Weekly Workout Thread 29th Jan till 4th Feb

[KimberlyH]

I had a great workout, burned 600 calories.

I posted a new recipe for chicken vesuvio in the WWT recipe thread that John made last night; it was scrumpdeelicious!

 

[Mara]

omg so new super yummy discovery! we get deliveries from costco weekly at work where they bring a bunch of stuff to replenish our stock...water, bananas, apples, oatmeal, teas etc... sometimes we get some really bad stuff like snack packs of chips and too salty/high calorie granola bars etc but...we got something new this week!

kudos bars...remember those from like high school? they have new ones that have m&m's and snickers and other stuff in them. the m&m and snickers ones are 100 cals and 3.5g of fat! totally tastes like you are eating a candy bar. YUM. my problem will be not eating 5. haha.

 

[AmberGretchen]

OMG I LOVED Kudos bars as a kid - my mom used to bring them to me as after-school snacks that I could eat in the car on the way to activities. That''s so awesome that they have so few calories now - I will have to look for that version at the grocery store.

I also discovered yesterday on my way to class that the 100-calorie South Beach Diet bars in the peanut butter chocolate chip flavor are SUPER yummy. They have a really yummy salty peanut buttery flavor, but also the sweetness from the chocolate chips, and a really nice crunchy texture. Highly recommend those for anyone who likes Reese''s Peanut butter cups or similarly peanut butter salty+chocolate sweet type candy.

 

[indecisive]

AmberGretchen= How do the bars work into the SB diet? I assume they can be eaten instead of a snack. They sound yummy because I love PB!

 

[AmberGretchen]

indecisive - I honestly don''t know exactly how they are supposed to work in, since I never followed the meal plans but just the lists of foods that were allowed or not on a given phase. I''m pretty sure the bars are Phase 2 and 3 only. But I would imagine they can definitely be a snack on the diet, since 100 calories is a pretty standard amount for a snack, although some of the SB snacks are lower than that (i.e. the one wedge of light laughing cow cheese and celery). I totally love PB too, and this is a nice way to get that flavor craving satisfied without loading up the calories.

 

[Dee*Jay]

So no work out for me tonight; I just got home from being with my client and it's already after 7:00. I did quite a few stairs in tonight though (how come every unit that my clients want to see has to be a fourth floor walk-up, LOL?).

Calorie wise I'm at 1220 and I might get one more clementine in tonight but that's about it. Actually I'm a bit tired and I think The Demon and I might climb in bed early and read a book once I clean up a few things. (The cleaning lady comes tomorrow and if *we* don't put stuff away *she* does and then we might never find it again. My tennis shoes once went missing in the back of the happy hubby's closet for over a year. If we hadn't moved we might never have found them... )

Kimberly, a week or two ago you suggested the Campbell's butternut squash soup so I gave it a try -- LOVE IT! Just had it for dinner with a piece of whole wheat bread that I toasted and cut into "croutons". YUM!!! 180 cals for the soup, 140 for the bread, and very filling. Have you tried any other flavors that you like in that line?

 

[nejarb]

i tried a new routine at the gym this morning and it worked pretty well so i think i''ll keep it up--i did 45 min on ellip (400 cal), then weights & stretching, then another 35 intense min (375 cal) on ellip before i left. i think this increases what i''d previously been doing by at least 100 cal.

i feel great and i''m happy, but i''m not in any kind of weight loss groove at all. the thing is, i''m probably eating too much. i''m not counting calories. if i had to guess i''m eating about the same as i did before i started all this exercise, but it must be more, b/c otherwise, why haven''t i lost more weight? 1 lb in 1 month?!?

i''m going to figure out how many calories i had today, and maybe somebody can help w/ suggestions for where i could skim some off.

okay--about 1900 calories, and this was a pretty typical day for me, except the breakfast was a little higher in calories than what i usually have....

bkfst: zucchini loaf from starbucks -- 440 cal
lunch: gr cheese on WF multigrain w/ 2 oz lowfat swiss cheese -- 390 cal
lunch: 6 oz tomato soup -- 60 cal
snack: fruit & yogurt smoothie -- 150 cal
dinner: salmon burger -- 200 cal
dinner: hamburger bun + mayo -- 250 cal
dinner: 2 oz fresh moz cheese, medium tomato, basil, and drizzle of evoo -- 200 cal.
dinner: 1.5 glasses of wine -- 200 cal (?)


i think i usually eat more like 1750 cal a day during the week, but today i ran out of waffles and i''ve been out of cereal, so i resorted to starbucks breakfast; but that is not typical. then again, w/ weekend restaurant food, my average probably is about 1850 cal/day. am i out of control? am i ever going to get rid of these 10 lbs?

