Hi everyone. I don’t post much here anymore but have decided to hop back on the bandwagon and thought of my friends here. I recognize a few names from my previous days here and also several other posters who didn’t participate in the group before. I did pop in briefly sometime in the past year but unfortunately it didn’t stick. For those who remember me, I lost about 25 pounds with diet and exercise a few years back and did a pretty good job of keeping it off until we decided to have a baby. My daughter is 15 months old now. I got down to 175 after she was born but then started to gain. I ate really well and exercised throughout my entire pregnancy but really got off track about 5-6 months after her birth.
My immediate goals are:
End my love affair with Little Debbie.
Exercise 3-5 days a week.
Track my eating.
Lose the 10+ pounds I’ve gained since March (I’ve got another 10-15 to lose after that but I like to do this in segments).
I used to use Sparkpeople but recently started using my fitness pal with some friends. I have the same username over there as here if anyone wants to add me.
ETA: I’ve already used the elliptical three times this week and hope to do another one to two times. At this point in my life, 15-20 minutes is about what I can handle both physically and time-wise with a young child to care for. I hope to build on that.
Made it one quarter around the block. Getting better at the cane-age. The walking hurt my back, tho.
One neighbor with the garage door up. Inside was…a car. Who does that?
Didn’t overeat, just maintained.
Exercise is out of the question. Don’t feel like going on a diet.
At this rate might become svelte in my next lifetime.
I’m down 4 pounds, but I took my sister’s dog (the world’s most adorable cavalier) for a 5K yesterday and tripped and fell as a result of a pavement crack JUST as we were trotting up in front of their house. Now one knee is scraped and my left leg really hurts. I think I am going to be headed back to the elliptical for a while.
Also damn, that little purse dog has a lot of energy. He kept up a brisk trot the whole way.
I love the elliptical for exactly this reason. Whenever I’m sore or hurt or tired, it just makes working out as easy as possible.
I’m on Day 5 of the No-S Diet and have had one failure day so far. I’m not stressing because it’s a pretty radical change I’m making and I did learn a lot from the experience. I’m shocked how quickly the ‘‘only 3 meals a day’’ habit starts to form.
Today is my first ‘‘Special’’ day, where theoretically I can eat whatever I want. I bought my S foods from the local Rite Aid - a small Pepsi, some chocolate and some ridiculously delicious-looking ice cream. But it’s kind of stressful wanting to give myself that outlet without going overboard. I want to go back to the safety and security of ‘‘Normal’’ days.
I read the book, and it said not to worry too much about S days and just focus on getting N days right at first. The most important thing at this point is learning the habits. I get that, but it’s a very different way of thinking. I’m not used to eating sweets without guilt and I’m used to focusing on results rather than behavior. I do believe this will be better for me in the long-term though.
stayed within calorie limits yesterday - always harder at the weekends. Being off the beer helps a lot! Need to get out for a run today to earn a couple of Yorkshire puds on mu Sunday dinner.
I don’t know about online. I got it from Mark Sisson’s Primal Diet Cookbook. I’d copy it out for you, but I’m still traveling. I should be home and settled by Tuesday. Shall I copy it out and post it for you? I planning to try variations with different nut flours, and a bit of chestnut flour to lighten it…
I’m going to consider last night a cheat meal. I did well yesterday, but went over to a friend’s house to celebrate Little Christmas and she made a traditional meal of perogies, sausage and sweets. I had a bit of everything and didn’t overdo it, but it was a totally horrible meal! Anyway, I’m not too worried about it, though I did feel kind of crapy after eating it.
I just did day 8 of the 30 Day Shred. I skipped day 7 though; I was on my fifth night of baby duty and she’s been getting me up 3-4 times a night. I was on my last legs. Hubby took the monitor to the guest room last night though, so I’m back in the game.
Found a book on Amazon called the “Comfort Food Diet”. For $7 I might get it, but sounds like it’s just regular recipes with suggested small serving sizes and calorie counts included.
I had a perfect Week 1 of Atkins. Exercised 5 days (like I was doing before) and lost 11 lbs. I actually did all that while not eating any meat aside from turkey sausage and beef bologna. I just happen to not like meat all that much. It was mostly eggs and cheese.
I’m not very proud of that, so Friday I got a chicken ceasar from Applebee’s and Saturday I had a double cheeseburger sans bun from BK. Much better.
I had crazy diarrhea the first 4 days which was both new to me (I’ve done LC before) and a huge fucking bummer when it came to trying to work out. I made it through my weight lifting sessions but when it came to the elliptical I had to get off and stay off because you can’t just “hop off” and go to the potty, you have to clean the machine and all. I ended up just walking the track.
I’m guessing the tummy cramps were a result of higher fat ratio than usual. Or just a reaction to eggs. I noticed the issue seemed to crop up in relation to the time I ate a hard-boiled egg.
Anyway my tummy feels more stable now and I have some ground beef thawing in the fridge so I’m ready for week 2.
It took me over an hour (and three separate trips to the attic) but I finally found my old running clothes last night - and even made it out the door! I’m obviously fitter than I thought I was, I managed to jog for about a mile non-stop, in about ten minutes. So as long as I keep at it, I’ll gradually build up speed and distance without having to start from scratch again, whew!
Of course, muscle weighs more than fat, so I’m already preparing myself for going back up a few pounds whenever I next weigh in.
But yay me - I ran for the first time in over three years!
I’ve been trying to get back into running shape all year. I’m not really built for distance (I’m short with heavily muscled legs which are short for my body), so I’ll never have particularly good times. I’ve been running 5K; when I started in March I was at 39 minutes and had managed to get down to just about 25 minutes when I sort of hit a wall. Stopped running for a while, started again, stopped again, etc. etc. This past Friday temperatures shot into the 70s, so I took advantage and went for a run. This time I decided I’d go 5 miles instead of 5K. I figure if I can get my times reasonable for 5 miles, my 5K will get easier.
Anyway, did 5 miles in 49:47. Really not too bad. The most encouraging part is that while the first mile was (naturally) the fastest, the fifth mile was the second fastest, and it’s mostly uphill.
Unfortunately, temperatures are back down in their normal January ranges, so it’ll be a while before I can run outside again (I hate treadmills).
No official weigh-in until tomorrow, but according to my home scale after 6 days of actually monitoring what I eat instead of just grabbing and going, I am down 10 pounds.
So the power of positive thinking: My home scale is accurate, my home scale is accurate…
I’ve been doing well at the treadmill routine - it’s loading my workout now. Everyday at lunch on work from home days which is usually 4 days a week. I need to add a weekend day to that as well. I’m not losing much weight (down another .6lbs this week) but stamina is improving and things are definitely tightening up.
Nut Crackers from the Primal Blueprint Cookbook, Mark Sisson with Jennifer Meier
2 c. fine almond meal
1 tsp baking soda
1-2 tbsp dried oregano or Italian seasoning
1 c. finely grated parmesan or romano cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp water
Preheat oven to 350º F. Mix ingrediants together until a wet, sticky ball forms. With wet hands, press the dough out onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, until you get a rectangle about 10x 8. Sprinkle with salt, if desired. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden, and cool on a wire rack. The crackers get brittle quickly, so if you want to cut them into uniform sizes, do it right away.
Notes:
I prefer chili powder to Italian seasoning, and am planning to try other spices, too, and other nut flours. The thinner you press out the dough, the crispier the crackers will be. The dough is way too sticky to use a rolling pin, so you do need to press it out by hand. This is amazingly quick, easy, and fun.