Exercise - 60 mins treadmill, 30 mins sculpting DVD, 15 mins weights

Water - 18 cups

Food - 2076 calories (24% fat, 52% carbs, 20% protein)

Breakfast - 12-grain toast, nectarine jam, 3 clementines (245)

Lunch - whole wheat tortilla, mustard, smoked ham, cheese blend, roasted veggies with balsamic vinegar, apple, fruit salad (589)

Dinner - spicy meatloaf with roasted potatoes/onions, broccoli, butter, salad, salad dressing (684)

Snacks - protein shake(x2), apple, fruit salad, biscotti, crispy minis (559)

Well I spent the morning trading emails with a guy about a possible job.  I really don’t like dealing with recruiters.  They’re like guys on the make - hot and heavy and then drop you once they get what they want.  In this case he wanted a resume, which I sent, and an idea of what kind of money I was looking for.  After he got that information I didn’t hear back from him the rest of the day.  Oh, I know that he’s probably now trying to get feedback from the potential employer.  I’m hoping it is reasonably close and that they are willing to go to the range I gave him.  It would work out well, giving me some income for at least 3 months.  It might even be good enough to pay my tuition fees if I get into school.  I’m not going to get excited about it until I know more.

I managed the sculpting DVD again today.  I think for now it will be a Wed/Sat thing.  I’m going to look for a garden kneeling pad though, since I still can’t do all the push-ups on my toes.  I found that today my knees really bugged me afterwards.  One is still sore, but I’ll put some heat on it at bedtime and it will likely be okay by the morning.

Well, that’s about it, nothing much going on here today.  Oh, I made my first fruit salad using the frozen cherries, so we’ll see how that works when I have it tomorrow at lunch.

Hello all - I answered Suzeeeq’s comment in an email, but decided I would post the response here as well…

I can’t sleep so I’ll answer your question about the veggies. Since I’m making them as a side dish for lunch I’m trying to make them as low cal as possible. I’ve been using a mix of carrots, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, onion, and green beans. For one day’s lunch I use this:

2 oz carrots (12 cals/oz) - using medium sized baby carrots, usually cut in halves or thirds
2 oz brussels sprouts (12 cals/oz) - cut in half
2 oz cauliflower (7 cals/oz) - cut in smallish flowerets
1 oz onion (11 cals/oz) - cut in slivers

I take those four and mix them together, putting them on a foil-covered baking sheet, sprayed with 1 sec canola oil spray (10 cals). Spray with up to 2 seconds of spray (20 cals) and then season with salt, pepper, basil, and a little garlic. (I don’t count cals in the spices.)

Put into a cold oven and let it come up to 450F.

2 oz green beans (9 cals/oz) - leave whole.

Put them on top of the other vegetables and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put back in the oven and cook for another 17-20 minutes. I usually check them after 17, often taking them out at 18. Sprinkle with 1Tb of balsamic vinegar (15 cals), pulling the edges of the foil together and toss. Serve warm.

So the total for above comes to 136 calories. Up until the other day I was making only one batch at a time, but it takes about 45 minutes from start to end. This is way too much time for lunch, especially when I’m trying to do more than half my exercises in the morning. I did make a triple batch the other day, which isn’t quite as good reheated (microwave), but it will do for the moment. I added an extra 5 minutes before adding the beans, and cooked the beans the full 20 minutes. It also allowed me to cut the canola spray down to 6 secs total, so 2 secs for each rather than 3. I put the calories for each vegetable just to show what changing them around could do. You could probably substitute a small amount of olive oil for the canola spray (might even be better). I just find it handy to use.

These definitely use less oil than typical roasted vegetables, but it’s a trade-off. I’m using them as a side dish to a wrap, and 2 servings of fruit, so I want them as low as possible. You might get a better flavour using a little more oil, which wouldn’t be a bad thing if serving for dinner, along-side a lean meat portion. In the past I’ve also roasted eggplant (which needs a little salting/resting prep) and mushrooms (which often darken the other vegetables). I suppose it’s just a case of finding what you like and adjusting.

Added: Although I like broccoli, when I tried it I wasn’t really happy with it. Adding at the start is too early, so add it in with the green beans.

