Exercise - 90 mins on the treadmill (3 x 30), 15 mins weights

Water - 12 cups

Food - 1940 calories (26% fat, 48% carbs, 22% protein)

Breakfast - protein shake, 3 clementines (159)

Lunch - whole wheat tortilla, mustard, smoked turkey/smoked cdn back bacon, cheese blend, roasted veggies with balsamic vinegar, apple, fruit salad (514)

Dinner - chicken and sausage gumbo, rice, mixed veg, salad, salad dressing (704)

Snacks - protein shake (x2), apple, fruit salad, dill pickle crispers (563)

It was a pretty good day, although I’m severely unmotivated today. I think it’s the weather - it’s back to gray. I managed to do two sessions on the treadmill and the time with the weights before lunch, so that helped. I was so tempted to just veg for the afternoon since I’d already done the 60 minutes, but I decided not to be lazy.

mizu - I should probably watch the whole thing (for some reason I always catch the second half) but the Biggest Loser kind of bugs me. They never seem to talk about water weight (ie. the big losses, then nothing), especially for the women. No matter how hard they’re working out, it’s likely that at least one in 4 weigh-ins the women aren’t going to lose big. I don’t know why it should surprise me. I could come up with a couple of different options - I don’t like the voting off. I think they could make the format just as interesting (with rewards), and then everybody gets the chance to lose for the whole time period. That’s why I started tracking daily weights, so later on I wouldn’t freak out when I didn’t lose one week. At least I hope not…

Well, after holding almost completely steady for the last 4 days I dropped a little to make today’s total weight loss of 3 pounds this week. I think that’s the downfall of every morning weigh-ins. If you see too many days without movement you start to panic. I suspect in the end it was simply the addition of the lunch meat and adding the daily using of the weights, both which might be causing water retention. Weight loss is such a variable thing. If you believe everything your told it should be simple. You figure out your BMR and then simply reduce your intake by the required number of calories a day. Only we all know it’s not that simple. For women, water retention around periods could drive you mad sometimes. It’s almost impossible to keep your body from retaining water for various reasons. That’s why I always look at people who lose, let’s say, 10 pounds in two weeks, and think that they’re letting themselves in for a massive disappointment. We’re all looking for the magic pill that’s going to just cause the weight to fall off.

Sadly, it doesn’t exist. It takes a lot of hard work, and eternal vigilance. Wow, that’s sounds like a very down note to end a post. I’m not really down, just a little introspective today. The happy note is that I’ve lost another 3 pounds!

neverperfect - the mushrooms are good. It’s just some portobella mushrooms (cleaned and baked for about 20 mins at 400) stuffed with a mix of celery, onion, the mushroom stems, a can of crabmeat, and some mixed cheese. Even using a little oil to cook the stuffing, it’s well under 400 calories, and half come from the oil and cheese. Using broth to cook the vegetables and cutting back on the cheese it could be a great lunch as well. I (of course) serve it with a side of broccoli.