Alligatorob's Diary

[Marsia]

Absolutely! I know I have lost more weight and kept it off much better than ever before in my life, even if not perfect that's really good. And coming here for support and advice has been a big reason for my success. I'll take the failures on myself. But I do know the success has greatly outweighed the failures.

I feel like this, too. I eat so much better now than before the forum and have such better strategies. I don't always implement them well, but I at least don't gain if I work at it now. Before I was just watching the weight creep up with no idea what I was doing wrong.

I really appreciate that you post your calorie charts and exercise - it helps me to remember to do them! I second the exercising of demons!

 

[alligatorob]

It was a good day, got in some good exercise and ate pretty well. I feel good tonight.

I'm guessing they're like dogs: exercise them or you'll need to exorcise them.

LOL, but I don't think I can just take my demons to the pound, or euthanize them. Wish I could...

I second the exercising of demons!

Maybe we could organize a group Zoom exorcism! Not sure how to find the exorcist though...

 

[Cate]

Glad you had a good day, Rob. I must look for some cashew milk & try some new breakfasts. I'll order some GF Special K's I think too. How long does it keep you feeling full?

 

[alligatorob]

Today was a good day. I had a relatively short day in the gym, just an hour and 5 minutes, but it was a decent workout. Ate well and feel good tonight.

I must look for some cashew milk & try some new breakfasts. I'll order some GF Special K's I think too. How long does it keep you feeling full?

I like the cashew milk, its creamer than almond with fewer calories. The one I use has only about 50 calories in a liter.

The Special K is about as filling as any cereal. However, the store here seems to be having trouble keeping it in stock, so I may have to make a change.

Went for a drive today, this shot was taken just 10 min from home, in the Wellsville Mountains. It looks like a lot of snow, but its not, only about half what we need to break the drought. Still looks nice.

 

[Cate]

That's a beautiful pic, Rob!

 

[Llama]

It looks wonderful! Motivation to get my walking poles out this weekend...

 

[alligatorob]

Just did 3 hours in the gym, circuit training, then a triceps and shoulder workout with the trainer, and then a Tabata class, with a few of my resistance band exercises in the breaks. It felt good, I am tired now, but feel good.

That's a beautiful pic, Rob!

Thanks, it is one of my favorite views around here, probably less than 5 km from here in a straight line, about 10 min driving.

It looks wonderful! Motivation to get my walking poles out this weekend...

It is nice, but there are few trails in those mountains. Too steep for most people, and mostly snow covered right now. The Wellsville range is not the highest but it is one of the steepest. No foothills on either side, mostly just very steep up and down. Makes for nice pictures, but not the best for hiking.

The mountains in the picture are the Wellsvilles (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellsville_Mountains ), the range that makes up the very northern end of the Wasatch (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasatch_Range ) the mountains that bound the eastern side of the Salt Lake Valley. My house is right at the base of the northern end of Mount Ben Lomond (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Lomond_Mountain_(Utah) ), kind of at the southern end of the Wellsville range. Our Ben Lomond is named for the original one in Scotland (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Lomond ) and I see there are more Ben Lomonds in the world, including one in Tasmania (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Lomond_(disambiguation) )

 

[Llama]

I only knew of the Loch Lomond but I'm going to assume the two are close together. In Austria hiking was a very popular passtime back in the 1800s up until... up until the 1970s at least. Trails are still being maintained basically everywhere by mountain/hiking clubs but it looks like their members are aging rapidly. Which in turn scares off younger people who don't want to be the youngest by 20 years...

 

[alligatorob]

Yesterday was not a great day, I had too much bread and cheese in the evening... I suppose it was a binge, but not as bad as many I have had. I decided to try and record and count the calories, probably good for me. Will do what I can to do better today, off to the gym soon.

I only knew of the Loch Lomond but I'm going to assume the two are close together.

I think Lock Lomond is the lake below Ben Lomond in Scotland, we have no Loch near our Ben Lomond, unless you count the Great Salt Lake.

In Austria hiking was a very popular passtime back in the 1800s up until... up until the 1970s at least. Trails are still being maintained basically everywhere by mountain/hiking clubs but it looks like their members are aging rapidly. Which in turn scares off younger people who don't want to be the youngest by 20 years...

We have nothing like that, hiking for hiking's sake here is not a big deal. Though many hike for hunting and fishing. There are some trails here, but not so many. Most of my hiking is bushwhacking, cross country without trails.

 

[alligatorob]

Did 3 hours in the gym today, but the last part was yoga. Still got over 2 hours of good workout.

I hope y'all are ok with me posting my food even on a binge day, not that I am planning any more of them, LOL. I think one of my demons that helps keep me bingeing once started is that I don't keep track and just post that I have binged. I get a kind of feeling that once started its all ok, no limits. Anyway that is what I will try. Maybe knowing that I am committed to it will help curb binges. I have long binged secretly, hiding what I was doing. Never did make any sense, and probably less so now.

 

[Llama]

I think it's good to share what a binge looks like for you. To me it doesn't look like a bad one but what matters is that you're taking a good look at what you're doing. I'm more likely to moderate myself if I don't let myself slip into the fog of "I don't really (want to) know".

