I weighed in this morning and losts .8 lbs. Not a bad number considering I was on the road last week and I had Mexican (read as: huge bowls of cheese dip and chips) twice while traveling. That is right in line with healthy weight loss and it might take me a while to get to my goal weight but at least I know I can live that way and I am not doing something that I can't keep up.
So, today is my official day of Detox and I am not sure how it is going. I have a headache and I am sure it is because of the lack of caffeine this morning. Sad, but true. I have often read that the benefits of caffeine outweigh the negatives but it is part of the detox to not have any coffee, which I assume means espresso (which is what is in my lattes). It does say that you can have herbal teas so I am headed to the grocery soon to get some green tea or something to see if it will help the headache. Other than that, it has not been that bad. I can have fish so I think that I am going to attempt to cook some fish tonight...we will see.
I will update after the day is done what I ate today.
Update: Ok, it is 9:30 now so I am pretty confident that I am done eating for the day. Here is a run down and a recipe :-)
Breakfast: Bowl of grapes, peach, and 1/4 cup of unsalted nuts
Lunch: 1/4 cup of unsalted nuts, leftover potatoes from last night
Snack: 1/4 cup of unsalted nuts (I know, a lot of nuts)
Dinner: Halibut with lemon, garlic, and dill (see recipe below), brown rice plain, snap peas
Honestly, I was not really hungry throughout the day...Granted, all of this was eaten between 10am and 7pm so there weren't tons of hours to get hungry during but I will say that I felt more satisfied without ever feeling full. I am taking some of the brown rice to work tomorrow for lunch. The one thing that I have realized so far from this (other than the fact that I get a huge headache with no caffeine) is that I put salt on a lot of items. I am not too concerned about it since the amount of salt we get from table salt is really small in comparison to the salt in the processed foods we eat, but I really do miss it. I would have put it on the rice tonight and the potatoes. Pepper will have to do.
Halibut Recipe (halibut is pricey but this was good).
2 Halibut steaks
1 tablespoon dill (I used fresh from my garden)
1/2 Lemon (fresh)
1 clove of garlic (fresh)
Rinse and pat down the fish, cut up the lemon and squeeze it on the fish, chop up the dill and garlic and place that on there. Bake in the oven at 375 for about 20 mins....yummy!!
It was super easy and tasted good. The dill and lemon was strong but I like both of those flavors. If you don't you might want to sub in something.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Day .5
I am starting the detox process today. I say Day .5 because I wasn't able to start after lunch. I am not actually going to seriously count this day but figured that I would do all the shopping and then start the process. Not sure how it is going to go but I am going to do it for 3 days at first and then see if I want to try to make it a week.
Basically the only things I can't eat are processed foods, dairy, and meat (plus no salt or butter, but I can use herbs, garlic, and olive oil). Right now I have some potatoes roasting in the oven with some olive oil and italian seasoning. I think that brown rice and potatoes are going to be key to this for me. They seem more filling than the fruit and veggies that I had for lunch but we will see.
I am also allowed to have unsalted nuts and popcorn but good luck finding that anywhere. I am going to try a health food store tomorrow but no luck at Kroger (either that or it was just too packed for me to look that long).
Other than that, the weigh in is tomorrow....not sure it will be good but at least I will be in town the next two weeks so I am going to make some progress there!!
Basically the only things I can't eat are processed foods, dairy, and meat (plus no salt or butter, but I can use herbs, garlic, and olive oil). Right now I have some potatoes roasting in the oven with some olive oil and italian seasoning. I think that brown rice and potatoes are going to be key to this for me. They seem more filling than the fruit and veggies that I had for lunch but we will see.
I am also allowed to have unsalted nuts and popcorn but good luck finding that anywhere. I am going to try a health food store tomorrow but no luck at Kroger (either that or it was just too packed for me to look that long).