 

[diamondsrock]

nejarb I know exactly what you mean. I can exercise all I want but if I don''t change my calorie count then I will remain about the same. I get better results not exercising and dropping calories (which I''ve heard is not a great idea) than exercising and keeping calories the same.
I guess the ultimate goal would be to exercise and cut back on calories.
I have had the Kudos bars and they are good. Believe it or not, one usually does it for me. I don''t pig out on them.
I bought the Kashi cherry and dark chocolate granola bars and they are good too!

 

[Rod]

Date: 1/30/2007 10:08:01 AM
Author: Ellen

Date: 1/30/2007 10:05:09 AM
Author: shortblonde
hi lorelei - thanks for asking about my horse. he has been having a problem with recurrent colic for the past 6 months. the vet felt it was ulcers, so we''ve been treating him for that, but he colicked this past friday and again on sunday and seems to be having trouble getting thru this one. he usually bounces right back, but last night he was still really out of it and wouldn''t eat other than a couple bites of bran mash. he''s definitely not feeling well. we''re taking him up to the best veterinary hospital tomorrow to get scoped, and hopefully we will get a better plan of attack.

my mea culpa - i gave in to stress eating last night. i am worried about my horse, and when i am upset i want to eat everything in sight! i had a bunch of triscuits and a couple small pieces of dark chocolate after i got home from the barn. one night won''t kill me, and today i am dedicating myself to finding other ways to deal with the stress! i''m hoping that if i post that committment here, it will keep me accountable.

have a good day, all.

No it won''t. And I hope he is alright.

I too hope he''s alright and about the dark chocolate.......GOOD for you. I have 2 - 3 pieces of dark chocolate EVERY day. It heart healthy.

 

[KimberlyH]

Date: 1/30/2007 9:49:02 PM
Author: nejarb
i tried a new routine at the gym this morning and it worked pretty well so i think i''ll keep it up--i did 45 min on ellip (400 cal), then weights & stretching, then another 35 intense min (375 cal) on ellip before i left. i think this increases what i''d previously been doing by at least 100 cal.

i feel great and i''m happy, but i''m not in any kind of weight loss groove at all. the thing is, i''m probably eating too much. i''m not counting calories. if i had to guess i''m eating about the same as i did before i started all this exercise, but it must be more, b/c otherwise, why haven''t i lost more weight? 1 lb in 1 month?!?

i''m going to figure out how many calories i had today, and maybe somebody can help w/ suggestions for where i could skim some off.

okay--about 1900 calories, and this was a pretty typical day for me, except the breakfast was a little higher in calories than what i usually have....

bkfst: zucchini loaf from starbucks -- 440 cal
lunch: gr cheese on WF multigrain w/ 2 oz lowfat swiss cheese -- 390 cal
lunch: 6 oz tomato soup -- 60 cal
snack: fruit & yogurt smoothie -- 150 cal
dinner: salmon burger -- 200 cal
dinner: hamburger bun + mayo -- 250 cal
dinner: 2 oz fresh moz cheese, medium tomato, basil, and drizzle of evoo -- 200 cal.
dinner: 1.5 glasses of wine -- 200 cal (?)


i think i usually eat more like 1750 cal a day during the week, but today i ran out of waffles and i''ve been out of cereal, so i resorted to starbucks breakfast; but that is not typical. then again, w/ weekend restaurant food, my average probably is about 1850 cal/day. am i out of control? am i ever going to get rid of these 10 lbs?

Nejarb,

If I recall correctly you are reasonably thin, this is when losing weight is the most difficult! That being said, if your goal is weigh loss, you must cut calories. If I were you I would: cut back on lunch, either eat soup or grilled cheese but not both, leave off the mayo (mustard is a great alternative) skip the EVOO, use balsamic vinegar instead, and/or cheese on your salad, (I''ve made cheese a treat, not a staple just because I love it so much I could eat a whole brick if I was handed one) and turn your fruit and yogurt smoothy snack into just yogurt (yoplait has great 100-110 calories yogurts that are a perfect snack).

Regarding wine, there are about 104 calories in a 5 oz glass of wine, this equals 5 glasses per bottle.

And in the end don''t expect garuanteed weight loss, sometimes your body isn''t willing to give up the extra 5 lbs (it clings to it as it finds it useful when you get sick). John tells me this on a regular basis, every time I curse those last lbs.!!!

My typical day broken down by calories looks about as follows:

Breakfast: 200 calories (1 package Quaker oatmeal, 1/4 cup 1% milk, 1 cup of Lipton tea (this is a constant))
Lunch: 200-300 (almost always soup, or a protein bar if I''m in a hurry)
Snacks: 200-400 calories (12 almonds, yes I actually count them, Yoplait yogurt, frozen yogurt, which has become a staple in my life over the past 4 years)
Dinner: 400-600 calories (typically a cooking light recipe or something similar that includes lots of veggies, a bit of meat for protein and a salad w/ just lettuce, tomatoes and a splash of balsamic vinegar, plus a glass of wine or two, which is an absolute staple in my diet, I love a good glass of wine to end the day)

Not that I am the be-all-end-all in regards to eating, but I am pretty structured in regards to diet and have managed to lose 5 lbs. or so in the last 4 weeks simply by being a bit more conscience of what I put in my mouth and making sure I burn 1600-2000 calories a week working out. And this included spending 3 days visiting friends in another city, a few more days eating at a family members'' house and dinner out at least twice a week, a shared dessert included each time. And I have a SLOW metabolism to boot, always have, always will.

