My Summer Weight-loss Diary

Thanks for the tip, Juni! I have been trying to plan out my meals for the day, but like you said, it almost always comes out differently, either the timing or the amounts.


I'm up early this morning. Going to try and get a run in before the sun's up and making it so darn hot!! Hopefully it'll get me going a bit further, or at least more enjoyably! Haha. I'm going to stop by a gym near my house later today and sign up there, so I'll be able to at least run on a treadmill on days where the heat is unbearable (I sound like such a wimp!), plus get some heavier lifting done.

The eating plan for today:
Breakfast- protein bar (300)
Snack- none; have got to go to the dentist!
Lunch- tuna sandwich, V8 (300)
Snack- some sort of fruit, snack cheese (150)
Dinner- grilled tilapia, broccoli (200)
Snack- baby carrots, almonds (200)
Total: 1150

Plus exercise- anticipated 6-7 mile run, lower body strength training and core work. And maybe see if my sister wants to do some yoga with me in the evening...


Edit: Did only 3 miles of intervals instead... I was actually feeling not my strongest! I'm certain it was because I didn't quite eat enough yesterday. Oops. It's funny. Before this, when I was all into crash diets, I would eat a lot less than 900 calories, for multiple days in a row, and still feel like I had bundles of energy. But now, even that little of a deficit seems to really be affecting me. And I think that's a good thing! It's a sign that my body's working well now, I think, getting used to constant nutrition coming in. I guess I'll have to revise my food plan for today a bit, add in a couple hundred extra calories at dinner, probably, to make sure I don't fall back into bad patterns!
 
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Sad news... the air conditioner at my house is still broken. D: So gross.

BUT, I did go and sign up at a gym yesterday! It was pretty expensive, and I may have been talked into a contract I don't want (am going to go talk with them again today), but I'm really excited, because it's a 24-hour facility! Usually it seems like a lot of gyms don't open until late on Sundays and are closed on holidays and such, but with this one I'll be able to go whenever I like! Plus, I checked it out and it looks really nice. Good variety of weights, and all the cardio equipment have their own TVs attached. :3

I didn't quite follow my food plan for yesterday, but I got pretty close I think, just ended up closer to 1500/1600 calories as I had a bit of a treat meal of oatmeal and fruit.

I've read so many times on here about how the spacing/timing of meals doesn't really matter, it's mostly about total intake calorie deficit and such... is that really true? Haha. I've just read so many times about how spreading out calories is better because less will get stored as fat than if you have a really big meal or something.

My plan for the rest of today is:
workout once breakfast is digested- run a few miles, do upper body strength training, and then put in a bit extra on an elliptical to stay in the air conditioning as long as possible :3
lunch- turkey sandwich, V8 (350)
snack- 2 apples, snack cheese (260)
dinner- 3 hard-boiled eggs, salad (240)
snack- ~25 almonds, carrots (200)
total: ~1300 (with breakfast added in)
 
After reading through another entry on this site, I've decided that I need to revise my goal weight a bit, at least for now.

I've had it drilled into my head from so many sources that I needed to weigh 50 kgs... but the truth is, last time I weighed that much, I was still in high school. I don't know if that is sustainable for the older me.

So I guess I'll stick with 55 kgs instead. That was the doctor's recommendation when I saw her last year with concerns about being overweight, based on my growth charts and such. Although, of course, I don't want to get hung up on the scale numbers anyway...it's so much more about fitness for me!
 
You're a runner too?! Awesome! I've got my half marathon coming up this Sunday... I'm so nervous but excited at the same time! And I am right with you on this heat! I am planning to go for a run outside before it gets too hot but it's already 70 degrees and sunny! Guess I just have to suck it up and get out there! Also, good to see you re-assessed your goals. I think it's better to keep our expectations a little lower so we don't get discouraged!

Have a great day :)
~ Sarah
 
Thanks for commenting, Sarah!

Yeah, I am a runner....but I stick strictly to middle distance! Haha. All through high school I was in track, refused to run any further than 1600m at one time. xD Since then, I've started getting into longer distance, but I am pretty sure that 12k is the longest race I'll ever do.

