It's all about me

1725

If yesterday's food intake were a story with a moral it would be this: never underestimate the determination of a girl needing her monthly junk food fix. Everything on point: Cals at 1725, sat fat at 15g, 8%, fiber at 33g and protein at 123g....and I still managed to squeeze in a bowl of pudding, a cookie and a fudge pop!:rotflmao:

liquids:
coffee, 16 oz
green tea, 16 oz
lemon juice, 1 oz
water, 80 oz

fruits:
blueberries, 1/2 cup
strawberries, 3 extra large
grapes, 1 cup

veggies:
tomato, 1 medium
spinach, cooked, 1/2 cup
avocado, 1/8 wedge of small fruit

dairy:
4-cheese Italian blend, 1 oz
yogurt, plain, whole, 1/2 cup
ff cream cheese, 1 oz

meat:
chicken breast, 1 small
ground turkey, 97% lean, 4 oz
egg whites, 2 large

grains/nuts/seeds/legumes
oats, rolled, 1/2 cup
rye flatbread, 3 crackers
ww penne w/milled flax seed, 2 oz

other
olive oil, 1 1/2 tablespoon
vital wheat gluten, 1 teaspoon
sf cookie, 1
sf/ff pudding, 1 serving
sf fudge pop, 1

Total: 1725
Fat: 54 490 30%
Sat: 15 136 8%
Poly: 6 55 3%
Mono: 23 208 13%
Carbs: 196 652 40%
Fiber: 33 0 0%
Protein: 123 494 30%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%
 
1715

Satisfied that the decision to go at a slight deficit over last few days was probably right on time. Morning weight this a.m. was up one pound since last week - which is par for the course during TOM and in reality means "no change"....which is my only goal regarding the scale right now...staying within the same 3 pound range. Going back up to low end of maint. range for rest of week.

Cals at 1715, on target for last day of planned deficit. Sat fat slightly over at 22g, fiber too low at 23g and protein adequate at 114g. Sat fat pushed over the edge because of whole egg rather than white and fiber could have been boosted in any number of weys, ideally through more veggies since I only had a serving of broccoli.

liquids:
coffee, 16 oz
lemon juice, 1 oz
water, 80 oz

fruits:
apple, 1 large
strawberries, 3 extra large
banana, 1/2 small

veggies:
broccoli, 1 cup

dairy:
4-cheese Italian blend, 1 oz
yogurt, plain, whole, 1/4 cup
ff cream cheese, 1 oz
ff sour cream, 1 tablespoon

meat:
bacon, 2 thin strips
salmon, 6 oz
egg whites, 1 large
egg, whole, 1 large

grains/nuts/seeds/legumes
flax seeds, milled, 2 tablespoons
w/w flour, 1/3 cup
almonds, 1 oz
saltines, 2 crackers

other
olive oil, 1 tablespoon
corn oil, 1 oz
vital wheat gluten, 1 teaspoon
protein bar, 1
sf cookie, 1
sf fudge pop, 1
cocoa, 1 tanlespoon

Total: 1715
Fat: 83 747 44%
Sat: 22 194 11%
Poly: 19 169 10%
Mono: 31 275 16%
Carbs: 147 495 29%
Fiber: 23 0 0%
Protein: 114 458 27%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%
 
1404

Okay...change of plan here 'cause I'm trying to talk DFM into going to Atlanta for the week-end..I'm in the mood for room service, restaurants and wine. In anticipation that I can persuade the stubborn boy over the next few days: I'm going to go up to maint. today because I way underate yesterday (not by intent) and don't want my silly body ti overreact and go into "feed me" mode, then drop back down to 1800-1900 range fir rest of the week.

So, I have all these unconnected random thoughts floating around in my head...just going to dump 'em all out......

First, I can now bench press 1/2 my body weight with ridiculous ease - which means it's time to up the weight a bit - but I started thinking that at some point, who knows how soon, given my gender, size and genetics, I'm going to reach a limit in pure strength gains...and I know I'll be a little sad when it happens. But, before then, for no reason other than "just because" I'd like to be able to bench my body weight.

Second, I always thought that one of the big problems I'd have with long term maintainable would be weighing week after week, month after month and not seeing (hopefully) any scale changes other than random water/hormonal fluctuations. There was something kinda fun about losing weight and getting to record a smaller number...there was even a neat anticipation in my weekly weigh in when I'd done really well during the week. But, no, it's just as much "fun" to record the same number week after week...I'm starting to really see it as progress every time the number stays the same...just a different sort of progress than I'm used to.

