Here I go again

I've never tried eggs with cream.. it's sounding pretty good.. I suppose adding a little fat free cream wouldn't hurt .. BUT... I'm so stuck in my own little pathetic food routine, and fearful of change where food is concerned.... I'm a coward like that- I'm always envious of people who have elaborate meal plans & eat things like eel, frog legs, fish, or rabbit, or other things I never heard of like hummus or okra..... until I came here.

I think my food menu consists of like, maybe, 20 items..... that are apparantely all high carb lol.. bad news for me!

Another thing, I grew up in a home where my mother cooked a wonderful variety of everything imaginable, then she'd go off into the living room with her 10 ice cream hoodsie cups and I never got why she did that, until I got on my own and saw things uncooked, like chicken, I freaked. Then when it was in the oven and I saw it bleeding, I was like- ugh, why is it bleeding? I cried, I was 18 years old and didn't have a clue - and from that day on I never had chicken again. And turkey- I lived off that as a kid, but the day I cooked one and later found out I had to pull stuff out of it? Wow- that was just gross.. why is that in there in the first place if it's not supposed to be?

That being said, I cook a bunch of different things for the family- but I'd just rather eat my cereal. At least it doesn't bleed.
 
OK here's today's menu:


Breakfast: a pear - 80 calories

Lunch: egg sandwich (egg made w/ skim milk, 1 slice fat free cheese, 2 slices white bread), low-fat chocolate milk with skim milk, vitamins. 415 calories

dinner: 2 servings Life Cereal w/ skim milk - 320 calories

3 cups of coffee - 180 calories

1 tomato - w/ salt & pepper - 25 or so calories.

total calories: 1020

:auto:
 
Ok, if I can suggest one change .. just one small thing at a time .. :)

Ditch the cereal. Seriously .. packaged cereal is mostly crap. If you look at the ingredients it's going to be mostly HFCS, sugar, and preservatives.

If there's any way you can sub fruit or veg or anything ... seriously ANYTHING ... for the cereal .. you'll be worlds ahead in terms of nutrition.

Most commercial cereal mixes are the worst things you can put in your body.
 
KaraCooks said:
Ok, if I can suggest one change .. just one small thing at a time .. :)

Ditch the cereal. Seriously .. packaged cereal is mostly crap. If you look at the ingredients it's going to be mostly HFCS, sugar, and preservatives.

If there's any way you can sub fruit or veg or anything ... seriously ANYTHING ... for the cereal .. you'll be worlds ahead in terms of nutrition.

Most commercial cereal mixes are the worst things you can put in your body.
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To your reference about making small changes. This month, I've made HUGE changes. I've gone from whole milk to skim, regular cheese to fat free cheese, sugar to Splenda, I cut my caffeine consumption from 8 cups of coffee to 4 decaf, among other things like adding fruits to my daily menu (something I've never done in my life), and now my next goal is to add in a veggie a day. Maybe you didn't read it, but from Jan 09-June 09 I gained 50 lbs eating ice cream and chocolate to excess. I have no intention of cutting cereal from my diet. Cereal is a much better alternative than ice cream or chocolate... And to call my favorite food "crap" and to say it's one of the worst things I can put into my body is a bit dramatic, c'mon, Life cereal isn't that bad, my God....

Personally, I think alcohol consumption/tequila consumption is crap- and it will kill your liver.. but I kept that opinion to myself because no one asked me my opinion. Maybe it's best to back away from my diary.... I don't want any more advice, especially all the negatives you keep dropping on my page- I'm doing what's right for me.
 
I absolutely LOVE cereal I could eat it all day!
One of my friends couldn't understand why I wanted a bowl of cereal instead of a fry up, he thought I was weird - ha!
 
And to call my favorite food "crap" and to say it's one of the worst things I can put into my body is a bit dramatic, c'mon, Life cereal isn't that bad, my God....
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Ingredients in Life cereal ()

WHOLE GRAIN OAT FLOUR, SUGAR, CORN FLOUR, WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, RICE FLOUR, SALT, CALCIUM CARBONATE, DISODIUM PHOSPHATE, REDUCED IRON, NIACINAMIDE*, ZINC OXIDE, BHT (A PRESERVATIVE), YELLOW 5, YELLOW 6, THIAMIN MONONITRATE*, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE*, RIBOFLAVIN*, FOLIC ACID*.

