Tuesday calories = 1111
Wednesday calories = 910
Don't kill me, JenBen, I'll explain in my main blog!
I went for my check-up today. 28 pounds lost, according to the doctor's scale, and that was fully clothed and having drunk a glass of water. The doctor is tickled and floored that I haven't been doing any exercise and still losing weight like this. However I'm getting back into the gym mindset, if nothing else to get me out of the house a little. Right now I'm organizing my iPod, perhaps to put some good audiobooks on it, which will keep me motivated because I always have the gottas - "I gotta know what happens next!".
This morning I was in my closet bewailing my lack of clean clothes. Our bedroom is on the third floor, the washer and dryer are on the first, and laundry is an enormous pain in the ass so it doesn't get done until the situation is critical. Anyway, I noticed a stack of clothes on the top shelf that I put there because nothing fit. I dragged down the stack, about 8 pairs of shorts and a couple of shirts... and everything fit. I haven't worn these clothes in 5-6 years. Now I'm glad I didn't sell all my non-fitting clothes on eBay like I had planned to do!
Still feel like I cheated, even though I know exactly what I ate. Perhaps because I had so much food?
For dinner:
Weight Watchers Salisbury steak & macaroni - 260 cals
Small zucchini - 34 calories
Squirt of olive oil - 15 calories
1/4 oz feta cheese - 19 calories
Whole tomato - 20 calories
Half cup of edamame (soy beans) - 100 calories
...so 458 calories and I feel like a sinner! Repent, repent!
We went to the farmers' market today and got okra (hub's choice, not mine - I am wary), tomatoes, peaches, figs, zucchini, summer squash, onions, garlic, and string beans. Veggies rock.
Tomorrow is doctor check-in day. I'm drinking copious amounts of water in hopes that I will have another loss. I must have had 2 gallons yesterday and was down a pound this morning.
Something new this week...
Progress Prompts:
Kraft, one of the largest food industries in the nation, announced this month that it's reducing amounts of unhealthy fats and oils in their food products. Do you think it will really make any difference in our battle against obesity? Why or why not?
I don't think anything's going to change until people realize that we just eat too damned much. Portion sizes are totally out of control. Do you really need a 20 ounce steak? Did you totally ignore the red alert your stomach was sending you saying that you were eating way too much and after dinner, did you have to loosen your belt and sit still for a while because you were so full?
Me, I still eat non-"diet" food. I have half and half in my tea and parmesan on my veggies. But I'm making sure that I don't go overboard and have 6 cups of tea, or half a cup of cheese when a tablespoon will do the job just as nicely.
People have got to learn again to pay attention to their body's signals. Don't eat to the point of discomfort. Eat slowly, chew well, and learn when you're satiated. And most important... You do not have to have a clean plate. I think people in Western countries are taught to feel guilty if they don't eat everything that's put in front of them. That's not healthy, either.
A friend asked me what my favorite low-cal meals and snacks are. I ended up compiling a huge list! Click 'more' to see it...
First of all, hub got me a couple of indispensible tools from Linens and Things - a Misto, which is an olive oil sprayer (better than Pam!), and a food scale so I know precise portions.
apples - about 80 cals per medium
baby carrots - 20 small/medium carrots for 40 calories (these round out a lot of my meals)
Genisoy crisps - good source of soy protein and fiber, taste tons better than rice cakes - 10 cals/crisp, I think - I like the Garlic and Herb flavor
Nature's Own bread and buns - 40 cals/slice of bread, wheat or sourdough; 90 cals/bun for wheat buns
Lean Cuisine (or is it Healthy Choice?) breakfast sausage - 70 cals for 3 patties; in the freezer section
McDonald's Cobb Salads - order without chicken, which is yucky; salad + dressing = 300 cals
H.E.B. tubs of pot roast, barbecue beef, etc. - usually use less than recommended serving size on a sandwich; around 100 cals
Tuna and chicken salad lunch kits - around 200 cals per kit; can swap crackers in kit for low-cal bread and have a sandwich instead
Sauteed summer squash and/or zucchini - mince garlic, chop squash into cubes, sautee in non-stick pan with a spray of olive oil until soft; serve with salt and black pepper and some grated parmesan cheese - about 150 cals for 1 squash and 3 Tb cheese
Butternut squash or sweet potatoes - either slice into fries or rings, spread on a cookie sheet and spray with olive oil, top with salt, bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, turning halfway - 88 cals for 8 oz
Shrimp! Especially going out to eat. 4 lg shrimp = 28 cals; 3 oz shrimp = 90 cals
Light microwave popcorn - I like Orville Reddenbacher Kettle Corn - 240 cals for an entire bag, good fiber too
Dinty Moore entrees (in the cup o' soup aisle, usually) - around 200 calories per, the beef stew, chicken and dumplings, and chicken and rice are delish
Broccoli slaw (prepackaged near bag salads) mixed with Just Too Good dressing - 4 oz broccoli = 30 cals, dressing is 20 cals/tablespoon
Sugar free Jello (filling and good for sweet cravings) calorie free!; sugar free/fat free pudding (really filling!) about 130 calories for the whole thing
Skinless, boneless chicken breasts - marinate in garlic powder and teriyaki sauce, then broil 10-15 mins until internal temp is 160 - they come out really juicy, even hub likes them! 130 cals for 4 oz
Kashi GoLEAN cereal - the dried cranberry is tasty and around 100 cals/serving.
