Mizzie's Journey to Being Healthy

[mizzie]

I started a blog somewhere else, but then I found this site. I'll post what I have there so far though:

Well, in a nutshell, this blog is for me to track my progress in my weight-loss goals. I will post new tips or tricks I’m trying, how the day went, how I’m feeling about it and update my weight loss. I’m hoping that having a place to get my thoughts out (so I don’t need to constantly bug my friends and family!) and having a little more accountability will help me stay on track.

Just to get the details out there, right now I weight 219 and would like to get down to 150. In other words, I would like to lose 70 pounds. Actually, it’s my hope to lose a little more than that, but that will get me down to a healthy weight and that would be great.

I’m using the good old-fashioned diet and exercise plan. “Move more, eat less,” right? Actually, I don’t really like to call it a “diet”. To me, diets are short-term, temporary changes used to lose a few vanity pounds. This will hopefully be more of a life-time change in how I interact with food. I am tracking calories, but only to give me an idea of how much food is healthy and will help me lose weight. I don’t have a set amount of calories per day. It’s really more to help me be more aware of how much healthier an apple is than a half-bag of chips. Basically, I don’t eat if I’m not hungry. I stop eating when I don’t feel hungry anymore. (which pretty much eliminates ever having seconds, honestly) I’m allowed one or two snacks, as needed, but they must be healthy. I have a whole list of healthy snacks that I enjoy on hand for these times. I’ve also cut down how much soda I’m drinking. I only get one can a day. This is down from the 5 or 6 I was drinking… daily! Add up those calories, that’s a little insane. I’m also keeping a food journal. This is going well and is helping me be more aware of what I’m eating. I might want to eat something, but I don’t want to have to add it to the journal, you know?

The exercise is one hour of aerobic and light weight training three times a week, minimum. I do this Monday, Wednesday and Friday, at 5am to a series of DVDs. This is the exercise that I absolutely must do. But I’ve also been trying to get in some extra movement during the day. I’ll do squats when I brush my teeth, “dance” in my chair at work, fidget and tap my toes at my desk (I work alone, so I’m not bothering anyone), chase my 6-year-old around rather than sit on my computer in the evenings. Basically, trying to keep something moving all day, if possible. Every little bit helps!

Anyway, that’s the plan. I’ll try to post every day, or even more often, if I can. I’ve never been good at keeping up a journal or blog, but I’m going to try.

Well, I’m on day three. Exercise this morning was hard. I really didn’t want to do it. But I just thought of telling everyone that I’ve given up already and did it anyway. Felt so good about myself when I was done! I did tape 1 today, which was difficult. Seems like that one is very heavy on the leg work. My thighs shook afterwards and my knees felt like water for a while. lol But it’s good. I know after a few weeks, I’ll be stronger and it’ll be a lot easier to do these.

I know I haven’t lost any weight yet, but I already feel better about myself. I don’t know if it’s the fruit I’ve been eating or the multi-vitamin I’m taking, but I seem to feel a little better and my mood is better. Heck, maybe it’s just that I’m finally doing something good for me and that’s improving my outlook on things. By fall, I won’t be fat anymore! Considering how fast this last year went, that’s not really all that long. Woot!

I did have a down time last night where I thought of just not doing it any more. It hit me that it’ll take a long time to even lose the weight, and then I’ll have to maintain it for life. If I don’t, there’s no point in doing it now, right? I’ll never be able to just eat like I want to. But I gave myself a good shake and told myself it was worth it!

It helps that Josh and I have decided that my reward for getting down to 150 is that I get to take scuba lessons. I’m really excited about this and I think it will help. We’ve also decided on a few mini-rewards along the way. When I lose 25 lbs, I get to buy the book for the scuba lessons. (they require that you read/study the book before the class starts anyway) And at 50 lbs, I’m going to get my own scuba mask! (it’s one of the things they recommend you buy first) Then, at 70 lbs, I can sign up for the class. And, hey, my reward is a new fun way to exercise! So it won’t undo anything I’ve done and might help me overshoot my goal. AND, all I have to do is picture my current body in a wetsuit (*shudder*) for motivation. lol

Random note: Granny smith apples and peanut butter is absolutely delicious! And, if you are careful to use only one serving of PB (which really is plenty for the whole apple), it’s only about 200 calories even using regular PB. It is a little high in fat, though, so eat sparingly, but as a snack once in a while, it’s great. Fiber, potassium, protein and a whole list of vitamins, all in one really great tasting snack!