Well, hooray for posting three times in one morning! I've just had a very stresful situation, and I feel like I could write about it here...
I took a closer look at the contract I signed with the gym, and it was really fishy, kind of...something about pre-financing my membership for two years, when I really intended only to keep it for the next couple of months, and I got really scared that I wouldn't be able to get out of it. So I asked my mom about it, and she was also dubious. We looked up online, and actually found a lot of reviews from people who also said they'd had difficult with this particular business. SOOO after getting really stressed and anxious, I just went down there with my mom to cancel it. I had to have help, but I am SUCH A SUCKER. Haha. It's true- I can be talked into anything, unfortunately. But with help, I was able to cancel, since it had only been one day since I signed up. I also managed to cancel my credit card (also difficult!) to make sure they wouldn't keep charging me or anything.

And then, probably since I was so visibly upset, my mom took my to the Y and signed me up there, even paid the registration fee for me. :) I was a member there before, so I know that it's easy to terminate membership and stuff. I'm a little bummed that I can't have the luxury of an all-hours gym, but the Y does have classes and stuff that might be fun.
 
Yay for signing up for with the gym. The Y is supposed to be good, 'cept its not 24 hours.

I'm like you, if a salesperson sweet talks, I would totally buy whatever the person is selling. I feel soo bad saying no. Then i regret it and get into all kinds of different deals that I can't get out of. Good that you got out of this one. This is a good thing to know for me as well because I often don't read contracts. Very good lesson to remember.

I'm 100 percent with you on reassessing goals. I'm doing the same thing these next few weeks. You are doing well, Hanabi. Lets finish strong this week. Good luck!
 
Thanks so much, Juni, for the support!! So good to know I'm not alone.

Just took my first 5-day weight: 62.4 kg. And that's in the middle of the afternoon with clothes on. So I've definitely lost a bit! Good to know I'm on the right track. :) Next time I weigh, it's going to be the 1st of June.
 
Congrats on the weight lost!!

I used to sell memberships at an all women's gym when I was 18... We were actually trained to have answers for everything to trap people into signing up lol. I'm lucky, the gym I go to is 24hr but it's not on a contract, you can cancel whenever without fees. It's also pretty damn cheap but it's no frills- no pool/sauna. no classes (except for the training group I go to once a week) It suits me just fine though, and it's opposite where I live so it's just too damn convenient to go anywhere else!
 
Heyy!
I was thinking of signing up at the y too, but with lack of time, I don't know if it's worth it!
You're doing great though! Keep it up! :)
 
luzdafuzz said:
Congrats on the weight lost!!

I used to sell memberships at an all women's gym when I was 18... We were actually trained to have answers for everything to trap people into signing up lol. I'm lucky, the gym I go to is 24hr but it's not on a contract, you can cancel whenever without fees. It's also pretty damn cheap but it's no frills- no pool/sauna. no classes (except for the training group I go to once a week) It suits me just fine though, and it's opposite where I live so it's just too damn convenient to go anywhere else!
Click to expand...

Oh gosh, that's so worrisome for easily-taken in people like me! Being trained specifically to do it. lol Sounds like a great gym you've found! Who needs a sauna, anyway?

amsterdam said:
Heyy!
I was thinking of signing up at the y too, but with lack of time, I don't know if it's worth it!
You're doing great though! Keep it up! :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's definitely something to think about! I have so much free time during the summer so I certainly get my money's worth, but it's not for everyone, I think. Plus, I'm just such a wimp about the heat. (^-^;;)Thanks for the encouragement!


I ended up running 6 miles at the park rather than going to the gym to workout, due to that whole financial fiasco, but that was fine!
My food went way off track, because I had to go to the dentist to get a bunch of cavities re-filled! I don't mind going to the dentist, but it was a bit difficult having to hold my mouth open for an hour. (o_x) So I ended up missing lunch and not being able to eat again until later in the evening, so I just added 3 hard-boiled eggs to dinner and had an extra handful of almonds for an evening snack. It was probably a dis-proportionate amount of fat, but healthy fat, I think, and I also usually don't eat quite enough, so it balances out!

