I'm aiming for 59kg

I do see where you're coming from (believe me, I know about not being able to stop) but I perhaps wonder if you're pushing the analogy between cigarettes and sweet food too far. Sweet food can be part of a balanced diet- the best amount of cigarettes is none (fortunately for me I was put off the idea of smoking at a very early age by a health program that went around primary schools- Healthy Harold, if you know about it. My impressionable 8 year old self was rather frightened by the idea that at least some cigarettes have paint stripper in them for flavour, and so I've never even been tempted). Unfortunately, food is and (I think) will continue to be an integral part of a lot of social gatherings, and so it's a major hurdle to overcome.

Are your family willing to support you, say by only offering small portions of the things you have trouble with, and withholding things from you if you try to have more? It'd just seem a shame not to be able to participate. (It probably seems like a silly thing to do as an adult, but I've asked my boyfriend to do it for me and it's worked)

In my case, the things I'm skipping very much involve food- the graduate student lunch (cheese, white bread, juice- calorie central), drinks and crackers after seminars (calorie central), meal after seminar (at best, in a cafe, at worst- and normally- in a curry house), so I'm not sure how to get around that. I'm sure I'd be seen as a party pooper if I packed my own food or skipped the alcohol.

I'm very conscious of the stigma of being different, and I think for me it's going to be a problem with my diet- most people (especially at my age, and in a university setting) just don't care about diet. They can eat and eat and eat and then drink and drink and drink and not seem to put on any weight at all. So they have a go at me for "starving myself" or "not participating" (although I bet if I did what they did I'd balloon and then I'd get crap for "not looking after myself"!)- it's hard already, and it's only early days. (My other problem is I "carry weight well", apparently- people keep telling me I don't need to lose weight, but the scales don't lie, my BMI doesn't lie, and my feelings of wellbeing don't lie. I don't look like I've put on weight until probably just above what I am now- then people really notice a big difference)
 
I guess we are going to each have to be happy with our own positions. :) I know my analogy sounds extreme but in practice, its pretty much how it goes. My family really won't mind if i am not eating desserts. My sister especially, when she gets home, will be glad that i am not stealing all her biscuits. She's very protective about her food and i will be glad not to be a part of that. IF i am able to stay on the straight and narrow up until she gets here and while she is here. She's arriving on 25 June. But i won't be home from my cycling trip until 20 July.

If i were going out to dinner, i will eat what i want off the menu, except dessert. I might even have an entree as well if i am concerned i will not get enough to eat. I am not bothered about the odd high calorie event in terms of weight loss. Its more about not developing the taste and craving for sweets again. I am going to try to stick to having only one glass of wine when i go out. If i drink more, i end up feeling not so great. But this i haven't put to the test yet. If i were at a cheese and biccie event, i'd probably indulge in the cheese and biccies but so long as there are no sweets, i'd be ok with that. But then as i said before those sort of events are now not frequent in my life. If they were more frequent, it would be a bigger problem.

From time to time i've met people who "don't eat sweets" and you just have to accept it. Its the same when you meet people who don't drink. They are doing what's right for them.

Anyway on this topic, i think we will have to just have a friendly disagreement.
 
Absolutely :) As always, take it or leave it. I couldn't make it work for me- if you can, that's fantastic, more power to you.
 
April 10 - Day 9 I think

I'm confused about how many days i've been on this forum. I will have to go back and check. At least there's no confusion about the date today with my computer to help me.

Its only 11am. I've decided not to walk today, though i'd quite like to. I have a greater urgency to do some garden jobs. I desperately need to water all my plants along the boundary. I have to do this by hand with a hose as i haven't put in irrigation yet. Dad gave me a nudge about unloading the trailer yesterday too. "The trailer will go rusty" he said, if the dirt is left sitting there too long. Yes i know that but anyway he's right and i need to pull my finger out. So i've just shovelled two wheelbarrows of dirt and put in my vegie patch. I also watered a few plants. But i need to spend at least two hours watering this afternoon. That won't burn many calories but it will make me feel better to do it.

Meanwhile the weeds are growing like mad everywhere. It makes me feel under pressure to see the weeds growing when i am doing nothing. I have 1 hectare of garden to maintain. It's a lot and it requires daily work to get it into good shape and keep it that way. It's the project that i am mainly concerned to devote the rest of my life to.

