DIARY FOR A NEW LIFESTYLE

Day 14


I love this scheduling thing! I (almost) followed my written schedule to the letter!


The only variation is dinner. Not horrible, but I did have 2 chicken nuggets with my low carb meal, and a few nuts (about 10/15). We had an unexpected guest, and there wasn't enough low carb food to go around, I was still hungry, so I ate those nuggets. But I didn't have ice cream! and then I worked until 12:30. I was exhausted by the time I went to bed, but that night stretch and the day's work means I did some real progress on my proposal. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!!


Ok today.


Breakfast: Atkins crepe

Lunch: crab salad.


I had a dentist appointment. I have to keep these braces another two months. :(


this is my schedule for the rest of the day:

13:00 to 17:00 read, research, WRITE


17:00 go home and spend time with my son. I miss him!


20:00 dinner with hubbby. Not even one cheat tonight.


21:00 to....? FINISH my proposal tonight!!!!!
 
Hey girl! Your doing great! Keep it up!


If you could, remind me what this proposal is for???


I just finished my last final of the semester today, I'm so relieved!! lol
 
Hi Munch, congrats on finishing your finals, I know that must feel good!


I'm writing a proposal to apply to a PhD program. I did finish it yesterday and I was all excited about it.I don't know what happened, but today I hate it! I think I just have been working too much on it, I'm going to take a day off, and see how I feel about it after that...Anyway,I don't have time to re-write it, the deadline is Jan.15 and I have 2 other articles to write...


Thanks for the support by the way!:)


Day 15


breakfast: Atkins crepe

Lunch: salad. By around 4 I was feeling really depressed about my application. I worked all morning on filling out the form for Concordia and McGill, and I just stopped feeling good about my research topic. So of course I wanted to eat a muffin, a doughnut, or anything sugary and puffy. But it wasn't an uncontrollable urge like last time, more like an old reflex. Instead I had a chicken caesar salad.

dinner: meat balls with tahina dip - low carb no sugar choc mousse (big serving, so probably too much cream)
 
I sooo know how you feel about your proposal. While I haven't written one, I've definitely had the same feeling about papers I've written before.


Good job on resisting the sugary puffed goodness. I have times like that when I think everything is awful and I immiediatly just want to eat something awful for myself that will completely blow my calories for the day. Just like you though, I'm getting better at resisting.


It's hard to not think of this as a diet. We've got to remember this is our new lifestyle!
 
Day 16


Breakfast: atkins crepe

snack a little cheese with thyme dip

Lunch/snack/dinner we had a friend for lunch and I made a conscious decision to have a cheat day. It wasn't stress, or emotional eating, I just really wanted to cheat. What can I say...

So.....grilled chicken and meat skewers, fries (don't know how much, regular portion I guess) hummus. Then 2 1/2 servings ice cream. Then, pitta bread with thyme dip and leftover hummus, taboule salad.


Day 17


My weigh in day: 74kg Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!
I'm really pissed off and feeling very dejected. I have to ignore this feeling of failure and push through.


This week I will cut dairy out. Dairy will be a cheat. Let's see if this works. I've had a few stressful, negative thinking days and that hasn't helped the cravings or portion control either, but I really thought I would lose just a little, I certainly didn't think I would GAIN!


Today I will:


have breakfast now: eggs and bacon

go to my casting session.

back at 1:00 spend quality time with my son who's sick.

at around 2:30 I will have a pure paleo lunch (need to check what's in the fridge)

after lunch I will revise my proposal.

I will drink lots of water, occasional tea.

I will have a pure paleo dinner.

I will sleep early (was up all night trying to get my son's fever down)


Update: I did everything I said I would do. Except dinner, we're not there yet. I'm happy with my proposal now, unless I have a change of heart tomorrow, I will put it aside and start working on my articles.


BREAKFAST: 3 eggs and bacon

LUNCH: 1 beef skewer

DINNER: beef stew and 1/2 peperroni stick. 2 small cucumbers


I didn't drink enough water, and I didn't sleep early....


This is my schedule for tomorrow:


9:00 go to uni. prepare quiz for 12:00

Mail BU to send transcripts to Concordia.

