Heather's New Start

heathercb04

heathercb04

New member
i need a new beginning. i need to rethink, rework and reshape the way i have been behaving toward exercise, food, and my lifestyle in general.

for the past four months, i have been hyperfocused on other things going on in my life. this year brought with it a new job, a new room mate (boyfriend!), and a new apartment this summer with said boyfriend. that all being said, i suppose i can understand where my lack of focus on exercise and eating right has come from. . . . .i've honestly been really busy!

for most of my life, i've had a mediocre relationship with food, but at least i usually was mindful of the things that i was putting into my mouth. especially for the past week, i feel as if there is no thought behind what i'm eating. i'm eating out of convenience and out of simple craving. not to mention that i'm having the worst of my PMS cravings right now - HORRIBLE. i seriously ate three hamburgers yesterday simply because i really was craving red meat. oi.

what i need to do is come up with a detailed plan of what i want to do. what i would really like to feel is that my life is once again organized. . . and that i have a goal to attain, and that i'm working the best i can to attain said goal. i'm working toward getting my CCRN right now (certification in critical care nursing) and the motivation driving me to get the certification is kinda carrying over into other aspects of my life as well. it's a good feeling.

so while this initial entry is all over the place, it's kinda my attempt in gathering my thoughts together to begin this journey into a healthier lifestyle. all i know right now is that i really want to return to that healthy lifestyle, but i feel like it's a really lofty goal to get back to. i just need to break things down into lesser goals and more manageable ideas and changes.

i want to make some goals for this week:

1. weigh myself (should be interesting)

2. make myself a grocery list with a meal plan in mind. to include: 6 small meals a day, and get something interesting to make salads with for lunch

3. revisit the 'couch to 5k' program and set a date for when i will begin the program again

4. call my doctor to schedule my annual physical and my 'girly doctor' for my other annual physical (simply because i think it's important for your health to have annual exams and i'm due for mine)

hopefully work tonight will be slow and i can work on making myself a meal plan outline. i don't want to do anything drastic quite yet, but there are changes that simply have to be made.

so here we go again! and THIS time i'm determined to make it work.
 
Welcome to your diary,
And good for you for taking the steps to reach your goal!
 
hopefully work tonight will be slow and i can work on making myself a meal plan outline. i don't want to do anything drastic quite yet, but there are changes that simply have to be made.
Click to expand...

If you check out a site like , a free weight loss site, that i think a bunch of people here use... they have "suggested" meal plans that you can use.. based on USDA guidelines.. you don't have to stick to them.. but it gives you a general idea of what you can have.. and none of it is real Diety food.. it's nothing you couldn't find in a grocery store.

Way to go on your goals.. all of them are very important and very do-able...especially kudos on the doctors visits... :D
 
Heather welcome to the forum. I guess we all have that revelation that we have to do something now. Yea getting a good meal plan together really helps. I have the things that are good for me and the things that aren't so good and I keep more of the good for me things close at hand. Do some research on the foods you like depending on calories or carbs or just whatever eating plan your looking into. Good luck and see ya around..........
 
so i meant to post earlier this week, but was working a lot and trying to get myself together. i am proud to say that i have accomplished two of my goals, and that my third is (hopefully) going to be accomplished this afternoon! that leaves only my grocery list and meal plan left if i finish the couch to 5k plan today. i think i saved the program on my computer somewhere so hopefully i can just print it out instead of revisiting the website and typing it all out again.

well i weighed myself this morning. . . . .i wasn't pleased, but i wasn't as horrified as i thought i might be. i didn't regain everything that i had lost which i was really happy about. i'm 190.5 lbs and a size 14. what i would ultimately like to be is a size 10 or under. 8-10 is fine by me! that would mean that i was at a healthy weight (probably between 135 and 145) for my height. i restarted my ticker, and want to weigh myself every day to keep reminding me of my goal. i found that weighing myself every day really really helped me keep sight of what i was working towards when i lost the weight before.

so this was my preparation week. Cto5K program to start monday and grocery shopping to happen monday as well, and i'm going to get back on the wagon! i don't want to force too many changes at once, otherwise i might not stick with it, but i want to rather gradually introduce healthy behaviors that STICK. and hopefully the healthy behaviors i adopt will then transfer over to the significant other, who has expressed his desire to lose weight, but lacks the motivation. i hope i can give him some!!