I have spent a fair proportion of my meagre income on the garden since May last year when i decided to focus on the garden. I don't want to see it all come undone. I have a lifelong tendency of taking up new activities with gusto and not following through. My depression is part of it. But loss of motivation comes from all angles. Here the hot weather has been a big factor. If i lose momentum, motivation wanes and then its very hard to coax myself back into it again. Well there's lots to this problem but now that i have my income secure, i don't have to worry about that any more and can afford to make my garden one of my primary focuses.

The garden would be the milk of my life. The other focus, the honey, is travelling and in particular cycling tours. I started cycle touring in 2007 when i was 42. I saved up for two years to go to india for my first tour. But i did a test run with my sister for one week in a location near home. That was to make sure i liked it and to sort out issues with my bike which was a cheapie, old and second hand. Its nervewracking for everybody who starts cycle touring. On top of the travelling to a new and strange place, there's also the bike maintenance and i have nowwhere near mastered that.

Its so great to hvae a goal that you've struggled for ages to achieve come to fruition and that first cycling tour to india was a very hard and painful two years getting the money together. So anyway i loved my tour to india and determined on another one two years after that. I did that in 2009/10. Although I had india planned for November 09, earlier in the year, on the spur of the moment, to help me deal with a huge emotional crisis, i took off across the outback for six weeks. It was fantastic and as a consequence, i was keen to do more in Australia, particularly the outback. The tour got me out of my rut and I was still able to keep it together financially to leave in NOvember. Having already booked the airfares was probably key to sticking to that plan. Thank god i had done it.

After returning from the last india trip, i had some issues and thought i wouldn't be able to afford to do any more tours but things have been worked out and now i have a little more money that, if i am frugal, means i can save up and do my tours regularly. My plan is to do one in Australia every second year and on the other years to fly off overseas somewhere for two or three months.

This year, i am flying to darwin to cycle across the outback to the Kimberley and back to Darwin before coming home. It will take two months. I really need more but i had to get home. I've got quite a lot of kms to cover. I think about 3000. Its going to be demanding to make it and to take time to enjoy all i want to do along the way as well. So i need to be in good mental shape for that trip.

In spring 2013, i want to go to France. Its going to take me longer to save up for that trip so if i do a trip in Australia next year, it will mean going somewhere with no airfares, so I might go up cape york. But the France trip, is going to be a real challenge in a number of respects. I learnt french at university for a couple of years and that was such a long time ago now, I have to relearn it because it i know that being able to speak reasonably well in French will significantly improve my experience. Having enough money is another big challenge. And finally the food is going to be the other big challenge when i am actually on the trip. I've already decided that in France i mean to eat well and partake of everything - except dessert. In fact its going to be a gourmet and art appreciation cycling tour.

If by then i am still in my no sweets mode, i intend to continue with that. I will focus on all the delicious savoury foods instead, including cheeses and wines. I know this will give me a better gourmet experience because if i start eating icecream and pastry that's all iw will eat, knowing me. So, with no dessert, I will even eat more meat than usual just so i can try all the tradional french fare. I will eat as often as possible in restaurants, according to my budget. Because of all those possible extra calories, cycling and meal size are going to be key to maintaining a good weight. I think another important thing is not eating between meals. So its good to set this up now as my habitual way of eating.
 
April 10 - Day 9

If it looks like i got my day, its not. I've just corrected it. I started my first diary on 2 April 2011.

Weight 64.4kg
Up .2kg pffffffft no drama.

8am: Breakfast:
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup full cream milk
1 apple


11am: Nescafe with 1/3 cup milk

12 noon: Lunch
Egg salad and Avocardo on toast

1 whole grain toast
2 tsp avocardo, salt and pepper, bit of garlic and a few drops of lemon juice

I had wanted grilled tomato on toast for lunch today but with no tomatos in the fridge, that was unlikely. Then i hit upon egg and lettuce salad and to make it more interesting, more nutritious and more substantial, i added a bit of everything that could be added to make it so. It was better than i expected. Good in fact.

1 boiled duck egg
1 iceberg lettuce leaf
cucumber chunks
coursely chopped canned beetroot
1 thin slice red onion
2 tbsp of cannelini beans, rinsed

dressing
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
lemon juice
1 small clove garlic
ground black pepper

This salad was much nicer than i expected it to be.

4pm: cup of tea with 1/3 cup milk

5pm: Glass of white wine. I put lots of ice in it to make it even better. Its got to be really cold.

