H's daily check-in

Counting carbs/calories is a drag. Obsessive scale stepping is a recipe for despair. If you want to count something, "days on habit" is a much better metric. Checking off days on a calendar would do just fine, but if you do it here you get accountability and support. Here's how. Start a new topic in this forum called (say) "Your Name Daily Check In." Then every N day post a "reply" to that topic as to whether you stayed on habit. A simple "<font color="green">SUCCESS</font>" or "<font color="red">FAILURE</font>" (or your preferred euphemism if that's too harsh) is sufficient, but obviously you're welcome to write more if you want. On S-days just register that you're taking an S-day. You don't have to do this forever, just until you're confident you've built the habit. Feel free to check in weekly or monthly or sporadically instead of daily. Feel free also to track other habits besides No-s (I'm keeping this forum under No-s because that's what the vast majority are using it for). See also my <a href="/habitcal/">HabitCal</a> tool for another more formal (and perhaps complementary) way to track habits.

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hexagon
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:53 am

H's daily check-in

Post by hexagon » Tue Oct 03, 2006 4:56 am

Hi there,

I've been lurking around but finally decided to try this daily check-in thing. First, please note that I allow myself 4-5 meals per day (remember, Reinhard said that the actual NUMBER of meals wasn't necessarily fixed to 3), because this works better for me. It doesn't lead to uncontrolled snacking because each meal is well-defined (I don't just carry a bag of nuts around with me). If I don't do this I get so hungry that even whale lard ice cream with pork rinds sounds good.

Also, I do measure out some of my foods that I take along with me for my meals (like the almonds). Maybe this seems crazy, but I can do it very quickly in the morning, and it has helped me maintain (if not always lose) weight. I've gotten pretty good at eyeing measured amounts, so sometimes I'm estimating.

Um, you'll also notice that from the limited variety of foods, I've got to go to the grocery store tomorrow...

Exercise:

Treadclimber: 40 min
Weight-lifting: 30 min
Walking: ~80 min

Breakfast (meal 1)
1 nectarine + ~ 1 c. nonfat plain yogurt

Meal 2:
~1/4 c. almonds
1 slice whole wheat bread with ~1/2 tbsp natural peanut butter

Late lunch (meal 3):
1 nectarine
1 slice whole wheat bread with 1 tbsp peanut butter
1 c. plain yogurt, with small amount of sweetener and vanilla extract

Meal 4:

1 slice whole wheat bread
1 tbsp peanut butter
1/4 c. almonds

Meal 5 (dinner at a Mexican restaurant--I managed to pass up all of the heavy stuff, yay--I even asked them to put the dressing for my salad on the side, which was a good call because it sucked and it was really fatty):

~4 c salad veggies (romaine, radishes, and fresh tomato salsa)
Grilled seasoned chicken (I estimate ~1/2-1 c., at least by eye)
~10 tortilla chips
~2 tbsp Monterey Jack

Today was a success.

hexagon
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:53 am

Post by hexagon » Wed Oct 04, 2006 2:56 am

day 2 (of my check-in reports--really I've been doing this for almost 4 weeks)

Breakfast:

plain oatmeal w/almonds, cinnamon, small amount of sweetener
plain nonfat yogurt

Lunch:

Whole wheat pita with 1/2 tomato, reduced-fat feta, 1 veggie burger
1 medium nectarine
small amount of almonds (small handful)

Dinner:

2 whole wheat pitas, one with natural peanut butter, the other with tomato slices, reduced-fat cheddar, and some Smart Balance light spread
1 apple
cup of soymilk

Meal 4:

small amount of almonds (~10)
1 large nectarine

Exercise:

Hamster wheel (I mean elliptical trainer): 30 min at very high intensity
Calisthenics and weight lifting: 40 min
Walking: 2 to 2.5 hours (didn't have the car today, so had to walk longer distances on foot to get a lot of random errands done)

Note: I've actually caught some flack from my friends for using any lower-calorie stuff, like reduced-fat cheese (note, not LOW-fat) or nonfat yogurt. Hence, here's my disclaimer/explanation: I only use these if I still think they taste good, because they DO have less calories. I don't think judicious use of these products is a bad thing.

Today was a success.[/quote]

pangelsue
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Joined: Sun Mar 12, 2006 2:13 pm
Location: Wisconsin

Post by pangelsue » Wed Oct 04, 2006 3:35 am

Welcome to another peanut butter lover. If God made anything better, He kept it for Himself. Keep us posted.
A lot of growing up happens between "it fell" and "I dropped it."

hexagon
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:53 am

45

Post by hexagon » Fri Oct 06, 2006 7:29 am

Amen on the peanut butter, Pangelsue!

If anybody looks at this, please note that I allow myself 4-5 meals a day (obviously smaller than if I had 3 meals). It just works better for me; I just make sure the amounts are controlled so that it isn't just unlimited snacking.


Yesterday (didn't have time to post):

Breakfast:

1 slice whole wheat toast
omelette made with basil, tomatoes, broccoli, mushrooms, feta and egg substitute

coffee with bit of whole milk

Lunch:

Slice of vegetable fritatta
Mixed greens side salad

5 pm meal:

whole wheat wrap with peanut butter and apple

Dinner:

1/4-1/3 lb beef patty (pre-cooked weight), broiled, in half of a whole wheat pita, with tomato slices and mustard. Lightly dressed broccoli side salad. (All homemade stuff--ergo, no oil added, except for a small amount on the broccoli.)

Exercise:

Stairmaster: 30 min
Circuit training (weights): 25 min
Walking: ~60 min

Funny, I woke up really really hungry in the middle of the night and I had to eat a piece of toast--I couldn't ignore the hunger (I think that's why I woke up).

Still, I'm going to call yesterday a success. I know that if I were overeating, I wouldn't feel hungry (although this tells me that maybe I should eat a bit more?).


Today (October 5 2006)

Breakfast:

oatmeal (~1 c cooked), few almonds, nonfat yogurt (all flavored with cinnamon or vanilla, and small amount of sweetener)

Mid-morning mini meal:

South Beach bar (yeah, I don't like to eat this stuff all of the time, but the high protein content really does curb hunger, and I was HUNGRY)

Lunch:

1/2 whole wheat pita with peanut butter
1/2 whole wheat pita stuffed with sliced small tomato and some reduced-fat feta

Late afternoon mini meal:

Odwalla high protein bar (yeah, I was in a rush today--at least these are all natural, no refined sugars, vegetarian, yadda yadda yadda)

Dinner:

Meal at macrobiotic vegan restaurant, including lentil soup, kale, carrots, brown rice, mixed greens, bok choy, beans, onions. Take my word for it, it was definitely low fat, mostly vegetables, not so much starchy stuff (I don't think it could have had so many calories). You might find it hard to believe, but it was delicious. I drank plenty of water to slow me down during the meal.

I'm so proud of myself...After dinner we went to a sort of diner where everybody got ice cream and pie except for me. I just had some decaf with a bit of half and half. I actually didn't want any sweets; I was thinking I'll have some this weekend (I'm going on a little getaway).

I got home, and ok, some virtual plating, I had a pear. I was feeling hungry and I didn't want to wake up in the middle of the night again.

Exercise:

30 min elliptical trainer
~45 min weight lifting/calisthenics
~2.5 hours walking (I had to run around and do a lot today)

Today was a success.

hexagon
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:53 am

Post by hexagon » Tue Oct 10, 2006 9:53 pm

Was gone from Friday night to Sunday night, and I think I did okay.

--Friday--

first two meals were home-cooked stuff with veggies, can't remember exactly. The last meal of the day was salmon, jasmine rice, and asparagus (at a restaurant, so the portion sizes were probably too big) plus two popovers. Technically they all fit onto a plate, although I should have limited it to one popover. I guess I'll still call that a success.

exercise: 30 min cardio, 30 min weight-lifting, ~60 min walking

--Saturday (S-day)--

All meals were either at the bed and breakfast place or restaurants--I took a weekend getaway.

B'fast: 2 small cheese and fruit blintzes, 2 small chicken apple sausages, tea with milk, toast (the blintzes were my S)
Lunch: 1/2 turkey and cheese sandwich, apple
Mid-afternoon meal: Luna bar
Dinner: 3 small pieces of Czech bread with butter, a few spoonfuls of cooked cabbage, soup, salad, and bits of a rabbit (eating rabbit is too much work--too many bones. By the time I'd extracted some meat I was no longer hungry).

Exercise: hiking for ~5 1/2 hours. I think it was around an 11 or 12-mile hike with lots of hills.

SUCCESS
(wow, on a vacation and I didn't eat crappy stuff!)

--Sunday (S-day)--

B'fast: 3 small pancakes w/ syrup, toast, tea with milk (pancakes were my S)
Lunch: 1/2 turkey and cheese sandwich
Mid-afternoon: apple and a Clif bar
Dinner: 1 1/2 popovers, cheese polenta, 1 chicken apple sausage, grilled tomatoes, sauteed spinach

Exercise: 4-4 1/2 hours of vigorous hiking.

SUCCESS

--Monday--

Whoops. I can't exactly remember what I ate, but it was too much. I was at home packing like crazy (I'm moving across the country for a job and I'll have to have a long distance relationship with my S.O. for about a year, so I think I was freaking out). I can honestly say though that my overeating was not nearly as bad as it can be, not at all. It wasn't junk food either (then again, I never overeat junk food), but it was still too much.

I'd say that I STUMBLED today. (Failure is too harsh a word, and as I said, I did a lot better than I normally would.)

Exercise: 30 min elliptical, 40 min weights/calisthenics, 40 min walking

Well, that's it. I'll report later today (hopefully today is another success), but then I'm going to be out of town, first at my parents' place, then settling down in a new town, with a new job, where I don't know anybody. Ooof! I hope I don't start eating to kill the stress.

hexagon
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:53 am

Post by hexagon » Tue Nov 14, 2006 4:15 am

Wow,

I'm back after moving across the country and having my routine and eating totally disconbobulated. This is probably the first day in a month I've really eaten properly. Yuck!

I actually eat four meals a day, just well-defined ones, as I watch my portion sizes pretty carefully (each meal is smallish). Yeah, I'm eating yogurt a lot. I have too much and I don't want it to go bad.

Breakfast:
Oatmeal
Yogurt
Apple
Coffee with sugar-free creamer

Lunch:
Homemade vegetable pasta sauce (very thick like a stew with tons of veggies, not much oil)
Whole-wheat pasta (~1/2 cup)
Yogurt (sugar free)

Mid afternoon:
1 nutrition bar (220 cal)

Dinner:
Homemade vegetable pasta sauce
Whole-wheat pasta (~1/2 cup)
Yogurt (sugar free)
Small piece of chicken (I guess approximately 1/2 deck of cards)

Exercise: walking (> 3 miles home, maybe ~ 1 hr)

This was a success.

