TSK TSK!

Well, it has been about a month since my last post. TSK TSK TSK for anybody that reads this and didn't keep me on track.

Don't worry, I was still dieting - just not blogging!

As of last month, I posted that I was 10.8 pounds down. In the last month, I have lost another 10ish pounds! As of Thursday (which is now 5 days ago) I was down a total of 10.5 (again, ish) pounds. I am losing at an average rate of 2.5 pounds a week, which is perfectly healthy, and I am very excited about that!

I have NOT done as good on counting my calories lately. School has started, and I eat lunch in the cafeteria, which makes knowing what I am eating incredibly difficult. I also am helping my husband remodel our house (we currently live in an apartment, but will be moving in the house in a month or so) and so I have not dedicated the time to cooking that I should be. Rather, we have been eating out much more - but I am at least trying to consciously make decisions to eat healthier foods out rather than fried and in alfredo sauce (ooohhhh how I miss alfredo.....)

I am doing really good on my water. I rarely drink anything other than that. I have allowed myself a couple of diet sodas and a couple of cups of coffee with a very small amount of sugar in the last month. Overall, I would say I am averaging about 12 cups of water a day. I need to push that just a little further, based on my previous post, but I am pretty happy with that.

I have not gone clothes shopping, but I am excited to say that I think it is time to move down a pants size! I am being forced to wear belts on most of my jeans, and my dress slacks are looking awfully baggy, especially on my legs. I am no where close to where I want to be in the long run, but I am inching up on that first goal of 30 pounds (actually, I am going to amend that to 28.4 pounds, to round off to an even weight number), 2/3 of the way there a week ago. I am excited to see what the scale says in just two more days! I am HOPING that by the end of September, I will have made my first goal, and will possibly even feel comfortable enough to share the starting and ending goal weights.

I need to start working out more, which always seems to be my issue. I am leaving the apartment that I live in, that has a gym, and going to a house without any equipment, so I really either need to join a gym (preferably with childcare) or make it a habit to take daily walks or jogs or something. If anybody has any suggestions on a gym that is affordable, has child care, and does not have a contract, PLEASE let me know!

My goal is to post again on Thursday, with an updated picture! I wish I would have taken a picture before I started this, rather than using an old one that just looked relevent. Now that I am making such progress, I wish I would have had before / during / after pictures all in a swimsuit or tank top and shorts or something along those lines. I guess I can start that on Thursday, though, and I just will have missed out on the first one.

I will try to post Thursday, with an updated picture, and status! If I fall off the face of internet again, I expect comments or something (they go straight to my email) so I have to get back in the game!

The Truth About Water

I haven't been posting as often as I would like to, it has been so busy this last week! I do want to start off with saying a few days ago was my "official" weight check in, and.... drumroll please.... I am now down 10.8 lbs! The last week's weight loss slowed, but it is still progress, and for that I am happy! My immediate goal is to lose 30 lbs, and then my next goal will be an additional 30 lbs. So, as of 3 days ago, I am 1/3 the way to my first goal!

Anyway, back to the topic I really intended for this blog.

Water.

I was really starting to get tired of drinking so much water, so I did a little research on the topic to make sure I was pushing myself for the right reasons. Don't get me wrong, I know that water is so good for me, but I have always heard that water just "flushes the fat right out," and I wanted to make sure that was right. So here is the outcome of my research.

"Water flushes the fat right off of you"

False. Water does not flush fat. It is physically impossible.

"Water boosts your metabolism."

True. Drinking 17oz of cold water temporarily (for about 20-30 minutes) boosts your metabolism by up to 30%, to heat the water to body temperature.

"Your body has a hard time telling thirst from hunger."

True. Very often your body is trying to tell you that you are thirsty, but we perceive it as being hungry. Drinking 16 oz of water before a meal, you are likely to eat on average 75 calories less every meal!

"Drinking water flushes toxins from your body."

This one is true. The water filters toxins out of your kidneys, which is great for your overall health!

"Only WATER counts towards your water quota."

Myth. While pure water is a 0 calorie drink, many liquids will suffice in hydrating your body.

"You need 8 cups of water a day."

Myth. The recommended amount for an average healthy female adult is 9 cups, and an average healthy male adult is 13 cups, but this recommended amounts do very based one weight and how active you are.


