Lookitme! TOV's weightloss struggle diary (posters welcome)

[TheOtherVillainess]

Well, welcome to the new year everybody. This is take 3 for me. :) I've gone back on Slimfast to see if I can lose weight. I've done Slimfast before and it's worked pretty well, as long as I can stick to my diet.

I have also, as part of the new year, new me thing resolved to:

Cut down on the amount of carbs I eat. So I'm going to ease up on the amount of cereals,breads,pastas, etc that I love so much
Cut down on the amount of caffeine I drink daily. I am going to attempt to cut it down to just 16 oz of soda a day.
Drink more water. I haven't been doing a lot of that and I know I need to do so..badly.
Exercise more..when I can fit it in. With a fulltime job and an infant to take care of when I'm not at work, it's kind of hard for me to find time to work out.


So..here goes nothing. I'm doing well so far and I know I just have to take it one day at a time.

TOV

[Tera]

Hi TOV and Welcome Back! My DH and I have been doing slimfast for awhile, but I do it more for just breakfast now since I'm doing weight watchers. I think drinking more water has helped me, so try and increase that as much as you can... it helps.

Good luck!

[AuroraluvsPhillip]

Hi TOV!

Don't be afraid to keep coming back! We all fall off the wagon all the time. As long as we climb back on, we're ok.

If SlimFast worked well for you before, then give it a try. Once you achieve some measure of success and lose some weight, then you can work on the other parts of your diet that are less than stellar such as carbs ( my weakness ) and portion control.

I hated water too initially, but just try to sip a little all day long. I keep a big water bottle handy, I bring it in the car, to the grocery store, I even keep it next to my bed in case I wake up I can wet my whistle. I used to force it down, but gradually I grew to like it more. Now I prefer it to soda. I even sip from my water glass at restaurants which I never used to do!

Keep coming back to the journals too. I find that when I read other people's journals I somehow find more willpower in my own journey.

Best, Jean :wave:

[TheOtherVillainess]

It's not that I hate water..I really don't. It's just that if I drink any water at all, I have to do it either before I go in to work or after I get off, as I am not allowed ANY drinks (water or otherwise)at my station. :( Oh well.

I think I've been doing fairly well for the first two days. It hasn't been TOO bad.

Saturday
Breakfast: 1 chocolate royale shake + 4 small pieces of cheese
Lunch: 1 chocolate royale shake
Dinner: Kind of overdid it and had 2 mediumsized cans of Chef Boyardee ravioli. I was so hungry by the time I got home, I couldn't help it. But I didn't have any dessert. So yay me.

Drink:Water from the fountain and 64 oz of a mix of unsweet tea and Minute Maid lemonade.

Sunday
Breakfast-1 choc. royale shake, 1 portion of carrot sticks.
Lunch-none (no break today..didn't get one yesterday, either. Only drank my second shake because I managed to finagle a bathroom break out my boss and I hid the shake in my pocket and drank it while in line for the toilet)
Dinner: 1 portion spaghetti with meat sauce and 2 pieces of wheat garlic toast. No dessert. :)
Drink: 64 oz of unsweet tea/lemonade mix.

We'll see if I can keep this up.

TOV

[Tera]

Hi TOV - Geez... what kind of job do you have that you have to finagle a bathroom break?? Maybe when you DO get to go to the bathroom, bring a cup and try and drink a couple of those before heading back to your station.

[TheOtherVillainess]

It's always been that way,Tera. If Little Hitler (the head boss/managing partner)is there, you have to practically pee on his leg to get a bathroom break. Which sucks horribly.

Before, he didn't mind too much and was pretty willing to let people go whenever.Now he's a bit more strict about it as the bathrooms we are SUPPOSED to use (2 in the back hallway)are broken and have been for a couple months. They kept breaking down and finally maintenance has had it. They won't fix them anymore and we have to use the public restrooms which are about 10 min from the store and often have long lines (esp on weekends).

TOV

[wilderness01]

Not being allowed to use the restroom is against the law isn't it? Also you are by law allowed a lunchbreak. If you are too busy, then you are supposed to get paid for it. I remember you saying he was awful a long time ago. How are the new job prospects around there? Working for a person like that probably leads to extra stress doesn't it?

[TheOtherVillainess]

Actually in Texas, there IS no law saying you HAVE to get a lunchbreak UNLESS your home office (company headquarters) is located in a state where lunchbreaks are the law.

Job prospects are few and far between at the moment, it being just after Christmas and things are starting to slow down,which means nobody needs/wants to hire full time workers any more. :( Oh well...

TOV

[Tera]

TOV - That's too bad that your job is that way. You must be in retail for the sound of it. Try and get your water in when you can and drinks lots when you get home, it'll help a lot.