My bad. It's perfectly healthy. Go right ahead. :rolleyes:

As to all the negatives I've added to your page .. yeah, whatthefuckever. I've offered advice cheerfully and pleasantly and resisted telling you that I think your diet is quite possibly the worst I've seen in a while - and that losing weight while eating cereal 3x a day, eating dangerously low levels of calories, and drinking 150 calorie cups of coffee is not a weight loss that's going to last.

Quite the change from what you said a couple of weeks ago when you said you WANTED advice and help:
Hi Kara!
Y'know.. I don't think you're nagging me at all... matter of fact, you seem to have a wealth of food related knowledge, and I truly appreciate all the advice you give me. I need help, and welcome all suggestions.
Click to expand...

But hey. Whatever you want. I'll be unsubbing from your journal now and moving on. Life's too short for this kind of stuff
 
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woo.. what a crazy couple of days I've had... Kids went back to school yesterday. My little one had a 2 hour "intro to kindergarten".. and when I got to the school, as soon as we pulled up, he started CRYING his little head off. Poor Joe :( That's my baby with Autism, he's non-verbal but boy.... when he doesn't like something (which is hardly ever), he will let you know for sure! lol.. So anyway, I went in with him, he wanted me to carry him, which isn't really easy to do anymore- he's almost 6 and he's about 60 lbs.. and I have a bad back - so I just felt so bad.. he's totally got me wrapped around his little finger... I decided to stay with him and it seemed to help him transition easier. But, what made yesterday so hectic was that I filled in for someone last minute speaking at a seminar. I do this about once a month or so, and the woman who was supposed to do it got sick, so it was a very last minute thing. Then my husband had to change around his work schedule to be home for our son... it was a very fast-paced rushed day. The plus to this is that I get paid $300 for each 2 hour seminar.. and I get to meet some really cool people :)

Then of course, there's the rush of the kids coming home from school, baths/showers, packing lunches, getting their clothes ready, filling out ENDLESS forms! lol.. X 3 kids. eek!

So then today, Joe woke up with a really snotty nose.. I upped his sambucus and ended up keeping him home with me. So everything I had planned today was shot down. I really needed to get some work in, but oh well- maybe tomorrow.. I took him to the doctor b/c he was picking at his ears.. he has a LONG history of ear infections, (thankfully no ear infection this time!). In the past, 3 times the ear infections didn't respond to antibiotics, which led him into very long seizures... the last time he went unconscious and stopped breathing, had to be intubated and air lifted to Hasbro Hospital in RI.. it was a true nightmare!!!!

Which is sort of what led me into my destructive eating pattern earlier this year, thus the 50 pound weight gain - I maintained my loss for SOOO long!!! 4 and a half years and POOF! Gone.. just like that! UGH.. I think the stress/trauma from what happened to him led me into a bad downward spiral. It started with anxiety, which IS normal considering the situation I was in, but I think I got a bit obsessive over it, I tend to get a bit OCD at times.. but I didn't sleep at night because I just sat up and watched him... all these horrible questions rushing through my mind constantly.. "what if something happens to him and I'm asleep?", "why did he stop breathing?" "What if there's brain damage?" poor kid.... ugh.. which led me into panic attacks, depression- overeating, and severe mood swings. I became maniacal about making sure the phone was right in my pocket in case I needed to call 911 for him all day and night - and making sure my keys were with me at all times in case an ambulance didn't get here quick enough..

Thankfully around May I realized that the way I was living/thinking wasn't normal, and I needed professional help... I was seriously ready to check myself into an institution... I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder, panic attacks, and depression- Behavioral therapy really helped me a LOT! I learned that I had to look at the positives, like, my son IS here with me!! His overall health has improved greatly though, the first year of special ed, he missed 90 days due to illness, his second year, 45 days, so we're at least on a better path with his health. (thank GOD). I was on Ativan for a little while during this time..... then I brought up my weight gain to my counselor.. she said that sometimes depression can lead to unhealthy eating patterns.. I had to laugh - unhealthy was such a kind word to use in my situation! lol.. I was literally living off ice cream, donuts, and chocolate and an average of 8 - 16 oz. coffee's from Dunkin' Donuts with extra cream extra sugar EVERYDAY! She was/is too kind to me.

