Amy's weight loss diary

I know you are not afraid of carbs. But you are not by any stretch eating too many. There are meant to be a lot more carbs than proteins. You could if you want reduce your fats a little and boost your carbs. i think 30% fat is quite high for someone on a diet. But i am not positive. Its just that carbs is the main source of energy. It gets turned into glycogen by the liver and is stored mostly in your muscles available for use. When you run out of this glycogen, you hit a wall. Its called the boink or the wall. It happens a lot of distance cyclists. It could possibly be happening to you. Or something like it. I know it seems strange.

The other thing i think and i am not sure i've mentioned it is that you are just working much too hard in the gym. Much too intense. When you exercise for 1.5 hours you need not be sprinting, if you know what i mean. Intensity should be moderate. A few short sharp intensities are ok but if you are doing a lot of intense exertion, this could be the problem. Again check it with someone really knowledgeable about gym work such as a sports doctor. I reckon it might be worth paying for one given the sorts of issues you have been talking about - including your knees.

I so agree with jeanette about the chocolate milk and expensive things.

Oh also, different between simple and complex carbs

Further to whats in this link, most vegetables will be simple carbs. That's not bad.

And then we want to distinguish between good and bad carbs. I know you know what bad carbs are. But fruit is not a bad carb only refined ones are and that's mainly because they also digest so fast and contain almost no other nutrients.

complex carbs have lower GI generally except for the vegetable ones like potato and corn. But i think legumes have low GI. Have you ever checked out your foods on the GI index. Its quite useful. Sydney university has a good GI site. There's also GI loading which is the GI of a whole meal. And example is lemon apparenlty lowers the GI of the total meal so its good to have that with food. Carrots have a high GI but as part of a meal its no a problem and should not be passed up because of the other nutrients they contain.
 
Amy, yesterday's menu sounded fantastic.
Sorry breakfast wasn't filling.
Maybe mix it up for tomorrow's breakfast?
Enjoy your day out and dont worry about calorie counting. Just make good choices.

I use this whey protein powder called Instant Whey.
It comes in a variety of flavours.
You can mix it with water or fat free milk and it's like 99calories a glass. It costs £20 but lasts a long time.


Check it out.
There is also regular protein powder but i use that because it's vegetarian.
 
Thanks for the suggestion- that's much cheaper than some of the other stuff I've seen (and free delivery! awesome) :) I'll definitely look into that, just weighing up my options at this stage, and thinking about how I can fit it into my calorie needs. I had a friend suggest a recovery drink, but I worked out the calories on the one he suggested- nearly 700! My allowance is 1885- you do the maths. Pass.

I'm going to make an appointment to see the GP about all of this on Monday. As Jeanette said, I don't think it's normal that I'm that hammered after a workout. I don't think I'm working too hard, though. Most of it is probably 7-8.5/10 difficulty (where 1 is "sitting on my arse" and 10 is "I feel like I'm going to die"), and the weights and stretches are broken up. (The rower- the one bit of my program where I feel like I want to vomit- is 9-9.5/10, but it's over in under 2:10 min).

I made my breakfast with milk this morning and it was much more filling, I suspect those extra calories are more important to me than I thought.

Going to try out my new lower body weight routine (http://weight-loss.fitness.com/weig...ise/48418-question-low-rep-high-weight-2.html - have made alterations based on Trusylver's suggestions- I wish I could give her- I think s/he's a she- more rep for that, but I have to "spread it around" some more first) instead of my regular strength work at the gym today. Am going to print out some instructions on how to do the exercises in question and take them with me. Will report in both threads how I got on. Looking forward to it.
 
Good luck with your new work out :) and it's definitely wise that you're going to see your GP.
 
I wonder if it's safe to go to the gym yet... (not a fan of all of this hoopla).

Edit to add: I'm having a dinner sized lunch today to see if that makes the gym any easier (also in part because I woke up very early this morning and am a little tired).
 
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There's good and bad news for today.

The good news is, I got through my new workout and I didn't hurt myself (I don't think- definitely no bad pain during or after). Also I had some guy at the gym who started chatting to me (in the pool area, so I was just in a pair of Speedos, baring quite a lot!) tell me I didn't need to lose weight, and the manager at the gym commented that my weight loss was obvious at this stage. Chuffed.