[TheOtherVillainess]

I will. It's going to be the sticking to it that's the hard part. :)

TOV

[TheOtherVillainess]

Yesterday's menu was:
Breakfast
1 Chocolate Royale shake 200 calories
Snack:
14 tortilla chips--140 calories
Lunch:
Chocolate Royal Shake--200 calories
Snack:
14 tortilla chips--140 calories
Dinner:
Honeyroasted Turkey on Wheat--200 calories
14 tortilla chips--140 calories

I really got screwed up though because right before bed I polished off the last of the chocolate-covered butter cookies my stepsister gave me for Christmas. :( There were only like 5 left though, so it could've been worse.

TOV

[plutosmyfav]

Hi TOV,
Your doing great with your plan. I'm so sorry to hear you are stuck in a bad job situation. I hope something opens up for you soon. Texas needs to get with the rest of us and enforce treating employees like humans! What a horrible work environment that must be for you. My heart goes out to you.

Sundie

[wilderness01]

Sorry to hear it isn't a law in your suit. My job just sent out a memo that we must be approved by management NOT to take a lunch break because it is state law here! Go figure. They just don't want to pay us overtime is what I think! Sorry to hear of your situation. Maybe a doctor's note (I could imagine what the doc would be thinking as you ask for this though :rolleyes: ) that states you must be allowed bathroom breaks. It is medical and he can't fire you for that. After all when you have to go, you have to go! :blush:

Hopefully your job market will open up soon.

[TheOtherVillainess]

Even a dr's note won't make him do anything he is supposed to do. I had one for eating/resting at certain times during my shift and he was very reluctant to let me do so. :(

Today's Menu
Breakfast
1 choc. royale shake--200 calories
Lunch 1 choc royale shake-200 calories
Dinner--Spaghetti with meat sauce--600 calories(*???)
1 piece garlic toast--150 calories (??)
**ETA--Dessert
1 cup choc. brownie fudge ice cream (Healthy Choice No Sugar Added)--175 calories
Bringing my calorie total for yesterday (approx) to: 1325
If I can just keep it to 2,000 or less per day that should help me lose some weight, even if I can't find the time/energy to exercise. Right?

TOV

[TheOtherVillainess]

Thursday
Breakfast 1 choc. royale shake--200 calories
Snack 14 tortilla chips--140 calories
Lunch: None
Dinner
1 hamburger patty on white bread--300 calories (???)
1/4th cup of Rice-A-Ronie SuperCheezy something or other--340 calories

Total calories for today: 980

Unless I end up eating 1 cup of the lowfat,no sugar Healthy Choice ice cream later (and I might)

TOV

[TheOtherVillainess]

I did end up eating the ice cream last night..so there's another 100 something calories in the ol' bod.

Today's menu so far:
Breakfast
choc. royale shake 200 calories


We'll see what the rest of the day brings. I have to make myself not be tempted on account of a local radio station doing a tsnumai relief drive outside the mall. They are giving away Krispy Kreme donuts. Eek.

TOV

[Lizzydoll73]

:wave: Hi TOV. I joined WISH about the same time as you and am also doing Slimfast. Sorry to hear about the problems at your job. Are you in retail? I was a customer service manager for 5 years before I had my kids and I don't think I ever got to take a real lunch at my job, usually just grabbed a diet coke and candy bar from the vending machine and prayed no one would bother me for 2 minutes while I inhaled it. :rolleyes: Hope things get better for you and wish you luck with your diet. One more thing, have you tried the new Slimfast Optima shakes? I don't think they are as good as the original shakes but I can't find regular ones anywhere, only Optima. I started buying the Target brand which are pretty good and cheaper.

[TheOtherVillainess]

We usually get the Kroger brand (Slim-Rite), which are ok. I haven't had the 'real' ones in a long,long time.

Yesterday I totally blew it. I had my 2 shakes and then nothing until almost 9 pm last night when I inhaled 3 large pieces of frozen pizza (split one pizza with DH and then we made a second pizza, cut it in half and split the half).

I ate the rest of that pizza this morning and haven't had anything since other than a pkg of of the 100 calorie snack grahams DH bought me at the store yesterday. :( Oh well...that's ok. Tomorrow's a new week and I'll start again.


TOV

[TheOtherVillainess]

Ok..so here it is.Sunday. New week. Fell off the horse over the weekend but I'm gonna get RIGHT back up there and get going again.

*sigh*It's gonna be a long week. :)

TOV

[AuroraluvsPhillip]

Don't be discouraged by the ups and downs. It happens to us all. Just don't dwell on it and start fresh, every meal, every day.
Best to you! :wizard:

[TheOtherVillainess]

Monday
Breakfast
3 carrots and 1/4th cup of lite ranch dressing as dip
number of calories: Unknown

Lunch:
1 sandwich:
2 pieces white bread (150 calories)
2 slices honeyroasted turkey (??calories)
14 potato chips 200 calories

Snack: 1 cup of lime sherbet 150 calories

Total calories consumed so far: I'm guessing at least 500 but I don't know for sure.

