My Second Shot

- 2 cups of water
- 1 tangerine

I was going to eat a bit of a bigger snack so I wouldn't be starving at lunch, but I'm really not that hungry today for some odd reason. I had to force down the tangerine (just trying to keep my metabolism zipping along).

I might eat a little green apple I have sitting at my desk before I go to lunch though. Or maybe this afternoon. I want to keep my calories high enough that my metabolism doesn't get shocked low, but I don't want to go overboard either.

And on an unrelated note...the little skinny-as-a-stick girl in the cubicle next to me is a junkfood-aholic. She has three bowls of candy on her desk, a canister of Pringles, a package of Oreos, and she is eating a huge plate of pancakes for breakfast with a Coke to wash it down.

What's on my desk? A green apple and two tangerines.

Argh.


Well, I may take heat for this, but I have come to believe that gaining weight from poor eating may actually be a gift. Those of us who can gain weight, know what it can do to our bodies(outside and in) and not only do we look better after, we feel better and our bodies work better after. I tend to think folks who are thin by nature and eat a lot of really poor foods are like ticking time bombs. That food still does its damage on the inside and they have no gage on the outside to 'show' them. Now, I know, to have that problem...lol...it sucks having to be one of those who always has to watch my weight, but I like to think that because of it I'm also healthier on the inside.
 
That's an awesome way to think about it. :eek: I never thought of it that way before, but that makes complete sense.

I'm so stuffed now anyway with lettuce and chickpeas that just the idea of pancakes makes me a little ill, lol...

Still wish I had a metabolism like hers, though. I mean, Oreos and pancakes for breakfast? I could carry this girl under one arm. Yeesh.
 
Dinner: (at grandmother's house)
- small scoop of chicken enchilada casserole (1 cup)
- small scoop of chicken and dumplings (1 cup)
- 2 cups cooked green beans
- 2 cups turnip greens
- 1 white dinner roll
- two bites gelatin strawberry salad
- decaffeinated sweet tea

I didn't do too bad, considering I was offered a second roll about three times...I kind of wish the tea had been unsweetened, but whatever. I wanted some iced tea. My grandmother sent me home with leftovers, but I'm going to throw them out lest they call out to me from the fridge.

Exercise: 30 minutes cardio (treadmill, incline 9, speed 3.0) Calories burned: 210

Not much, but it's a start. I forgot how good I feel after a workout. I don't know why I ever quit. (I think it's because I started going with my cousin, and she really annoyed me to the point that I didn't want to go to the gym anymore with her, so I let her get lazy with it and never started going again on my own after she quit...)

I think I'm going to start my strength training tomorrow. There's a caving trip in Tennessee with my grotto, but I really don't have the money to drive there...aw well. Maybe next month.
 
Forgot to profile...

Profile:
Q: What is your current height and weight?
5'4'' and 200 lbs.

Q: If you were at an ideal weight now, what would that weight be?
Probably somewhere between 130 and 145 lbs.

Q: At what weight would you like to be at four months from now?
Ideally? 160.

Q: Why do you want to lose weight?
So when I become a famous author after the book I'm writing gets published, they will want to put me in magazines because I will be that smokin' hot librarian type. :cool:

Q: Do you want to lose weight for a specific life event such as wedding or reunion? If so, when is that event?
I would really like to lose some weight for Gatorfest in September. But that's an incidental.

Q:What obstacles could get between you and your weight loss goals?
Totally sedentary desk job, motivation, slow metabolism, and lack of support.

Q: Why do you think that you now have a weight problem?
My whole family is heavy (except for my brother, who is in the military). We just cook too well. :D Plus I'm a lazy Leo who would lay around all day in bed if I had the time.

Q: What lifestyle changes do you think would help you lose weight?
Watching what I eat and getting a moderate amount of exercise. Oh yeah, and drinking lots of water. Age-old advice, eh?

Q: Have you lost weight in the past? If so, what has worked in the past to help you lose weight?
Yes, I lost about twenty pounds when I was training for the military, but I got it back and then some when I landed a desk job.

Q: Why do you believe that you did not lose weight or you gained the weight back?
I gave up. Pure and simple. My biggest fault in life is not being able to follow through with my projects and goals. That's definitely a flaw I'm going to have to work on.

Q: 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?
Starving myself. I always lose more weight when I keep my calories at a deficit, but it has to be a HIGH deficit. It seems like I would always lose the most weight after a "cheat meal"...but then, I was going to the gym 1-2 hours a day, so my metabolism was really revved.

Q: Would you try writing down all food and drink consumed for a given period of time?
I keep track of everything I eat now.

Q: Do you cook at home often? If so, what do you cook?
I usually only cook when I have guests now. Otherwise I'll grab a sandwich or a bowl of cereal. Total bachelorette.

Q: How often do you go out to eat? Where do you go?
Rarely. I went out to eat today and it was the first time in months.

