Amy's weight loss diary

Isn't shivering a symptom of flu?
Oh man. This forum. We are connected through strange weakened immune systems.
Feel better.
I hope you dont get worse and that it's just a 24 hour thing.
 
Thanks :) I'm hoping it's just fatigue or something, that can really mess with me. Hope you're feeling better soon too.

This just went in the oven.

I've made it before, but tonight I made it with 40ml lemon juice and 48ml (oops! it was meant to be 40) orange juice (and as before, I've radically reduced the meat content. Making this with 5 chicken thigh fillets- 485g. Would have wanted 6 but there were 5 in a pack). It's been in the fridge for 24 hours marinating. I also don't baste as I don't know how, so what I did last time (it worked well) was cover it in foil for 30 min in the oven and for the final 15 take the foil off. I also don't bother with chives for garnish.

It's a small serving size, but it's low in calories (297/ serve according to the calorie calculator I just used) and can be supplemented with other things. I plan to have it with wholewheat couscous and steamed veggies (should put me up to about 500-600 calories for a big, big meal, which is the way I like it).
 
A couple of friends on Facebook and I exchange recipes a lot, and a couple of days ago one of them admitted her susceptibility to chocolate recipes, and asked us to stop torturing her (no, she's not on a diet, she's just a chocoholic). Of course, this means game on. I've been trying to find the ultimate chocolate recipes (don't worry, I have no intention of sharing) and I'm surprised how I'm not even remotely tempted by this stuff. It's excellent.
 
Chicken came out well, although it wasn't significantly different to making it originally. I think the next time I make it I might make it completely with lemon (I was afraid that'd be over the top) and either put orange on top as in the original recipe or leave it off (I think putting lemon on top would be over the top.

Also had my first cup of ice tea. Needed to dilute it about 3-1, and it was absolutely wonderful. No need for sugar. 184ml concentrate with another 100ml of water- a whopping great 4.6 calories :D
 
Food diary time- definitely time to stop eating today.

Monday 2 May

Breakfast: 46g oats (new type, cheaper, but marginally higher calorie), with 168ml milk and 81g summer fruit mix. Subtotal: 246 calories, 11g protein, 40g carbs, 4g fat.
Snack: 344g mango. Subtotal: 223 calories, 1g protein, 58g carbs, <1g fat.
Lunch: 2 slices rye bread, 61g plain cottage cheese, 10g honey, about a gram of spices (counted as 0.4g pepper, 0.7g basil, as there was more basil), and a 91g tomato. Subtotal: 257 calories, 12g protein, 44g carbs, 2g fat
Snack: 2 very large mugs of coffee with 203ml milk, a 72g plum, and a 77g kiwi fruit. Subtotal: 148 calories, 9g protein, 26g carbs, <1g fat.
Dinner: orange-lemon spiced chicken with 284g steamed carrot, 319g steamed zucchini, and 50g wholewheat couscous. With 184ml homemade iced tea. Subtotal: 652 calories, 41g protein, 98g carbs, 11g fat.
Dessert: 160g Greek yoghurt with 80g blueberries, 86g steamed plum, 126g steamed apple, and 10g honey. Subtotal: 266 calories, 10g protein, 43g carbs, 4g fat.
Total: 1795 calories (95%), 87g protein, 312g carbs, 25g fat, under sodium allowance.
 
I'm feeling better, I think. I'm no longer freezing, although I am still very fuzzy headed. Been a very unproductive day. Will try to get an early night and force myself into the gym first thing in the morning- maybe that'll give me a push to do more work later in the day.
 
Well, I was going to have an early night. Then I had a bit of a disaster in my kitchen (flood) and while it only took me about an hour to clean up, the washing is going to take awhile and I really can't just leave that to sit. FML.
 
sorry to hear about the flooding, good luck getting it cleaned up quickly especially while your not feeling well.
 
Noooooo kitchen disaster.
Hope nothing was ruined and that you had a good night.
 