TOV

[Lizzydoll73]

:wave: Just stopping in to say hi and to see how things were going.

[TheOtherVillainess]

Monday night:
Dinner
1/2 roasted garlic chicken breast--??? calories
1/4th cup Chicken-n-Mushroom rice-a-roni--200 calories

Tuesday: A wash--ate too many carbs and too many calories to care.

Weds:
Breakfast
1 bowl of Honeynut Cheerios w/2% milk--160 calories
Snack
1 bag graham thingies--100 calories
Lunch
Chicken salad sandwich w/lite mayo--200 calories(??)
Potato chips--100 calories

Dinner (even though I haven't eaten yet, I already know what I"m having for dinner)
Chicken salad sandwich w/lite mayo--200 calories(??)
Potato chips--100 calories

Total calories consumed for Weds--860(???)

I also started taking a B complex vitamen yesterday to help get my energy up, so maybe that will help me lose a bit of weight too. We'll see.

TOV

[TheOtherVillainess]

Stupid computer error--double posted :-/

[TheOtherVillainess]

Thursday
Breakfast
1 Strawberry Creme shake--200 calories + B complex vitamen

Snack:16 sesame crackers--160 calories
1 Ghiradelli Dk. Choc. Square--??

Lunch: I caved..
2 hotdogs--220 calories


I'm saving up all my calories for dinner, cuz we're having spaghetti, so I probably won't have any lunch or afternoon snack. :)

TOV

[TheOtherVillainess]

Friday
Breakfast
2 whole carrots--200 calories(??)

Snack
1 vanilla cream shake-200 calories

[sarahsmom73]

Hey TOV! Keep up the posting! You are doing great! :flower1:

[TheOtherVillainess]

Well, I didn't do so well last night.
I had 2 soft tacos (flour tortilla with ground beef, sour cream and cheese)as well as 8 :earseek: taquitos!

I'm going to try and get back on track today.

Breakfast
1 taquito + B complex vitamen
Snack
1 strawberry cream shake-200 calories
Lunch
None
Snack
Um...?
Dinner
Not sure at this point

TOV

[sarahsmom73]

It's a new day!!! You can do it!

[TheOtherVillainess]

Well I've done good today. Only the one taquito plus my shake. When DH gets home in a couple of hours, we're having soup and sammidges for dinner, so that won't be too bad. :)

[sarahsmom73]

Go TOV! :cheer2:

[TheOtherVillainess]

Alright.
On today's menu

Breakfast
1 French Vanilla shake-200 calories
Snack
French Vanilla or Strawberry Cream shake--200 calories
Lunch
None
Mid-Afternoon snack
None
Dinner
Don't know yet

TOV

[sarahsmom73]

More importantly, how are you feeling TOV?!

[TheOtherVillainess]

Eh..normal? o.O I don't know..I feel fine. I've always felt fine, just fat. Now I want to feel fine and skinny. :teeth:

Dinner was a plate of spaghetti with meat/mushroom sauce and 3 pieces of garlic bread. One was pre-dinner because I'd gotten to the point where my stomach was so empty I was burping stomach acid. Ick. :sick:

Monday
Breakfast
1 strawberry cream shake + B complex vitamen=200 calories
Snack
3 carrots, cut into little carrot sticks sprinkled with a little salt=200 calories(???)
Lunch
Turkey sandwich on wheat w/1/4th tsp of lite mayo=300 calories
14 tortilla chips=140 calories
Snack
None
Dinner
2 hotdogs on wheat--440 calories
20 potato chips--150 calories
Dessert
1 cup of Lime Sherbet--150 calories
3 chocolate chips--big fat ones that came with a Ghiradelli gift pack we got for Xmas..I was lucky I was able to stop at 3 cuz I'm such a chocoholic!



TOV

[sarahsmom73]

I didn't mean to sound weird!! I was just wondering if you were having an up day or not! :D

[TheOtherVillainess]

Tuesday and Weds were such a crapout. :(

I had a shake for breakfast and one for snack on Tues but by the time I got home I was SO hungry, I ended up eating almost an entire large pizza by myself. Then I had pizza for breakfast AND lunch on Weds. For dinner I had 4 :earseek: soft tacos. :(

I've done better today...one shake for breakfast, one for snack, no lunch,no afternoon snack. Just dinner, whatever that happens to be. My mom is supposed to be throwing this party at a McDonald's for my niece Kittykate and I don't know if we're going. It depends on when DH gets home I guess.

TOV

[Lizzydoll73]

Hi TOV - Sorry to hear you had a couple of bad days. Don't let them get you down though.

[TheOtherVillainess]

I'm going to try and not let them get me down. :) I just gotta stay positive, which is always hard for me when it comes to weightloss.