Third, and this is just a random thought, but it feels "true"...I think that my previous weight losses did more harm than good in the long run. I used to think that they involved some "learning curve" and were necessary evolutionary steps on the road to doing it and being able to maintain...I'm now calling complete b.s. on myself. 'Cause if I'm honest with myself the only thing that "evolved" with each loss/regain was a higher weight (and a nasty binge disorder following the last 1200 calorie a day diet nonsense) , and at the end of the day, the only thing I really, truly learned was how to diet. ...which actually came back to bite me in the butt because I distinctly remember thinking when I first started to re-gain 3, 5, 10 pounds "Oh well, I know how to take it off whenever I want". Water under the bridge now, but I'm just going to stop putting a positive spin on my previous stupidity. It was what it was.

Forth, I'm an idiot. I've been thinking and whining about how much easier it would be to get my sat fat down if I didn't hate non-fat yogurt so much. I just polished off the tub of "whole" yogurt I've been eating from for the last week when I happened to notice....it's nonfat.

Finally, I've got to figure a way to get a weekly yoga class back into my schedule. I haven't been able to go for weeks due to work conflict, but I was doing my normal stretches this am and noticed a definite decrease in my overall flexibility.

Calories very, very low at 1404, I missed a meal which is a big no-no while only targeting 1700 cals. It was random though, should'nt happen again. Obviously everything else is too low as a result, especially protein and, missed meal or no, there's no excuse for the lack of veggies.


liquids:
coffee, 8 oz
lemon juice, 1 oz
water, 80 oz

fruit:
raisins, .05 oz
grapes, 1 cup
naval orange, 1 medium
apple, 2 small

veggies:
hominy grits, 1/3 cup

dairy:
ff cream cheese, 1 oz
4-cheese italian, 1 oz

meat:
chicken breast, 1 cup shredded
bacon, 4 thin strips
eggs, scrambled, 1/3 cup

nuts, grains, seeds, legumes
peanuts, 1 oz
pine nuts, 1 tablespoon
rye flatbread, 2 servings
saltines, 2 crackers

other:
sf fudge pop, 1
sf cookie, 1

Total: 1404
Fat: 45 402 30%
Sat: 16 140 10%
Poly: 7 60 4%
Mono: 14 126 9%
Carbs: 178 602 45%
Fiber: 27 0 0%
Protein: 87 346 26%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%
 
MM, MM good!! Your menu sounds wonderful today. I say enjoy your weekend coming up and I'm sure you'll be just fine eating out and having some wine. You seem to have the calories down pat and you know what you can and can not eat, so for some reason I don't forsee any issues for you and this weekend coming up. I think that's awesome you are now lifting weight half you body. DAMN! That's so impressive! I'm still working on that every week, it takes so much time to get there and I hope soon I will as well. When you put down 4 cheese italian. Do you have a block of cheese that you slice off 1oz?? Just curious, because I LOVE CHEESE! Well, I better get going, I have a few more diary's to post in and then I have to get busy. Have a lovely day today!
Kim
 
cym said:
First, I can now bench press 1/2 my body weight with ridiculous ease - which means it's time to up the weight a bit - but I started thinking that at some point, who knows how soon, given my gender, size and genetics, I'm going to reach a limit in pure strength gains...and I know I'll be a little sad when it happens. But, before then, for no reason other than "just because" I'd like to be able to bench my body weight.
Click to expand...

You might get there, you never know. But I know what you mean about being sad about the strength gains - I feel the same way about my squats and deadlifts. So far, I've been able to increase 5 lbs. a week, but I know that will eventually come to an end.

cym said:
But, no, it's just as much "fun" to record the same number week after week...I'm starting to really see it as progress every time the number stays the same...just a different sort of progress than I'm used to.
Click to expand...