Dinner: I'm still not sure what i'm having yet. I've got a few options.


Exercise
No formal exercise today because, as i think i said above, i had to do something in the garden as a priority. Tomorrow i will go for a walk.

I haven't stopped drinking lots of water despite the tea and coffee today. A friend dropped in not long after i started watering the garden which is my excuse for the afternoon tea. Its a bit disappointing from the angle of the garden but great to have a visitor, so I downed tools. She's on a diet too. I asked if i could offer her a treat and she said no, so i didn't even get to tell her about Dad's fruit cake. She had coffee, I had tea. It was great to catch up with M. She's been away so i haven't seen her for a while. We could share diet notes. Among other things, we discussed psyllium fibre which i am writing about for those who haven't heard of it. You can buy it at the supermarket. I take it daily because my medication gives me constipation. She's taking it because she believes its generally good for the bowels. It hasn't got calories. It's all natural fibre. Its not a yummy thing. I just put a spoonful in a glass of water and swallow it as fast as possible. Its not yucky. Its fairly neutral. If you strain on the loo, over time you will get haemorrhoids. Because i am on a diet, my problem is worse than usual. If you are not on meds and you have constipation problems its because you are not eating enough fibre, not enough fruit and vegetables. When you go on a diet, as my gp told me, constipation is not unusual.

Anyway back to "my exercise". In lieu of my walk i wanted to work in the garden. I did two loads of dirt in the morning and about an hour watering this afternoon. i feel great for having made that effort at least and feel determined to do more tomorrow as well as my walk. Today was more about keeping my garden alive than burning calories.
 
I wouldn't stress about formal exercise- I know you know, but the body doesn't know if you're moving to lose weight or to maintain a hobby. I think you're doing really well and maintaining your garden could be a really enjoyable way to keep yourself active on days you don't feel like moving (especially with an entire hectare to maintain, yikes!). You've also got some wonderful goals to work towards, must be some great inspiration to get yourself active. Have you considered cycling rather than walking for your exercise, given you enjoy it? (I know it's not always an option or easy- I consider the cyclists in my major UK city to be vaguely suicidal)
 
April 10 - Day 9 cont.

Don't worry, I'm not stressing Amy. I just wanted to note it. I made a decision early this morning or even last night (can't quite remember) that today would be for the garden. Certainly standing around holding a hose, is only mildly better exercise than sitting at my computer, as far as calorie burning goes but otherwise it's far more significant. Did you write on that self-esteem thread? Or was it Amanda. Anyway i said how doing my chores does a lot for my self esteem. Even more so when i am struggling with motivation.

Cycling around where i live is pretty suicidal too. The roads are narrow, windy and with little shoulder. And there's too many maniacs on the roads. The only way I could cycle here is to drive further before i were to get on my bike. I like walking. I'm not really bothered about cycling except when i am on tour. Walking burns more calories too. Though it might be different in a gym situation. I'd be happy to do walking tours only you get through the country much too slowly. Cycling is a good compromise as a mode of travel. That said, one day i am going to make my annual holiday a walking tour. I've heard Corsica has a good walking trail.

Dinner
2 Cups lentil soup with lemon
iceberg lettuce - naked
1 pear

And i'm stuffed. Which is good.
 
April 11 Day 10

Weight: 63.2kg

According to my scales, I lost over 1kg overnight. That doesn’t seem very believable.

So time for some measurements...
Bust - 37 inches
Waist - 28 inches
Hips - 39 inches
Thigh - 22 inches.

That’s about an inch lost from all areas. I’m not going to argue with that. I’m happy.

8am Breakfast
1/2 cup oats
1 cup full cream milk
8 prunes
1 pear

Bloody sore heels after my walk today and I couldn’t wait to get my shoes off back at the car. I had already decided i needed to buy some more milk but on realising i had no thongs in the car, i had a bit of a problem. Would i walk barefoot around the supermarket? I didn’t want to do that and I didn’t want to endure more pain. I already looked grungy enough in my gardening clothes. Deciding that i really would have to put my shoes back on, i made a discovery about how to avoid future blisters on my heel. I stuffed my socks in under my heel and voila, no rubbing. No problem. Great. Its only taken me 12 years to figure that out.

