Third time's the charm...karyn's journal

[karynnix]

Okay, this is my third time trying this journal. I did very well for my first one, and not so good for the second one. So...here we go again. I am Karyn and I have no willpower. I have struggled and struggled with this weight thing, and it's getting ridiculous. I lost about 30 pounds a few years ago with Weight Watchers, and have since gained about 10 of that back. I am 4 ft 11 in and weighed 134.8 this morning. I have been stuck around 135 for about a year and I need to get to work! I appreciate comments, but I can't promise that I'll be able to comment back. I'll do my best, though!

Okay, let's get this started...

Breakfast...Boo Berry cereal and skim milk

Lunch...10 McDonald's chicken nuggets and small fries

snack...banana pudding that I made the other night...thank goodness it's finally all gone!!

Much too full to think about dinner...tomorrow will be better!!

 

[karynnix]

Okay, today I am going to attempt calorie counting. I have never done that in the past, but I need to do something different. I don't know how many calories to try to shoot for, so I'm going to try to stay in the 1200-1400 range and see how that goes. Hopefully, I can get out and walk this evening if it's not too cold. Here we go...

I'm going to keep everything for each day on the same page. That should be easy for me to keep up with. I just had 1/2 of a Totino's pizza for 320 calories. The sugar in the tea was about 45 calories. I'll count 50 calories for each cup of tea. So far I'm up to 370 calories for the day. (I wonder if shivering burns calories?? It's cold today!) I really need to put the focus on what I am putting in my mouth. I am hoping that calorie counting will make me examine everything that I eat. In church, we talked about being content with what you have. My weight is something that I am NOT content with. I honestly believe that God does not want me to be overweight. He does not want me to eat until I am uncomfortable. We started the 40 Days of Purpose today and I know that will aide me in this weight loss pursuit. On we go into the rest of the day!!!

Dinner consisted of a PB&J Uncrustable (210 calories) and 15 Quaker rice snacks (70 calories). That puts me at 650 calories for the day so far. Hmmm...this calorie counting is not so bad. So far, anyway...

Alright...I finished up the day with 2 servings of mashed potatoes (180 calories) The total for the day was 880 calories. I should have no problem staying under about 1000 calories a day if I really watch it.

Thanks for the advice, Amy. I ate a few more calories so that I wouldn't be too low. Ice cream sandwich (90 calories) and milk (80 calories) Final total...1060 caolories

 

[lovinaz]

Welcome back Karyn!!!!! How are things going? I hope all is well and you are more content in Iowa.

A word of caution - don't eat less than 1000 calories per day. Your body won't like it and will hold onto every single calorie because it will think it is starving. Try to stick to around 1200 per day and you will be able to lose. And a great website for counting calories is www.fitday.com. You can put in all the stuff you eat and it keeps track of everything. It's free and I still use it to make sure I am staying within a reasonable calorie range.

And be sure to get some lean protein with every meal and watch your refined carbs. And I recall you aren't a huge veggie fan, but get those veggies in! It's probably cold enough there to make a big batch of Crockpot veggie soup.

You are going to make it this time, I know you can do it!

 

[karynnix]

The scale said 134.4 this morning. At least it's going in the right direction! Doing okay so far today. I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast this morning, so I have a splitting headache. Hopefully it will ease off soon. I haven't been able to walk in the past few days because of the weather, so I am really hoping to get a few miles in this evening!

For lunch, I made tuna casserole and ONLY ATE ONE SERVING!!! I'm very proud of that! If I figured the calories correctly, it is 320 calories a serving. I'm going to count 400 calories just in case I missed something. With a glass of tea, that puts me at 450 so far today. I added an extra can of peas to the casserole to get more vegetables in and used 99% fat free cream of celery soup. It was pretty good!

Dangit!! I was doing good until I got a craving for some Cheese Its. I didn't measure them out, so I know that I had more than 1 or 2 servings. I'll just figure in 500 calories for them and work with that. I need some willpower!!

Alright, I went out and walked for 2 miles at a pretty fast pace. According to the calories per hour website, I burned 95 calories. With the 950 that I had eaten today, that puts me at 855 calories. I think that I am going to convert back to Weight Watchers points tomorrow. It was really easy to keep up with and much easier to calculate! I'll keep working on it until something clicks!! I have some mini bagels that I will probably eat one or two of for dinner. Tomorrow is a new day!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Hi Karyn, its good to "see" you again! Don't worry about responding to other journals, get back in the swing of keeping up with your own, we all understand! WISH is like all other parts of weight loss and being healthy, small steps over time. I agree with Amy M., don't underdo the calories it can backfire big time! I used to hate veggies but am doing better. I can handle salad and the trick for me was to find a salad dressing I really like. Which means no fat free. I just dip my fork tines in the dressing to get the taste and use very little. Its generally the only way I get my veggies in, via salad with tasty dressing. I also have been drinking V8 but its high in sodium so I make sure to drink some extra water to flush that out. Do you like fruit? Maybe thats a better way to get the healthy stuff in for you! Its a full time job to eat the right balance of protein, good carbs, fruits, veggies, healthy fats, dairy, water, plus exercise! Just keep doing what you can, it will happen for you!

