Working on Weight Loss During Training—New Year New Us!

[Honeibee]

Cozy Shack is evil.


Don’t you think those Cozy Shack puddings and flan are so good!?!? I sure do. So when I stopped at the grocery store Monday night to pick up fat-free milk and fat-free half and half I saw the Cozy Shack rice pudding and grabbed one and stuck it in the cart.

Tuesday I took a tiny bit in my lunch.

But last night when I got home, I saw it in the fridge and thought “Ohhh yum! Let me have a little.”

Uh hu. When I finished the entire container and went to throw it out, I noticed it said “Servings Per Container: 6”

OMG! I ATE SIX SERVINGS OF RICE PUDDING IN ONE DAY!

And let’s not forget that little bag of Vienna Cremes I had in the afternoon.

I had a “pudding epiphany” last night.

I have to stop.

I think I was born overweight. There is a picture of me when I just learned to walk. I look like a Michelin baby. I’d scan it and show it to you but I am nekkid and I think there are rules about posting pictures like that on the DIS. I was always an overweight kid, who grew into an overweight adult. I still have those “Michelin” rolls, but they are not so cute anymore.

So they have to go.

Three years ago my DH and I did WW at home. I had been to many many MANY meetings. I would give up, stop going, start going again. But we did it together and I lost 32 pounds! I was thrilled! I have since gained 25 back. 12 alone since last October.

In training for the Half marathon last fall, when I started doing longer L/Rs I would get RAVENOUS! Sometimes it was like “I have GOT to eat!” So I would. And would. And would.

The thing is, I think I know what I should be doing. I just can’t figure out why I don’t do it. I was considering going to WW meetings again, but they are on Saturday mornings near me and that is when I do my L/Rs. Plus I know Id just go and it would be the same pattern again.

So this time I am going to meet with a dietician. When I was in the hospital for my foot surgery three weeks ago I took a pamphlet about their consultation services. Maybe we can look at my issues: Being a vegetarian, being an “adult onset endurance athlete”, being perimenopausal.

Anyway, here I am. I need to be accountable.

And I need to stay away from the Cozy Shack puddings!

 

[keenercam]

Wow, Judy! There is so much in your post I can relate to. And yes, my parents used to joke about how there is a picture of me in a high chair at 6 months of age with a meatbal in one hand and a sausage in the other and tomato sauce all over my face. Can you imagine? Today, that would result in a call to Child Protective Services. Back then, it was "oh,what a cute Italian baby girl!" I know that the pictures of what I looked like as a child and even perhaps into my teenage years should not make me feel THAT bad; there's only so much control a child or young teen has over their food choices.

The reality is -- I'm an adult. There is LITERALLY no one in this world besides me who is responsible for what I put in my mouth. While, in fact, I do not believe that it is a simple matter of math related to calories taken in and calories burned (my body just doesn't respond that way), there is in fact SOME correlation. I know that I could NEVER work out enough to make up for the huge quantities of food I sometimes realize I have taken in on a given day. And you're right, the days I do my LRs and sometimes even the day after, I find that I am ravenous and in the back of my mind, I justify the volume I am eating by thinking of the calories I've burned. And now, the sad reality. We MUST not eat the calories we've burned! Not if we want to lose weight. UGH! Why is is so hard for me to LIVE that?

The morning after I returned from vacation, the scale said I was up 9.2 pounds!!!! I assured myself that a lot of that was due to eating chinese buffet the night we got back into town and all the sodium I'd taken in during vacation. I really thought the weight would quickly drop off, especially with doing 12 miles Saturday. And when that didnt' happen quickly? I consoled myself with food the remainder of Saturday and all of Sunday. How ridiculous is it to let myself watch the scale go up 2 MORE pounds!!! Oh, yeah, there was another outing to the movies complete with popcorn and pretzel bites shared with a friend. And then chinese for lunch.

What a wakeup call. I still have the eating habits of a morbidly obese person. Given my druthers, I'd fall right back into those old patterns of eating too much, even if the foods themselves arent' that bad. Oh, and eating at night, even as late as midnight. Yes, I am compulsive. I have to face that this is a struggle I will have all my life and that I must be disciplined every single day. Easier said than done, though.

So, Monday was my first day back on WW and I ended up eating 4.5 points over but had earned 2 at the gym.

Yesterday, I was 2 points over and figured I'd earned 2 APs doing the elliptical 30 minutes.

