Update: Almost there!! Red Light/Green Light

[OceanAnnie]

Jan. 16, '12

Started making some changes in diet and exercise. Maybe if I come here and post about them it will help things along. I welcome any tips and suggestions!

Today I give myself the Green Light!

I have walked a mile yesterday and today. Actually I walked 1.25 mile in 20 min..

Pre B- A large cup of coffee w/ hazelnut creamer. I am putting a splash of unsweetened almond milk in along with less creamer (less sugar). I like a light coffee. Best way I can think of to reduce the calories and still stay on the lighter side. I don't like my coffee too black or too strong.

B- I measured my oatmeal, dark chocolate chips, and walnuts. Had water to drink.

L- Spinach salad with 2 tsp. hummus, 1 chopped hard boiled egg, a few walnuts, cran-raisins, and about 1 tsp. light balsamic dressing. I find that the hummus helps me to reduce the amount of salad dressing I use. I have been on a spinach salad kick lately. Anyway, it was good! Lots of water

ETA- D- a reasonable portion of veggie lasagna, 1 garlic bread stick and water to drink. For dessert I had two blow pops. Yeah. I had to have the second one. I'm working on that.

* I plan on making some changes to my diet. But I also have food in the house that I don't want to go to waste. So I will try, try, try to exercise portion control. And since exercise came up, I am trying to do better in that department as well.

So, it's off to the races and I have the green light!

-----------------------------------

4/26/13

I am now 3/4 ths of the way to my goal! I'm really excited about it. It took a long time to find out what works for me and what didn't. But I finally understand what is a good balance for me.

The two things that have helped me the most was replacing bad food choices with healthier ones. Many times I thought I was eating well and either the portions were too much, or I found the foods weren't as healthy as the companies claimed. I used to walk for an hour or some days an hour and 1/2. I did it for months. No noticeable change in weight or appearance. I started a couch to 5k program and I saw and felt a difference in a few weeks! Jogging moved the scale for me with half an hour a day. No wonder people love it! I feel better after I exercise and have more stamina. I've also been lifting weights. I actually look forward to my jog times now. When I have the time I go for longer periods. The longest I've jogged is an hour. I may try to increase my speed and try a race!

Just wanted to share. I was wondering when I truly started my efforts to get fit and remembered this thread. Nice to have a record. It did help to write down what I ate. That got the ball rolling. Looking forward to reaching my goal now! I can see it's attainable soon!

 

[OceanAnnie]

Tue. Jan. 17

Walked 1 mile in 17 min.. Not too bad.

Pre-B- My usual morning coffee w/ unsweetened almond milk and hazelnut creamer

B- Small bowl of oatmeal, with about 1/3 cup chocolate chips, and a handful of walnuts. Plus water. Satisfying.

L- Exact same salad as yesterday. I love it. I just craved it today.

Had an afternoon coffee with about 1/3 cup of unsweetened almond milk. Really low cal. Tasted pretty good and cheaper than creamer too. Win-win.

D- Reasonable portion of low fat meatball stroganoff (that included peas and mushrooms). Water to drink. I *was* thinking about getting a small scoop of no sugar added ice cream, but didn't. Yeah!

Green light!

** My goal at this point is to lose 5 pounds. I'm not really interested in numbers per se. I am interested in seeing progress.
** I have lost 2.5 pounds since I started watching what I eat a few weeks ago. I'm counting it as part of the 5 pound loss I'm looking to achieve. Of course I'll have a new goal (another 5) after that.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Wed. Jan. 18

Walked 1 mile in 17 min. (sweaty). Reading a good book while I walk.

Pre-B- My usual morning coffee same as above.

B- My usual oatmeal and water. Doesn't feel like I "have to". I like it.

L- No time for salad. Reheated last nights leftovers, low fat meatball stroganoff w/ no yolk, multi-grain noodles. It's pretty good. I might be eating this for awhile. It's a huge batch. Water to drink.

Afternoon - 2 blow pops. Little splurge. Whoopie!

D- Creamy parmesan salmon and a baked potato. The potato was pretty big so I just wanted those two things. I put a dollop of reduced fat sour cream and a pat of light margarine on the potato. Next time I'm going to try to have some plain low fat yogurt on hand. I think that would've saved some calories and tasted about the same. Anyway, good dinner. The salmon with the topping was probably not the best for low cal, not the worst either. I'm okay with it. I enjoyed it and it wasn't huge. Water to drink.

I have leftovers of both the salmon and the potato. I'll probably have some of the salmon on a salad tomorrow. I'm sure it will make a reappearance sometime.

All in all a good day.

 

[BabyTigger99]

Keep up the awesome work!!

 

[OceanAnnie]

Thanks, BabyTigger99!

You have done a terrific job and are super busy with a toddler too. Have any tips, fun/different snacks ideas or such to share?

