OK, I never did get around to logging all of my food in, but dietarily (is that a word?) I think I’m back on track. I’m also in week 1 of my official half-marathon training plan, and regular running helps keep me on my diet as well as obviously burning off more calories, so I’m feeling pretty good about that.
I haven’t weighed in for like 3 weeks. My regular weigh-in day is Monday so I’m going to get on the scale this coming Monday and see where I’m at.
Yay! MsWhatsit, that’s awesome! Half-marathon? Look at you: less than a year ago, you weren’t running at all!
According to my doc I have not lost a single pound since August - but since I have (as I’ve mentioned) had to get pant with a smaller waste, I guess I am content.
With doctor’s scales you have to keep in mind you’re usually wearing shoes and clothes and wallets and phones and belts and jackets and car keys etc etc which can screw up your weight measurement if you’re not carrying the same cargo each time. With my jacket and all my gear on I weigh about 10 pounds more than I do in the buff.
Thanksgiving slowed down my weight loss a bit, which was discouraging, but I seem to be back on track. I’m trying to get all of my dieting in while I’m unemployed and have total control over my schedule, since if I get a job it’ll probably be back to restaurant food and sugary coffee to keep me awake.
I forgot to mention one of my achievements: We took me off one of my BP meds. If this trend continues, we will try to take me off of the other one as well (but maybe not, because it also treats my a-fib.)
Khadaji, great job! Being removed from a medication is a wonderful thing. Now you’ll have a smaller waist and more money!
Oh man, that is awesome, Khadaji. So far, 25 pounds down (still), I haven’t been able to quit my diabetes medication, but I hope to at some point.
wierdaaron: you deserve your own post. 
You rock with what you’ve already done. After you get a job (which I hope is real soon) have you given thought to taking your lunch? I’m in a situation where I’m not near anything and I don’t have a car, and bringing my lunch and keeping healthy snacks in my desk drawer has really helped with my weight loss and energy levels. I also have total control over what I put in my mouth. And I save money by not going to a restaurant so much like other people here in the office do.
I heavily rely on coffee to keep me awake, but I sweeten it with Splenda so the weight-loss impact is nil. If you don’t like artificial sweeteners, then my personal recommendation would be to give up all sweeteners and added sugars for about a month, and then try a Diet Coke and it will be like ambrosia from the heavens. At least that’s how it worked for me.
I like Stevia myself. But I’ve had to give up caffeine because it gives me headaches: and Splenda or any artificial sweetener other than Stevia give me the trots. So I’m on water, juice and milk: and the once a week decaf coffee.
Yeah, it’s just stevia for me when it comes to sweeteners, but I can’t convince Starbucks to make their white chocolate mocha sauce with it =(
I’ve been pre-making my meals weekly as part of my diet, so doing that for my lunches shouldn’t be a problem. At my last job I was in a nexus of great restaurants, from chinese to burgers to salads and sandwiches, so it was hard to justify crappy from-home food.
Though, if I do end up getting a job in Chicago I’ll probably be completely hosed in that regard.
My whole diet adventure has shown me that my biggest problem isn’t pigging out during meals, it’s the small snacks all throughout the day. Normally, whenever I’d pass through the kitchen I’d grab a bite of this or that, or a big glass of juice, or an oh-what-the-hell bowl of cereal. Cutting my meals down to 350 calories wasn’t the hard thing, the hard thing was letting go of the idle munching.
Having a job would probably make that easier, unless there was a break room fully stocked with free oreos or something.
Yeah. Breakroom stocked with carb free, calorie free Oreos. There’s my dream job. 
I try not to keep any change on me, so that cuts down trips to the vending machine. Our work is cool on one thing: healthy snacks cost less than everything else. But I can’t justify what I’d spend in the vending machine if I can get a box at the store and it come out cheaper.
I’m down 15 pounds since I started counting calories online in July (and trying to exercise regularly). I managed this weight loss even with my ulcer flaring up and getting a sore foot for unknown reasons which lasted about two months (walking is my preferred form of exercise). My foot and stomach have finally both settled down - and yesterday I slipped on some cardboard in the basement and strained my other foot. Sigh. You ever get the feeling fate is just giggling itself silly over you?