some news just to share with everyone. . . .since my 'leaving' the forum, i have moved in with the boyfriend (which i believe i mentioned in the last post). we are having an absolute blast together, and i really enjoy living with him. it's been about four months since we moved in together and so far it's one of the best decisions i have made in my life. we work together really well, and it's so fun. we bought a kitten in july named oreo and now have a 'family' of four including my ferret ozzy! oreo and ozzy love to chase each other around the apartment and provide us endless hours of entertainment. oreo very quickly adjusted to her new life with us and we now couldn't live without her. she is a sweet, loving kitten who always has to be around us!! since day one, she has slept in our bed every single night. cute! we have to get her fixed soon, which mommy is nervous about. i hate to think of hurting her :( but i know it's something important to do for a cat. . . . .i just hope she gets through it ok!

so i have been meaning to sit down and read some diaries since there was such wonderful support with me re-starting mine! but time seems to be short, and i have to get ready to leave soon - boytoy and i are going to a B&B for the weekend (oooh romantic!). so i'll have to update again on monday.

goals accomplished so far:

weighed self
made dr's appointments
*new!*just printed out couch to 5K exercise plan

to do on monday:

make meal plan
make grocery list

have a great weekend, everyone!!! i'm sure i will :D
 
weekend update

ahhhh this weekend was fantastic!!! i definitely didn't want it to end. getting away was just what i needed, and definitely time well spent.

didn't do much on the weight loss front. . . . .i'm kinda afraid of getting the meal plan into gear, but thanks to maleficent, i was directed to the sparkpeople website and reminded why i enjoy eating healthy! i have some free time tonight, as the boy and i have nothing to do tomorrow until i go to work, and i'm going to get myself a meal plan together that is workable and that has calorie totals on it. i think i'm going to write it out first, and look up my calorie totals online, then work it into a grocery list.

i have to be practical at the same time. . . . .i have been eating crap for 4 months now, and i doubt that going straight to salads is going to help me whatsoever. what i really want to look for in the sparkpeople site are healthy snacks and healthy dinners that are fast. i need something that can be put together when i'm tired and don't feel like doing anything after i start getting ready for work (i work nights). i need a plan that i can tailor to my work schedule. . . . .like instead of eating breakfast then eating a snack, because of the way i work it's easier for me to eat right when i wake up, then shower and get ready, then eat my lunch before work because i usually don't have time to eat anything more complicated than a granola bar before midnight.

SO. .. . .without further ado, i'm going to go make my mealplan! then i'm going to make my grocery list!!

and grocery shopping day is tomorrow!
 
forgot! goals for this week:

1. weigh self every day (to get in the habit)
2. complete days 1-3 of Cto5K program
3. NO ORDERING OUT. make all meals myself!
4. drink 8 cups of water each day (one of my sparkpeople goals!)
 
accomplished!

just made my mealplan!!! tailored it from the sparkpeople site (which i have to fine tune a bit more, i think it's not quite what i want at this point). i have 6 small meals a day, and the caloric ranges are from 900-1450.

i kinda don't like the way the calories range so far, but i added up the lowest and the highest of everything in my mealplan to get those numbers. SO. . . . .we'll see how it goes, and make a new one next week!

plus i found a fabulous buffalo chicken sandwich recipe that i want to try with the boytoy because he LOVES those darn things. this one only has 320 cals per sandwich!! yay!

now i'm tired, and want to do something thoroughly brainless.
 
Hey heather!!

I have to say, I am SO impressed with your attitude etc!! With your plan and your achievable goals etc. You are gonna do great with such a healthy mindset towards it!!!!

Looking forward to seeing your ticker move down :)
 
yeah i actually took what the sparkpeople site suggested and kinda made my mealplan from what they suggested. so when i added everything up - i added the lowest meals i could possibly have in the plan (i have four choices for every meal) which equaled about 900, then i added up the highest choices i have on my mealplan which was like 1450-1500. i figure probably on a daily basis i'll be in the middle somewhere around 1200.

i just ate some oatmeal this morning (part of the mealplan) and discovered it's higher in calories than i thought anyway!! so breakfast this morning was 340 calories instead of the 300 i thought it was going to be. might even be higher because i add raisins to my oatmeal and i THINK it was less than 1/4 cup, but i can't be positive. will measure it out tomorrow if i make more.

totally was going to go running today but don't know if my lungs can handle it!! :( i'm not sure if i'm going to get in my Cto5K goal this week - i've been fighting off something really nasty and so far haven't gotten really sick. . . . .so i don't want to press my luck!! i think i might try for it tomorrow.

thanks for the support, kezzypear and changeforlife! now i gotta go get a shower, it's time to go grocery shopping for all my mealplan stuff!
 
