Emily's weightloss diary

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Boslo

New member
Like most people here I'm looking to gain some reinforcement of my healthy food choices by starting a public food diary.

I've decided to go the cold turkey route to try and kick my sugar/fat/bad carb addictions by eliminating (and then slowly reintroducing in moderation) all dairy, meat, alcohol (oh no!), and processed foods for a week, starting today. Fingers crossed my cravings will be less strong by the end of it.

Here's todays effort:
Breakfast: Fresh fruit juice, muesli with soy milk
Lunch: Buckwheat pasta and steamed vegetables
Snacks: 3 plums, dried fruit and nut mix, kitkat chunky (failll)
Dinner: 2 Ryvita's with soft tofu, tomato and roast capsicum.

Since I've started trying to be healthy I've found that my biggest problem is that about 4pm I start craving chocolate/icecream/straight sugar packets etc. Doesn't matter how full/hungry I am or what I'm doing, I hit the chocolate hard...up to two family blocks hard. Anyone got any great ideas to overcome this mid-afternoon craving?

Also, if anyone has some advice as to whether this is a suitable diet (minus the kitkat of course) for someone looking to lose almost 2lbs a week? (Combined with running 3-4kms a day)

I figure its probably a good idea to keep myself doubly accountable by posting weekly weigh-ins, so today's weight is 140lbs (Aiming for 15lb weight loss over 2 months)

Anyway, I'll try my best to keep daily updates coming :)
 
So today was a good day, I faced the scales and I’ve lost a kilo/2lbs in the last week, putting me at about 62kg (138.5lbs) he first time my weight has ever headed in a negative direction. EVER. I actually think this may be easier than I first thought!

So, todays effort:
1 Fresh fruit juice
1 Small bowl muesli with soy milk
1 Handful mixed nuts/dried fruits
2 Ryebread sandwiches with tomato, seeded mustard and bean sprouts
2 Plums
2 Ryvita’s with honey

On the exercise front I went for a 20 minute run (cut short by a refreshing sudden-onset torrential downpour), and spent half an hour hitting some new highscores on WiiFit yoga. I’m feeling a bit of tightness in my calves, but apart from that things aren’t too bad.

I am however struggling with the fact that it is a Saturday and my self-imposed alcohol ban for 2 weeks is severely dampening my social life. Not just the alcohol, but the associated late night kebabs, the hangover bacon and eggs etc. Ah well, small sacrifice for a worthwhile goal I guess.
 
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you seem to be lacking protein in your diet and you calories may be to low depending on portion size, meals with a good amount of protein will help keep you full for longer which should help combat those choc binges.
 
Oh good point I hadn't noticed how lacking in protein my current diet is at the moment. I'll try introducing a glass of soy milk or something with lunch (trying to cut out meat and dairy at the moment so I'm not really sure what other good sources of protein there are) and that will hopefully keep me fuller through the afternoon.
 
Congratulations on your weight loss so far Boslo. :)

May I ask why you're cutting out meat? You said you plan on reintroducing it later on, so I'm assuming you're cutting it out to cut down on fat and what not. If that's the case, certain cuts of meat are far more healthy than others. I'd say bacon is defiantly a no-no on a diet, but a nice chicken breast with some salad or some rice makes for a great, healthy meal.

Anyways, as for non meat related protein sources, they're easier to find than you'd think. You're off to a good start by drinking soy milk as it's a good source of protein. Tofu is also full of protein. You might want to try incorporating some beans into your diet as well. They're full of protein, fiber and they're filling. Something like black beans is good for homemade burritos. Nuts and seeds are also a great source of protein (although, you have to be careful as they have quite a bit of fat in them). Almonds are probably your best bet.

Good luck with your weight loss.
 
:waving: hii !

wow your kinda doin the same thing i am.. cutting out junk so that you can reintroduce them in moderation! ... its much than having a bit of choco and trying to stop after it :D

you shud count calories tho so that you know your not going under the necessary amount..

if you calculate your BMR (basal metobolic rate?) itl give you the amount of calories you shud eat a day to maintain your weight..ya can do it on the internet but make sure you multiply it by the number given for your activity level
( which is usually 1.2= sedentry 1.375 lightly active..etc... it shud come up on the bmr calculator but just make sure it does)

and for every pound a week you wanna lose you deduct 500 cals a day..
e.g your bmr =2200 @2 pound a week .. 1200 a day or you could eat 1700 and burn 500

but really ya shud never go under 1200 and dont think ya shud deduct more than 1000 cals from the food u eat...

my BMR is currently 2193 so im my limit is 1193 a day .. however i tend to go under that :( which i really shudn!
 