 

[OceanAnnie]

Thurs. Jan. 19

Pre-B- My usual morning coffee same as above.

B- My usual oatmeal and water. Plus another cup of coffee.

L- Had my usual spinach salad. I added about 4 oz of leftover salmon on it. It was good. I still have leftover salmon! Water to drink

This afternoon I had one blow pop instead of two.

D- I made two batches of banana pancakes tonight. One batch was blueberry and the other chocolate. I made it with Bisquick, 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1 tsp. vanilla, and 1 egg. It was really good! I had 2 medium blueberry banana pancakes (the amount is a change for me) and I had 1 turkey sausage instead of two. I'm really trying to hang in there and eat what everyone else is eating and adjust my cooking (when I can) and the portion size. That's the plan.

Haven't walked yet. Hoping to later tonight.

* I'm down another 1/2 a pound. Seems like a fluke, but I weighed myself a few times and it was the same. So I'm counting it. Total of 3 pounds. (* I did start watching what I eat and exercising before journaling.) So yeah! Haven't walked yet. But I will.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Fri. Jan. 20

Pre-B- My usual morning coffee same as above.

B- My usual oatmeal and water. Plus another cup of coffee. And 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk.

*Walked 1 mile today in 18 min.. (Didn't walk yesterday. Not going to beat myself up about it. Glad I did it today. Moving on.)

"Danger, Will Robinson!! Danger, Danger!"

No time for lunch. Going to grab an Activia Cherry yogurt w/ a few walnuts and a handful of almonds and water. (Probably my daily blow pop too.) That should hit the spot till I can eat something substantial.

L/snack- a handful of almonds and water (no blow pop).

Later- coffee w/ almond milk.

D- We ordered pizza tonight. I had two slices of thin crust w/ ham, pineapple, mushrooms and black olives. I was hungry enough to eat 4 slices. I'm not kidding. I grabbed another handful of almonds. That helped. Instead of my usual weekly soda (yes, that's one time a week) I just had water. Didn't miss the soda. I finally had my blow pop.

Not a bad day at all.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Sat. Jan. 21

Pre-B- My usual morning coffee same as above.

B- My usual oatmeal and water, except I was heavy handed with the oatmeal this morning. It was at least twice as much as I usually eat. I should have measured. What can I say? I was hungry. There are worse things to be heavy handed with. I'll watch it next time.

Water. Water. Water.

*Walked 1 mile today in 17 min.. This is good for me. I usually have a hard time getting a walk in on the weekend with the kids off from school.

L- Leftovers. Two slices of the pizza from last night. Still very hungry. Where are those almonds? I'm going to have about 20.

Snack- Coffee w/ almond milk, a activia yogurt w/ a few walnuts and a blow pop.

D- Spinach salad same as usual w/ egg, walnuts, hummus, balsamic vinaigrette. Didn't put the cran-raisins in this time. I added feta cheese and some mushrooms. Water to drink.

DH gave me a bowl of no sugar added chocolate silk ice cream. It was a few scoops. Heaven. Yep. A splurge.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Sun. Jan. 22

Pre-B- My usual morning coffee

B- My usual oatmeal and water. Adjusted amount.

L- A sliced Fuji apple w/ pre-measured creamy Jiff (in a To-Go container, man does that look small), about 20 pretzels and 2 tsp hummus. Water. A blow pop.

D- About 4 oz of ham steak, baked beans, green beans (yes it was a beany night) and 1 biscuit w/ a pat of lite margarine. Water to drink. And a blow pop.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Mon. Jan. 23

Pre-B- My coffee

B- My oatmeal and water. Another coffee. Bleary eyed.

L- A smoked turkey sandwich made on the light round multi grain bread, w/ 1/2 a sliced avocado. 1 pkg. Pringles baked wheat cheese sticks (love them!), tastes like a lot of calories and fat, but they aren't. And 1 cherry Activia yogurt w/ walnuts. Water.

Usually when I wait till evening to walk, it's harder to fit in. I'm going to try for tonight. I took the day off yesterday.

Afternoon coffee and a blow pop.

D- Baked rosemary chicken, green beans, diced potatoes. Water to drink. Blow pop.

Tired. Don't feel like walking tonight.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Tue. Jan. 24

Pre-B- My coffee

B- Two hard boiled eggs and water. Breakfast on the go.

L- Starving. Large salad made with spinach & arugula, mushrooms, cran-raisins, a few baby carrots, 2 tsp hummus, walnuts, and about 4 oz. rosemary chicken.

Afternoon 2 blow pops and water

D- A turkey taco salad w/ refried beans, turkey taco mix, lettuce, tomato, black olives, low fat shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, picante sauce all on a flour tortilla. And 1 chips ahoy soft cookie (they are making them really, really small these days).

 

[OceanAnnie]

Wed. Jan. 25

Pre-B- My coffee

B- Two hard boiled eggs, a handful of almonds and water.