She also told me all that sugar can exacerbate the anxieties, I sorta knew that, but getting out of that way of thinking was a bit tough initially. BUT I knew I had to change my way of thinking. If I could gain 50 pounds in about 6 months, without serious change I knew it would just worsen.... I'm just glad at all the positives in my life right now. Sometimes I take things for granted.. maybe we all do.

So to continue, I was supposed to have a photo shoot done here at the house of the kids this afternoon - normally, I go to Sears and do it there, but with Joe, it doesn't really work out too well- last time I had an appointment, but they still made us wait about 20 minutes, even though I explained I have a special needs child, I spoke directly to the manager and said "Joe can't wait" lol.. he was in such a good mood that day too, what a waste of our time.. the manager assured me she'd have the studio set to go right on time- she didn't. It was a bummer .. by the time they sat for the session, Joe was NOT in a good mood, didn't want to sit, nothing. I did get pics of my older sons, but I prefer to get them all done the same day :)

Soooo.. I found a local photographer who was willing to come to our house- I took some nice photos myself last fall with the pretty trees in my backyard, right when the leaves were changing, it was gorgeous! Everyone thought it was a professional shot- the cost wasn't bad at all either for her to come to the house, but with Joe sick I had to cancel. I can't wait though- I've seen her work. Beautiful! Then my oldest daughter came over for a little bit, we went over to Walmart- I was debating between Life cereal and Grape Nuts.. I just love Grape Nuts, but I'm afraid with the new crowns on my teeth, would they be OK? Grape Nuts tend to be a bit hard- my daughter said "ewww how can you eat those things?" Then she went and got herself a box of Lucky Charms! lol.. alrighty then! So I decided if I let the Grape Nuts sit for a few minutes, maybe they'd soften up....

So that's my past couple of days in a nutshell!

Here are my menus for yesterday and today:

Wednesday's Menu:
Breakfast- 1 serving Life Cereal w/ skim milk- vitamins - 185 calories

Lunch- Ham sandwich on white w/ mustard, low-fat chocolate and skim milk - 350 calories

Dinner- lettuce w/ 6 crutons, 1 tomato, salad spritzer - 100 calories

3-6 oz cups of decaf w/ cream and Splenda- 180 calories

Total calories: 815 calories

I did my P90 sculpt, phase 3/4 last night.. it totally kicked my ass.. the lunges were killer in this one!

Thursday's Menu:
Breakfast: Egg sandwich (the usual) with 3 strawberries, low-fat chocolate milk/skim milk vitamins - 415 calories

Lunch: Ham sandwich on white (same as yesterday) - 350 calories

Dinner: 1 serving Grape Nuts w/ skim milk - 240 calories (btw they did soften up)

3 - 6oz cups of decaf - 180 calories
1/2 serving of pretzels - 50

total calories: 1235

tonight I walked 2 miles at the track, and did some stairs. I feel totally energized...
 
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Kara since you un subscribed, you may not see this. I just wanted to say that I still agree that you have a wealth of food-related knowledge, you didn't need to quote me.. and I totally know what's in Life cereal since I eat it daily. I don't believe I've had it 3X a day (as you stated) but anything's possible and I really don't feel like looking through each page of my diary to find it. But just saying, at times you come across to me as condescending. I do appreciate advice or suggestion, that being said, I should have been more clear- what I meant to say was that I'd appreciate advice on low calorie or fat free substitutions on what I'm already eating. (like, for example, when you suggested Kashi that was a great idea, but I didn't care for the 2 I've tried so far) - I found most substitutions on my own though. I'm doing my best.... cutting out cereal would be like you cutting out whatever your favorite thing is. I'm sure you, just like me, have cravings at times - I think I read that you have cheat days... and that's cool, whatever works for you. I have maintained my previous weight loss for 4.5 years, and I lost that in exactly 90 days... and that's something to be celebrated. I was worried since I dropped 43 lbs so quickly that I wouldn't maintain it.. I went from 185-142. I would weigh myself bi-weekly, when the scale hit 145-146 I'd just add in a little extra exercise and avoid sweets for that week, that's what worked for me. When I hit the low 140's I was happy there, and I ate an average of about 1500-1600 calories a day and exercised 3 times a week on average. I'm sure I'll have future cravings, don't we all? I'll just have to do what I did for over 4 years and portion control. My diet was hardly any fruits or veggies though, and a lot of coffee... I admit.. and those are changes I'm trying to incorporate into my long term goals.

