shyangel – your job sounds interesting, I read up on occupational safety last semester when I wrote a (short) research paper about organizational psychology – but it was more directed toward psychological harassment, bullying, etc. It’s quite a combination: biomechanics and occupational safety – how does that work?
Good to hear both you and Jessica like numbers and statistics – I’ll report back on my findings later!

And: yes - a very nice way to wake up for you today! Good for you!

So your eating today – is this what a typical day look like for you? Do you know how many calories this amount to? And how the carb/protein distribution looks?

I know we all are different etc. etc. But I’m looking at how you’re eating and can’t understand that you’re not starving for the first half of your day. Just shakes, fruits and salads all day?
If it was for me, I would suggest a lot more complex carbs and protein at the start of the day – breakfast and lunch. You know: oatmeal with skimmed milk, müsli with yogurt, dark bread with cheese, Lanaii1’s oatmeal pancake (see http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42517), etc.
You seem to choose good dinners – veggies and protein. Do you eat fish at all?

I get that positive physical reinforcement would be good! Your eating looks very good – so it’s a bit strange that you’re not loosing weight but gaining instead. I can only say what I’ve said before: check your calories! Do a couple of days, maybe a week: weigh all your food, enter everything in fitday/whatever.
And you’re always welcome to vent!
I really believe that it’s about analyzing what’s going on with your intake and outtake of calories, shyangel! (But then, I have a strong belief in the scientific method of counting calories in and out! I like numbers! )

We can figure out how you can loose the weight, shyangel - just get us all the data we need!

Hi guys,

Happy Thursday! Actually work has been downright crappy today. It started out with getting my a** chewed out at 8:05 a.m. by a guy who is a supervisor in the same department I'm in but in another jurisdiction. I work in Building and Safety for city government, and his wife had come in yesterday to get a permit. Well, she supplied me with the wrong info and this guy blamed me for the fact that they didn't get all the permits they needed. I'm telling you, I'm SO glad that guy isn't my boss. Anyway, that was extremely unpleasant. I also forgot my glasses and although I'm not blind or anything, everyone more than 5 feet away just looks like a blur, like on those "Cops" shows when they don't want to show peoples faces. It's been annoying.

Yes, I still smoke. I know it's a horrible habit, my grandmother and Mike's dad both died of emphasema, so I know what the ultimate outcome is. I just can't go through the pain of quitting again right now and until I'm REALLY ready to do it, I know I won't be successful. I guess we can all relate to that for different reasons.

Maybe it would be good for us to post our food for the day for each other, just for a while so that we can help shygirl with her nutrition (and we can all get ideas). I can't help but think maybe you aren't eating ENOUGH, which is causing your metabolism to slow down, especially since you're running. I know it sounds strange, but I have heard that can happen. Also doing Sugar Busters, I would be concerned about the amount of fruit you eat in a day. It's fructose, but still sugar and might be causing a jump in your insulin. Just a couple of thoughts, for what they're worth.

So far today, I've had:

Breakfast: homemade protein shake w/ 1 cup 1% milk, vanilla whey protein powder, 2 tsp. natural peanut butter
Snack: Whole wheat english muffin w/ hardboiled egg, 1 whole, 1 white only
Lunch: 1 cup cabbage soup with veggies and ground turkey in it

Afternoon snack will be: Either rye crackers w/ cheese, hummus or almond butter
Dinner will be: Turkey chop salad w/ bleu cheese and olive oil and vinegar dressing
Probably a sugar free popsicle for dessert.

Thank you both for the advice on my job. August 30th is my 5 year anniversary with the City and I just feel like I'm meant to do something else. I'm a homeowner now, so that steady paycheck has become more and more important. It's a whole other subject, but I get absolutely no support from my family on the idea of going back to school. That makes it extra difficult because in my family, you're practically viewed as a freak to get a college education. Some day I may just need to give them the finger and do whatever I want despite what they think. I guess again, it comes down to self-esteem and making the decision that's right for me, which can be remarkably difficult some times.

Anyway, hope everyone has a great day. Talk to you soon!

Sorry you had a crap day at work yesterday Jessica - but at least today is FRIDAY!

Heh.

I don't think there's a smoker alive who doesn't know the health risks involved in smoking - it doesn't mean a thing. I totally agree with you Jessica: there's no point in trying to quit until you're ready. And I'm sure you'll get there!!!

Good point about the fruits in shyangel's diet. See - this is where it's useful that we're doing different food plans - I hadn't considered that.

This breakfast shake you're making, Jessica: does it taste good - and how filling is it? (How long until you get hungry again?) I have been making smoothies as snacks in the evenings sometimes; they're not enough for breakfast or a meal for me. I wonder whether other shakes can count as food!?!
Your food plan looks really good to me - do you have any idea of how many calories that is? Have you ever tried counting?