Mail dad to get my transcripts from LAU mailed to McGIll and Concordia.

then start researching article no. 1 (film critique?)

12:00 quiz

13:00 paleo lunch (no dairy)

14:00 keep researching for article 1. snacks, coffee, tea, WATER

18:00 go home, quality time with my son. Put him to bed, then paleo dinner and quality time with hubby.

21:00 start writing article 1 - snack tea and water
 
Holy Moly Issakova...you are quite the planner...your life is planned right down to the minute! And I thought I was bad!

About the weight...don't stress it too much...I've found my body reacts to all that negative energy...in a negative way! What you felt when the scale showed a gain was exactly whey I don't weigh very often (most of the time 1/month, on the 1st day of the month). Over the years, I've come to know my body and the weight fluctuates (OK, in the past it has mostly gone up...not too many times down!)..especially at "that time of the month...or 2 weeks after "that time" it goes up...fluid retention or something...anyway, keep your goal in sight and keep doing all the right things, and it will come back down...I promise! My personal weight loss has started to slow down now...but it is still coming off when I keep looking at the long haul. You might consider taking some measurements of your bust, waist and hips in addition to your weight. I've found that doing that 1/month (normally around the 15th) is a motivating (often rewarding) experience. I track that on a simple excel sheet showing my progress. I add all the "inches" or "cm" together for a total and have seen that number come down over the months... something to think about.

Take care and keep doing the right things!!


Sarah
 
Hi Munch, you're absolutely right, and thank you for remind me that this is a lifestyle, not a diet! When I started thinking like that again, I just let go of those negative feelings about not losing and got right back on track. Thanks for the support!


Sarah, you made me laugh! :) I am becoming a schedule monster! But I'm finding it really helps, if I write it down, it just sets me up for the day, and I do most of what I've written!

I will take some measurements tomorrow morning, you're right, that will be motivational.


Have a good day girls!


Breakfast: Atkins crepe (I will keep this - and its 2 tbsp of cream- because it's the only thing i can have for breakfast that doesn't make me gag, and it fills me up for a long time)
 
Day 18


So far I'm on schedule today. I was thinking maybe if I schedule "September 2012: start McGill PhD courses" I might actually get into the program! wouldn't that be something! :D


breakfast: atkins crepe

lunch: crab and chicken salad

dinner: 3 small chicken burger patties + 1/2 grilled chicken breast + cauliflower and 2 small cucumbers


I read a lot today, but wasn't able to define what my firsrt article was going to be about. I guess I need to read more tomorrow. The deadline is just stressing me like crazy!
 
Day 19




today's schedule:


it's now 13:30 ( I slept late, spent time with my son and now I'm at uni)

14:00 distribute exercise in class

14:00 to 20:00 read, read, read, research, and hopefully start article no 1.

around 15:00 paleo lunch

around 20:30 paleo dinner


breakfast: 2 atkins crepe. I was still hungry from yesterday (I ate dinner early, and I was hungry at 9 but I got busy and forgot about it)

lunch: crab and tuna salad

dinner: (went out) 2 sushi rolls, 2 salmon sashimi, 2 small/med. pieces of grilled salmon, 1 crab and avocado salad



drink water!


I don't know how productive I can be today because I have to keep popping in and out of class. so a lot of interruptions.


I mailed my research interest to a professor. I'm soooo anxious about his response. The last professor I mail didn't reply at all! I should mail him back...I'm just too anxious about him saying "sorry! not interested at all in your topic!" so I'm delaying it...


I haven't done any of my christmas shopping yet....:(


update: I've started writing my first article. So far it's a very crappy first draft, but still, it's good to have something on paper. Next I will finish it, then revise it probably 4 or 5 times before finalizing it. Another update, I did some christmas shopping...
 
Thanks Sarah!


It's not my birthday though :D


I tried to look at my profile to see whether I've mistakenly posted my birthday, but no, and I can't figure out why you think it's my brithday...:) but thanks anyway! It was not too long ago (November)so I'll take it as a belated wish :)
 
Day 20


Breakfast: Atkins crepe

Lunch: chicken caesar salad + 3 mini burger patties

Dinner: 1 large meatball, 1 chicken breast (oven baked) some grilled zucchini and carrots, 1 boiled egg


I was very hungry, so at 10:00 i have a few bites of leftover salad (lettuce, cheese and sesame dressing)


I finished my first article!!!!!!!!!!!!!! still have to revise it, probably 3 or 4 times before it's final, but I have a good full draft! Everytime I finish something, I feel a bit lighter, wouldn't it be great if that translated on the scales too! wishful thinking!!!