TOV

[sarahsmom73]

Keep Looking forward TOV!!!! Happy Friday! :flower1:

[TheOtherVillainess]

Thurs day was ok. I had
Breakfast
Vanilla Cream shake-200 calories
Snack
Vanilla cream shake-200 calories
Lunch
Nothing
Dinner
2 hot dogs-220 calories
2 slices white bread--220 calories
20 potato chips--140 calories

So my total intake for the day was less than 1000 calories. I've got to keep it that way so my body takes the energy from fat stores instead of food I put in my mouth. :)

Friday so far
Breakfast
Vanilla cream shake--200 calories
Snack-none
Lunch-none
Dinner--*eta*
2 slices white bread--220 calories
one roast chicken breast (from store..already cooked..DH got a rotisserie chicken)--200 calories(???)
20 potato chips--140 calories
10 Brach's Necco hearts (the kind with the words on them)--120 calories

Total intake for Friday: 860
I need to be really careful tomorrow. We're going out to eat before Stars On Ice and I need to really pay attention to how many calories are in whatever it is I end up getting. :) If I can find out where we might eat beforehand, I might be able to look up their menu online and get the nutritional info there. That way I'll have already decided and won't go over my limit. :)

TOV

[TheOtherVillainess]

Saturday
Breakfast
1 bowl of reduced sugar maple/brown sugar oatmeal-140 calories
Lunch
1/4 cup of 'seafood salad'--200 calories
Dinner
Grilled Buffalo Chicken Salad (TGIFridays)--500 calories(??)
Snack
1 bag of CrackerJack--140 calories

Total intake for Saturday
980 calories :cheer2:

TOV

[Lizzydoll73]

:wave: Hi TOV - just stopping in to say hi and see how things are going with you. Hope you have a great day!

[TheOtherVillainess]

Sunday
Breakfast
1 Strawberry shake--200 calories
Lunch none
Dinner
1 bowl soup--200 calories
1 sandwich (wheat bread w/lite mayo and balogna)-350 calories

Tues
Don't remember
Weds
1 piece of toast-140 calories
14 potato chips--140 calories
Dinner
1 hamburger--300 calories
14 potato chips--140 calories

Thurs
Breakfast
2 pieces of toast-220 calories
Lunch
1 tomato sandwich w/lite mayo--300 calories
14 chips--140 calories
Dinner
Chicken Fajitas--500 calories (for 3 fajitas)

Hubby said he wants to try www.ediets.com today and see if that helps us with meal planning. I am HORRIBLE at that. :)

TOV

[TheOtherVillainess]

Ok so Fri was totally a bust. I had toast for breakfast and a Jr.Burger from work for lunch topped with spaghetti for dinner.

But that's ok..I needed comfort food yesterday. The weather has been all screwy here and so my sinuses are totally FUBAR. I ended up not getting a lot of sleep last night because I couldn't breathe and my eyes felt like round razorblades. Ugh.

I hate this kind of weather.

TOV

[TheOtherVillainess]

Saturday was a bust,too. :( I had two pieces of plain, dry wheat toast for breakfast and then, because I needed to eat and my sinus meds were making me all spacy feeling, I ended up eating an ENTIRE package of crackers which was like 1000 calories all by itself. :(

Oh well..I'm making up for that today by not eating anything except dinner. I'm going to drink nothing but water all day and wait for DH to get home so I can make dinner. :)

That oughta even it out,right?

TOV

[wilderness01]

I actually thought it was better to eat 3 small meals a day with 2 to 3 snacks to keep your metabolism going. :confused3 I also read that if you don't eat your body goes into a starvation mode and then holds on to everything so you will not lose weight. Eventually you do lose weight but then I thought I read it will break down your good tissue (muscle) to get it's nutrients.:confused3 Good luck.

[TheOtherVillainess]

I thought so too until last night when there was a thing on the news saying that you only need to eat 3 meals a day and if you do more than that, you're just making yourself fat.

Also..I have to admit. I caved.

2 hotdogs on wheat bread with mustard--440 calories
20 chips--120 calories

There's half my caloric intake for the entire day!

TOV

[wilderness01]

I think it is correct for 3 meals per day but they don't consider a snack a meal. That is at least what a dietary person told me at the hospital. Again :confused3 what it kind of makes sense.

[TheOtherVillainess]

Well, last night for dinner I had a hamburger on wheat toast (300 calories, I'm assuming) plus a bowl of soup (210 calories).

For my snack I had 20 crackers (110 calories) and a bowl of lime sherbet (110 calories).

So yesterday's total intake was 1390 calories.

Today's diet so far:

3 oz of cheese--200 calories

I'm also starting an exercise program today..walking mostly. But on alternate days, I'm also going to be doing crunches and pushups. So that'll help I'm sure.

TOV

[Lizzydoll73]

Hi TOV - Just stopping in to say hi. :wave: Good luck with your exercise program.

