Too exhausted to write a real post...I just finished my Shakespeare paper and I am totally drained. That was a total BEAST of a paper. But it's done now! I'll come back and post today's food sometime tomorrow but I just don't have it in me right now! All I can think about is jumping in the shower and snuggling under the covers and gettting some well-earned sleep.
Then we'll be on to week two! I didn't sit down and plot out my meals like I intended this weekend, so hopefully I'll have a chance to do that tomorrow. Got to get some fun recipes in so I can take pictures! Hooray!
Hope you guys are doing great. Love you!
Oh yeah, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
P.S. Apology to the Hesters! I totally meant to stop by and say hey today, but I got into panic mode about this paper and ended up getting up early to come back and finish it. Next time I'm up there, I promise to come visit! Hope you guys are doing well!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Day Nine
So it's going to be another brief entry. We are, once again, watching scary movies, and I'm enjoying my last night of freedom before I have to return to reality tomorrow and finish off my Shakespeare paper. We had another good day...making it a pretty GREAT weekend considering the way Ginny and I usually behave foodwise when we get together. Ginny's mom even ordered pizza, and we didn't touch it!
I also realized how easy it is to make a salad totally unhealthy. We went to Chick-fil-a and I got a salad for lunch, and got ranch & spicy dressing (as is my habit...the spicy is too hot on its own, so I mix it with the ranch) only to discover that each packet of dressing has 15g of fat!! So I've got to be reeeaaallly careful about that.
Anyways, food for today was:
Breakfast
Omelette w/ spinach, goat cheese, and pepperoni - 226
Morning Star veggie sausage - 160
Lunch
Chick-fil-a chargrilled chicken salad - 350
Dinner
Salad w/ tomatoes, feta, turkey pepperoni, olives, and olive/vinegar dressing - 288 (we got hooked on this salad over the weekend!)
Non-fat Greek yogurt - 140
Snacks
Brown cow jr - 80
Total: 1544
Doing much better with snacking this weekend!
I also realized how easy it is to make a salad totally unhealthy. We went to Chick-fil-a and I got a salad for lunch, and got ranch & spicy dressing (as is my habit...the spicy is too hot on its own, so I mix it with the ranch) only to discover that each packet of dressing has 15g of fat!! So I've got to be reeeaaallly careful about that.
Anyways, food for today was:
Breakfast
Omelette w/ spinach, goat cheese, and pepperoni - 226
Morning Star veggie sausage - 160
Lunch
Chick-fil-a chargrilled chicken salad - 350
Dinner
Salad w/ tomatoes, feta, turkey pepperoni, olives, and olive/vinegar dressing - 288 (we got hooked on this salad over the weekend!)
Non-fat Greek yogurt - 140
Snacks
Brown cow jr - 80
Total: 1544
Doing much better with snacking this weekend!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Day Eight
So it's officially been a week! And, of course, today was just about my worst day food-wise of the week. I mean, I didn't violate South Beach in any way, but I did go one calorie over my 1700. I blame it on going out to eat for lunch (we went to Panera), so the food was a little less healthy than it would have been had I made it at home. Also, I had some sneaky chicken salad Ginny brought from Harris Teeter that turned out to be like 300 calories per serving. Plus a coffee from Starbucks and I was done for. Lesson for today: making stuff at home gives you a lot more control over what you're eating!
But I did 30 minutes of DDR (Dance Dance Revolution - a video game where you exercise), probably my best workout of the week, fulfilling my goal of 4x per week! I think I'm going to try to make it five next week. Like I've said, I always feel better on the days I've exercised.
Anyways, it's going to be a short post today...Ginny and I are watching scary movies (No candy! Yay us!), so I'm going to get back to that. But here's the eating rundown for today...
Breakfast
Spinach and feta cheese omelette - 191
Morningstar veggie sausage - 160
Lunch
Salad w/ bbq chicken (half of half size) - approx 190
Creamy tomato soup - 300 (yikes...there's part of my downfall!)
Dinner
Salad w/ spinach, tomato, feta cheese, turkey pepperoni, olives and oil/vinegar dressing - approx 270
Chicken salad - 300 (another part of the downfall! I didn't realize how many calories it had until I looked it up...chicken salad is supposed to be healthy!)
Snacks
2 Snow cream stix - 90
Starbucks nonfat pumpkin spice latte - 200 (and the final part of the downfall equation...dang Starbucks!)
Total: 1701 (one calorie over? Really? REALLY?!)
Thanks again you guys! Your comments really keep me going. Love y'all!
But I did 30 minutes of DDR (Dance Dance Revolution - a video game where you exercise), probably my best workout of the week, fulfilling my goal of 4x per week! I think I'm going to try to make it five next week. Like I've said, I always feel better on the days I've exercised.
Anyways, it's going to be a short post today...Ginny and I are watching scary movies (No candy! Yay us!), so I'm going to get back to that. But here's the eating rundown for today...
Breakfast
Spinach and feta cheese omelette - 191
Morningstar veggie sausage - 160
Lunch
Salad w/ bbq chicken (half of half size) - approx 190
Creamy tomato soup - 300 (yikes...there's part of my downfall!)
Dinner
Salad w/ spinach, tomato, feta cheese, turkey pepperoni, olives and oil/vinegar dressing - approx 270
Chicken salad - 300 (another part of the downfall! I didn't realize how many calories it had until I looked it up...chicken salad is supposed to be healthy!)
Snacks
2 Snow cream stix - 90
Starbucks nonfat pumpkin spice latte - 200 (and the final part of the downfall equation...dang Starbucks!)