Other than that, the weigh in is tomorrow....not sure it will be good but at least I will be in town the next two weeks so I am going to make some progress there!!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Exercise
I don't feel like doing it. I just don't and I struggle with that. For some reason when I am home I love going to the gym and I love sweating but lately I haven't felt like it on the road. I know that it can be a vital part of losing weight and I like the extra points that it gives me to eat but I guess not enough to make me actually do the exercise. I am hoping that today it is just because I am still on the very edge of a somewhat cold. The only real symptom I have left is a little tightness in my breathing....that is not too bad but it makes it even less appealing to exercise.
Other than that, the eating went pretty well until lunch yesterday and today. Yesterday was Mexican and I cannot resist cheese dip. I just can't do it. I don't ever suggest Mexican restaurants if I am trying to be healthy for this very reason but yesterday I went to lunch with the location personnel and I had to eat there. I did get fajitas without the tortilla but I also inhaled the cheese dip as always. Sadly, the cheese is not the bad part for you, the bad part is the tortillas. Today was Italian. I went to an Italian place the other night but picked the fish entree instead of pasta but today I gave in. I did still get a chicken scampi dish and mostly ate the chicken but there was still butter and pasta involved.
I am going to be home tomorrow night and for two weeks after that so I am hoping to really make some progress in that time. I found a cleanse that I like and I think that I might try to do it. Some websites say to only do it for 3 days but the one I found says 7. I am not sure if I could keep it up for 7 days but I could definitely do it for 3. The only thing that I don't understand about this stuff is that most of them tell you that you might feel flu like symptoms while your body is getting rid of the stuff. So, if they are already in your body, how come you start to feel bad when they are leaving? Doesn't seem logical to me but we will see....not sure what day I will start with.
Other than that, the eating went pretty well until lunch yesterday and today. Yesterday was Mexican and I cannot resist cheese dip. I just can't do it. I don't ever suggest Mexican restaurants if I am trying to be healthy for this very reason but yesterday I went to lunch with the location personnel and I had to eat there. I did get fajitas without the tortilla but I also inhaled the cheese dip as always. Sadly, the cheese is not the bad part for you, the bad part is the tortillas. Today was Italian. I went to an Italian place the other night but picked the fish entree instead of pasta but today I gave in. I did still get a chicken scampi dish and mostly ate the chicken but there was still butter and pasta involved.
I am going to be home tomorrow night and for two weeks after that so I am hoping to really make some progress in that time. I found a cleanse that I like and I think that I might try to do it. Some websites say to only do it for 3 days but the one I found says 7. I am not sure if I could keep it up for 7 days but I could definitely do it for 3. The only thing that I don't understand about this stuff is that most of them tell you that you might feel flu like symptoms while your body is getting rid of the stuff. So, if they are already in your body, how come you start to feel bad when they are leaving? Doesn't seem logical to me but we will see....not sure what day I will start with.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Day 22
Today was a good day for me as far as making good choices. I stuck with my breakfast of my latte (for the milk and caffeine), the nectarine and then around 10am the powerbar. It worked pretty well. We went to lunch around 12:30 and I was pretty hungry but I made it. At lunch we went to Panera and normally I would order the french onion soup in a bread bowl and eat the whole bread bowl (total of 12 points and mostly bread) but today I had a half a chicken salad sandwhich on multigrain bread and then french onion soup with no cheese or croutons (but had a baggette) so it was 10.5 points and I had lettuce and the protein of the chicken so I feel like it was a better use of points as well.
Tonight at dinner I had fish with some potatoes and a touch of bread and pasta. I only ate about half of my meal and was satisfied and then I had some dried cranberries as a snack about 3 hours later.
All in all, I think that I had a good eating day today. I feel good about it all and I think that even though I might have eaten close to the same calories for some things but I think that the calories were more useful....less processed stuff and more that my body can use. I also didn't get to the water recommendation but I did drink more water today than I have the last few days.
