It's all about me

1535

mnexercisegirl: Fitday is awesome...I initially used a calorie counting book, then tried a couple of on-line sites (CPH is decent) but finding fitday was like finding my soul mate....on work nights I can put in everything I've had and it gives me a good guideline for optimal choices I should make the rest of the day and evening.

Today is.....MAINT. CAL DAY!!! I was going to make banana bread, but even a reasonable slice is just so calorie dense I decided it's not worth it for a ordinary treat. So I'm making a version of the ice cream pie that Photocrazed posted...I can have two HUGE portions of that and still have 1500 calories of "real food" spread out the rest of the day. We're having dinner at my favorite chinese buffet tonight and more than anything I'm going to hit the huge fresh fruit table.

Don't know how it happened, but yesterday's foods were right on the mark...calories in line, macros look good, protein and fiber both on the mark and sat fat still came in under my limit.

liquids
coffee: 10 oz
lemon juice: 1 oz
water: 50 oz

fruits
apple, 1 small

veggies
mixture (water chestnuts, red/yellow peppers/soybeans/snap peas) 1 cup
turnip greens, 1/3 cup
yam, 1/8 cup
tomato, 1 plum

dairy
yogurt, plain, 1/2 cup
mexican crumbling cheese, 1 oz

meat
roast pork, lean 3 oz
tuna, 2 oz
chicken, 1 small breast
anchovy, 1 oz

grains/nuts/seeds/legumes
buckwheat, slightly under 1/4 cup
giant limas, 1/4 cup
corn muffin, 1/4 muffin
brown rice, 1/4 cup
brown rice/seaweed crackers, 1 serving

other
sesame seed oil

Total: 1535
Fat: 41 369 25%
Sat: 16 147 10%
Poly: 6 50 3%
Mono: 14 128 9%
Carbs: 166 577 39%
Fiber: 22 0 0%
Protein: 130 519 35%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%







.
 
I started to put my foods into Fitday today and I'm having problems with things like stirfry. I LOVE CHINESE BUFFETS! So there's like 3-4 around the area that I work. I love the hot and sour soups and the stirfried veggies, which I hope are healthy. Anyhow, how do you input those in Fitday? I'm estimating portions, but I don't think they are right. Can you help?
 
I pretty much rely on the "custom foods" option for restaurant foods...which is a pain to put in at first but if you eat at the same places a lot it's worth the trouble. The other thing is I always ask (the manager, not the server) how any particular dish is prepared if it's grilled or stir-fried (corn oil? olive? canola? partially hydroxinated any oil?) and the specific ingredients of combination dishes (like soups or sauce). Estimating portion sizes with accuracy is just a function of time and boring daily habit....when you measure out the same 1 tablespoon, 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup, 3 and 4 oz day after day it becomes automatic.
 
maint. day - 1971

I really thought I was eating with wild caloric abandon, jotted down all my food but hesitated to put it into fitday until this morning cause I didn't want to see the "damage"....1971..didn't even make it to my full maint. cals. I guess the real damage was my sat fat intake - a whopping 30 grams :eek: which is about two days worth! I know that's cause dinner plans to eat out (where I was planning on having a lot of fruit and fish) were derailed 'cause we decided to stay in and watch American Idol (which was a waste of a night off cause most of those guys were not good)....so dinner ended up being roasted pork loin and pinto beans under mozzarella....a lot of mozzarella, and I mean a lot of mozzarella.