Total: 1701 (one calorie over? Really? REALLY?!)
Thanks again you guys! Your comments really keep me going. Love y'all!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Day Seven
Day Seven! It's been a pretty good day, especially because it's fall break! I'm up in Asheville w/ Ginny...we just had a groundbreaking grocery trip. Instead of going out to eat or ordering pizza, we went to the grocery store and bought a bunch of healthy stuff, then made salad for dinner. That's REAL progress for us! It felt great.
Also I weighed in this morning, since I knew I'd be up here and wouldn't have my scale with me for my official Friday weigh in and I lost...
drum roll please...
THREE POUNDS!!!
That's right! One week, three pounds! It's probably mostly water weight, but who cares, it's so great to see the scale move down! It's great to have confirmation that what I'm doing is working.
So we're going to try to keep the healthy thing up all weekend. Ginny and I are committed to do some exercise tomorrow, maybe go for a hike or something fun. That will make my fourth exercise day for the week!
This is what I ate today...
Breakfast
1 hard-boiled egg - 70
Multigrain Cheerios - 110
Lunch
20 almonds - 150
2 Slim Jims - 80
(I was in the car on the way up here so I brought snacky things)
Dinner
Salad w/ spinach, tomatoes, olives, feta cheese, and turkey pepperoni (w/ olive & vinegar dressing) - 258
2 slices of turkey - 50
2 slices of ham - 55
1 slice havarti cheese - 80
(Ginny brought home subs from work, so I ate the stuff in the middle)
Snacks
Snow cream pop - 50
10 Turkey pepperoni - 40
V8 juice - 30
Non-fat Greek Yogurt - 140
Total: 1113
So far so good! Lindsey, your gum suggestion has worked wonders...especially in the car today! I usually get extreme munchie feeling on car rides, but I just kept popping gum and I did fine without my usual fast food pit stop. So yay!
Love you all! You guys are the BEST!
Also I weighed in this morning, since I knew I'd be up here and wouldn't have my scale with me for my official Friday weigh in and I lost...
drum roll please...
THREE POUNDS!!!
That's right! One week, three pounds! It's probably mostly water weight, but who cares, it's so great to see the scale move down! It's great to have confirmation that what I'm doing is working.
So we're going to try to keep the healthy thing up all weekend. Ginny and I are committed to do some exercise tomorrow, maybe go for a hike or something fun. That will make my fourth exercise day for the week!
This is what I ate today...
Breakfast
1 hard-boiled egg - 70
Multigrain Cheerios - 110
Lunch
20 almonds - 150
2 Slim Jims - 80
(I was in the car on the way up here so I brought snacky things)
Dinner
Salad w/ spinach, tomatoes, olives, feta cheese, and turkey pepperoni (w/ olive & vinegar dressing) - 258
2 slices of turkey - 50
2 slices of ham - 55
1 slice havarti cheese - 80
(Ginny brought home subs from work, so I ate the stuff in the middle)
Snacks
Snow cream pop - 50
10 Turkey pepperoni - 40
V8 juice - 30
Non-fat Greek Yogurt - 140
Total: 1113
So far so good! Lindsey, your gum suggestion has worked wonders...especially in the car today! I usually get extreme munchie feeling on car rides, but I just kept popping gum and I did fine without my usual fast food pit stop. So yay!
Love you all! You guys are the BEST!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Day Six
Not really in the mood to write right now (been working on Shakespeare paper all afternoon) but I need to do it before I get too sleepy!
It was a pretty uneventful day. I know, great way to start, right? Let's see...I went to class. Came home. Messed around a bit. Buckled down and worked on Shakespeare paper. Realized it's 8:00 and I'd better start writing about day 6! I need make sure I do at least one exciting thing per day, just so I can have something to write about. :) We were supposed to go to the UGA campus ghost tour tonight, but it was cancelled because we're under a tornado watch. Alas! But Friday is our fall break and I'm headed up to Asheville for some vacay! So I'm trying to get as much done as I can before then. Wait...I think I've explained this already. Anyway...
Food was pretty unremarkable today too, although I did make a pretty tasty salad for lunch. Oooh here's something - I hard-boiled eggs for the first time today! Very exciting. I put them on the salad, and it was yummy.
It's weird, my appetite seems to have kind of petered out over the last couple of days. I mean, I get hungry, but food is not as big of a deal to me or something. Maybe the structure of South Beach helps me not think about it so much? I don't really expect it to last, but it's nice for now!
Okay, I have a confession to make. I'm going up to see Ginny this weekend, as you all know, and our annual tradition at Halloween is to grab one or two bags of candy and a few scary movies and indulge in some trick 'r treat nostalgia. I've been debating what to do about it all week, because I know it won't be as much fun without the candy, but I know it's not going to look good on the calorie count when I have to post it on here. I was thinking of a compromise...getting candy, but making healthier choices, grabbing something sugar or fat free and then dividing it into servings so I don't eat too much. After all, I'm not going to be on a diet forever, and I was thinking it would be a good way to help train myself not to overindulge. Is it bad to have a splurge day every now and then? I don't know. I'm kind of torn about it. I don't think it will throw me off track or anything, so long as I approach it in a thoughtful, intentional manner and then go right back to South Beach the next day. What do you guys think?
Anyway, here's what I ate today...