Heh, I feel like I splurged at dinner tonight. We had BBQ sandwiches on very small buns. I checked the calories in the BBQ and the buns and figured each was only about 250 calories, so I took two. After I ate them (and they were yummy!), I entered the amount in my food journal and found that I had only consumed 1500 calories today. And that’s down from an estimated 3000 daily! I figured, with the exercise this morning and all, I could have one more so I did. Now I do feel kind of guilty about that because I broke one of my rules: Stop eating when you don’t feel hungry anymore! And I didn’t feel hungry, I just wanted one. But I still came in under calories wise and I don’t plan on any more snacks tonight.

It’s still not good and I should feel slightly bad about it. But at least I didn’t just eat whatever I wanted. I took a good look at what I ate today and decided I could have it. Can’t do that too often though. If I hadn’t had that third one, I’d be 250 calories closer to my goal. Ok, that’s not much, but it would add up fast if this became a habit.

In short: Don’t feel horrible, but don’t feel good about it either!

 

[mizzie]

Lol, well, I did say that yesterday’s DVD was heavy on leg work, right? My thighs are pretty sore today. This morning’s squats while brushing my teeth were killer! I think I’ll go back to DVD 2 tomorrow. Actually, I think a routine of 2, 1, 2 would be good for a while. Once I get my stamina up a bit, then I can work #3 into there. Now that one is a killer! It’s called “Maximum Cardio Burn” for a reason, let me tell you. I think I’ll wait a couple weeks to work that one in, but I’ll get there.

Otherwise it’s going well. Only had 1700 calories yesterday and I was pretty proud of myself for that! I wasn’t even hungry at the end of the day, so that’s going well. I know that calorie count is still a little high for weight loss, but that’s down from over 3000 calories a day, which is what I was averaging before I started this. Plus I’m getting more exercise now… which is to say, I’m actually getting exercise now. I didn’t before. Here’s hoping…

 

[mizzie]

Ok, I need some butt kicking. I’m about to go to lunch and part of me wants to “reward” myself by just pigging out. For one, I haven’t been at this long enough to get a reward. For two, I do have a reward system in place (X lbs lost = Y) that is not food based. I also have a nagging feeling that this won’t work anyway, I’ll give up eventually, so why try? I’m just doomed to be fat…

NO! I can’t let myself think that way. I keep telling myself that I can do this! And how much happier will I feel when I do? Not to mention, I’ll feel a heck of a lot better. I can do this! Other people have. I’m going to take another look at some of those before and after pics at lunch and resolve again to do this. At least I stopped myself before I got to lunch time!

On a related note, tomorrow is weigh day. I’m both excited and nervous about that. If I’ve lost at all, I know I’ll be pumped! But if I haven’t, I’m going to be so discouraged. I just have to keep telling myself that even if I haven’t lost anything yet, that doesn’t mean it’s not working. Gah, I wish it was tomorrow! I’m not expecting much, even 1 pound would at least be moving in the right direction.

 

[mizzie]

Only 1320 calories today! Go me! And I don't feel hungry either. *happy dance*

I'm really trying, and failing, to not get too worked up over weighing myself tomorrow. Honestly, this isn't the best week for me to lose weight, if you get what I mean. So even if I did actually go up a little, in reality I probably didn't. But it's hard not to be a little nervous about it. Wish me luck!

I've also noticed that my PMS this month was a lot better. As in, non-existent. I usually don't get too, too crabby (I don't think, Josh might have a different view though), but I do get very emotional. The slightest thing will make me cry. But this week I've been happy and cheerful all week. I wonder if it's because I'm getting more of the vitamins and minerals that I need from the produce and the multi-vitamin I'm taking, or if it's because I'm doing something good for me and I'm just that happy about it. Doesn't really matter, I guess. Lol, new diet, new exercise routine, more sleep... and I haven't had a better week in a long time!

 

[hearmeout]

hi mizzie! sounds like you're on the right track! my friend, who recently lost 70 lbs, nonchalantly said to me yesterday "losing weight is easy", and i thought that was a really shocking thing to hear. we go into weight loss thinking that it's going to be so hard, that it's going to take forever to see results, that we're going to have to give up so much, and that we're probably going to fail. but that's not the case. weight loss IS easy! with a good plan for diet and exercise (remember, supposedly 60% of weight loss is related to diet, so you being more conscious of what you're eating is a huge step in the right direction!) you'll be looking slimmer and slimmer in no time! here's to acquiring the bodies we were born to live in!