One last thing, I never said Life cereal is perfectly healthy.. what I did say was that I don't think it's the WORST thing I could put into my body- I felt that was a bit over the top.. I can think of many things right now that would be worse, some of which are: french fries, cake, cookies, chips, deep fried foods, pizza, fast food, ice cream, butter, alcohol, candy, donuts, pie.... that was my point.
 
Hi! I hope u don't mind me posting here. I just wanted to say that I'm a total cereal whore! LMAO I read ur last post then went through ur entire diary to see if that's all u ate was cereal and coffee! It seems u do have other foods outside of cereal and coffee and that ur trying to add more variety into ur daily diet. I didn't see any entry where u ate cereal 3x a day. If it wasn't for my cereal I probably wouldn't have lost the weight I have so far I eat cereal at breakfast or lunch everyday and it helps me stay fuller longer. Just keep doing what ur doing. U maintained a weight loss for over four yrs how many ppl can say that? And the coffee, only three 6 OZ. cups a day??? thats not bad at all.
 
I like grapenuts too, but I like to put them in the microwave for about a minute with milk, they get soggy, like oatmeal. They are so high in calories though, I could eat two bowls of special K for the "price" of one bowl of grape nuts. I'm a cereal-oholic too, and its one of the things I've never given up. But, I never eat it in the morning, lol, not a breakfast person, its always a "I have this many cals left today, I'm eating cereal" kinda thing.
 
I hear ya with the cereal! That stuff is delicious, and yeah, of course there foods better for you but then again there are TONS of foods that are worse! I've never tried Life cereal, but I'm positive there are more cereals that are waaay less healthy haha.

Great job on the previous weight loss and with what you're doing now!
 
update.

chmar..... no, I don't mind if you post here :) I had to laugh @ the cereal whore comment though.. I don't think I could say I'm an official cereal "whore" at this point- however possibly a whore in training ;) And great job w/ your weight loss so far!

Owl- awesome idea on the Grape Nuts.. I microwaved them last night and wow- delicious! Thanks for that.. I'll prob eat them that way from now on.. seriously good! And I know what you mean, the calories are higher than most cereals.. but I love 'em. And a serving of Grape Nuts is only 1/2 cup.. what a bummer.

deannnaa, thanks for the support! I appreciate it!




With me it's weird cause one week I'll be craving cereal, the next it will be grilled cheese, this week's theme seems to be ham sandwiches.. that's just how I've always been... a bit OCD on one food for a week, then I can't stand it the next- Oh well..

I've been doing good - keeping on track.. just been super busy catching up on work.

Next week the kids will be back to school full time. Which for me means that now I can do my exercises in the AM, which is a huge plus for me without worrying about interruptions.

I decided not to blog my diet anymore..... I figure if I gained this weight rather quickly, I'd prefer to lose it in a timely fashion... that being said, if I lose more than 2 lbs a week, I won't stand for that.. I know that's unhealthy and unsafe, and I'll change my diet accordingly. Or if I don't feel "right", I'll know something's gotta change. So I decided to just keep a log at home of what I eat, calories, etc., and I'll keep that private from this point. That's all I have to say on that topic..

I'll continue to blog my weight losses (or gains) each Monday - hopefully I won't gain! And my measurements monthly. I'm still continuing to work on adding in a veggie a day. It's like I have to continually remind myself to eat veggies.. hopefully in time it will just become routine.

I didn't do my P90 this weekend.. but I went to the track yesterday, walked a mile 1/2, and then did the stairs.. ugh.. I went up and down the bleachers 10 times 30 stairs up and down.... my friggen calves are KILLING me. Maybe I pushed myself too far lol.. tonight I just walked a mile in the rain :) I was going to do the P90X ab ripper tonight (I've been attempting to do this but yeah - it's gonna be awhile before I can master the 339 ab exercises!) BUT, since I didn't finish my paperwork until midnight I'm exhausted.. hopefully I'll get that in tomorrow..

That's it so far.. weight update on Monday.
 
I hate you. Okay, I"m lying, I don't hate you, just that you lost two lbs last week, lol! Great job, and I know what you mean about keeping that cal count secret. I'll post it sometimes, but I know most days, if I posted the actual number, someone will give me poo about it...lol!
 