I hope this doesn''t come across as preachy, it is not my intent, and provides you with a bit of guidance. Stick to it and youl''ll be fine! And even if you don''t lose a single lb. (I think I''m hitting my stopping point in regards to weight loss so I can relate) your body will be thankful that you are taking such good care of it.

 

[Rod]

Happy Tuesday Team PS!

Didn''t sleep well last night. Not sure why, but I was concerned it might affect my workout tonight, but it didn''t at all. We''ve been asked to meet with the developer of the condo tomorrow night, so it won''t be possible to work out tomorrow and for those of you who know me, you know we work out Tuesday, Wednesday,Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Since I knew we couldn''t work out tomorrow night, I worked out extra hard tonight. I did an almost 3 hour session. I''m also making progress on acheiving higher levels on the the elliptical. I think my body had gotten used to what I had been doing. Instead of burning around 700 calories in 45 minutes, I''m burning 500 calories in 30 minutes. That''s working at 1,000 calories/hour. Pretty intense!

Food wise, I was my typical good self, with the exception of a Tart Cherry Scone from Panera (still only around 340 calories) and Starbucks coffee at lunch, but I only had a salad and low fat vegetable soup with a baguette (which I just broke into small pieces and dipped in the vegetable soup). Yummmm. After my workout, I had another salad with sliced chicken, a slice of toast with Smart Balance Buttery Spread, three pieces of Lindt Dark Chocolate and a Fuji Apple.

I''ll probably check in tomorrow night, but I won''t have fitness notes to share. Have a great Wednesday!

 

[Mara]

kimberly basically said the same thing i would have.

nejarb i worked out and watched what i ate for almost 3 months. it wasn't until i ratcheted up my workouts AND started actually counting cals that i saw a difference. having some idea of what range you should be in to lose weight is very enlightening. i think i recall you don't really want to count...and i can understand that, it takes mental committment and you are kind of slave to the #'s..but it worked for me. you are eating maybe 1700-1900 a day but i bet that you need to eat more like 1300-1600 to LOSE weight. maintaining with what you are doing (and you could even work out less and maintain most likely) is what mode your body might be in. you need to kind of give it a kick in the butt and say MOVE.

also i know i have said this before but i literally did not see the scale move AT ALL (do you guys get that? AT ALL) for almost a month and a half after i started ratcheting things up and counting. if i really thought about it, i could be sad about it. but my body was busy. it was converting fat to muscle. THEN when the fat was starting to become more depleted, it started burning FAT. i cannot tell you how discouraged i was one day about a month after i started doing this whole thing to go to my mom's house after a workout and get on the scale after not weighing myself for over a month thinking oh i have to at least have lost a few lbs. NOPE. NOTHING. i'm like oh my gosh why am i doing this. but i was doing it for myself...to feel better, to be healthy...losing weight wasn't the only reason. so i kept at it. in any case, stay with it! and don't be discouraged. i said the same thing you did...which was...GOSH could it just give me one or two measly pounds to keep me interested (the scale). nope! and then when it started...it started in chunks. 2 lbs. 3 lbs, 3 lbs, 2 lbs etc. so anyway, stick with it!!! keep doing whats right for your body. and maybe cut back on cals a bit. my cals look a lot like kimberlys.

here is what i will have consumed today:
fiber cereal mixed with granola and honey bunches of oats, coffee with milk: 250
fiber muffin snack: 80
wheat bagel toasted with dijon, tomato, sprouts, turkey: 350
kudos bar: 100
1/2 banana: 50
thin slice of cranberry pumpkin bread from TJs: 70
1.5 servings of dry honey bunches of oats cereal: 170
leftover CL mushroom and turkey and lean beef lasagna: 350
serving of lemon carrots: 70
jello pudding cup: 60
total: 1550

i really wanted to be more like 1450 but i got crazy with the cereal, lol. but anyway...that's mostly a typical day except i had a bagel sandwich for lunch and i meant to have soup for more like 200ish cals. i have gotten more snacky in the afternoons whereas i never used to be. i think it's boredom at work, like i feel too stuck in the office, i need to get out and take more walks just to get out rather than snacking.