Breakfast
Multigrain Cheerios - 110
Non-fat Greek Yogurt w/ Blueberries - 140
(I know, same thing again...I'm waiting for my silicone baking cups to arrive so I can start making South Beach egg cups for weekday breakfasts)
Lunch:
Spinach, tomato, avocado, and egg salad w/ dressing - 290
Dinner
15 almonds - 94
Non-fat Greek Yogurt, Vanilla - 120
(I haven't really eaten dinner yet, so this is just what I've had so far)
Snacks
2 Slim Jims - 80
Cottage cheese - 180
Brown cow jr - 80
Total: 1094
Kind of low again. It's because I haven't planned dinner ahead. Must get better about that next week! My goal is to set aside some time this weekend to plan out all meals for next week. I know it will help me a lot.
No pictures today, sorry! My salad was pretty, but after I put the dressing on and mixed it up it looked kind of ugly. Next time!
You guys are incredible! Your support has made this sooooo much easier on me. Love you bunches!
It was a pretty uneventful day. I know, great way to start, right? Let's see...I went to class. Came home. Messed around a bit. Buckled down and worked on Shakespeare paper. Realized it's 8:00 and I'd better start writing about day 6! I need make sure I do at least one exciting thing per day, just so I can have something to write about. :) We were supposed to go to the UGA campus ghost tour tonight, but it was cancelled because we're under a tornado watch. Alas! But Friday is our fall break and I'm headed up to Asheville for some vacay! So I'm trying to get as much done as I can before then. Wait...I think I've explained this already. Anyway...
Food was pretty unremarkable today too, although I did make a pretty tasty salad for lunch. Oooh here's something - I hard-boiled eggs for the first time today! Very exciting. I put them on the salad, and it was yummy.
It's weird, my appetite seems to have kind of petered out over the last couple of days. I mean, I get hungry, but food is not as big of a deal to me or something. Maybe the structure of South Beach helps me not think about it so much? I don't really expect it to last, but it's nice for now!
Okay, I have a confession to make. I'm going up to see Ginny this weekend, as you all know, and our annual tradition at Halloween is to grab one or two bags of candy and a few scary movies and indulge in some trick 'r treat nostalgia. I've been debating what to do about it all week, because I know it won't be as much fun without the candy, but I know it's not going to look good on the calorie count when I have to post it on here. I was thinking of a compromise...getting candy, but making healthier choices, grabbing something sugar or fat free and then dividing it into servings so I don't eat too much. After all, I'm not going to be on a diet forever, and I was thinking it would be a good way to help train myself not to overindulge. Is it bad to have a splurge day every now and then? I don't know. I'm kind of torn about it. I don't think it will throw me off track or anything, so long as I approach it in a thoughtful, intentional manner and then go right back to South Beach the next day. What do you guys think?
Anyway, here's what I ate today...
Breakfast
Multigrain Cheerios - 110
Non-fat Greek Yogurt w/ Blueberries - 140
(I know, same thing again...I'm waiting for my silicone baking cups to arrive so I can start making South Beach egg cups for weekday breakfasts)
Lunch:
Spinach, tomato, avocado, and egg salad w/ dressing - 290
Dinner
15 almonds - 94
Non-fat Greek Yogurt, Vanilla - 120
(I haven't really eaten dinner yet, so this is just what I've had so far)
Snacks
2 Slim Jims - 80
Cottage cheese - 180
Brown cow jr - 80
Total: 1094
Kind of low again. It's because I haven't planned dinner ahead. Must get better about that next week! My goal is to set aside some time this weekend to plan out all meals for next week. I know it will help me a lot.
No pictures today, sorry! My salad was pretty, but after I put the dressing on and mixed it up it looked kind of ugly. Next time!
You guys are incredible! Your support has made this sooooo much easier on me. Love you bunches!
Pictures!
I finally got my connector, so now my posts have pictures! Go back through and look if you're interested. :)
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Day Five
Wow, it's almost been a full week! Doesn't seem like it's been that long. Everything has been going pretty smoothly today...Karlee and I didn't get around to our walk, since it was 82 in Athens today and we just couldn't bring ourselves get out and get all sweaty. Plus she has a bad cold and wasn't really in the mood. So I danced it out again for about 25 minutes while I was waiting for the chicken and eggplant casserole to cook (yes! I finally made it! But more about that later) and it felt great! Luckily Karlee was at chapter so she wasn't around to witness my total lack of rhythm.
I failed to walk to or from Biology today like I intended to. :( Again, I blame the heat. Plus it's kind of a haul. With lots of hills. But I'm going to keep working on it! I'm determined to do at least one week where I don't ride the bus before the semester is over.
Morale is still high, though. I had a fair amount of munchie feeling today (and even started eyeing Karlee's Butterfingers dangerously) but resisted without too much trouble. Like I mentioned, it really helps to be in class for the first half of the day, because I don't think about food at all until I'm actually hungry. I need to find a better take-along snack for Tuesdays and Thursdays when I'm on campus until 2. Today I brought Slim Jims (a suggestion I found for low carb snacks on some website), but they're really greasy and don't make me feel good afterwards like the other stuff I've been eating. So I've got to do away with those.
As for the chicken and eggplant casserole...FAIL. Not that I didn't make it right - it was really quite pretty and smelled good. But I just didn't like it. Too many mushy things. I have a food texture issue, lol. I even put myself through chopping up an onion (my eyes were burning and I had tears streaming down my face pretty much instantly) and it just wasn't that good. Now I have a whole casserole dish of food I probably won't eat. Sigh. I hate wasting food. Another one of my eating problems :) But at least I learned that I don't mind eggplant too much! Here are some pictures...
Also, a random observation: with carbs (mostly) out of my life, I find myself using the fridge much more often than the pantry. Hmmmm.
So this was the menu for today:
Breakfast
Multigrain Cheerios (don't judge me!) - 110
Non-fat Greek yogurt w/ blueberries - 140 (I'm addicted to this stuff. So good!)