Rollo
Posts: 30
Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2006 5:07 pm
Location: Arkansas

Hex check

Post by Rollo » Tue Nov 14, 2006 3:43 pm

Welcome back to your daily check in Hex. Your menu sounds good and it sounds like you are ready to get back on track. Hooray for you!
Rollo

hexagon
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:53 am

Post by hexagon » Thu Nov 16, 2006 3:30 am

15 November 2006

Whoops. I accidentally started a new topic titled "14 November 2006", when I really meant to keep it in my check-ins here. Sorry.

Breakfast:
Oatmeal (w/various seasonings I added)
1/2 of teeny bag of peanuts on the oatmeal(I think it was a 200 calorie bag in total)
Yogurt (w/vanilla flavoring, a little bit of sweetener)
Coffee w/spoonful of creamer

Lunch (really hungry):
White cheddar + whole wheat shells (part of a box of Annie's mac and cheese--it was on sale and there's a bunny on the box), mixed with the following: lightly steamed broccoli, chopped marinated artichokes, and leftover "awesome to the max" homemade lemon-herb chicken breast. This was really yummy!

small handful of roasted soynuts
2 clementines
a small apple

Dinner:
The mac and cheese w/broccoli, chicken, and artichoke hearts I had at lunch
The other half of that teeny bag of peanuts I ate at breakfast.

As always, the portions are carefully controlled.

Exercise:
~30 min walking (not all at once, just includes the random walking I have to do during the day, including climbing up 4-5 flights of stairs a few times)
30 min stairclimber
~20-25 min stretching, ab, and back exercises

Today was a success.

hexagon
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:53 am

Post by hexagon » Thu Nov 16, 2006 11:41 pm

Breakfast:
Yogurt
Oatmeal w/various seasonings, sprinkled w/roasted soynuts

Lunch:
Spinach, mushroom and tomato salad, with:
sliced leftover homemade lemon-herb chicken
feta
reduced-calorie balsamic vinegar/olive oil vinagrette (yes, I know the general attitude around here towards "diet" foods but if it still actually tastes good and has less calories, then I'm down)

Dinner:
Powerbar Harvest
2 clementines
1 small apple
2 slices high fiber whole wheat toast (I didn't intentionally buy it for this, but a fringe benefit of this bread is that it is really low in calories...Guess most of it is sawdust or something. Still tastes good, though.) with a little bit of peanut butter.

Exercise:

~30 min walking and climbing up and down stairs

Kind of a crappy exercise day. I'm so exhausted after many days of not sleeping much. My stomach hurts, and I got the worst cramps ever today (took two pills of extra-strength Tylenol plus an Aleve and I still hurt). I basically feel like somebody tied sandbags to my whole body. I'm going to sleep soon and hopefully that will fix how I feel.

hexagon
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:53 am

Post by hexagon » Fri Nov 17, 2006 4:07 am

Whoops!

Well, I thought I would have been able to claim a success. Life doesn't work that way, though. Perhaps this fits under Reinhard's "do what you need to get better" clause.

Anyway, as I said in my previous posting, I was (and still am) extremely fatigued. I also have been experiencing some of the worst cramps in my life ever. (Sorry guys, I hope that doesn't gross you out too much. Just be glad that you don't have to deal with them!) I take pain medicines and they only take off the edge. Also, I have chronically recurring gastritis, which has recently reared its ugly head again. I'm back on medication to cut down my stomach acid production, because I don't like having my stomach feel like it is on fire.

I was awakened about an hour or so ago by those dreadful cramps. I also was simultaneously hungry (real hunger), plus I was experiencing that wonderful burning gastritis. I tried to just take some Tylenol and an Aleve and eat some Tums but I couldn't sleep because I was so uncomfortable. I couldn't take it anymore so I had some toast with peanut butter, some of a popcorn/soynut mix, and some clementines, plus some more Tums and another acid production inhibitor. Then I called my mom, who is a physician, because the cramps were not going away and I was getting scared. She told me to take another Aleve.

The bad thing about Aleve-type medicines, as well as ibuprofen, is that they can irritate and inflame the lining of the stomach, and generally are a no-no for somebody with active acid gastritis like me. Therefore, in addition to all of the anti-acid stuff I've been taking, with my big Aleve dose, my mom told me that I needed to eat, or I would be sorry. I guess eating wasn't a bad thing, then.

Anyway, while I'm not totally happy that I ate extra food, I still feel like I've got some things to be happy about, which are:

(1) I actually ate due to what was real hunger
(2) Previously, hunger has set off binges, but I did not binge or eat until I was overstuffed this time
(3) A physician told me that I had to eat anyway
(4) My stomach doesn't feel like it is burning anymore
(5) That second Aleve is ameliorating those nasty cramps.

I don't know why I'm typing all of this stuff. I guess I feel that my diet is tied to the rest of my health so it is important to record this. Plus, I had to do something while I waited for these cramps to disappear. Yow.

--H

hexagon
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Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:53 am

Post by hexagon » Tue Nov 21, 2006 1:56 am

Hiya,

In summary, Friday I was sick and actually had to eat more (if you read my other posts you'll know why), and Saturday and Sunday were both S-days (I still think I ate too much).

Today:

B'fast: oatmeal made w/skim milk, some peanut butter stirred in (yummy!)

Lunch: Cheese vegetable frittata, plus steamed broccoli and peppers

Mini-meal: Whole-wheat crackers (small baggie)

Dinner: Very hungry! Cheese-vegetable frittata, steamed broccoli and peppers, 2 slices whole-wheat toast

Was still very very hungry, so I had a bowl of oatmeal. Kind of a weird dinner I guess, but I find that oatmeal really fills me up for a small amount of calories, and yes, I think I could have fit the oatmeal on my plate (I didn't want to eat oatmeal from a plate, though).

Exercise: 1 hour walking (bus service is all messed up due to the holidays so I didn't really have a choice) while carrying a lot of stuff, 30 min hamster wheel (oops, I mean elliptical trainer), ~25 min weight-lifting

Definitely today was a success. (Phew! I needed one....)

hexagon
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:53 am

Post by hexagon » Wed Nov 29, 2006 3:29 am

I think I'll start again after my gastritis and Thanksgiving week fiascos. Here we go:

Day 1:

bfast: oatmeal with some peanuts sprinkled on top, coffee with creamer

lunch: veggie-meatball soup, multigrain roll, orange, skim milk

dinner: small Amy's bean and cheese burrito, 2 apples, broccoli slaw with balsamic vinegar dressing

SUCCESS.

exercise: ~ 30 min walking

hexagon
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:53 am

Post by hexagon » Thu Nov 30, 2006 12:52 am

Day 2: SUCCESS

bfast: oatmeal and yogurt

lunch: lentil-vegetable soup, part of a multigrain baguette, apple, skim milk

mini-meal: nutrition bar and apple, coffee w/ creamer

dinner: spinach and broccoli slaw salad with a bit of balsamic vinegar dressing, feta cheese, and soynuts; 1 slice whole wheat bread; pizza soyburger (very yummy)

I tried drinking a lot of water and waiting after eating, but I was still really hungry, so I ate a small amount of oatmeal. I don't know why but even a little bit fills me up.

exercise: ~30 min walking, 1 hr weight-lifting and cardio

(starting a new category here) Things for which I should be grateful: I have free access to a gym and pool as a side benefit of my job.

hexagon
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:53 am

Post by hexagon » Fri Dec 01, 2006 3:58 am

Day 3: SUCCESS

bfast: oatmeal and yogurt

lunch: 2/3 of a pulled pork sandwich, non-creamy coleslaw (vinegar), green beans (not cooked in pork back)--happy that I had enough willpower NOT to eat the whole sandwich!
coffee w/creamer

dinner: big salad of spinach and broccoli slaw, small amount of soynuts, feta and balsamic vinagrette
1 tomato-basil soyburger
1 apple

exercise: ~30 min walking (not all at once), 1 hr at gym (cardio and weights)

happy about...: made a very nice chili tonight and readied meals for tomorrow

hexagon
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:53 am

Post by hexagon » Sat Dec 02, 2006 2:58 am

Day 4: SUCCESS

bfast: oatmeal and apple

lunch: homemade veggie-turkey chili, 1 slice bread, apple, yogurt

mid-afternoon: coffee w/creamer

dinner: homemade veggie-turkey chili, 1 slice bread, cube of cheese, yogurt

exercise: walked to work (a bit over 3 miles, approx.), also was running around today a lot to meetings, to different buildings, and I didn't use the elevator...I work on an upper level so I was going up and down the stairs several times today.

grateful for: my mom

zoolina
Posts: 252
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Location: In Transit

Post by zoolina » Sat Dec 02, 2006 1:38 pm

Hi hexagon!

You're so good about posting your meals. How are you feeling these days? Stress levels ok??

hexagon
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:53 am

Post by hexagon » Sun Dec 03, 2006 4:30 am

Hi Zoolina,

Thank you for asking. I'm doing a lot better, and having useful, understanding input from people like you has helped.

I find that posting my food intake helps me regulate it. I know at the end of the day there's going to be an accounting and it makes me consider what I'm eating carefully.

--H

hexagon
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:53 am

Post by hexagon » Sun Dec 03, 2006 4:41 am

Day 5: S-day. SUCCESS

Why do I say success when it was an S-day, and I guess by default a free day? I didn't go crazy. I was out of the house at work and I couldn't just eat everything. I've also cleared out most problem foods from my home, so I couldn't just start munching a lot. In the past these foods weren't problems (bread, light popcorn, peanuts and peanut butter), but given the additional stress in my life lately I wanted to be safe. It seems to have helped.

Breakfast:

Oatmeal (yeah, I know, but it's cold here and I like it), yogurt, soynuts, apple

Lunch:

homemade veggie-turkey chili
1 slice whole wheat bread
cinnamon scone
coffee with admittedly too much creamer

Snack:

Sweet and salty nut mix (nuts, m and m's, raisins)

Dinner:

homemade veggie-turkey chili (much more generous serving, plenty of cheese on top too!)
2 slices toast w/natural light margarine (no hydrogenated fats)
apple

Stupid gastritis acted up, so I ate a single packet of oatmeal to quell it.

I felt more full than I have the rest of this week, but I didn't stuff myself until I felt bloated and sick. Even feeling this full isn't so pleasant--my stomach seems to prefer that I eat just enough to be satisfied rather than being really full.

I'm just happy that I didn't stuff myself this time.

Exercise:

~1 hour walking (most of this to work)
30 min elliptical trainer

hexagon
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:53 am

Post by hexagon » Mon Dec 04, 2006 5:02 am

Day 6: S-Day.

I don't know if I can call it a success per se. While breakfast and lunch were fine, I felt I was pressured into eating some ice cream when I didn't really want it (I only ate half) and then felt stupid for not having the guts to say no. I also ate too much bread this evening. (For me, the problem is not sweets, fat, or junk food--it is carbs, in particular bread. I've pretty much cleared most of the bread out of the house so I'm not tempted to overeat it, but since today was an S-Day I tried to experiment. I guess I know the result of that.)