 

[Cate]

I think it's important to list what we eat (or drink) especially when we ate(or drink) too much. I must open my diary up again(just did). I feel weird doing it, but that's because most of what I eat has so many different ingredients it looks like an essay. I have lots of things saved as meals, but it's too time-consuming to save recipes.

 

[alligatorob]

It was a good day, got exercise, ate well, and I feel good tonight. Not sure what tomorrow will bring, only plan to go to the gym in the morning if I feel like it, may just sleep in. According to MFP I have already done 12 hours and 15 minutes in the gym this week, that may be enough.

I think it's good to share what a binge looks like for you. To me it doesn't look like a bad one but what matters is that you're taking a good look at what you're doing. I'm more likely to moderate myself if I don't let myself slip into the fog of "I don't really (want to) know".

Thanks Lama, well put. Once bingeing begins I do all too often "let myself slip into the fog of "I don't really (want to) know"". And yesterday's binge was a relatively small one, for me. On the 1 to 10 binge scale probably a 2 or 3.

I think it's important to list what we eat (or drink) especially when we ate(or drink) too much. I must open my diary up again(just did). I feel weird doing it, but that's because most of what I eat has so many different ingredients it looks like an essay. I have lots of things saved as meals, but it's too time-consuming to save recipes.

I agree, and probably most important when we have too much, but important all the time. I used to try and get calories better by listing ingredients separately, but now I am more likely just to look the whole food up on MFP. Long-term its probably just as good. Honestly for me calories plus or minus a few isn't the problem, its the binge...

 

[Llama]

Honestly for me calories plus or minus a few isn't the problem, its the binge...

True for me as well. But I've become eccentric weird enough (too little money for eccentric) in my food prep that my meals never match the stuff in the apps until I'm eating out. Maybe I'll get back to logging, lower my calorie goal by a couple hundred calories, and just skip all the small stuff.

 

[alligatorob]

It was a good day, ate well and did a lot of yardwork. No gym, but the yardwork was some exercise. Mowed the lawn for the first time, but it didn't really need it. Somehow it seems like acting as if spring is here will make it happen.

True for me as well. But I've become eccentric weird enough (too little money for eccentric) in my food prep that my meals never match the stuff in the apps until I'm eating out.

I don't think of you as weird, but maybe a little eccentric. Does that cost money? I think your eccentricities are amongst your good qualities.

just skip all the small stuff.

That is important, for me anyway. I find the small stuff is often where a binge begins...

 

[alligatorob]

I see that I failed to hit the post button last night, just did so its a bit late.

Today was similar, a good day ate well and I feel good tonight. However no exercise except some more yardwork.

 

[Llama]

That is important, for me anyway. I find the small stuff is often where a binge begins...

That's one way. But what I meant was I could reduce my stated calorie goal a bit and then just not enter in things that aren't a lot of calories (like lettuce, a teaspoon of mustard, or three cherry tomatoes) but do take time to write down. Logging calories takes forever if you eat different things that aren't packaged and you don't stick to the same recipes all the time.

 

[alligatorob]

Did 2 1/2 hours in the gym this morning. No record but not bad, I feel good.

But what I meant was I could reduce my stated calorie goal a bit and then just not enter in things that aren't a lot of calories (like lettuce, a teaspoon of mustard, or three cherry tomatoes) but do take time to write down. Logging calories takes forever if you eat different things that aren't packaged and you don't stick to the same recipes all the time.

That makes sense. I don't have a fixed calorie goal, except that if I seem to be headed to less than 1,200 I eat something else. When I first started this process I was a bit obsessed with logging every single calorie, and that served me well for a while. It also taught me a lot about calories.

Now I kind of do what you do. When I know I have eaten something with few calories then I just add them to one of the higher calorie things, based on judgement. Keeps the count simpler. I also know that where I am today one binge can makeup for probably weeks of calorie counting errors, or many days of eating a few calories above some goal. So I see my no binge goal as a lot more important than day to day calories. Being realistic I doubt that I can go without another binge, but by trying to record the binge food and calories I am hoping to do less of it...

 

[Cate]

I input a lot of meals bit by bit, but then save them as meals & adjust them when I add them another day. One thing I found recently is that recipes for things I have regularly are much easier to save on my phone than on my laptop. I'll add some more regulars now I know that.
Well done on getting back down to a new low for a month, Rob

 

[alligatorob]

Had a close call today. After dinner I had more bread and peanut butter than planned and it was feeling like the beginning of a binge. Then I thought about having to write it down and post it here and I stopped. So maybe the new thing is working, hope so. Otherwise the day was good and I got good exercise.

I input a lot of meals bit by bit, but then save them as meals & adjust them when I add them another day. One thing I found recently is that recipes for things I have regularly are much easier to save on my phone than on my laptop. I'll add some more regulars now I know that.
Well done on getting back down to a new low for a month, Rob

Thanks Cate! How do you save those meals to your phone? I know you use the MFP thing, can you easily transfer them to the app? I know you can create a new food entry in MFP, but I have never done it.