Omega's journey

Margaret: I completely agree with you about counting calories. Maybe some people can do that and find it useful, but I find it tedious and discouraging. Like you, I just focus on portion control and avoiding certain foods that seem to put weight on me (sugar, refined flour products, white potatoes, corn). I simply don't eat these things, and in choosing other foods I try to focus on eating things that are good for me. I feel so much better when I follow that regimen. When I fall off the wagon for a couple of days, I always gain weight and feel icky.

Hope things are going well and those blisters get better! How mystifying that you've suddenly started having a problem with that?!?
 
Hi Lagniappe,

Thanks for visiting.

I will be so pleased after Friday when I can stop tying a calorie number to anything. Like so many rules in life - for the guidance of wise men and the adherence of fools.

When the number is sitting there it is almost impossible not to add it up and feel that you should alter a behaviour pattern that you know suits you well.

The concept of "if it isnt broken - dont fix it" jumps to mind.....

It is funny about the blisters. I have had plenty of "ordinary" blisters - but these are odd and seem to keep coming back when you think they are gone.

Nothing so odd as the human body.

Take care
Love
Margaret
 
:hurray: Hang in there Margaret! The bonus will be over soon! :hug2:

I hope you feel better in all ways as well.

Have A Super Goal Reachin' Tuesday!

:party:
 
Thanks Stacy.

I am counting the days until I can stop counting calories.

I hope that today is goal reaching and fun for you too
 
Hi there, Margaret
I have to ask if you've been checked for diabetes. You need to make sure what you think are foot blisters are not actually ulcers. As you know, women with PCOS are at higher risk for developing diabetes. If I were you, I'd get my doc to check them out.

I am so impressed with the amount of exercise you do! Wonderful. And :iagree: that if you enjoy raisins, they should have a place in your regular diet!

Just popped in to tell you that you're doing really well and helping to keep me inspired in :eh:

cheers
Janice
 
Hi Janice

Thanks for the suggestion. I was last checked for diabetes at the start of the year. It is a good point that you raise - I now feel more inclined to raise it with the doctor in case I should be checked again. I hadnt even thought of a possible diabetes link.

Thanks also for visiting my diary. Your support helps to keep me motivated too.

Take care
Love
Margaret
 
Tuesday 6/11/07

Another dry day.

General Data:

Morning walk = 6.3 miles.
Round the block = 5 times (on two laps my husband came too)
Extra exercises = yoga class
Weight = 13st 4.4lbs (i.e. 186.4 pounds)
Steps = 29,855
Distance = 11.07 miles
Remembered to take normal vitamin / supplements
Continued my creaming regime – missed off a bio-oil massage

Food / Drink:

NB I have no target calories. I am not trying to reach any magic number.

1 banana = 107 calories
3 weetabix (190 cal), sweetener (4 calories), 350 ml skimmed milk (123 cal) = 317 calories.
1 handful honey Shreddies = 126 calories
120g oak smoked ham = 131 calories
140g dry pasta (497 cal), sauce (49 cal), 265g courgette (48 cal), 65g red pepper (17 cal), 90g green pepper (18 cal), 130g onion (54 cal), fry light 4 cal, 4 olives (16 cal) = 703 calories
2 large handfuls of raisins = 812 calories
2 litres of cold water
some diet cola
 
MMMM Banana's I just picked me up a bunch this afternoon, thank goodness I found them on sale!! I love your food yesterday, honey shreddies, mmmmm are those like Mini Wheats?? I see you had pasta too, I LOVE pasta, but I have to limit myself to only once a week, or I would do it every day, CARBS are my downfall. LOL LOL

Keep up all that great work!!!
HUGS
Kim
 
Hi Kim

I have a banana just about every day. It makes a great pre-breakfast to have on my morning walk while I am out and about.

Honey shreddies are like little shredded wheat that taste of honey. I suspect that they are like mini wheats - but we dont have mini wheats so I cannot say for sure.

They taste really nice. I like a handful on a plate to nibble like sweets.

I would love pasta more often - but there is no way that I could eat it too often either without putting on weight.

Thanks for your support.

Take care
Love
Margaret
 
Hi Margaret,
I see you posting in other diaries a lot, and thought I'd pop in and say hello, b/c I think you're a pretty impressive person. Your weight loss is certainly something to be proud of--even more so b/c of your PCOS.

I'm sorry you hate the calorie counting for this week's bonus. :) I thought it was a good one to start with b/c a lot of people (myself included) don't realize how much they're eating. I tend to underestimate my calories, and think I'm eating far less than I am. That was the main reason for having that bonus.