Today, I am going to the Y (yay!), probably will run and then do the elliptical machine a bit to give my knees a break. Also today will be chest, triceps, and abs for strength training. Back in the day, I had a home gym set and did bench presses and triceps exercises with barbells... I would really like to get back into that, but I am so intimidated at the gym, that I usually stick to the little machines. (^^;;) Maybe I'll work up the confidence someday...figure out when the fewest people are at the gym. Haha.

Took my measurements this morning: waist is at 26.9 inches, upper thigh about 21.9. Slow but steady...?
 
Hanabi, congratulations on the loss. Let me know how your Y experience goes. I am thinking of singing up with one when I move to New York. Lets see...

Hope all your cavities are refilled and you won't have to go to the dentist again. How's your day going?
 
Congrats on the loss! Your measurements are so tiny! My lower thighs are the size of your upper thighs! JEALOUS!!! lol :)
 
Thanks so much, guys, for cheering me on!! It means a lot. :)

I didn't have quite as successful of a day as I had hoped, but it was okay.
Despite my efforts to make up for missing a lot of meals yesterday because of my teeth, I woke up early this morning super hungry. And in the past, that has been like a signal to me screaming "Time to binge!!!" So I was really feeling that coming on all day... ended up going to the grocery and buying vegetables for dinner, plus a bit of extra fruit and some flavored oatmeal packets, and eating all those, plus half a pb sandwich. D: BUT! The good part is, I stopped there, not terribly over maintenance calories!

To understand why I would even count that as a good thing, you have to know: I used to be (until I found this site a week or so ago!) the queen of the crash diets, and equally as good at ending them in a big, unhealthy way. My off days usually consisted of multiple tubs of ice cream AND boxes of cereal AND chips, ect. etc. Sometimes I would literally eat the whole day, like 10,000 calories sometimes! And then, the next day, start a new diet of too little food, thinking that I would stick with it this time.

So, that's why it's actually good progress for me. I actually stopped mid-way through overeating, had french fries out on a pan ready to go into the over, then put them back in and made tea instead!

So for the day:
breakfast- protein bar, apple (300)
lunch- turkey sandwich, grapefruit (400)
snack/dinner- lots of cauliflower (100?), 2 eggs (140), 6 packets oatmeal (960), pb sandwich (200?), 2 oranges (200), handful of almonds (200)
total: 2500 calories

For exercise, I went to the Y, ran on the treadmill for 5k, then did chest and triceps on the weight machines. The weight machines they have are very cool, by the way... they have settings on them where you're supposed to change it every set, so that it makes it 1)harder at the beginning, 2)harder in the middle, and 3)harder at the end of the exercise, which will supposedly get you "faster results," but at the very least keeps it fun. xD

So the plan for tomorrow is to get back on track, try to stay to the lower end of my calorie range, around 1300, and do a bit extra at the gym to try and make up a little for today. And most importantly, to not let this get me down!
 
Okay, so I am a total dork for posting on here so often. It's just very addicting!

I did a yoga DVD last night with my sister. It was an intermediate one, so it was HARD. I actually got sweaty doing it. Who knew? I defo couldn't do all the poses, not by a long shot. But I did as much as I could, and really enjoyed it!! I am going to try to do the DVD at least every other day. Can't wait to see how much better I get. I did a yoga class at my university a couple years ago, and I made a lot of progress in just a few weeks.

My plan for today is: woke up late, so I'm going to go to the gym first. Plan to spend about 2 hours there- run 5k, do back/biceps on weights, and then spend the rest of the time walking or ellipticizing (is that a word?). Then
breakfast/lunch- turkey sandwich, V8 (350)
snack- string cheese (100)
dinner- grilled tilapia, salad (200)
snack- carrots and nuts (200)
Going light on the fruit and grains today, since I had more than enough yesterday!
 
Wow Hanabi, you are Crushing It! (meaning really doing good...lol)

...and those 10,000 calorie days, yup, that was me 16 years ago!

I did the exact same thing for 8 years straight, started when I was 16, and
weighed around 185 pounds, and by the time I was 24 I weighed 285 pounds.

I would diet for a week, and then just destroy the fridge, I mean it was
like the tornado had just hit it!

many times I had to walk to the store in the early morning, because I ate
all the food that was for my wife and my two children to eat in the morning...lol

I was the guy that could win EVERY contest where you have to try to eat the
most amount of food in the fastest time possible!!!