Although I had a bigger post-gym snack today, I didn't do it because of symptoms of giddiness or anything, which I think is positive (you'll see why I did it in a minute!). I think I may be onto something (depending on how the calories pan out today) with a dinner sized meal for lunch before the gym.

The bad news is, that routine was hard. So, so hard. I hurt in places I never knew existed. This is worse than my first sessions at the gym. I'm limping, and I suspect the pain will be bad tomorrow. I couldn't get through my normal cardio work (15 min crosstrainer, 10 min stepper and 500m flat out rower). I did the crosstrainer (by the skin of my teeth, it was incredibly difficult given all the leg work I'd done) and then went swimming. I swam 30 laps (various strokes, not continuously because I'm still building my fitness) of the 17m pool. I probably did more exercise than if I'd done the regular routine, but... yeah... that wasn't going to happen.

My lower body routine was as follows: 3x8 squats with 2kg weights (decided to go low even though I'd gone higher with that before, as I was doing a lot of extra stuff. Excellent move), straight leg straight back deadlift 3x8 with 2kg weights, short lunges 3x8 with 2kg weight, leg curl on ball 3x8, standing calf raise 3x16 with 2kg weight, lying hip abduction 3x8 (each side) with 2kg weight, side lunges 3x16 (so 8 on each side per set), scissor kick 3x16 (8 per leg), and planks (front plank 50 seconds, side plank 20 seconds, front plank 50 seconds, other side plank 20 seconds, times 3, except the last set where I could only hold the front plank for 20 seconds)

Knackered. And glad I don't have the gym tomorrow and that next time I'm going to be trying the much less extensive upper body workout.
 
Wow compliments from random strangers and a guy at the gym telling you that your weight loss is obvious? Amazing.

Your work out sounds fantastic. Gym and swim and all those toning/weight exercises. That's tough. Really tough. Good for you. Seriously. For getting through it, no matter how much it hurt.
 
Thanks :) To be honest, it still hurts (and I'm still limping)- feels like DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), except it hit me pretty much immediately after the strength/ weight stuff, which is why the crosstrainer was damned near impossible to get through. Mostly in my thighs, which I presume can only be a good thing, because that's what needs the most change (I know there's no such thing as spot fixing... but stronger muscles there might lead to better shape as the fat reduces? I'm hoping. I'd love small but I'd need to rewire my genetics for that).

(If anyone else is considering doing something like this, for heaven's sake don't take on this many types of weights at once. I'm crazy, and I push myself too hard. I'm sure I'm going to regret this come morning when I'm in agony.)

I love swimming. I'm having shortness of breath issues at the end of every couple of laps, but the actual motions are pretty effortless for me. I'm sort of considering getting a coaching session at the gym (I think they're a fiver or so) to get some tips to improve my endurance so I don't have to stop so often. Maybe my technique is out- it's been a long time since I've tried to swim for fitness (although it is a bit like riding a bike). Actually, it was funny in the pool today, watching people swimming. Some technique there is dreadful (a lot of people don't seem to put their heads under the water- slowing their laps down considerably and probably taking up a lot more energy)- and then they got out of the pool and they're very very fit, lean and/ or muscular guys. I wonder if swimming is taught differently in this country, I've never seen so much bad technique all in one place as I have since joining this gym (which is the only place I've been swimming in the UK).

When I go out tomorrow I'll be seeing some of my boyfriend's friends who haven't seen me in months. I wonder if they'll say anything. (I hope I can walk properly by then...:eek: Actually, I told the random guy at the gym I'd been doing squats- with the intention of saying "and all the rest of this", and he said "ow, you're going to have trouble walking tomorrow. I don't normally strike up conversation in gyms, but it was in the sauna. I wasn't exactly doing anything anyway) I might even bring my camera and get some photos taken (other than those headless ones in my before/ after thread!) and put them up on Facebook to see what my friends back home think. Or maybe not, maybe I'll wait until I get down a bit more before surprising them. I honestly don't know how much difference there is and the last thing I want to do is underwhelm anyone.
 
Thanks :) I'm really pleased with how well I've done. And I'm almost starting to walk something approaching normally again (7 hours after I left the gym...). I think the sensible thing to do would be to ration it out in future, mix them around a little, rather than try to do all of them.

Weigh in tomorrow. Then probably a bit of a blowout day (then straight back on the straight and narrow!). Looking forward to what sounds like it'll be a really nice day out though.