Q: What are your three favorite foods?
Stroganoff
Hot dogs
Sweet iced tea

Q: What are your three favorite restaurants?
Chinese food in general
McDonald's (I know, that stuff is freakin' greaseball nasty crackfood, but chicken nuggets are so delicious...)
Mikato's (Japanese steakhouse)

Q: What are three things you can do differently when it comes to food?
Say no to peer pressure.
Drink enough water.
Snack throughout the day to reduce that blood-sugar crash OMGFASTFOODNOW feeling.

Q: If you woke up tomorrow and your body was exactly the way you want it, what would be different?
I would go buy a bikini and lay out all day. Not much would be different. I'd still be the same person. But I would just show a lot more skin. I'm an attention lover by nature, so I will enjoy getting positive attention about my body as well as my personality.

Q: Do you eat when you are not hungry?
Sometimes if I'm super depressed.

Q: Do you binge eat (large amounts at a time)?
Yeah, if I go hungry all day I'll binge the first chance I get to eat something. (It's something I'm trying to avoid....)

Q: Do you hide your food or eat in secret?
I hid food all the time when I was younger. I'm mildly obsessive-compulsive, and it definitely leaked into my eating habits. Like, I couldn't just eat four crackers. I would have to eat the whole package, even if I wasn't hungry after the first few.

Q: Do you eat when you are sad, nervous, or depressed?
Only when I'm depressed.

Q: Do you eat as a reward?
Sometimes.

Q: Do you eat while watching TV or using the computer?
I eat in front of the TV. Not so much the computer though.

Q: In terms of exercise, what, if anything, are you currently doing?
I've started going to the gym and hope to go about 4-5 times a week at least. I may have to work up to that though, but I think I can manage it.

Q: Where do you go for exercise? A local public gym? School/work gym? Home?
The YMCA, baby.

Q: What, if anything, are your three favorite types of exercise?
Treadmill (inclined)
Yoga
Tai Chi

Q: What is your daily/weekly/monthly/yearly motivation to move towards your goals?
I know that I'm an amazing person; I just want my outsides to match my insides. And I'm sick of being the fat girl with the beautiful face. I just want to be beautiful in general.

Q: Do you have rewards for certain goals?
Not really. I'll have to think about it.
 
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welcome back :)

Hey Mav~ Thanks for poppin' by! I can 100% TOTALLY relate to the southern family thing. Your grandmother sounds identical to mine.....adding food to your plate while your not looking....and there is no such thing as being too full to finish around her! The rest of my family isn't much better....except most of them are skinny....hmph. I too liked the way that angel put it: it's a gift to see the unhealthy effects from the outside. Anyway, glad you are back! I didn't know you before, but it looks like you did some great work. See you around! ~Kristi

oh and happy belated b-day :party:
 
Thanks Pastel!!

And yeah Mal, that's the way I feel about it too. It's really not anyone else's business. Though sneaking around about going to the gym was a pain last night, as I haven't even told my dad yet.

Partially because if my dad knows I signed up for the gym, he will sign him and my mother up to go there (like last time). And they will spend $75 dollars a month avoiding the gym for the rest of their lives.

Last time we had a family gym membership, the two of them went a total of twice.

Anyway, haven't eaten breakfast yet, but I think I'm going to go yardsaling and pick up a scale from Walmart first. I'm curious to see if I'm lower than I was when I weighed myself and decided enough was enough...
 
Went yardsaling and picked up a bunch of books, DVDs, and a framed poster. Also stopped by Target and got a scale.

Down to 196.5! Woot! 3.5 lbs down.

I'm sure a lot it is just water-weight, but it's still encouraging. :D It makes me feel good about going to the gym yesterday. I'm going to go today too, but I'm going to eat a nice big breakfast first.

Breakfast:
- 2 plain boneless skinless chicken breasts (w/ lemon pepper and salt)
- mixed berries (handful)
- grapes (handful)
- water w/ lime juice
 
Just got back from the gym. That's two days in a row.

Booya.

Exercise:
30 min. cardio, treadmill (incline 9, speed 3.0-3.5)
Calories burned: 220

I forgot about those cool treadclimbers the gym has that I lost so much weight on before. I'm definitely gonna upgrade to those tomorrow. :D
 
Just got back from the gym. That's two days in a row.

Booya.

Exercise:
30 min. cardio, treadmill (incline 9, speed 3.0-3.5)
Calories burned: 220

I forgot about those cool treadclimbers the gym has that I lost so much weight on before. I'm definitely gonna upgrade to those tomorrow. :D

You are too hard on yourself, bb. In place of, "Booya," say, "Booyakasha! :flame:"

Other than that, though, you're doing good.
 
So funny you write that, as I was definitely going to add a :flame: face to my post before, then decided that would be a little over the top.

But yeah...booyakasha, baby!! :flame: I feel so good right now. That nice slightly sweaty nimble aftergym feeling. Love, love, love it!

Need water though...
 
So funny you write that, as I was definitely going to add a :flame: face to my post before, then decided that would be a little over the top.

But yeah...booyakasha, baby!! :flame: I feel so good right now. That nice slightly sweaty nimble aftergym feeling. Love, love, love it!

Need water though...

Feeling good... is good. I AM A SCIENTIST. :hurray:
 
Snackage

What I wanted: Pancakes with syrup.
What I had: 10 mini pretzels with about 1/2 tbsp. of peanut butter.