This is an awesome water intake calculator that I found online -

http://nutrition.about.com/library/blwatercalculator.htm

It actually recommends that I drink 17 cups a day!!!! WOW that is a lot! Hope everybody enjoys!

two weeks and 9 pounds happier!

Today marks the close of two weeks eating low calorie. And, while I already spoiled it with the title, I will re-announce, I am 9 pounds lighter, and 9 pounds happier! I don't personally see a difference in myself yet, other than my dress pants that I wore today are fitting looser than I remember last week or the week before.... but I know that every week a difference is being made, and eventually I will look back at my starting photo and not even recognize myself. I can't wait until that happens!

I know it may not be the most entertaining read, but I am going to try to get back into the habit of posting what it is that I ate that day, because I am always looking for advice. I got a facebook post today from a friend that suggested substituting eggplant for lasagna noodles, and spaghetti squash for spaghetti noodles. I will have to give that a try considering 12 Barilla noodles have 760 calories and 152 carbs, and a large eggplant has 473 calories and 55 carbs!

I just googled veggie substitutes for pasta and found a blog, that while it doesn't seem to have a LOT of suggestions, it has a few hints that I need to try. Also anybody else wanting to watch carbs should at least give these ideas a shot!

http://blog.gourmandia.com/2010/03/22/pasta-substitutes/

Thanks, Dawn, for the great idea!

Today I started the day with 2 eggs and 2 slices of turkey bacon (I have really come to love turkey bacon! my husband won't even try it, but if you are willing to, I like it much more than traditional...) and a cup of almond/ coconut milk which totaled out to 250 calories.

For lunch I had an apple, a Lean Cuisine (chicken and broccoli alfredo - actually not too bad!), a peaches n cream parfait by Dole, and a cup of green tea sweetened with a tbsp of honey. That came to 520 calories.

I had 25 pistachios for a snack, which is 80 calories (and a great source of healthy fats and protein).

And for dinner I was NOT in the mood to cook, so I went to Chipotle Mexican Grill, and ordered one of their burrito bowls, skipped adding rice, and had pico de gallo, chicken, black beans, and cheese. That came to 430 calories (and 48 grams of protein :) ).

I am working on cup number 10 of water, maybe 1/2 serving of veggies for the day (bad bad) 2 fruit, 2 dairy, 1 bread, and somewhere in the realm of 4 proteins. See? I'm trying! I have calories left over today, so maybe I will make myself a snack of asparagus. I REALLY like the recipe that I found on American Heart Association's website that I posted in an earlier post. If you haven't tried it yet, do it now!!

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cholesterol/PreventionTreatmentofHighCholesterol/Lemony-Tilapia-and-Asparagus-Grill_UCM_313561_Recipe.jsp

I will leave tonight with this note:
The good Lord gave you a body that can stand most anything. It's your mind you have to convince. ~Vincent Lombardi 

Low Carb...? Not for me!

So yesterday, and the day before, I tried eating low carb (under 150 grams per day). That is HARD! I had to almost force myself to eat as much protein as supposedly I am supposed to have. While I am sure that would work better to burn calories, I feel like if I kept trying to follow it, I would end up breaking and giving up on the whole thing. So.... I decided to go back to just eating less than 1600 calories. This has been working for me, and even though I am sure I eat more carbs and less protein than I am supposed to, I actually feel satisfied at the end of the day, rather than stressed out. As long as I keep loosing weight I am happy with however it is that I am doing it. For anybody interested, I did find a fantastic website, that while I am not following it exactly, it did give me some great insight.

www.acaloriecounter.com

This website really teaches the difference in good fats and bad, good carbs and bad, etc. Even though I am not going to follow it exactly (150 grams of carbs max), I did go grocery shopping and made conscious decisions to buy carbs that are high in fiber (which keeps you feeling fuller, longer) rather than high in sugar.

I have gotten into the bad habit of weighing myself every morning. It is exciting to see the pounds coming off, but at the same time, I know weight can fluctuate, so it would be better for me to go back to once a week...

The last couple of days I have had just under 1600 every day, which means I am doing great! Today for dinner I had a frozen bag of garlic shrimp linguini with all kinds of mixed vegetables, and it was awesome! There were 2 cups (when cooked) of food, 1 cup is a serving, and only 190 calories. I was still hungry after the first cup, so I went ahead and let myself have seconds, because it was so low calorie, and I still ended the day at only 1475! I can't wait until Thursday to post my new weight loss, because, even though it wont be as big as last week, I am still excited to see it coming off!