OH and my news...i went to the gym...and i got on the elliptical and about 25 minutes into my workout, i started feeling really weird and lightheaded, fast heartbeat, this happens to me sometimes. also the girl next to me smelled, she must not wash her exercise clothes enough or something...anyway that was making it worse. typically then i would just get off and go do a short walk then leave but i was determined to get back on the horse after my time away. so i kept at it and it went away and i felt better, yay!! so i ended up doing 55 minutes on the ellip! i was so happy. i meant to do like 40-45 but i felt better after the whole weird sweaty spell thing and my stomach didnt even hurt at all after that. for the first 25 it was kinda twingy but after that weird sweaty time it was fine. so i did 475 cals, woo hoo. and afterwards i felt okay! not perfect but okay and not worse which is important.

gosh this post is long, i have been composing it since before i started eating like 30 minutes ago, hahaa. anyway...everyone is doing fabulously...!!

eta: i forgot to add that i am putting the lemon carrot recipe that i am in love with in the healthy recipe thread...divine...highly recommended.

 

[Lorelei]

SB - I will be sending out my strongest vibes for you that your baby is fine and that the exam goes well, please let us know how you get on. These horses are such a worry!

I did another hour on the treadmill and watched the second part of SNF

Rod I hope your meeting goes well

 

[jadeleaves]

Just checking in to say I have not fallen off the wagon

. Button had his 4 mth vaccinations yesterday and has been really fussy and running a slight temperature and generally being really clingy so I haven''t had time to read PS much. He projectile vomitted on me and all over our bed this afternoon and the poor boy just pursed his lips and gave me a really sad ''mum what''s going on'' look it just about broke my heart watching him being so miserable.

Im eating well, and will try to hit the gym tmr for some cardio.

Hope everyone is well!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 1/31/2007 7:03:58 AM
Author: JadeLeaves
Just checking in to say I have not fallen off the wagon

. Button had his 4 mth vaccinations yesterday and has been really fussy and running a slight temperature and generally being really clingy so I haven''t had time to read PS much. He projectile vomitted on me and all over our bed this afternoon and the poor boy just pursed his lips and gave me a really sad ''mum what''s going on'' look it just about broke my heart watching him being so miserable.

Awwww, don''t you just hate that? Hope he feels better soon.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Good morning! For my Wednesday weight in I''m down only .5 lbs from last week but 8.5 since I started posting on Dec. 11 so I''m definitely not complaining!

I''m having oatmeal for breakfast (150 cals) but I really want McDonalds for lunch (cheeseburger and small fries is 550 cals) so that only takes me to 700. If have 200 cals of soup for dinner I still have lots of snack cals left over. The only wildcard will be if I actually make it outside at lunch to GO to McDs because it''s so damn cold here.

Last night I dreamed about a peanutbutter sandwich. Might be time to have one, ha ha!

I''ll do an hour on the elliptical tonight.

 

[sumbride]

Hi All --

I''ve been swamped with work and wedding and blah blah blah... but I''m still in the groove for the most part. I didn''t lose any this week but I didn''t gain any either. I haven''t been to the gym in almost a week, but I am going today. I''ve been getting so stressed and tense lately that I think I need to be there stretching myself out. I had a sharp pain in my shoulder yesterday and this eye twitch just will not stop! But I''m fine, really!

Re: the SB peanut butter bars... I bought some and while I like them, FI was dissapointed. He''s a peanut butter fiend, and I really think he expected it to taste exactly like Reeses, but I pointed out that it isn''t ACTUALLY a candy bar and he said it was "ok..." The kudos snickers/m&m bars have been out for a while and I can''t buy them anymore because he would literally eat the whole box in a day. At that point it would have been better just to eat a snickers bar.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Well, best laid plans and all... I just found out that we're celebrating January birthdays in an hour (we have a party once a month for all the people who had birthdays during that month). Last week the office manager asked me what kind of cake we should get this month and I said carrot cake, so she made a specific point of coming into my office to tell me that she went to the grocery store at 4:30 this morning to get carrot cake for me. Now I feel like I should eat a piece. I dug the top of the container out of the trash and one piece is 310 cals so that changes evertyhing else I'm going to have today.

200 cals soup for lunch
310 cals LC pizza
60 cals Classico sauce to dip the pizza wedges in
55 cals for the Oreo I snuck in while checking out the cals in the carrot cake (hangs head in shame)

So that's 935 including the cake. Still plenty of cals for snacking but I guess I'll have McDs tomorrow...

 

[larussel03]

My post got eaten. : (

Anyways, I had a decent first day yesterday of being on a calorie counting diet, although I came in alot lower than I thought I would. I really think that you take in a lot less when you''re counting b/c you''re not "mindlessly" munching as much, which I do alot. Plus, the not drinking any wine at night cuts out a lot since I will have 2 glasses of wine or so like 3 or 4 times a week, so cutting out any weekday drinking will prob help alot.

I didn''t make it to the gym b/c FI needed the car to do lab work, so I just did a 40 min pilates "ring" routine video (Windsor, my fav!) Doesn''t really burn the cals, but it does tone the tummy and the butt!