Friday 29 April

Breakfast: 45g oats made with and topped with milk (367g total) and 88g blueberries (last of the pack). Subtotal: 316 calories, 17g protein, 51g carbs, 4g fat
Lunch: (an experiment for the gym) a serve of the adapted Italian stew I made with 50g basmati rice. Subtotal: 491 calories, 25g protein, 59g carbs, 11g fat
After gym snack: Graze love mix (dried goji berries, apricot, and cherries- the cherries were sensational, the apricots nice, the goji berries... weird. Not something I'd choose but apparently they're very good for you. This was 102 calories) and 25g honey roasted cashews and peanuts (needed the protein, I think, it stopped the shaking). Subtotal: 252 calories, 6g protein, 29g carbs, 12g fat
Dinner: Chicken and mango stir fry (last lot, will have to make some more- will probably adapt again as the sweetness didn't work for leftovers) and 50g basmati rice. Subtotal: 511 calories, 19g protein, 75g carbs, 15g fat.
Dessert: 2 kiwi fruit (total weight 162g) and 10g chocolate. Subtotal: 133 calories, 2g protein, 22g carbs, 3g fat.
Total: 1704 calories (90%), 70g protein, 238g carbs, 47g fat, under sodium allowance.

The dinner type meal in the middle of the day, while it helped at the gym, definitely bumped my calories up so I didn't have as much to play with for snakcs and things (although the post-gym snack was pretty big as well, given I had two things. The fruit and nut Graze things are ideal for gym snacks, as they have carbs/ sugar and protein. There must be a better way than having two things)
 
Amy your reports of your bodily reactions to your exercise program are so interesting. I've just now googled shaking after exercise and just in reading a few responses found some interesting thoughts around. Looks like nothing too serious. Things like small muscle tears, lack of oxygen in your muscles, working really hard, and so on. There's a variety of expression and some of it sounds unlikely until someone else explains it better.

I think the giddiness is probably lack of oxygen.

God, isn't google great!

About swimming. I'm a pretty good swimmer, though like anyone, if i haven't been doing it for a while, it will take a while to build up swimming fitness. Even though you are fit for the gym, you may have a way to go to be fit for the pool. Years ago, a woman i lived with experienced this. She'd been going to the gym for a couple of months, then tried out the local olympic pool only to find out that swimming one lap was hard yacker for her. Just showed, how much work she still had to do.

Anyway its great you are swimming. Swimming is a nice exercise that doesn't overly strain the body.

As to how other people swim, many people just don't get taught properly how to swim and never learn to do the breathing properly.
 
It'll be interesting to hear reports about what your boyfriend's friends say :D :D
Another great day, well done.
 
Thanks for the responses- I'll read them all in detail and respond properly when I get back from my day out. Very very quick update to say that I'm down another kilo. 70kg now, and for some reason more pleased with this kilogram lost than any of the others before.
 
Another 2.2lbs down.
Hmm it's probably more pleasing because you're working so hard for it and looking amazing for it.

Lalala so happy for you.
Enjoy your day <333
 
Had a fantastic day out yesterday. It was a perfect day weatherwise- went to the ruins of a small castle about an hour and a half's drive from where I live- brilliant views, lots of fun (unfortunately up a very steep hill so my sore legs- yes, they're still sore- suffered a bit). No comments from anyone about my size specifically, but I had some pictures taken of me and I was surprised at just how good I looked, even from my very critical eyes.

Not so great on the diet front. I think this is very instructive as to why I wasn't losing weight before I started calorie counting. OK, some of the stuff I ate I've always known was bad. But some of the bigger things I ate calorie wise were things I'd though were healthy.

This is guesswork/ recollection/ estimation of weight and getting close enough's on Google. I don't have a breakdown of macronutrients today.