As usual, i ended up buying more than i originally thought i needed at the shop. But at least I didn’t succumb to any temptation. God knows the supermarket is full of temptation. Taking a leaf out of Amy’s book, I bought some tasty things for future meals, including 50g smoked salmon for a pasta dish, some mushrooms for another pasta dish and some pre-mixed felafel from the deli which i would end up having for lunch. When i started my diet, i had no intention of getting into the cooking in such a big way. Its really working out well. So far.

12.30 Lunch
6 small felafels, deep fried* with salad
1/2 cup of home made yoghurt with a pear

180g of felafel mix - 221 calories, 12,7g protein, 37g carbs, 3g fat per 100g*. I wonder what the rest is made up. Must be fibre.
5 tbsp finely chopped parsley
vegetable oil for frying
Lettuce, torn into small pieces
1 tomato, diced
cucumber, diced
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
lemon juice

Mix extra chopped parsley into the felafal mix. Fill a soup spoon with the mixture and press to firm. Push off into a wok of hot oil. Push oil over the top of the felafal balls with a spoon but don’t try to turn over until the bottom is brown, otherwise it will crumble. When the other side is brown, remove and drain well on absorbent paper to minimise the oil you’ll eat.
Mix up the chopped salad, toss with lemon juice, grind over black pepper and serve the felafals on the top.

*in the felafal mix is only chickpeas, garlic, parsley (not much), herbs, salt and pepper. It was a pretty tasty mixture though i like a lot of parsley in my Fballs. I’d say the chickpeas were soaked overnight then blended but not cooked at all because the raw mixture was quite dry and nutty.

There really is no other way to cook felafal. I’ve tried them in the oven. No thanks. I’ve tried doing them in a spot of oil in the fry pan. Then they fall apart. I figure my diet can cope with the rare - I hardly ever cook deep fried food - deep fried event and since felafals are normally eaten with other nutritious food, i think its worth the risk for anyone.


5pm glass of white wine.

I’ve got a ton of lovely lemons on my tree and almost nothing to do with them now that i’ve given up sugar. Lemons are great for desserts. Not that i made them so often really. But when i did get in the mood, i’d make a lot. Last year, the big hit was lemon delicious. Also I’ve been making a home made lemon cordial which is excellent when you working outside on hot days. However, now i am only using lemons on my salads and then its not even a whole lemon. Its a shame really. I’ve decided to try freezing them whole so that we might have them during the off season over summer next year. It should go ok.

Before wine time, I got out in the garden for more watering. I thought i would do more but i kept thinking about my wine. I like having it while its still daylight. I will have to go out watering again tomorrow and maybe i will try it in the morning.

I think i will have those mushrooms tonight for dinner.
 
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April 11 Day 10 cont...

7pm Dinner
Spaghetti with mushroom sauce

100g spaghetti
5 mushrooms
1 clove garlic optional*
2 tsp olive oil
about 3 tbsp readymade bottled pasta sauce
2 tbsp chopped parsley

Slice the mushrooms and saute in the olive oil til they are limp but don't over cook. Add the sauce and heat through, add half of the parsley. Mix through the pasta and sprinkle with parsley.

*I didn't cook this with garlic. It was a nice mild sauce but if you are a garlic addict, it would be good as well. I merely forgot. If i was making this with tomato paste or tomato puree, i'd add dried herbs as well.

Exercise: 8km walk.
 
April 12 Day 11

Weight: 63.2kg
No Change from yesterday.
PT

8.30am Breakfast
1/2 cup oats
1 cup milk
1 apple

1 coffee w 1/2 cup milk

12am lunch
2 wholegrain toast
1 cup ratatouille
8 prunes

The net has been down most of the day so i had no choice but to get out in the garden and get on with things. I’ve made a list of jobs i have to do before leaving and put it into a program so work through day by day. Its easy when there’s no net to distract but even with it, this way i might do better than otherwise.

4pm glass of white wine

7pm Dinner
Fried rice w egg - total volume about 1.5 cups.
1/2 cup yoghurt
1 pear

This is similar to the way i made it the other but I got the flavourings right today.
1 tsp oil for frying the egg
1 small chicken egg
about 3/4 cup cooked rice
about 1/2 cup cooked vegetables - cabbage and carrot (leftovers already steamed)1 clove garlic
2 tpbsp chopped parsley*
1 tsp oil for frying the rice
1/2 tsp soy sauce
black pepper

Fry the egg or, if you want an alternative, you could boil it then chop it and and mix it through just before serving. I might try this next time myself.
Heat the oil for the rice. Take the wok off the heat and saute the garlic. Put it back on the heat and through in the rice and vegetables. Heat through, add the diced omelette, parsley and then the soy sauce. Heat another 30 seconds or so and serve.
*parsley’s not traditional for fried rice but i wanted more vegetable matter and have a ton of it in the fridge and i didn’t have to cook it separately. Too easy.