I agree, you should aim for more protein, it'll help to keep you fuller longer.

I choose to get mine from ONLY seafood and chicken/turkey breast. I don't mess with red meat or pork anymore, to me they do more harm than good (though they taste AmAzInG). I call my eating habits pollo-pescatarian, though it's primarily pescatarian as the only poultry i eat is the breast (so no Wing Nights for me!)

There are some pretty lean cuts of red meat and pork out there, so if you choose not to deprive yourself, look for those. They are a bit more expensive tho.....
 
Boslo said:
Oh good point I hadn't noticed how lacking in protein my current diet is at the moment. I'll try introducing a glass of soy milk or something with lunch (trying to cut out meat and dairy at the moment so I'm not really sure what other good sources of protein there are) and that will hopefully keep me fuller through the afternoon.
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some protein rich foods include, lentils, kidney beans, soy beans, nut (beware the fat content), eggs, at your weight you need around 62 grams of protein per day, more if you are doing any strength training.

also from your diet iron levels also look a little low so it might be a good idea to add in some non-heme iron foods because your not eating meat, you should have a source of vit C when eating this type of iron to help absorbsion.
 
Thanks for all the advice guys.

Cellerystick: Yeah I'm basically cutting out meat so I can break my habits because it usually constitutes such a large portion of my calories (I could pretty much eat my bodyweight in steak), but you're right, it might be worth reintroducing some chicken or turkey or other lean cuts in moderation. I'll also try adding beans of some variety to my salads to up my protein intake, thanks for the suggestion.

Diamondapple: How's cutting out junk altogether working for you? Are you finding your cravings are less? I just calculated my bmr as per your suggestion and I should be eating about 1300 calories daily to to achieve my weight loss goals, I think I'm eating pretty close to that at the moment which is good. Yeah its probably not a very good idea for you to regularly go under your recommended daily intake , but I understand how easy it is to get overeager when you decide to start losing weight and take things a little too far at first but I'm sure you'll slip into a more sustainable pattern after a while.

Superstar: Unfortunately I hate seafood but I love turkey so I'll try adding either turkey or tofu for protein to my lunch each day to keep cravings at bay through the afternoon. Congrats on steering away from pork and red meat, I agree, taste sooo good but don't do much good!

Trusylver: Yeah it seems as though I may have designed this diet a little rashly without considering all that I should have (protein, iron intake etc), because I was eager to get started. I might spend some time today researching exactly what I should be getting each day so I'm getting healthier and not just skinnier.
 
Boslo said:
Diamondapple: How's cutting out junk altogether working for you? Are you finding your cravings are less? I just calculated my bmr as per your suggestion and I should be eating about 1300 calories daily to to achieve my weight loss goals, I think I'm eating pretty close to that at the moment which is good. Yeah its probably not a very good idea for you to regularly go under your recommended daily intake , but I understand how easy it is to get overeager when you decide to start losing weight and take things a little too far at first but I'm sure you'll slip into a more sustainable pattern after a while.
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To my own surprise...its alot easier than i thought...the first few days i was dyin for junk but i brought packed lunch (rice cakes) to skul to snack on, id make sure i ate breaky and then id have a lovely big dinner:drool5: (under my calories of corse:)) that i wud usualy split in half so that id have sumat to eat laterwhen i was peckish! =]

so everytime i had a craving for sweets id just think "B ya've got a lovely dinner at home waitin to be eaten and if u have that choco now ya can just go ryt ahead and starve all nyt" lol

im on day 10 of my diet... i dont get hungry any more cos everything is split into small regualar meals... still get some small cravings but there not all that hard to ignore..and if i break i hace 1 cola jelly

ive also learned a lot about my eating habits.. like how i wud eat twice as much as necessary and if it tasted really nice id go and have more EVEN if i wasn hungry.. now i appreciate each meal as tho it was my last, everything tastes about 3 times better (!), im a slower eater and i distract my self after each meal!

plus ive lost about 3-6 pounds on this diet ( i cant say for sure all 6 was on this diet but i think they were :D )

1300 calories sounds like a gr8 amount and if u plan ur food the nyt b4 ull know wat ur gna eat and appreciate it all the more :D
 
Okay so about a week in and I’m noticing I have a little more energy than usual (although that could just be because of my first alcohol free weekend in a while…finally admitted to myself that the calories in alcohol do, in fact, count).