Owl said:
I hate you. Okay, I"m lying, I don't hate you, just that you lost two lbs last week, lol! Great job, and I know what you mean about keeping that cal count secret. I'll post it sometimes, but I know most days, if I posted the actual number, someone will give me poo about it...lol!
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I think I'm already hated here.. lol but that's alright. Well I just don't want someone to think "hey she's losing weight lemme do what she does".. 'cause I don't want to be held responsible for someone elses' malnutrition.. y'know.. that would bother me..

But on a more serious note.. I can't seem to even force 900 calories down if I tried.. that can't be good. I'm trying to come up with some idea on how I can throw in 200-400 calories more a day... I was talking to my son's nutritionist, she suggested I try Ensure- I just hate to buy something I might not like since I haven't tried it yet. There are a lot of high calorie things I like, but the nutritional value is lacking, so I dunno...
 
u are doing so good with ur weight loss! My fav cereal is yogurt burst cheerios, have u tried this? I lost 3 lbs and feeling pretty good about it. I see u do Power 90, is this P90X? Just looking at some of those workouts i can't imagine keeping up with that.
 
ew on the ensure. If you want to boost your cals at the end of the day have some nuts! I have a gallon zip lock bag pinned to my kitchen wall with bags of pre-weighed almonds in it. 1 oz is 160 calories. When I need them, they are there and I enjoy snacking on them while I read because it reminds me of my old cheeto addiction where I would sit on the couch with a good book and snack on a whole bag of cheetos...lol! Now its a small bag of almonds, but, still makes me feel the same in a orally fixated kind of sick way.
And your NOT hated here, not by me at least! Actually, I quite appreciate having you around for support and secretly I celebrate all your weight loss with you since I can't celebrate my own (because I havn't weighed myself in almost a week and a half).
 
chmar- no I haven't yet tried those, but they sound good! I did see the vanilla yogurt cheerios, and when I do my food shopping this week I'll pick up a box.. The only cheerios I've tried were the regular (those are a bit plain for me), and the apple cinnamon, those aren't bad.

The Power 90 came out before the P90X.. and as far as I know, that's the last in the P90 series. I just started the P90X ab ripper.. I can do about 15 of each..(25 are recommended for a total of 339 ab exercises). I haven't even tackled anything else on P90X, I don't think I have that kind of time to dedicate to be honest... The P90 I like - they have phase 1/2 and 3/4.. I just started on phase 3/4 and it's kicking my butt! I had to get a replacement P90 and found it really cheap on ebay... I like the P90 it works the whole body and the phase 1/2 you start at your own pace.. and eventually work up to the next level. Hope this helps!

Owl- thanks.. good idea on the nuts.. I do like almonds and walnuts.. I think I'll pick some up tomorrow.. I've been eating a tablespoon of peanut butter at night and a cup of shredded carrots- good way for me to get the extra calories AND veggies lol.. and thank you for the support!
 
I haven't updated in a few days.. I've been feeling pretty crappy- my asthma is flaring up, I can't seem to stay out of the bathroom, and my head has been killing me for 3 days... Ibuprofen doesn't seem to help much.. For the heck of it I got on the scale, it's still at 180.. I know I usually weigh in on Mondays but, I'm surprised that it's still at 180. With the volume of *stuff* coming out of me, I felt like I lost 10 lbs lol.

I haven't been able to do any form of exercise (even walking) for 3 days because I feel pretty weak all over.

My 8 year old woke up this morning with a pretty bad head cold.. I'm sort of paranoid about the H1N1..

If I don't feel better tomorrow I might stop by the clinic near me.. it's not like me to feel like this- it's almost like the flu, but no fever... lots of body aches, headache, weakness and a little sore throat.... At the same time, I hate to expose myself to all the garbage going around at the clinic...

I've doubled up on the Sambucus myself and for my son-we'll see if that helps any.

I've been able to get my calories to the 1300-1400 mark everyday this week... and I've been eating tons of veggies everyday. AT first I thought that's why I was in the bathroom so much, but now, I don't think so- nothing can explain the body aches and headache. I just want to sleep :ack2:
 
Hi! :waving:

EWW! Not Ensure!!! Don't do it!!! :ack2: It's pretty gross stuff, if you ask me. Anyway, congrats on losing weight! Sounds like you''re doing some pretty good exercise as well. Sorry your child has a cold:( Keep up the good work!

WillLose60
 
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