Very cool, Cat Whisperer! If it weren’t for bad luck… I hope it gets better soon. And look how you’ve perservered in spite of it all!
I’ll think about these last six months every time some fool on the Dope tells us all how easy losing weight is.
I’ll drop back in. I stopped losing weight in March/April at 88kg (with a loss of 25kg). I was pretty happy with that, I was working out and feeling good. After a while, I started to relax a bit on the diet, and with a shock I realised in late Nov that my weight was creeping up, closer to 90 than 88.
So I am back on the diet - no more hash browns or crisps (even if I feel I need some salt) and working out harder than ever.
The good news is that since then I have lost 4kg, and am down to 86kg. My goal is 85kg by christmas, and 80kg by the end of March 2010 (my next 10km running event, and I want a fast time ~45-48 min).
Exercise is not a problem, I am running, swimming, cycling and going to the gym heaps (about 12 hours a week total). For my diet I avoid lots of cheap carbs (white rice, potato etc), and restrict portion size. Lots of fruit, too. But I still have a bacon roll (brown bread, no spread) sometimes for breakfast.
Si
OK, I got on the scale this morning even though I said I wasn’t going to until Monday, and discovered that I’m still right about where I was three weeks ago - which is actually great, because I had a week of carb-binging due to PMS and losing motivation, so I’m glad to find out I didn’t lose a lot of ground during that week.
It’s funny, but for me, processed carbohydrates are almost like an addiction. Once I have some, I crave more, and it’s really hard for me to say no. I almost have to like “detox” and give it up entirely for a few days before I can kick the cravings again. But if I stick to my diet that is high in protein and leans heavily towards low-GI foods, I’m fine and the cravings disappear. This is tough because a lot of people say, “Oh, you can have a cheat day on a diet” or “you can eat your favorite foods, just keep it in moderation.” Well, no. If I have a “cheat day” where I let myself have a slice or two of pizza, then the next day I wind up eating half of a pizza plus a bag of chips and salsa, and things go downhill from there. It’s really easier for me just to skip that crap entirely.
I can’t have a cheat day, either. It will throw me off kilter for several days afterwards. When we have pizza at work, they tend to bring me an entire pizza. I don’t know why. I sniff it and get some good fumes from the box, then I’ll pull up the restaurant website or Calorie King and see how many calories it is per slice. Then I realize that if I eat just one sllice, that entire pizza will be gone by the end of the day. So I stick to what I bring for lunch and either give the pizza back or take it home to my family.
I’m trying to study GI foods now. I have an advantage, because my daughter has to watch what she eats, so I do the same things we do for her: we weigh, measure and sort everything into serving sizes: she counts carbs and I count calories.
si_blakely, that is fantastic! You’ve set realistic goals, and you can do it!
I’m learning that a whole lot of eating properly and maintaining a weight is accountability. When I record my calories and weight regularly, I know what I’m eating and where I’m at. When I didn’t, my weight crept up slowly without me really noticing. The other thing I’m noticing about recording calories is that it seems to be breaking the habit of emotional eating. If I want something tasty (a cinnamon bun or bag of chips or whatever), if the calories don’t fit today, then I fit it in tomorrow. Right there, that breaks the cycle of emotional eating - feeling lonely, bored, depressed, whatever, so I grab whatever’s in the house. If it fits in my daily budget, I eat it and enjoy it, no guilt. If it doesn’t, I plan for it, and that’s not instant gratification.
Keeping track of daily calories has highlighted my weaknesses, too. I can keep stuff in the house, I’m not an “eat till it’s gone” person, but I looooove to snack. I keep lots of snacks on hand that aren’t junk food (or they’re lower calorie versions of less healthy things).
I don’t have “cheat” days, either - my husband and I agree that this weight loss has to be first and foremost SUSTAINABLE. Neither of us wants to do this again, so we’re trying our best to tweak our regular routines, not go on a “diet.”