So, the next three days at the 1500 cal range then another maint. day, then I'll step on the scales, get revised measurements and body fat numbers...I think it's working though 'cause I see the difference, I feel the difference - somebody even referred to me as having a "sculpted body" the other day!!!!!! (that did wonders for the motivation) but I just haven't been weighing in because I don't want the scale number alone to toy with my head. I know myself too well - if I see a gain right now, I'll get discouraged and/or obsessive, if I see a loss I'll get lazy and complacent again before reaching my goal.

liquids:
coffee: 8 oz
green tea: 16 oz
water: 50 oz

fruit:
apple, 1 small
banana, 1 large
raisins, 1 mini box

veggies:
onions, purple, 1/4 cup diced
baby corn cobbs, chestnuts, broccoli, red/yellow peppers, soy beans, snap peas, 1 cup
tomato, 1/2 small

dairy:
sour cream, 1 tablespoon
yogurt, plain, 1 1/4 cup
sf/ff pudding, 2 servings
cheese, mozz, 4 oz

meat:
pork loin, 3 oz
ground turkey, 3 oz
anchovy, 1 oz
egg whites, 2 large

grains/legumes:
graham flour, 1/2 cup
pinto beans, 1/2 cup
brown rice, 1/4 cup
brown rice/seaweed crackers, 1 1/2 servings

other:
honey, 1 tablespoon
olive oil, 1 tablespoon


Total: 1971
Fat: 61 546 29%
Sat: 30 272 14%
Poly: 6 52 3%
Mono: 18 164 9%
Carbs: 245 885 46%
Fiber: 24 0 0%
Protein: 119 478 25%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%
 
Last edited:
cals too low by nearly 100 and sat fat too high by about 5 grams. Otherwise okay. Part of the reason cals so low is had dinner at Sweet Tomatoes (a buffet style restaurant) with a friend...except for a small serving of white bean soup, stuck to items I didn't have to question content of - primarily veggies & fruit.

liquids:
coffee, 8 oz
water: 70 oz

fruits:
grapefruit: 1/2 small pink
cantaloupe, 2 small wedges

veggies:
broccoli, 1 cup
spinach, raw, 3 cups
beets, picked, 1 oz
tomato, 1/2 small
sweet potato, 1 small

dairy:
cottage cheese, 1/3 cup
sour cream, 1 tablespoon
yogurt, 1/2 cup

meat:
salmon, 3 oz
chicken, 2 oz
anchovy, 1 oz
egg, 1/2 whole boilled & 2 whites

grains/nuts/legumes
white bean soup, 3 oz
buckwheat, 1/4 cup
whole wheat puff pastry, 1.2 oz

other:
olive oil, 1 tablespoon


Total: 1424
Fat: 60 540 39%
Sat: 22 195 14%
Poly: 7 62 4%
Mono: 27 245 18%
Carbs: 124 414 30%
Fiber: 20 0 0%
Protein: 106 424 31%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%
 
Last edited:
A thought occured to me when I was posting my food. Since this time last year, something has really shifted in my head...I'm not making choices anymore because I "have to", but because I want to.

I've read about a thousand times that the best way to make an enduring change in habits regarding eating/exercise is to make small ones, one step at a time...but I'm such an inpatient, all-or-nothing person, once I decided to "do it", I made all the big changes right at the start: literally overnight I went from a couch potato, soda guzzling, pizza munching, cookie monster to a "eat clean, lift heavy, run hard, no excuses" fitness freak.

I've been wondering lately if this would backfire on me and I'd find myself, one day soon, squatting in the aisle of Publix just ripping into a bag of Oreos. And last night I'm at this buffet restaurant, hungry, with limited (for me) selections, and I'm looking at all our plates on the table, mine with mounds of spinach leaves, cottage cheese, etc. and my friend's with walnut bread, fried fish, etc....and in all honesty the only sense of "deprivation" I was feeling was that the fruit choices were limited to pineapple, apple & canteloupe and I was in the mood for watermelon.

I'm not sure why but I feel pretty good about that today...maybe next week, next month or next year I might possible run junk food amok in Publix, but for today I'm feeling confident that my inner junk food addict is soundly asleep...hopefully in a coma.
 
1818

cals in limbo land...300 below maint (2100) but above low cal day limit (1500).:confused: Sat fat excellent, fiber low, protein fine. The macros would look nearly perfect if the the 10% alcohol were shifted to protein. Fiber is low because I did not have any veggies and only one fruit.