I know it is an S-Day so technically I shouldn't feel guilty or anything but it is more an issue of feeling in control or not. Yesterday didn't feel bad because I chose to eat those treats, rather than being pressured into it or feeling like I was losing control.

I guess I just have to resolve to plan better. I did it yesterday and it worked. I have to do it for BOTH S-days next week. I can't help but freak out sometimes when I think that an S-Day may have set me back by a few days in my weight loss. Unfortunately as a short female with ~20-30 pounds to lose, I'm at this point where I don't have much wiggle room in my consumption....I gotta watch it! The scale won't budge if S-Days are a complete free-for-all and I end up consuming 7,000 extra calories, thus effectively "canceling" out a whole week of good behavior.

On the other hand this weekend was loads better than the past several weekends.

Exercise: attempting to shove/kick VERY heavy logs around, unsuccessfully attempting to remove bark from said logs with a dull axe, hiking for >1 hr, successfully feeling embarassed for not being in good enough shape to haul logs or hike quickly enough....Don't ask about the logs.

--H

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British Chap
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Location: Leamington Spa, England

Post by British Chap » Mon Dec 04, 2006 6:32 am

What happenend with the logs ? :lol:
Gareth

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Tue Dec 05, 2006 1:18 am

Ah yes, the logs. Well, we were trying, as part of a volunteer effort, to build a staircase on a hiking path where there was too much erosion. The steps to hold the earth in place were logs. We had to move the logs and then strip the bark from them, a task much more difficult than I had anticipated.

I was embarassed at how pitifully weak I was compared to everybody else in the group. I'm definitely above average when it comes to the fitness of the average American (generally I'm physically active in some way most days, and I lift) but these people were mega-fit outdoorsy types. If I could only find some more logs to pull around and chop...Yeah! In private, of course, so that nobody could see my lame efforts...Waaaaah....

:oops:

Day 7: SUCCESS

breakfast: 2 slices whole wheat bread with smart balance
yogurt with spoonful of no-sugar-added cranberry sauce

lunch: apple, a cup of homemade split pea-vegetable soup, small amount of soynuts, part of a sweet potato (boiled, nothing else added), milk

dinner: small amount of homemade veggie-turkey chili (the last of it, thank goodness), the rest of the sweet potato, herbal tea with milk

exercise: Today is my rest day. Probably around 20-30 minutes walking.

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British Chap
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Location: Leamington Spa, England

Post by British Chap » Tue Dec 05, 2006 5:43 am

H, you wrote; "but these people were mega-fit outdoorsy types" - You mean that these people took Urban Ranger seriously and got great results from it? Shock, Horror.

Good luck with your secret log-chopping fetish.

G

hexagon
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:53 am

Post by hexagon » Tue Dec 05, 2006 10:45 pm

Actually I DO take the Urban Rangering seriously; take a look at my postings. I have been long before I ever heard of the term. I love walking and hate driving. My amount of walking has been somewhat decreased on account of my moving recently to a much less walking-friendly place (you can probably see that from my postings pre- and post-move), but I am finding many more ways to do it. Even being in a bad place for walking, at the absolute bare minimum I get half an hour, and often more with a 3-mile walk to work. I even carry a Maglite so that the cars are less likely to hit me at night (since pedestrians are not so common around here). Recently I've discovered a lot of cool trails near my new home too. On top of my walking I often do other strenuous exercises on a regular basis, as you can see from my postings. (While gym exercises seem to be partially dissed on this bulletin board, I use my gym because it is free and right next to where I work. Also it is getting to be bitterly cold outside. I'm going to go and look for one of those ugly-but-incredibly-warm hats with the earflaps so I can walk without worrying that my ears are going to fall off.)

Despite being what by most standards would be active, I cannot compare so favorably (yet) with people who (a) go for backpacking hikes weeks at a time, (b) climb mountains most weekends and (c) run marathons regularly. No, I'm not exaggerating. That's what I mean by "mega-outdoorsy fit." Oh yeah, and one of the guys in the group was a firefighter, too. I don't think most Urban Rangers are at the fitness levels of these types of people. That is, unless they start climbing skyscrapers and walking from San Francisco to L.A. :lol:

That's kind of why I was frustrated and embarassed, because I'm *definitely* not a sloth, but I still sucked compared to these people. (Plus, going to the bathroom in the woods if you're a girl can really slow you down while you're hiking....) Granted, a lot of people I know would probably have done a lot worse than me. :)

I plan to be one of these people too (well, maybe I won't do the marathons and I'm a bit scared of climbing. I'll chop logs though!). I'm working towards it. Time to find some more logs. :)

hexagon
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:53 am

Post by hexagon » Wed Dec 06, 2006 3:10 am

Day 8: SUCCESS

b'fast: oatmeal, apple, roasted edamame

lunch: homemade split pea-vegetable soup, part of a sweet potato (maybe 1/4 of a medium one), small piece of marinated chicken breast, orange

mini-meal: nutrition/granola bar, skim milk latte made with unexpectedly bad coffee; had to remedy with creamer (I know that stuff is evil, but it is pretty much the only source of evil I get in my diet)

dinner: salad (red leaf lettuce, grape tomatoes, cucumber, spinach, marinated chicken breast, bit of feta, a little balsamic vinagrette)
piece of sweet potato (1/3 of a medium one)

exercise: 1/2 hour vigorous weight-lifting, 1/2 hour zen hamster wheel (I mean, stairclimber), ~30 min walking (including climbing plenty of real stairs)

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gettnbusy
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Post by gettnbusy » Wed Dec 06, 2006 6:20 pm

Always love watching your progess :)
~I'm still not perfect~
~Sophie~

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Thu Dec 07, 2006 1:18 am

Day 9: SUCCESS

b'fast: oatmeal and yogurt

lunch: 3 smallish samosas, 1 Luna Bar

mini-meal: apple, soynuts

dinner: homemade split-pea-vegetable soup (hmm, have we seen this before? I'm still not sick of it...), small sweet potato, orange

Okay, I'll admit, I had a few sugar-free sour candies from a friend. When I looked at the box though, they were listed as having zero calories each, so I don't think I need to worry.

Exercise: >1 hour walking (or more like hobbling...I did a lot of leg exercises yesterday) home, >3 miles

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gettnbusy
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Post by gettnbusy » Thu Dec 07, 2006 1:37 am

Stick with that oatmeal at breakfast.. its great for reducing your cholesterol levels. I don't know if you've heard of Dr Oz? He is on Oprah often. He says that we should pick 1-2 meals per day and have the same "group" of foods every day so that it takes the choices out of the equation. Ive been doing that and it's working great. I always have grain toast & oatmeal or fruit & yogurt for breakfast. That's it. I never have to think about it, tempting cereal or pop tarts never even enter the equation. It'almost a freaking epiphany is what it is and it's working pretty damn well too! Well, just thought I'd share that with you!
TTYL!
~I'm still not perfect~
~Sophie~

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Fri Dec 08, 2006 3:44 am

Day 10: SUCCESS

b'fast: oatmeal, soynuts, apple

lunch: ~1/4 of sweet potato, split-pea vegetable soup, small piece of chicken, 1 piece whole-wheat bread

mini-meal: ~1 cup split-pea vegetable soup, 1 12 oz. skim milk latte (didn't finish it)

dinner: oatmeal, soynuts, orange (kind of weird, but it is cold here and I was sick of split pea soup)

exercise: ~30-40 minutes hobbling (legs are still very sore from the new stuff I did on Tuesday; I didn't want to push it)
30 min circuit weight lifting (arms, chest, abs)

Grateful for...:Living in a place where I finally see snow in winter. I missed it. I'm also grateful for the fact that soup can be frozen when I'm sick of it.

Wish me luck tomorrow; I might have to take an S-day. A colleague of mine will have his post-dissertation defense party. Saturday, another party...

zoolina
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Post by zoolina » Fri Dec 08, 2006 10:02 am

Hi Hexagon,

Thanks for the support on my check in! Yeah, stress is a killer. What I've discovered is, though when left unchecked I will eat emotionally for almost any emotion, it's the anger plus stress combination that I can't seem to control with No S. I'm not an angry person in general, but when I am I can't seem to show it, so I eat. Or that's my amateur analysis, anyway! And it's so self destructive to take out my anger on other people (in this case my lazy, uninspired students) on myself. What do I gain by that????

I think you're right that the idea of choice is key. I just wish, *sigh* that I could learn to make better choices!

Hope all is well with you. I think I'll join you on the "only eating one big meal on holiday S days approach."

Z.

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Post by hexagon » Sat Dec 09, 2006 4:31 am

Day 11: S-Day/SUCCESS

Why success? I didn't go nuts, that's why. I told myself that I'd only do a single S (dessert) at one meal (at a party), and I stuck to it.

B'fast: oatmeal, yogurt, soynuts

Lunch: piece of chicken breast, brown rice, mixed green salad w/balsamic vinegar, orange

mini-meal: apple, soynuts (perhaps I could've gone without, but I think I would have been incredibly ravenous at dinner...as it was dinner was late and I was getting really, really hungry)

dinner: 1 small-medium potato, sauteed green beans, 2 small slices bakery bread, 1 sausage, a small piece of grilled pork (this all definitely fit on one standard plate with no stacking, but it is more than I usually eat for a single meal)

S: 1 scoop ice cream, 1 piece chocolate cake

exercise: ~60 min. walking (and eye-freezing), 30 min. vigorous zen hamster wheel, ~15 minutes abs and back exercises

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Post by hexagon » Mon Dec 11, 2006 8:59 pm

Day 12: Saturday (but No-S): SUCCESS

I exercised plenty too. Sorry, not much time to post.

Day 13: Sunday (S-Day). Er, ok, it was an S-Day but I still feel I ate too much. I have to plan better. It was a rest day, exercise-wise.

Day 14: Today. So far doing okay, but I'm getting sick. My neighbors and co-workers down the hall probably think somebody has been punched every time I sneeze. I think I caught something from riding the bus with a bunch of germ-ridden undergrads every day. It used to be that every semester I taught them, I would get sick. (Apologies to all germ-ridden undergrads who read this; I openly admit that I was once a germ-ridden undergrad myself.)

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Tue Dec 12, 2006 3:36 pm

Day 14: Sick Day (Failure?)

Breakfast was normal, lunch was on a plate (but was some pretty fatty stuff), dinner...Well, dinner I went a bit haywire. I had to take some painkillers to stop my throat from hurting, and acetaminophen wasn't enough, so I had to hit the naproxen, which unfortunately irritates the lining of the stomach. As some of you might know from reading my previous postings, my stomach is pretty delicate. Anyhow, predictably, despite eating a little bit extra and eating antiacids, plus an acid inhibitor, my stomach started to hurt pretty badly. I shoved some food in there as it was the only thing that can alleviate the pain. This led to eating a lot more than I would have preferred (definitely more than was needed to kill the pain).