So, what I ate today:
Fresh fruit juice
Muesli with soy milk
Cashews and dried cranberries (went absurdly overboard with these but that was instead of my usually unavoidable chocolate binge so I guess it’s still a step in the right direction)
2 Tuna, kidney bean and tomato sandwiches on rye bread (trying to up my protein)
Carrot and celery sticks with honey
2 plums.

Also, the last week has brought some cooler weather (about 80 degrees Fahrenheit…yeah I know all you snowed in American’s probably hate me right now haha) making jogging outside possible which I infinitely prefer to the treadmill, so I went for another jog today, I’m sticking to short distances, about 2-3km, so I can do it everyday and not need a rest day in between. Oh and I’ve decided to only let myself weigh myself twice a week. Those daily fluctuations you see weighing yourself daily are too frustrating and probably not even a really good indicator of overall weightloss. Anyway, I’m actually excited to weigh myself come Tuesday, anticipating a positive result!
 
I really do hate you right now.

It's 24 degrees F over here with a windchill of 10. Well it's sounds like your food intake is becoming more and more well rounded. Not to nit-pick, but do you not like green veggies? Spinach? Broccoli? Those kinds of things? B/c it doesn't seem as though you get enough of those.

Just looking out for ya!

:D
 
Superstar922 said:
I really do hate you right now.

It's 24 degrees F over here with a windchill of 10. Well it's sounds like your food intake is becoming more and more well rounded. Not to nit-pick, but do you not like green veggies? Spinach? Broccoli? Those kinds of things? B/c it doesn't seem as though you get enough of those.

Just looking out for ya!

:D
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Ha well if it makes you feel any better its probably about as fun exercising in 24 degree heat as it is in 107 degree heat.

I do like green veggies a lot, I just hate cooking so I tend to go for stuff that can be eaten raw like beans and carrots and tomato. It's probably worth trying to get some spinach or something into my diet for the iron though.
 
Ooh boy, such a fail today but I'm gonna force myself to write it down or I'll just pretend it didn't happen. So:

1 cup fruit juice
1 bowl muesli with soy milk
1 Salad
(so far so good right? UNTIL...)
1 bag salt and vinegar chips
1 snickers duo
1/2 serve pad thai

I was expecting, following this, an intense feeling of shame. What I was not expecting, was that after a week or so of healthy eating this kind of food would cause a stomach ache so intense I could barely sit upright for an hour. Epic fail.

Also on the exercise front, this may sound stupid but I'm sure many females out there can actually relate, but I washed my hair last night, and I went out tonight so I didn't want to exercise this morning 'cause I didn't want to have to wash my hair again.

So to sum up, today = junk food + no exercise + big party tomorrow that I had planned on going to svelte and sexy.

Ah well, will get up tomorrow and run 5km or so to make myself feel a little better.

P.s Went 'incentive shopping' today as I like to call it. As in where you buy clothes a size too small for you so that getting skinny doesn't just mean a better body, but a hot new wardrobe to show it off in. Lol. I'm betting there's a lot of other women out there who do this.
 
CONFESSION TIME. This is my first diary in a few days, during which time I fell off the weightloss wagon in a big way. Without listing every single junk food indiscretion of the last 3 days, the main dietary staples were sausage sandwiches, chips and dip, jack daniels and greasy kebabs.

I've found myself surprised over the last couple of weeks at how easily healthy eating seems to come, but I'm realising this only applies when at home or in a controlled environment. Given that I cant imagine anyone is willing to give up their social life to achieve their weightloss goals (and no-one wants to be "that girl" that asks the host for an apple when everyone else is digging into some grease hangover morning pizza) I'm wondering how everyone else manages to stay healthy in social situations cause I'm having real trouble with it.


