SwampBillies Diary

SwampBillies

SwampBillies

New member
I already posted an introduction in the newcomer section that tells most of my details. The short version is as I see my 50th birthday fast approaching I felt the need to make serious changes. So on March 1st 2008 I laid down a 35 year long, pack and a half a day, smoking habit. It was tough to give it up. I love smoking:willy_nilly:
I thought that would be the hard part but then I realized that I was 60 pounds over where I was comfortable with my weight. This is the hardest. I have lost weight in the past. 20 pounds came and went over the years. But after menopause it was a much bigger hill to climb. I have lost almost 20 pounds of it so far but it has slowed way way way down. So here I am. I am shooting for a lifestyle change that I can continue into old age. Hubby has joined me and we are really excited to start this new phase of our lives.
 
Hey Swamp! Nice to see you've started a diary. I find it so helpful, even though I say pretty much the same things every day and sound like a broken record! We're both at about the same weight with nearly the same goal, so I'm going to enjoy watching your progress!

I also quit smoking recently - 6 months ago. I'd smoked for 15 years (quitting for a few months here and there, the longest was for nearly a year during pregnancy and for a month or so after, till my colicky kids drove me back to insanity), about a 1/2pack to a pack a day. Not as much or as long as you, but still tough to quit as I really enjoyed it. And I've been wondering if not smoking is why I'm having such a rough time shedding any pounds this time round!

Kudos to your life changes, and I hope you're having a healthy day!

Celia
 
Hi Celia!
It does look like we have similar goals. It is nice to see someone else who is doing battle with the cigarettes while trying to diet. This is the first time I have ever quit. I put a little ticker thing on my computer that keeps track of how long I have been quit, how much money I have saved, how much of my life I have saved, all that stuff. Kinda interesting. But this diet thing is much harder. Harder than it used to be. Maybe I am just getting older, or maybe menopause has changed my metabolism. I don't know what it is, I just know that suddenly every thing has quit working for me. Yesterday I decided to up my calories and water and cut the sodium. I am already feeling guilty about the added calories. I hope this works!
 
I just added up my calories on fitday and was surprised that I didn't do too bad. When Lewis goes with me to a gig we usually eat out and that means too many calories. But I had decided to up my calories so I had some wiggle room. I ended up with 1550 calories for the day yesterday and 1300 for today. That is about where I wanted to be. I had been keeping it at 1000 and had stalled so I decided to up them to about 1200-1500. When I got up this morning I was up a pound but my inches told me yesterday that I had lost 3 inches over the last week. I measure on Saturday morning and so that gives me a reality check along with the scale. I sooooo hope this week shows some downward trending, I am starting to get really discouraged.
 
Thanks Celia. That makes me feel better. The scale had me down a half pound this morning, so maybe I am gaining muscle. I guess I will have to wait and see. Going to try to keep it about 1200 calories today. Today is my lower body work out also, so maybe I will try to add some cardio in the workout today. I wish I had a treadmill at home so I could do some cardio this morning and then go into the gym for strength training this evening.
I am going to Maryland for my neices wedding on July 26th. I soooooo wanted to be down into at least the 180s by then. I am starting to get concerned that I am just not making any progress. I was right on track for 2 pounds a week and now I am getting behind schedule.:willy_nilly:
 
I was still at 198 this morning.:angelsad2: How depressing. I just don't know what to do. I was at 198.5 for like a week, then finally dropped to 196 for a couple days. Now back to 198. I increased my calories from 1000 to 1200-1500 thinking that I was not eating enough. But now I am worried that I am eating too many. I am tracking my calories in fitday and I make sure to put in everything. I enter most of it straight from the labels and I think I am accurate in estimating my homecooked dinners. I thought maybe it was added muscle since I started working out, but I can't be adding this much muscle. I should have gone back to losing by now. I was losing so good to begin with. I don't understand what could have happened. Every instinct I have says cut my food back more. I am afraid to cut it back and afraid to keep them at the higher level. I have this wedding at the end of the month and I soooo wanted to be in the 180s by then. But most of all, I just want to figure out where I need to be to get this diet back on track before I lose my motivation!
 
Today is a new day! And I was down 1.5 pounds this morning! WHOO HOO! I hope it stays there, but it sure was good to see the damn scale move off of 198 for a change. I was beginning to think it was stuck there. I have to sing tonight so that means getting my workout done this morning. I think I will get that done then get my nails done and maybe make some low fat chicken burritos for supper. I love it when a day starts out with a drop on the scale. Everything else seems so much better all day long.:hurray:
 
Stick with it! Sometimes it can help to post your meals on here as well. One thing I learned was to cut out starchy veggies like corn and potatoes. I also learned to cut out the bad carbs white bread/pasta/etc... now I'm all whole wheat/whole grain. Another thing to watch, is that you don't eat carbs late at night. You want to eat the majority of your daily carbs by lunch.