Oddly enough I didn't get the weird bloated feeling I usually get after overeating; it was actually a relief to be full as the pain was gone. I wasn't really angry at myself either. After all, I think I've been doing pretty well and the scale showed a 2 pound weight loss (actually more like 3-4, since I weighed myself with clothes on, and my clothes are ~1-2 pounds...usually I weigh myself in my birthday suit but the scale in the locker room is about 5 billion years old so I had to use one in public). I was well-hydrated when I weighed myself too, and for me anyhow a 3-4 pound loss is beyond daily weight fluctuations.

Let's see--what was my exercise yesterday? Well, my nose ran! Ha ha ha heh huh ugh groan. Sorry. Very very bad joke. I did my standard walking that I always do (it's just part of my life), probably ~30 minutes.

Well, I feel a lot better today since I went home early yesterday and I got a good night's sleep. Maybe I'll do some more exercise today, depending on how things go. I hate sitting around!

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Post by hexagon » Wed Dec 13, 2006 2:15 pm

Day 15: SUCCESS

bfast: two packets oatmeal

lunch: vegetable chili, piece of multigrain baguette, skim milk, orange

dinner: 1 packet oatmeal, yogurt, 1 small sweet potato with smart balance and cheese (yes, kind of a weird dinner, but everything was in raw form and I was starving...luckily I cooked last night)

exercise: I was still sick, so I didn't push it; I only did the 30 minutes that I do every day anyway.

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Thu Dec 14, 2006 3:50 pm

Day 16: SUCCESS

bfast: oatmeal, yogurt

lunch: homemade vegetable-cheese fritatta, broccoli, half of a small sweet potato, soynuts

mini-meal: apple, soynuts, coffee w/creamer

dinner: homemade vegetable-cheese fritatta, broccoli, half of a small sweet potato, apple, yogurt

exercise: 30 min zen hamster wheel, 20 min walking (yeah, I know, it was a bad day for walking, I'll definitely do more tomorrow)

grateful for: Feeling good enough to exercise again (I can breathe through my nose!); the fact that the temperatures have risen above 15 degrees Fahrenheit (that's -9.4 deg C)

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Post by hexagon » Fri Dec 15, 2006 1:16 am

Day 17: SICK

Well, I was totally surprised--I got the Cramps of Doom again. I don't know what the heck is going on, but as soon as my health insurance transfer is finished, I am going to the doctor. Until last month, I'd never had cramps this bad. I took acetaminophen early this morning but towards the end of my morning workout I had to stop because the pain was so bad I was getting all dizzy and nauseated. Even when I pulled out the heavy guns (taking two naproxen) I still felt a dull pain and bloating, and horribly exhausted...I even got all shaky and sweaty in the afternoon.

Of course, taking the NSAIDs (naproxen), especially a double dose (yeah, the doctor told me it was okay) sucked because my stomach, which is screwed up anyway, started to hurt like crazy, despite the fact that I'd prepped myself with proton inhibitors and antiacids.

Anyhow, in addition to the normal stuff I eat on successful days (similar to what I ate yesterday), this is the extra stuff I ate:

tea (the perpetual pain was exhausting and I needed a pick-me-up)
chai (evil, evil sugary stuff, but the normal tea didn't do jack, and coffee would have been like pouring salt on an open wound, even if it were a latte)
1 small sweet potato
1 packet of oatmeal
Too much cheese and Smart Balance (on the sweet potato)
1 wheat bagel
A cup of soymilk

Well, it is kind of embarassing listing all of the extra stuff I took in, but dang, my stomach HURT and I felt so horribly tired. Technically I guess this stuff, in addition to what I normally eat would have fit onto three plates. However, as a short female who is approximately 20 pounds overweight, I don't feel like I've got much wiggle room (so solely going by the plate rule sans moderation isn't good enough).

I'm going to go to the doctor and I don't care if they have to give me the Pill or whatever, I just don't want to put up with this, even if it only happens 2 days/month. I obviously can't handle this with normal painkillers with an already compromised stomach. Grrrr.

Exercise: 1/2 hour weight lifting, 20 min zen hamster wheel (the stairmaster...I had to stop early due to the Cramps of Doom), 30-40 minutes walking

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Sat Dec 16, 2006 1:43 am

Day 18: SUCCESS

bfast: oatmeal, yogurt

lunch: BIG hamburger (1/3-1/2 lb), a few fries/onion rings
(Even if this did fit on a plate, and a smallish one at that, I still can't help but feel a bit guilty and piglike. My boss took us out to lunch at a place known for its burgers, and I consciously picked it in part because I feel I need the iron pretty badly right now, even if it is super-fatty (if you read my previous posting you'll know why I need iron). I also only picked from a basket of shared fries--I didn't order my own. Technically it all fits into the rules, but as I've said before, I don't have much wiggle room! Anyhow, I did skip the cheese and mayo...Should I feel guilty?)

dinner: 1 piece homemade veggie fritatta, soynuts, packet of oatmeal (yeah, I know, weird, but my stomach is still really angry from yesterday and oatmeal helps), apple, big cup of unsweetened milk chai

exercise: rest day today

The day was otherwise peppered with many Tums and doses of Maalox, but I don't think I'd consider these sweets or snacks...Yuck.

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gettnbusy
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Post by gettnbusy » Sat Dec 16, 2006 4:48 am

You go! Seriously! I wish I had half of your discipline. WTG!
~I'm still not perfect~
~Sophie~

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Sun Dec 17, 2006 4:28 am

Day 19: S-Day/SUCCESS (because I didn't just freak out and eat everything in sight...I was keeping myself pretty busy today)

bfast: oatmeal, homemade veggie fritatta, cup of unsweetened chai (from a mix)

lunch: 6 inch Subway turkey and cheese sub, no mayo or dressing, all the veggies (not trying to be a martyr here...I just find mayo kind of yucky)

mini-meal: protein bar

dinner: apple, baby carrots, 2 broccoli pancakes, 1 Amy's pizza pocket

waited for a bit and was still hungry, so ate a packet of oatmeal (I have no idea why I've been on such an oatmeal kick for the past month)

My S: 4 squares of extra-dark chocolate. Wasn't really feeling like I wanted anything big.

Exercise: tolerating Christmas shopping (I am NOT generally a shopaholic ), 30 min weight-lifting, 30 min zen hamster wheel, ~30-40 min testing an mp3 mix I'm making for a friend (that is, dancing in the Hexagon discotheque...Man, I am going to be happy when I actually visit my family for Christmas, since they're in a big city with a great deal of nightlife. Dancing is fantastic exercise!). I might have done 20 minutes random walking (I generally parked far away from the shopping centers and also had to do some random errands)

Stuff to be grateful for: being able to read. I just got some new books I wanted. I was thinking about how much it would suck if I couldn't read. Actually, I recall traveling in an Asian country where I couldn't read jack once I got outside of the big cities. It drove me absolutely nuts, because normally in other countries I've been able to parse out the gist of things (a knowledge of Spanish and German really helps for many Western languages).

Thanks for the compliment on the discipline Gettnbusy, but I don't actually have all that much. I just keep my trigger foods out of the house and in terms of physical activity, I just happen to have convenient access to gyms (either at work or there's one in my apartment complex) or some walking is incorporated into my daily life (would do more, but due to time/cold-a** weather, gym stuff is easier right now). Actually what's helped me the most is having folks like you read my postings. Sometimes I've been tempted to eat something sketchy or to not do any physical activity, but then I think "gee, I'll have to post that I sat on my butt again/ate something sketchy" and then I maintain good behavior. Thanks for keeping me on track!

Wow, I was thinking that I must seem like a big dip for posting on a Saturday night. Oh well, I did have two parties last weekend, so I guess I'm entitled...Plus now that I've posted this stuff, I *can't* snack (or I'd have to fess up).

Best,

H

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Post by hexagon » Mon Dec 18, 2006 7:50 pm

Day 20: S-Day

Well, okay, this was an S-Day. I abided by the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law, which is to namely say that I still ate too much. My day kind of got screwed up by what I think must be the largest woodpecker in the world (the explanation of this is kind of boring so I'm not going into it). This is not to say that my encounter with the world's largest woodpecker excuses my overeating.

What did I eat? I kind of lost track as things weren't so structured (I was at home too much), but I feel duty-bound to report this...Ooof, this is embarassing! Doing this is a good incentive to NOT overeat.

I was making chocolate chip cookies for people, so:
chocolate chips (if I had to estimate, maybe 1/4-1/2 cup? I know, ewww.)
brown sugar (a few big spoonfuls)
lots of soynuts (don't usually wack out on these, but I at least had a cup over the day)
broccoli pancakes (4?)
little pizza nuggets (just a single serving box, and they were organic, zero preservatives yadda yadda yadda but they were still pizza nuggets)
two sweet potatoes with too much smart balance and cheese
apple (or two? can't remember)
orange
two packets oatmeal
1 piece (the final one, thank goodness) of veggie fritatta
a bagful of rice crisps
2 cups of chai (unsweetened)
3-4 cups soymilk
yogurt? (not sure)
ice cream (one of those single-serving packages, but I think it still had 400 cals in it--there was NO WAY I'd get anything bigger than a single-serving package)

I think that's it. I ate this stuff spread out over a whole day. I also ended up throwing out the rest of the Smart Balance (a zero trans-fat buttery spread...No, it isn't one of those gross fat-free plastic ones...I like it too much). Reading over this I guess it doesn't sound *so* totally horrible for an entire day but the point is that I knew I was overeating (my stomach could tell for sure, ugh) and I still did it.

Exercise: Okay, I'm lame, not much. I guess you could include the fact that I walked to get my groceries (but that's just routine for me) and I walked in some parking lots as I was finishing my Christmas shopping (ugh).

I took my measurements and I'm not sure how to compare them to the previous ones I had since I didn't take those and I think they were done differently. The parts that I *think* did the same as previously...Well, those measurements matched the ones I had before I'd started any diet regimen at all, way back in September. That sucks, because previously, after doing about a month of No S, I'd chucked off some inches. (I don't know if any of you remember, but previous to moving, I made a lot of progress on the inches front and was doing steady No S...Then I moved/started a new job, fell flat on my face diet-wise for a month, and I guess gained those dang inches back...) On the other hand, I weigh less than I did in September (by 2-4 lbs), so I guess I haven't exactly gone back to square one.

What should I be grateful for? Well, I didn't mess up on Saturday, and as for Sunday, while I did mess up, I didn't do as badly as I might have previously, and it *was* an S-day, after all. Sigh.