I'm in a bored-wanna-eat mood right now. There's a dozen things I need to do right now and I don't wanna do any of them...

Headed to my father's cookout in a little bit. I'm gonna try to be good in the face of all that red meat and alcohol...:D
 
Proof you can eat well and still watch what you eat.

Snack:
- small banana

Dinner:
- 1 1/2 Bloody Marys (second was virgin)
- 2 pieces of celery (w/ Bloody Marys)
- 1 green olive
- 1 glass unsweetened tea
- salad (lettuce & tomato) with lowfat/low-calorie spritzer dressing
- 5 grilled shrimp
- 2 oz. filet mignon wrapped in bacon
- 3 forkfuls of fresh green beans
- 1/4 baked potato with a little butter/sour cream action
- 3 forkfuls of ice cream cake (leftover birthday cake)

Exercise:
- swimming

I think I did pretty well, all things considered. I was boggled at how low-calorie Bloody Mary mix is (35 calories!?) and my father was very supportive and didn't give me any flack about requesting one of the smaller steaks. He actually gave me a piece of meat the size of my palm, which I only ate a few bites of.

I think I'm going to pick up some spicy V8 to keep on-hand for when I get a serious snack attack. I was pretty hungry when I went over to my parents' house, but instead of grabbing a sandwich (my first gut reaction) I ate a banana and made a Bloody Mary instead. The Bloody Mary totally filled me up and made it easier to watch my portions at supper. The hot sauce particularly did a good job at cutting my appetite...

For anyone who has wondered about those low-cal salad spritzers, they are yummy. I had the ranch one with my salad and I actually liked it better than regular ranch, because it wasn't too heavy but you still got that ranchy flavor. Like a ranch vinegarette. Delish.

And it may just be my imagination, but the little roll of flab on the front of my stomach looks a little smaller and my legs look more defined. (I notice stuff like that because I go around nude all the time when I'm alone in my house...if you spend a lot of time naked, you get pretty familiar with your body and you're aware of the smallest changes...) I'm actually excited to weigh in tomorrow morning.

I was going to only weigh in once a week, but I think that weighing in every morning (after that morning pee) will help keep me motivated. I don't obsess over scales because I know that weight fluctuates, but it does give me a reason to cheer when I get a brand new low.
 
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A marked difference this morning when I looked in the mirror. Sharper chin, flatter back, more defined buttocks, smaller belly. I forgot how quickly you could see the little changes if you eat well AND work out religiously. In fact, it's my favorite part of weight loss - the way your body sculpts itself little by little in your sleep. :eek:

Jumped on the scale and I'm down again.
Starting weight: 201.5 (which I rounded down to 200)
Current weight: 195.5
Net loss: Six pounds

If that's not incentive to hit the gym, I don't know what is. :cool:
 
Breakfast:

- 1 boneless skinless chicken breast w/ marinara sauce and lowfat mozzarella
- 1 cup of grapes
- 1 tangerine

Reading Jacob I Have Loved and waiting for the gym to open.

:gnorsi:
 
Lunch (yesterday):
- 2 slices of a mini frozen pizza

Dinner (yesterday):
- 1 slice of meatloaf
- 1 cup seasoned fries (baked)
- 1/2 cup baked beans
- 1 piece toast (garlic salt, no butter)
- 1 brownie
- 4 oz. milk
- 8 oz. orange Koolaid

Exercise (yesterday @ noon):
- 20 min. cardio, treadclimber
(250 calories burned)
- swimming

I ate dinner at my cousin's last night. I'm determined that this time when I diet, while I will be watching what I eat, I will also not be a picky eater, because it's more about portion control than anything else. I'm a firm believer in the concept that it's not necessary to starve yourself to lose weight.

So I have some flex rules for when I'm eating with my family so I don't have to endure so much peer pressure. I can eat red meat, but only if someone else prepares it (and not in a restaurant). I can have only one serving of anything, even dessert.

Otherwise, when I'm alone, it's only cereal, fruit, vegetables, and lean protein.

Since I'm aiming to work out everyday (as I have so far) these will be reasonable limitations which allow me to treat myself on the weekends when I eat at social gatherings after working my butt off all week long.

Starting weight (8-7) 201.5
Current weight (8-11) 193.5
Goal weight (8-3-09) 140.0

Net loss: Eight pounds

:willy_nilly:
 
Thanks Art and Ugot! :D

Breakfast:
- 2 tangerines
- 1 small green apple
- 8 oz. water
- 1 strawberry Nutrigrain bar

I got kind of a hectic start this morning. I would have liked some protein like a chicken breast or some eggs or something, but this will have to hold me over until lunch. I didn't grab breakfast at home so I thought I'd be screwed, but I forgot that I left some fruit in my cubicle over the weekend. Yay!
 
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Lunch:
- 1 whole banana
- 2 cups leftover meatloaf (OMG amazing!)
- 1 piece of toast (no butter, garlic salt/seasonings)
- 3 glasses of water (including two from before lunch started)


That meal rocked my socks.

I am so satisfied right now. :D
 
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