AmyT's Journal (Comments Definitely Welcome!)

[Jane E.]

Amy, I had a home-ec teacher who told us that the diet drinks were very high in sodium. She claimed when she gave them up she lost several pounds in one week. It wasn't real weight though - just water weight.

You're going to be busy hosting the exercise challenge! I'll see if I can meet my goal this month. You did great!

 

[lovinaz]

Yesterday I did great! I met my Exercise Challenge – 1120/1100. Barely made it, but barely counts in this case! I signed up for another 1100 minutes this month. It’ll be a challenge. I did awesome in the food department yesterday! I measured out 1 cup of noodles and ¾ cup spaghetti sauce w/meat, with just a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. I did not drink my usual glass of wine w/dinner and I had my mini ice cream sandwich and that was it! I didn’t nibble or snack on a single thing. I think if I do that the rest of the week (including the weekend), I will for sure see a loss next week! When I put everything I ate into FitDay, I was at 1509 calories (it was the PB!).

Today starts a new month. With it comes a new, fresh outlook. I didn’t weigh myself this morning, which is weird (I feel like something is missing), but I am feeling lucky. The weight is going to melt off without the pressure of a “5 for” challenge looming overhead!! I have my Mexico trip at the end of the month, I am REALLY going to try to get at least 5 lbs off by then. I want to wear my bikini!! It fits, but I don’t think it looks that great. I still have the 1 piece “backup” swimsuit, but the bikini is my goal. I think if I am around 130 I will feel comfortable in it again. Here are some things I am going to change for Sept:

1) NO nibbling! No more 2 bites of this, a bite of that. I have been journaling it, but it is not needed and I’m sure the calories add up.

2) Weigh/measure everything, especially meat!

3) Stay in control on the weekends! Why ruin what I’ve worked so hard on during the week?

4) Only weigh in once a week (on Wed). That scale is going to give me an ulcer if I don’t stop obsessing about it!!

B-4 oz Light-n-Fit w/Fiber Yogurt; 1/4 c. LF Granola; Banana
L-1 cup Veggie Soup; LF String Cheese; 2 Egg Whites; 8 Mini Rice Cakes; DC
S#1-Apple
S#2-Celery-n-PB (2 stalks w/2 tbsp)
D-2 Homemade Tostadas (each w/ ½ cup turkey meat, lettuce, 1/8 cup shredded cheese); Sherbet Bar (70 cal)
WORKOUT-Treadmill (jog/run 40 min); Walking (10 min)
According to FitDay, this was 1495 calories!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jane, I've heard that diet drinks aren't the best for you, but I am not sure if 1 a day is killing me. I just checked and the DC has 40mg of sodium, which is 2%. If my new plan of measuring doesn't work, the DC is going to be the next thing to go! I'll give it another month...

 

[Jane E.]

You're doing great on the food plan. Egg whites for breakfast! You must be serious! I wish I could eat them. They're high in protein, low in fat & excellent for you. I can't stand the way they taste. I've tried several times to eat a veggie eggwhite omelette & just can't do it.

Hang in there this weekend! I'm going to try super hard to do better. My main worry is Saturday night. We're having people over for dinner & thats when I always get in trouble! Your hard work will pay off! Sounds like you will definately be ready for that bikini in Mexico!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Way to go Amy! Can you explain the exercise challenge thing to me? Maybe that would get my butt in gear! Time to brush the cobwebs off my treadmill. Or I could go to the gym that I pay for each month...

 

[daisy_77]

I know you can lose 5 pounds before your trip! Keep up that exercising!! BTW-I love Light and Fit w/fiber!! It is always sold out at Walmart when I want it!

 

[lovinaz]

I have a couple challenges facing me this weekend. First of all, today we are going to Outback for Happy Hour. We haven’t been there in a while! The last couple times I was there, I did great – 3 grilled shrimp, 2 pieces of bread w/butter, cup of potato soup, 2 martinis. That is the plan for tonight - I know I can stick to it since I’ve done it several times in the past.

Second, we are going to the property up north tomorrow and Sun. This always presents a problem for me. I will NOT overeat, I WON’T!!!!! Think bikini, think bikini. I can do it! For starters, I am not taking any alcohol. DB will take beer, but I don’t drink beer so that will be fine – no temptation. Secondly, I am going to take only healthy things (yogurt, hard boiled eggs, carrots, apples, grapes, 100 cal packs, pretzels, turkey sandwiches, lots of gum and hard candies). NO trail mix, NO peanuts, NO beef jerky, NO chips (that I like, DB can take the ones he likes). Keep that high calorie stuff away from me!! If I can make it this weekend without overeating then I think I will have overcome a major hurdle. Maybe I should take a picture of me in my bikini as a motivator to stay on track. Na, I don’t want to lose my appetite altogether! I won’t be checking in until Monday (maybe Sunday night). Wish me luck!! For today (FitDay = 2216 calories, including the alcohol ):

B-4 oz Light-n-Fit w/Fiber Yogurt; 1/4 c. LF Granola; Banana
L- Salad (2 cups Romaine, 2 Egg Whites, 1/8 cup Shredded Cheese, 2 tbsp LF Dressing); 8 Mini Rice Cakes; DC
S#1-1 cup Grapes
S#2-None (saving those calories for martinis!!)
D@Outback-3 Grilled Shrimp; 1 Coconut Shrimp; 2 pieces Bread w/Butter; 3 Martinis
S#2-Tortilla Chips (1 cup?); 3 Margaritas; 1/2 cup Cheerios; 3 Cheetos
WORKOUT-Walking (10 min)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jane, I know social events are the WORST! But you always do good, and since it is at your house, you have control. You'll do great!