The reason I started blogging about what I eat, is so others can keep me accountable, and not let me slack off. While I haven't had any negative comments about my dieting faux pas, I did get a couple on Facebook yesterday, when I posted about my yummy lasagna that I made for dinner. Well, message received. Bye bye lasagna, see you in 50 pounds! *crying* They were right, though. I thought I was doing okay because I stayed within my calorie limit, and used low fat cheese, but what I was told, and now see, is that lasagna has LOTS of carbs. Way too many to be eating at night, especially with no exercise. Maybe after I lose 25 pounds I will treat myself to some for lunch or something.....

Long story short - Thank you guys for doing what I need. Call me out when I'm slacking or eating wrong!

I haven't been able to get in much exercise lately. The hubby works long days on Fridays and Saturdays, and it has been too hot to go for a walk with my baby. Hopefully I can get in a good hour or so at the gym tomorrow (even if it is in the evening).

Calorie-wise I haven't done too badly. Yesterday totaled out at 1575, and that included my lasagna and Chick fil a (8 count nuggets) for lunch. I had 3 fruit, 3 breads, only 1 veggie (tsk tsk), 3 proteins, 2 dairy, and 1 fat.

Chick fil a's 8 count nugget, by the way, only has 260 calories, and alongside a medium fruit cup (70Calories) it makes for a yummy lunch that totals at only 340!

Check out Eat This, Not That's website for great hints on eating out without 1000 calories and 100 grams of fat!

Today was better on one hand and worse on another. I ate very, very light, apparently (although it didn't feel that way when I was eating) and only totaled at 1284. Again, it is too late for me to eat more for the day... I need to get back to planning meals the day before so I can stay within my 1500 to 1600 calorie range. Today I had 2 dairy, 4 protein (woot woot), 2 fruits, 1.5 veggies (tsk tsk again), and 3 breads.

Does anybody know of a good black beans and rice recipe? I tried making one on my own with black beans, white rice, green bell peppers, and red onions. I didn't care for it, but maybe I didn't season well enough. Would love suggestions!

Also, something I learned, Greek yogurt is a GREAT snack, A lot of protein that will keep you full until lunch (or dinner) and not too many more calories than regular, lowfat yogurt!

Week One Down, only 51 more to go!

So the last night was rough on me. I ate out at Texas Roadhouse for dinner, and I'm sure there were many more calories than I hoped for. I got chicken critters, but I did peal off most of the fried coating, so hopefully that saved me some. I absolutely love their buns and cinnamon butter, but I only allowed myself half of one, with barely enough butter to taste it. I got mixed veggies (probably cooked in butter, at least that's how it tasted) and a sweet potato with nothing on it except a little butter. Man, a lot of butter last night, I am realizing! Throughout the day I did fine, so I didn't feel so bad about allowing myself to eat that last night, but on a normal day - no way!


I did discover something really encouraging last night, though. I officially weighed myself. I know at night is not ideal to weigh yourself, but since that is what I did last Thursday night, I figured I would follow through and weigh myself one week later at night, and I also weighed myself thismorning, so from now on it will be Thursday morning weights. From last Thursday night until yesterday (Wednesday) night.... wait for it....


I lost 4.4 pounds!!!! That is INSAIN for one week - especially because I have never had success in dieting before! I actually keep thinking that something was wrong with my scale the night that I originally weighed myself, but my husband keeps telling me to just be happy with it. I am starting, now, with weighing myself in the morning, and it was pretty nice to get up and weigh myself at even 2.6 pounds less than I was last night. So, now I have a new "starting" weight. My goal is to lose 60 more pounds. I know it will take a long time (there is no way I will continue to lose 4 pounds a week!!!) but I am more motivated now than I have ever been! I would like to lose this in 1 year. My 25th birthday is coming up, so my long term goal is to be at my goal weight by my 26th birthday. It is going to be hard, but I am ready. 


I got up early enough, and my husband didn't have to go to work until later, so I was able to get in a good workout thismorning. I used the elliptical for about 30 minutes, and did 4 sets of 10 leg curls at 20lbs. I'm guessing what was burned in that is about 100 Calories. I was ready to give up at about 10 minutes on the elliptical, but I kept telling myself "you are 1/3 done" or "you are 1/2 done" and that seemed to help a lot. I even power strode the last 2 minutes!