 

[mizzie]

Thanks, hearmeout! It's really nice to read some words of encouragement. You know, you're right. This isn't exactly a walk in the park (although that would be good exercise. ), but it's really not nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be. I know I'll hit some times when it'll be harder, but for now I'm pretty pleased with my results (see next post) and how I feel. I'm liking the food I'm eating, I feel better already and even the exercising isn't all bad. lol I think, in time, I'll actually learn to like it.

Really, thanks again. Your post really made my day. Looks like you and I have very similar goals. Good luck!

 

[mizzie]

215.2!

215.2 is what I weighed in at this morning! That’s four pounds less than last weekend. I can’t hardly believe it! I’m dancing around and smiling so much even my daughter commented that “Mommy’s happy this morning.” lol And I didn’t starve myself either! I have the calorie count to prove it. I’m averaging between 1600 and 1700 calories a day. But that’s down from 3000+ so I guess it makes sense that I’ve lost weight. Then add in the fact that I quit all soda (I didn’t have any yesterday!) and have been exercising.

Although, take it with a small grain of salt, when I weighed myself before it was in the afternoon. So it’s possible that my weight just fluctuates badly during the day. I am going to weigh myself tonight just to get an idea of how much I change in a day. But still… *grin*

Although, you’d think with all that happiness and the motivation that this is actually working, that working out this morning would have been easier, but I think today was the hardest day yet. I flat-out did not want to get out of my nice warm, comfortable bed to go exercise. Bleh! And I wanted so badly to quit part way through. I had to argue with myself that yes, some exercise is better than no exercise, but finishing my workout is also better than only going half way. I sucked it up though, and pushed through. Oddly, though, this time was harder. I don’t really know why, but I seemed to get out of breath faster and it was more of a struggle to get through it. Oh, and ab work when you have cramps really sucks! But I did it anyway.

And just look at that turtle move! Go, turtle, go!

 

[mizzie]

Somehow missed this before. I had intended to add these with my first post. Oh well, better late then never.


What is your current height and weight? 5'5" and 215.2 (started at 219.8)

If you were at an ideal weight now, what would that weight be? 135, but I'm trying for at least (most?) 150

At what weight would you like to be at four months from now? 175

Why do you want to lose weight? Health, self-esteem, feel more energized, stop people from commenting on how I "used to look so nice" -_-

Do you want to lose weight for a specific life event such as wedding or reunion? If so, when is that event? No, but I should have done this a year and a half ago for my own wedding!

What obstacles could get between you and your weight loss goals? I tend to go all out on new things then get bored with them, plus not wanting to exercise and loving salty/fatty snacks, and loving to bake

Why do you think that you now have a weight problem? I'm lazy. I sit on a computer all day, drink too much soda, eat whatever I feel like, eat almost no produce and a lot of pasta, cheese, white bread, etc., never exercise. Basically did everything in my power to get fat...

What lifestyle changes do you think would help you lose weight? No more soda, a lot more water, more fruit, more veggies, more exercise, more sleep, less pasta and pizza

Have you lost weight in the past? If so, what has worked in the past to help you lose weight? Yes, I lost 20 lbs in two months a few years ago doing exactly what I'm doing now. I know it works and that I can do it.

Why do you believe that you did not lose weight or you gained the weight back? Last time I gave up because of something non-related that happened that made me feel like I couldn't deal with that and work on my weight at the same time. I gave up and went back to my old ways.

What, if anything, has not worked for you in the past in helping you to lose weight? Why do you think it did not work? I would say making too drastic changes too fast. It doesn't work to change everything you do all at once. Small changes works too and means you'll stick to it longer.

Would you try writing down all food and drink consumed for a given period of time? Yep, I'm doing it now! Everything that crosses my lips goes on the list.

Do you cook at home often? If so, what do you cook? Yes and no. I don't do the cooking, my husband does. Unfortunatly, that means I don't have a lot of control over what we have, but I can take less and he's been very supportive. We have a lot of meat and pasta or rice

How often do you go out to eat? Where do you go? Not often, typically once a month or less. We go to Famous Dave's a lot, guess we need to pick somewhere else or I need to order something else.