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Tue Dec 19, 2006 6:16 am

Day 21: SUCCESS

Yay, I got through the first 21 days, and no true failures to boot! (Well, I did it before, but I didn't post it.)

B'fast: oatmeal, yogurt

Lunch: my department's potluck--I didn't eat a single sweet. Did some virtual plating, namely because my first plate had plenty of green salad on it (the second plate had salad too with a teeny bit of sausage). I don't really apply the whole single-plate thing to green salad, especially when I'm the one who made it (hence I know that it (a) is really low calorie and (b) doesn't have tons of dressing on it). Green salad is too fluffy, I think, to be strict about the one-plate rule (that is, unless it is drowned in mayonnaise).

Dinner: one spinach-feta pocket, one piece whole wheat bread with margarine spread (no hydrogenated anything in it), a lot of green salad with a sprinkling of feta and soynuts (I think that my contribution to the potluck, which was a nice big green salad, was too healthy, ergo was not heavily consumed; this left me with plenty of yummy fresh salad...), part of a pomegranate

Exercise: I wanted to do more, but only got in ~25 minutes walking. Why? I had a very long work day, plus I had to deal with a long crisis phone call from my boyfriend, plus I had to make more cookies for gifts. I was on my feet a lot today. I have already made plans that will incorporate more exercise for the rest of the week. If I don't sleep enough I'll be a wreck.

Incidentally, one thing I don't always mention is that I never take the elevator, and I work on the fifth floor of my building, so I'm going up and down the stairs at least a few times per day.

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Wed Dec 20, 2006 2:00 am

Day 22: SUCCESS

bfast: oatmeal, yogurt, apple

lunch: cheese-veggie wrap, soynuts, skim latte

mini-meal: soynuts, apple

dinner: 3 broccoli pancakes, cheese sandwich (2 slices whole wheat bread, spread, tomatoes, bell pepper, cheese)

exercise: ~1 hr 15 min walking (a lot of the time I was carrying probably 25 pounds of stuff, too); I was going to do weight-lifting as well but I've gotten five hours of sleep per night, twice in a row. I unfortunately actually need my brain for my job, so I need a good, long rest tonight.

grateful for: seeing people smile when I gave them home-baked cookies, and not eating the cookies myself!

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Post by pangelsue » Wed Dec 20, 2006 5:25 am

Hexigon, you are one strong person. You take your successes and failures in stride. You are open and honest about both. I couldn't admire you more if I tried. You will hang in there to the end and then maintain too. A real success story.
A lot of growing up happens between "it fell" and "I dropped it."

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Thu Dec 21, 2006 3:05 am

Thanks, Sue. I don't think I would have handled this stuff well if it weren't for people like you and the rest of the community here. You give me strength and I really, really appreciate that.

Keeping myself healthier physically has really helped in dealing with other stuff in my life, both personally and professionally. It's funny how we have a concept of the mind and the body being completely separate from each other, because it certainly isn't that way for me.

Day 23: SUCCESS

b'fast: oatmeal, yogurt, 1 slice toast (the last) w/ spread, coffee w/creamer

lunch: oatmeal (okay, yeah...I'm trying to clear out my fridge before I leave for the holidays and things are getting a bit sparse...I don't want to cook up rice or anything because I won't be able to finish it before I go and then it will rot)
cucumber-tomato salad with balsamic vinegar-olive oil dressing, feta, and soynuts
apple
baby carrots
coffee w/creamer

dinner: oatmeal (yeah, I came home really hungry and it was there....I'm going to be the first person to ever be hospitalized for over-consumption of oatmeal)
a protein shake with a slightly disturbing and bizarre texture. I guess it was good because I really didn't want to eat anything after drinking it.

exercise: a bit over an hour of walking, 30-40 minutes pumping iron (Ja!)

Grateful for: being able to get something built for my job that won't expose me to asbestos. It's really annoying building stuff in old buildings. Let's see, what else...Not being poor in a third-world country (I feel so lucky to have been born into a middle-class U.S. family). Oh yeah, and having mp3 services on the Internet. The radio stations where I am suck so much that I'd go gaga if I couldn't tune in online.

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Fri Dec 22, 2006 2:11 am

Day 24: SUCCESS (mostly--some possible funny stuff)

bfast: oatmeal, 2 eggs scrambled w/ spinach, feta, and tomato sauce

lunch: pulled pork sandwich, vinegar coleslaw (not creamy), green beans, coffee w/creamer

dinner: protein shake, egg beaters scrambled with lots of fresh mushrooms, feta, and tomato sauce

funny stuff: I woke up in the middle of the night last night *starving*. I drank lots of water, ate Tums and Maalox (just in case it was some acid problem, even though it didn't feel like it), went back to bed, tossed and turned, tried to read...Well, none of this worked. I was VERY hungry, that sort of hunger you feel through your whole body. I ate a packet of oatmeal and an orange, which really made things much better. I was then able to sleep.

It could be considered a failure, or not. As I normally have an optional fourth mini-meal, I could consider it to be that, although that's kind of sketchy because my mini-meal is usually planned. The main thing is that whether it is a failure or not, I don't feel bad about it because I fed my body when I was actually hungry, and I didn't overdo it, and my dinner was small (but filling--I'm not starving myself to compensate). I'm just happy that I'm eating when I'm truly hungry and not eating when I'm not hungry (or just a little hungry). (Ha, if I *really* wanted rationalize this away, I'd say with virtual plating I still pass the test...Whatever....)

I guess I'll monitor myself carefully and if this super hunger strikes again in the night, I'll try to maybe compensate (bigger dinner?) and tweak things until it stops.

Exercise: ~45 min walking, 30 min zen hamster wheel, 20-25 min pumping iron

Things to think about: Overall, I felt kind of cranky throughout the day. I'm not sure why. Maybe because my sleep was all broken up?

Grateful for: I'm getting a haircut tomorrow before I go home, which is a good thing. I kind of feel like my haircut looks like the hair on that evil Chucky doll, except it's shiny and dark instead of some freaky red color.

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Sat Dec 23, 2006 3:11 am

Day 25: SUCCESS

bfast: oatmeal, yogurt

lunch: half a bag of baby carrots, yogurt, high fiber cereal w/soymilk, small cup of veg minestrone

(Technically the carrots weren't during lunch but with virtual plating they fit. I had what I think was a blood sugar crash on my walk to work--got all shaky, sweaty. Weird! Well, I ate the carrots and that helped a lot.)

dinner: egg beaters sauteed with fresh mushrooms, pasta sauce, and feta; cup of veg minestrone; high fiber cereal w/soymilk

exercise: 1 hr - 1 hr 15 min walking, 30-40 min weight-lifting
I don't know if this counts, but cleaning my place like a lunatic before I leave for the holidays tomorrow...And I'm not done yet! Augh, it is going to be one heck of a late night.

grateful for: got a haircut that is awesome and reasonably priced, unlike the disaster that I had to wear on my head for months (to add insult to injury, paid a lot for it at a fancy-smancy place in SF)

Also, had the gastritis act up again today, but it didn't cause me to overeat. I think during my vacation I'm going to go entirely cold turkey on coffee and see what happens.

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gettnbusy
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Post by gettnbusy » Sun Dec 24, 2006 5:39 am

Man I hare grapefruit :)
And you have most of us beat on the excercise, thats for sure!
YAY HEX~
~I'm still not perfect~
~Sophie~

zoolina
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Post by zoolina » Sun Dec 24, 2006 5:55 am

Hexagon,

I think coffee is much worse for you than the studies say. Which doesn't, oddly enough, stop me from drinking it every single day :? . But really, when I cut it out my chronic knee pain gets a looooot better.

I've been thinking about adding a No-C element to No S, once I feel I have the No-S under control: Just Green tea on week days, and a really nice esspresso or capuchino on the weekends.... can't hurt in the battle against stress, either :lol: .

Want to join me in that, help me keep strong?? We could cut down over the holiday and start January 8th (that's my first weekday back at work).....

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Tue Jan 02, 2007 6:18 am

Day 26, 27, 28: S-Days

Days 29-35: well, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day and a weekend in there, ergo 3 S-days. The rest were half success, half oops.

Even on the days that were technically successful, I was exposed to so much more heavy food that at most I was probably breaking even. I did manage to get a decent amount of exercise most days though, including ice skating.

I'm sad to leave my family and boyfriend, but I'll be happy to get back to my normal food and normal progress. I don't think I'll weigh myself for a week or two, though. I'm afraid that I've done some damage. I have to say though that I've done a much better job of not constantly snacking like I would have on some previous winter holidays. That feels good. Hence, despite some oops days, I don't feel so bad.

My family remarked that I was looking slim. :)

I hope that you all had/are having a great holiday/vacation/etc.

--H

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Post by hexagon » Wed Jan 03, 2007 3:34 am

Day 36: Oops

breakfast: slice of toast, cheese, orange

lunch: turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, crackers

dinner: my oops--way, way too many pumpkin seeds plus some other random stuff

Well, tomorrow I go to work so things should get back to normal. I got home today after flight delays etc. and went nuts on the pumpkin seeds. I was doing okay having them around but I think I'll keep stuff like that out of the house for a while until I re-equilibrate. I swear, my parents' house was like a minefield of high-calorie foods--normally if I visit they don't have this stuff around, but people gave them a lot of junky presents this year.

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gettnbusy
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Post by gettnbusy » Wed Jan 03, 2007 7:50 am

I like what you said about mind boydy spirit all being related - so true...
Anyway, I was wondering about your cramps - have you seen the Doc yet? I have been on Depo Provera for 10 years (except when got off it to have my kids) and not only did it rid me of 99.9percent of all bleeding (I only MILDLY spot one day a month) it took away my MADDENINGLY AWFUL cramps. I only feel SLIGHT cramping a few times here & there over the course of 2 days.

Just a suggestion. It has lots of hormones though - not sure how it would interact with whatever else u r taking. Look into it. :)
take care!
~I'm still not perfect~
~Sophie~

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Post by hexagon » Thu Jan 04, 2007 12:14 am

Day 37: Success

bfast: 1 slice whole wheat toast w/smart balance, 1 oatmeal packet (I took an oatmeal hiatus on my vacation)

lunch: wild mushroom bisque, slice of whole wheat bread, orange, skim milk

mini-meal: slice of whole wheat bread (I need to go shopping), coffee w/creamer (I really didn't get enough sleep last night and I needed a kick)

dinner: I was really hungry...veggie burger sandwich (2 veggie burgers, cheddar cheese, mustard, cherry tomatoes, 2 slices whole wheat bread), 3 spinach pancakes, apple

exercise: 1 hr walking. I would have done more but I'm getting a cold and feeling cruddy.

Christi, thanks for the advice. It's taking some time for me to get my health insurance switched (right now if I go to the doctor it's out-of-network, bleah) but I think I'm going to try the hormones when I'm fully switched to the local insurance. Many years ago I was on the Pill and it did stop cramps (although I'd never had these crazy ones to worry about). Normally I wouldn't be enthusiastic about hormones but a lot of painkillers really kill my stomach.