Exercise - 90 mins treadmill, 15 mins weights

Water - 18 cups

Food - 2031 calories (22% fat, 53% carbs, 21% protein)

Breakfast - 12-grain toast, nectarine jam, 3 clementines (245)

Lunch - whole wheat tortilla, mustard, smoked back bacon, cheese blend, roasted veggies with balsamic vinegar, apple, fruit salad (565)

Dinner - baked pasta with meat sauce & cheese, broccoli, butter, salad, salad dressing (742)

Snacks - protein shake(x2), apple, fruit salad, nacho crispers (479)

It’s kind of early in the evening to post my food. I’m pretty good at not eating more than planned, so tonight I’m going to do this early and then just go curl up on the couch. I’ve discovered that my roasted veggies are not quite as good, but passable, reheated in the microwave. That’s good, since it cuts a few calories and a lot of time each day. This will let me exercise maybe a little more in the mornings, since most days I have to stop by 1pm to make sure I have my lunch ready by 2pm.

I also caught myself about to slip into an old habit tonight when making dinner. I had decided on some baked pasta (2.5oz) with meat sauce, with an ounce of cheese blend. Basically I cook whatever pasta is around (whole wheat spaghetti) and put it into a covered dish with a layer of cheese and then spread the meat sauce over it. Even with the cheese it’s better than my old days with 5oz of pasta, more sauce, and parmesan. I did measure the spaghetti, but I had my hand in the bag of cheese and pretty darn close to an ounce on… and I was heading back for just another handful. Cheese is one of those foods I just have problems with. It’s also the only dairy I can take. Milk never sits well, and yogurt for some reason makes my stomach heave. I did stop myself, but I know this is how I start to slip. Caught it this time but it reminds me that I still have to be very vigilant with some foods.

Oh, and I did get my cherries today - 11lb pail of sour cherries, and 5.5lb of sweet cherries. They were both very inexpensive once you break it down by the pound (1.45 for sour, and 2.27 for sweet). I’ll find out later in the week how they do in the fruit salad.

I’ve had such problems sleeping the past few days that I decided to try an herbal option (one with valerian in it). I have some over-the-counter sleep aids, but I just thought I’d try something new. I also figured that not doing too much just before I sleep might help as well. We’ll see how it goes.

Exercise - 90 mins treadmill, 15 mins weights

Water - 18 cups

Food - 2043 calories (23% fat, 49% carbs, 24% protein)

Breakfast - 12-grain toast, 6-fruit jam, 3 clementines (245)

Lunch - whole wheat tortilla, mustard, smoked back bacon, cheese blend, roasted veggies with balsamic vinegar, apple, fruit salad (594)

Dinner - baked chicken with tomato/mushroom sauce & cheese, broccoli, butter, salad, salad dressing (511)

Snacks - protein shake(x2), apple, fruit salad, biscotti, cheese spread with rice crisps (693)

It’s going to be an early night (I hope) as tomorrow is the road trip to buy frozen fruit.  I think that’s the definition of insanity - driving (what will likely total) almost 2 hours to buy fruit.   Maybe not quite that long, since when I’ve done it in the summer I’ve usually stopped and bought fresh fruit in the summer.  I hate to admit it, but in the summer (even when working) I’ve been known to either swing down that way after work, or before when I worked afternoons.  There’s nothing better than Niagara fruit in the summer.  Well, okay, don’t tell anyone, but Washington State cherries are a little better.  Luckily they usually come into the stores earlier so I don’t have to choose.

I was writing a comment on another blog tonight and I realized that I really do plan my next day about this time.  I can tell you that tomorrow’s dinner will be baked pasta with meat sauce and cheese, and that (at the moment) the daily calorie count will be 2,051.  The final amount may change slightly (as I weigh my meat at lunch, and it varies), but not by much.  Part of this is done so I know what to take out of the freezer (ie. Wed or Thurs will be pork tenderloin and it needs to come out 36 hours before), but part is so that there are no unknowns during the day.  If I stray it will have to be adjusted later on.  There’s really no choice, for me at least.  It’s the way I make this work.

souvenirdarling - you don’t need to own a scale, but you should have somewhere you can check your weight every now and then.  I just know myself too well.  I could not have stuck with it all this time if I wasn’t seeing any changes.  Measurements are also a good way of checking, especially if you don’t have a lot to lose.  In fact, in the end, measuring is probably a better way because it catches muscle/fat changes that sometimes are missed on the scale.

leanmoomercows - I figure by the time I’m finished (years from now) I’ll be a freakin’ expert.  Too bad in the end all you really become is an expert on what works for you.  

rainbowsmiles - thanks for the kind comments on the picture page.  The first two were taken in 2004 (that would be the pushing 40 stage), and the last just now (in the past 40 stage), but I’ll take the young comment anyway!