I'm going to the mall now, hopefully I can finish my christmas shopping.


This is my schedule for tomorrow:


morning: sleep!! I have to catch up on some sleep. My son has been waking up several times every night the past 3 or 4 nights.

then spend quality time with my son

around 13:00 paleo lunch

more quality time with my son

14:30 go to uni and starts researching article no.2

18:30 back home, quality time with my son, put him to bed.

around 19:30 dinner and quality time with hubby

around 21:00 research and start writing (?) article 2
 
Glad I could help issakova!


Sounds like your getting on a roll, keep it up.


It may not have been your birthday, but I think you should still take some time to celebrate you! You're doing well and it might help you relax a little bit. Bubble bath, at home facial, or asking your hubby for a nice back massage should do the trick!


Happy writing! :)
 
Hey Issakova,

I'm not sure where I got this birthday thing from...but, glad you took it as a belated wish! When you get older (>50) sometimes things like that happen!

Merry Christmas and I look forward to continuing this journey together in the new year!

Sarah
 
So I've been away because very busy, but I've been (mostly) good.


Day 21 (Wednesday)

breakfast: atkins crepe

lunch: I don't remember! (but I ate at home, so must've been a meat stew or something like that)

went to uni in the afternoon and did a lot of reading, but no writing on my second article

dinner: went out with a friend, had eggplant parmigiana and beef piccata with mushroom creamy sauce.


Day 22 (Thursday)

breakfast: atkins crepe (i'm perfecting it, it's getting much tastier now!)

mid-breakfast: chef salad

lunch: crab salad (yes I was hungry that day...)

dinner: roast beef with carrot and celery mash


Have written one measly paragraph of my second article, and will probably have to re-write it. It was painful! I was stressing out about Christmas presents. Went to the mall at 4:30 and at 8:00 I had finally finished buying my presents. It was not fun (I haaaate shopping!! especially when the mall is super crowded)


Day 23 (Friday)

breakfast Atkins crepe (no I'm not bored, it's my only sweet tasting food of the day)

(restaurant) lunch chicken caesar salad, filet with pepper sauce and a little bit of blue cheese sauce, some veggies.

dinner: small bowl of chicken and eggplant stew.
 
Day 24 (Saturday)


weigh in day. I've come to dread the scales.... so I decided to take my measurements first.


Waist: WAS 78cm

Today: 76cm, - 2 cm YAYYY!!! I can definitely feel it!


Weight: 73kg

that's - 1 kilo. Good, I'm happy.


Today is Christmas Eve! My poor hubby hasn't found me a present yet, so he's off to look for something.


Today I will:


have a paleo lunch

have a regular Christmas dinner and not stress about it. I will listen to my body and not stuff myself but stop when I'm full.

I doubt that I will get any work done, my son has a little friend over and they're shouting and screaming so no hope for concentration, beside I really don't feel like it. Which means next week will be crunch week because I have about 15 days left...


this is a summary of how I'm feeling after 24 days of Paleo (1st 2 weeks were dairy, last week dairy free with few cheats)


I no longer have the uncontrollable urge to snack. I have 3 meals, and lately, dinner has been smaller (unless I'm out - going out is still more of a temptation but it's getting easier)

I no longer have crazy cravings for sweets. From time to time I feel like having something sweet, but it's not even a craving, just a feeling that I can let go of.

I'm no longer bloated.

I feel generally much better, much healthier. That's what kept me going last week when I saw I had put on some weight (which now I think was water weight because it was that time of the month. I was disappointed that the weight had gone up, but I couldn't contemplate going back to my previous diet of eating anything and everything because that made me feel so bad physically AND mentally. So Paleo is good for me!


UPDATE: well, I should've read this last paragraph a couple of times before I went on with my day....

