Soooo....2 weeks of vacations and other lame excuses got me out of the Sparkpeopl habit = BAD. Back-to-back weekends of excuses to allow myself a little excess. (One weekend would have been okay....2? No.) But my first day back on the wagon was a good one.
Know what one of the best things about sparkpeople (for Fitday or any food journal/tracking) is? It shows you how to make decisions. It demonstrates tradeoffs. You can enter everything you might eat, look at the various calorie allotments and have a really honest conversation with yourself about what is actually genuinely worth the calories.
That has been my defense against the still-present leftover Halloween candy in the office. Sure...I can have those Nestle Crunches....or I can have one glass of lovely Reisling after dinner. One or the other, but not both...and when presented in that fashion, it is easy to make the decision.
The last 2 weeks makes me a little fearful that I will never be to the point where I can just eat right without tracking...but for now....if this is working....it's not so onorous that I am willing to give it up.
Weight: 150 (le sigh)
Physical Activity: 2 miles of dog walking, 2 mile walk to work, 20-minute weight workout, 20 minutes on the ellptical, 4 mile run.
Calories: 1550
Showing posts with label weight loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weight loss. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Seeing the changes
Friday sucked. Let me just say, my Friday's seem to suck. Work gets in the way. Now I had been allowing Friday to be my day off from working out....though I am admittedly not so great at taking days off. I know it is better for my body, but mentally I have this fear that any day I don't work out will be a back slide on the scale. But Thursday night I got a special delivery in the mail....the bridesmaid's dress I am wearing in March. It looked TERRIBLE on me. And I find nothing more motivating to wanting a good workout than trying on clothes and not liking what I see. So I was very disappointed as my lunch-hour came and went with no ability for me to get to the gym. However, my caloric intake for the day was very good.
Yesterday, the scale was a good number actually. I did cheat a little...I have been weighing myself first thing in the morning but after not working out on Friday, I did not think I wanted to get on the scale when I first got up. I walked for an hour and then did 2 Biggest Loser videos (40 minutes total) and I was feeling good, so I stepped on and was happy. Another small change I am making it not weighing myself every day. I know weight has natural fluctuations, but I do not do very well reminding myself of that on some of the higher-number days. Maybe 3-4 times per week....I think that will help me mentally.
But on a positive note, I think it had an impact on the food choices I made yesterday. Yesterday was my free calories day, so I am not sure what the totals were. But I know that I ate broccoli slaw before lunch and a low-fat smoothie for breakfast. I did have lunch at a bar watching a game...but I ordered the chicken sandwich, though I did have fries.
Today I walked the dog for 30 minutes and then power-walked for an hour. I have decided to take a short break from running. The Iron-man training program is going to be 36 weeks of increasing distance and I think it would be healthy for my knees to give them a break. Again, this is difficult for me because I know that running has one of the best calorie burns per hour. But I am trying to focus on weightlifting and other cardio. My walk today was up and down hills and I really did focus on making it cardio and not just a leisurely walk.
But I can see a little more definition in my arms and I can definitly see a difference in my food choices. For example, today at Costco they were giving out samples of chocolate candy, including my favorite. I took one peice and split it with Richard. (And I logged the calories...no cheating!) When I got home, I wanted a snack before dinner, I was going to have cheese and crackers. Instead, I literally put the crackers back in the pantry and cut an apple into thin slices for the measured one ounce of goat cheese.
Unfortunately, we are going out to dinner tonight, which makes exact measurements of food difficult, but I have lots of room in my calorie ceiling after logging everything else I have eaten today, and I think my new attitude toward portion size and trade-offs (ie, I can have 10 tortilla chips or I can have a glass of wine....not a hard choice) I am confident that I can enjoy dinner and not screw up my eating plan.
The ultimate goal is weightloss, it is true, but improving my food consumption is the only road to getting there and staying there, and I am very very happy to see changes in that arena.
Yesterday, the scale was a good number actually. I did cheat a little...I have been weighing myself first thing in the morning but after not working out on Friday, I did not think I wanted to get on the scale when I first got up. I walked for an hour and then did 2 Biggest Loser videos (40 minutes total) and I was feeling good, so I stepped on and was happy. Another small change I am making it not weighing myself every day. I know weight has natural fluctuations, but I do not do very well reminding myself of that on some of the higher-number days. Maybe 3-4 times per week....I think that will help me mentally.
But on a positive note, I think it had an impact on the food choices I made yesterday. Yesterday was my free calories day, so I am not sure what the totals were. But I know that I ate broccoli slaw before lunch and a low-fat smoothie for breakfast. I did have lunch at a bar watching a game...but I ordered the chicken sandwich, though I did have fries.