When I was 15, still living in Ft.Lauderdale, I would go to the 7-11 and
buy Honey-Buns, and those small Chocolate cakes that had the white
cream inside (can't remember the name) and a bunch of other candy bars
like Snickers, Mars, Twix, etc., and would everything in one sitting.

I was smoking plenty of marijuana back in those days, just like the majority
of friends that I had, and this was the main reason why I ate such large
amounts of food back then.

Getting high and going to McDonalds and eating 3 Big Macs, 3 Large Fries,
and drinking 3 Large Colas was the hip thing back in those days. That
was around 1985, so I don't know what kids are doing there now, since
I haven't been to America for 16 years. Currently living in Europe, in a small
country called Latvia, by the Baltic Sea.

Anyway, good luck to you, and I will be following your diary, and cheering
you on as much as possible. By the way, it is awesome that you are
consuming a moderate amount of daily calories and didn't go down the
low calorie path, and obvioulsy it is also awesome that you are exercising
on a regular basis. Seems like this time you will go all the way, and reach
your ideal body weight!
 
Thanks for that, Alex!
It's good to know that someone else can relate!!
Thank you very much for your support. :)

I did everything according to plan today. Had a great workout: ran 5k in 26 minutes on the treadmill, did my back/biceps workout, and then got on the elliptical for another 30 minutes. Followed my food plan pretty much exactly so far!

I did some mirror looking, contemplated taking progress pictures or something. The main things I want to improve about my body are my lower stomach and my thighs. I get a bit of a pooch of fat on my stomach as the day goes on, and I would really like to flatten that out. And my lower body is just a lot bigger than my upper body. I'm muscular all over, but there's more fat on my thighs, it seems. I'll admit, I really wish I could get to the point where my thighs wouldn't touch anymore, though I don't know if that'll happen now that I've got a woman's body, as opposed to an adolescent one. Oh well. It's pretty weird, really... I've got thin, toned arms, and you can actually see my ribs if I stretch at all, but then I've got those 2 patches where I'm fat, it seems. Perhaps that's a consequence of my horrid dieting habits over the past few years. Hopefully, with proper, steady nutrition and fat losses, I'll even out a bit. :)
 
Okay, took some "before" pics this morning. It's a little embarassing- no one laugh! First one is me standing with my feet together, first thing in the morning. Second one is after drinking coffee, showing my non-flat stomach.





My sister has been reading a bunch of weight loss books lately. I checked out Body For Life from the library, because I had great success with the exercise program when I first started lifting weights, and she read it, posted the eating plan on the fridge. And now she's working through the "Walk Away the Pounds" book. Maybe it's really dumb, but I feel kinda jealous! Like, losing weight is MY thing. Gosh, it sounds horrid, but I actually cheer her on a bit when she eats junk. vv Ah well, at least I'm more motivated to stick to my plan- can't have her out-losing me!

Today I think I'll take a day off running to give my knees a break, and do the elliptical for an hour instead. Plus legs in strength training. Eating, pretty much the same as yesterday, but plus breakfast!
 
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Whoa you're a tiny lil thing!! As for body fat, genetics are what usually decide where your fat gets distributed... you'll probably find if you tone up and reduce your body fat % those areas will definitely shrink too.

Your exercise is looking really good!! I feel you on being intimidated at the gym, I swear every time I go there's like 15 guys and 1 or 2 girls if I'm lucky... when I'm with my trainer some guys actually stop working out to watch me!! So embaressing!!!
 
Wow your doing so good since I last visited!! I'm so jealous of all the running you have been getting in - wish I had more time to do it all! And more energy!! Your just a tiny little thing - 26 inch waist!! Is that around the belly button or natural waist? Do you remember what your measurements were when you were 55kg?
I actually get more motivated when I know someone else close to me is trying to loss weight too because just like you I'm competitive and want to do better so it makes me try harder. I think that's the thing about this site too - I don't want to let anyone down by not sticking with it so I just keep going - it's great for motivation and reading your journal is very motivating!! Keep it up and have a great weekend!!
 
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