifting Today)
So today when I had to leave work I was still awake enough and FINALLY made it into some exercise lycra leggings. I went to the Y, which was nearby, to lift weights. When I pulled out the card, it showed that it had been 3 weeks since I lifted weights. And I had lost 13 pounds since then. And I've lost some strength since then.
I remember last time I was there, I was feeling strong and so took it a little easy so as not to advance too quickly. Today for many of the exercises, it was all I could do (with sexy little grunting noises) to push to the same number of repetitions as last time. In some cases I did better, in some cases I lost a lot of gained ground (I have a very hard time gaining strength in my upper shoulder, which is okay enough by me, since I'm female, but it doesn't keep me from trying, all the while hating those overhead shoulder presses, ugh.)
Anyway, could it be that some of the lost weight over the past 2-3 weeks has been due to muscle loss? Obviously it couldn't have been ALL muscle, but it was such a significant and rapid weight loss...
Anyway, I must say that after lifting weights today, my guess is that I will lose weight less rapidly this week as my body builds back more muscle. And that's... ok. :-)
In wtf news, I gained further flexibility in the backs of my legs. Hurray, me likey.
I had a single Andes mint today. I haven't given myself a cheat day this week because of the fmaily reunion thing this week, and also I haven't really been craving one that much, I'm pretty good right now. Still, it was a funny thing for me to eat only one Andes mint.
Just one.
It was good. 40 would have been better. :-)
I remember last time I was there, I was feeling strong and so took it a little easy so as not to advance too quickly. Today for many of the exercises, it was all I could do (with sexy little grunting noises) to push to the same number of repetitions as last time. In some cases I did better, in some cases I lost a lot of gained ground (I have a very hard time gaining strength in my upper shoulder, which is okay enough by me, since I'm female, but it doesn't keep me from trying, all the while hating those overhead shoulder presses, ugh.)
Anyway, could it be that some of the lost weight over the past 2-3 weeks has been due to muscle loss? Obviously it couldn't have been ALL muscle, but it was such a significant and rapid weight loss...
Anyway, I must say that after lifting weights today, my guess is that I will lose weight less rapidly this week as my body builds back more muscle. And that's... ok. :-)
In wtf news, I gained further flexibility in the backs of my legs. Hurray, me likey.
I had a single Andes mint today. I haven't given myself a cheat day this week because of the fmaily reunion thing this week, and also I haven't really been craving one that much, I'm pretty good right now. Still, it was a funny thing for me to eat only one Andes mint.
Just one.
It was good. 40 would have been better. :-)
Documentation of my foods for those who are interested in what I eat
Okay, last week I ventured away from the Summer Seasonal diet at ediets, but I didn't enjoy it. I just had a bad food week for the most part.
5 days out of last week I had eggs, toast, and blueberries (+ additional accoutrements). It was fine, it was a good breakfast. I would never have thought to put blueberries on eggs.
The grilled chicken cranberry salad had good ingredients but I thought they shouldn't have been put together in one bowl. Lettuce, grilled chicken, red wine vinegar, tomato, cucumber, and dried cranberries. Eh.
The crab quesadilla, I showed you a picture of. It was ok, not great.
An awesome snack was a 6 ounces of sugar-free pudding with chopped cherries mixed in. Wow, that was heaven! And I didn't ever even think about going back for more pudding. (I told you guys I had a pudding problem.)
The beef taco salad was actually good. I liked it.
The broccoli pizza was a good snack. Liked it.
The mexican layer dip, with the fat free cream cheese, was awful. Fat free cream cheese fails as a food substance.
The grilled steak with corn and potatoes was kind of a failure. I decided to just cook it all together in the frying pan. The steak got kind of tough and I don't know I should have been more into it, but I wasn't.
The grand prize for last week goes to the Tuscan tuna sub. That whole wheat hoagie roll was always welcomed by my appetite last week, and the tuna salad inside was more artichoke hearts than tuna but gawd it was delicious and I want to save the recipe for the days in the future when I have to make myself plan my own meals.