[TheOtherVillainess]

My snack today was 4 carrots plus lowfat ranch dip. Yummy! :banana:

I just finished my 15 min of walking and boy..was it tough to stick it out! But I did..I just kept telling myself it would only be a little bit longer. I checked my heart rate and it was WAY up there. But aren't you supposed to get your HR into a target range that is like 220-your age? If that's right (and I think it is..I seem to remember th at from HS gym class), then it was where it was supposed to be (around 194 bpm).

TOV

[TheOtherVillainess]

Yesterday, being a Tuesday, I did my 20 crunches and 20 pushups. That was easy. But today being a Weds, I had to do 15 min of hard walking plus 25 scissorlifts per leg. The walking was easy, but the scissorlifts really got me. When I got towards the last 2 or 3, I had a HUGE stabbing pain in my hip that made me want to quit but somehow I struggled through it. My calves are sore from the walking so I guess I need to apply heat and/or massage them until they feel better.

Gah..this is a lot harder than I thought it would be. It's going to be extremely tough for me to stick it out even though I know it'll be worth it in the end.

TOV

[Lizzydoll73]

Good job with the exercise. It is really hard when you first start an exercise program but stick with it and you'll see results in a short time. When I first started on the ski machine I could barely do .5 miles. Now I can go longer. Good luck! Have a great day! :wave:

[sarahsmom73]

You are right! It is hard!!! you are reprogramming your brain and it will fight you every step of the way! Keep in you mind that YOU will win and have a healthier life! You can do this! :cheer2:

[TheOtherVillainess]

We popped into Sam's Club today to see if they had something DH was looking for but couldn't find. We ended up doing a walkabout of the place and let me say, the people who make the Reese's peanutbutter cups are EVIL! EVIL I tell you! Now they are making a chocolate covered sandwich cookie with peanut butter in the middle! Of which I just had to try one. Boy those could be addictive. :teeth:

Today's intake so far:
Breakfast
bowl of lowfat oatmeal and glass of milk: 280 calories
Lunch
2 glasses unsweet iced tea-100 calories (??)
One apple--200 calories-(??)
Dinner
2 hotdogs on wheat buns--360
1 bowl of lowfat New England clam chowder--200

Total intake for today--1140

TOV

[sarahsmom73]

Hang in there! I think if you have a treat every once and a while it is not a bad thing!!! Happy Friday! :sunny:

[TheOtherVillainess]

I actually did ok Saturday. My total intake ended up being like 1200 calories, which isn't TOO bad.

This week is going to be tough. Starting tomorrow, I have to do my heavy walking for 20 minutes and increase the number of crunches/pushups to 20 also. Oy.

But it'll all be worth it in the end,right? Or it'll be worth to see the changes in MY end, rather. :rotfl:

TOV

[sarahsmom73]

Defintely worth it! :cool1:

[TheOtherVillainess]

Monday--didn't work out. Didn't feel like it.
Tues--did my crunches/pushups like I was supposed to but went WAY over in calories. DH brought home a bag of these things by Brach's called Mellowcremes. He KNOWS I can't resist them. So I ate them. A bunch of them. Almost the entire bag. By myself. :(
Weds--have only consumed about 300 calories so far AND done my 20 min walk/jog. :cool1: Way to get back on track. Even now, I'm sitting here jiggling my legs up and down. That counts too,right? :teeth: :banana:


TOV

[TheOtherVillainess]

Last night I was so desperate for something sweet I did something terrible. I..dumped three tablespoons of sugar into a glass of ice water and stirred it up and drank it. :guilty:

I'll try to do better today. Honest.

TOV

[zakatak]

Hello there...

Do you mind if I make a small suggestion? I've been reading your journal entries and see an awful lot of hotdogs/hamburgers/chips. I think that might just be your problem, along with your sugar addiction (candy, sweets, etc...).

There's a book out titled, "Breaking the Food Obsession" by Dr. Neal Bernard. It's a great book about WHY we get hooked on the foods we eat and what they do to the body. He recommends to eat 10 times your goal weight, not going below 1200. For instance, if you want to weigh 145, your goal calories for the day should be 1450. He also talks about low glycemic foods, foods that take longer for the body to break down thereby keeping your blood sugar level for longer periods of time. That equals feeling good/less hungry/less crashes/shakes, etc...

If I were going to suggest a change in your diet to help you lose weight and fell better, I would keep the oatmeal (but switch to rolled oats instead of quick oats) and add fruit. Use pure maple syrup (1 tbsp) as a sweetener instead of sugar. For snacks, only eat fruit or veggies, low glycemic fruit if possible. Apples are great. Bananas are ok, but hi glycemic, I think. For lunch, have a deli sandwich on WW bread, or PITA. No chips. Snack again. Then dinner, switch up to WW pasta, baked chicken breast, lean meat if you must, rice, and use the hot dog as an occasional treat (on ww bun).

