Amy's weight loss diary

Glad you slept reasonably last night.
You sound so in control.

And fyi,, the reason i bring up the 20g of fat thing is cuz last summer i went to a fat camp for a month where we ate a strict calorie controlled diet and under 10g of fat per day and in the reading material they said to continue losing weight, we should stick to under 20g of fat per day. *shrug* But yeh if you're calorie counting then it's kind of irrelevant anyway.
 
This just... makes sense to me, you know? And I'm seeing results which I understand (rather than "scales go up, scales go down, and I have no understanding why"). It's a new feeling for me and I like it a lot.

Fair enough. I wasn't doubting what you were saying (you sounded like you got it somewhere authoritative) I just like to have reasonable backing before incorporating that sort of thing in my diet. What I did find was very limited (my diary was in the first two pages of google! yikes!) and seemed contradictory (on one site, it's touted as a great idea, but on another, apparently if you have a diet too low in fat for too long you run the risk of developing gall stones because your gall bladder alone needs 10g of fat a day, or something).

I find my macronutrients very difficult to control, to be honest. At the moment protein is in my sights, I'm trying to get 25%-30% of my day's intake that way, and I don't understand why it's so hard. I think the lentils definitely helped, and I'll be getting some more canned ones or cooking up the dried ones I have. (Meat is still my major source of protein, I think, but as a general rule- sometimes with the exception of, say, tuna mornay for lunch- I don't want to eat more than one meat portion a day. Milk definitely helps, so I've gone back to making my porridge with milk) Yesterday's being under 20g of fat was sort of a fluke.
 
Oh, by the way, when I weighed myself this morning, the extra kilogram I was stressing about seemed to have gone. Back down to 67. Which means I'm back into plateau territory, rather than "gain", which is psychologically a lot easier on me... although if I don't lose tomorrow it'll be 3 weeks of a plateau which is beginning to get a little bit frustrating. Not "I'm going to lose my mind" like yesterday, but definitely annoying.
 
Hey amy, just thought I'd drop by and say hi! You're doing really well hun, despite the plateau - which I'm sure will go away soon! Have you tried mixing up your calories, like one day eating 1600, the next day eating 1200 or something like that? Or tried a different exercise routine, like a dance class or a boxing class or something? Sometimes these can help to bust through a plateau. One thing I've read was to make your workouts shorter (like 30mins) but more intense, because this burns more calories afterwards (or something like that). Good luck hun! You're doing great!
 
Yay back to where you were.
You're doing everything righttt as we've said all along.
Glad you're back to having milk in your porridge.
Low fat dairy is good for you.
 
Thank you :) And particularly for the suggestions, aussiegal (I feel weird addressing you like that, as an expat in an area with not very many Australians... that's me!). I tend to just eat within a range (and I don't consciously plan it as such- more "that's low calorie, that should work out", and then eat what I want), but as it's a 500 calorie range I probably get some variation already in my diet. I think I'm going to be going to classes or similar when my gym membership expires (I'll be joining the gym when I get back from visiting my folks, but I'm not sure the numbers add up for the time I'll be away)- although in terms of intesity, my workouts tend to be long and intense (as in, much more intense and I start feeling like I want to vomit). (Side note, I have moderate DOMS- I can walk, but it's painful- today. I think upping the weights on my hamstring exercises is just what I needed) I tend to be a little bit conservative on changing things (I look at "cheat days", for example, and go "what are you, nuts? That's way too many calories, you'll blow your hard work!")- but if the plateau persists I'm going to talk to my doctor about it (who hopefully won't say "you have a healthy BMI stop stressing"... BMI isn't the be all and end all- I know neither is this number I have in my head, but at least that's based on something about me).

The thing that really upset me yesterday is that I couldn't think of any reason why I would be gaining weight. As you say, I'm doing everything right. My calories are low, my nutrition is good, my sodium is a little high but not critically so and I can't see it'd account for that kind of gain, and I exercise. I've always hated being punished for doing the right thing, and that's how I felt yesterday.