I guess my mind was in that state of mind "if I'm going to cheat tonight, I might as well start this afternoon" which I did! I wouldn't have felt bad if I had stuck to cheating at night, but I was having some quality time with my family, snuggling on the couch, watching a nice movie, and one thing led to another :D first it was popcorn, then it was chocolate....

At night I had turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, salad followed by apple crumble with vanilla ice cream and a small piece of chocolate cake, and 2 whiskey/coke


Day 25


and the bad got worse...no comment. Now I know for sure that sugar and carbs just lead to more sugar and carb and worst of all to this really nasyt feeling of having absolutely no control over my food. It's not fun, and it's not worth it. maybe we I'm strong enough to be able to control the slide, i can cheat once and a while, but not yet, it's wayyy to soon!

breakfast was the usual

lunch was salad, hummus, bean salad, small piece of smoked salmon, pasta with mushroom and cream, 2 small pieces of chocolate cake

and it's at night that it went really downhill.....pita bread with thyme dip (in the kitchen standing up), followed by 3 mini hotdogs with some rice (my son's leftovers), another pita bread with turkey slices, a huge bucket of cheese popcorn (while watching a movie) 1 twix, and 1 galaxy bar. WOW! I hadn't even realized it was that bad...Merry Christmas!
 
Day 26


Back on Track.


Breakfast: Atkins crepe


Today's schedule:


11:00 to 14:00: read, research and wrtie article no.2

14:00 - 15:00 go to class

15:00 to 16:00 crab salad lunch

16:00 - 17:00 read some more, write

17:00 - 18:00 go to class

18:00 to 20:00 read - write (maybe dinner somwhere here if I'm hungry, or I'll wait until I get home)


UPDATE: everything went according to plan!

lunch: crab salad and chicken with salami (subway)

dinner: sauteed fish, 1 mini chicken burer patty


I wrote 2 pages of my second article, woohoo!
 
Day 27


breakfast: atkins crepe


today's schedule:

10:00 - 12:00: review my proposal + prepare final exam review for class

12:00 - 13:00 class

13:00 lunch

14:00 to 17:00: work on article no. 2 (If I got feedback by then)

17:00 second casting call

18:00 go home, quality time with my son, dinner

21:00 (depends how far I've gone with my paper) either rest or write some more.


UPDATE: lunch 2 lettuce wrapped burgers with a little cheese

dinner: 3 mini beef burger patties


Someone said my proposal was confused, now all I want to do is punch a wall and eat a huge bucket of ice cream. It's unreal how much emotions affect my eating patterns. I have to resist this urge, it's only going to make me feel worse anyway, so what's the point? I need to stop taking things so personally. Maybe I can sleep earlier tonight, will help resisting the call for sugar, and it will also help restore some strength...tomorrow is a different day, with a different perspective.


Second UPDATE: The craving was driving me crazy, I almost gave in but then I made myself a small portion of choc. mousse (2tbsp cream, 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa: 90cal. 6g carbs) and it helped take the edge off a little. But this is for emergencies only, won't do this every night.
 
Day 28


Different day, but not different perspective unfortunately. Still feel the "blah".


breakfast: 2 atkins crepe

lunch: shawarma beef/chicken. was yucky, didn't finish it.

I haven't started working on my article yet, it's 2:00....big blah...
 
Hey issakova,

Sound like you need to change things up a big and get out of the blahs...instead of planning your day, you might want to have a day where you have some freedom of choice and so something nice foryou (heaven knows you know how to beat yourself up (we all do!)...but do you know how to treat yourself without it being food related (a nice bubble bath, a pedicure/manicure, a new pair of socks?...etc) Give yourself a little break girl and be nice to you! For the sugar and carbs...couldn't agree more...for me, they are triggers for me...a little is never enough, and when I start, I can't stop until there is no more...so I've found for me, it's better just to go cold turkey and stop. Tough, but effective! I've found that I can get enough "sweet" taste with the occasional fruit...and I don't go crazy eating a whole bag of apples (as opposed to being able to eat a whole bag of cookies!)...I also didn't see where you were exercising...I've found that when I exercise, it helps keep the cravings down.

So get out there and be nice to you today, and know that we're right here with you!


Sarah
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top