Today I walked the dog for 30 minutes and then power-walked for an hour. I have decided to take a short break from running. The Iron-man training program is going to be 36 weeks of increasing distance and I think it would be healthy for my knees to give them a break. Again, this is difficult for me because I know that running has one of the best calorie burns per hour. But I am trying to focus on weightlifting and other cardio. My walk today was up and down hills and I really did focus on making it cardio and not just a leisurely walk.
But I can see a little more definition in my arms and I can definitly see a difference in my food choices. For example, today at Costco they were giving out samples of chocolate candy, including my favorite. I took one peice and split it with Richard. (And I logged the calories...no cheating!) When I got home, I wanted a snack before dinner, I was going to have cheese and crackers. Instead, I literally put the crackers back in the pantry and cut an apple into thin slices for the measured one ounce of goat cheese.
Unfortunately, we are going out to dinner tonight, which makes exact measurements of food difficult, but I have lots of room in my calorie ceiling after logging everything else I have eaten today, and I think my new attitude toward portion size and trade-offs (ie, I can have 10 tortilla chips or I can have a glass of wine....not a hard choice) I am confident that I can enjoy dinner and not screw up my eating plan.
The ultimate goal is weightloss, it is true, but improving my food consumption is the only road to getting there and staying there, and I am very very happy to see changes in that arena.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Highs and Lows
I cannot decide what to make of the weekend. On one hand, Friday night was tough and I have no idea what the ultimate calorie count was, even though I did very well early in the day.
The initial weight Saturday morning was 151. UGH! I get so frustrated when that happens. I walked...a LOT...yesterday. I walked the dog 30 minutes, and we actually went at a good clip. I had origianally thought I would go another 45 minutes on my own and then do a weight workout before heading out for the UCLA game. Calorie-wise, it was supposed to be my "free" day for the week, but I was trying to not go crazy considering my Friday night.
I ended up getting a little lost on my walk and walking for a solid hour, at a very good workout pace. I did do just a few weights for my arms, but did not have a whole lot of time. I ate before we left, and only shared a few fries and a little ice cream at the game. Good until now, and then we had friends over for the debate, which we had DVRd. Dinner was good, and I was even good about the cookies I made for dessert. My drinking, however, was ultimately too much.
Today I got up, had a smoothie, took the dog for a nice walk and then got on my bike. I planned to bike to the beach and back (7 miles total) and when I got there I started to remember how much I liked to bike and I did something very Californian...I got on the bike path by the beach and rode. I have no exact knowledge of how far I went, but it felt great. I started having thoughts of my ultimate athletic goal...doing an ironman. It is something I have long been interested in, but got shelved when I was heavy into the adventure racing. Now that that is over (since I moved to L.A.), I am back on the Ironman kick. Next year I will turn 37....if I'm gonna do it...it really needs to be, um, sooner than later.
So, I was inspired by thinking about actually commiting to this, and when I got home from biking, Iwent for a 4-mile run. Rather proud of myself.
I did not specifically track my calories today....mostly because of laziness and craziness of my errand schedule today. But it's easier during the week anyway, and that starts tomorrow. I probably had too much wine tonight, even if my food intake was good. I am sad to realize that the exercise..which was AWESOME...is not nearly as important as a few extra glasses of wine.
Le Sigh.
Tomorrow is (yet another) Monday.
The initial weight Saturday morning was 151. UGH! I get so frustrated when that happens. I walked...a LOT...yesterday. I walked the dog 30 minutes, and we actually went at a good clip. I had origianally thought I would go another 45 minutes on my own and then do a weight workout before heading out for the UCLA game. Calorie-wise, it was supposed to be my "free" day for the week, but I was trying to not go crazy considering my Friday night.
I ended up getting a little lost on my walk and walking for a solid hour, at a very good workout pace. I did do just a few weights for my arms, but did not have a whole lot of time. I ate before we left, and only shared a few fries and a little ice cream at the game. Good until now, and then we had friends over for the debate, which we had DVRd. Dinner was good, and I was even good about the cookies I made for dessert. My drinking, however, was ultimately too much.
Today I got up, had a smoothie, took the dog for a nice walk and then got on my bike. I planned to bike to the beach and back (7 miles total) and when I got there I started to remember how much I liked to bike and I did something very Californian...I got on the bike path by the beach and rode. I have no exact knowledge of how far I went, but it felt great. I started having thoughts of my ultimate athletic goal...doing an ironman. It is something I have long been interested in, but got shelved when I was heavy into the adventure racing. Now that that is over (since I moved to L.A.), I am back on the Ironman kick. Next year I will turn 37....if I'm gonna do it...it really needs to be, um, sooner than later.