Lunch
2 slices of turkey - 50
10 turkey pepperoni - 41
A sprinkling of cheddar cheese - 40
Raw broccoli - 30
Dinner
Few bites of chicken and eggplant casserole - approx. 50
Non-fat Greek yogurt w/ honey - 140 (Told you. Addicted.)
Snacks
Sugar-free Brown Cow Jr - 80 (I only had one today!)
Handful of almonds - 70
Light string cheese - 50
2 Slim Jims - 80
Total: 881
Yikes. That doesn't seem like enough. But I'm not hungry...trust me, I'm not one to starve myself. Maybe I'll have some V8 juice before bed, just so my stomach doesn't start growling in the middle of the night! :)
Now I'm going to get all cozy in bed to watch Glee before I have to go to sleep. Thanks again, guys, I love all of you!
I failed to walk to or from Biology today like I intended to. :( Again, I blame the heat. Plus it's kind of a haul. With lots of hills. But I'm going to keep working on it! I'm determined to do at least one week where I don't ride the bus before the semester is over.
Morale is still high, though. I had a fair amount of munchie feeling today (and even started eyeing Karlee's Butterfingers dangerously) but resisted without too much trouble. Like I mentioned, it really helps to be in class for the first half of the day, because I don't think about food at all until I'm actually hungry. I need to find a better take-along snack for Tuesdays and Thursdays when I'm on campus until 2. Today I brought Slim Jims (a suggestion I found for low carb snacks on some website), but they're really greasy and don't make me feel good afterwards like the other stuff I've been eating. So I've got to do away with those.
As for the chicken and eggplant casserole...FAIL. Not that I didn't make it right - it was really quite pretty and smelled good. But I just didn't like it. Too many mushy things. I have a food texture issue, lol. I even put myself through chopping up an onion (my eyes were burning and I had tears streaming down my face pretty much instantly) and it just wasn't that good. Now I have a whole casserole dish of food I probably won't eat. Sigh. I hate wasting food. Another one of my eating problems :) But at least I learned that I don't mind eggplant too much! Here are some pictures...
Also, a random observation: with carbs (mostly) out of my life, I find myself using the fridge much more often than the pantry. Hmmmm.
So this was the menu for today:
Breakfast
Multigrain Cheerios (don't judge me!) - 110
Non-fat Greek yogurt w/ blueberries - 140 (I'm addicted to this stuff. So good!)
Lunch
2 slices of turkey - 50
10 turkey pepperoni - 41
A sprinkling of cheddar cheese - 40
Raw broccoli - 30
Dinner
Few bites of chicken and eggplant casserole - approx. 50
Non-fat Greek yogurt w/ honey - 140 (Told you. Addicted.)
Snacks
Sugar-free Brown Cow Jr - 80 (I only had one today!)
Handful of almonds - 70
Light string cheese - 50
2 Slim Jims - 80
Total: 881
Yikes. That doesn't seem like enough. But I'm not hungry...trust me, I'm not one to starve myself. Maybe I'll have some V8 juice before bed, just so my stomach doesn't start growling in the middle of the night! :)
Now I'm going to get all cozy in bed to watch Glee before I have to go to sleep. Thanks again, guys, I love all of you!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Day Four
Better day today! Don't know what made the difference, but the energy came back. I didn't have my pills today either, and I was a little worried about being overwhelmed by cravings, but I ended up doing fine. I didn't get any dedicated exercise again, but I walked around campus, then spent an hour and half trolling Wal-Mart with Karlee. I won't say it was aerobic in any way, but at least I was moving around! We're going to try and do some serious walking tomorrow, so that will be good.
I got a few low carb snack ideas, like turkey pepperoni and deviled eggs. Will probably make the deviled eggs tomorrow. I also had a really delicious salad for lunch today, as pictured below...
Alas, the chicken and eggplant casserole was thwarted again tonight. Karlee and I ran around town doing errands and didn't get back until 8, and I had totally forgotten to defrost the chicken. I'm determined to make it for tomorrow though!
What else to report? Walking past the table of cupcakes and halloween treats at Wal-Mart was surprisingly easy. I mean, they looked good, but something about committing to this diet thing has me in a mindset were I know I can't have it, so I don't really miss it much. Yet. :) I considered buying some sugar-free candy, but then realized I was probably better off doing without. Eating a bunch of sugar-free candy isn't changing my habits, it's just business as usual with slightly healthier food. So we're avoiding that. I do have the sugar-free brown cow jr. pops that I'm kind of addicted to, but I can't really binge on those and it's a nice treat to keep me sane. :)
Another good thing this is helping me do is eat a real meal for lunch rather than just munching around and not paying attention to what I'm eating. I often skip lunch or just snack until dinner. This way it's a much more conscious thing, and I'm not ravenous by the time dinner comes around.
Anyways, today's food was:
Breakfast
1 cup Whole Grain Cheerios (I know, not phase one, but they're only 110 calories per serving and I have a bunch of it in the pantry that I'd rather not waste. Plus I don't really have time to make eggs during the week)
Non-fat Strawberry Greek Yogurt - 140
Lunch
Balsamic Tomato and Mozzerella Salad (South Beach recipe...YUM YUM YUM) - 250
Dinner
Meat and cheese plate w/ turkey slices, turkey pepperoni, and fresh mozzerella cheese - 304
Spinach souffle - 200
Snacks
Brown cow jr. (2) - 160
Almonds w/ sea salt & olive oil - 85
Slim jim (2) - 80
Total: 1329!