I am considering trying to do a natural foods detox plan if I ever get 7 days in a row in town. It is not one of those crazy "drink this pepper/maple syrup/lemonade" mixture and laxatives detox, it is more just eating raw stuff and cutting out meat and dairy for a week. You basically just eat all natural stuff (fruit, veggies, potatoes, brown rice, fish, unsalted nuts, unsalted seeds, honey, garlic, olive oil, that type of stuff). I think that it wouldn't be that much different from what I do now with the exception of the meat, bread, and dairy...the dairy might be the hardest because I would have to give up my lattes and my caffeine (no coffee either). I might try to do it even on a week I am traveling but I have a feeling I would have to eat a lot of plain salads and I am not sure I could sustain it. I think that I would have better luck at home where I could get stuff that was good at the grocery...only problem is that that could take a month before I will have a whole week at home. Has anyone tried anything like this before? I feel like it would be in line with my eating less processed food and would be good for my body...win/win. You can't do it for very long cause there is no protein but the website I found recommended a week.
Tonight at dinner I had fish with some potatoes and a touch of bread and pasta. I only ate about half of my meal and was satisfied and then I had some dried cranberries as a snack about 3 hours later.
All in all, I think that I had a good eating day today. I feel good about it all and I think that even though I might have eaten close to the same calories for some things but I think that the calories were more useful....less processed stuff and more that my body can use. I also didn't get to the water recommendation but I did drink more water today than I have the last few days.
I am considering trying to do a natural foods detox plan if I ever get 7 days in a row in town. It is not one of those crazy "drink this pepper/maple syrup/lemonade" mixture and laxatives detox, it is more just eating raw stuff and cutting out meat and dairy for a week. You basically just eat all natural stuff (fruit, veggies, potatoes, brown rice, fish, unsalted nuts, unsalted seeds, honey, garlic, olive oil, that type of stuff). I think that it wouldn't be that much different from what I do now with the exception of the meat, bread, and dairy...the dairy might be the hardest because I would have to give up my lattes and my caffeine (no coffee either). I might try to do it even on a week I am traveling but I have a feeling I would have to eat a lot of plain salads and I am not sure I could sustain it. I think that I would have better luck at home where I could get stuff that was good at the grocery...only problem is that that could take a month before I will have a whole week at home. Has anyone tried anything like this before? I feel like it would be in line with my eating less processed food and would be good for my body...win/win. You can't do it for very long cause there is no protein but the website I found recommended a week.
Monday, August 24, 2009
.4 sticks...
I moved the scale into the bathroom last night and C promptly told me to move it back out until it was ready (the bathroom). I explained that I needed it today and he suggested that I use it on the carpet...clearly coming from someone who has never had to weight himself. UGH. Anyway, it stayed all night in the bathroom but still didn't work until the 3rd time I stepped on it this morning but the .4 stuck.
Yesterday I did really well with the eating. If I hadn't had a tiny bit of ice cream (I actually measured it this time so it was about half the amount I normally have :-)) I would have right in my points. I even did pretty well today....I used a few of my weekly points today but I felt like I ate really healthy and the only thing I had that was processed was a powerbar.
I did go to the grocery here to get some nectarines, dried cranberries, and supreme bars. I checked the cranberries and there is only cranberries and sugar (no ingredients I didn't know) and then the supreme bars aren't great but I feel like they will be better for me than the other things I could get at the hotel. My plan for the next few days is to have a bar, a piece of fruit and my latte. Unfortunately, that is 9 of the 21 points I get for the day but I am hoping it will help with the hunger the rest of the day. I still need to work more on the drinking water part!
Yesterday I did really well with the eating. If I hadn't had a tiny bit of ice cream (I actually measured it this time so it was about half the amount I normally have :-)) I would have right in my points. I even did pretty well today....I used a few of my weekly points today but I felt like I ate really healthy and the only thing I had that was processed was a powerbar.