Your doing awsome girl and you have a great attitude and are on the right track to hit your goals! Welcome to the family!
 
hey hun, welcome to the forum! I am between a size 14 and a size 12 and i definitely understand your goal of 10 or under. you've definitely got the recipe down for weight loss, I am very impressed with your 5k goal! You have got great direction and I know you can keep the ticker rolling down=-)
 
accomplishments!

so day one of the diet plan went simply swimmingly! forgive any incoherent babblings in this post, as i just finished up a 12 hour night shift after 5 days off and feel a bit fuzzy. here's what i ate:

breakfast:
oatmeal with splenda, raisins and skim milk (340)

snack:
health valley (i think) apple and cinnamon granola bar (140)

lunch:
1/2 whole wheat pita with healthy choice ham and mustard
cherry tomatoes (which, btw, are SO GOOD!!!!) (approx 150)

snack:
fat free sugar free pudding with strawberries (approx 70)

dinner:
lean cuisine pepperoni pizza
salad with light done right three cheese ranch dressing (oh my god TRY THIS! it's fabulous :) ) (380)

snack:
organic whole wheat crackers
laughing cow light cheese wedge(170)



i had an extra snack simply because i was up from 10am until now, and i figured two snacks weren't going to cut it. i'll probably be waking up around 1pm this afternoon, so i'll skip a snack today because i will (hopefully!) go to bed around midnight.

also! water intake was approximately 72 oz!!! that's OVER my 64oz goal for the day! and it wasn't even that terribly hard, in fact i'm still drinking the darn stuff!! (trying to get headache to go away without taking advil. . . .not sure if i'll be able to)

am going to take my inhaler before bed and hopefully i'll wake up feeling not so yucky in the lung region. however, i should note that i rode my bike to and from work to total between 30 and 40 minutes of exercise for the day. i was doing this before i started my plan, though, so i'm adding exercise to my current level.

gotta do my calorie totals, but i'm so zonked. does everyone here follow strict calorie counting? i've tried before and i just haaaate it. i know i should do it though. so. . . i will. if nothing else, at least it will give me an idea of what i'm putting into my mouth and keep me mindful of calories.

hope everyone has a great day!

ok i lied, i just did my calorie totals . . . . we're looking at a day of. . . .*drumroll* 1124!

probably was a little bit higher, as i'm sure my approximations erred on the lighter side. but still a far cry from the junk i was eating even just over the weekend. yay me!

oh. . . .as long as i'm making it my goal, my weight yesterday was 193. after breakfast, tho. . . . .so we'll see what it is today when i wake up.
 
feeling sheepish!!!

well let this be a lesson to those of you hesitant to accurately count your calories . . . remember that oh so proud total of 1124 i posted this morning?

WAY WAY OFF!!! off by nearly 700 calories!!!!!

went to the sparkpeople site and entered in all of my food, even entering in nutritional values for the foods that weren't on the site.

my goal is to be between 1410-1760 calories according to the site. so i guess in actuality, the calorie total isn't that bad, it just startled me!!!

total for yesterday: 1805
fat total: 50 (goal 31-68)
carb total: 280 (goal 159-286)
protein total: 69 (goal 35-154)
sodium: 3164 (goal 0-2300)

WOW! that sodium is unbelievable to me! especially considering i don't really add salt to anything that i eat!! might have to rethink some of the things i'm putting into my mouth! some of the hard hitters on the sodium front include: lean cuisine, salad dressing, sugar free fat free pudding, crackers and laughing cow cheese.

pudding?!? has sodium!??! and for that matter, has 476 mg of the stuff!?!?!?

aiiii yaiii yaiii.

well at least if nothing else, this was certainly eye-opening for me!!!

weight today: 191

kinda frustrating that instead of staying at what i initially weighed myself at, i'm rather jumping up a few lbs, but not letting it discourage me as i'm just starting out and it's ok to go slow :) well. . . .it's ALWAYS ok to go slow, as long as i'm going forward with my health habits.

printed out my nutritional summary for yesterday. . . . . .i wanna post it on the fridge to remind myself!!!

ok time to change and go to the gym. no C25K for me today. . . . .it's pouring rain outside :( but i'm determined to get my exercise in!

hope everyone has a lovely afternoon
 
hey heather, i totally dread counting calories at the end of the day-it takes so much frikin time! i like planning it all out in the morning and entering it into my calorie counter/diary (fitday). that way i have already tracked what i'm eating and i only have to modify it a bit at the end. keep up the good excersize
 
Welcome to the family and it takes time it will get easier
 
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