What are your three favorite foods? Pizza, "Hint of Lime" chips, chicken alfrado

What are your three favorite restaurants? Famous Daves, Olive Garden, Red Lobster

What are three things you can do differently when it comes to food? Replace unhealthy snacks with healthy ones, replace soda with water, eat smaller portions

If you woke up tomorrow and your body was exactly the way you want it, what would be different? Oh man! Well, I'd weigh about 125 and be muscular. I'd have nice thin arms and legs, a flat, defined stomach, smaller breasts, smaller and more defined butt, no love handles and only one chin

Do you eat when you are not hungry? Yes, all the time. But not anymore!

Do you binge eat (large amounts at a time)? Yes, all the time. But not anymore! ^_~

Do you hide your food or eat in secret? I used to. I'd buy chips or candy and hide it from my family. I'd eat them when I was home alone so they wouldn't know I was eating so much or want me to share. I don't do that any more either.

Do you eat when you are sad, nervous, or depressed? Yes, but I'm going to try to exercise my feelings out instead.

Do you eat as a reward? Yep, I did that too. But, again, I'm not going to. I have non-food rewards in place.

Do you eat while watching TV or using the computer? No, I don't do this one. But I do eat when I read and I read a lot. I still do that, but I take some apple slices or baby carrots instead.

What do you normally eat for a meal? Usually meat, pasta, cheese, no fruits or veggies, soda at every meal. And I'd eat until I couldn't anymore. Why do you think I'm fat?

What type of snacks do you eat? Before, I'd eat chips and crackers. I like salty snacks. Now I'm sticking with fruits and veggies, but I do get a nabisco 100 calorie pack at work. Only one a day though. It helps me keep the cravings down.

In terms of exercise, what, if anything, are you currently doing? Now I'm doing a series of 1 hour DVDs three times a week. They have a combination of cardio, aerobic and weight training (free weights). I plan to up this amount in a few weeks when my stamina increases a little. Before this week though, I did nothing.

Where do you go for exercise? A local public gym? School/work gym? Home? Home. Although our apartment complex does have an exercise room. I'm thinking of adding some time in there on the weekends.

What, if anything, are your three favorite types of exercise? Swimming! Definatly. I'm a fish at heart. I just wish we had a pool, I'd never be fat again because I'd be in the pool every free moment. Hmm... I guess bike riding and taking walks for the other two.

What is your daily/weekly/monthly/yearly motivation to move towards your goals? Well, I guess I hope to lose 2 pounds a week on average.

Do you have rewards for certain goals? Oh yes! I mentioned this before, but part of my motivation to do this is that I really want to take scuba lessons. I've always wanted to, but couldn't justify the money spent only on me. My husband and I decided that if I could meet my weight goals, I can take scuba lessons. So, at 25 pounds lost, I get to get the lesson book (it needs to be read/studied before the class), at 50 pounds lost, I get to buy a scuba mask (one of the first things they recommend you get for yourself) and at 70 pounds lost I get to start taking lessons! That's also why I've picked the bubbles and the turtle for my ticker. Helps me keep my motivation in mind. I've also decided that for every 10 pounds lost, I get a "free day" (in moderation!).

 

[hearmeout]

oh my goodness, have people really told you that you "used" to look so nice? that's so rotten!! i'm sure that you still look gorgeous, but there's always room for improvement. ugh. that made me feel so horrible to read that, though! i don't think i could lose weight if people said things like that to me, i think my self esteem would be too low after something like that, so i am even more impressed by your ability to spearhead your plan and charge ahead toward your goal! don't lose momentum!

 

[mizzie]

Yeah, they have. And it's usually from people I really care about that I know really care about me, so it does really hurt. It also hurts when people say "I think you lost weight. You look really good!" when they knew full well that I wasn't trying to lose weight at the time. It's like they are trying to force me into doing something about my weight.

Oh well, I'm not doing it for them. I'm doing it for me!

I think the most shocking time was when I ran into the mother of an old friend of mine. She hadn't seen me in about 10 years at that point. I said hi and she gave me a really funny look, so I told her who I was. She said "Oh! "Mizzie!" Wow, I never would have recognized you. You used to be so skinny!" I didn't say it, but I was very close to saying "Wow, that's funny, you used to be so nice. Weird, huh?" I can laugh about it now, but at the time I was really hurt and quite shocked.

Oh well, soon enough and no one will be able to say that to me again! And actually, I don't see my family very often because of distance and weird work schedules. I'm not telling anyone other then my husband and a couple friends that I'm doing this. I'm really looking forward to when I see my family again and I'm much lighter. ^_^

 

[mizzie]

So, I weighed myself tonight, after dinner, to see if my weight fluctuates very much from morning to evening. Apparently not, since I weighed 215.8 tonight and 215.2 this morning. So it does go up a bit, but that doesn't discount the 4.6 pounds that I lost. Yea! I'm really glad about that, since my initial weight was taken in the evening.