I did go to the grocery here to get some nectarines, dried cranberries, and supreme bars. I checked the cranberries and there is only cranberries and sugar (no ingredients I didn't know) and then the supreme bars aren't great but I feel like they will be better for me than the other things I could get at the hotel. My plan for the next few days is to have a bar, a piece of fruit and my latte. Unfortunately, that is 9 of the 21 points I get for the day but I am hoping it will help with the hunger the rest of the day. I still need to work more on the drinking water part!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
.4
Not much but I will take it. I still am not sure how accurate that is though. My scale was still on the carpet and I moved it into the bathroom to weigh in but they first time I stepped on it, I was told that I lost 18 pounds. While I ate pretty well last week, 18 lbs in one week seems a bit extreme and sure enough, right after that I got an error. I let the scale sit and went back after a little while and it registered at .4 less than last week (and I did it three times to be sure). I am a little disappointed that it wasn't more but at the same time, my goal was just to not gain while I was on the road and that mission was accomplished. I still had to have Wendy's yesterday because we were busy all day and then I was hungry right then and needed to eat. To avoid that from happening again today when I ran my errands this morning I picked up some roast beef, locally grown potatoes and locally grown green beans and corn. I was able to get all the locally grown stuff at Kroger. I was pretty proud of Kroger and pretty happy that the items were on sale. It is part of my eating less processed food.
There is actually a new kind of Kroger here called Fresh Fare and they have a lot more local and fresh stuff. I guess since the Kroger I went to was close to the new one they decided to carry some of that stuff too. Of course Kroger is based out of Cinci so we should be able to get the good stuff here. I actually noticed that the green beans were not as perfect and the corn looked bigger than normal. I had often read that more locally grown items do not look as pretty but can be bigger. It is due to the fact that they don't use all the fast growing stuff to make them pretty but they also don't pick them premature to allow for traveling time. I am happy with both of those options.
So far the eating is going well today. I had a bigger breakfast with my latte, eggs, and a whole grain english muffin. Other than that, mostly fruit today and then I just told you about my dinner. I am not feeling well so I am a little worried about the travel I have this week but hopefully with some medicine and a good night's sleep I will feel better.
There is actually a new kind of Kroger here called Fresh Fare and they have a lot more local and fresh stuff. I guess since the Kroger I went to was close to the new one they decided to carry some of that stuff too. Of course Kroger is based out of Cinci so we should be able to get the good stuff here. I actually noticed that the green beans were not as perfect and the corn looked bigger than normal. I had often read that more locally grown items do not look as pretty but can be bigger. It is due to the fact that they don't use all the fast growing stuff to make them pretty but they also don't pick them premature to allow for traveling time. I am happy with both of those options.
So far the eating is going well today. I had a bigger breakfast with my latte, eggs, and a whole grain english muffin. Other than that, mostly fruit today and then I just told you about my dinner. I am not feeling well so I am a little worried about the travel I have this week but hopefully with some medicine and a good night's sleep I will feel better.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Day 19
If I was counting days then this would be Day 19 and since I can't come up with a better title, here I am :-)
This week I was on the road until last night and faced with the challenges of traveling and having to eat out all week. I think that I did pretty well. I definitely had breakfast under control the first few days and I made good decisions for lunch. Dinner was a little harder and all my extra points for the week are gone. I did exercise 4 times this week so that was a good step for me.
One thing that I learned this week is that maybe I should find something more filling to eat for breakfast. Normally I have a latte and then some frosted wheat or honeynut cheerios. I did this on Monday and Tuesday and actually Wednesday too, but on Wednesday I was still starving. I decided to go downstairs and get pancakes. I had no idea how big they were and I ate all of it. I wasn't hungry again until 2pm and even then I could have waited longer. So, to test my theory, on Thursday I had a pancake again (only one this time) and I was full again until about 1:30 and wasn't starving then. Now I am trying to think of what I can eat at home to have the same effect. I think that it will help start my day better. Any ideas (and it must be stuff I can get on the run or out of town), let me know.
Weigh in is on Sunday so hopefully I did well this week. It will be my first week on the road but I will be gone again next week so it will be good to see if I was able to make good choices or not.
8/21 stats:
Daily Points: 21
Activity Points: 3.5
Points Used: 19 (still have dinner and pizza is planned)
Flex Points Left: 0
Water Consumed: 8 ozs (really bad!!)
This week I was on the road until last night and faced with the challenges of traveling and having to eat out all week. I think that I did pretty well. I definitely had breakfast under control the first few days and I made good decisions for lunch. Dinner was a little harder and all my extra points for the week are gone. I did exercise 4 times this week so that was a good step for me.