Now that's the sort of fun I'm really looking forward to.

cym said:
I think that my previous weight losses did more harm than good in the long run. I used to think that they involved some "learning curve" and were necessary evolutionary steps on the road to doing it and being able to maintain...I'm now calling complete b.s. on myself. 'Cause if I'm honest with myself the only thing that "evolved" with each loss/regain was a higher weight (and a nasty binge disorder following the last 1200 calorie a day diet nonsense) , and at the end of the day, the only thing I really, truly learned was how to diet. ...which actually came back to bite me in the butt because I distinctly remember thinking when I first started to re-gain 3, 5, 10 pounds "Oh well, I know how to take it off whenever I want". Water under the bridge now, but I'm just going to stop putting a positive spin on my previous stupidity. It was what it was.
Click to expand...

I don't know who's been down that road more often, you or me. For me, it's been 8 times, so I'm probably the bigger fool by a long ways. Each time, though, I tried something different, so it wasn't a case of pure insanity. I'm not sure I would say the same thing about all those false starts in my case. Frankly, I don't think I'd have the disciipline this time without all those failures, nor the quest for real knowledge about what's going on in my body. A lot of people probably think I'm insane with all my measurements, charts, and graphs, but for me, it's all part of doing it more scientifically this time, and leaving a lot less to chance.
 
I've never actually talked about this in any great detail...cause frankly who the hell would be interested.:sleeping: Truthfully I think that most people who want to lose weight just want to lose weight and have the idea that the ends justifies the means without realizing that there is no real "end" and the "means" can create more problems than the excess fat. But, I thought I'd explain where my own (slightly) obsessive attention to detail comes from.

Several years ago I'd been about 40 pounds overweight. I basically lost the weight because once I started college I became very active and busy and even though I ate crap, I just didn't eat a lot. I joined the real world, could afford better crap, had more time to eat it and became less active - so the pounds came back and brought a few friends. I randomly started and stopped a couple of diet/exercise plans which just as randomly fell by the wayside. Finally, a couple of years ago, being at the time 50 lbs over weight, I went to a highly recommended, very expensive nutrition/fitness "expert" with degrees and credentials coming out her butt. My own doc looked over the plan she gave me and approved. I knew NOTHING except I was overweight and having no success controlling the weight on my own. I wasn't looking for a "quick fix"....I wasn't following some half-baked plan from a book or the Internet. I really, really was looking for guidance from a "professional".

The important thing here is that up to this point I had never, ever binged in my life. I just ate too much junk. I'm a fairly intelligent woman who was stupid about even the most elemental facts of nutrition. For instance I actually thought if something weighed a pound that's how much I would gain from eating it. Yea, I know. And I was lazy and truly liked just sorta laying around in my spare time. Had I known then what I know now I could have simply made some sensible, easy to live with, consistent changes in my lifestyle over a slow period of time and lost the weight without screwing up my metabolism.

But, I didn't know, so I paid someone (lots of money) who I thought knew and here's what I got. A 1200 calorie a day low fat, low protein, very high carb diet with an exercise plan centered around cardio. Which means, not even factoring in the twice a day exercise - the stupid b**** had me eating at roughly 8 x body weight!!!!!! Now, factor in that she had me walking for an hour each morning and doing an hour of aerobics each evening 5 days a week. Umm, okay, I lost 50 lbs. In four months. I got thin. I was pronounced "healthy" and advised that I could now begin to eat at a "normal" 2000 calories a day as long as I kept physically active and watched the fat intake. My doc said something along the lines of "a healthy diet and exercise works everytime (I think he was blinded by the amount of fruit/veggies and the walking)" and I'm sure my before and after pics are still in that trainers portfolio as one of her "success stories".

Meanwhile, my body had other ideas. It had the idea for four months the food supply had been very, very scarce. And since it had happened once, it could darned sure happen. And it didn't take very long after resuming "normal eating" to jump into "I'll save you from future famine" mode. Within a fairly short time of resuming "normal eating" I turned into a bottomless pit of hunger that evolved into a full blown binge disorder that I periodically made worse ('cause I didn't know any better) by returning again and again to the 1200 calorie diet that "worked so well" before.

That's why this time around, at 60+ lbs overweight I decided I would became my own "expert" about my own body. If there is a journal, a book, a study, a program or a reliable Internet source on the topic of nutrition, fitness, obesity, etc., I have (or will) read it, evaluate it in terms of how it applies to ME in the real world and accept or reject it. I finally realized that since exactly one person lives inside this body, that one person darned sure better know how to take care of it.
 