I didn't do too horribly today: 1630 calories. That may seem high to some people, but for my weight, it's not. That's still about half of what I used to consume. And according to , a woman at my age, height and weight with moderate activity level should eat about 2047 calories to lose 2 pounds a week. And we even ate out tonight. But I was pretty good at the restaurant. I had a wrap (not great, but not horrible), a side salad with Italian dressing (instead of fries) and water. The meal still cost an estimated 760 calories, which isn't great. But all in all not bad for eating out.

Oh, and the best part! I'd had this wrap before and ate the whole thing, and the fries, no problem. But tonight I got through my salad and one half of my wrap and I really didn't want any more. I mean, I wasn't stuffed, or even "full", but I wasn't hungry and didn't want to finish it. I've never done that! I usually like to eat until I'm stuffed! And it wasn't like I mentally didn't want to eat it because of the diet, I just physically didn't want it. Can your stomach shrink that fast? I've only been doing this for 5 days, but already I need less food to feel satisfied.

And I'm on day two of no soda! Actually, no caffeine at all. I feel better than I thought I would. I had a raging headache Wednesday night, but after that nothing. Maybe the caffeine addiction was easier to break then I thought. I didn't drink it to keep me awake, I drank it because I liked the taste. I could drink a Coke and go to bed, it didn't really affect me. But I was worried that I'd have worse headaches and that I would crave it. Actually, I don't... yet.

This is going great, actually! I'm so excited. I think I can actually make this work. Every time I start thinking I can't, I just go take a look at all those before and after pictures again. All of you that have lost weight and posted those don't know what an inspiration you are and how much that is helping me. If you can do it, so can I!

 

[mizzie]

Today has gone well so far. This isn’t an exercise day, but when I woke up this morning I actually wanted to get some exercise in today. I just felt like I was being a slug to have a day off work and not exercise at all. As it turns out, we found out this morning that we were going to get some unexpected company so we ran around and cleaned quick, so I got some unexpected exercise too! lol But I did make it to the apartment exercise room this afternoon. I was only there about a half hour because I realized my muscles were still sore from last week, but I got a pretty good workout while I was there.

Doing good on the eating too. I’m at 800 calories for the day and it’s nearly 6pm. Still have dinner to go though and apparently we are having chicken alfredo. Ah oh… That’s one of my favorites and it’s so bad for me! I’ll just have to be careful to take a smaller portion and not have seconds (or thirds!). Oh, and I was excited because we wound up going out for lunch with the aforementioned unexpected company. I ordered off the “light” menu and when I got home I found out it was only about 350 calories. Nice! It was really yummy too, so no sacrifice there.

Oh, and while I was talking to a friend this evening I got the urge to weigh myself. I try to only do that once a week, but I just had to find out. 214! I apparently lost 1.2 pounds from yesterday morning until this afternoon. That’s kind of nuts, actually! I know this will slow down after a bit, but for now I’m loving it. ^_^

 

[mizzie]

I was good at dinner. I only had one bowl. Now, to be fair, that was probably a little more than a serving, but I wasn't stuffed after I ate and I didn't go back for seconds. I wanted to, though, it was yummy. No real idea on the calorie count there, but I took the ingredients and made a guess, then rounded up just to be sure. Still came in under my calorie limit, so it's all good.

I'm not sure when I went from "tracking calories just to get an idea" to "Must stay under 1700 and under 1500 would be better!", but I have. Today was really good. Even with rounding up quite a bit on the alfredo, I still came in at 1410. And, yeah, I'm not hungry. Yea for healthy, lo-cal snacks! (fruit, low-fat yogurt, etc.) It's really amazing how much I've had a shift in my mentality. I used to know something wasn't good for me, but I didn't care. I liked it, it tasted good. Food was only about what tasted good and nothing else. Now I'm starting to see food as the fuel for my body and I should put good stuff in there. I'm starting to take smaller bites, chew more, savor my food more. It's really kind of crazy. I was at the store today and saw a lot of people buying Valentine's candy. I didn't even have the urge to get any and I couldn't help thinking about how many empty calories are in that. lol I feel like a whole different person and I hope it lasts!