One thing that I learned this week is that maybe I should find something more filling to eat for breakfast. Normally I have a latte and then some frosted wheat or honeynut cheerios. I did this on Monday and Tuesday and actually Wednesday too, but on Wednesday I was still starving. I decided to go downstairs and get pancakes. I had no idea how big they were and I ate all of it. I wasn't hungry again until 2pm and even then I could have waited longer. So, to test my theory, on Thursday I had a pancake again (only one this time) and I was full again until about 1:30 and wasn't starving then. Now I am trying to think of what I can eat at home to have the same effect. I think that it will help start my day better. Any ideas (and it must be stuff I can get on the run or out of town), let me know.
Weigh in is on Sunday so hopefully I did well this week. It will be my first week on the road but I will be gone again next week so it will be good to see if I was able to make good choices or not.
8/21 stats:
Daily Points: 21
Activity Points: 3.5
Points Used: 19 (still have dinner and pizza is planned)
Flex Points Left: 0
Water Consumed: 8 ozs (really bad!!)
Monday, August 17, 2009
Week 3 on WW
So, I have not been good at all about posting. I really need to be better about it.
It is week three for me on Weight Watchers, and I feel like it is going pretty well. I had to switch my weigh in days to Sundays since I have been traveling so much and I don't mind that much. It sort of helps me to split up the weekend a little bit, even though a week is a week. I tried to weigh myself on Sunday but my scale was on carpet due to renovations. That doesn't work well. I tried to move it to the bathroom but it kept giving me an error so I don't really know what my weight was. I did go over my points a bit for the week but not by as much as last week and I did work out 4 days last week so I am hoping I lost something at least. Hopefully this Sunday I will be able to weigh in again and hopefully the bathroom renovations will be done by then :-)
As for some tips that I have come up with to make things a little easier, here are a few. I try to keep things as normal as possible and I am still trying to use more natural and unprocessed foods (though it doesn't always work).
1. When I made zucchini the other day I replaced the whole 2 cups of sugar with honey. I did it because honey is less processed than sugar, but I will say that it was also more calories and it did give the bread a honey taste. I probably wouldn't replace it all again but I would try half and half next time.
2. I replaced the oil in the recipe with unsweetened applesauce. The recipe called for 1 cup of oil and that amounted to almost 2,000 calories and 220 grams of fat (granted, healthy fats but fat nonetheless) and I used a cup of applesauce for 50 calories and 1 gram of fat. I believe I will do this from now on because it didn't effect the bread at all.
3. I put my Reeses' buttercup minis in the freezer. Now when I crave some chocolate I will go and get one but it takes longer to eat because I have to suck on it for a while before it is soft enough. This keeps me from popping them quickly into my mouth.
Those are all the tips that I have now but I will continue to add them as I find ones that work. If anyone else has any tips let me know!
This week and next week are going to be a big challenge for me because I am on the road most of this week and all of next week. Traveling just makes it harder to find things that taste good and are ok for you to eat. Hopefully it will go ok. My goal is to maintain my weight on the weeks that I travel and to lose weight on the weeks that I don't. I will keep you guys updated.
It is week three for me on Weight Watchers, and I feel like it is going pretty well. I had to switch my weigh in days to Sundays since I have been traveling so much and I don't mind that much. It sort of helps me to split up the weekend a little bit, even though a week is a week. I tried to weigh myself on Sunday but my scale was on carpet due to renovations. That doesn't work well. I tried to move it to the bathroom but it kept giving me an error so I don't really know what my weight was. I did go over my points a bit for the week but not by as much as last week and I did work out 4 days last week so I am hoping I lost something at least. Hopefully this Sunday I will be able to weigh in again and hopefully the bathroom renovations will be done by then :-)
As for some tips that I have come up with to make things a little easier, here are a few. I try to keep things as normal as possible and I am still trying to use more natural and unprocessed foods (though it doesn't always work).
1. When I made zucchini the other day I replaced the whole 2 cups of sugar with honey. I did it because honey is less processed than sugar, but I will say that it was also more calories and it did give the bread a honey taste. I probably wouldn't replace it all again but I would try half and half next time.