I'll have to share the recipe with you, too. Later, when I have it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As for next week, well I'm back on the Glycemic Index Plan (Convenience Version) which is good because I am already stocked with most of the staples and I already know most of the meals and I already know I love the food. I had so little to buy at the grocery store I was sure I'd come in under $100. I guess, what with all the dairy products and the organic tomatoes, well, this week's groceries cost me $115. Money is getting to be a BIG DEAL for me as the summer continues on without much income, and I think about getting health insurance. I hope I don't deplete all my savings.
Today's meals:
Breakfast - Tomato, Cheese, and Avocado on 2 slices wheat bread with watermelon and milk
Snack 1 - Cottage Cheese with canteloupe and sliced almonds
Lunch - Tofu and Black Bean Salad (flavored with lime juice and cumin) with watermelon
Snack 2 - Egg and Tomato Salad with 4 Wheat Thins
Dinner - Frozen Dinner with yogurt and nuts.
I'm substituting watermelon for some of the fruits because I have this big watermelon taking up space in my fridge I have to get rid of, and it's really good. Some foods just weren't made for singles.
I went to the grocery store at 3:00 a.m. and didn't finish preparing my food for the day until 5:30 a.m. so I'm late getting to work today thanks to this stupid diet.
Well, if you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.
5 days out of last week I had eggs, toast, and blueberries (+ additional accoutrements). It was fine, it was a good breakfast. I would never have thought to put blueberries on eggs.
The grilled chicken cranberry salad had good ingredients but I thought they shouldn't have been put together in one bowl. Lettuce, grilled chicken, red wine vinegar, tomato, cucumber, and dried cranberries. Eh.
The crab quesadilla, I showed you a picture of. It was ok, not great.
An awesome snack was a 6 ounces of sugar-free pudding with chopped cherries mixed in. Wow, that was heaven! And I didn't ever even think about going back for more pudding. (I told you guys I had a pudding problem.)
The beef taco salad was actually good. I liked it.
The broccoli pizza was a good snack. Liked it.
The mexican layer dip, with the fat free cream cheese, was awful. Fat free cream cheese fails as a food substance.
The grilled steak with corn and potatoes was kind of a failure. I decided to just cook it all together in the frying pan. The steak got kind of tough and I don't know I should have been more into it, but I wasn't.
The grand prize for last week goes to the Tuscan tuna sub. That whole wheat hoagie roll was always welcomed by my appetite last week, and the tuna salad inside was more artichoke hearts than tuna but gawd it was delicious and I want to save the recipe for the days in the future when I have to make myself plan my own meals.
I'll have to share the recipe with you, too. Later, when I have it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As for next week, well I'm back on the Glycemic Index Plan (Convenience Version) which is good because I am already stocked with most of the staples and I already know most of the meals and I already know I love the food. I had so little to buy at the grocery store I was sure I'd come in under $100. I guess, what with all the dairy products and the organic tomatoes, well, this week's groceries cost me $115. Money is getting to be a BIG DEAL for me as the summer continues on without much income, and I think about getting health insurance. I hope I don't deplete all my savings.
Today's meals:
Breakfast - Tomato, Cheese, and Avocado on 2 slices wheat bread with watermelon and milk
Snack 1 - Cottage Cheese with canteloupe and sliced almonds
Lunch - Tofu and Black Bean Salad (flavored with lime juice and cumin) with watermelon
Snack 2 - Egg and Tomato Salad with 4 Wheat Thins
Dinner - Frozen Dinner with yogurt and nuts.
I'm substituting watermelon for some of the fruits because I have this big watermelon taking up space in my fridge I have to get rid of, and it's really good. Some foods just weren't made for singles.
I went to the grocery store at 3:00 a.m. and didn't finish preparing my food for the day until 5:30 a.m. so I'm late getting to work today thanks to this stupid diet.
Well, if you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.
Really boring analysis of my body measurements
I started tracking my body measurements at fitday about a month ago. I know these measurements are subject to a little variation and 1 month isn't much to go by, but for myself, I need to recap. Here's the update:
Neck - reduced by about 0.75 inch.