Anyway, I'm tired and heading to bed. Since I've started getting 8 hours of sleep, I seem to need it more. I think my body is still getting used to all the positive changes lately.

 

[mizzie]

So, it's Valentine's Day today. Josh was great and didn't get me any candy or ice cream, but Laughing Cow cheese, low-fat wheat thins and Crystal Light lemonade were part of the present. (there were a few other things in there, all of them sweet and thoughtful) He's really trying to support me, so that's great. I tease him that he just wants a hot, thin wife, but I know he really loves me and wants me to be happy. He knows I'm not happy with myself and he also knows my family history and doesn't want to lose me in my 50's.

Today I'm actually kind of excited. According to my calculations (and the Daily Plate), I've only eaten 1147 calories today. Since that's a little low, I get to have an extra snack tonight. I'm thinking some of my new cheese and crackers. One serving of each will only be about 160 calories. I need to double check it, but it's around there.

We had a good day today, but I'm feeling rather tired. No formal exercise, but we went window shopping so I wasn't just sitting around the house either. I think I'll have my snack tonight, read my new book for a while, then go to bed early. Exercise at 5am tomorrow!

 

[mizzie]

Ok, this morning sucked. I was so tired (which is weird, because I went to bed at 9) and the workout made my heart pound so bad. I was hot,exhausted, out of breath and flat out didn't care anymore. I did finish it, but only because I didn't want to have to admit to anyone that I gave up. Seriously, it wasn't that I wanted to be thin or healthy or take scuba lessons, it was not wanting to admit I quit. I guess if that's what kept me going, that's good in way. But I hope some of my own excitement and drive comes back, because I can only get so far on that.

It really doesn't help that I had such a crappy day at work last Friday, which makes me really, really not want to go today. Then, to top it off, Josh has today off because apparently the place he works for is closed on President's Day. So while I get to go to a job that I'm hating right now, he gets to go snowmobiling with some friends. And he went ice fishing for a little while yesterday, and spear fishing for half the day Saturday AND he gets to be in an ice fishing tournament next weekend. And what do I have to look forward to? Exercise and dieting. ... Yeah, I'm crabby today.

Here's hoping the week gets better or sticking with this is going to really suck.

 

[mizzie]

Well, just to bring you up to date, Monday went from bad to worse. I won’t get into it, but my day really sucked. As far as the dieting went though, I did fine. Calories are averaging between 1250 and 1400 and I’m happy with that range. (I even ate some carrot sticks instead of another piece of pizza on Monday! Guess which one I wanted more.) Tuesday was kind of a blah day, but again, did fine on eating.

Last night I was feeling unmotivated and although I knew I would get up and exercise, I already didn’t want to. A quick call to a friend (who’s promised to kick my butt on this) helped. It made me feel more motivated again. This morning went fine. I wasn’t exactly excited about the workout, but I wasn’t dreading it either. And I didn’t feel as tired, out of breath or down as I did Monday. I think that was more mental than physical.

Did tape 2 today, so it’s going to be a rough day for my thighs! lol But it seemed to go really fast and I didn’t feel like my form was all wrong like on Monday. It’s better today. Helps that I get to look forward to a half day of work on Friday! And, Friday is weigh-day again, although I have cheated and checked my weight a few times since last Friday so I do have some idea of how I’m doing.

I discovered yesterday that Sara Lee makes a diet bread that’s only 45 calories and whole wheat, so I bought some of that. I think I still like their “Whole Grain White Bread” better, but this is 30 calories less a slice, which is 60 less for my breakfast every day. I’ve also been drinking a lot more water. It seems like the more I drink, the more I want it and the more hydrated I get, the more often I’m thirsty. Seems counter-intuitive, but it makes sense if you think about it.

Anyway, have to get ready for work… yea…

 

[mizzie]

Two new posts, because I forgot to update this yesterday. Advice on the first part would be welcome!

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So, due to something I read a couple days ago, I’m concerned that my calorie intake is a little low. I’ve been averaging about 1450 calories a day for the last week or so, with the daily ranges being everywhere between 1250 and 1650. I thought I was doing good and was careful never to eat less then 1200 and not go hungry either. I’ve felt healthier (probably from all the water, produce and sleep) and I always eat if I feel hungry. But I’ve been reading that for someone my height and weight, I should be eating ~2000 a day to lose weight. O_O

Now I don’t know what to do because I’m happy with the way I’ve been eating. It’s a lot healthier and I’m not hungry. Seems like if I’m going to increase my calorie intake by 600 daily, I’m either going to have to eat when I don’t feel hungry or eat more calorie dense (and often fatty) foods. But I don’t want my body to go into starvation mode either! Gah!