Since I already know that I'm going out to play on Thursday nights, and there will be red wine and munchies involved, I really have to better coordinate my maint. cal days to fall on Thursdays. On the positive side, though, I managed to stick to my "no Cosmos 'till my birthday rule" despite someone sending a round to our table. I looked at it, I admit to taking a teeny tiny sip, but I virtuously declare "I did not have relations with that drink!":)

liquids:
coffee: 8 oz
lemon juice: 1 oz
protein drink: 11 oz
red wine: 2 1/2 glasses
water: 80 oz

fruits:
grapefruit: 1/2 small pink

dairy:
yogurt, plain: 1/2 cup
parma cheese: 1 oz

meat:
salmon: 4 oz
chicken: 5 oz

grains/nuts/legumes
whole wheat puff pastry: 1 oz
pine nuts, 1 tablespoon
whole wheat pita chips: 5 oz

other:
olive oil, 1 tablespoon

Total: 1818
Fat: 62 561 32%
Sat: 11 95 5%
Poly: 7 61 4%
Mono: 18 164 9%
Carbs: 161 590 34%
Fiber: 14 0 0%
Protein: 106 426 24%
Alcohol: 24 169 10%
 
Maleficent: yea, I had to find a good health related rationale to justify my Thursday night partying....now I've got it covered on three bases:
1. red wine is good for the heart
2. I must eat these munchies to get my cals up to maint. level
3. getting dressed up in "hoochie" clothes is good motivation to keep the weight in check
I just luv my rose colored glasses!


and
 
1493

Awesome food day...especially after Thursday which was so bad I was slightly embarrased to post. Cals just a wee bit low but macros right in line, sat fat nice and low at 12 grams and 8%, fiber 24 grams and protein at 128 grams - which is what I shoot for every day but seldom achieve.

I was going to wait until Wens. to have my measurements etc. done, then decided "what the heck" and offered my body up. And...body fat 19.03 to 18.44! Which is odd cause I have not lost one single pound this month despite being consistent with food and exercise at least 90% of the time...in fact I've actually gained 1/2 pound...but belly measurements have decreased at the natural waist, the belly button and the abdominal sites:)

So, I'm ignoring the stupid scale and declaring February a success!

liquids:
coffee, 8 oz
lemon juice, 1 oz
water, 70 oz

fruit:
kiwi, 1 & 1/2 fruit
banana, 1 large

veggies:
mix (red/yellow peppers, soy beans, snow peas, chestnuts, carrots, baby corn cobbs), 1 1/2 cups

dairy:
yogurt, plain, 1/2 cup
semi-firm white cheese, 1 oz

meat:
salmon, 4 oz
talapia, 8 oz
chicken, 2 oz

nuts/grains/legumes
buckwheat, 1/4 cup
pine nuts, 1 tablespoon
whole wheat pita, 1 serving
whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup

other
olive oil, 1 tablespoon
protein drink, 11 oz


Total: 1493
Fat: 50 453 32%
Sat: 12 112 8% :D
Poly: 9 84 6%
Mono: 20 184 13%
Carbs: 142 471 33%
Fiber: 24 0 0% :D
Protein: 128 512 36% :D
Alcohol: 0 0 0%
 
Hi Cym

I love your Diary title "It's All About Me"...that is excellent. lol

I read all your entries and chuckled when I read healthy eating for you is 90%health and 10% vanity. Hey, whatever works! For me it's probably the other way around 10% health and 90% vanity. lol

What I really enjoy about your posts is the attention to detail, and some of your food choices give me some really good ideas.

I know what you mean about that last leg of the journey, those last 5 pounds and getting complacent. Especially when everyone is saying nice things like you look great, or wow, nice sculpted body, etc., etc. External comments can interferre with our resolve. And I'm sure you DO look great, but you also have such a good grasp on the notion it's not about what we look like, it's about daily lifestyle choices. That is just awesome. I know I'm going to read your diary for inspiration. Thanks for sharing.
 