Exercise: 3km walk on the beach with dad and dog
Our internet was down all day so i’ve been out in the garden and had quite an active day. I’d be able to do that most days were it not for my net addiction - which i must admit is nowwhere near as bad as it used to be.

I”ve started doing a countdown of jobs to get done before i go on my trip. I”ve got a lot to do including cleaning 400 louvres. Ugh! But good exercise i guess.
 
Helloooo!

How exciting about your cycling trip to Darwin!!! That sounds amazing.. I would love to do something like that! Plus your trip to France! Sounds like you have alot of amazing things to look forward to in the future- a healthier, slimmer you! :coolgleamA:

Props to you for not eating in between meals.. I find that really hard to do. I need to have a piece of fruit or a yoghurt to pull me through to the next meal. I wonder if it's because I workout intensely most days- that I get really hungry? Hmm maybe I'll try not eating in between meals tomorrow and see how i go! :eek:
 
Cheeky, thanks for stopping by. I think i manage to avoid eating between meals by doing a couple of things.

First my meals are a decent size to begin with. I feel quite satisfied after a meal.

Two i keep my meals close together. I notice that when i do my walk, i want to eat quite soon after so i have lunch soon after i get home, or like today, i had it in town quite early at 11am. This of course means, i have to consider the time of dinner. This is quite easy to be flexible about because I don't go out to work. My time is my own. Luckily i've noticed that i am too tired to get hungry hours after dinner. If i stay up late, i would get hungry i think but these days i'm tired because i get up at fairly early. (for me anyway)

That said, some might consider my glass of wine equivalent to a snack. I do get calories from it after all. If i didn't have it then, i'd have it after dinner but frankly, late afternoon is when i like my wine best. If i left it til after dinner i probably would just prefer a coffee.

Three, boredom, or sitting around for a long time as you do in an office causes hunger. At home, i can get up and distract myself by activity to keep hunger at bay a little longer. If i was working in an office, I don't know what i'd do to manage this. Just focus harder on the work i guess. Drink a glass of water every hour or two. And have a good lunch waiting for me when the time arrives.

If you normally feel hungry after the gym, maybe you could consider changing the time you go so that meals times come straight after. But you know, i frankly don't think a piece of fruit or a small serve of natural unsweetened yoghurt or low fat yoghurt anything that you should worry about at all. When i read your food diary list some time ago, i did wonder about the wisdom of having a protein drink though. I think you are better off without that.

I hope you come back to read this post.

The sort of snacks that i think people should avoid are refined carbs, like cake and sweets and biscuits, energy bars, high fat fast food, softdrinks, chips, handfuls of nuts and dried fruit.
 
I actually find it easier eating healthier at work than I do at home. Like say I was home on the weekends- compared to being at work. Probably because i pack my much prior so I already have all my food... and there is nothing here laying around to tempt me. So I just work pretty hard and time just goes by fast and before I know it I'm home enjoying my dinner.

It makes sense that you dont snack mainly because you have your meals together... I have breakfast 7:30am then have a snack at 10:30 am and then lunch at 12, then a snack at 2/2:30 then dinner is usually at 7.. so it's basically five hours between each meal. Which is probably why i have a fruit snack in between

I do not eat after dinner, it's one of my rules. I don't eat any kind of food after 7:30pm.

I go to the gym mainly first thing in the morning- which is great for me because I have a big breakfast right after so that's fine.

Nuts are not refined carbs- they're actually Complex Carbs because they're natural :) But I agree with staying away from refined carbs.. even though sometimes I may be allowed to (calorie wise) It is also a matter of changing my habits so I won't even tell myself that im 'allowed' those kinds of snacks.

Protein shakes, Im sure it's debateable if you've never tried them. I am still new to the whole routiene of having it straight after my workout, but so far I am having success with it so i'll stick it out!
 