What I was trying to do was, rather than the milk, switch it up for (low fat) natural yoghurt. Which tasted good but was higher calorie for less protein punch. I still put a little natural yoghurt on my porridge, but almost a garnish now, rather than the whole thing. 300ml of milk adds about 100 calories, so it's not huge. (My breakfast was 284 calories)
 
Aw buddy. I know its frustrating when you hit a plateau and it must be driving you crazy, 3 weeks is a long time not to see a change. Keep doing everything fine and eventually you will see a change. Have you stepped up your exercise at all? I've found that upping it a little bit every time my weight loss starts to stall seems to get it going again.
 
Thanks :) I've been ok with the plateau- but yes, it's getting up to three weeks and it's a bit frustrating. I think that's why I went mental yesterday when I saw the scale go up (it's back down again and... I'm not counting it, it's not my weigh in day. Unfortunately, that day is tomorrow, and losing a kilo in a day seems... unlikely)

My exercise has been a bit low of late because I've been having trouble sleeping (and when I don't sleep properly I feel incredibly incapacitated). Only really gotten back to it in the last few days. Not sure what I'm going to do when my gym membership expires (on the 14th)- I'll have two weeks with no gym. I'll go to some classes, I think (there's a Zumba class across the road from me on Wednesday nights which I keep meaning to try, might try some others a bit further afield, go to 3-4 a week. Cheaper than the gym options for those two weeks, even if it is a few quid a lesson), and try to walk more (weather's pretty decent here lately), maybe do the strength/ conditioning section on my aerobics tapes (or maybe even do them twice in a row. I say them and not the main sections as I live in a flat and don't want to jump in here). I might also find out how much the public pools around here charge for admission (my gym has a pool but a "day pass" is a tenner- sod that)

Am feeling good for getting back into the exercise.
 
Ah, I had no idea. That makes me feel a lot better- I finally got back to the gym, so I really was doing the right thing, and the numbers went up the next day. That makes sense. Thanks :D
 
Anyone who knows- how does one go about finding casual fitness classes in your area? I'm not sure what I want- Zumba, I want to try, maybe some other things- something to replace my gym membership in the two weeks I won't have it before I go back to Australia, something a bit different to change it up a bit. (I'd ask about my area because there are people floating around here from the same city... but I'm not comfortable saying where I am)
 
Have you tried googling 'exercise classes' in your area? Or something similar. Youre getting a Doctorate. I'm pretty sure you'll figure it out.
 
I've tried that. I know I'll figure it out eventually, I was just wondering if I was missing something because the results I was getting were... less than desirable. Combination of "here's a class- have fun on your three hour return trip" and pole dancing :eek: and tantric massage (I promise I did nothing to encourage that kind of result!), with very little actually in the way of what I wanted! I know there are classes in the student-heavy suburbs near me, my friends talk about them a lot- my impression was that there are a lot of classes in those areas (which are 10 min bus ride from me). But if the internet's to be believed, they don't exist. Irritating as hell.
 
You should ask around a bit. Maybe your gym do classes you could pay for seperately without a membership. Zumba sounds like so much fun.

What are you doing your doctorate in?
 
I know my gym doesn't do classes :) Too small, no room for them. I'll keep looking around and ask some people.
 
Oh, and I haven't done pictures for awhile :)

This is my new coffee. And the lentil patty I had for lunch (they're ok calorie wise if you cut the serving size down, albeit a little high in fat because I screwed them up), with sweet chilli sauce on top. It may not look appealing, but it's delicious.
 
amy1985 said:
I'm going to be seeing someone on Monday who hasn't seen me in nearly a year. Hmm... what shall I wear? :D
Click to expand...

oooooh that's so exciting!! i think you should wear some nice dark jeans if you have any and a cute top. if not maybe a nice summer dress? your friend will be so impressed when they see you :)

also my curves gym has zumba mixed in, and you can burn 500 cal doing it. but curves might be a little lame for you because you're already really great at working out. other than that, i suggest maybe looking in the yellow pages and phoning around.
 
I definitely have dark jeans. And I bought some nice tops recently. Probably with one of my jackets or something. (Dress? Me? :smilielol5: That requires having confidence in one's legs. Although... maybe I should buy a dress next summer. I'm not going to be around for long enough this summer, and it's too damn cold in this part of the world to wear a skirt at any other time of year)
 
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