Last edited:
I'm not in love with having so much estimated... but it was one of those days. VERY ROUGHLY estimating calories at 1800, could be as low as 1700 (doubtful) or as high as 2000 (more likely). Quite sure sat fat is over 20g limit maybe as high as 28g, fiber under 35g, probably around 25g and protein at least 130g...cause when all else fails I always get my protein. One of the things I've figured out is that if I go under roughly 1500 cals for more than a day or two in a row, or over 2000 for a couple of days some switch (I call it my "feed me" signal) turns on and unless I am good about quickly pulling myself back up (or down if need be) into about a 1700-1900 range it's a darned tough signal to turn off.

I discovered my "low end" a couple of months ago when I tried to calorie bounce for three consecutive days at 1500 and recently figured out the high end after spending too many days at the top (and a little beyond) range... in both cases I started noticing that I was HUNGRY practically every waking moment...It' really not that big a deal though, I just have to stay fairly consistently within my happy little "sweet spot" and/if when life has other plans, just quickly adjust accordingly. Okay, my body is weird, strange, bizarre.



liquids:
coffee, 16 oz
black tea, 8 oz
lemon juice, 1 oz
water, 80 oz

fruit:
watermelon, 1 small wedge
blueberries, 1 cup
apple, 1 small
navel orange, 1 medium
estimate: 200 cals

veggies
string beans/zucchini 1 cup combined
broccoli, 2 cup
estimate, 100 cals

dairy
ff cream cheese, 1 oz
ff plain yogurt, 3/4 cup
actual: 140 cals

Meat:
Mussels, 4 large
shrimp, `10 large
chicken, 4 oz dark meat
crab, 2 claws
pork, 2 oz
beef, 2 oz
estimate: 700 cals

nuts/grains/seeds/legumes
soba, 1 oz
sticky white rice, 5 sushi rolls
estimate: 200 cals

other:
sf fudge pop, 2
soy sauce, 2 oz
s/s sauce, 2 oz
mystery sauce, 2 oz
possible mystery oil, 3 tablespoons
estimate: 400 cals
 
That's why this time around, at 60+ lbs overweight I decided I would became my own "expert" about my own body. If there is a journal, a book, a study, a program or a reliable Internet source on the topic of nutrition, fitness, obesity, etc., I have (or will) read it, evaluate it in terms of how it applies to ME in the real world and accept or reject it. I finally realized that since exactly one person lives inside this body, that one person darned sure better know how to take care of it.
Click to expand...

Yes, it's a wonder the failure rate for people losing weight isn't 98% instead of 95%, with all the misinformation out there. Not only that, but as my doc told me, the studies that end up getting written are the ones that can attract money, not necessarily the ones that need to be written. So if there's a possibility that eating blue bottle flies every day will help you lose weight, it might have enough pzazz to attract funding. OTOH, a study confirming what you and I and so many others on WLF have discovered is not nearly as sexy.

I admire your intellectual tenacity. That's a key component in success, I believe.
 
I loved your last few posts, you have certainly struggled in the past. WOW, you are a very strong women to keep going, and not giving up on yourself. I think your eating plan is great, you eat such wonderful food everyday. When I read your food intake, I just sit here with my jaw wide open, going "damn" I wish I could eat that good, but I guess I could If I could force myself to get to the store more often. I HATE SHOPPING! I think your just fantastic, and I'm glad you shared your story. Thank you!!!
 
Tom: the amazing thing to me is that anyone ever succeeds in keeping lost weight "lost"...honestly we seemed to be geared towards gaining (biology takes care of that), and losing (a multi-billion industry) but maintaining?????

Ladybug: that's so funny because my best friend has the world's healthiest diet (in terms of sheer nutrition)...for a really long time I was just in awe and soooo envious of how she just went along eating salmon and fresh fruit and veggies every day...it was like her grocery store only stocked healthy stuff and mine only stocked potato chips and ice cream.....

Jeremy: txs
 
cym said:
I was HUNGRY practically every waking moment.
Click to expand...

This is where the catabolic group served me well. I could stave off hunger every time - guilt-free and zero consequences. What a glorious situation :)

Rock on cym, your diary is brilliant *beams*
 
I seem to be on a seafood kick...at least it's better than my beef/pork kick of a few weeks ago. And it definitely beats the fruit and more fruit pms kick. Actually, as long as the cals stay on point and the "big three" (protein, sat fat, fiber) are accounted for, I'm perfectly content to satisfy my body's random preference to hone in on a single food group. DFH, however, was less than thrilled when he asked where I wanted to go for dinner and I picked a restaurant (for the second day in a row) with a huge grilled seafood selection. If I'm feeling evil after work tonight (and I may well be cause he won't budge on my week-end in Atlanta idea) I'll cook salmon for dinner.