**Walked 1 mile in 18 min. today. ** Didn't feel like it, but I did it. Felt better afterwards.

L- Same kind of salad as usual, no meat or egg today. I added raw broccoli, carrots, cauliflower. All my usual stuff. Put a few squirts of raspberry vinaigrette over it. Water to drink.

D- Chicken pot pie made with phyllo dough. It was pretty good. I had a splurge, a cherry turnover w/a scoop of no sugar added vanilla ice cream. It was sinful. I won't lie. So. Back on the wagon I go.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Thurs. Jan. 26

Pre-B- My coffee

B- My oatmeal and water.

L- Leftover chicken pot pie (phyllo dough). Water.

It's been one of those days. I think I'll grab a handful of almonds. I *know* I'm having 2 blow pops later. But no big splurges today.

I bought the cutest little dress the other day. Springy. Cute colors. I have some work to do to fit in it. I usually don't buy an incentive like that, but it was just too cute and I have my goal (in 5 pound increments) in mind.

D- I made turkey burritos with leftover turkey taco mix. It was good. It had kidney beans added to the mix, picante sauce. I rolled the mix into a tortilla and added a slice of cheese on top. We also had steamed broccoli. I made a light cheese sauce for the kids and I ended up with some too. We liked it. Water to drink and a blow pop afterwards. I didn't have almonds earlier in the day. I did have a few after dinner.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Fri. Jan. 27

Pre-B- My coffee

B- My oatmeal and water.

L- I had a small Fuji apple sliced with a Jiff peanut butter to go cup and a side of broccoli slaw. Water to drink.

Afternoon, water and a blow pop

D- 2 slices of Pizza Hut pan pizza w/mushrooms, black olives, and pepperoni. 1 blow pop. Water. Yes, that was a splurge. I usually get thin crust, but DH and I split a pizza and it was a compromise. I am seeing a pattern here. I should have had one slice and some veggies and I'm having too many blow pops.

I walked for 15 minutes -- just shy of a mile.

 

[princesslvr]

Your food options sound really good, I would have never thought about the oatmeal with choc chips and walnuts....mmmm sounds good. What kind of hummus do you eat? I only like the spicy kind, but can't find a good store Version

 

[OceanAnnie]

Your food options sound really good, I would have never thought about the oatmeal with choc chips and walnuts....mmmm sounds good. What kind of hummus do you eat? I only like the spicy kind, but can't find a good store Version

Thanks. Some of the food combinations I picked up from, The Flat Belly Diet. The oatmeal w/ chocolate chips and walnuts idea came from that. The authors of the Flat Belly Diet talk about good fats and bad fats and things like that. They also talk about the importance of getting enough protein too. I like their approach. I try not to look at it as "dieting" but changing the way I eat for the long haul. Which is a total work in progress. It's hard to undo years and years of eating habits, but I'm working on it.

I buy the Sabra brand hummus. I get the classic because that's what the kids like. I have seen others flavors that look good. They do have spicy flavors. I'm going to give some other flavors a try sometime and see if the kids will like it too.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Sat. Jan. 28

Pre-B- My kind of coffee

B- My kind of oatmeal. Water.

L- A cobb salad from Arby's w/balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Great salad. Lots of different things in it. The only thing that I could have done without was the bacon crumbles, but it was good. Water to drink. Two blow pops. The blow pops are 60 calories, 13 gs sugar. The sugar is high, but it isn't much to it. That's what I tell myself anyway.

Rode my bike with the kids for more than an hour. Lost track of time. I'm tired! But it's a good tired. My kind of exercise. Fun! Oh I had a few almonds for a light snack and some water.

D- 1 slice leftover pizza hut pizza. About 1 cup of steam broccoli. Water to drink. Thinking about a blow pop... I nipped the craving in the bud. Brushed my teeth.

 

[princesslvr]

Thanks. Some of the food combinations I picked up from, The Flat Belly Diet. The oatmeal w/ chocolate chips and walnuts idea came from that. The authors of the Flat Belly Diet talk about good fats and bad fats and things like that. They also talk about the importance of getting enough protein too. I like their approach. I try not to look at it as "dieting" but changing the way I eat for the long haul. Which is a total work in progress. It's hard to undo years and years of eating habits, but I'm working on it.

I buy the Sabra brand hummus. I get the classic because that's what the kids like. I have seen others flavors that look good. They do have spicy flavors. I'm going to give some other flavors a try sometime and see if the kids will like it too.

I'll have to see if we have it at our store.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I'll have to see if we have it at our store.

I find the better deal is at BJs. Probably would be true of other warehouse stores too.

 

[BabyTigger99]

Good job on nipping that craving in the bud!! Brushing your teeth is a great way to stop it! I have also found that if I really want to keep away from eating, I will paint my fingernails. Works like a charm!