What I did right yesterday? I drank 115 oz of water and I didn't eat anything after dinner. I wrote down every bite and I weighed every single thing I put in my mouth. It was a rude awakening to realize the chicken I'd thought was probably about 3 oz was 5 oz. And 2 oz of uncooked whole wheat pasta is the right serving size. NOT 5 oz. And every single one of those calories and every single one of those points counts. Your body has a very long memory. It is clingy and dependent. Dependent on you for food as fuel and clingy to whatever you give it.

Okay, so I've learned a lot. And this morning my scale showed me as up 4 pounds from before vacation. My goal is to get it all off before I leave for my half marathon next Friday. I am not lugging even one extra pound 13.1 miles if I can get rid of it before then.

Thank you for letting me vent.

And Judy, thank you for being so candid. It really helps me to know I am not alone in the struggle and reminds me that we should all be supporting each other AND holding each other accountable.

 

[windwalker]

Judy, Beautiful and Merciful Queen of the court of "YARC". Your loyal subjects are ready to support you in your quest for the smaller waist line. Just remember your waist measurement is not a measure of your worth.

What has worked for me is to cut out all fried foods, (except at Disney World) and all creamed sauses. Then get in at least 20 miles of walking a week.

Can't wait to meet you at the ToT. With the luck I have been having lately I bought a lottery ticket for tonights drawing. Should I win, we will have a Queen's chair carried on the shoulders of 4 cabana boys to take you through the race.

Dave

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Hi Guys!

This is an odd post for me -- I think I'm sort of looking for permission to decide to walk instead of trying to run the Half. I have been looking at what I can realistically do, and I think I can walk it, but I don't think running can happen. Plus, I generally run at a speed that is slower than most people walk...it just seems like I should consider walking and finishing, rather than running and getting swept -- I think I'll end up walking anyway, so it seems like it would be better to train for what I'm going to do -- does this make sense?

I'm really torn because I want to be a runner, but I just don't think I can make it happen with the body I have now. I'm so confused...

Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Maria

 

[Cindylou]

Hi Everyone,

Judy: The Cozy Shack Tapioca is my favorite. I can easily eat 6 servings in a day. I'm glad you are going to see a dietician. Hopefully she/he can help you figure out the right foods to eat to fuel yourself properly. Let us know if it's helpful. I've been considering the same thing. There's a woman near me who coaches nutrition for athletes. (www.bostonhealthcoach.com) She has some great free resources - it's worth a look. She does private consults, but it's really expensive. I've been trying to figure out if I can justify the cost. (If I'd stop buying Cozy Shack and other goodies, I could probably afford a visit.) Lots of luck to you.

Cam: It is so easy to fall back into your bad eating habits. And I guess it's true it's something that we'll have to deal with for the rest of our lives. It doesn't seem fair, but it could always be worse I suppose. Good luck losing your vacation weight before your race this weekend.

Maria: What have you been doing for your training? Walking, running or a combo? I think finishing should be your first priority no matter how you do it. I understand wanting to run it so maybe a run/walk combo will be enough for you to feel like you ran a marathon. You still have a long time to train before January. Can you try to run/walk for the next 6 weeks and if you decide then that you won't stay ahead of the sweepers then switch your training to walking? Just my thoughts. Good luck.

Dave: Did you win the lottery? When I started planning my Disney trip I bought a couple of scratch tickets to pay for the trip. It hasn't worked out for me so far.

I only gained 3 lbs on my vacation which is a shock. Since I gave myself permision to not count points I started eating cookies for breakfast and went downhill from there. I did get a lot of exercise so I'm sure that helped, but I felt tired and moody for most of the vacation. I'm sure it was from all the junk I was putting in my body. I've been home since Saturday, but still haven't started eating well yet. I went grocery shopping today so I now have a lot of healthy foods in the house so will start back counting points tomorrow. I have a goal of getting back to my wedding weight by my 10th Anniversary which is a month away. That means I'll have to lose 9 lbs this month. I'm not sure it's possible, but I really want to give it a try.

Have a good night everyone.
Cindy

 

[windwalker]

Hi Guys!

This is an odd post for me -- I think I'm sort of looking for permission to decide to walk instead of trying to run the Half. I have been looking at what I can realistically do, and I think I can walk it, but I don't think running can happen. Plus, I generally run at a speed that is slower than most people walk...it just seems like I should consider walking and finishing, rather than running and getting swept -- I think I'll end up walking anyway, so it seems like it would be better to train for what I'm going to do -- does this make sense?