Spaghetti squash - cut in half, remove seeds, put face-down in dish in the microwave and cover with plastic wrap, cook on high in 5 minute intervals until tender, then scrape strands out of the skin. 1 cup - 40 cals, add Newman's Own spaghetti sauce for around 70 cals/serving
Turkey burgers - mix ground turkey with garlic and teriyaki sauce, form into patties, fry in nonstick pan until cooked through - 170 cals for 4 oz patty
La Tortilla whole wheat tortillas - not the best, but good if you want a taco, and 8 grams fiber each(!) - 60 cals each (regular tortillas are anywhere from 110-150 each)
grape tomatoes - I use them to round out meals like I do baby carrots - do not store in the fridge - around 3 cals each
Blue Bunny fudgesicles - 40 cals each
Sauteed mushrooms - slice mushrooms, mince garlic, saute with a spray of olive oil and some balsamic vinegar - 8 oz around 60 calories
Frozen broccoli and cheese sauce - I can't remember the brand but it's 70 calories per cup.
Sunday calories = 986
(still can't shake sneaky suspicion that I cheated somewhere, probably because we went out to lunch and I didn't see everything that went into my food, hopefully it wasn't a pound of butter or something)
Friday calories = 1213
Saturday calories = 1170
Even though I've been staying in range, I feel like I've been cheating anyway. Dunno why. Perhaps I am just Jimmy Carter, guilty because I've lusted in my heart for a slice of pizza.
I thought it would be interesting to look at how my weight chart has been. It seems like I have periods of sticking at the same weight for 6 days or so, then whooshing downwards.
I rescheduled my doctor check-in for Tuesday, so I didn't go yesterday.
Weekly check-in:
-4 pounds
-27 total pounds lost since 5/30/03!
First mini-goal met, reward of cookbook is coming in the mail. Next goal: 15 pounds (13 to go).
Chest: -1 (-5.5 total)
Waist: -1 (-6 total)
Hips: -0 (-5 total)
Thigh: -0.5 (-3 total)
19.5 inches total loss since 5/30/03!
Tuesday calories = 1085
Wednesday calories = 1125
Doc check-in tomorrow.
Monday calories = 956
Wasn't really hungry because of the kitty thing.
Saturday calories = 1157
I drank something on the order of 2 gallons of water yesterday and woke up 2.5 pounds lighter this morning. Which means (drumroll please) I have surpassed my 25 pound mini-goal!! Now at 26 down. Woohoo!
What a bummer - I woke up this morning up a pound from yesterday, making my loss this week a mere 2 pounds rather than three. However before I just looked that up, I'd thought it was 1 pound, so things are better than I thought!
Chest: -0.5 inches (-4.5 total)
Waist: -0 inches (-5 total)
Hips: -0.5 inches (-5 total)
Thigh: -0 inches (-2.5 total)
Weight lost this week: 2 pounds
Total weight lost: 23 pounds
I'm smoking crack, it was just a pound, I was looking at the wrong day. Silly me.
Wednesday calories = 1196
Had a bite of key lime pie tonight. I was afraid it would kick off a craving but one bite was satisfactory. Yum.
Whoops, I'm falling behind lately...
Friday calories = 995
Saturday calories = 1119
BTW, those Kashi nutrition bars are da bomb.
Weight: -3 lbs (-22 total)
Chest: -0 inches (-4 total)
Waist: -0 inches (-5 total)
Hips: -0.5 inches (-4.5 total)
Thigh: -0.5 inches (2.5 total)
Whoops, Tuesday got lost in the Excel crossfire. Poor Tuesday.
Tuesday calories = 1191
I looked everywhere and couldn't find a spreadsheet that had places to enter both weight and measurements, dynamic dates, and automatic charts. So I made one! If you'd like to download it, you can get it from here:
http://fitter.addlepated.net/downloads/weightchart.zip (320K)
It should be compatible with Excel 97, 2002, v.X, and 5.0 and higher. Download it, use it, have fun with it, just don't charge other people for it. And let me know if you have any problems with it. Make sure to read the README first!
Monday calories - 1235
I had to have a snack around 6 am because I was up with the baby who didn't feel good, and I was starving, so I charged it to yesterday because for me, it's not a new day unless I've slept.
Friday calories = 1117
Saturday calories = 1207
I fought with Excel for about 24 hours to make a weight and measurement spreadsheet that I like. I finally narrowed the problem down to a single type of border - every time I used it, it rendered the file unusable. Nice. Anyway, I'd be happy to send a nice blank one to anyone who would like it. Just let me know if you want it.
Weight: -3.5 lbs (19 total)
Chest: -1.5 inches (4 total)
Waist: -1.5 inches (5 total)
Hips: -1.0 inches (4 total)
Thigh: -0.5 inches (2 total)
Wednesday calories = 1195
1.5 pounds down this morning. That's good.
Today I'm 25 pounds down from my heaviest weight ever ("achieved" last summer). I'm 2 pounds above the lowest I've been since 1998.
When I was pregnant with my second daughter, I had terrible nausea and reflux throughout my pregnancy. I only managed to gain 3 pounds. When I was in labor at the hospital, the anesthesiologist told me that an epidural "sure would be easier on a little skinny woman". Nice thing to say to a person who had been living off smoothies with protein powder for the past 9 months.
At my 6 week postpartum checkup in 10/01, I was 15 pounds down from my pre-pregnancy weight. That was the lowest I'd been in 3 years, and is the barrier I'm about to break now.
I'm craving carbs today. I want breakfast stuff. Muffins, banana bread, bagels with cream cheese, Krispy Kreme. Instead I am having water and apples and squash and boiled eggs and chicken. And more water. And some water on the side. With a water chaser. And water for dessert.
Uh, gotta go.
Monday calories = 992
Another pound gone this morning. w00t!
Sunday calories = 1058
A pound down this morning from the plateau. Yay!