Calories right on target at slightly under maint, sat fat slightly over at 21g and 11%, fiber slightly low at 29g and protein good at 140. Veggie intake great but could have boosted fiber and lowered sat fat by having a little less tartar sauce and a second serving of fruit.

liquids:
coffee, 16 oz
green tea, 16 oz
lemon juice, 1 oz
water, 60 oz

fruit:
apple, 1 large

veggies:
broccoli, 1 cup cooked
spinach, 1/2 cup cooked
zucchini, 1/2 small
corn, 1/2 small cobb
green beans, 1/2 cup
tomato, 1 small

dairy:
skim mozz. cheese, 1 oz

meat:
ground turkey, 85% lean, 4 oz
shrimp, 7 large
scallops, 8 medium bay
squid, 1 cup
perch, 2 small fillet

grains/nuts/seeds/legumes
w/w flat out wrap, 1 wrap

other
olive oil, 1 tablespoon
cocktail sauce, 1 oz
marinara sauce, 1 oz
tartar sauce, 3 tablespoons

Total: 1869
Fat: 95 856 47%
Sat: 21 193 11%
Poly: 25 228 12%
Mono: 33 298 16%
Carbs: 134 419 23%
Fiber: 29 0 0%
Protein: 140 559 30%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%
 
Hi, cym. I love seafood. I'm really worried about the depletion of the fisheries. I don't know what I'd do without fish 3 times a week.
 
Just read something in TomO's diary that made me go "hmmmm" Every day I look over my food choices from the previous day and note what I did "wrong" or what better choices could have been made...okay, that is necessary for me to keep myself in check....but, I seldom really think about or note what food choices I did not make...and that's equally important in a different way.

So.... yesterday I had a small popcorn at the movies, spilt most of it on the floor and when DFH said "want me to get you another one" I said "no".....We went to doggie track and I went to concession stand to get one of those giant soft pretzels but told the girl "never mind" when I realized she was going to have to steam it cause I didn't feel like waiting (my dog was about to run)....turned down a slice of key lime pie (the real thing, not the jello version) for dessert just because I was full from fish and veggies...didn't even consider "taking it home for later". Yey me!
 
See, you're much better than I am. You turned down the bad stuff because of a conscious choice; I turned it down because I was too impatient to wait. :)
 
nope, makes no differece why ya say "no"...just being able to say it over and over in the face of random, unexpected temptation until it becomes second nature is (IMO) the difference between the 5% and the 95%.
 
1468

Calories way too low at under 1468:eek: . Sat fat great at 13g, fiber exactly on point at 35g but protein too low by half at only 69g. The plan was to have salmon and broccoli for dinner with some kind of dairy & fruit (I bought some killer strawberries) based dessert...the reality ended up being I came home from work, for some reason got into a marathon house cleaning frenzy (out damned spot, out), laid down for a "quick nap" and didn't wake up until morning. No work-out this a.m. cause I have a personal rule against either lifting or running without being sufficiently "fueled". I wish I had a "temptation resisted" to list from yesterday...but nothing presented itself. It was a boring day on the food front.

liquids:
coffee, 16 oz
lemon juice, 1 oz
water, 60 oz

fruit:
apple, 2 medium

veggies:
spinach, 1 cup cooked
tomato, 1 medium
**cucumber & avocado in shrimp rolls

dairy:
skim mozz. cheese, 1 oz
ff sour cream, 2 tablespoons

meat:
ground turkey, 85% lean, 4 oz
**shrimp & crab in shrimp rolls

grains/nuts/seeds/legumes
w/w flat out wrap, 2 wraps
almonds, 30 whole
saltines, 2 crackers
**sticky white rice in shrimp rolls

other
olive oil, 1 tablespoon
soy sauce, slightly under1 tablespoon
***shrimp rolls, 8 pieces


Total: 1468
Fat: 67 602 41%
Sat: 13 114 8%
Poly: 6 58 4%
Mono: 25 225 15%
Carbs: 182 588 40%
Fiber: 35 0 0%
Protein: 69 276 19%
 
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