1518

2skinny LOL, love the nickname! Thanks for the kind words and happy you can get some food ideas you like. I have to say that this isn't the way I normally eat though, when I'm maintaining I try to do 8-9 fruit/veggie servings, 3 dairy, 3 protein (tofu,fish,meat), 3 grain, 1 nut serving a day....but I can't cram all that into 1500 cals (believe me I've tried) so I'm limiting the fruit/veggies, not doing nuts daily and hitting the lean meat a little harder than usual.

Yesterday's foods good for macros (nearly 40% protein), sat fat fine but fiber too low by half. Given the nature of the day I'm okay that I basically made the best choices available...given the way today is shaping up, I'm pretty sure fiber is going to be low today too....I'm probably going to choke down some p. husk caps this evening and hope it balances out. Plan B is I'm going to the movies tonight and I could just scarf down a large tub of popcorn - pure fiber baby!:D


liquids:
coffee, 12 oz
green tea, 8 oz
lemon juice, 1 oz
water, 40 oz :eek:

fruits:
apple, 1 green, medium

veggies:
turnip greens, 1/2 cup
yam, slightly under 1/4 cup
tomato, 1/2 small

dairy:
cottage cheese, 1/2 cup
cheese, mozz, 1 oz

meat:
sirloin, 5 oz
salmon, 4 oz
chicken breast, 3 oz

grain/nuts/seed/legumes:
corn muffin, 1/4 muffin
pine nuts, 1 tablespoon
crackers, saltines, 4
whole wheat wrappers, 1 1/2 serving

other:
olive oil


Total: 1518
Fat: 54 482 33%
Sat: 17 156 11%
Poly: 8 68 5%
Mono: 24 217 15%
Carbs: 111 402 28%
Fiber: 11 0 0%
Protein: 143 570 39%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%
 
1228

Calories so scarily low (1288) that I'm not even considering macros or gram counts. Was actually somewhat on track through early evening with enough cals left for a piece of fruit, a light dinner and a small movie popcorn. Then a friend called who had been rear-ended the night before (and declined treatment) was suddenly feeling a lot worse...by the time I talked her into going to the emergency room, picked her up and took her to ER, waited for hours (and hours) at ER and finally got her home, then back to my house, I just scarfed down some chicken stew and crawled into bed myself.

No work-out this am. I read a long time ago that what you eat in the 24 hours prior to a work-out plays a key role in injury/strain/effectiveness...I have no idea if that's true or not but it got stuck in my head as a "fact" so I'm making today a "rest" day from weights, I'll try to eat slightly above the 1500 cals today (maybe 1700) and hit it hard in the morning.


liquid:
cappuccino, 8 oz
green tea, 8 oz
water, 40 oz

fruit: nada

veggies:
mix (soy beans, snow peas, carrots, chestnuts, broccoli), 2 cups
onion, purple, 1/4 cup diced
tomato, 1/2 medium

dairy:
cottage cheese, 1/4 cup

meat:
bacon, 3 thin strips
chicken, dark/white meat mixed, 2 cups shredded
eggs, whole, scrambled, 1/3 cup

grain/nuts/seeds/legumes
brown rice, 1/4 cup
saltines, 2 crackers
whole wheat wrappers, 1 serving

other:
olive oil, 1.5 tablespoon

Total: 1228
Fat: 56 506 43%
Sat: 15 134 11%
Poly: 9 78 7%
Mono: 29 259 22%
Carbs: 96 346 29%
Fiber: 10 0 0%
Protein: 82 328 28%
 
1489

It's not even 9 a.m. yet and I'm already feeling obnoxiously, disgustingly pleased with myself:)

First, 'cause the bf and I finally split...knew it was coming and it's more a relief than anything else...I'm driving home from the gym this morning and it was like a CW song playing in my head "the man left and took our dog...dang I miss that dog!"