I guess that wasn't such a small suggestion. :rolleyes:

Good luck. If you do anything, just start becoming more aware of what you put into your body, in terms of chemicals, preservatives, fat and sweeteners... it's rather eye-opening. :earseek:

[TheOtherVillainess]

That would be great but...(and it's a gigantic BUT)
I work in retail where I get MAYBE a single bathroom break per day. IF I'm very lucky. I have to eat when I get up after I feed the Bug and again shortly before I go into work (as in scarfing something in the car before I walk in to work) because I know it'll be a good 6-8 hrs BEFORE I'm allowed to have any sort of break or go home.

Also I know it's a VERY poor excuse but fruits and veggies are expensive. We only have a set amount of $$$ that we are allowed to spend on groceries every two weeks. Fruits/veggies spoil if they aren't used soon and so it's just easier to buy stuff that won't spoil if it's not consumed in 2-3 days. +

Thank you for the suggestion, but...I think I've got to change one thing at a time. It's been a struggle just to make myself exercise the last 2 weeks. I figure I've got to change that about myself first before I go changing anything else.


Oh I DID exercise today. I didn't yesterday and I didn't on Fri like I was supposed to. :( I've got to make myself do it even if I don't feel like doing it. I've got the schedule of what I'm supposed to do when on the fridge to remind me. I'm thinking about taping a supermodel collage to the OTHER door to remind me that's what I"m going for..thin thin thin.

Hell..if I weren't such a food addict, I'd be tempted to become anorexic. I've tried that but I can't go for more than 8-12 hrs without food. Plus..it's incredibly unhealthy. Look what it's done to Mary Kate Olsen, poor kid. :(
I wish there was a way t o get insurance to pay for that lapband thingie like so many people are doing now days. That would help too by limiting how much I can consume in one sitting, which I DEFINATELY need help with sometimes. I'll put a perfectly sized portion on my plate and end up going back for more because after 20 minutes or so I'm still starving. :(
Gah...I've battled my weight ever since I was in middle school and it's not going to be a war won easily.
TOV

[zakatak]

Two things: First, and foremost, you don't CHOOSE to become Anorexic. Anorexia Nervousa is a disease, not a choice. You can choose to fast, you can choose to diet, but you CANNOT choose to get a disease. I highly doubt you tried Anorexia out, but rather I think you tried to fast for a day.

Second, the fruit and veggie cost factor IS a poor excuse. How about Dried Beans and Rice. They last forever. Carrots don't go bad fast. Apples have a great fridge life. Buy, cut and freeze. I'm still eating my fruit pickings from last summer (Blueberries, strawberries and Cheeries :goodvibes ). I just walk down to the freezer, grab a bag and defrost. Yummm...

The break issue at work is probably illegal but there's nothing to say you can't grab a granola bar/energy bar in the restroom real quick (if they're THAT strict).

There are ways. Just stop the excuses. You'll win.

[TheOtherVillainess]

I know they're excuses but you can't change a lifetime of bad eating habits quickly. We are trying..I DO try to make Dh buy more fruits/veggies when he goes to the store but he complains about the high cost. :(

I AM exercising more, which can't be a bad thing. I made myself do my workout yesterday and I'm going to do my workout today when DS goes down for his nap in a couple of hours.

As for no breaks being illegal..well..it depends on what state you live in. I live in TX, where it's not illegal UNLESS your business is based in a state where there is a break law (like New York or Michigan or something). Our base is in Oklahoma, where I believe they have similar break laws as us. The break is up to the employer and he doesn't HAVE to give you one if he doesen't want to which totally sucks but you learn to live with it.

I've thought about takiing granola/energy bars to snack on d uring a bathroom break and that would work EXCEPT the place where we have to put our stuff is RIGHT next to the boss's office and you have to ask him whether or not you can take a bathroom break. Most of the time he's ok with it but there would be no way for me to grab my bar out of my bag without him seeing me. He'd ask me WHY I'm fiddling with my bag and then probably tell me I can't use the bathroom if I'm going to be using the time to eat. I don't know. I've never tried that before and I'm kind of scared to now. :(

I am trying to find another job less harsh than this one but the job search hasn't gone well, which sometimes leads to me overeating.

TOV

[kelyn39]

I'm right there with you in the food department! Our budget is pretty small and we have a lot of can foods, and things that last forever in our cupboards. We broke down last week and just added a couple vegetables that were on the cheap side. I got celery which I just eat with peanut butter and some cauliflower. I think both of those were only $1.99:) LOL I guess that it helps that I only like the cheap vegetables. I don't see myself branching out and eating too differently. I just took out the soda and fast food, increased my water and excercise and I've lost 10 pounds since last month. I'm not depriving myself of carbs and the occassional sweet. I just think those kind of diets are unrealistic because most of the time people just get right back to their old bad habits and put the weight back on. Don't worry about changing everything in your life all at once. Just adding the excercise is going to do a world of good. If you can't really eat during work all day, keep some granola bars or some cereal in your car for the drive there and back every day. Hope this helps! Good luck :wizard:

[sharoncity]

I think the idea of having a snack in your car is a great one. Have a little something to eat on the way home so you are not completely starving when you walk in the door. Then you have a chance to digest that and your brain to find out that you are a bit fuller. Then your dinner portion size should be a little easier to manage.

