Day 8 - Get Busy!

Today I found it pretty easy to stay within the calorie budget because I kept busy all day. Boredom is definitely something that will drive me to the kitchen - especially in the evening. That's one reason why I love to do something crafty in the evening when I get the chance. It keeps my mind and hands busy so I'm not stuffing my face. Plus it gives me a creative outlet which also boosts my overall mood, so I'm less likely to snack to fill the void.

Goals for Week 2-
1) Keep the food log
2) Eat 2200 calories or less
3) Exercise 35 minutes or more 5x/week

Todays Weight - 179.8

Day 7 - A Few of My Favorite Things...

If Julie Andrews were dieting, here's a few things I think she'd be singing about:



L-O-V-E this lasagna! It takes 5 minutes to heat up, it tastes pretty darn close to homemade and it's very satisfying for me. I like that the vegetables aren't all over-cooked and stuff. And it's only 345 calories! I always stock up when they go on sale at the store.

These little babies are fantastic for a sweet tooth. Only 45 calories and they're equal to a serving of fruit. Okay, okay, I know all the fitness people tell you not to eat your fruit dried because the sugar and calorie content are more concentrated. But they're great if you don't have access to fresh fruit at the moment (so portable) and the portion is measured and ready to go. No brainers are good! (Also, please enjoy my dirty countertop in this picture)

Okay, I already talked about these, but just in case you were like 'huh?', here's a picture of what I was talking about. My mom used to eat these all the time (but I won't tell you what she put on them- right, Bev?). 35 calories per cracker. I love the texture. Sometimes I'm in a cracker mood, but I don't want to waste calories on crackers that are calorie dense and unsatisfying. Voila, problem solved!

Ah, la piece de resistance! This is my silver bullet. 2 tbsp = 20 calories. Basically you're eating mostly air when you spray a litte of this deliciousness on your fruit or low-fat ice cream. I'm still not sure how to measure 2 tbsp. exactly when I use it, but oh well, close enough is close enough. You can only find this kind at Costco as far as I know. Plus the price is better. Steer clear of the inferior brands, they just don't taste like real whipped cream.

Finally, this pancake mix is great! You can make two good sized pancakes for only 220 calories and they're pretty darn filling. For people with blood sugar issues like me (hypoglycemia), they're a good start to the day (fiber, low sugar, okay on protein). I eat them with strawberries and some whipped cream (pictured above). Also notice in this picture- my food journal on the right. See, I'm really doing it.

Well, that's it for now. Wow, this is making me hungry! Too bad it's way too late to eat!

Did well on eating today, had to exercise at 9pm- but I did it! 35 min., jogged at 4.0 mph for 5 minutes just to see if I could. It only hurt a little!

Today's weight - 180.6 (Hoping for better tomorrow!)

Day 6 - The Number on the Scale Doesn't Tell the Whole Story

Today when I got up I felt pretty good...until I got on the scale. It said 180.8! I checked it again- it was the same. After the third time I gave up.
One of my favorite fitness gurus, Bob Greene (Oprah's trainer) says what I named this post-the number on the scale doesn't tell the whole story.
So what is the story? Could be water weight gain. Could be muscle gain. Who knows? It's still a little discouraging.
Anyway, I know I'm doing all the right stuff with calories and exercise so I'm not going to let this derail me.
In fact, I had family over today for a special luncheon- an occasion where I would usually let myself overindulge, but I did pretty well.
Still though, if the scale keeps going up I'll have to cut more calories.
Since it was Sunday today I didn't work out. But I'm looking forward to tomorrow's workout. I'm going to keep trying to increase my speed and duration a little at a time.
In the immortal words of Commander Taggert- "Never give up! Never surrender!"

Day 5 - Victory! (Well, some small ones anyway)

Saturdays are always so busy! Today was no exception. But, I feel awesome because I took time for me and got on the treadmill today. That was victory number one.
My second victory today was a result of preparation. I took my daughter to a birthday party where I knew pizza and cake would be served so I ate dinner before I left and chewed gum while I was there. I managed to refuse all the offers for food and actually it was quite easy. I know I would have given in though if I had gone to the party hungry. The pizza looked and smelled really good!
Gum- especially mint- is one of my favorite secret weapons. If I chew it when I grocery shop I buy fewer sweets. I think that's because it just makes me feel less hungry. Yay for gum!

Other than that, I'm still going strong on keeping the food log and I walked for 35 min today up to 3.6 mph.