Breakfast: 2 rashers of bacon, a slice of seeded bread (cut in half and made into a sandwich) and a tablespoon of tomato ketchup. A cup of tea with semi-skim milk.
Lunch: Two extra large brown baps (bread rolls- these came out at about 500 calories just for the bread!) with spread (chicken and stuffing flavour) and Tesco mixed spring salad. Three stuffed vine leaves, a couple of large clementines, a pot of pasta salad (chargrilled vegetables and pesto- one of the lower calorie choices of such in Tesco), the better part of a bottle of sugar free lemon and lime sparkling water, some blueberries, and a strawberry.
Ice cream: 3 scoops (yes, that was greedy of me, but it's a famous ice creamery that I can't normally get to, and I don't intend to do that for awhile) of ice cream (maple and walnut, English toffee, and honeycomb) on a sugar cone.
Dinner/ dessert: 2 pieces of baguette, 1/3 slice of ham, 1/6 slice pork pie (never had it before, wanted to try it), 2 precooked chicken wings, 3 baby beetroot, about 5 cherry tomatoes, a couple of radishes, some more blueberries, a crisp (yes, one, not a handful), two cups of tea with semi-skim milk (I think, I didn't see the milk in that case), a bottle of Bundaberg diet ginger beer, three pineapple lumps (a lolly from New Zealand), and a pack (two slices) of pre-made lemon slice cake.

I estimate this to come out at about 2910 calories (I've put this in my calorie counter under "blowout day"), which given my maintenance is 2385 and goal is 1885, is a really big blowout. I was surprised when totting this up how little some things came up at (two rashers of bacon had less calories than the one slice of the type of bread I had- bread in general was very "expensive"). I was surprised given how much I ate (it is a lot more than what I usually eat) that I wasn't anywhere near as satisfied (in the sense of full) as I normally would be.
 
Thanks, Andrea, for the research. I'm still going to talk to the doctor about it (going to call on Tuesday, forgot that Monday is a bank holiday), see what they say.
 
Amyyyyyyy.
*tackle hug* I MISSED YOU.

You should post the pics on here? I'd love to seeeee the pics that made you feel great about yourself.

That ice cream sounds DIVINE. Om nom nom.

Isn't it strange to think that before.. we'd go about our lives eating that amount of food and not really worry about it.
Or worry about it but not do anything to change it?

You still ate really healthily. Just a little more than usual. The change will probably do your body good and help aid post-exercise recovery.

Hmm.
I'm glad you're back, sounding happy and like you had an amazing time with your friends.
 
I love it that you called it a "crisp". My mother who's English always called them crisps. I never could.

I like the New Zealand lolly. No comment on the I*ecre*m.

A change of routine is always a good thing, especially if you can do it with good company.
 
The ice cream was so, so good. :drooling: Only available in the north-west, I'm afraid (not sure if it's even available outside that shop- which was in the middle of nowhere even in comparison to the castle, it seemed). (Totally worth the approx. 700 calories!) They had about 30 different flavours, but that's the kind of ice cream I choose when I have that sort of variety. As good as New Zealand ice cream, and heck, that's saying something.

The kinds of things I ate are sort of representative of how I used to eat (with the exception of the ice cream- well, I'd probably have something along those lines every couple of weeks, but a binge that big would be rare). It's a very big wakeup call from my perspective.

I've gotten used to the change in dialect, and here if you call them chips people get confused. There are certain things I stubbornly refuse to change on, but chip/ crisp is more hassle than it's worth. The pineapple lumps (they're sweets/ candy rather than (ice) lollies, for anyone who's not clear on my inconsistent use of dialect) were only 54 calories for the three, which surprised me.

Don't worry, this is not something I plan to do all the time, or even semi-frequently, and if I did it again I'd probably plan a little bit better so I can get stuff in on less calories. If I'd have left the bread out I would've been under maintenance- even including the ice cream, I think- that's how damaging the bread was.

I'm considering cutting my calories back by 100 or so for the next 10 days, although given I already make way under my calorie goal most days I'm not sure if it's necessary. Thinking about it.

Today, trying to get some work/ housework done, going shopping (forgot on Friday), and finding some new recipes. Am completely out of dinner type food. I think I might still give the gym a miss, my legs are still quite sore.

I'll take some photos, blot out my face, and stick them on my before/ after/ in between thread.
 
I'd love some suggestions on recipes and/ or recipe websites. I know I have plenty of my own, but I sometimes feel I play it a bit safe and I'd like to expand the kinds of tastes that I eat. Ideally (and I know this isn't great for most of the people who read my diary) I'd like a meat based dish (or one that can be made meat based), partly because I am an omnivore, and, way more importantly, because every time I get my iron tested I come out as borderline anaemic- supplements notwithstanding- and so I try to make sure I have a meat-based meal 5-7 days a week as hopefully an additional measure to keep me from getting sick.

Anyone got any ideas? (I was going to post this as a thread "where do you get inspiration for what food to cook" sort of thing, but I'm not sure if that's pushing it given there's a recipe section here)
 
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