I'm really torn because I want to be a runner, but I just don't think I can make it happen with the body I have now. I'm so confused...

Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Maria

Maria, walking is a different sport than running. Being a walker doesn't make you a lesser athlete or a cripple or a loser or a whuss or even lazy.

You owe it to your self to do what you do best, and it sounds like that is walking. Take it from me and Wendy and Robert. Being a good walker is way better than being a lousy and often injured runner.

I would love to have been able to be a champion runner or even a good runner. But over 30 years of running I was never able to be more than a mid-packer. As a walker I'm a condender to win a walk race when I enter one. I always win something. I have a bunch of trophies from walking but never got a thing running except tired.

The choice is yours and yours alone, I know how hard the decision can be. I been there done that and got the T-Shirt.

Dave

 

[windwalker]

Cindy if we could stop buying the junk food we wouldn't need to talk to a diet expert.

Nope the lottery was a complete bust. I bought a 5 line powerball with the power play option and didn't get one dang number.

We can do this without outside help. When the time comes it will happen. You just have to decide it's time.

There is a Tim McGraw song, "How bad do you want it". The words to that kinda sum it up.

Dave

 

[Minnie]

Do any of you believe in fate???? After getting up my courage and stepping on the scale Friday and finding my highest weight ever (guess that's the reason the jeans were so darn tight ) I purged the kitchen this weekend and Sunday went shopping for the right foods. Today was my first day back on the wagon

Then I happened to stop by this thread to see if anyone has posted and OMG soooo many of us are in a similar place and posted on or nearly on the same day

I am so thankful to have this group of wonderfully supportive individuals I know that if we commit to stopping here and posting the good or bad that happened we can do this together!!!!!

 

[Honeibee]

Ohhh, Dave's quoting my man Tim. I knew I liked you, Dave! So no lottery, eh? Guess I can throw out this list of potential cabana boys. And what a coincidence! Tim just so happened to be on that list!

I told Cam I was going to lose five pounds this week....Charlie and I started WW yesterday morning. And this morning I am down 1.8 pounds. Not a bad start, eh? OK, let me not get all cocky over this. But considering I have "started" WW more times than I can count and haven't made it thru an entire day...yesterday was a great accomplishment for me.

So far, Day Two had been pretty good. Maybe I'm on a roll here. Hey, maybe I can get rid of a few rolls here!

Oh brother.

 

[keenercam]

to everyone who is back on the wagon and valiantly fighting to stay there!
I am so glad to have you guys to help me. Even when I am not posting here, I am thinking of what we all share.

Yesterday was a very good WW day for me:
B: coffee w/skim milk
L: steamed cauliflower; garden salad w/3.5 oz grilled chicken & FF dressing; fresh tomatoes w/salt & pepper
S: apple; banana
D: 4.5 oz grilled chicken & 1 wedge laughing cow cheese on lite multigrain muffin; steamed cauliflower; 1 serving mini pretzels
dessert: hostess 100 calorie mini chocolate cupcakes; 6 dark chocolate m&m's

That was a LOT of food for 19 WW points.
Exercise -- 60 minutes treadmill

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Hi Guys!

Thank you so much for all the support. I know there is no shame and great honor in being a walker -- I just thought that since I said I was going to run, that's what I should do. I've been running on the TM, but I have to run/walk outside. Lately, I can't even seem to do that. It's hard to run/walk inside because if I play with the speed too much on my TM, it's not pretty. I'm still confused, but I'm going to try straight walking and see how I do. I am really trying for consistency at this point.

Cam -- You had an awesome WW day! You are doing great! I still haven't gotten consistent with the crunches and push-ups. I definitely have a goal to work on there.

Honeibee -- Like you, I start WW waaaaayy to often...I think this time is your charm!

Minnie -- Purging the kitchen is a wonderful start, you go girl!

Dave -- Thank you for the benefit of your wisdom. I do have problems with knee pain when I start to run with any consistency, and I think I'm going to have to be honest with myself and do what works for me. DH is definitely running the Half, and that was also driving me -- I wanted to do it with him, even though I can't begin to keep up with him. He's just going to have to hang out and wait for me.