Second, I am finally down a pound at my weigh-in!...including the 1/2lb increase of last week...guess the increase was just some weird fluctuation due to my cycle (I keep forgetting to account for that)...so I end the month with scale weight, inches and body fat all on a downward trend. That's one pound, 1/2 percentage body fat and 3 combined inches in the mid section. Probably does not sound like a lot of progress for a whole month of effort...but I'm thrilled with it.

Finally, I have the next three days off from work! And that is huge cause I never, ever take any extended time off.

So, da food, it always comes back down to da food.

Yesterday cals okay, was aiming for slighly over 1500, came in slightly under...going for full maint. cals today. Sat fat fine, 13 grams and less than 10% of total fat, protein fine, 100+ grams, fiber low. This is three consecutive days of low fiber...not good but I've got a plan to correct this...involves apples and zucchini and acorn squash. Macros look satisfactory.


liquids:
lemon juice: 1 oz
green tea: 11 oz
coffee: 16 oz
water: 70 oz

fruit:
banana, 1 large
apple, 1 large

veggie:
mix (soybeans, snowpeas, celery, red peppers), 1 cup
onion, purple, 2 medium ring slices
tomato, 1/2 medium
brown rice, 1/8 cup (cooked)

dairy:
cottage cheese, 2/3 cup

meat:
chicken, 1 1/2 cups shredded
anchovy, 1 oz
sausage, 1 thin patty

grains/nuts/seeds/legumes
buckwheat, 1/4 cup
whole wheat wrappers, 1 serving + 1
saltines, 2 crackers

other:
olive oil 1.5 tablespoons

Total: 1489
Fat: 47 421 29%
Sat: 13 121 8%
Poly: 6 51 4%
Mono: 24 214 15%
Carbs: 162 584 41%
Fiber: 16 0 0%
Protein: 106 426 30%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%
 
feb stats and march goals

February stats:
Average calories: 1572
Average sat fat: 17 grams, 10%
Average fiber: 19 grams
Average protein: 110 grams
Average Macros: f/c/p 35/34/29
Average alcohol: 2%

loss of 1 lb, 3 combined inches mid section, .59% b/f

March goals:
Calories: Continue calorie bounce between 1500-2100, should average out 1600 at end of month

Sat fat: Spent nearly everyday this month thinking "it's too high, it's too high", yet it averaged out exactly where I wanted, no more than 10% of total fat intake, go figure.

Fiber: Got to get that up to 25-30 grams average daily. The next 31 days will start off with apple/squash/oatmeal pancakes.

Protein: I'm satisfied that 110 grams average daily is cool with my weight/activity type. March goal is to not go below that.

Macros: I'm okay with the 35% fat cause it's mostly plant/fish fats, need to figure out how to change the balance between carb/protein while increasing fiber...could be easily done if I am willing to cut out alcohol and spend those cals on protein...but, I am not....so guess I'll do it the hard way and keep playing with the food.

weight/measurements/bodyfat: only visable excess fat left is a little stubborn pocket in the lower ab region...hopefully it's time has come to leave...don't know what that's gonna look like in exact lbs/inches/bf...

MOTIVATION: Hell, as of yesterday, I'm a single girl with a cat...do I need more?
 
Way to go on those averages!! You know exactly what you need to be doing, and are doing it! I dream of being where you are.. One day, I will!!!!!
 
2203 - maint. day

Photocrazed: I saw in your food diary that you've come off your plateau...obviously you know - and are doing - exactly what you need to be doing.:)

Yesterday was maint. cals (2100) went over by 100 cals (2203). I knew in the am I was going to be chowing down on lots of fruit through the day so started off with protein drink (100 cals) to make sure I got that covered....turns out I could have saved the 100 cals and still met protein goals.