On the 14th I had a mini-meltdown at being basically the same weight for about 16 days. I’d bounced back and forth between 335.4 and 336.4, with a weigh-in last week that was 336.0 and 0.6 of a pound higher than the week before. I held it in check for a few days but on the 13th I was back up to 336.4 and on the 14th I was back to 335.8 - it was basically driving my nuts. So I posted here, and in the forums, to see if anyone had ideas about what I should do. I also scoured my food intake looking for missed calories. I did actually find a few, adding up to about 80 a day. I also split out the calories for my roasted veggies at lunch, since it varied depending on what I was eating each day. In the end I decided to do nothing, but adjusted my daily calorie range UP (yes up), just to account for the fact that I’d really been eating higher than I thought. So, in practice I made no actual changes. The next morning I was down, outside the bouncing range, in fact down to 334.0 (so basically 1.8 pounds overnight). The next morning I was also down, and the next, and even today. So my panic was highly unnecessary, but I do thank all who tried to help me come back to reality.

So, the actual official weight this morning is 331.4 - that’s 4.6 pounds down from last week’s weigh-in. And it seems (fingers crossed) that my body has gone through it’s little readjustment phase without needing any real change in routine. I also went back and changed January’s average (higher) and the daily counts for February, since I could. I’m almost to the point I was this summer when the old scale stopped giving me a weight. Buying the new scale was such an important step in this weight loss. I’m just over 10 weeks in and I know I couldn’t have kept it up if I were still seeing that error message (ie. not knowing if what I was doing was working).

If you’re reading this, and without a scale, please go buy one. Don’t be afraid of the number. You need to know where you are to change it. Okay, that’s enough for now. First breakfast, followed by my trusty old treadmill.

Adding - I made a promise in the forums that I should repeat here. The next time this happens I will wait 5 weeks (basically a TOM cycle) until I freak out and think about changing anything.

Adding - So I added a picture page (yikes).

Exercise - none, planned rest day

Water - 18 cups

Food - 2030 calories (21% fat, 49% carbs, 26% protein)

Breakfast - 12-grain toast, apricot jam, 3 clementines (245)

Lunch - whole wheat tortilla, mustard, smoked back bacon, cheese blend, roasted veggies with balsamic vinegar, apple, fruit salad (604)

Dinner - sirloin steak, corn, beans, snow peas, butter, salad, salad dressing (624)

Snacks - protein shake(x2), apple, fruit salad, biscotti, nacho crispers (620)

I’ll tell you something, I’m kind of glad that I’m on my last bag of the crispers. I think there are another couple of bags of the crispy tortillas and an open bag of the crispy minis. I think they just play into my desire to mindlessly snack. I usually measure these out just after dinner, so I don’t let my hunger increase the amount. They’re still 30-40% fat, and I’m not sure they’re really breaking any bad habits. I think in the end I’ll stick with the pita crisps/salsa and the cheese spread/rice crisp options. I seem to leave those until later in the evening, just using them to stem hunger. The higher flavoured snack foods tend to still tempt me to graze. I think I finished the crispers tonight less than 15 minutes after dinner, before I’d even had my salad. I’m not sure I was really hungry either.

Anyway, I enjoyed my rest day quite well. It’s also really nice that I didn’t have any real pain from my push-ups/lunges/squats from yesterday. I think for now I’ll try to do the DVD on both Wednesday and Saturday. I know that I’m definitely breaking a sweat with it, or maybe I’m just trying to avoid working with the weights!

It’s been raining here most of the day. This has left lots of standing water - trapped by the snow. Our crawl space, which is used for storage, started taking on a little water this afternoon. Nothing major though, it’s actually happened once before in almost the same circumstances. It’s a concrete floor, so no harm done. There’s also nothing stored directly on the floor so it was just a case of putting a few towels down (mainly so the cats didn’t try doing something stupid like drinking it). It’s actually really good that I cleaned up in the morning as I happened to lift a couple of cardboard boxes off the floor onto the shelves.