Bicep - reduced by 0.25 inch
Forearm - no change
Chest - reduced 1.75 inch (having gone up and back down - difficult measurement)
Waist - staying pretty much the same (also a difficult measurement, I just have faith that one day I'll see a change)
Hips - down 1.25 inch (also a difficult measurement, due to bulgy belly sag)
Thigh - down 0.35 inch (since a week ago, no initial measurement)
Calf - staying about the same
I figure the chest measurement has to include lost back fat, so that's great. Also loving the fat loss from the neck. Pretty annoyed at the waist. Also, would love to see that forearm measurement budge, I've noticed I'd like them to be carrying less extra. But that's not a major thing right now.
My "stats" according to today's measurements are - 46.5-47.5-49.75. Ow, what a winning hand, she's a BRICK HOUSE! Hehe. Doesn't seem like much of an apple's measurements, but I guess that's thanks to my butt sticking out (yay, that's a positive for me! Hallie no wanty flat butt.) and my hip measurement including extra belly (oh, that's an apple.) I keep looking at my boobs and wondering if they're doomed. :-( So far, it's okay though.
While poring over health insurance options with my Dad today, it came up that I am not morbidly obese anymore, I'm just obese now! Dad said he WAS really worried about me before, and now he's not worried about me anymore. Hm. Not sure how to take that, I know he loves me very much and means well, but this dignity thing of mine flares up once in a while. Anyway, it was interesting.
Neck - reduced by about 0.75 inch.
Bicep - reduced by 0.25 inch
Forearm - no change
Chest - reduced 1.75 inch (having gone up and back down - difficult measurement)
Waist - staying pretty much the same (also a difficult measurement, I just have faith that one day I'll see a change)
Hips - down 1.25 inch (also a difficult measurement, due to bulgy belly sag)
Thigh - down 0.35 inch (since a week ago, no initial measurement)
Calf - staying about the same
I figure the chest measurement has to include lost back fat, so that's great. Also loving the fat loss from the neck. Pretty annoyed at the waist. Also, would love to see that forearm measurement budge, I've noticed I'd like them to be carrying less extra. But that's not a major thing right now.
My "stats" according to today's measurements are - 46.5-47.5-49.75. Ow, what a winning hand, she's a BRICK HOUSE! Hehe. Doesn't seem like much of an apple's measurements, but I guess that's thanks to my butt sticking out (yay, that's a positive for me! Hallie no wanty flat butt.) and my hip measurement including extra belly (oh, that's an apple.) I keep looking at my boobs and wondering if they're doomed. :-( So far, it's okay though.
While poring over health insurance options with my Dad today, it came up that I am not morbidly obese anymore, I'm just obese now! Dad said he WAS really worried about me before, and now he's not worried about me anymore. Hm. Not sure how to take that, I know he loves me very much and means well, but this dignity thing of mine flares up once in a while. Anyway, it was interesting.
Monday, July 27, 2009
July 26? 27? 239.7
I may have jumped the gun on the smiling thing. Maybe it was a passing glimpse of what's to come. I tried taking some smiling face portraits, and didn't like the results. I went to check the bathroom mirror, and sure enough, still had the same problems. But I saw it the other night, so I'm sure it's coming.
Today I was a hair under 240 - we'll call it 239.7 and hurrah! welcome me into the incredible 230s and on the final stretch to having lost an incredible 50 pounds. Seems like only yesterday I started this thing. Before I started this blog, weight loss had been well-paced, then when I started the blog I plateau'ed. Then suddenly it all started coming off rapidly (probably a menstrual effect.) It's hard not to let myself get too used to this rapid weight loss pace. I had the notion to get pissed off that I just went and bought 2 pairs of size 20 jeans and I may not wear them for that long. I haven't even worn one pair - I've saved those to be "good jeans" and these I'm wearing now are everyday/work jeans.