I think for now I’m going to try and fit in another snack or two during the day and get my daily average up to the 1600-1700 range. Hopefully that will be close enough to not “starve”. I don’t know… advice?


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So, it’s weigh day again. And the verdict is: 212.8 That’s good… I know that’s good. That’s a 2.4 pound loss from last week and a total of 7 pounds lost. I know that’s really great! But… Well, I “cheated” and weighed myself a couple times this last week. And on Tuesday I was down to 211 point something. I wasn’t too worried about how much of a difference that was from last Friday because I had my “monthly visitor” this last week. But then, you’d expect that I’d go down a little because of that. So, did I actually lose 2.4 pounds or did I actually gain 1?

GAH! I’m really trying not to obsess to much about this, but I’m slightly obsessive by nature and it’s hard. I really wish I knew the magic number for calories! Yeah, I know, everyone is different. But I don’t really want to work hard for two months and not lose anything because I’m figuring that out.

Anyway, that aside. I didn’t get quite enough sleep last night, partially because I went to bed later and partially because Josh was snoring loudly for half the night. But it still wasn’t too hard to get up this morning. I think that knowing I only have to work a half day today helped. Exercise went fine.

Meals are going to be a little wonky today because it’s Lent, it’s Friday and I’m Catholic. I think we are going to have fish for dinner and I might just have a mix of fruits and veggies for lunch. We’ll see.

 

[mizzie]

It’s Monday again. The weekend went ok other than some real cravings and desires to just quit and be fat. I didn’t give in though, and my calorie counts were fine. Well, to be perfectly honest, on Saturday the count was a little high according to me, but right on according to myplate.com. That site (and many others, actually) tell me that to lose 2 pounds a week I should be eating 2050 calories a day. I have decided that’s a little high for me and I’m aiming for 1400-1600. I’m going to try that for a while anyway and I hope my body doesn’t “starve” and start storing fat.

Anyway, the point is that on Saturday, I was just over 2000. And, if I’m going to be perfectly honest, I did cheat a little. I still ate healthy stuff, but I ate a little more than I really had to. Like, I had two pieces of string cheese instead of one. One would have held me over until dinner. I didn’t need two, but I ate them. Still healthy food, but more then I needed. Oh, well. That was one day, I still didn’t cheat too horrible and we’re moving on.

Oh, and I didn’t drink nearly enough water this weekend. It’s so much easier when I’m sitting at my desk with my water bottle. I didn’t drink soda either, I just didn’t really drink much at all. I need to work on that. But, nearly 2 weeks without any soda!

I weighed myself this morning and I’m not going to post the number yet because it’s not official until Friday. But I’m getting very close to reaching my 10 pound mini goal! *happy dance* I had decided earlier that for every 10 pounds I get a free day, but this first 10 has been so easy and happened so quickly, that I feel it’s a little early to take a full free day. But I will let myself have a snack. I think maybe a cone from Cold Stone Creamery is in order. YUM! Cookie dough ice cream! ^_^

And, really it’s not a horrible thing that I weighed myself this morning because it gave me the motivation to exercise. I was tired this morning and wanted to go back to bed. It wasn’t even that I didn’t want to exercise, it was that I was actually tired. I almost told myself that I could have one day off and pick it up again on Wednesday. But I know if I do that once, it gets easier and easier to keep doing that and just give up. NO! I won’t do that! I pushed through it, the whole thing. Although, I have do admit that I didn’t do a few of the exercises, but I wasn’t just being lazy! I have an infected toe (possible ingrown toenail) and it hurt too bad to do the ones where I had to be up on my toes. And it’s probably not good for it either. I think that’s a legitimate excuse. But I only skipped those ones, I did the rest. In fact, I even did a little more today. There are some exercises where most of the people use weights, but they tell beginners not to use weights. Well, I’m on the third week now and I’m still a beginner, but I did use weights on a couple of those. The ones that are really easy. That’s why I like this program, you can do it to your level and increase the weight as you get stronger.

 

[Boslo]

Two new posts, because I forgot to update this yesterday. Advice on the first part would be welcome!