The reason why they are good in a diet is because they are rich in protein and nutrients. So they are good for vegetarians. Meat eaters who eat vegies or a varied don't really need them on a regular basis.

Most of the calories in nuts come from fats. Then carbs, then protein. They do have full proteins. So this is good for vegetarians. They are also very yummy.

The reason why they are not good in a diet is because you eat so little food to gain so many calories because of the high fat content. So they are not very satisfying if you are already restricting your calories. That's largely why i don't eat them. The other reason is because i can't be satisfied with a tablespoon full.

The reason why dried fruits are not great is because the proportion of sugar is so high so these are not considered complex carbs. But they do have good vitamins. But again its easy to use up too many calories eating these and going hungry as a result which leads to breaking out of your plan.

If you can easily limit yourself with both these types of foods that's good cause they are yummy but if not, like me, then its easier to go without. I would like to have them in my cooked food. Unfortunately this means buying a larger amount which i am prone to eating all at once.

I am only eating prunes because my doctor told me to for my bowel regularlity but its not really working so i am not going to buy more when this lot runs out. I am just going to eat more fruit.

Also you have to watch out with dried fruits becauase often they add extra oil. With nuts its best to stick with unsalted ones.

Salty foods and sweet foods lead to buggering up your taste buds and making you not satisfied with more simple low calorie food.
 
Defiiniteeellyyy- I know that about dried fruits- which is why I have very little! Usually i have a sprinkle in my oatmeal and count it as a fruit!

I do keep to the small portions of nuts... through the CSIRO, it has taught me about healthy fats! I usually have nuts and avacadoe so I make sure that I'm getting the healthy oils in. Otherwise I wouldnt be having any... excdept for olive oil that I add to my salad or if I lightly stir fry some veggies up! :hat: I could probably do without the nuts, but I make sure I have some sort of 'fat'.

And I agree with what you said about salty foods... for myself; the more salt i eat the more I want!! It's best to do without in my case :)

I enjoy reading what you have to say, i take alot of it into account, so thanks for that! =)
 
April 13 Day 12

Thanks cheeky. I am sure if you stick to your program you will get there and live to tell the tale. lol.

Weight: 63.2kg
No change but this is after breakfast and after a good turn on the loo that was days overdue. I worry about my bowels. They are just not working good anymore. I am afraid it might precipitate bowel cancer in 10 years or so, which is in my family. On the other hand, i have never eaten much processed meat like my father, or meat in general. On the other hand again, i have not eaten as many vegies as i should for long periods of time and instead i’ve eaten tons of icecream, chocolate and lollies. So i don’t know how all that is going to pan out but i don’t want to have an operation for bowel cancer. Its not that operation that worries me so much as the risk of obstruction afterwards. Y y father had this after his operation and it is extremely painful and dangerous. I just want lovely healthy bowels but i can’t afford to give up my antidepressants - which cause it. I’ll be discussing it in more depth with my gp next time i go in late april.
T

7.30 Breakfast
1/2 cup oats
1 cup full cream milk
1 apple

9.30 my walk

11am Lunch in town
Lentil burger on foccacia bread with avocardo, rocket (YUM), tomato and cucumber. I am dubious about the goodness of that particular lentil burger. It tasted more like mashed potato than lentils. Anyhow, its is good to eat out occasionally.
1 excellent small cappucino. It was so creamy i wondered if they’d sneaked some cream in.

I gardened from 3-5 more or less so that’s good. A lot of it was filling wheelbarrows and pushing that around. So good for my muscles. Even so, it’s more important for me to be getting things done and keeping my plants than the exercise in this case though. Its a bonus that its good my diet program too. :)

I must say i looked at alta’s herowoman’s video the other day and I was really impressed with the change in her body between being slim and looking good in a bikini to how she looked after weight lifting. She looked so much better even though she looked good in a bikini without the muscles. My sister is very fit and very slim. She also looks good in a bikini though she doens’t lift weights. She does triathlon. We’ve got the same body shape pretty much and the same height though i’ve always been fatter and more lumpy. I am wondering if its possible with weight training or ongoing superfitness to get my bum to be more pert. I wonder. Well that’s for the future. First i have to get to the ideal weight.