I've had 4 silk shirts collecting dust in a corner of my room since I moved into this place 3 years ago. They need to be dry-cleaned, and - hello? - I just don't include dry-cleaning in my budget! These silk blouses are the same blouse in 4 colors - purple, pink, beige, and red. The purple and red are my favorites, the pastel ones accomplish a different, more "refined" sort of look. Anyway, they were too small for me. Now they fit again. This is awesomeness. It's nice to shrink into the clothes that were too small for you. Now I might actually have to take them to the dry-cleaners.
Do you losers ever feel awkward about being around your friends who are staying fat? My friend continues to be supportive when the subject of the diet comes up, that I don't sense any resentment from her, so that's good, and I try not to let self-pride turn to gloating, or self-righteousness lead to unrequested advice. I just had an imagination that I did get thin and that it made her feel bad about herself, and that wouldn't do at all.
So, I'm having a hard time getting out the door today.
I realized that this nocturnal thing means I've pushed my meals back. I just ate yesterday's breakfast, and it's 4:00 a.m. the next day. Yesterday I went to get a Red Bull before work and was craving sweets to like an unprecedented degree. I bought a Baby Ruth and ate 1/3 of it. I realized that when I come out of this nocturnal thing, I might have spread out a week's worth of food to 8 days. Going nocturnal gets confusing - what counts as morning, what counts as today's date? What time should I get up, how long should I stay awake today, am I sleepy? But that could explain hunger, and rapid weight loss, I suppose.
Anyway I just ate yesterday's breakfast and snack. I have lunch packed and I need to go get to work so I can get something done before everyone comes in in the morning. Then I have to go grocery shopping for this week's food. And I would like to get some exercise. I was sure I was going to do it this morning before I went to sleep, but then I got too tired. It's past being too long since I've got some exercise - that's not even a diet thing, just a general health and well-being thing.
Today I was a hair under 240 - we'll call it 239.7 and hurrah! welcome me into the incredible 230s and on the final stretch to having lost an incredible 50 pounds. Seems like only yesterday I started this thing. Before I started this blog, weight loss had been well-paced, then when I started the blog I plateau'ed. Then suddenly it all started coming off rapidly (probably a menstrual effect.) It's hard not to let myself get too used to this rapid weight loss pace. I had the notion to get pissed off that I just went and bought 2 pairs of size 20 jeans and I may not wear them for that long. I haven't even worn one pair - I've saved those to be "good jeans" and these I'm wearing now are everyday/work jeans.
I've had 4 silk shirts collecting dust in a corner of my room since I moved into this place 3 years ago. They need to be dry-cleaned, and - hello? - I just don't include dry-cleaning in my budget! These silk blouses are the same blouse in 4 colors - purple, pink, beige, and red. The purple and red are my favorites, the pastel ones accomplish a different, more "refined" sort of look. Anyway, they were too small for me. Now they fit again. This is awesomeness. It's nice to shrink into the clothes that were too small for you. Now I might actually have to take them to the dry-cleaners.
Do you losers ever feel awkward about being around your friends who are staying fat? My friend continues to be supportive when the subject of the diet comes up, that I don't sense any resentment from her, so that's good, and I try not to let self-pride turn to gloating, or self-righteousness lead to unrequested advice. I just had an imagination that I did get thin and that it made her feel bad about herself, and that wouldn't do at all.
So, I'm having a hard time getting out the door today.
I realized that this nocturnal thing means I've pushed my meals back. I just ate yesterday's breakfast, and it's 4:00 a.m. the next day. Yesterday I went to get a Red Bull before work and was craving sweets to like an unprecedented degree. I bought a Baby Ruth and ate 1/3 of it. I realized that when I come out of this nocturnal thing, I might have spread out a week's worth of food to 8 days. Going nocturnal gets confusing - what counts as morning, what counts as today's date? What time should I get up, how long should I stay awake today, am I sleepy? But that could explain hunger, and rapid weight loss, I suppose.
Anyway I just ate yesterday's breakfast and snack. I have lunch packed and I need to go get to work so I can get something done before everyone comes in in the morning. Then I have to go grocery shopping for this week's food. And I would like to get some exercise. I was sure I was going to do it this morning before I went to sleep, but then I got too tired. It's past being too long since I've got some exercise - that's not even a diet thing, just a general health and well-being thing.
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