Zoolina, I don't know if I can go cold turkey on coffee, but I'm with you on going for a reduction. I'm going to try and drink tea instead (ideally green, but we'll see). It's hard to say whether coffee is bad or good--I've seen studies saying both. I think I need to get more sleep as well so that I won't crave caffeine as much.

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Post by hexagon » Fri Jan 05, 2007 2:13 am

Day 38: success

bfast: oatmeal, yogurt, apple, tea w/creamer (yeah, weird, but there's no milk at home right now)

lunch: vegetarian chili, 2 slices whole wheat bread, skim milk

mini-meal: slice of whole wheat bread, coffee w/creamer

dinner: cup of split pea-vegetable-sweet potato soup, 1 slice whole wheat bread, big salad (broccoli slaw, spinach, feta, balsamic vinagrette), yogurt

exercise: 1 hour ~25 min walking, 30 min weight lifting

It sure feels good to be eating properly again. I weighed myself the other day and I'd gone back up by a few pounds (although for a number of reasons I'm inclined to think that a lot of this is water retention, but I also think I did put on a bit). Time to buck the trend and actually lose it. It's nice to be back to living in a way that I *know* is guaranteed to bring me weight loss.

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Post by hexagon » Sat Jan 06, 2007 4:45 am

Day 39: success

breakfast: oatmeal, yogurt, coffee w/creamer

lunch: apple, soynuts, split pea-vegetable soup, half a small sweet potato

minimeal: broccoli slaw with balsamic vinagrette, orange, coffee w/creamer (oranges and coffee don't go well together)

dinner: veggie burger, 2 spinach pancakes, cherry tomatoes, baked (well, nuked) sweet potato (size of a medium potato) with cheese and soynuts

exercise: ~1 hr walking

I should have done more, but I had a really depressing conversation with my boyfriend and I feel cruddy. :(

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Post by gettnbusy » Sun Jan 07, 2007 10:34 pm

Still going good. YAY!
~I'm still not perfect~
~Sophie~

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Post by hexagon » Mon Jan 08, 2007 11:36 pm

Day 40, 41: S-Days. I overdid it, though. More on this later.

Day 42: Success

Except that I only walked for about 20 minutes today. I'm getting sick again. Phooey. I'm going to bed early to try and nip this in the bud.

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Post by hexagon » Tue Jan 09, 2007 12:50 pm

Day 42 revised: failure


Well, a while after I typed that in, I started noshing on some bread I'd left lying around. Normally I have to get that stuff out of the way. I don't know what it is about bread, but it is very hard for me to resist when I'm feeling particularly tired or sick. I don't think it is just because it is a carb, because rice and potatoes don't have the same effect on me. Nor do I think it is because it is wheat, because pasta doesn't have the same effect on me, either.

Anyhow, I went way overboard with the bread, and I do kind of feel bad, so I'm throwing it away, even if it is a big evil waste. The only reason I bought some the other day was that I went food-shopping when I was hungry.

Ever since I came home after the holidays, I've felt horribly tired all of the time. I don't want to cook (which is pretty important for me to have a good diet), I don't want to walk (bad for weight loss), I don't want to get any type of exercise (again, bad for weight loss) because I just want to sleep. At work I have to blast myself with coffee just to be normal. Despite feeling constantly tired, it seems like I just can't get enough sleep. Outside circumstances keep me from getting to bed super-early, or for whatever reason I can't sleep. Last night my cold kept me awake, plus I constantly felt like I was boiling (but when I took covers off or changed to lighter nightclothing I felt like I was freezing). I even measured my temperature because I was getting so annoyed, but it was perfectly normal.

I feel annoyed because I'm afraid that I'll lose the progress I've made with No S (in fact my scale already shows that I did) but I just feel so freaking tired! So far as I can tell I'm not depressed. I hope I don't have mono. I'm almost thinking of taking a day off just to sleep and seeing what that does for me.

Sorry to kvetch like this, but I felt like I was doing really well and now I'm slipping. It makes me think that I'm destined to always be kind of chubby. I'm so tired of being chubby.

Yours truly,

Sleepy H

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Post by gettnbusy » Tue Jan 09, 2007 9:06 pm

H, if your routines havent changed much you should go see the Dr about your sleepiness. It is a bad sign if it is not being induced by behavioral change. Pay attention and take a look at things as they were & as they are and note any changes and bring that to your dr visit.

It could be simply a case of winter blues and a little bit more sunshine during each day will definitely help you with that. Being outside does amazing things for your psyche.

I'm thinkin boutcha! Keep it all up!
~I'm still not perfect~
~Sophie~

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Post by hexagon » Wed Jan 10, 2007 2:59 am

Day 43: success

bfast: oatmeal, yogurt, coffee w/creamer (accidentally dumped a lot in from the container)

lunch: gyro sandwich (not a gyros plate....it was a reasonable portion)

dinner: morningstar griller burger (veg protein) on whole wheat bread with cheddar, tomatoes (some tomatoes on the side, too), mustard and a bit of mayo. 1/2 smallish sweet potato with some olive oil, salt, and cheese.

exercise: only 20 min walking. I'm definitely coming down with something. My nose is stuffy and my throat and ears hurt. It's no wonder I've been so tired. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get in more exercise.

--H

Christi, thanks for the support!

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Post by hexagon » Thu Jan 11, 2007 1:10 am

Day 44: Success (well, I'm sick, so there was one exception)

bfast: yogurt, oatmeal, apple

lunch: pulled pork sandwich, non-creamy coleslaw, a little bit of mac n' cheese (but it was way too creamy and yucky so I didn't eat much), coffee w/creamer

dinner: some cherries, a bit of yogurt, a cup of whole wheat mac n' cheese, a Fudgsicle (my throat hurts a lot and if I keep drinking herbal tea to soothe it I'll be going to the bathroom all night)

exercise: 30 min walking. I was going to exercise more, but I've got muscle aches, my ears hurt, my throat hurts (the lymph glands feel like eggs), my head hurts, and I've got a fever. Not feeling so hot right now. Glah.

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Post by hexagon » Sat Jan 13, 2007 12:47 am

Day 45: sick. I ate some stuff I shouldn't have. I don't know why, because I wasn't even hungry, but I think I was trying to comfort myself.

Day 46: still sick, mostly successful except ate a little bit too much at dinner.

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Post by hexagon » Tue Jan 16, 2007 1:29 am

Well, I'm going to go for another 21 days again. I feel with the last three weeks I just got all off-kilter (holidays and back-to-back cold and flu). My energy was almost back up to normal today, which was cool, and swallowing is mostly not so painful now. I think I'll do some real exercise tomorrow (I got in some today, but as I posted in the main discussion forum, I do best when I get some real heart-pounding activity into my day).

Day 1: Success

b'fast: oatmeal, yogurt

lunch: homemade Chinese stir-fry, brown rice, soynuts

mini-meal: orange, soynuts, decaf w/creamer

dinner: homemade Chinese stir-fry, brown rice (somewhat generous portion, but it did fit on a plate and it wasn't stacked; I was feeling very hungry)

any funny stuff? Unless you consider a few throat lozenges to be funny stuff, then no.

exercise: 1 hr 15 min walking

grateful for: Being able to cook well. It's sure good to eat my home cooking again--not too greasy or salty and plenty of spice and veggies!

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Post by gettnbusy » Tue Jan 16, 2007 6:13 am

Thank you thank you thank you.
~I'm still not perfect~
~Sophie~

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Post by hexagon » Wed Jan 17, 2007 12:45 am

Day 2: success

bfast: piece of homemade veggie fritatta, packet of oatmeal

lunch: homemade chinese stir-fry (includes lots and lots of veggies) w/ brown rice, coffee w/ half-and-half (they didn't have milk!)

dinner: pretzels, a spoonful of soynuts, homemade chinese stir-fry w/extra broccoli slaw (just julienned broccoli stems, no rice)

exercise: pretty lame today--only my 20 minute minimum of walking. I didn't get much sleep last night and given that my immune system has been unusually weak lately, I don't want to push it. I'm planning to work out early tomorrow (we're in another very windy cold snap so walking outside can really suck).

grateful for: I think I said it yesterday, but having the ability to cook well rocks. I'm also glad my mom knew how to cook vegetables so I've always liked them. Also my boyfriend booked his flight over here, yay!

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Post by hexagon » Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:58 am

Day 3: success

b'fast: oatmeal, soynuts

lunch: homemade Chinese stir-fry w/brown rice

mini-meal: orange and soynuts

dinner: piece of homemade veggie-cheese fritatta and oatmeal

exercise: 40 min walking, 30 min weight-lifting (schedule too tight to fit in vigorous cardio, plus I just feel really freakin' tired--must be some remnants of my fluish thing; I'm just happy to be building up to my normal routine again)

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Post by hexagon » Sat Jan 20, 2007 6:18 pm

Sorry, very little time...

Day 4: success--I did eat a larger dinner than intended but technically it did fit on one plate (and I didn't overdo it...I was eating from hunger). Also did my weight-lifting and cardio.

Day 5: S-Day (special occasion...I sometimes shift my S-Days to Friday and Saturday since those are my more social days....Not like I have much of a life.) Only indulged at dinnertime. Got in walking and cardio.

Day 6: That's today...S-Day. A departmental banquet winter celebration thing from work. Hopefully I won't be bored to death.

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Post by hexagon » Tue Jan 23, 2007 2:31 am

Day 7: S-Day. (Sunday) Yeah, I ended up taking three. Friday was a special occasion, after all.

Day 8: Success.

bfast: oatmeal, yogurt

lunch: turkey and cheese sandwich, minestrone, coffee w/ creamer

mini-meal: oatmeal packet

dinner: (I was STARVING) small piece of homemade veggie frittata, small sweet potato w/cheese, orange, oatmeal sprinkled with some soynuts

exercise: lame today. 20 min walking (my minimum).

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Post by hexagon » Wed Jan 24, 2007 11:06 pm

Day 9: success, with a bit of funny stuff--too many peanuts at dinner in my opinion. Still, it fit onto one plate. Exercise a little lame too--only 45 min walking.

Sorry about these being so short but I've been unusually busy.

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Post by hexagon » Wed Feb 21, 2007 3:16 am

Hello everybody, I'm back!

As I said on the main board, I went off of my antidepressant and suddenly lost energy for exercise. I ended up eating a LOT and drinking a LOT of coffee just so I wouldn't fall asleep at work. It sucked.

Anyway, I got back on the meds and I feel much better. My boyfriend visited me. I think I gained a fair amount of weight back, so I'm not going to check it for a while. I think I'm just going to focus on getting back to a healthier routine, now that I don't feel like I have sandbags tied to my whole body.

Here I go for another 21.