Sat fat nice -15 grams and 7%...fiber a whopping 33 grams and protein at 143 grams...although it comes in at only 27%, I think 143 grams is more than I actually need so again, could have ditched the protein drink.

liquids
green tea, 8 oz
coffee, 8 oz
water, 60 oz

fruit
Nectarine, 1 medium
cherries, frozen, unsweetened, 1/2 cup
blueberries, frozen, unswetened, 1/2 cup
banana, 1 medium
raisins, .05 oz
raisins, golden, .05 oz
cranberries, sweetened, 20 pieces

veggies
egg plant, 1/3 medium
veggie mix ( baby corn cobbs, chesnuts, snow peas, carrots), 1 cup
tomato, 1/4 small

dairy
cottage cheese, 1/4 cup
yogurt, plain, 1/4 cup
neuf. cheese, 1 oz

meat
egg white, 1 small
shrimp, medium, approx. 50

grains/nuts/seeds/legumes
soba (buckwheat noodles), 2 oz
almonds, 1.5 oz
whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup
crepes, 3 9 inch
buckwheat, 1 tablespoon

other:
olive oil, 1.5 tablespoons
sesame seed oil, 1 teaspoon
protein drink, 11 oz
baker's choc., unsweetened, 1 tablespoon


Total: 2203
Fat: 82 742 35%
Sat: 16 141 7%
Poly: 13 116 5%
Mono: 44 400 19%
Carbs: 240 831 39%
Fiber: 33 0 0%
Protein: 143 572 27%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%
 
You so motivate me everytime I read your journal. Can I ask what your routine is? Weights, your calorie cycle, etc? I'm curious to see how you've accomplished your goals. Sorry if you had posted about this earlier.
 
Hi MNexercisegirl, Hope you're feeling better and the flu bug has stopped kicking your butt!

To answer your question...

my workout routine varies every 8 weeks depending on what goals I'm working on...after every 8 weeks I take a full week off from all exercise to recharge. Right now I'm starting week five of a M/W/F weights, full body,
Tues. HIIT and Thursday 4 mile run with a yoga class on Saturday.

the calorie cycle is just 3 days at 1500ish calories and every 4th day at maint. cals.

The funny thing about "accomplishing my goals" is that it was never just about weight loss - but heavens knows that was a huge factor. More about learning to eat healthy for the rest of my life, stop the binges, get fit, get strong, look good in teeny weeny clothes:) , yada yada yada. My goals are always changing...and sometimes they are pretty stupid...I had an 8 week period totally devoted to (I forget now why I thought it was "cool") becoming strong enough to bench press my body weight:eek: ... obviously I didn't achieve it but the work that went into attempting it did nice things for my body overall.
 
cym said:
Hi MNexercisegirl, Hope you're feeling better and the flu bug has stopped kicking your butt!

To answer your question...

my workout routine varies every 8 weeks depending on what goals I'm working on...after every 8 weeks I take a full week off from all exercise to recharge. Right now I'm starting week five of a M/W/F weights, full body,
Tues. HIIT and Thursday 4 mile run with a yoga class on Saturday.

the calorie cycle is just 3 days at 1500ish calories and every 4th day at maint. cals.

The funny thing about "accomplishing my goals" is that it was never just about weight loss - but heavens knows that was a huge factor. More about learning to eat healthy for the rest of my life, stop the binges, get fit, get strong, look good in teeny weeny clothes:) , yada yada yada. My goals are always changing...and sometimes they are pretty stupid...I had an 8 week period totally devoted to (I forget now why I thought it was "cool") becoming strong enough to bench press my body weight:eek: ... obviously I didn't achieve it but the work that went into attempting it did nice things for my body overall.
Click to expand...

I've been talking with Steve on this whole exercise thing and my views have been really warped because of trainers that I had in the past. Now that I know what you're routine is, I feel a lot more comfortable with the one that Steve suggested for me. It's weird that I have to see it to believe it, but it's true. I'm a big cardio person and my whole weight lifting routine was doing 20 reps of everything. Thanks so much for sharing and I like how you change things up and have a goal every 8 weeks. That's a great idea! I think that if I think about goals about running faster, or lifting a certain weight instead of losing pounds, it'll make my work outs much more rewarding.
 
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