Can that total be right? It feels like it should be more...for the first time today, I didn't feel that hungry, or like I hadn't had enough to eat. I'm definitely going to have to make that salad again, it was really good.
Thanks to everyone for you continuing encouragement! It's really been keeping me going. I love you all!
I got a few low carb snack ideas, like turkey pepperoni and deviled eggs. Will probably make the deviled eggs tomorrow. I also had a really delicious salad for lunch today, as pictured below...
Alas, the chicken and eggplant casserole was thwarted again tonight. Karlee and I ran around town doing errands and didn't get back until 8, and I had totally forgotten to defrost the chicken. I'm determined to make it for tomorrow though!
What else to report? Walking past the table of cupcakes and halloween treats at Wal-Mart was surprisingly easy. I mean, they looked good, but something about committing to this diet thing has me in a mindset were I know I can't have it, so I don't really miss it much. Yet. :) I considered buying some sugar-free candy, but then realized I was probably better off doing without. Eating a bunch of sugar-free candy isn't changing my habits, it's just business as usual with slightly healthier food. So we're avoiding that. I do have the sugar-free brown cow jr. pops that I'm kind of addicted to, but I can't really binge on those and it's a nice treat to keep me sane. :)
Another good thing this is helping me do is eat a real meal for lunch rather than just munching around and not paying attention to what I'm eating. I often skip lunch or just snack until dinner. This way it's a much more conscious thing, and I'm not ravenous by the time dinner comes around.
Anyways, today's food was:
Breakfast
1 cup Whole Grain Cheerios (I know, not phase one, but they're only 110 calories per serving and I have a bunch of it in the pantry that I'd rather not waste. Plus I don't really have time to make eggs during the week)
Non-fat Strawberry Greek Yogurt - 140
Lunch
Balsamic Tomato and Mozzerella Salad (South Beach recipe...YUM YUM YUM) - 250
Dinner
Meat and cheese plate w/ turkey slices, turkey pepperoni, and fresh mozzerella cheese - 304
Spinach souffle - 200
Snacks
Brown cow jr. (2) - 160
Almonds w/ sea salt & olive oil - 85
Slim jim (2) - 80
Total: 1329!
Can that total be right? It feels like it should be more...for the first time today, I didn't feel that hungry, or like I hadn't had enough to eat. I'm definitely going to have to make that salad again, it was really good.
Thanks to everyone for you continuing encouragement! It's really been keeping me going. I love you all!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Day Three
I was less creative with food today...I had the spinach and goat cheese omelette for breakfast and dinner. I guess I kind of ran out of gas tonight. I was supposed to make chicken and eggplant casserole, but it got to be 7:00 and I just didn't have it in me. Plus I didn't have a casserole dish. So that's for tomorrow.
I don't know why the energy plummeted so much today. I have a feeling it's got something to do with the sudden carb cut-off. I did better with snacking, but I didn't get out and exercise. Of course, my goal is to exercise 4x per week, not every day, but I tend to feel a lot better on the days I've done even a little bit of dedicated exercise. Next time I've got to make myself get out even if I have zero energy, because I know it makes me feel so much better!
The good news is that my roommate is back so I'm not all alone with the cat anymore! A day or two of quiet is nice, but she's been gone since Wednesday, and it got a little too quiet after a while. I would have gone out and done something with friends, but my academic goal for the weekend was to get a headstart on my Shakespeare paper, which is due next Monday, right after fall break. Since I'm visiting Ginny that weekend, the idea was to get as much done on the paper as possible this weekend so I'm not stuck doing it in Asheville. So I pretty much holed up all weekend. Anyways, I think Karlee (my roommate) is going to be a lot of help in getting me out to exercise, since she likes to walk and stuff. It always helps to have an exercise buddy!
But yeah, I'm pretty beat at the moment. But it's really helpful to have this blog, so I can sit down and reflect on the day and see where I went wrong. Usually I don't do much reflecting, because I'm too busy worrying about what I have to do for tomorrow! So this is good for me.
Here's the eating run-down for today:
Breakfast:
Spinach and Goat Cheese Omelette
Morning Star Veggie Sausage
Lunch:
1 serving of Spinach Souffle
2 cups V8 juice
Low fat String cheese
(I was kind of at a loss for lunch today. I need to buy some lunch meat and maybe some good cheese for breadless sandwiches, especially during the week. Anyone have any quick, easy, low carb lunch ideas?)
Dinner:
Spinach and Goat Cheese Omelette (again)
Snacks:
Sugar-free Brown Cow Jr. (2)
Low fat string cheese (2)
Baby Carrots (around 5)
A few peanuts (like 5 or 6)
(Anyone have any good suggestions for low calorie/low carb snacks? Maybe something salty or crunchy?)
So as you can see, today was a little repetitive food-wise. Must get better about planning ahead breakfast and lunch as well as dinner. And starting dinner before 7. The good news is, I ate lots of spinach! Pop-eye would be proud.
I don't know why the energy plummeted so much today. I have a feeling it's got something to do with the sudden carb cut-off. I did better with snacking, but I didn't get out and exercise. Of course, my goal is to exercise 4x per week, not every day, but I tend to feel a lot better on the days I've done even a little bit of dedicated exercise. Next time I've got to make myself get out even if I have zero energy, because I know it makes me feel so much better!