Amy, the exercise challenge is simple. Go to the Sept Exercise Challenge thread and post how many minutes you plan on exercising this month. Come back to the thread and occasionally update your number. Some people shoot for 500 minutes, while others are up to 2000. It's up to you! You can do it, sign up!

Daisy, thanks for the encouragement, I think now that I am measuring out my portions the scale will start moving!!

 

[Jane E.]

Enjoy your shrimp, soup and martinis! Have a great weekend.

 

[daisy_77]

Great job at planning your meal at Outback! I hope you have a great weekend!

 

[lajones81]

Oh, I love the idea about putting everything I want to nush on into a bowl! Oh, I am so doing that! I agree, too, it's more of a mental issue vs. a real need to eat. Thanks for all of your help and have a great weekend!

 

[lovinaz]

Well, we didn't end up going to the property this weekend! The forecast called for 80% chance of thunderstorms. And in AZ, when they say 80%, they are pretty sure it is going to happen! So we have been bumming around here, I actually went shopping and out to lunch with a couple friends, it was a nice relaxing day! And believe me I needed it after last night (let's just say things got a little out of hand with the martinis and later margaritas at a friend's house ) I am going to input all my stuff I ate (not much) and drank (much) on FitDay and see what the damage is (it was 2216 for Fri!). I'll update it next time I visit my journal! I DID make it to the gym this morning!!! That was a major accomplishment! For today (2053 including ice cream):

B-3/4 cup Egg Beaters w/1/8 cup Cheese; Banana; Toast-n-Butter
L@Bellagio-Hummus w/Pita Bread; Buffalo Chicken Salad w/very little ranch
S-1 small piece of Cheese Pizza; 1 cup Strawberries
D-Grilled Turkey-n-Cheese Sandwich; 1 Creme Saver; Baskin Robbins Single Scoop
WORKOUT-Elliptical (45 min)

 

[lovinaz]

OK, it is all crystal clear why I am not losing weight! Sunday was the 3rd day in a row that I was over 2000 calories! I need to become a hermit because all of these social events are KILLING me!!!! The damage on Sunday(2246 calories!!!):

B-3/4 cup Egg Beaters w/1/8 cup Cheese; Toast-n-Butter; 1 cup Cantaloupe
L-6" Turkey-n-Provolone Sub (on Wheat w/ Mustard, Pickles, Lettuce); DC
S-Celery, Carrots & Cauliflower w/Hummus (about 1/2 cup)
D@BBQ-2 oz Steak; 6 oz Chicken Breast; 1/2 cup Potato Salad; 1/2 cup Spanish Rice; 2 White Chocolate & Cranberry Cookies; 1/2 piece Pineapple Upside Down Cake; 3 glasses Reisling
WORKOUT-Pilates Sculpt (55 min)

At least I got my workout in. I didn't think I was doing that bad food-wise, but FitDay told me otherwise... I'll get back on track Monday!

 

[karynnix]

I know how you feel. I was SHOCKED when I started measuring my food out. I was eating 2 and 3 servings of things at a time!! Keep up the momentum. You will have a great week!!

 

[lovinaz]

OK, I am back on track today! I actually went to the gym and have been eating well. I don't feel as bloated and yucky as I usually had been after the weekends, so I think I actually ate LESS than I did on previous weekends (before I started relying on FitDay, my new best friend ).

I have to admit I am scared to death of what the scale is going to tell me on Wed. I was putting away towels and I saw the scale in the closet. Part of me wanted to step on it and the other part never wanted to step on it again. I think if I am at 137 (or heaven forbid even more) on Wed I will seriously pitch that thing out the door. My clothes are not fitting better (but not worse either) and I do not feel or look any different. But again, this was a very social weekend. The next weekend coming up there are no parties, no BBQs, no visiting anybody, so I should be able to do much better. It wasn't the food that killed me, it was the alcohol! On Friday, 41% of my calories for the day were from alcohol. Geez, it made me feel like a raging alcoholic when I read that!!! So the neverending cycle of my weekly recovery from the weekend has started. For today (1579 calories - MUCH better, but still high... I only ate 10 macadamia nuts and that was 204 calories!):

B-3/4 cup Egg Beaters w/1/8 cup Shredded Cheese; Toast-n-Butter; 1 cup Strawberries
L-Grilled Turkey-n-Cheese Sandwich; 1 can Carrots; 1 cup Cantaloupe; DC
S-Papaya Spear; 10 Macadamia Nuts
D-Macadamia Crusted Mahi Mahi; 1 cup Broccoli; 1 glass Reisling; Mini Ice Cream Sandwich
WORKOUT-Elliptical (45 min)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karyn-Measuring DOES make a huge difference! I measured my beloved dried papaya spears and one of them is 170 calories! There were days I'd eat 3-4 of them at a time!! Now I know better...