Anyway, back to what I had today:
1 fresh fruit juice
1 salad with brazil nuts
1 small handful cashews
3 Ryvitas with tofu, tomato and chickpeas
Stewed apple with cinnamon and sultanas

Unfortunately I didn't get any exercise in, but tomorrow I swear!

Re: Weight, did not see a significant reduction over the past few days (1/2-1 pound) but really I'm just happy it didn't go up as I was expecting!
 
Boslo said:
my biggest problem is that about 4pm I start craving chocolate/icecream/straight sugar packets etc. Doesn't matter how full/hungry I am or what I'm doing, I hit the chocolate hard...up to two family blocks hard. Anyone got any great ideas to overcome this mid-afternoon craving?
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Have you ever tried any of those "100 Calorie Packs"? You find them with the snack crackers in grocery stores. They have an Oreo kind that I actually really like. Ok, don't expect them to be just like Oreos, because they aren't. But they are a yummy chocolate cookie and you can eat the whole bag! 100 calories at snack time isn't much, really. Those packs can really help me when I'm having a junk food craving.
 
Hello

I just read your diary you seem like you are doing well, we all fall off the wagon, it is ok as long as you get right back on. As for how to still have a social life?? I usually eat a salad with nuts or beans or chicken about 1 hour before going out to a party or diner so I eat a smaller portion at a restaurent. I also limit my alcool intake to 2 drinks (I like cocktails, bring on the frozen Magaritas) I take my time sipping slowly and then I will have water and then sip slowly on my second cocktail, that way no hang over and also less calori intake, also if we go out for a bit to eat after I will have 1 slice of pizza and that is it. Hope this will be helpfull to you.
 
mizzie said:
Have you ever tried any of those "100 Calorie Packs"? You find them with the snack crackers in grocery stores. They have an Oreo kind that I actually really like. Ok, don't expect them to be just like Oreos, because they aren't. But they are a yummy chocolate cookie and you can eat the whole bag! 100 calories at snack time isn't much, really. Those packs can really help me when I'm having a junk food craving.
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Hi Mizzie. Unfortunately I don't think we actually have those in Australia, they sound good though. I've tried to substitute chocolate/chips/lollies etc with dried fruit and cashews, or 85% cocoa chocolate, which although both being quite high in fat, are surely better for me than my usual binges. I did notice weight watchers snacks in the store the other day though so I might look into getting some of them for when I do give in to my sweet tooth.
 
Verobc said:
I just read your diary you seem like you are doing well, we all fall off the wagon, it is ok as long as you get right back on. As for how to still have a social life?? I usually eat a salad with nuts or beans or chicken about 1 hour before going out to a party or diner so I eat a smaller portion at a restaurent. I also limit my alcool intake to 2 drinks (I like cocktails, bring on the frozen Magaritas) I take my time sipping slowly and then I will have water and then sip slowly on my second cocktail, that way no hang over and also less calori intake, also if we go out for a bit to eat after I will have 1 slice of pizza and that is it. Hope this will be helpfull to you.
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Hey Verobc.
Thats probably a good idea to eat a healthy meal before hand to reduce hunger, I've been tending towards the opposite, that is not eating much before I go out cause I figure I'll be going way over calories that night but it hasn't been working too well because I just get really hungry and end up going overboard. Unfortunately I cant see myself limiting my alcohol intake significantly, but I am thinking of using sugarfree iced tea instead of coke as a mixer, so at least I'll only be getting calories from the spirits and not excessive mixers.
 
Here's what I ate today:

Brekkie:
1 glass fruit juice
1 bowl muesli

Snack:
Handful dried fruit and nuts

Lunch:
Vegetarian wrap

Dinner:
Stirfried veggies (Thai style)


Aaand here's where I snapped and had icecream with peanut m&m's.


Overall not too bad though. I went for a 4km jog, which I can now do in under 30 minutes so I'll step it up to 5km from now on. Also I know I should be integrating some sort of weight training into my exercise, but I'm just so naturally energetic that I would much prefer cardio, and also I'm terrified of building muscle (everyone in my family is pretty muscular including myself so don't tell me it wont happen).

Anyway, that's all for now :)
 
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