Today I'm doing well w/food. I had honey nut Cheerios for breakfast, a kashi bar for a snack, tomato/mozzarella salad and WW yogurt for lunch. I have grapes for my afternoon snack. Tonight we are having chicken breast with rice for dinner, and I'll follow that with 100 cal Chessmen for dessert. I'm also going to plot it all into Sparkpeople and cross my fingers I'm in my calorie range.

I also went for a short walk w/a co-worker to get her lunch. It was a good half hour, at a decent pace.

I am going for a walk before dinner! I'm actually looking forward to it, which is something I haven't been able to say in awhile.

I'm so glad we're all working together!
Maria

 

[keenercam]

Maria -- I am so glad you got good advice here about walking instead of trying to run. I agree 1000% with everything you've read here. I "resigned" myself a long time ago to not being a runner, but have found that my walking pace is improving so much that many of my miles are faster than I can run anyway. I think there is a lot to be said for doing what you are comfortable with, that doesn't cause your body stress or injury, and most importantly, what you'll enjoy. If you dread your workouts, you won't do them!

I just wanted to thank everyone here for the support. I really do want to be accountable and not "there-there'd" when I have bad day after bad day. Lunch today was a huge temptation because it turned into a business lunch with many not-so-healthy options. I really did think of you guys and this thread and decided it was more important to me to get through one more meal successfully than to "cave." I keep telling myself that I just have to get through "this meal" in a way that I can be proud of. Just one meal at a time. Now, when it would be so easy to hit the vending machine I am going to do "one more meal" right and have some microwave popcorn. On the way to the gym, I'll eat a banana and/or an apple and/or a plum. (See, I figure if I tell you I am going to do it, I have to be good and stick to the plan! )

 

[Cindylou]

Good Morning Everyone,

I'm glad to see that so many of us are back at it.

Judy: Congratulations on making it through the first day of WW. I'm sure you know that once you get a streak of a few days going it gets a bit easier. I'm glad that your DH is doing this with you. It makes it easier to share the misery, oh I mean to eat healthy together.

Cam: Good job on such healthy choices. Glad you didn't cave at lunchtime. It really is about just taking one meal at a time.

Maria: Nice job on your meal plan. I'm glad you are looking forward to your walk.

Dave: Sorry no lottery winnings. I guess your raise will have to suffice.

I have successfully completed 1 day back on WW. It's been a few weeks so it feels good. Yesterday seemed OK. Today I am ravenous. I brought lots of fruit with me today so hopefully that will fill me up a bit.

Have a great day everyone.
Cindy

 

[windwalker]

Good morning everyone.

It's another hot one today so I'm still trying to decide if it's 4 miles on the hills or an interval workout on the treadmill. Either way a dip in the pool is in order.

Everyone do good and keep to your plans today. You are so worth the effort.

Dave

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Good Morning, Everyone!

I'm off to a good start today. I did my crunches and push-ups when I got up, and I had cream of wheat for breakfast. I packed a LC for lunch, with grape tomatoes and sugar snap peas. I have WW yogurt for dessert, and a Kashi bar for my morning snack. I am on my way to a healthy day. That's 12 WW pts for those of you keeping track. Now all I have to do is have a sensible dinner...I don't even know how many points I should have on their new system. I try to follow WW, but I haven't been to a meeting in years. I just don't do as well with the group thing. I'm also on Sparkpeople, so I do get a calorie count there.

My walk really felt good. I was going at 4.0 mph, which is a good clip for me. I just felt free -- I think you know what I mean. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted since I wasn't trying to run. For the first time in a long time, I felt capable of doing what I asked my body to accomplish.

Dave -- As always, thanks so much for the encouragement! I hope your workout, whatever you decide to do, is energizing!

Cindy -- Congrats on the one day on WW! It does feel good to get started again!

Cam -- You are so right about not doing the workouts you dread! I had really slacked off on the running because I just didn't want to do it. I know it is good for me and weight loss, but it was just not a good fit. I hope to one day be able to run a little so I can do some combo-type thing, but being honest with myself, my body is not ready to try a long race running. I am glad I figured this out before all the time to train passed and it was race day, and I was completely unprepared...

Judy -- How is today going? Are you planning your meals? That really helps me, I just have trouble with dinner and the hours after...

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!
Maria

 

[Minnie]

Good morning everyone -

Just have time for a drive by but I promised myself that I'd post so here it is. I'll try to get back later to check in with everyone.