Yesterdays totals:

Yogurt (140 cals)
Cereal bar snack (150 cals)
South Beach Diet Meal (300 cals)
carrot Sticks (35 cals)
Ceral bar snack (150 cals)
broccoli topped with low fat bleu cheese (less than 100 cals)
Yucky weight watchers meal (160 cals)
Low fat cracker snack with hot chocolate (120 + 100)

Grand total of 1255 for the day, which seems alot lower than I would have thought. And I felt full, actually felt like I was stuffing my face all day, just without junk food. I think I may swap the dinner then snack for just a better dinner though, that ww meal was ick and I was hungry later b/c I didn''t realize when I made it it had so few cals.

Hopefully today I''ll make it to the gym! Have had yogurt so far, and I brought yogurt and sliced melon for lunch! Yum! I should really make a "real" lunch, but I ran out the door so fast, so I''m glad I bought some "healthier" options though so now when I just run out I can grab something healthy, rather than not bringing anything and buying something not so healthy for lunch.

I''m going to try and get away from the processed frozen meals , but I needed something easy to start with.

 

[larussel03]

Anyone have any good fast grab lunch ideas to bring to work? If I have to make it ahead of time in the morning, I won''t bring anything???

 

[KimberlyH]

Morning All,

Today I have orientation so that I can start substitute teaching in my school district so it''s going to be a bit of a hectic day (I am really really nervous) and I won''t be working out.

We had polenta w/ sausage, mushrooms and tomatoes for dinner and it was truly delicious and EASY (it took about 25 minutes from prep to serving). I love polenta and it''s a great substitute for noodles.

Here are my stats for Weigh In Wednesday

Week 4 Week 5
Height: 5''5" Height: 5''5"
Weight: 134.8 Weight: 133.8
Bust: 34 Bust: 33.5"
Waist: 27.5" Waist: 28"
Lower Waist: 33.5" Lower Waist: 33.5"
Bicep: 12" Bicep: 12"
Hips: 38.5” Hips: 38.25”
Thigh: 21.5" Thigh: 21.25"

I''ve lost 4.2 lbs and 3" (mostly in my hips and thighs) total since we started the weekly weigh in.

I wish I could get my darn biceps to budge; I''ve always had larger arms, perhaps to balance out my larger chest. It''s really time for me to incorproate more core work and weights into my work out. I''m good about it for a few weeks but I just can''t maintain it. I bought an exercise ball the other day to sit on while I''m doing school work to help build my core up but there isn''t enough air in it and I was looking way too far up and couldn''t really see the computer screen. I''ll need to get John to put more air in it today.

DeeJay, enjoy that cheesecake and happy brithday (whenever it was/is!).

 

[Dee*Jay]

Date: 1/31/2007 10:20:09 AM
Author: KimberlyH

DeeJay, enjoy that cheesecake and happy brithday (whenever it was/is!).

Oops--sorry if I confused everyone--my birthday is actaully in September! The office manager just asked me what kind of cake to get this month because she''s tired of planning all the parties herself, LOL.

BTW, your chicken vesuvio recipe in the other thread looks WONDERFUL! I''m going to ask the happy hubby to make it, but with mushrooms instead of peas (I not a big pea fan).

 

[KimberlyH]

Date: 1/31/2007 10:16:58 AM
Author: *~Sweetpea~*
Anyone have any good fast grab lunch ideas to bring to work? If I have to make it ahead of time in the morning, I won''t bring anything???

Low sodium soup, a sandwich made the night before, leftovers from dinner, a premade salad from the grocery store, hit up the salad bar at your local grocery store on your lunch hour, a small fat free refried bean burrito. The amount of sodium in the frozen meals could be a hinderence to weight loss, so I would limit how many I ate in a day to one. I''ve stopped eating them altogether, simply because they aren''t that fabulous and there are alternatives.

 

[KimberlyH]

Date: 1/31/2007 10:24:29 AM
Author: Dee*Jay

Date: 1/31/2007 10:20:09 AM
Author: KimberlyH

DeeJay, enjoy that cheesecake and happy brithday (whenever it was/is!).

Oops--sorry if I confused everyone--my birthday is actaully in September! The office manager just asked me what kind of cake to get this month because she''s tired of planning all the parties herself, LOL.

BTW, your chicken vesuvio recipe in the other thread looks WONDERFUL! I''m going to ask the happy hubby to make it, but with mushrooms instead of peas (I not a big pea fan).

No need to apologize...happy really belated birthday!

The chicken vesuvio was delicious, it''s actually from The Harry Caray''s Restaurant Cookbook, which is one of mine and DH''s all time favorite restaurants. Who knew HC had low fat recipes! He/I cut way back on the olive oil though.