2. I replaced the oil in the recipe with unsweetened applesauce. The recipe called for 1 cup of oil and that amounted to almost 2,000 calories and 220 grams of fat (granted, healthy fats but fat nonetheless) and I used a cup of applesauce for 50 calories and 1 gram of fat. I believe I will do this from now on because it didn't effect the bread at all.
3. I put my Reeses' buttercup minis in the freezer. Now when I crave some chocolate I will go and get one but it takes longer to eat because I have to suck on it for a while before it is soft enough. This keeps me from popping them quickly into my mouth.
Those are all the tips that I have now but I will continue to add them as I find ones that work. If anyone else has any tips let me know!
This week and next week are going to be a big challenge for me because I am on the road most of this week and all of next week. Traveling just makes it harder to find things that taste good and are ok for you to eat. Hopefully it will go ok. My goal is to maintain my weight on the weeks that I travel and to lose weight on the weeks that I don't. I will keep you guys updated.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Week 2 on WW
Well, i did a really bad job of posting every day last week about my weight watchers, but I did much better in the actual eating department. I lost 2.4 pounds last week! YAY!! I am so excited and hope that this will start me on the right path to lose even more. I feel comforted by the fact that ww is the only thing that I have successfully lost weight on.
I need to get back into the exercise and drinking water. That always seems to help me so hopefully I will see even better results when I add that in....
I need to get back into the exercise and drinking water. That always seems to help me so hopefully I will see even better results when I add that in....
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
A New Start
Sometimes I wonder how many times I will have a title like that. I am hoping that this is the last time for the foreseeable future or ever!!
I have decided that after gaining a few more pounds in the last few weeks that I need to start doing Weight Watchers. I have done it before on my own and I was successful with it. I think that after being at the beach and watching those around me I realized that I am not necessarily eating the wrong things but I am definitely eating too much of the right things (or semi right, I still had ice cream and candy). The last time I did WW I was able to better control the portions and for some odd reason it was like a little challenge every day (but more fun than just counting calories). For some reason I feel embarrassed to admit that I need to do this and to be on a "diet" in order to get in shape, but it is just reality. I tried on my own and it didn't work. I think that I like the Weight Watchers program because I can still have what i want (maybe less of it but still). I feel like it better enables me to treat myself without getting out of hand and it helps me to control the portions which is my biggest problem.
Yesterday was my first day and I did pretty well. I get 21 points a day and then 35 flex points a week plus any daily activity points I earn. I plan to put my stats at the bottom of each post to help keep me on track.
Also on the agenda is to drink more water! I realized that there were whole days last week where I had NO WATER. That is not good for you. I am not sure how I went from the days when I would drink 80 ozs a day and crave it to the days where I would drink NONE. Ridiculous!
8/3 stats:
Daily Points: 21
Activity Points: 4
Points Used: 27
Flex Points Left: 32
Water Consumed: 32 ozs
I have decided that after gaining a few more pounds in the last few weeks that I need to start doing Weight Watchers. I have done it before on my own and I was successful with it. I think that after being at the beach and watching those around me I realized that I am not necessarily eating the wrong things but I am definitely eating too much of the right things (or semi right, I still had ice cream and candy). The last time I did WW I was able to better control the portions and for some odd reason it was like a little challenge every day (but more fun than just counting calories). For some reason I feel embarrassed to admit that I need to do this and to be on a "diet" in order to get in shape, but it is just reality. I tried on my own and it didn't work. I think that I like the Weight Watchers program because I can still have what i want (maybe less of it but still). I feel like it better enables me to treat myself without getting out of hand and it helps me to control the portions which is my biggest problem.
Yesterday was my first day and I did pretty well. I get 21 points a day and then 35 flex points a week plus any daily activity points I earn. I plan to put my stats at the bottom of each post to help keep me on track.
Also on the agenda is to drink more water! I realized that there were whole days last week where I had NO WATER. That is not good for you. I am not sure how I went from the days when I would drink 80 ozs a day and crave it to the days where I would drink NONE. Ridiculous!
8/3 stats:
Daily Points: 21
Activity Points: 4
Points Used: 27
Flex Points Left: 32
Water Consumed: 32 ozs
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