The good news is that my roommate is back so I'm not all alone with the cat anymore! A day or two of quiet is nice, but she's been gone since Wednesday, and it got a little too quiet after a while. I would have gone out and done something with friends, but my academic goal for the weekend was to get a headstart on my Shakespeare paper, which is due next Monday, right after fall break. Since I'm visiting Ginny that weekend, the idea was to get as much done on the paper as possible this weekend so I'm not stuck doing it in Asheville. So I pretty much holed up all weekend. Anyways, I think Karlee (my roommate) is going to be a lot of help in getting me out to exercise, since she likes to walk and stuff. It always helps to have an exercise buddy!
But yeah, I'm pretty beat at the moment. But it's really helpful to have this blog, so I can sit down and reflect on the day and see where I went wrong. Usually I don't do much reflecting, because I'm too busy worrying about what I have to do for tomorrow! So this is good for me.
Here's the eating run-down for today:
Breakfast:
Spinach and Goat Cheese Omelette
Morning Star Veggie Sausage
Lunch:
1 serving of Spinach Souffle
2 cups V8 juice
Low fat String cheese
(I was kind of at a loss for lunch today. I need to buy some lunch meat and maybe some good cheese for breadless sandwiches, especially during the week. Anyone have any quick, easy, low carb lunch ideas?)
Dinner:
Spinach and Goat Cheese Omelette (again)
Snacks:
Sugar-free Brown Cow Jr. (2)
Low fat string cheese (2)
Baby Carrots (around 5)
A few peanuts (like 5 or 6)
(Anyone have any good suggestions for low calorie/low carb snacks? Maybe something salty or crunchy?)
So as you can see, today was a little repetitive food-wise. Must get better about planning ahead breakfast and lunch as well as dinner. And starting dinner before 7. The good news is, I ate lots of spinach! Pop-eye would be proud.
Comments
Hi everyone,
I just realized that I had the comments set so that only registered users could comment. Now everyone should be able to comment even if you don't have an account! A few people told me they were having trouble with it, so it should work now. Let me know if it still gives you problems. Thanks!
I just realized that I had the comments set so that only registered users could comment. Now everyone should be able to comment even if you don't have an account! A few people told me they were having trouble with it, so it should work now. Let me know if it still gives you problems. Thanks!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Day Two, Sum-Up
To begin with, I had great pictures of all the stuff I cooked today, and of course my camera connector isn't working! Ugh. So I'm waiting on a new one to arrive. In the meantime, here's how today went!
Breakfast:
Spinach and Goat Cheese Omelette - 230
Morning Star Vegetarian Sausage Patties (2) - 160
Total: 390
Lunch:
1 Can of Tuna w/ Mayo - 279
Bean Sprouts - 5
Spinach - 4
Broccoli - 30
Total: 318
Dinner:
Salmon with Creamy Lemon Sauce - 320 (It was good. At least for the first few bites. I didn't finish it, but I liked it for a little while at least! I think I might have overcooked it, so only the middle was good)
Lima Beans w/ Smart Balance - 150 (WHAT?! The same amount of broccoli was only 30! Yeesh.)
Total: 470
Snacks:
12 Almonds - 65
10 Peanuts - 59
Applesauce - 100 (I have the regular stuff left over from pre-South Beach. Next time I'm getting sugar free)
Sugar-Free Fudgsicle - 80
Chobani Greek Yogurt (Pomegranate) - 140
Total: 444 (And I snacked a LOT less than usual. Quite an eye-opener, really)
All for a grand total of: 1622 calories!!
Here is a lovely picture of lunch:
And dinner...
I'm trying to keep it under 1700 calories/day, so today was a good one! I was trying to do the whole breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper thing, but clearly dinner was the kingliest of all today. Must work on that.
I've also realized that I'm going to need to find some lower calorie snacks. The nuts are good, but they really add up. Obviously the applesauce and yogurt aren't strictly South Beach phase one...the applesauce is going to have to go, but the yogurt might be my one cheat, as it's much higher in protein than regular yogurt.
So the theme for today was paying attention to the times when I felt like eating and deciding whether or not I was actually hungry. I was fine until about an hour after lunch, around 2:15. Here's the record I kept of every time I felt the need to eat something, but without really being hungry.
2:15 — resisted
2:18 — resisted, wrote:
--------------------
I’m beginning to realize that I have a very hard time distinguishing between actual hunger and what I will call the “munchie feeling.” The munchie feeling is physical, just like hunger pangs, kind of a little nudging in the tummy area. But I just ate lunch an hour ago, so I can’t really be hungry.
3:24 — resisted
3:40 — almonds
4:00 — resisted
4:16 — resisted, drank water bottle
4:32 — resisted
4:54 — peanuts
I never realized until now how CONSTANTLY I get the munchie feeling. And I had my ADD pills today, which act as an appetite inhibitor. Since it's been a very long time since I've paid attention to the munchie feeling, and have been in the habit of satisfying it immediately, I have a feeling that under normal circumstances, I would have been eating something during all the above times I resisted.
Of course, the fact that I resisted it probably made it occur more frequently than usual...I'm used to eating until I'm satisfied, which means to excess, and my body (or my brain) is obviously protesting to the change. The small handfuls of nuts helped it, but it's pretty hard to ignore...the most effective thing was getting up and cleaning, doing laundry, focusing on something else. The munchie feeling attacks when I'm sitting at the computer, especially when I'm doing something I don't want to be doing, like a Shakespeare paper. :) So I think heading it off at the pass is best - cleaning or taking a walk or whatever, because I think idleness makes me want to eat.
To be completely honest, it's very likely I'll eat something else before bed. Not only is night time when I usually get super munchie feeling, but if I go to bed hungry I can't sleep. I'm going to try to drink lots of water and eat some veggies or something else low calorie. The good news is that all the bad stuff is out of the house, so I can't get into too much trouble!