 

[nejarb]

thank you kim & mara. kim, preachy is what i was fishing for! i''m glad to see that you''ve lost weight w/out cutting out nightly wine. this is one of the last things i would want to cut out myself. i think i really do need to start counting calories. my reservation about it is based on 2 percieved problems: (1) i don''t know how to use excel, and a collection of scraps of paper w/ incomprehensible scribbles doesn''t sound fun, and (2) i''m just scared that i''ll actually need to eat less and stop putting mayo on sandwiches, and that i''ll be hungry.

as for excel, i have a live-in personal tutor and all i need to do is ask. or i could print out some kind of chart, and write calories in w/ pen. does anyone else who counts calories use pen & paper? as for my food anxiety, i probably just need to grow up a little in that area. i''m like a 3 year old still, says my mom. i get hungry every 3 hours and really cranky if somebody doesn''t feed me.

also, i know there are foods that have more fill-up per calorie, like high protien/high fiber. like salmon salad & lentil soup--perfect lunch or dinner. i really need to get back to costco for some cans of salmon. i just need to kidnap somebody w/ a costco card and bring them with me!


JL, i may have mentioned this before, but your son is a beautiful little baby. maybe the cutest i''ve ever seen. i hope he''s feeling better soon! his name isn''t really button? that''s too cute. it''s just his nickname, right? it''s adorable.

Rod, 500 cal in 30 min is seriously intense! you must be in great shape and have really strong heart and lungs. good for you.

 

[Rod]

Date: 1/31/2007 10:44:01 AM
Author: nejarb
thank you kim & mara. kim, preachy is what i was fishing for! i''m glad to see that you''ve lost weight w/out cutting out nightly wine. this is one of the last things i would want to cut out myself. i think i really do need to start counting calories. my reservation about it is based on 2 percieved problems: (1) i don''t know how to use excel, and a collection of scraps of paper w/ incomprehensible scribbles doesn''t sound fun, and (2) i''m just scared that i''ll actually need to eat less and stop putting mayo on sandwiches, and that i''ll be hungry.

as for excel, i have a live-in personal tutor and all i need to do is ask. or i could print out some kind of chart, and write calories in w/ pen. does anyone else who counts calories use pen & paper? as for my food anxiety, i probably just need to grow up a little in that area. i''m like a 3 year old still, says my mom. i get hungry every 3 hours and really cranky if somebody doesn''t feed me.

also, i know there are foods that have more fill-up per calorie, like high protien/high fiber. like salmon salad & lentil soup--perfect lunch or dinner. i really need to get back to costco for some cans of salmon. i just need to kidnap somebody w/ a costco card and bring them with me!


JL, i may have mentioned this before, but your son is a beautiful little baby. maybe the cutest i''ve ever seen. i hope he''s feeling better soon! his name isn''t really button? that''s too cute. it''s just his nickname, right? it''s adorable.

Rod, 500 cal in 30 min is seriously intense! you must be in great shape and have really strong heart and lungs. good for you.

Thanks............I do have a good heart and lungs now. But, you should have seen me 14 months ago. I was in sad shape. It''s amazing what someone can do in a short period of time if one is really committed to changing one''s life for the better!!

 

[Mara]

nejarb when i started counting i literally had a notepad open on my dekstop on my computer and i'd type in 'breakfast: 250'. lunch: 300. etc. then i'd use the little calculator and add them up. eventually i graduated to using excel and keeping a running spreadsheet. but really do whatever works for you. also i have a really good memory so even if i don't write something down immediately, i can recall later what i ate when i am back at my desk or at home or whatever. so it works out.

as for being hungry and worried ... you will not be hungry. trust me, i adore my food big time. i also rejected the thought of changing anything because i didn't want to be hungry. well guess what. when you are hungry, instead of going for a high calorie low nutrition slice of white bread or whatever, yuo can eat big bowl of fruit, a yogurt, a whole wheat toast, you can have oatmeal, you can have a TON of things that are going to be yummy and filling. cereal is one of my faves. i end up eating every few hours and i am not hungry. if i am hungry, i eat again. i typically eat at 8am when i get up, then have a snack at 11am. then i eat lunch at like 1pm. snack again at like 2pm, 3pm (i get so bored at work in the afternoons, just restless)...and then come home and either have another snack at like 6pm waiting for greg, or if i go to the gym we both get home at 7 so eating dinner at 7:30-8pm, dessert at like 9:30pm. we go to bed around 11. where i really kill myself lately is the afternoon snacks. the 100 or 50 cal snacks still add up. so i really need to get out of that rut. i am having smaller lunches to compensate but i used to be able to eat a 350cal LC for lunch and be fine til like 4pm! so who knows...my body is all outta wack lately.

so last nite instead of a jello pudding cup i had a bowl of cereal because i was still feeling a bit hungry (bottomless pit!) and then i fell asleep waiting for greg to get home and slept for 1.5 hours. i have been really tired lately and last nite's workout really drained me. totally need to get back into it, see what 2 weeks off does!?

i will get my measurements when i go upstairs, boo hoo my weigh in is going to be sad this week...but oh well!! it's to be expected after taking a few weeks off and having an out of town guest who loves sourdough bread and food in general, lol.