I shall warn you slightly ahead of time that you're going to hate this week's bonus as well. :cuss: But, I promise that Week 2's bonus will be the last one involving calorie counting. :party: I hope you can hang in there one more week. :ack2:

Speaking of cold weather, it is currently 0 degrees Celsius here at 7:30pm, so it will probably dip a few degrees below that before the night is over. The high today was only 4 degrees Celsius. Possibility of snow tomorrow...:ack2: But that's November in Michigan..lol.

Whereabouts in England are you? I believe it's in the Southern part if you're 300 miles from Newcastle. I've been to Newcastle before (late 80s)--nice city. I remember most that there were lots of good-looking men (I was 17 at the time, so I had boys on the brain.. :D ).

I think if the raisins are working for you, then keep on eating them. :) And those blisters, someone mentioned the possibility of diabetes. :iagree: that you should be checked for it. My mother is diabetic, and has to take special care of her feet. Don't want to let that go unchecked if that's what it is. :) My mother did for a few years and has had a ton of trouble with her eyes, among other things.
 
Hi Kimberly

Thanks for popping by and your words of encouragement.

Aaaagggghhhh - not more calorie counting!!!!!!!!!:banghead:

I have no envy of snow. Stay warm.

You deduce correctly - I live to the west of London but in the outer suburbs away from all the city crowds. I never go there these days. I am pleased that you liked Newcastle - we are heading there tomorrow - I'll take my scales with me.

My husband is a southern lad - from Twickenham actually.

I will get the doctor to get me checked for diabetes again. She did at the start of the year - but things can change. It is one of the things that PCOS ladies are prone to get.

Take care
Love
Margaret
 
Wednesday 7/11/07

Another dry day. Preparing for going away on Thursday afternoon to stay with parents until Sunday. I will do less exercise and be less careful with my food over this period.

General Data:

Morning walk = 6.3 miles.
Round the block = 4 times
Extra exercises = none
Weight = 13st 3.2lbs (i.e. 185.2 pounds)
Steps = 28,681
Distance = 10.63 miles
Remembered to take normal vitamin / supplements
Continued my creaming regime

Food / Drink:

NB I have no target calories. I am not trying to reach any magic number.
1 banana = 107 calories
3 weetabix (190 cal), sweetener (4 calories), 350 ml skimmed milk (123 cal) = 317 calories.
1 handful honey Shreddies = 126 calories
150g salmon fillet (224 cal), 160g boiled potato (128 cal), 120g sweetcorn (99 cal), 5g olive spread (33 cal) = 484 calories
2 large handfuls of raisins = 812 calories
2 litres of cold water
some diet cola
 
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Have a nice time while your gone!! I'm sure you won't go over board on the food, as you set yourself on such a good balance diet.

I see you had sweetcorn, mmmmmmmmmmmmm I love corn anyway cooked or not!

I hear you on the calorie counting, UGGGG it's hard for me too, I make myself go to a website to post it, or I just get frustrated typing it all out and posting it. I'm all about saving the time. LOL LOL

Have a good rest of your day!
HUGS
Kim
 
Hi Margaret,

Two of my best friends has PCOs. One has been told she can't have any kids. The other was told that she might be able to have kids. That one has lost 70lbs so far, so I hope that losing that weight can help her now.

I feel bad for them both, cuz they both want to have children soon, I on the other hand do not.

Sorry that you're battling it as well. But is it as serious now that you've lost a lot of weight? I really don't know much about it.

Anyway, Hope your day is going well. Er... or your night. I always forget you're in England.

Jennifer
 
Thanks for popping by to give me all this support. I really appreciate it.

I am in Newcastle now havng spent over 7 hours on the motorway today.

Kim

Thanks.
The biggest problem with calorie counting is that I start to question whether I can eat healthy foods that I benefit from (e.g. my raisins). In addition it gives me a major opportunity to feel a diet failure. Also I do not see it as a long term solution as I cannot see me year in / year out counting up all the calories.

It gives a false sense of approval to an unhealthy unbalanced diet. I really feel that I benefit more from developing an intuition about building a balanced diet - and the continued weight loss demonstrates more than calorie calculations ever could that I am not misjudging appropriate quantities.

Jennifer

I tried many many times to lose weight when I was in my twentys and thirties. They all ended in misery. Doctors tried to restart me ovulating - but they always said that things might go better if only I could lose weight - and I never could. Now that I am 48 I think that we have pretty much missed that boat. Your friend has done extremely well to lose 70 pounds. That is much better than I ever managed in my youth. I can assure you that she must have worked very hard to lose that amount of weight - it is extra hard if you are a PCOS lady.