Day 1: Success

bfast: yogurt, oatmeal, coffee w/evaporated milk

lunch: potluck celebration at work. I limited it to one plate and didn't eat any sweets

dinner: soynuts, skim latte, two whole wheat mini-bagels with peanut butter and a bit of Polaner all-fruit (I've seen debates on whether PBJ's are considered to be a sweet, but I don't put them in the same category as cookies, etc. I don't glob on the jelly and I use natural peanut butter with no sugars--just salt and peanuts.)

exercise: well probably ~20 minutes walking, kind of dinky, but I climbed stairs several times today as well.

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Post by hexagon » Thu Feb 22, 2007 4:17 am

Day 2: success

B'fast: oatmeal, yogurt, tea w/evaporated milk

Lunch: homemade moussaka-ish thing w/mushrooms and cabbage, baked sweet potato (basically the size of a small russet potato)

Dinner: Spicy Indian vegetables, mattar paneer, a bit of rice, 3/4 of a roti, baby carrots, 1 pear...oh yeah, I sprinkled some soynuts on the leftover Indian food. It didn't seem to have enough protein, and I need some protein to keep me satisfied. This dinner plate was kind of piled--I was starving. Well, the pear and the carrots took up room...

Oh yeah, I also had decaf tea with a bit of evaporated milk.

Exercise: ~40 minutes walking, not counting climbing stairs (a number of times)...Kind of lame, but better than yesterday.

Yeah, the exercise isn't that great--I'm trying to see how to fit a gym visit into my schedule, which has become way more packed. I basically set my own schedule, but some times are easier than others during the day. I use a university gym which is free (a benefit of my job) but going there at convenient times like noon or 6 pm is a nightmare as it is packed with undergrads. I've been working late so I can't get up quite as early to avoid them, and I don't really feel like working out after a long day. I'm going to try for mid-afternoon and see if that breaks my flow.

Anyway, I don't exactly feel like I'm eating as little as I should for the amount of physical activity I'm doing, but from what I can tell I'm probably breaking even, which is way better than the past few weeks. The main thing is that I don't feel out of control or like I'm gorging myself. I'm eating when I'm hungry. Duh! Baby steps...

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Post by hexagon » Fri Feb 23, 2007 2:40 am

Day 3: success

Oh, by the way, if any of you have read my former postings, I do allow myself a fourth mini-meal in between lunch and dinner as I work long hours. Otherwise I'll come home and eat everything in the house. I just keep it under control.

bfast: oatmeal, yogurt

lunch: 2 whole wheat mini bagels w/ peanut butter and a small amount of jelly

mini-meal: some variant of a power bar, small amount of coffee

dinner: mixed greens salad with bit of balsamic vinagrette (ok, technically this was a separate bowl but salad is so fluffy I don't really count it in the one plate rule), remainder of mattar paneer cooked with two eggs and generous handful of shredded cabbage, nectarine

exercise: ~50-60 min walking (just running errands), plus my normal amount of stair-climbing (seems like I do it a fair amount)

I haven't gotten back to my weight lifting yet. Still trying to figure out how to fit it in given the shift in my schedule.

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Post by hexagon » Sat Feb 24, 2007 4:06 pm

Day 4: Failure

Somehow did okay for breakfast despite two early meetings at which breakfast sweets were present. Lunch ok too. Dinner sucked.

bfast: apple, banana, yogurt, 1/2 bagel w/cream cheese (bigger than usual, but still reasonable)

lunch: yogurt, mini whole wheat bagel with cream cheese

dinner: started out okay. A Lean Pocket, a handful of rice crisps, 2 spinach "pancakes" (little frozen patties of spinach and other veggies, spiced nicely--I just heat them up) and a banana

Then it went downhill, to include another lean pocket, 2 more bananas, the rest of the rice crisps two spinach pancakes and a little bit of high fiber cereal with a lot of soymilk. Basically another meal. I don't know why this happened. I figure if I make myself report EVERYTHING it will make me embarassed enough to quit the random eating. I think that the desire to have a better body (and to feel better about myself overall) is so easily overidden by the desire for immediate gratification/pleasure. It feels compulsive sometimes.

Ah well. After a hiatus I can't expect to go for a perfect streak with no hiccups.

Oh yeah, exercise sucked too (~20 min walking, grrr). I might have to shift my schedule again. I have to face it--initially if I don't do it in the morning it just won't happen. It's only when I get into a habit do I end up having the willpower to do it at night. Well, it actually isn't crazy cold today so I think I'll walk to work without having my face freeze off. That'll at least give me a 50 minute walk, if nothing else.

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Post by hexagon » Mon Feb 26, 2007 4:51 pm

Day 5 and 6: S-Days, but they kind of sucked. Ate too much. Having trouble finding new friends in this new place, and I'm having issues with my boyfriend. Not like that's an excuse to overeat, but I'm pretty sure it is what caused it.

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Post by hexagon » Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:36 pm

Day 7: success

bfast: oatmeal, yogurt, apple, coffee

lunch: peanut butter and jelly (small amount!) on whole wheat bread, apple, piece of cheese

mini-meal: apple

dinner: (starving!)
whole wheat mini bagel with cream cheese
1 cup vegetable soup
egg beaters sauteed with cabbage, tomato, and feta
apple

exercise: ~20 min walking (bad!)

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Post by hexagon » Wed Feb 28, 2007 3:02 am

Day 8: success

bfast: oatmeal, soymilk

lunch: ham + hummus sandwich (whole wheat bread), mixed greens salad w/balsamic vinagrette, feta, coffee

mini-meal: powerbar harvest, part of a skim latte

dinner: cucumber salad, a generous amount of homemade stirfry w/brown rice, plum (tried to go easy on the rice)

exercise: ~20 min weights, ~30 min cardio, ~30 min walking

comments: Had a serious blood sugar crash this morning towards the end of working out, so technically there was some funny stuff (slice of whole wheat bread + peanut butter) but I really felt like crap--it was not just munchies. Blood sugar crashes are pretty rare for me. Maybe it's because it was the first time I've done strenuous activity for a month.

I have to start paring back on portions, which means cutting coffee...The coffee seems to trigger hunger responses. Got very little sleep last night though, so I needed something or I would have passed out on my desk.

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Post by hexagon » Thu Mar 01, 2007 1:26 am

Day 9: success

bfast: Fiber One, yogurt, apple, tea w/evap milk

lunch: small portion homemade stirfry w/brown rice, soynuts, baby carrots w/hummus, coffee with half n' half (probably too much)

dinner: decent portion homemade stirfry w/brown rice, mixed greens salad w/balsamic vinagrette/feta, apple

exercise: 30 min cardio, 30 min weight lifting, ~20 min walking
I was generally on my feet more today at work, too.

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Post by hexagon » Fri Mar 02, 2007 3:11 am

Day 10: success, I think.

Okay, in the middle of the night I woke up starving. Real, hardcore hunger. I tried to drink warm milk to make it go away but I was so horribly hungry I couldn't sleep. I went and ate a packetful of oatmeal and was ok. Maybe some would call this a failure, but as long as I'm eating in response to hunger, I don't feel like it is a bad thing.

Seems like this periodically happens when I start exercising and eating less...Guess that's not surprising.

Anyway, this made me think of how lucky we are to have readily available food. I can't imagine how it would be night after night to have trouble sleeping from hunger. Glah.

B'fast: oatmeal, yogurt mixed with some Fiber One

Lunch: pizza (technically it fit onto a plate, although I did stack a *thin* slice on top of another one). Didn't feel guilty because I was genuinely hungry.

Dinner: homemade stir-fry w/brown rice, Fiber One + soynuts (yep, it fit on a plate)

I'm hitting the Fiber One a lot because...Well, you can guess why.

exercise: took a rest today, since I was mega sore from yesterday. ~15-20 minutes walking, not counting all of the random stair-climbing

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Post by hexagon » Mon Mar 05, 2007 3:21 am

Day 11: success

Ate properly, exercised a lot.

Days 12-13: S-days

Well, these sucked eating wise. Just munched on lots of random stuff because I was lonely. I've decided that my S-days will be limited to one carefully-selected S per day. It seems that just having a general S day opens me up to too much freedom. Perhaps when I've found some more regular activities for each S-Day (other than work, bleh), I'll loosen up on things.

Hey, at least I haven't really had a failure day in the past seven days. That's great!

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Post by USAFwife » Mon Mar 05, 2007 7:52 am

That is great! You are doing wonderfully. I too had a free-for-all weekend. I felt terrible. LOL. I am using it as a learning experience. All I can say is I am so happy it is Monday!

Keep up the good work!

Janine

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Post by hexagon » Wed Mar 07, 2007 3:54 am

Thanks, Janine! Always good to hear encouragement--I've got to spread some of my own. I'm so busy that I've only had time to post briefly before going to bed.

Day 14 (Monday): success

bfast: oatmeal, fiber one

lunch: homemade stir-fry w/brown rice, apple

minimeal: apple, fiber one

dinner: probably too much of a homemade veggie/meat/rice medley, strawberries (ok, it fit on one plate but it was a lot--I was hungry)

exercise: 50-60 min walking

Day 15 (Tuesday): success

bfast: oatmeal w/spoonful of natural peanut butter (sounds weird but it tastes good), small amount of yogurt

lunch: chicken stew, baguette, skim milk, small amount of Fiber One, two bites of an orange (it was rotten...ewww)

dinner: homemade veggie-meat-brown rice medley, small amount of leftover stir-fry, a few strawberries

exercise: 40-50 min walking, 30 min calisthenics

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Post by hexagon » Thu Mar 08, 2007 2:37 am

Day 16: success

bfast: oatmeal, yogurt, small amount Fiber One

lunch: homemade vegetable-meat-brown rice medley, carrots w/peanut butter, coffee w/half-n-half

dinner: strawberries, small amount of medley w/cashews, hamburger patty

exercise: ~1 hour walking (not counting all of my daily random stair climbing--all part of my job, too). Campus is on break schedule so gym access is limited, didn't do calisthenics tonight because I'm sore (especially my pecs--nothing like some old-fashioned push-ups). I hope to do some more intense activity tomorrow. I don't know if I'm breaking even calorie-wise or what, but I'm just happy to have normal eating habits going on. Usually if I keep up this sort of normal eating, the pounds come off. I hope so, anyway.

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Post by hexagon » Fri Mar 09, 2007 11:10 pm

Day 17: failure

A combination of extreme hunger and extreme fatigue led to both events (had bad insomnia the previous evening). I've realized that if I say to myself "oh, I'll stop at the grocery and get healthy food X to treat myself" I should just skip going to the grocery, because it seems like I never can stop at a single serving when I'm in a mood like that. Even if the food is healthy, the quantity isn't.