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So, due to something I read a couple days ago, I’m concerned that my calorie intake is a little low. I’ve been averaging about 1450 calories a day for the last week or so, with the daily ranges being everywhere between 1250 and 1650. I thought I was doing good and was careful never to eat less then 1200 and not go hungry either. I’ve felt healthier (probably from all the water, produce and sleep) and I always eat if I feel hungry. But I’ve been reading that for someone my height and weight, I should be eating ~2000 a day to lose weight. O_O

Now I don’t know what to do because I’m happy with the way I’ve been eating. It’s a lot healthier and I’m not hungry. Seems like if I’m going to increase my calorie intake by 600 daily, I’m either going to have to eat when I don’t feel hungry or eat more calorie dense (and often fatty) foods. But I don’t want my body to go into starvation mode either! Gah!

I think for now I’m going to try and fit in another snack or two during the day and get my daily average up to the 1600-1700 range. Hopefully that will be close enough to not “starve”. I don’t know… advice?

Hey Mizzie, I don't think that your calories are too low. If you calculate your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate...google it and you'll find plenty of sites that help you calculate it) then subtract for how much you want to lose you should get a pretty good idea of how much you should be eating. I.e if your BMR is 2100, and you want to lose 1lb a week, 1lb is equal to 3500 calories (divide by 7 for the days of the week) so you should be eating 2100-500 (1600) calories a day. Thats just an example though, clearly you'll need to calculate it as per your own needs.

Also I wouldn't worry too much about 'starvation mode', its a waaay overhyped concept, a gradual reduction of metabolism over time to adjust to eating consistently less rather than an 'on/off' switch that suddenly causes your body to grab hold of every calorie you ingest and not let go as it is so often perceived. Hope that helps

 

[mizzie]

Hope that helps

Thank you! That did help. I had tried "calories for weight lose" before and was told to lose 2 pounds a week, I should eat 2100 calories. Googling that specific term showed that at 1500 calories a day, I'm pretty much right on. And thanks for the info on "starvation mood" too, I'll try not to worry about it.

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New post:

Well, yesterday turned out to be a great day! I got amazingly great news in the morning, then I wound up with unexpected fun plans in the evening. The news really isn’t mine to share (and, while great, doesn’t pertain to weight loss) but the plans sort of do. I went out for sushi with a friend who I don’t get to see very often. The sushi was delicious(!) and from everything I can find, it’s not too bad health-wise. I took a guess on calories, and aimed high just in case, and still came in fine for the day.

I had an interesting talk with that friend about weight loss. She’s been trying to get healthier lately also. She’s following a more… dramatic plan than I am though. It sounds like a good plan and isn’t unhealthy, but I think it’s just too much of a change for me. I’ll stick with my calorie counting. I might get a recipe from her though, for a drink mix that is supposed to help flush out your liver. (water, apple juice, cranberry juice, lemon, etc) I don’t think it would hurt.

She was also saying that the “8 glasses of water” is an ok guideline, but needs to be modified for individuals. She heard that what you really should do is take your weight, halve it, then drink that number of ounces. O_O That would be 100 ounces of water daily for me! I can’t even get 64, even though I’m trying. I think I’ll have to work up to that.

Speaking of water. I forgot my water bottle yesterday afternoon and I was so thirsty! I didn’t want to go see if there was water in the vending machine because my boss wasn’t here and I knew as soon as I walked away the phone would ring. And now I forgot it this morning! Grr….. I’ll never get enough water at this rate! And, of course, because I don’t have it, I’m constantly thinking about it and that makes me feel even more thirsty.

Other then that, nothing much to report. I’m tired today, got to bed a little late for the last couple nights. Nothing much, but I’m obviously getting used to the 8 hours a night because now when I get less, I feel it. Slept like a log last night, never woke up once. I need to get to bed on time tonight!

Didn’t feel like exercising this morning because of that too. I know my form suffered and I probably didn’t burn as many calories either. But I did push through it. I wish there was another time that would work for me, but there just isn’t.

Ok, confession time. I haven’t been eating as much produce lately. I don’t know exactly what happened, but looking back through my food log, I sort of tapered off. I’ve been fine in calories, but I’ve been eating other low-cal stuff for snacks instead of fruits or veggies. I’m vowing today to get back on that! I think the problem is that, while I like (some specific) fruits and veggies, they aren’t the foods I naturally reach for. I have to remind myself to eat them.

A thought occurred to me this morning though. I’ve lost 7 pounds and I want to lose 70 total, so I’m 10% there! I know time-wise it’ll be longer because you always lose faster at the beginning, but still. That’s pretty cool.