DJ don't you love when they put nutritional information on things? seriously i totally do. it doesn't mean i won't eat it but at least i'll know whats in it. like i was checking out 'chocolate croissant' the other day online since we got one at the french bakery and they are a huge weakness for me. the au bon pain one is only 310 cals i think. i don't know if we have an au bon pain around here but it's probably like our local version of boudin or le boulanger (bread bakeries with sandwiches, soups, pastries etc)...but i was like oh sweet only 310!! for a whole croissant with choco. seriously not that bad for a dessert. so now i am determined to find one. haha. the one we ate could have easily been more, the problem with one bakery putting their info out but not others is you don't know how much bakery 1 uses for butter or flour or chocolate or similar than bakery 2. even looking up bagels online yesterday to measure out my sandwich for lunch, some bagels are listed as 250 all the way up to 400. how's to know what my local bagel shop uses? i usually just take an 'average' and it wasn't detrimental to me previously in terms of meeting my goals but i am a definite fan of having nutritional info on things. i guess they figure if people know what they are eating they won't want to (and in some cases they might be right, aka bloomin onion at 2k cals anyone?) but i would still eat most of what i actually wanted as long as i knew what it included. anyway nutritional rant over.

breakfast this morning was 2 pieces of bakery danish cinammon toast (greg had been eating it when i came down so of course the house smelled like it...hehe...how can you resist that?) with smart balance butter and a small bowl of fiber one mixed with honey bunches of oats and coffee. lunch will probably be a LC or some corn chowder or something. i thought about making a sandwich but nah. i had one yesterday. then dinner tonite could be a variety of things depending on how my day goes but im leaning towards going to tJ's and getting us another pizza to complement the margherita one we have in the fridge and doing pizza and salads tonite. however i did want to do a chicken this week so we'll see.

is it friday yet?!

OH and on a random note, so my stomach is feeling a bit better day to day...i discovered that taking cherry chewable rolaids (kinda yummy actually) whenever it hurts helps immensely and makes me feel like 99% normal which is so awesome...and the one i got helps gas too so i dont have to take like 20 diff things...(lol i was laughing buying rolaids at the store, here i am 32 with hearburn, argh..at least it was the same day that portia's daycare guy told me that i was 'too young' to worry about having kids yet, he thought i was like 26! so i was still floating on that euphoria which got me through buying rolaids...)...but i'm about to start TTOTM and i already feel cramps so i am like FABULOUS. exchanging one sort of stomach pain for another....damn body!

 

[merrijoy]

Date: 1/31/2007 11:05:17 AM
Author: Mara
nejarb when i started counting i literally had a notepad open on my dekstop on my computer and i''d type in ''breakfast: 250''. lunch: 300. etc. then i''d use the little calculator and add them up. eventually i graduated to using excel and keeping a running spreadsheet. but really do whatever works for you. also i have a really good memory so even if i don''t write something down immediately, i can recall later what i ate when i am back at my desk or at home or whatever. so it works out.

as for being hungry and worried ... you will not be hungry. trust me, i adore my food big time. i also rejected the thought of changing anything because i didn''t want to be hungry. well guess what. when you are hungry, instead of going for a high calorie low nutrition slice of white bread or whatever, yuo can eat big bowl of fruit, a yogurt, a whole wheat toast, you can have oatmeal, you can have a TON of things that are going to be yummy and filling. cereal is one of my faves. i end up eating every few hours and i am not hungry. if i am hungry, i eat again. i typically eat at 8am when i get up, then have a snack at 11am. then i eat lunch at like 1pm. snack again at like 2pm, 3pm (i get so bored at work in the afternoons, just restless)...and then come home and either have another snack at like 6pm waiting for greg, or if i go to the gym we both get home at 7 so eating dinner at 7:30-8pm, dessert at like 9:30pm. we go to bed around 11. where i really kill myself lately is the afternoon snacks. the 100 or 50 cal snacks still add up. so i really need to get out of that rut. i am having smaller lunches to compensate but i used to be able to eat a 350cal LC for lunch and be fine til like 4pm! so who knows...my body is all outta wack lately.

so last nite instead of a jello pudding cup i had a bowl of cereal because i was still feeling a bit hungry (bottomless pit!) and then i fell asleep waiting for greg to get home and slept for 1.5 hours. i have been really tired lately and last nite''s workout really drained me. totally need to get back into it, see what 2 weeks off does!?

i will get my measurements when i go upstairs, boo hoo my weigh in is going to be sad this week...but oh well!! it''s to be expected after taking a few weeks off and having an out of town guest who loves sourdough bread and food in general, lol.