I wish you the best on your journey, I'm sure you'll see great results!
 
Thanks Mac. To be honest though I am a little confused on the whole carb thing. I am counting calories and if you look up potatos they are actually very low in calories. As long as you don't load them up with things like butter and sour cream....MMMMM....but I have found that I can slice them like fries and and bake them on a cookie sheet with some butter flavored pam, or slice them and fry them for very few calories. I keep a journal in fitday and try to keep my proteins, carbs and fats in as close to equal portions as possible. I have switched to whole grains instead of white processed grains, but mostly due to health benefits instead of calorie consumption. Yet I see people on here all the time running down my yummy potatos. Then there is other info out there that says potatos are fine. Confusing.
 
Potatoes are high in starch, and can be just as bad for you as sugar, candy, cookies, white bread. The problem is that potatoes can be part of a healthy diet once or twice a week in small portions. The downside is that Americans eat potatoes at soooooo many meals. The Glycemic Index is a wonderful tool, you should research it and try to aim for the lower foods on there. Heres some info on .
 
Well according to that article you could come down on either side of the debate. For me, they are a wonderful tool. I love them. They are so versatile and I don't feel like I am dieting if they are on my list of menu items. I can eat them for 67 calories a half cup and feel full and satisfied. I guess they are like most things in this world, moderation, moderation.
 
Woke up today at the same weight I was at yesterday. So that was good. I was afraid that damn 198 would be back. I made an effort to watch the sodium closer and that may be helping. I went to the store today and bought something called nosalt. I don't think I like it though. Took Dustin to the movies and we hit subway for lunch. I usually just eat 200 calories of soup for lunch so the sub cuts into my calorie allotment for the day. Anyway had the roasted chicken because the club is no longer on the $5 menu. I didn't like it nearly as well. Next time I will get ham. Went and practiced music for 3 hours. Not exhausting but definately tiring. Came home and got the chicken all ready for burritos for dinner and got the brown rice cooked. I prefer to get as much of the dinner made ahead of time as I can and then when we get home from our workout we can eat right away. So tonight was cardio night. Did 40 minutes at a random level 6, which is up an intensity level from what I had been doing. Came home and ate chicken burritos. Made the chicken with taco seasoning then put them together in low fat tortilla shells with some black beans and colby jack cheese, some low fat sour cream and some taco sauce. Man were they good! I love nights when I don't perform because I can have dinner then sit back with a glass of wine and check out the forum. Right now life is pretty good.
 
I am so dissappointed this morning. Saturday morning is when I take my measurements for the week and enter them into a fitday journal. Everything is exactly the same as it was last week. Same measurements, same weight. I don't know how to get this thing moving again. I have been so good all week. I want to see some progress!! I wore a pair of jeans this week that I hadn't been able to wear before , so I really thought that even though the scale hadn't moved, I had probably lost inches. Nope. Same. How depressing.:angelsad2:
 
Ugh, I hate it when that happens - I work my ass off all week and watch what i eat VERY carefully and the scale doesn't budge!!

Stick with it, plateaus suck but you will get through it!
 
Thanks Dawn. I keep thinking I am past it then I am stuck again. So frustrating. It feels like a battle of wills with my body. I am determined to be more stubborn and wait it out. It has to eventually start to let go of the fat. I Hope!!
 
Well, I think my body is winning. I woke up this morning 2 pounds heavier than I was yesterday. There is just no way that I am eating more than I am using. I am very very meticulous in fitday. It HAS to be water or stool or something! ARGHHHH!!! SO anyway. Went to church came home and got ready for Dustins birthday party. No sunday lunch today. I did eat my weekly doughnut in sunday school and that was it. Came home and busted butt cleaning, mopping, cooking etc. At 4:00 everyone lines up for the feast. I had one hotdog with a small spoonful of baked beans and a small spoonful of macaroni salad and a small piece of cake. Since then all I have had is my glass of wine. And it was desperately needed tonight let me tell you. But since I had things I shouldn't I am now out of calories for the day. That all takes me to almost 1300 and so I am done. I am going to go to bed and hope that during the night a miracle will occur and I will wake up thinner. At least according to the (*&^$# scale.
 
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