Maybe I need to paste up some notes around my kitchen too. Somehow the desire for the long term goal is trampled by the desire for immediate pleasure. A while ago a therapist told me that I probably don't have enough pleasure in my life, which is why I have issues with overeating. (I never used to do emotional eating before my life became much more stressful several years ago.) She's probably right, but making my life more pleasurable is a real challenge. Granted, stress-wise my life isn't so hot, and socially it sucks right now. I am trying to get into some local volunteer activities so I can meet people and feel like I am doing some good on this earth, but it's slow going as I don't have a car...

I feel so frustrated. When I started No S, it went really well, but it has gotten to be a lot harder. I feel like my life would be better if I weren't chubby. If I lost weight, I wouldn't be so ugly anymore and I would feel better about myself. My life is so damn hard to control and it is infuriating that one of the few things I can in theory control seems to be beyond my grasp. I KNOW I must not binge if I want to lose weight and be the person I want to be, but I can't seem to do it. Why? What is wrong with my stupid brain? I am not, intellectually speaking, a stupid person but no matter what I do I fail, fail, fail, fail. Even if I have another good streak on No S, I'll probably slowly lose 5 pounds, then gain it all back again when my emotions and/or life go to hell. I keep gaining and losing the same bloody five pounds. Why? 20 pounds shouldn't be that hard! 20-freakin'-pounds!!!! Arrgh!

Okay, rant rant rant rave rave rave. Time to go.

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Post by hexagon » Sat Mar 10, 2007 4:35 am

Day 18: success

Bfast: oatmeal, yogurt

Lunch: PBJ (minimal jelly, natural PB, whole wheat bread)

Dinner: a bit of a moussaka-type thing (homemade), brown rice, pizza rolls, grapes (they did fit onto a plate), milk

Some virtual plating here. The pizza rolls were eaten when I was watching a basketball game with a bunch of people--I'm glad I didn't go overboard.

exercise: random running around; I don't really know how much, but it seemed like I was walking a fair amount at work today. Yesterday got >60 minutes of walking, even if I screwed up eating-wise.

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Post by hexagon » Sun Mar 11, 2007 9:10 pm

Day 19: S-day, partial success

Okay, I pretty much ate like I would on an N-day, and I walked over two hours, so that was good....Except that....

Unfortunately I ordered in pizza, a 12" thin crust, and I ate the whole damn thing. Yup, a piggy am I. Probably demolished my week's efforts right there . Still just want to lose 20 pounds (heck, 15 or even 10 would be good) but it's things like that that can screw me up. I guess eating a whole 12" pizza probably sounds pretty gross to a lot of you out there, but I figured I'd better fess up my bloopers. It keeps me more responsible, overall.

Well, it was a good pizza. Herbed garlicky ricotta sauce, asiago cheese, marinated roasted chicken and fresh tomatoes on a very nice crust.

Anyway, I've learned my lesson. Scratch pizza off of the list (at least in any situation where my pizza dosage cannot be regulated), at least for Saturday dinners at home.

H

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Tue Mar 13, 2007 3:20 am

Day 20: S-Day

brunch: strawberries, oatmeal, yogurt, high-fiber cereal

dinner: broiled salmon, homemade coleslaw, homemade mushrooms w/brown rice, strawberries and banana w/ice cream, orange

I guess I'd call this a partial success. I still felt like dinner was too much but it wasn't like I was stuffing myself until I was sick.

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Tue Mar 13, 2007 3:24 am

Oh yeah, on Day 20 I got something like >2 hours walking in.

Day 21: success?

b'fast: oatmeal, yogurt w/high fiber cereal, orange, coffee w/creamer

lunch: tofu-peanut sauce-veggie wrap, a few chips w/salsa

dinner: salmon, cabbage w/balsamic vinagrette, mushrooms w/rice, orange, grapes, milk

exercise: 40 min walking, 30 min weight-lifting.

I guess I put the question mark because I thought my portions were too big, even if they fit on a plate. I'll cut back on breakfast. Dinner is rough since I get so hungry. Anyhow, this might be enough to break even, but losing weight (for me, anyhow) means I need to cut back more. I wasn't successful with that today. Oh well.

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Wed Mar 14, 2007 3:21 am

Day 22: failure (but with a small f)

b'fast: oatmeal, but then had a breakfast meeting and ate 2 donuts! I don't even LIKE donuts that much. I think I ate them simply because I felt so deprived. No matter what, No-S is deprivation in some sense, and while it is far more moderate than many a diet regimen, denial seems to trigger rebellion in me.

lunch: half a cheesesteak sandwich (could have eaten the whole thing, but didn't!), plain yogurt

dinner: high fiber cereal w/skim milk, oatmeal, orange

exercise: 1 hr 20 min walking

Why a small "f"? Well, I didn't go crazy with eating simply because I ate the two donuts. Out of curiosity, I even estimated the calories consumed today and it wasn't really that bad. Not like I'm trying to rationalize this as NOT being a failure (it is, for certain), but I just can't bring myself to beat myself up as much. I didn't take the donuts as an excuse to go crazy. In fact, I think eating the donuts made me *less* likely to stuff myself for the rest of the day.

I guess I've been watching what my skinny colleagues do. They don't deny themselves donuts or cookies. On the other hand, they don't snarf down a boxful and they probably don't go home and do emotional binges. They eat in moderation.

Sure, I'll try to follow No-S, but as long as I avoid binges (even if my day is technically a failure) I'll feel a lot better.

--H

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Sat Mar 17, 2007 3:02 am

Day 23: success. Exercise: at least an hour or more of walking.

Day 24: success. Exercise: some walking, calisthenics (which I'll do right after I type this)

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Wed Mar 21, 2007 2:22 am

Day 25-26, S-days, and successes. Kept myself socially busy (for once!) and/or at work, so I didn't overeat

Day 27. Success

Day 28. Success

I did incorporate exercise of some sort into most days too.

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Thu Mar 22, 2007 1:47 am

Day 29. success. Exercise was lame today, but I did get some (30 min walking) plus I was working on my feet a lot of the day rather than just sitting at my desk.

Sorry about the lack of detail but I am really busy.

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Fri Mar 23, 2007 1:46 am

Day 30. success

bfast: oatmeal w/soynuts

lunch: 1/2 ham and cheese sandwich on wheat (from a sandwich shop--they make them so big...), orange, coffee w/half-and-half

dinner: whole-wheat pasta w/sauteed veggies, tofu, and cheese, plus an orange

exercise: ~1 hr 20 min walking or so, maybe more. It isn't the high-intensity stuff I'd like to work myself back to doing, but I figure I'll just maintain walking and calisthenics as my minimum...

Some weight has dropped off again. Hopefully this keeps going.

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Wed Mar 28, 2007 11:26 pm

Ooof, I've been busy and stressed out. Here goes.

Day 31: eating failure. Did incorporate exercise though.

Days 32-33, S-days, but they sucked. Incorporated exercise.

Day 34: eating failure. Did incorporate exercise though.

Day 35: success

Day 36: (today) success (unless I decide to screw up). Got in a lot of exercise, too.

The last few days were particularly bad due to serious stress about my job. Things cleared up yesterday and what do you know, I didn't screw up with eating. I also stopped having insomnia, which was really dragging me down (and making me want to eat more).

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:59 am

Day 37: success

bfast: oatmeal, yogurt, coffee w creamer

lunch: 1/2 cup cereal, orange, homemade turkey-cheese wrap

dinner: orange, sauteed spinach, 4 meatless "chicken" wings, apple w/some peanut butter

exercise: 30 min running/walking, plus my normal daily walking (just part of my day, about 30 min)

I had to deal with a super ego-driven jerk today. It didn't drive me to eat, though. Why do these types of people exist? :?

pangelsue
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Post by pangelsue » Fri Mar 30, 2007 3:30 am

I am so jealous of the exercise you have been doing. That is my downfall. I am a real couch/mouse potato. Good for you. It sounds like you are doing the best you can. None of us is perfect all the time. Hey, I loved your cartoon idea on Gettn busy's journal. Too bad you can't include pictures on the pages. Way to de-fuse the situation though. I am also glad to hear you are considering a career change. I don't think you sounded very happy where you have been for quite some time. If I were younger, I'd be there right with you but I will have to be happy at my present job by using my cutting sense of humor and maybe now I'll also use some cartoons!! I have only 4 more years to work full time.
Hang in there and find something to do that you love. As you said, when work is going smoothly, the dieting is easier. Good luck.
A lot of growing up happens between "it fell" and "I dropped it."

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Tue Apr 03, 2007 2:32 am

Um, let's see...

Day 38: success

Days 39, 40: S-days: one very successful one, one partially successful one (only *some* gluttony, not going totally crazy). Felt good about that. Got in some exercise at least on one day.

Day 41 (today): success

Hi Pangelsue, thanks for the encouragement.

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Fri Apr 13, 2007 12:53 am

Okay, I've been out of the loop for a bit.

Basically, days 42-44 were fine.

Day 45 was an added S-day, due to the boyfriend visiting.

Days 46-47 were standard S-days, but I took WAY too much license--"the boyfriend is here so we should celebrate with decadence." Yeah. Whoops.

Day 48 was er, hands down, a failure. I kind of was stuck in that "indulge indulge indulge" mode. Plus I'm stressed out regarding our relationship. Plus due to the BF's visit, I had a few remnants of trigger foods around the house. Doofus that I am, I didn't throw them away/bring them to work immediately.

Day 49 was borderline. I think my portions were too big. I *did* do vigorous exercise though. Yay me.

Weighed myself. I think my three S-days, my failure, and my borderline day popped 1-2 pounds back on.

Days 50-51 (51 is today) were successes. Day 50 I did vigorous exercise, enough that my abs were pretty achy today. I took it easy today and only walked for about an hour or so. My portions have been larger during these days--I don't know why, but I've been feeling hungrier and sleepier. I might try cutting down on my starches a bit.

Toodles. Tomorrow is a going-away party for a co-worker. I'll reserve the right (ha ha) to make it an S-day if I really feel I can't resist a piece of celebratory cake, since the upcoming S-days are probably going to be N-days--I'm going to be working a lot.

hexagon
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Post by hexagon » Mon Apr 16, 2007 6:54 am

Ugh, I'm experiencing major insomnia here...

Days 52, 53, 54 were disasters. Yup, I guess all of them were S-Days, but I really screwed up. I think it's because I've been working like a nut and I'm tired of it. Oh yeah, and there's issues with my relationship. These are crappy excuses for gluttony, but I've got no support network out here and I can't help but cave in sometimes. Hah, I feel like a fool sometimes for not following the advice I dispense here.

Now I'm ticked because my insomnia is so bad, there's no way I'll get up for my morning exercise. If I don't get exercise in the morning, it's really hard for me to get it later on. Ok, I do at least walk 30 minutes a day which is plenty compared to the average slothlike American, but a paltry 30 minutes/day doesn't do jack to budge the pudge for me unless I starve myself, which I don't like doing.

Bleah.

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