Thanks :) I was up until 2am all told, then the sun woke me just before 8, so I'm not feeling too crash hot right now. Still waiting for the towels I chucked on the floor to dry properly (I chucked all of them on the floor as it was a sizeable flood... and so I need them to dry to have a shower let alone do anything). I think I might go to the gym anyway, see how I go with it. It may not be the best session but it's not going to kill me, and I haven't been since Friday (DOMS all gone now).

My boyfriend's been very bad at tracking his calories, but he's had a few things to stop him. I'm thinking (and he's agreed) that I should just work out his calories and a meal plan of sorts to get him on track, perhaps pitching it a bit lower than I otherwise would to account for his boy's night blowouts. Conceivably he could work on my calorie allowance, although he'd want more portable food than that (and there are a few things that wouldn't work, for example he doesn't like tomatoes so my lunch is completely out). Will need to think on it some. I bet he'd be thrilled if I could get Pepsi back into his diet, I think that's the one thing he really resents me cutting (that and bacon). Will have a chat with him when he's well enough, and will be taking some calorie controlled meals to him this evening as he's out of food and not well enough to go shopping.
 
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Carrie, I don't think anything was ruined- the water ran under some appliances (my toaster, kettle, coffee machine and coffee grinder) so I'm leaving them away from the kitchen near a heater to dry for a few days, and see how it goes. Nothing's noticeably ruined but I'm not taking any chances.
 
I thought I'd convert my figures into imperial so that the people who are reading know what the heck I'm talking about with my weight loss (I'm sure you guys hate googling conversions as much as I do!).

At the beginning of April I was 74kg, just over 163lb. I'm currently weighing in at just over 154lb, and I want to get down to just over 132lb (I've been that weight in my adult life, and it felt really good). At my highest weight in the last couple of years (that I know about), I was about 176lb.

I'm also happy to look at dress sizes. At my biggest in the last couple of years, I've been stretching UK/ AU size 14's, particularly on the bottom. I'm currently about a size 12. I'd like to get back down to being a small 10 on the top and a big 10 on the bottom, which is where I think I'll be at 60kg. (No idea what these are in US sizes, I'm afraid)
 
Oh my gosh, Amy, you're so teeeeeny.
How tall are you?
154lbs. THAT IS MY ULTIMATE GOAL man.
You're already my perfect weight. Jealous.

And you can nearly get into size 10. amazing.
I've never been a size 10 ever in my life haha.

You rule.
 
Thanks :) I'm 165cm tall, I think (maybe 167? can't remember exactly) which is about 5 foot 6 according to Google. I think you're taller than me though, aren't you? You look good already for your figure (and while I could probably manage at mine, I'm sure I can do better- I shouldn't be able to pinch inches).
 
As to scales, I'm not sure what they are. Mechanical, like yours. I was given them so I can't tell you what they are, but I'm working on a comparison basis. It may actually be that I weigh 71 or 69kg, but that number is still 4 less than the number I weighed at the beginning of April, if that makes sense. I'm doing this based on how I feel as much as what the numbers say.
 
Sounds like you're about where I am! Although a little taller than me :) I started out at about 220lbs (100kg). I have a hard time breaking down below 143 though... it's like my body flips out and rebels. I'm hoping that if I put on enough muscle I can still wear the smaller sizes, and the boost to metabolism will let me eat something I can live with regularly.

I also hear you on trying to figure out a play for your bf. My hubby's tastes are definitely different from mine. Especially in that he hates veggies in general, and despite the fact that he's trying to eat more... well, I make roasted asparagus A LOT. ... although he doesn't like big fat asparagus, and wants the skinny ones instead :p

I did get him to eat a kale and white bean salad recipe I found online that was pretty tasty. ( ) but he didn't even taste it the first time I made it :p

As for recipes... I actually started looking at Alton Brown's recipes from the food network, and now I have a habit of randomly googling ingredients for ideas. So far, some of the best received have been a marinated pork tenderloin and a turkey 'chili' that I sort of made up. The pork tenderloin is marinated in soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, kosher salt, garlic & onion powder and tarragon - not overnight though, it just doesn't work quite right. Then I brown it, and bake at 450F for about 20 minutes.