As for my foodplan: Yesterday I ate:
Breakfast: oatmeal w/cinnamon, banana, skimmed milk.
Lunch: homemade bread w/low fat cheese, red peppers. 1 apple.
Dinner: white fish (cod), spinach-stew, vegetables.
Strawberries & skimmed milk for dessert.
Evening: rye crackers w/ avocado.
Sum: 1430 calories.

I understand the importance of a steady pay check when you're a homeowner (congratulations!). And no understanding from your family doesn't make it any easier to go back to school either. But I'm sure the self-esteem will come - and then you'll make the decisions you need to make.

Hope everyone is having a really good Friday!

Hi Mette,

I added up the food I ate yesterday. I ended up not having a snack after lunch, but I did have some non-fat yogurt and blueberries after dinner. It added up to about 850 calories, plus 2 cups of coffee w/ half and half, so I'd say about 900 calories for the day. That was actually a very low day for me. I try to stay around 1100-1400 a day. Last week and the week before, I did log in everything I ate to both the Discovery Health Channel and fitday.com, just to get an idea of what my intake was. I'm trying not to obsess too much at this point, but it was interesting to see how low my intake was Yesterday. The shake turned out to be the highest in calories and fat, coming in at almost 300 calories and 11 grams of fat. I normally have oatmeal or whole shredded wheat cereal, or the ww english muffin with the eggs, but I was in a hurry. It kept me pretty full for a couple of hours, plus it was such a busy day at work I didn't have time to think about food. I ate my snack at about 11 a.m., and lunch at 1:30. It really works for me to have several (up to 6) small meals throughout the day.

Hope everyone has a good Friday. Yay! And I get paid today too, which is always a bonus. Keep your fingers crossed for me that today is better. Oh, and that guy who yelled at me on the phone? He came into my office at the end of the day yesterday, apologized and told my boss what a great job I'm doing. Can you SEE the confused look on my face??! Anyway, it was a nice way to end the day, I guess. Talk to you later!

Hi Everyone. I am sorry I haven't written but things here are have been so hectic. I am actually just going out the door to go "talk with the boyfriend". I am very nervous but know it needs to be done. I hope you all are well and I will write more soon when I have a moment to catch my breath.

Take care and enjoy weekend!

Just checking in at the start of the weekend:

Jessica – yes, 800 calories sounds terribly low (to me anyway) – it’s about half of what I’m eating (averaging on 1500). 1100-1400 sounds much better. And how funny that the guy came back and apologized! I bet that doesn’t happen every day, huh?

shyangel – wish you all the best with the “boyfriend talk”. I’m sure you’ll do great!

I started Saturday off with some jogging. The weather was nice, but on some days I have trouble finding my rhythm (for lack of a better word) when I’m jogging. To day I spent most of my trip working hard just to relax my breathing and lower my shoulders.
I’m so out of shape!
But at least I’m working on it, right???

Morning gals,

BF let me sleep in this morning until about 8 a.m. He always gets up first and usually leaves the bedroom door open so I get bombarded by the cats who have been locked out all night. He kept them out this morning and I was able to get lots of rest. I think I needed it after the week I had at work! I have an appointment to get my hair done this afternoon. Right now my hair is VERY blonde from too many times of coloring it myself, and I'm getting sick of it. So, I'm having it colored hopefully closer to my natural color, and cut. I'm not even sure how short or what style, I'm just looking for a change. I tend to be more adventurous with my hair and if I'm going to a good salon, I'll just trust the stylist and let them do their thing. I'm excited. Tomorrow I take my kitten in to have him neutered. Poor little guy. But he's starting to get aggressive with the other cats and just out of control in general, and this should mellow him out.

Shyangel: I hope all goes well with the boyfriend. I know how difficult and sometimes grueling those "talks" can be. I'll think good thoughts for you!

Mette: Yes, it's absolutely wonderful that you're jogging. Doing even a little has to be better than not making an effort at all. I think, with my knee and foot problems, that running at this weight would just be too much for me. I look forward to being able to after shedding 20 or 30 lbs. maybe, and taking shyangel's advice and go back to physical therapy. I think my eating was better yesterday, if for no other reason than we had pork chops for dinner, so I'm sure I consumed a bit more calories there.

Wanted to tell you guys about another good site I found; it was a link from that female body builder site that mette told us about. The address is: http://www.hussman.org/fitness/index.htm
It's very involved but really spells out nutrition, fitness, and weightlifting in an in-depth manner. Takes a while to get through all the information, but I would recommend checking it out.

Hope you guys are having a great weekend so far. Let me know how you're doing!

By the way, I just weighed myself an lost two more pounds! I'm at 188. Thank god!!!