 

[eeyore25]

Hi Karyn,

It's good to have you back.....

you have a good plan, whether you are going to count calories or go back to the WW points!! I know you can do this!!!

Welcome back!

Have a great day

 

[karynnix]

The scale said 134.0 this morning. It's moving down!! DH asked me to go to lunch today, and since we never get a chance to do that, i did splurge a little. We went to Pizza Ranch and I had a salad, 2 1/2 breadsticks and 3 (count 'em) pieces of pizza. It was really good and we haven't done that in a long time, so I don't feel bad about it. I have got to learn to enjoy food again and not make it out to be the bad guy !

Thanks, Amy, for the advice about V8. Is it really good or do you have to choke it down? I don't eat vegetables AT ALL, so that would be a good way to get them in. I guess maybe I should just get some and try it for myself.

I am going to try to get a walk in again tonight. It was so good to get back out last night and walk! It's supposed to be pretty nasty tomorrow, so I may not be able to.

Got out and walked 2 miles pretty quickly. I have a CD that is 38 minutes long and I ended my walk with 1 1/2 songs left. I guess I walked for about 34 minutes. I'm still full from lunch, so dinner will not happen tonight. My wonderful son brought home a Little Debbie's nutty Bar "to share with Mama". Thanks, kid. It was REALLY good. I haven't had a Nutty Bar in a long time! I have gotten all of my cravings out of the way today, and will do better tomorrow. A few weeks ago, I would have been really upset with myself for overeating, but I don't feel so bad today. I think that I have worked hard and I deserve a break sometimes! Anywho, tomorrow is another day!

 

[goldcupmom]

Welcome Back, Karyn!

How are things in Iowa?

Sounds like you're ready & getting back on track!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Karyn, V8 is good in my opinion. Now my husband who loves veggies thinks V8 is gross! I don't like plain tomatoe juice but I do like V8. But like I said its salty (although they do make a low sodium variety that is pretty good). Some other ways to get veggies in are to make a veggie soup as Amy M. suggested. WW has their famous vegetable soup recipe but there are lots of others. I make a lowfat zuccini soup that is milk based (skim milk based) and I love it. I also add mushrooms to it and sometimes bell peppers. I need to do that again soon, its soup season now after all! A woman at my WW meeting does an interesting thing. She makes spaghetti sauce and then pours it over raw spinach leaves. The hot, cooked sauce wilts the spinach and she swears its delicious. I need to try that, haven't had a chance yet. I also love broccoli with cheese sauce and buy the frozen green giant brand. Its low in points, cheese and all. Sometimes I add a little milk and make it more like a soup. Veggies are tough for me too. Sometimes I do better than others by doing the soup, V8 and salad thing. Good luck, anything you do at this point will be improvement so start out slowly and it will make a big difference! And good for you enjoying your lunch out with dh and your Little Debbie. I love nutty bars, I can taste one now as I write this!

 

[lovinaz]

Sounds like you are doing really good with your exercising! And I'm glad to see the scale is moving in the right direction. You must be doing something right!!

Have you gotten your veggies in today?

 

[karynnix]

Not so bad so far today. Yes, Amy, I did eat some veggies this morning! When I made tuna casserole a few days ago, I made it with extra, extra peas. I ate some for breakfast this morning and probably a cup of it was peas. Messed up for lunch, but I didn't go over my points. I just don't have any left for dinner! I'm not really hungry, and I need to run to Walmart this evening, so I will probably do something really light.

Breakfast-tuna casserole (10 pts)

Lunch-bread (3 pts)
bologna (4 pts)
chips (5 pts)

Total...22 pts...Right at where I need to be...I hope that it isn't raining tonight so that I can walk again. The cold doesn't bother me so much anymore.

Okay, whoever has some willpower to spare, SEND IT MY WAY!!! DH bought some boneless buffalo wings tonight. In the words of Rachael Ray..."YUMMO"!! Darn it, though, I ate 4 of them for 8 points. Plus a small bowl of cereal to put out the flames in my mouth! I am WAY over in points, so I will be hitting the sidewalk tomorrow looking for a food slapper to hire. Couldn't walk today, so I hope to get back to it tomorrow.