DJ don''t you love when they put nutritional information on things? seriously i totally do. it doesn''t mean i won''t eat it but at least i''ll know whats in it. like i was checking out ''chocolate croissant'' the other day online since we got one at the french bakery and they are a huge weakness for me. the au bon pain one is only 310 cals i think. i don''t know if we have an au bon pain around here but it''s probably like our local version of boudin or le boulanger (bread bakeries with sandwiches, soups, pastries etc)...but i was like oh sweet only 310!! for a whole croissant with choco. seriously not that bad for a dessert. so now i am determined to find one. haha. the one we ate could have easily been more, the problem with one bakery putting their info out but not others is you don''t know how much bakery 1 uses for butter or flour or chocolate or similar than bakery 2. even looking up bagels online yesterday to measure out my sandwich for lunch, some bagels are listed as 250 all the way up to 400. how''s to know what my local bagel shop uses? i usually just take an ''average'' and it wasn''t detrimental to me previously in terms of meeting my goals but i am a definite fan of having nutritional info on things. i guess they figure if people know what they are eating they won''t want to (and in some cases they might be right, aka bloomin onion at 2k cals anyone?) but i would still eat most of what i actually wanted as long as i knew what it included. anyway nutritional rant over.

breakfast this morning was 2 pieces of bakery danish cinammon toast (greg had been eating it when i came down so of course the house smelled like it...hehe...how can you resist that?) with smart balance butter and a small bowl of fiber one mixed with honey bunches of oats and coffee. lunch will probably be a LC or some corn chowder or something. i thought about making a sandwich but nah. i had one yesterday. then dinner tonite could be a variety of things depending on how my day goes but im leaning towards going to tJ''s and getting us another pizza to complement the margherita one we have in the fridge and doing pizza and salads tonite. however i did want to do a chicken this week so we''ll see.

is it friday yet?!

OH and on a random note, so my stomach is feeling a bit better day to day...i discovered that taking cherry chewable rolaids (kinda yummy actually) whenever it hurts helps immensely and makes me feel like 99% normal which is so awesome...and the one i got helps gas too so i dont have to take like 20 diff things...(lol i was laughing buying rolaids at the store, here i am 32 with hearburn, argh..at least it was the same day that portia''s daycare guy told me that i was ''too young'' to worry about having kids yet, he thought i was like 26! so i was still floating on that euphoria which got me through buying rolaids...)...but i''m about to start TTOTM and i already feel cramps so i am like FABULOUS. exchanging one sort of stomach pain for another....damn body!

Thank you. This was the exact point I was trying to get to the other day about eating out and not having the exposure into the calories you are consuming. You summed up my thoughts very nicely. We really don''t eat much and when we do, 95% of the time it is sushi. And we do this about 2 - 3 times per month.

Mer

 

[AmberGretchen]

nejarb - I completely agree about the counting calories thing. I''ve gone through long periods of my life where I''ve exercised intensively (there was a period in high school where I was in ballet class or rehearsal almost 40 hours a week plus hitting the gym for 45-60 minutes of cardio plus 30 minutes of weight training 4-5 days a week), and the scale did not move.

I was actually talking to several of the doctors who work in my lab (they have a range of specialties, but they are all good about keeping up on the latest medical articles, etc...), and they confirmed what it seems that many here have discovered, that losing weight seems to be about 90% diet and only about 10% exercise, if even that much. They said you would have to basically be training intensively for a marathon/triathlon type event to see significant weight loss from exercise alone, although they did confirm that building muscle with strength training can help by lowering your body fat percentage and raising your basal metabolic rate. But apparently even that (building muscle) takes at least 6-8 weeks, even if you are on a really good program (i.e. lifting to the point of exhaustion and soreness, etc...).

So that whole conversation kind of depressed me because I''m such a food junkie and I''ve never minded working out, but I know I won''t have that kind of time to work out with all the other things I want to do with my life. But then I realized that I''ve been counting calories now for 3 weeks solid, and tracking everything I''m eating, and I''m losing weight and I don''t usually feel deprived. Of course, I''ll need to keep tweaking things to make sure that I don''t get too hungry and its important to keep exploring new food choices. And I''m looking forward to when I get to my goal weight so I can focus on maintaining and building a lifetime habit, but for now I don''t feel especially deprived, and when I put on my jeans that I could barely get into when I bought them and they are so loose I need to get a belt to wear with them, that feels way better than not tracking my calories during that time would have.

Also, I don''t know if this helps, but I use SparkPeople to track my calories, fat, etc...Their website works well for me, and I usually copy and paste the values for calories, fat, carbs, protein and fiber into an Excel Spreadsheet so I can track for longer periods of time and get averages. I think the website is very simple and intuitive and might be a good place to start if you don''t always have a good idea immediately of what''s in everything you''re eating.

 

[lovelylulu]

hello.

kudos to the group. everyone seems to be making really great progress!!! and for me, progress is my greatest motivator. my eating has been stellar, for whatever reason, i''ve managed to mostly avoid all the indulgences i''m normally unable to resist. I think i needed a break from the holidays. now that february is nearly here...we''ll have to wait and see. i''m wondering how my acholol abstention in january will affect my behavior in the future. like everything else, i think i''ll be more conscious of it from here on out.

so 1 more pound has melted off and now i''m a mere 4 lbs to my goal weight. Hurray. and just in time to sport a bathing suit this weekend.

sweatpea: i heart the circle routine, however, the advanced workout with those jackknife moves is quite challenging!!