The turkey chile is ground 93/7% turkey, onions, white beans, salsa verde, and reduced fat Mexican cheese (Cheddar & Monterey Jack - shredded).

My sweetie also refuses to eat whole tomatos... although he figured out how to make his own sugar free ketchup from tomato paste...

We do still sometimes eat bacon... but definitely a lot less these days! Now I'll throw a single slice on top of an entire meatloaf for some flavor ;)

Anyway, hope you're feeling better! :)
 
Jeanette, I've been up at around 100kg, but not for a few years. The way I got past that was through illness, I can't imagine trying to do it the hard way! I'm just taking this as it comes, trying to do the right thing, and if the weight loss stalls significantly, probably asking for medical advice (and if I'm told "you're at a healthy weight, you shouldn't lose anymore", then I'll be ok with that- although I'll probably then work on definition to get down to the size I want, if I can).

My boyfriend isn't too bad on the veggies front- in fact he'll eat pretty much anything I put in front of him. It's just convincing him to cook (we don't live together), getting the ingredients to him (I live near a big supermarket, he only lives near convenience sized ones- neither of us have a car), getting him to take home cooked food to work (I think I've half won that battle), and minimising the damage from his boys' nights out (whether through reducing his calorie allowance the rest of the time or getting him to make better decisions, or both). I think I'm going to need his input on it though, and I'll wait for him to feel better. Fortunately I think I've done most of the groundwork already- when we first got together I point blank refused to eat the way he did and so he made a lot of radical changes then. It's just now making the change from "healthy" as I used to define it (which didn't work), to calorie controlled, which is what's working (and involves a lot less deprivation!).

Thanks for the suggestions for recipes!
 
Had a good session at the gym today. Did the upper body workout- not sure if I did something wrong because it wasn't hard at all. Then started to go on the crosstrainer and almost immediately thought "what am I doing that for? there's a pool in this gym! I'm going swimming!" I think it's a big change for me because when I first started swimming here I was embarrassed by others seeing me in my swimmers. Today I didn't care- and I haven't shaved my legs or underarms in nearly a week! I just wanted to go for a swim. Definitely getting fitter too- it's still tough, still stopping every 2-3 laps to take a breather, but I'm not panting and heaving like I was just a couple of weeks ago. Did 35 laps today, and am going to try to increase the number of laps I do each time I go. Might try 40 next time. I think I might start swimming more than using other cardio equipment.

Also, after gym snack. Had the Graze "Eldorado", which is a mix of dark chocolate covered cocoa beans, hazlenuts, and cranberries. Absolutely divine (although a little bit high on the calorie front- 249 calories). Sort of like Nutella (not quite as sweet) with some cranberries in it. And it was funny- I love cranberries, but by comparison to the other things, they were a letdown!

Definitely have to get an early night tonight. Seriously sleep deprived.
 
Had a good session at the gym today. Did the upper body workout- not sure if I did something wrong because it wasn't hard at all. Then started to go on the crosstrainer and almost immediately thought "what am I doing that for? there's a pool in this gym! I'm going swimming!" I think it's a big change for me because when I first started swimming here I was embarrassed by others seeing me in my swimmers. Today I didn't care- and I haven't shaved my legs or underarms in nearly a week! I just wanted to go for a swim. Definitely getting fitter too- it's still tough, still stopping every 2-3 laps to take a breather, but I'm not panting and heaving like I was just a couple of weeks ago. Did 35 laps today, and am going to try to increase the number of laps I do each time I go. Might try 40 next time. I think I might start swimming more than using other cardio equipment.

Also, after gym snack. Had the Graze "Eldorado", which is a mix of dark chocolate covered cocoa beans, hazlenuts, and cranberries. Absolutely divine (although a little bit high on the calorie front- 249 calories). Sort of like Nutella (not quite as sweet) with some cranberries in it. And it was funny- I love cranberries, but by comparison to the other things, they were a letdown!

Definitely have to get an early night tonight. Seriously sleep deprived.

Awesome session!
I think that swimming is...relaxing. I love the fact that i don't feel my sweat :D and the sensation of the water on my skin is...yes, relaxing, I do not know how else to say :D
 
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