So, I was inspired by thinking about actually commiting to this, and when I got home from biking, Iwent for a 4-mile run. Rather proud of myself.
I did not specifically track my calories today....mostly because of laziness and craziness of my errand schedule today. But it's easier during the week anyway, and that starts tomorrow. I probably had too much wine tonight, even if my food intake was good. I am sad to realize that the exercise..which was AWESOME...is not nearly as important as a few extra glasses of wine.
Le Sigh.
Tomorrow is (yet another) Monday.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thwarted!
Well, maybe....hopefully....not. But the challenges persist. Tonight is a management dinner for Richard's company and they are taking us to Fogo De Chao. Have you ever been to one of those brazillian BBQs? Endless supply of meat, meat, meat. And the sides are all heavy carbs (oh but the plantains are delicious!) And I hear, of course, that one of their signature items is cheese bread.
No measuring cups. No food scale. Just me and the "a serving of meat should fit in the palm of your hand....which might help with diameter but how does the thickness play in? And when the meat comes in waves, HOW do I keep this under control?
So, I am on to some of the things I CAN control. Like the rest of my day. Unfortunately, this is my rest day from working out. I have a hard time taking those but I have to remember that I am getting older and setting myself up for injury is a bad, bad, bad idea. I did take the dog for a longer-than-usual walk this morning and am hoping to get in extra movement thoughout the day. But no official cardio or weights.
In answer to a post about yesterday's cardio and weights....I did the Shred....I do love it. Mostly because I don't like doing weights and it's a way to sneak it in (I tend to not push myself hard at the gym) but unfortunately, they have taken level 2 off my OnDemand which means I only have level 1 and I can do it pretty easily. I'm not sore at all from yesterday's workout.
But I digress. So today should be a pretty low-calorie day in my book, given the lack of accompanying workout. This dinner presents a HUGE challenge to that. I have kept the calorie count for the rest of the day really low, trying to give myself as much wiggle room as possible. I am only just over 1000 calories, and may not even have my afternoon snack of a peach and cottage cheese because it's almost 2 and I am not hungry...I think I can hold out for dinner. That would drop me to 850 calories....technically 700 calories for dinner if I went to my ceiling of 1550 (which according to Sparkpeople still keeps me in weightloss range).
I could commit to no wine. I have not had any alcohol the last 2 nights - WHOO HOOOO! - but I'd really like to relax with a drink tonight...and the 850 already accounts for 2 glasses (although I have no idea how many ounces would be in their pour). I could skirt that issue by waiting until I got home and pouring my own....but I'm cheap and I'd rather have his company pay for my drinks. (Isn't that terrible!)
And tomorrow is supposed to be my 'free' day for calories...since we are once again headed out for a day of football games and a viewing party and counting calories in that situation is not easy. One thing that hopefully will keep my drinking down for the evening is the fact that I do need to get up early to get my workout in tomorrow before we head out for the game....so maybe I'll surprise myself and be really good.
Weight: 149
Exercise: Rest day, though 2 mile morning walk with the dog and likely another mile this evening, plus my 5-mile bike commute.
Calories: 850, before dinner and drinks....so who knows!
No measuring cups. No food scale. Just me and the "a serving of meat should fit in the palm of your hand....which might help with diameter but how does the thickness play in? And when the meat comes in waves, HOW do I keep this under control?
So, I am on to some of the things I CAN control. Like the rest of my day. Unfortunately, this is my rest day from working out. I have a hard time taking those but I have to remember that I am getting older and setting myself up for injury is a bad, bad, bad idea. I did take the dog for a longer-than-usual walk this morning and am hoping to get in extra movement thoughout the day. But no official cardio or weights.
In answer to a post about yesterday's cardio and weights....I did the Shred....I do love it. Mostly because I don't like doing weights and it's a way to sneak it in (I tend to not push myself hard at the gym) but unfortunately, they have taken level 2 off my OnDemand which means I only have level 1 and I can do it pretty easily. I'm not sore at all from yesterday's workout.
But I digress. So today should be a pretty low-calorie day in my book, given the lack of accompanying workout. This dinner presents a HUGE challenge to that. I have kept the calorie count for the rest of the day really low, trying to give myself as much wiggle room as possible. I am only just over 1000 calories, and may not even have my afternoon snack of a peach and cottage cheese because it's almost 2 and I am not hungry...I think I can hold out for dinner. That would drop me to 850 calories....technically 700 calories for dinner if I went to my ceiling of 1550 (which according to Sparkpeople still keeps me in weightloss range).