Hi Ladies.

I'm sorry I have been so busy but I have been thinking about you two. On Monday I will start logging in all of my food and posting it (I promise not to cheat if you promise not to laugh at some of the weird foods I eat ). I am planning on going to the store though and getting more protein as mette suggested. Right now I hate to reduce the fruit because I love it so much and there are really only two months that I can get lots of good fruit each year.

mette - keep up the good work with the jogging, every little bit does make a difference. As one who started jogging fairly recently, and at a high weight, I can tell you that you do get better at it and in no time you will be running all you want. I can't believe that I can run for a whole hour at a time considering how I started.

goofgirl - are things going better? I am so happy for you that that guy apologized. Not as good as him not saying anything in the first place, but you must have felt a little better after he came back. As for your exercise, do what you can. There are so many types of exercise. If you pick something that hurts or you don't like then you won't stick with it. I think we all know that we only accomplish things (quitting smoking, losing weight, etc.) when we are really ready. I think the important thing is to keep trying to be ready. Any growth or improvement is a good thing. I don't plan on being 'perfect' before I die, but if I don't keep trying to get there I may as well die today. So just keep trying and if we can do anything just let us know.

Update - not much to tell with the boyfriend unfortunately. I chickened out last night and did not initiate the talk. I am just scared to hear his reaction because I don't think he thinks anything is wrong. We had a good night and I didn't want to spoil it. OK, it's true we were having a good time but that's really just an excuse (I'm really just very scared). Today I REALLY meant to say something and had it planned out, but fate got in my way so he left for work without me getting a chance. Maybe tomorrow (but don't hold your breath).

What are you doing for the weekend? I hope you're having fun. Today I weeded for 4.5 hours and missed running and biking. Does weeding count as exercise? When I got home I was hungry though and ate too much.

Breakfast - ceral with soy milk and blueberries (boyfriend made it for me)
snack at farm - peach yogurt and banana
late lunch - smart ones chicken dinner, 5 pecan halves, fat-free pudding cup, small can of green beans, 1/3 pound (guessing) diced ham.

I think that is it - remember, no laughing. I don't cook and I hardly have anything in my house to eat so I rummage. I'm trying to get better by shopping regularly and getting advice here and on websites. btw - I have been reading that website mette recommended and it is great. I printed the dumbell routing and plan on starting that this weekend to go with my running and biking.

OK - I have procrastinated long enough. I'm actually going to try and get on my bike for 30 minutes or so - not much but I love it and am doing it more for me than for exercise today.

Take care - Ang

Hi Shyangel,

I think what you said can apply to your bf situation too, don't you think? You'll handle it when you're ready. Glad you guys had some quality time together, though. I got my hair done today, got rid of my hiddeously fake looking blonde hair (and brown roots!) and had a trim. I feel so much better just from that! Went and got a late lunch (bbq chicken and a small salad) and I'm going to the gym for a bit tonight. Mike will have to entertain himself while I'm gone. I think while I'm there I'll pick up the paperwork to add him to my membership. I'd love to have him start going too.

Hope everyone had a great day. Oh, today I also ate: 1 cup whole shredded wheat cereal w/ 1/2 cup 1% milk, 1 sweet potato w/ small pat of butter, 1 protein shake, and the chicken and salad. Will probably have nf yogurt w/ berries after my workout tonight.

Talk to you guys later!

Jessica - you are right about my bf. I guess until I am prepared for him to walk away (or me) I won't say anything. Low self esteem can really suck sometimes but I am trying to take my own advice and at least enjoy the good times as I try to get to the next step in this relationship. Thanks for helping me see that I needed to do that.

I'm glad you are happy with your hair. It sounds like the cut wasn't too drastic, but I know how small changes in appearance can sometimes make you feel like a 'new person'. It's fun just to get it done too (being pampered).

How was the gym? I went out on my bike for 45 minutes. I felt a lot stronger since I have been running. I could actually feel the muscles in my thighs and butt as I pedaled up the hills. Have you asked Mike if he wants to join the gym?

Now that I have seen two sets of your meals, I have to ask if you are hungry during the day at all. It does not seem like you eat that much. How has your weight loss been?

Since my last post I have eaten dinner: 1/2 cup instant brown rice, baked beans with two all beef hot dogs cut up in them and an apple. I think that was it. I know it was a lot of calories (probably 1000 just at dinner) but it could have been worse since I really wanted ice cream but didn't get any.