Thanks again, everyone, for your support. It means SO much. So, so much. I love you all!
And forgive me for the huge post! I meant to have fun pictures to break it up. Hopefully my camera connector will come soon!
Breakfast:
Spinach and Goat Cheese Omelette - 230
Morning Star Vegetarian Sausage Patties (2) - 160
Total: 390
Lunch:
1 Can of Tuna w/ Mayo - 279
Bean Sprouts - 5
Spinach - 4
Broccoli - 30
Total: 318
Dinner:
Salmon with Creamy Lemon Sauce - 320 (It was good. At least for the first few bites. I didn't finish it, but I liked it for a little while at least! I think I might have overcooked it, so only the middle was good)
Lima Beans w/ Smart Balance - 150 (WHAT?! The same amount of broccoli was only 30! Yeesh.)
Total: 470
Snacks:
12 Almonds - 65
10 Peanuts - 59
Applesauce - 100 (I have the regular stuff left over from pre-South Beach. Next time I'm getting sugar free)
Sugar-Free Fudgsicle - 80
Chobani Greek Yogurt (Pomegranate) - 140
Total: 444 (And I snacked a LOT less than usual. Quite an eye-opener, really)
All for a grand total of: 1622 calories!!
Here is a lovely picture of lunch:
And dinner...
I'm trying to keep it under 1700 calories/day, so today was a good one! I was trying to do the whole breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper thing, but clearly dinner was the kingliest of all today. Must work on that.
I've also realized that I'm going to need to find some lower calorie snacks. The nuts are good, but they really add up. Obviously the applesauce and yogurt aren't strictly South Beach phase one...the applesauce is going to have to go, but the yogurt might be my one cheat, as it's much higher in protein than regular yogurt.
So the theme for today was paying attention to the times when I felt like eating and deciding whether or not I was actually hungry. I was fine until about an hour after lunch, around 2:15. Here's the record I kept of every time I felt the need to eat something, but without really being hungry.
2:15 — resisted
2:18 — resisted, wrote:
--------------------
I’m beginning to realize that I have a very hard time distinguishing between actual hunger and what I will call the “munchie feeling.” The munchie feeling is physical, just like hunger pangs, kind of a little nudging in the tummy area. But I just ate lunch an hour ago, so I can’t really be hungry.
I’m not bored. I’m not emotional. I’m certainly not hungry. I just want to put something in my mouth.
UGH — frustrating. But at the same time helpful...the munchie feeling, I’m quite certain, is the source of most of my weight problems. Being aware of it and making note of it instead of rushing to the pantry is a HUGE step in the right direction.
I need to be working on my Shakespeare paper, but I think sitting here near the kitchen is encouraging the munchie feeling. So I think I’ll go clean.
I always get reeeaaally tidy when I have a big paper to write. Hmmmmm.
--------------------
3:00 — resisted3:24 — resisted
3:40 — almonds
4:00 — resisted
4:16 — resisted, drank water bottle
4:32 — resisted
4:54 — peanuts
I never realized until now how CONSTANTLY I get the munchie feeling. And I had my ADD pills today, which act as an appetite inhibitor. Since it's been a very long time since I've paid attention to the munchie feeling, and have been in the habit of satisfying it immediately, I have a feeling that under normal circumstances, I would have been eating something during all the above times I resisted.
Of course, the fact that I resisted it probably made it occur more frequently than usual...I'm used to eating until I'm satisfied, which means to excess, and my body (or my brain) is obviously protesting to the change. The small handfuls of nuts helped it, but it's pretty hard to ignore...the most effective thing was getting up and cleaning, doing laundry, focusing on something else. The munchie feeling attacks when I'm sitting at the computer, especially when I'm doing something I don't want to be doing, like a Shakespeare paper. :) So I think heading it off at the pass is best - cleaning or taking a walk or whatever, because I think idleness makes me want to eat.
To be completely honest, it's very likely I'll eat something else before bed. Not only is night time when I usually get super munchie feeling, but if I go to bed hungry I can't sleep. I'm going to try to drink lots of water and eat some veggies or something else low calorie. The good news is that all the bad stuff is out of the house, so I can't get into too much trouble!
Thanks again, everyone, for your support. It means SO much. So, so much. I love you all!
And forgive me for the huge post! I meant to have fun pictures to break it up. Hopefully my camera connector will come soon!
Day Two
So I just wanted everyone to know that after reading the comments you guys posted, I was so inspired that I got up and went for a walk. That's right. At 9 AM (having already been woken up freakishly early by my cat) I put tennis shoes on, grabbed my iPod, and made two laps around the neighborhood. It only took me 20 minutes, but it felt awesome. Okay, it actually was a little tough, especially because my neighborhood is kind of hilly, but it's a beautiful morning and the weather is cool and most people are still in bed so it was really nice and quiet.
I know it's only day two, but I really feel like this blog thing is going to make all the difference in my efforts. Just knowing that I have all of you to support me makes me want to succeed so much more. Enough to make me turn off the TV and get outside without my usual excuses! Besides, there's nothing good on TV Saturday morning unless you're a kid and you watch cartoons.
Aaaanyways, it was a great way to start the day, and I just wanted to let you all know how much you've helped already!
I had a DELICIOUS spinach and goat cheese omelette this morning that tasted nothing like diet food. God bless South Beach! I did one egg mixed with Egg Beaters and it was awesome. Wish I had time to eat like that every morning, but it's a nice treat for the weekends. I meant to take a picture, but forgot. I'll take one tonight of dinner, since I'm planning to make salmon. That's right - FISH. As my mother will tell you, I am not a fish eater. But it's good for you and it was on sale at Kroger and the recipe looked good. So it will be a fun experiment.