Fertility is one of those things that many women take for granted. Whatever your feelings now, you may decide that you want children at some time in the future.

PCOS is generally improved if we can lose weight - but I have a lot more weight to lose to get that kind of advantage. We get various other fun symptoms to cope with. I am a very hairy lady so for example have to go and have laser treatment on my facial hair again tomorrow. It is not really any more painful than going to the dentist - but it is annoying and another thing to deal with. I am also more likely to get a bundle of nasty health problems - so I have to try to watch out for them.

Tammy

I am currently exhausted after spending ages in the car. I am sure that we will enjoy Saturday night - but am spending tomorrow doing boring practical things like parents' grocery shopping and laser treatment.

Take care
Love
Margaret
 
What don't you like about London? The crowds? I love London--my favorite big city in the world. So much to do there--and I love all the history. I must confess I'm an Anglophile..:D I probably know as much about British history as most Brits do..lol. In fact, British Studies was going to be my major at university until my uni discontinued it my first year there. I still ended up spending a semester studying in Lincolnshire.

I hope you enjoy your time at your parents' home. We didn't get any snow today--just cold temps. High was about 5 degrees C.

Well, as for the cal counting, I say in your case, don't let it get you down. I mean, your BMR is probably around 2500--so anything below that is a deficit. When setting your caloric range for this week's bonus, make yours realistic for what you normally eat. If you normally eat around 2000 cals a day, then make your range 1900-2200. I don't want people to set unrealistic goals. :)

Have a good Friday--even if you'll be busy with things that aren't necessarily fun. :)
 
Your friend has done extremely well to lose 70 pounds. That is much better than I ever managed in my youth. I can assure you that she must have worked very hard to lose that amount of weight - it is extra hard if you are a PCOS lady.
Click to expand...

She cut what she was eating in half. And walked about 2 miles every single day, losing 1-2 lbs a week. I'm really proud of her.
 
Hi Jennifer

I swear that it will be the the walking that has got your friend's weight down. I tried counting calories so many times - sometimes sticking to rediculously low levels and had difficulty losing weight even at the start of these diets.

Most PCOS ladies have a really difficult time losing weight. You can see the diaries of Natalie Jo and Amber. Janice (Abbagirl) is recently diagnosed and seems to have dieted and caught it early before too much weight has piled on.

You are right to be really proud of your friend.


Take care
Love
Margaret
 
Hi Kimberly

When I first worked in London I was impressed at the ambience of the place. The fact that most of my colleagues were well qualified and particularly capable people. I liked the fact that when I worked at Freshfields in the mid 1980s I could look out of my office building down on St Pauls next door. The Paternoster Square (disliked so much by Prince Charles and demolished now) development did not help the skyline of London but was great to work in.

As time moved on and I worked for different companies in different locations (e.g. London Bridge, Islington, Canary Wharf to name a few) I got more and more tired of the grind. Pretty much everywhere involved me catching 3 trains to work and 3 trains home. Travelling in London is not fun. You have to ignore and look through people that you see there every day. You cannot possibly talk to a stranger even if you catch the same train as them every day.

A lot of the companies got so that they demanded their pound of flesh. Credit Suisse First Boston (Canary Wharf) - I worked rediculous hours there! We had to put in a holiday form if we didnt want to be at work on Saturdays or Sundays (in addition to Mon-Fri). They expected us there 7 days a week. I worked late and had to get a taxi home most nights. There was one team there where everyone worked overnight every Thursday whether they needed to or not!!!

London is one of those places where it is so easy to judge yourself and others by how much they earn or what assets they have. In reality these are very superficial things.

In the end I got so that I didnt want to work there any more and from that it was a short step to not wanting to go there any more.

Now I stick to my local quiet area and like it. I do not currently go out to work. I have less money but the quality of my life has improved dramatically.

It is a shame that the university course that you chose was discontinued. I am pleased that you enjoyed the time that you spent in England.

I am very interested in family history. The following link shows my family (Little) in 1890.


It certainly sounds cold where you are.

I will see how the calorie thing goes. It is all just a game and I should not worry too much about whether I get the bonus points or not. My vote is after two onerous bonuses from my perspective we should have an easy one like having to walk at least 8 miles a day for a week.:smilielol5:

Have to go out for a walk now...

Take care
Love
Margaret
 
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