You are doing great and baby steps are the way to go. Reduced portions/calories and exercise is a great start!!! :cool1: The healthier foods can be added in later (like summer time when they are lots cheaper!!!! ;) ) Maybe you can plant a little garden even!

Keep up the good work! Take your measurements too because you may lose more inches than weight when you get going with your exercise. :moped:

Hope you have a great day!!!

TTFN- Sharon :sunny:

[TheOtherVillainess]

I actually can't WAIT for summer to come because I have not one but TWO neighbors with gardens and they are more than willing to give us the extra tomatoes, etc they don't eat (or that the rabbits don't get). :)

I'm going to see what kind of granola/energy bars are on sale this week when we do the shopping and buy some for my car. That way I have something to eat before I go into work (a must, as I never know when I'm gettting a break/lunch).

I have been REALLY good about the soda. I had my first Dr.Pepper in almost 2 mos yesterday but that was only because my blood sugar was SO low when I got off I felt very dizzy and was afraid to drive home until it came back up a bit. :scared:

TOV

[sharoncity]

Kudos bars are pretty low in WW points, so they might be an option. Watch the calories on some of the energy bars - they can get pretty high.

I hope you have a great day today!!! :flower:

TTFN- Sharon :sunny:

[MelanieC]

Hi there,

I just read this page here and I can see you could use a lot of help getting on track.

One thing to remember is that you must DECIDE that you are going to succeed and then just do it and take the steps it takes to get where you want to be.

As far as food being expensive, yes it is. It all is. Potato chips, ice cream and all the unhealthy processed stuff that you are supposed to be able to keep on a shelf for a long time is too. You just mentioned that you had a Dr. Pepper the other day. Soda is not cheap either. It's what you make a priority. If you cut out the junk and add back healthy stuff you should see an evening of the food bill. Drinking DR pepper because your blood sugar is low only made it worse.

Some ideas for work. Talk to your boss and let him know that you are trying to make yourself healthier. Ask him what he suggests so that you can find a few minutes a day in the morning and afternoon between breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner to eat a small healthy snack. Preferably something with a little protien and a little bit of healthy carbs (not sugar or other processed foods). Kuddos bars may be low points but they are not a healthy option. They are processed and loaded with sugar.

How about putting some almonds in a baggie in your pocket. You could snack on that even if you don't take a break. If you portion them out, you will only be eating the right amount.

If the overall picture is overwhelming you, you can try to do 1 new thing a week and add to it each new week.

I have faith that if you want to do this you can. You just have to DECIDE it's something your willing to do. Trust me, I can't do this journey till I'm ready to. You need to do some soul searching and hopefully some day in the future you will decide you want to do this for you.

[TheOtherVillainess]

Some ideas for work. Talk to your boss and let him know that you are trying to make yourself healthier. Ask him what he suggests so that you can find a few minutes a day in the morning and afternoon between breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner to eat a small healthy snack. Preferably something with a little protien and a little bit of healthy carbs (not sugar or other processed foods). Kuddos bars may be low points but they are not a healthy option. They are processed and loaded with sugar.

He'd laugh me right out of his office, unfortunately. I know this for a fact. I had to *beg* to get breaks to eat when I was pregnant and it was ordered by my doc *even with a note and all!*.

It's hard to stay away from the soda since at work we can drink all the soda we can handle (as long as we provide the mug/cup/whatever). I think I"m doing pretty good on the whole Dr.Pepper thing since I used to drink the equivalent of a a 2 liter bottle EVERY DAY.

It's sad that veggies and fruit is actually MORE expensive than chips (if you buy store brand, like we do to save $$$. It's like $1.50 for a bag of chips and you can't even get a pound of apples for that usually).

DH hasn't bought any ice cream in a month, which is an improvement.

How about putting some almonds in a baggie in your pocket. You could snack on that even if you don't take a break. If you portion them out, you will only be eating the right amount.

I wish that was an option but with my job right now it's just..not. I work as a cashier in a fastfood joint and we aren't allowed to have ANY food on the front lines unless we are serving it to customers. We aren't even allowed to have water to drink which makes it a very tough day. Fortunately, I am working on changing that. Right now I am subbing one day a week with the local school system in Child Nutrition (aka Lunchlady). The director promises me that soon, within maybe a month or two she'll be able to find me a permanent spot in one of the schools and I'll quit the fastfood job. Which will be a HUGE improvement let me tell ya. Less work for more pay. And healthier food to snack on because at most of the schools I've worked at, the kitchen mgr allows the other lunchladys to snack on whatever the kids don't eat at the end of the day.