 

[Cruise04]

You sound like you are doing very well at staying off the scale. If it would have been me I would have been right on that sucker. Darned things. And you are doing good at recognizing what some of the culprits are. Alcohol is a big one - it's amazing how many calories a drink adds. I was blown away when I started reading at what I need to stay away from (I would have a wine cooler every couple of days - no more until I get more of this off).

Hang in there - you are doing the right thing by measuring, weighing and writing down your foods!!!!!

Keep on
Chris

 

[lillygator]

great job at staying off the scale....I can't do that so I don't own one...seems I have no willpower in that department!

 

[lovinaz]

I wonder what the scale will say tomorrow! I still have over 3 weeks before my Mexico trip. I do not have a feeling that I’ve lost any weight, in fact I feel like I’ve GAINED weight! I hope that is not the case, I will be extremely disappointed…

I am still measuring my food and will continue to do so for the rest of the month. There are some things I was definitely going over on (rice, meat, grapes). Obviously whatever I was doing before was perfect for maintaining my weight, so after I reach my goal, I will be able to go back to rough estimating my portions. For today (1531 cal):

B-Light-n-Fit w/Fiber Yogurt; ¼ cup Granola; Banana
L-Salad (2 cups Romaine, 3 oz Grilled Chicken, 2 tbsp LF Dressing); 9 Mini Rice Cakes; DC
S#1-1 cup Grapes
S#2-1 cup Cantaloupe; 1 Papaya Spear; 1/2 Apple w/Nugatti
D-1 cup Stroganoff (crockpot); 1/2 cup Wheat Egg Noodles; Sherbet Bar; 2 Butterscotch
WORKOUT-Walking (10 min)

 

[Jane E.]

Looks like your back on track. Those 3 weeks are going to go by quickly. We've gotta do something about those weekends! Mine are killin' me!

 

[lovinaz]

I can’t believe it – I am still at 137!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am seriously considering ditching this entire effort. I mean, what difference does it make?!? I eat whatever and I weigh 137. I measure everything and exercise my brains out and I weigh 137. IT’S NOT FAIR!!!!!!! I have been seriously trying to lose weight since July. And NOTHING! Not a single pound has come off! I can’t even put my frustration into words. I was 100% cheat-free for 25 days, yet not a single pound dropped. Then I got a little lax with some extra snacks and not a single pound dropped (or gained for that matter). I am just so sick of it! Obviously my body wants to be exactly how it is right now.

I wanted to give up, but I can't. I am going to cut out desserts during the week and keep my calories down around 1200. I can go back up to the 1500 range when I am ready to maintain my weight. If that doesn't have any effect by the end of the month, I am throwing in the towel. For today (1283 calories):

B-Yogurt (4 oz); Granola (1/4 cup); Banana
L-Romaine (2 cups) w/Chicken (3 oz) & LF Dressing (2 tbsp); 10 Mini Rice Cakes; DC
S#1-Grapes (3/4 cup)
S#2-Cantaloupe (1 cup); PB & Chocolate Chip Rice Cake
D-Turkey Fiesta Pie (LF Crescent Roll Crust, Ground Turkey, Salsa, Cheddar Cheese); 3 Creme Savers (60 cal)
WORKOUT-Weights (20 min); Treadmill (20 min - 10@4.5mph, 10@5.5mph); Walking (10 min)

 

[karynnix]

You are so not alone. I have been exactly where you are. I don't want for you to throw in the towel, but if you need a break, you need a break. That's what vacations from work are for, right? Sometimes you need a vacation from dieting. Don't get discouraged. I know you think that is easy for me to say, but I have been going through my own kind of discouragement. I want to go back home to SC, but I have to stick it out here. I feel the same kind of despair that you do. We can get through this. Don't give up.

 

[lovinaz]

Karyn, thanks so much for your kind words! They really snapped me out of my funk. I am not going to give up, but I am for sure going to be changing some things:

#1 - no more daily desserts (except I do need a couple Crème Savers (3=60 cal) to get that “dinner” taste out of my mouth!).

#2 - start eating different things for breakfast and lunch. If I want Cocoa Puffs for breakfast, that is what I am going to have. Or if I want oatmeal, I’ll have that. And if I want leftovers for lunch, bring it on! I will still measure it out to keep my daily calories around 1200-1300, but I am going to eat more variety (still keeping it healthy).

#3 - As for exercise, I think my body is getting too used to the elliptical. I have been throwing in a treadmill workout occasionally, but that might not be enough. I might have to do at least 1-2 days a week of weights to spice things up a bit. And I might get some cardio DVDs from Blockbuster too.

#4 - I am also going to go back to weighing myself once a day because I did NOT like the feeling I had when I waited a whole week only to see the same weight! I would much rather have a little daily dose of disappointment than a whole week’s worth at once… I will still only officially report my weight on Wednesdays, but I can’t go through that again! It did nothing but create anger and negative feelings, which I DON’T need!