 

[lovinaz]

Yay for getting some veggies in! Don't worry about yesterday, that's what flex points are for, right? And if you work out, don't you get some extra points for that? So don't worry, you will get back on track today. And if you find a good food slapper, let me know. I could use one from 4-9pm!!!

 

[karynnix]

I just had lunch, but I am REALLY craving something sweet, so I thought I'd write instead. The scale was scary this morning, but I was expecting that. I had some pasta with parmasan sauce for lunch (12 points) and I have vegetable soup in the crock pot for dinner. Yay for veggies!! The soup has corn, green beans, potatoes and carrots in it. I did put some beef in the soup, but not a whole lot. It just needed some of the flavor. I'm going to eat mostly veggies. I won't have time to walk tonight, but I should be able to tomorrow and several times over the weekend. When I have a free Saturday, I try to walk twice and get 4 miles in.

Thanks, Julie! I bought Dum Dum's to give out as Halloween candy instead of chocolate this year! I didn't want to have all of that extra chocolate in the house as a temptation. I didn't do the points for them, but it can't be that high.

I did get a 1 mile walk in. Better than nothing, and it kept me from eating! I ate soup for dinner and didn't overdo it! We are going to a Bible study tonight, and they always have refreshments, so I'll have to use a lot of willpower.

 

[goldcupmom]

Hey, Karyn, buy some of the small size Tootsie Pops for the 'must have sweets" time. When I was doing well at staying OP, I used to eat them. They last a long time - the key is lick don't chew - and 3= 1 pt.

 

[karynnix]

I did well last night...not really good, but better than I expected! I had 1 chocolate chip cookie, 4 pretzels and some peanuts. The scale was a little nicer this morning...I am back down to 134.4. I am home with Katelyn today, so I won't be going to classes this morning. I've got to get Katelyn to the doctor...she has been coughing and running a fever for the past few days. If I can stay out of the kitchen today, I'll be okay! I won't get to walk during the day, but maybe I can get one in this evening.

I was a little off-kilter today. It seems when I get out of my regular routine, I can't get straightened back out! I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast because I took Katelyn to the doctor (sinus infection...nothing major), so when I got home about 11:00 with her, I was STARVING. I grabbed a PB&J and some cheese puffs. Then for dinner, I had a can of Chef Boyardee spaghetti. I got Katelyn home from dance and was hungry again, so I ate some grits. I probably didn't go over too much in points, but I didn't feel full all day long! I don't have to worry about TOM anymore, so I can't blame it on that! My only excuse is bad choices and lack of willpower.

 

[eeyore25]

Hi Karyn,

I am sorry to her that DD is not feeling well. Hopefully she will get over this soon.

You're eating has been good.....YAY for you on the veggies!!! You are better than me!! Yesterday in my HC lunch there was brocholi (?) and carrots, I threw them away! I didn't even cook them!!!! Good for you!!!

Keep up the good work, you're doing a great job!

Have a great weekend

 

[lovinaz]

I hope DD is feeling better. It's a bummer when they get sick like that! And it seems like the cough lasts for weeks!

Great job getting those veggies in! I think I might make some veggie soup this weekend, it sounds yummy!

I hope you get to get all your planned walking in this weekend.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Good job with the veggies Karyn! Soup is a very good way to do that. I hope your daughter is feeling better very soon. You are really doing well and adding the walking and veggies is huge to your overall program. Keep up the good work, you are getting there!

 

[karynnix]

I broke down and had McDonalds for lunch. I had a cheeseburger and small fries...not what I wanted, but it was still a treat! We are expecting snow and ice this afternoon, so I put a big pot of potato soup on. That will be really good for dinner tonight. I got my dress in for the military ball in December. I ordered an 8 and it fit! I can zip it up and everything! My weight is not moving much, but I have been walking a lot and my hips are actually slimmer. I want to walk today, but I'll have to see what the weather does. If it stops raining, I may try to get out. It's pretty dang cold, though.

 

[karynnix]

I was still at 134.4 this morning. so I didn't do any damage yesterday. I made potato soup and ate a bowl of that with cheese and bacon (YUM) and then had a bowl of cereal before bed. I did get a 2 mile walk in even though it was SO COLD!! It was nice to get outside after all of the rain and wind yesterday. I hope that I can get out again today. The temps are supposed to be higher...up to about 45*. No major meals planned for today...plenty of leftover soup.

I have done well today, but I am really hungry right now. I need to make a good decision for dinner and not go overboard. I'm thinking soup...

Breakfast-grits and a piece of 2% milk cheese (3 pts)

Lunch-PB&J sandwich (8 pts)
about 10 mini rice cakes (2 pts)

That leaves me 7 points for dinner. I did get in a 2 mile walk, so if I go over a few points, it shouldn't hurt me too badly.