I could commit to no wine. I have not had any alcohol the last 2 nights - WHOO HOOOO! - but I'd really like to relax with a drink tonight...and the 850 already accounts for 2 glasses (although I have no idea how many ounces would be in their pour). I could skirt that issue by waiting until I got home and pouring my own....but I'm cheap and I'd rather have his company pay for my drinks. (Isn't that terrible!)
And tomorrow is supposed to be my 'free' day for calories...since we are once again headed out for a day of football games and a viewing party and counting calories in that situation is not easy. One thing that hopefully will keep my drinking down for the evening is the fact that I do need to get up early to get my workout in tomorrow before we head out for the game....so maybe I'll surprise myself and be really good.
Weight: 149
Exercise: Rest day, though 2 mile morning walk with the dog and likely another mile this evening, plus my 5-mile bike commute.
Calories: 850, before dinner and drinks....so who knows!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Planning for the weekend
So I am once again fighting the desire to have a drink. I am once again under the 1550 I can allegedly have for the day and still lose weight, I am thinking about the great workout I did today, and I am trying to justify it. It's 8:30. It would just be one drink.
But I know how many times I have done this. I know how mny times I opened a bottle of wine thinking I'd have 2 glasses...and the next thing I know Richard has kindly refilled my glass and so I say I should drink it since he poured it. And then there's only one glass (more or less) left in the bottle and we're still watching TV, so why don't I just have it.
It's ridiculous.
I made some FABULOUS fajitas tonight (shrimp, chicken and beef) and put it over salad with some cheddar cheese...instead of in a tortilla with sour cream. I am amazed by how such little things make significant differences. It should not surprise me - given that my calorie range is really not huge - but it is eye opening to consider what I would normally would have eaten. Just in today I would have had cheese in my morning omlette (I just have 2 eggs instead), maybe some OJ, a tortilla (at 210 calories!) and sour cream, and probably a drink. Or two.
The cheese alone would be another 50 calories, one rum and Coke zero another 100. 210 for the tortilla, conservatively say 30 for the sour cream and another 100 (let's be honest) for a second drink. Oh...and probably 2 Oreo cookies, and I would have felt all virtious about only having 2.
That would have added 600 more calories to my day....for seemingly small things.
Now, part of my frustration is that it's days like that that have kept me with 15 extra pounds on me. Yet, if I go on one of those calorie calculators...it says someone my height and age, etc. at a moderate activity level needs 2100 calories just to maintain weight. So if, on a daily basis, I am under 1500 and some days under 1400....why is the weight not coming off more easily?
This is what frustrates me about how confusing it is to lose weight. And, again, I'm not looking for a pill to fix this challenge....I just want someone to tell me what will work and give me a plan that actually does it.
Weight: 150
Exercise: 30-minute power walk with dog, 15 minute normal walk, 1st Episode of the 30 day Shred, 30 minutes on the Ellptical with a great interval workout.
Calories: 1342, if I can stay away from a rum and Coke Zero.
But I know how many times I have done this. I know how mny times I opened a bottle of wine thinking I'd have 2 glasses...and the next thing I know Richard has kindly refilled my glass and so I say I should drink it since he poured it. And then there's only one glass (more or less) left in the bottle and we're still watching TV, so why don't I just have it.
It's ridiculous.
I made some FABULOUS fajitas tonight (shrimp, chicken and beef) and put it over salad with some cheddar cheese...instead of in a tortilla with sour cream. I am amazed by how such little things make significant differences. It should not surprise me - given that my calorie range is really not huge - but it is eye opening to consider what I would normally would have eaten. Just in today I would have had cheese in my morning omlette (I just have 2 eggs instead), maybe some OJ, a tortilla (at 210 calories!) and sour cream, and probably a drink. Or two.
The cheese alone would be another 50 calories, one rum and Coke zero another 100. 210 for the tortilla, conservatively say 30 for the sour cream and another 100 (let's be honest) for a second drink. Oh...and probably 2 Oreo cookies, and I would have felt all virtious about only having 2.
That would have added 600 more calories to my day....for seemingly small things.
Now, part of my frustration is that it's days like that that have kept me with 15 extra pounds on me. Yet, if I go on one of those calorie calculators...it says someone my height and age, etc. at a moderate activity level needs 2100 calories just to maintain weight. So if, on a daily basis, I am under 1500 and some days under 1400....why is the weight not coming off more easily?
This is what frustrates me about how confusing it is to lose weight. And, again, I'm not looking for a pill to fix this challenge....I just want someone to tell me what will work and give me a plan that actually does it.
Weight: 150
Exercise: 30-minute power walk with dog, 15 minute normal walk, 1st Episode of the 30 day Shred, 30 minutes on the Ellptical with a great interval workout.
Calories: 1342, if I can stay away from a rum and Coke Zero.
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