Today's Weight - 179.6

Day 4 - The Big Food Place

Today was going great foodwise, until we went to a restaurant for my son's birthday tonight. It's a restaurant where the portions for one person are about enough to feed a family of four. And it might have a few stuffed animal heads around for decoration. You know which one I mean.
I attempted to stick with my calorie allowance by ordering one of the four things listed on the "lighter side" part of the menu. A turkey burger- sounded pretty good. It looked good too. Now I'm sure you've guessed that it really didn't taste so good.
As a matter of fact, it reminded me of the turkey I ate at the hospital recently. Yea. Not what I was hoping for. So I uncharacteristically sent it back and had them give me half a club sandwich (I was too afraid to order off the light menu again).
I really don't know how many calories that had. Most likely too many because it tasted really good. Part of me is still wondering if it was spit on though. I always assume that my food will be tampered with when I send something back. (I've probably done that 3 times in my lifetime because I fear the spit!) So that just gives you an idea how inedible this sandwich was- that I was willing to risk the spit!
I think I'll count the sandwich I ate as 650 calories - what the original sandwich was supposed to be. Kind of like how they charged me the original price for the food I sent back even though that's not what I ended up with. (Not something I would do often, but sometimes you just have to roll with it)
Other than that, it was a great day. The baby slept and I got to walk for 35 minutes on the treadmill and finish watching Persuasion. Yay! It was lovely

Didn't get a chance to weigh myself this morning. I'll check it tomorrow.

Day 3 - Trying to be less calorie dense...

I hate feeling hungry! So I'm always trying to find the most amount of food I can eat for the lowest calories. It's kind of like shopping on the clearance rack. You may not find the hippest, cutest stuff- but it's a lot easier on the wallet.
At dinner tonight I filled up on green peas because they're only 70 cal per 2/3 cup. I know there's tons of vegetables that are even better than that caloriewise. They're just what I had in the house.
Strawberries are like when you find something you actually like on the clearance rack- and it's even in your size! A cup of chopped strawberries is only 50 calories! Can't wait until they're in season again!
And when I'm hankering for some crackers, I go for the Wasa wafers. They're pretty good sized for only 35 calories a pop. Add a triangle of Light Laughing Cow cheese and you've got a tasty snack that will actually tide you over. Wow, I sound like a commercial. Like that lady in the old snickers commercial with the sweet 80's feathered hair who says "ya know when your stomach's just pokin' at ya".

If you don't know what I'm talking about check it out here. It's truly genius in commercial writing. http://www.retrojunk.com/details_commercial/5126/

Walked for 30 minutes on the treadmill. Kept track of calories in the food log. Stayed in the limit.
Today's weight - 180.4

Day 2 - Just Say No to Elastic Waistbands and Carrot Cake

Today was a successful day with eating (but it's not over yet!). Since afternoons are my weakest times I feel like I'm pretty much over the hump when dinner is on it's way.
The treadmill got mostly cleared today by my helpful sister. I'm so close to getting back on it! And whaddaya know- I'm actually looking forward to it. In fact, I have a great movie to watch while I walk - a Jane Austen movie- Persuasion. Good times!
I was thinking today about how awesome it's going to be to stop wearing maternity clothes! I am so looking forward to the lack of elastic waistbands! And I love the feeling when my clothes start to feel loose on me. To quote Oprah (which I hope I never do again) "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels!" I'm going to keep remembering that and not bother with the carrot cake in the fridge.
Honestly, do I really eat things for the taste? Maybe for the first few bites. After that I'm usually just numbing myself. So not worth it!

For the record I will be posting my measurements and weight regularly. For some reason posting measurements makes me more afraid than posting my weight, but so be it. My starting measurements are:
Waist- 39"
Hip - 45"
Thigh - 26"
Arm - 14"
Calf - 15.5"

Today's Weight - 180.6

P.S. After seeing a full-length view of myself in the picture I posted, I was inspired to make time for a workout. So instead of sitting down in front of the TV last night, I walked on the treadmill for 30 min. It felt great! I'm not sure why it took a photograph for me to get out of "fat denial", but it worked!

Day 1 - The Journey of a Thousand Miles...

Well, I'm officially beginning again. The baby is 7 weeks old today and it's time that the scale moves down instead of up!

Goal for the Week: Write down what I eat each day and eat 2200 calories or less per day.

I know it sounds like a lot, but since I'm nursing full time subtract 500 calories and that would be what I'm really eating. That's still probably too much since I'm not exercising regularly yet. But it's better than I have been doing and to maintain is better than to gain. I should put that on a t-shirt!
So far today I have been faithfully writing in my food log. This is honestly the only way I know not to overeat. Otherwise it is way too easy to start eating unconsciously. Talking on the phone, watching TV, feeling bored or stressed and the next thing I know I've gobbled down 300 calories worth of crackers all at once. It's so easy to do!
So here's to step one! Eating consciously!

Today's Weight - 181