I didn’t get all of my tasks done for the day, the most important one missed was the hair colouring. I realized in the afternoon that I didn’t have enough time to get it done (and dried) before I had to go outside to cook the steak. Tomorrow I’ll make something that cooks inside for dinner, although I’ll have to work the colouring in around my exercising. This could probably be solved by simply getting up at a reasonable hour… nah. It’s our new ‘Family Day’ holiday, which means nothing to those of us not working. My mother feels it’s still a holiday as she can’t go out and shop. Although I understand that her plan is to clean the bar. One of those take every bottle off the shelves and clean them. We’ll see how far we both get with our plans.

It’s weigh-in day as well tomorrow, which I actually feel reasonably good about. Well, unless I gain a couple of pounds from not exercising today. I seem to remember I was going to cut my cals back on days I didn’t exercises. Oops, forgot about that completely. I haven’t had the apple, the biscotti and the half serving of fruit salad…. but I think I’m still going to have them. Next week what I’ll do is cut the protein shake out in the afternoon. It’s something I added in once I went back to the daily exercising, so I don’t really need it on the rest day. Of course, that’s only a 90 calorie cut. Oh well, I’ll worry about that next week.

Exercise - 60 mins treadmill, 30 mins toning DVD, 15 mins weights

Water - 18 cups

Food - 2068 calories (17% fat, 54% carbs, 25% protein)

Breakfast - protein shake, 12-grain toast, 6-fruit jam, 3 clementines (335)

Lunch - spicy bean soup, whole wheat tortilla, cheese blend, apple, fruit salad (610)

Dinner - pork roast with fruit, rice, mixed veg, salad, salad dressing (624)

Snacks - protein shake(x2), apple, fruit salad, crispy tortillaz (498)

Well, I managed the sculpting DVD, again with the push-ups. Most of them were full push-ups as I really can’t do the ones on my knees. I’d rather put pressure on my arms at this point than my knees. I’m once again looking forward to my rest day. That was the reason for doing the DVD today, so hopefully even if I’m sore, I’ll be fine by Monday. I have lots of chores set for tomorrow, so it won’t be a complete rest day, but that’s okay. I went upstairs and made the fruit salad (I make about 10 cups at a time, it lasts for 3-4 days), and managed to only snag an extra piece of dried fruit, which I didn’t bother counting. I just checked, it would have added 16 cals to my daily total. That I can live with.

justdeb - I know that slow and steady is the best, but it’s just so damn tough sometimes. I’m really into the roast veggies at the moment. The current mix is carrots, brussels sprouts (which I wasn’t so fond of at first, but they are growing on me), cauliflower (although running low), a touch of onion. I sprinkle with pepper, salt, basil, and some of the chopped garlic we keep in the fridge, and spritz with the canola oil spray (10 cals a sec, I count three even though I try not to use that much). All of those go into the oven (on a foil covered tray) while pre-heating to 450. Then I throw whole green beans on top for another 15-18 mins. When I bring it out I splash a little balsamic vinegar on it. It’s really quite nice. The brussels sprouts, if small, are sometimes a little too brown, but it generally works out well.  It is a little time consuming for lunch though. Tomorrow I’m going to try making a double portion and try them cold on Monday. I suspect it won’t be quite as good, but I thought I’d try anyway. The jam is something I’ve made for… um, over a decade I guess now. My mother used to make it, but stopped when my father became diabetic. After he died she was buying some jams/marmalades and I just took over the making of them. They’re very good (if I say so myself), mainly because we don’t use pectin in them. Jams with pectin often come out tasting too sweet. They made great little extras when invited to someone’s home. In fact, most people who get them always make a point to bring the jars back (we don’t ask, but it’s nice).

Exercise - 90 mins treadmill, 15 mins weights

Water - 18 cups

Food - 2000 calories (18% fat, 59% carbs, 20% protein)

Breakfast - 12-grain toast, 6-fruit jam, 3 clementines (245)

Lunch - lentil soup, apple, fruit salad (338)

Dinner - homemade hamburger, bun, condiments, roasted veggies with balsamic vinegar, salad, salad dressing (821)

Snacks - protein shake(x2), apple, fruit salad, crispy tortillaz (640)

I decided to drop the extra hambuger tonight (the one I take without a bun). I changed it for a big plate of roasted veggies. It was actually pretty good, for about 100 cals less. Friday’s dinner is about the highest I usually eat, so adding the toast and jam was a tough go today. The jam was one I made last year before leaving on my trip. It’s labeled as 6-fruit jam but it could just as easily be called ‘leftover jam’. It was all the fruit left in the freezer. I forgot how much I enjoyed having some toast and jam in the morning. I think it’s a change I definitely plan to keep in.