Today is the beginning of day 3 back on plan. I've managed to stick to it although I definitely have been eating too many nuts. On SBD I tend to eat too many of them and need to figure out an alternative snack.

This was yesterday's meal:
B - yogurt & kashi bar
L - mixed green salad and a SBD wrap entree
S - nuts
S - kashi bar
S - yogurt
D - shepherds pie with mock cauliflower mashed instead of potatoes
D - chocolate ricotta creme

All on plan but too many snacks. Need to do better there. Also, I didn't exercise as it was soooo hot. Need to do something about that too.

My best to everyone! and for an on plan day!!!!

 

[getnthinr]

Wow, I must admit I haven't really checked out this thread (though Lord knows I should have!) and after reading the last two pages of posts, I'm really wishing I'd have been following it for the last few months.

Judy and Cam have experienced (and expressed so well) so many of the frustrations I've had with my own weight loss struggles. Honestly, I had sort of tabled the issue and focused on training, but I really don't want to return to Disney for Goofy 2008 as fat as I am now. Dragging all those pounds around can't be good for my joints -- and it most certainly isn't good for my pace! I've had more than one expert tell me that I could get faster simply by virtue of not lugging all this weight around.

Next week I have to return to the doc for some blood work. She said she was giving me 6 months to lose some weight and get my blood pressure and blood sugar down. So when did I start getting serious about weight loss after her threat??? Well, about the time I started typing this post.

Weight loss is hard, but it can be done. (I should know -- I have done it before! )

So now I am saying before God and everyone (in my best Scarlett-O'Hara-silhouetted-against-the-sky-shaking-her-fist-in-the-air impression):
I will not go back to Disney this fat again! I am not going to lug 80 extra pounds around all those miles! I may not lose it all, but I am going to lose some of this. It's time to kick some fat to the curb!

Would you let me join you?

 

[Honeibee]

Hello everyone -

Thank you all for your kind words and support. Yesterday was tough as we had a pizza party at work, and they had home made brownies and one of those huge chocolate chip cookies with frosting all over it. Like right there are three of my favorite things! But I didn't have anything except a glass of diet soda. I ate my WW approved lunch and chatted with everyone then left. I can't say it was easy but I did it. That pizza sure looked good though.

I think I had too much sodium at dinner last night. That combined with all the water I am drinking resulted in a loss of only 2/10 of a pound. Well, any progress is good progress, although after being so virtuous all day I was hoping for something more.

Cindy - Ha ha ha! "the misery".

Maria - I have to plan ahead! I can't trust myself to do this "on the fly"!

 

[keenercam]

Minnie -- I am so glad to see you posting here and doing so well. I have been worried about you and wasn't sure if you needed "tough love" or a "tomorrow is a new start" speech. But I see you have found the strength within yourself to get back on track. 3 days is awesome! Be proud of yourself but don't cut yourself any slack if you are anything like me. As soon as I get off track for one day it is so hard to get back to it. Let's get a streak going, what do you say?

I am really encouraged by all the great posts here. You guys are my heroes and my inspiration. Those of us who post here who know what the weight struggle is all about can relate to everything that is posted here at one time or another. Right now, I am having to re-orient myself as if I were starting my weight loss journey at this weight. I have to stop thinking of the 70 pounds I have already lost. Stop resting on those laurels. Stop being complacent about how much better off I am than where I was. Yes, all that is very nice but I am not done yet. I have a long way to go, and like Wendy, I am sure as heck NOT GOING BACK TO DISNEY this fat!!! Heck, I have a race in just 10 weeks or so. I AM going to lose at least 10 pounds before I go. I hate to set weight loss goals because it seems my body doesn't know that reduced calories should mean reduced number on the scale.

But, there it is. My plan. Lose at least 10 pounds before Tower of Terror. In fact, my goal is to lose 10 pounds by September 30. I think I'll go make myself a ticker. I you guys!

 

[getnthinr]

I AM going to lose at least 10 pounds before I go. I hate to set weight loss goals because it seems my body doesn't know that reduced calories should mean reduced number on the scale.

But, there it is. My plan. Lose at least 10 pounds before Tower of Terror. In fact, my goal is to lose 10 pounds by September 30. I think I'll go make myself a ticker. I you guys!

A sensible and achievable concrete goal! You go girl! (Love the new ticker!)