After my walk this morning i went to the supermarket and took the lift up as my feet were hurting and i figured i’d burnt enough calories and exerted my muscles enough for this morning. In the lift there are good mirrors so i can see myself pretty clearly. Well i still don’t look great. Obviously i don’t look as bad as when i was more weighty. But possibly the main thing was my grungy clothes. After shopping i went for lunch across the way. Sitting in front of me was a young family. The woman had on a lovely maxi halter dress. She was fatter than me. Had arms larger than i ever had but she looked great in that dress. I need to try harder with my clothes when i go to the supermarket. I know on many levels this is not important but usually the biggest motivating factor for us to lose weight is to look better, so it seems dumb to minimise the benefits with bad clothes and grooming. Doesn’t it. My sister because she is so vain and skinny, (Yes a bit of sibling rivalry is between us) always makes sure she looks good even around the house when she is working. She’s very self conscious. Probably too much. That is a trait from our mother who was terribly vain.


The other day i worked out my daily calorie spend before weightloss for 64k. On the nutrition data website. I still haven't worked out how many calories my diet adds up to. I will get around to it sometime.


Your Calories Burned - a kcal = a calorie. same diff.
Daily Energy Expenditure:*
1838 kcal
( 7695 kJ)
Additional Calories from Exercise: I put down 30 minutes per day because there wasn't an option for an hour every second day.
*+ 125.0 kcal
( 523 kJ)


Estimated Energy Requirement:*
1963.0 kcal
( 8219 kJ)
 
April 12 cont...

7.30 pm Dinner
2 small oranges
leftover felafals 6, with 1 cup cooked cabbage* and 1 grilled tomato

*Steamed cabbage cooked in 1 tsp veg oil and garlic to finish off. I think next time i will just have it steamed. That's nice too.

Exercise: 8km walk

About eating fruit. These days whenever i eat fruit, i peel it (if its an orange) and cut it up into chunks and eat it from a bowl with a fork. I like apple and pear and all fruits like this. I don't like eating oranges by the quart. I don't like having juice running all over my hands particularly. I think eating fruit this way makes it more delicious, especially oranges.
 
Some calculations

While my BMI seemed sensible at around 23, my body percentage was stupid a 32%. Said i was obese. Obviously there's something wrong with the program. I am using metric.

My BMR is 1337 according to this site. I can't remember what i worked it out


The average body fat percentage for U.S. females is around 32%, with the ideal at 22%. Athletic females should be around 15-20%.

Results: Using your measurements of a 29 inches waist and weight of 139 pounds your body fat percentage is estimated to be 28.59 % using the U.S. Navy body fat formula, or 30.62 % using the formula developed by the YMCA. Neither method is as accurate as a water displacement test, but is usually within 1-3% for most people. If you have a very small waist, it will show a low value.

1kcal = 0.23595736 calories

BMR 5707.6572 kilojoules = 1367 calories

to calculate my RMR, I’m going for the moderate exercise because i go for a brisk walk of 8km every second day, so multiply BMR x 1.55

RMR x1.55
5707.6572 x 1.55 = 8846.868 or 2087calories per day.

minus 500 calories for weight loss = 1587

Now all i have to do is calculate what my typical meal day is looking like.
 
Some calculations

While my BMI seemed sensible at around 23, my body percentage was stupid a 32%. Said i was obese. Obviously there's something wrong with the program. I am using metric.

My BMR is 1337 according to this site. I can't remember what i worked it out


The average body fat percentage for U.S. females is around 32%, with the ideal at 22%. Athletic females should be around 15-20%.

Results: Using your measurements of a 29 inches waist and weight of 139 pounds your body fat percentage is estimated to be 28.59 % using the U.S. Navy body fat formula, or 30.62 % using the formula developed by the YMCA. Neither method is as accurate as a water displacement test, but is usually within 1-3% for most people. If you have a very small waist, it will show a low value.

1kcal = 0.23595736 calories

BMR 5707.6572 kilojoules = 1367 calories

to calculate my RMR, I’m going for the moderate exercise because i go for a brisk walk of 8km every second day, so multiply BMR x 1.55

RMR x1.55
5707.6572 x 1.55 = 8846.868 or 2087calories per day.

minus 500 calories for weight loss = 1587

But according to this website, i should consume only 1242 calories per day and this will enable me to reach my goal weight in june sometime. I chose the light activity option. It better describes my activity on average.

Now all i have to do is calculate what my typical meal day is looking like.
 
Last edited:
Counting calories

My usual breakfast is 414 calories

A salad sandwich is too freaking difficult to work all this out. I give up.
 
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