Rather than itemizing, like I usually do, I am just going to say my totals for the last couple of days.


Tuesday I had about 1,200 Calories, and I was STARVING at night. I ended up just going to bed without eating more, but I really should have eaten more during the day. I had 3 1/2 fruits, 2 dairy, only 1 veggie, 3 proteins, and 1 bread. That's probably why I was so hungry, now that I think about it....


Wednesday, I had, my guess, about 1,661 Calories. Over half of that came from dinner at Texas Roadhouse, even though I was trying to eat well there. I did have 2 fruits, 1 dairy, 3 proteins, 3 veggies, and 3 breads, though (along with some fat from butter).


Today has been much better, because I am not eating out. That seems to be the biggest fault in dieting - it is next to impossible to eat right at a restaurant. Even with eating veggies, the chefs want them to taste good, so they are soaked in butter!


Today I am at 150 for cereal and 85 for a banana for breakfast. Lunch was fantastic. I had tilapia, asparagus, and black beans and rice, all at only 575 Calories. That puts me at 810 for the day. That leaves enough for a small snack (maybe some applesauce and a couple of graham crackers) and a nice dinner!


I hope any readers are getting encouraged by these posts, and would love to hear feedback from anybody else, success or not! We can all work together to get healthier and have bodies that we love.

The last two days have been really difficult on me. I went out of town on Sunday, so I ended up eating two meals out. I feel like I did well, considering, but not today, not at all. I think I am keeping under my calorie limit, but I know spreading food out and eating the right kinds of food is just as important, which I did not do…..

Yesterday I had:

1 cup 1% milk - 100

1/3 cup Carnation instant breakfast - 130

1 banana - 85

1 oz low fat mozzarella string cheese – 80

Subway Sweet onion chicken teriyaki – 430

Small bite of Mike’s cookie – 22

8 oz filet mignon – 465?

1 cup zucchini sautéed in butter – around 85?

small salad with raspberry vinaigrette dressing – 50?

a couple of bites (maybe ¼ cup) of macaroni and cheese – 75?

That totals out at somewhere in the neighborhood of 1522 calories for the day. While I am happy with that number, and even more happy with myself that I drank somewhere around 12 cups of water, I only had 1 fruit, while my goal is 3. Also had 2 ½ breads, which I would like to have 3 – 4 a day, 3 proteins, 3 veggies, and 2 dairy.

Today was worse. I didn’t have time to eat breakfast before work, so I threw a couple of snacks in a bag and headed out. All I ate were those snacks until about 5:00 this evening.

1 cup almond coconut milk - 60

1 almond/flax granola bar – 140

1 peach - 50

When I got home I had a large bowl (maybe 2 cups) of vegetable soup with a little bit of stew meat (I don’t even know how to guess this one… 400?)

Tonight I cooked shrimp and grits

Below I will post the recipe – I would love feedback from anybody that has had / cooked shrimp and grits successfully, because I do not feel this turned out correctly.

My guess for dinner is:

Grits – 150

Bacon – 150

Shrimp – 45 (a wonderfully lean meat!)

Chicken broth – 5

Onion – 5

Scallion – 5

Garlic – 2

Flour - 20

Lemon juice – 1

Dinner totals out at 381, which isn’t terrible at all.

I allowed myself a desert tonight, which is a frozen yogurt popsicle thingy from Blue Bell. It was FANTASTIC and only 110 calories!!! If anybody wants to try something sweet but not terribly unhealthy, I would suggest these, in a heartbeat.

My GUESS for the day would be 1141, so I really should eat something else, but it is a little too late for that now. I have had 8 cups of water, and working on another 2 before bed, 2 dairy, 2-3 carbs (bigger serving of grits), 3 veggies, 1 fruit (need to push myself more on that tomorrow) and 2 proteins.

Here is the recipe for the shrimp and grits I used. I feel like it looks like a good recipe, and I would like to try it again, but I wasn’t happy with it. I was more eating because I was starving, rather than because I enjoyed it. But it was a lot of food for the calories, which is nice.

http://sugarcrafter.net/2010/02/03/shrimp-grits/

P.S. I weighed myself last night - I refuse to post progress more than once a week, so I am waiting until Thursday night to weigh myself "for real" but just for a preview, I see progress!!!