So..I'm working on it. I did my work out yesterday. I wasn't going to but I ended up doing it late last night while watching 20/20 on TV. I had been trying to get on the internet all evening and Netzero kept telling me EVERY SINGLE one of our access #s was busy. All 45 of them. :( I got so mad at one point I almost put my fist through the monitor but decided to get up and use that energy to work out instead. :)

TOV

[sharoncity]

Ya know TOV, it is just plain cheaper to eat the unhealthy food. :sad2: Fruit, veggies, meat are all quite expensive. The processed foods, fast foods are all cheaper - no question! But if you make smart choices, you can still make it work. Lean Cuisine, Healthy choice - if these are on sale, pick up a bunch. Then you have them on hand for a quick lunch or dinner. Yes, they are higher in sodium than fresh foods, but they are better for you than a burger and fries! If you really want salty foods, try peanuts or other nuts instead of chips. If you keep it within reason, they aren't too bad for you. I certainly didn't mean to suggest Kudos bars were the end all, be all of nutrious food, but the they are a nice, sweet treat to curb your appetite once in a while. For the fruit and veggies, buy a little of whatever is on sale for the week. Don't buy so much that you can't eat it all. If need be, make a quick trip mid week just for a little extra fresh fruit. That way it doesn't go bad before you eat it.

Keep making the little changes. You don't have to do it all at once!!! Going from 2 liters of soda to an occasional soda is awesome! :cheer2: Keep it going!

I'm sending :wizard: so that the lunch lady job comes through. It sounds like that would be a turning point for you. This other job sounds like it really doesn't allow you to make the best choices healthy living wise. But keep plugging along the best you can. One step at a time - you'll get there!!! :cool1:

TTFN- Sharon :sunny:

[TheOtherVillainess]

Ugh..somebody PLEASE motivate me. I don't feel like doing my work out. I skipped it yesterday and I need to do it today to make up for yesterday and I just don't wanna. :(

TOV

[TheOtherVillainess]

Well, ok..last week I totally slacked off but this week I"ve got to get back on the wagon. I'm going to buy a new scale tomorrow (or Sat..hopefully). DH has promised me that if I lose 15 lbs, he will buy me the Disney version of my favorite game, Scene It! :banana:
woohoo!

[TheOtherVillainess]

Today so far:

Breakfast
Oatmeal--200 calories
Snack--Caramel Apple Popcorn--20 calories (Light N Healthy)

Workout: Walked 30 min in the cold outside. :) With baby in stroller. :)

TOV

[TheOtherVillainess]

Well, I did pretty good yesterday.

Breakfast:
Bowl of oatmeal--200 calories
Lunch: handful of croutons
Dinner: 1/4th cup Rice-A-Roni and one grilled chicken strip--300 calories(???)

Today:
Breakfast
Oatmeal-200 calories
Lunch: None
Dinner:
1 hamburger on white with chips--400 calories

I think I've got this caloric thing licked. All I have to do is continue to eat less than 1000 calories a day and I'm going to lose weight. :)

TOV

[TigerBear]

TOV, I am so happy to see you are still working at this!!! :)

[TheOtherVillainess]

I haven't posted to this journal in awhile because I've been busy with life and WPASADI over on the CB. :)

But it seems that I am losing weight simply by cutting calories. I wore a pair of jeans on Saturday that used to fit comfortably. Now I can almost pull them off without unbuttoning them. :cheer2:

Saturday was a tough day for me because we had to go visit my parents and we went to Golden Corral first for lunch. I did REALLY REALLY well though. I ate mostly salad and fruit. I did have a LITTLE ice cream, but it was a very small amount compared to what I normally get.

I've been trying to exercise but the last week was very difficult for me. I didn't have the time. I would get home from work and by that time it was time to make dinner, feed the baby, bathe him and get him ready for bed. By the time all THAT"S done, it's almost 9 pm and I'm ready for bed. :faint: So I'll have to try again this week. But I'll still be cutting calories..keeping it below 1500 per day. :)

TOV

[TheOtherVillainess]

Gah. I'd been doing so well up until yesterday when I had horrible,terrible, no good very bad day.

Breakfast was ok..oatmeal and applesauce (290 calories). Lunch was a handful of croutons (90 calories). But then my asst mgr thinks it would be FUNNY to tell me I have to close last night when it wasn't true and I lost it. I had to excuse myself to the bathroom to get back under control, that's how bad it was.

And so when I finally did make it home a bazillion hours later, I went through 3 tacos (around 300 calories), 3 unfilled taco shells (180 calories) and half a box of Peeps bunnies. :(

*sigh*I am so tempted to give up. There are days when I don't think I"ll EVER win the battle of the bulge unless I go on a diet pill or something.

TOV

[TheOtherVillainess]

Over the last two days I have done 300 crunches. Not all at once, of course. 100 straight up and down crunches and then 25 per side side crunches. Somebody told me that's the best way to flatten your abs.

TOV