skinnywanna - patience is not a virtue I possess. I also don’t play well with others. (I think that started back in primary school report cards.) I think what happens is for years you eat so badly and your weight slowly creeps up. The last 30 pounds I put on took me 6 months. And although I ate well some days, others I was completely out of control. You feel that when you’re eating virtuously it should come off faster. I know it’s unrealistic. Actually today is exactly 10 weeks since I bought the new scale. And I’ve lost 24.2 pounds in that time. Overall that’s a very respectable loss. I just want it to drop off faster.

Well, in the light of day I do feel kind of stupid. Partly because I know it’s not a formula, even though I try and deal with it that way. The only decision I made was to change the 1800-2000 to 1900-2100. With the fruit salad being off and not counting the spray I was doing close to 2000 (1994 in Jan, same to date in Feb). I’m going to change my breakfast to include a piece of whole grain bread and jam that I make. I generally give away more than we use ourselves.

I will likely drop the calorie count a little on Sunday, my planned rest day. I’m am mindful of the fact that I usually only use the treadmill, and that’s why I made a point to add 90mins of other exercises in the week. So far, I’ve met that. Outdoor exercise isn’t likely going to happen for a while. In April we’ll open the pool and I’ll enjoy that. Right now there’s too much snow. Even being born and raised here, I really don’t like it.

On the treadmill - I am aware that my body may get used to the exercise it provides, although I usually play with the incline to make sure my heart rate is getting into the right zone. When I started it was all done on a 1% grade. Now I vary that, sometimes with intervals, sometimes with increasing, then decreasing grades. I may, later, play with the speed, although I have to remember that I’m heavier than I was the last time I was into the treadmill and watch my one knee.

So no real changes for the moment, until after my next TOM. Only the small changes already mentioned. That was what I promised myself, so I’m going to stick with that.

Oh - and this was all decided last night before I finally went to sleep. This morning I got a 334.0 on the scale (I’ve been bouncing between 335.4 and 336.4 for about 16 days), so it’s actually nice to see a different number this morning. Even if it changes tomorrow I will stick to my plan. Thanks for the reality check people. I very much needed it.

justdeb - my problem is that I’m not patient, never have been. Maybe if I’d watched how slowly I gained weight (30 lbs took 6 months) I wouldn’t be so bad. Of course if I’d actually been watching I likely wouldn’t have gained it, right?

neverperfect - the rational side of me knows that 16 days does not make a stall, but sometimes the irrational part of me takes control for a while.

brandie - the best advice is to keep doing what I’m doing and hold on for a bit. Someone on the forums suggested that I try calorie cycling (where you pick a number, say 2000, and average it over a period of time, 7-10 days). I might try that eventually, but for now I’m just going to wait for a couple of weeks.

Thanks again for the feedback, even though I know it’s slightly nuts, having people remind me of that is a good thing!

Exercise - 90 mins treadmill, 15 mins weights

Water - 18 cups

Food - 1955 calories (26% fat, 49% carbs, 22% protein)

Breakfast - scrambled egg substitute, 3 clementines (139)

Lunch - whole wheat tortilla, mustard, smoked turkey, cheese blend, roasted veggies with balsamic vinegar, apple, fruit salad (600)

Dinner - roasted tomato pasta, salad, salad dressing (637)

Snacks - protein shake (x2), apple, fruit salad, biscotti, 1 reese’s mini-heart, ketchup crispers (579)

Well, as you can see from today’s earlier meltdown post it hasn’t been the best of days. I’ll get over it. I’m still waffling about making changes or not. I think at a minimum I might change the breakfast to a piece of multi-grain toast with some of my homemade jam on it. Whether I aim for 2000 or 2100 or 2200 has yet to be decided. I might leave that until at least after my next TOM, although that’s another two weeks at least.

Deb - yep, I seem to want to break this down into a number, or a plan. Even knowing that it’s probably not going to work that way. I’m not going to do anything rash until at least Monday.  I will probably change my goal to 1900 - 2100, simply because that’s likely what I’ve been hitting with the extra 80 cals.  Maybe at that point I can convince myself to wait another 2 to 3 weeks. I’m not sure what I’ll do when I start to gain a little pre-TOM. Just keep breathing….