I like to have something visually interesting in my posts, so here's something humorous:
I know it's only day two, but I really feel like this blog thing is going to make all the difference in my efforts. Just knowing that I have all of you to support me makes me want to succeed so much more. Enough to make me turn off the TV and get outside without my usual excuses! Besides, there's nothing good on TV Saturday morning unless you're a kid and you watch cartoons.
Aaaanyways, it was a great way to start the day, and I just wanted to let you all know how much you've helped already!
I had a DELICIOUS spinach and goat cheese omelette this morning that tasted nothing like diet food. God bless South Beach! I did one egg mixed with Egg Beaters and it was awesome. Wish I had time to eat like that every morning, but it's a nice treat for the weekends. I meant to take a picture, but forgot. I'll take one tonight of dinner, since I'm planning to make salmon. That's right - FISH. As my mother will tell you, I am not a fish eater. But it's good for you and it was on sale at Kroger and the recipe looked good. So it will be a fun experiment.
I like to have something visually interesting in my posts, so here's something humorous:
Thanks again everyone! Y'all are the best!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Day One, Part Two
Just got back from the grocery store. I spent a lot more than I usually do, but I also got a lot more fresh stuff than I usually do!
For some reason, halfway through I looked down at my cart full of veggies and healthy stuff, and I wanted to ditch it and run! I don't know if it was because I knew it was going to cost more, or I knew I was going to have to prepare it all, or just because it was out of my comfort zone. But I didn't ditch it...I went to the check out and I put everything away in the fridge (we have a full veggie drawer now, hooray!)
Anyways, just thought I should document that. Otherwise everything is going great! Had tomato soup for lunch, with some almonds and a sugar-free fudge pop. So far so good! Of course, it's only day one...
Also - I bought an eggplant. That's right. An eggplant.
For some reason, halfway through I looked down at my cart full of veggies and healthy stuff, and I wanted to ditch it and run! I don't know if it was because I knew it was going to cost more, or I knew I was going to have to prepare it all, or just because it was out of my comfort zone. But I didn't ditch it...I went to the check out and I put everything away in the fridge (we have a full veggie drawer now, hooray!)
Anyways, just thought I should document that. Otherwise everything is going great! Had tomato soup for lunch, with some almonds and a sugar-free fudge pop. So far so good! Of course, it's only day one...
Also - I bought an eggplant. That's right. An eggplant.
Day One
So I've decided to embark on a journey to a happier, healthier lifestyle. To help me do this, I've set up this blog - it's intended not only to hold me accountable and record my thoughts, but also to allow the people I love to keep track of my progress and to support me, something I'm going to need a lot of!
Let me start by saying this is HARD for me. The things I plan to talk about on this blog are things I’m used to keeping very private, like how much I weigh, how that makes me feel, what I’m eating, etc. But keeping it all private hasn’t gotten me very far in the past, so we’re going public! Just bear with me.
So this Halloween season I got a particularly terrifying scare — my weight. It’s been creeping up on me, and I’ve been avoiding the scale. So it was a SHOCK when I weighed myself today. I’m at 240 lbs (insert bloodcurdling scream here), the most I’ve ever weighed in my entire life. I was resolved to start a lifestyle change before weighing myself, but now I’m even more onboard. Seriously, those numbers are terrifying. They make me want to cry, and I definitely don’t want anyone else to see them. But I’m putting them out there, because I need to face them!
I think I’ve spent a lot of time believing the problem is going to fix itself. Now I know for sure that it won’t…that I actually have to do something about it. I’m basically trying to learn a new way to live my life. It’s scary, but at this point I have no other option. If I keep living the way I’m living, I’m not going to live very long.
Current Stats
Weight: 240lbs.
Waist: 48in
Hips: 55in
Bust: 47in
Goals
Weight: 170lbs. At least for now.
Fitness: Be able to walk from Hull Deck to the second floor of Park Hall (using the stairs, of course) without pain or suffering.
Lifestyle: More veggies, more activity, less sugar and fat. Less dependence on food in general. Also, learn to like fish!
Plan
Food: South Beach-esque, cutting sugar and fat as much as possible
Exercise: 4 times per week for 20-30 minutes
Lifestyle: Keep written journal and blog to track progress. Plan out meals a week ahead of time. Count calories. Weigh in every Friday.
Goals for this week (starting today)
Food: Plan and cook healthy meals. Keep track of everything eaten. Count calories consistently.
Fitness: Walk to and from Biology on Tues/Thurs — no bus! (pray for me!). Do 20-30 minutes of dedicated exercise 4x before next Friday.
Lifestyle: Acknowledge difference between hunger and craving. Keep track of number of times per day I experience cravings. Write down feelings instead of succumbing to them.
Today’s Rundown
Confession: had Nutella on toast this morning with justification that I would throw it away later. Forced self to throw it away this afternoon, along with a cake I had baked. It actually felt really good!
Exercise: Danced it out. 30 minutes. Worked up a sweat and a side stitch. Victory!
I’m about to sit down and plan out my meals for next week. Then I’m going to the grocery store to stock up on healthy stuff.
Right now I have a lot of energy and enthusiasm. I am all gung-ho and confident. But soon I’m pretty sure that will go. I’m going to want to give up again. That’s where you folks come in. I’m really hoping that the support of my family and friends will help get me through this, because I know for sure I can’t do it alone. So please don’t hesitate to comment with tips and encouragement! I love all of you!
Before pictures:
YIKES.
And away we go!
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