Tomorrow is another day. Ang

Hi Ang,

Well, the gym was good and bad. It was bad because apparently they have changed their hours and close at 8 p.m. on Saturdays now. What about us night owls? So, no workout. I am frustrated about that because I should have gone this morning and just put it off. The good was that I added Mike to my membership, so now I'll have a workout buddy! I also set up a personal training session for Monday after work. I want to get my bodyfat tested because frankly, I don't trust the scale I have. I'm not sure how accurate it is on the bodyfat, so I'll have a good comparison. I also want to get a list of questions together about free-weights and form for lifting, because I want to really focus on that. So, it wasn't a total waste of time. I'll definitely get a workout in tomorrow, no excuses!

I'm glad you went on your bike ride and felt so good about it. It's probably really good for you to change up your exercise like that, work different muscles and keep your body guessing. Good job!

As far as my eating, for some reason I don't eat as much on the weekends. I think it's partially because my time isn't as structured. I usually don't have breakfast until 10 a.m. or so, so that cuts down on the amount of meals I have in a day. I think the types of food I'm eating, the low glycemic foods that don't spike your blood sugar, keeps me from getting those strong hunger pains. I'm pretty convinced that eating sugary (or starchy or processed) foods cause you to feel really really hungry later in the day and lead to more cravings. I think I will, though, go back to logging all my food in and counting the calories, because both you and mette have said that. Maybe I'm not eating as much as I should be. I don't want my body to think it's starving. The weightloss has been incredible, though, so far. I feel more motivated every day. I had Mike take some "before" pictures of me, and have one on my profile page now. It shocked me, how heavy I looked in the picture. Maybe I have a better self image than I thought, because I don't really feel as fat as I look in the pic.... Yikes!

Anyway, getting late and I have to have the kitten to the vet by 8 a.m. tomorrow to get him neutered. Poor little guy. I'll talk to you later!

Hi guys -

Jessica – your haircut sounds nice! New, cute and smart haircuts can really make the day (and week)! Good for you! I looked at the link to the Hussman's fitness page, and it looks very informative and good. I have a lot to learn about food, exercising, training, weight loss, weight loss maintenance – so it’s good to have help trying to figure things out! I’m looking into weight lifting with free weights too eventually. I want to join a gym and lift weights too! Looking forward to hear how you’re doing with that, Jessica.
And: Congratulations on 2 more pounds!! You’re doing really well!!!
I have to say that I’m with shyangel: it doesn’t sound as if you’re eating much/enough. It really might be a good idea to try logging it - just to see how much you’re eating.

You know I’m wondering about the whole body-fat-scale-thing. Do you have a scale at home that measures body fat? One of those scales that measure body fat by sending an electrical current through the body (BIA scales)? And how useful do you find measurement of body fat? I'm thinking of buying a new scale and have been looking at the fancy (and expensive) BIA scales too. But I'm not convinced I need one. I’ll probably stick to an old-fashioned scale for now.

shyangel - about the fruit and how there are only two months a year with lots of good fruit: I’m really with you there: I eat a lot of fruit this time of year too. I eat banana with my oatmeal and milk, strawberries or cantaloupes with my oatmeal pancakes, bananas or pears with müsli and yogurt, etc. I always have an apple or another fruit with my lunch, and usually fresh berries or fruits in the evenings too.


It really sounds as if you’re stuck. On one hand you can’t stop thinking of the things that are wrong and on the other you can’t talk to him about it.
I suppose you have three alternatives: you can decide that it’s important for you that he knows you’re not getting what you need from him and tell him that, or you can decide that what you two are having right now is enough for you (right now) and you’re therefore happy with what you have. The third option is what you’re doing right now: not decide. You are constantly thinking about what you want to say to him when you’re with him, but aren’t quite sure whether you want to tell him. Being with him must become uncomfortable and stressful because you’re feeling anxious all the time?

Or am I completely off track? (it could be I’m just projecting my own relationships patterns here! Just thump me on the head if I am, OK? ) (Yeah – did I mention that I *totally* know what you’re going through??? )

It just strikes me when you write that you’re too scared to talk to him: what exactly is it that you’re afraid of? That he’ll leave you?
Is it that you’re not sure what’s most important – the need to have someone emotionally supportive or an actual relationship with your BF (who is a great guy too sometimes)?
Are you thinking that if you ask for what you need; he won’t or can’t give it to you - so he’ll leave? If you express your thoughts and needs the relationship will crumble and fall apart?
I think Jessica said it best: You'll handle it when you're ready.

btw – your eating yesterday looked very good. Did you feel satisfied?
And biking! I want to bike too!

Oh well. Sunday. I’m doing housework today – and the weather is not very nice, so I’ll probably spend some quality time reading! Have a good Sunday everybody!

Good morning, ladies!

How is everyone's Sunday shaping up? (I know, bad pun...) I had my kitten down to the vet before 8 a.m., got my car washed, did my grocery shopping, all before 9:30 this morning. It feels good to get out of the house early and get stuff done! Maybe that's the next thing I need to work on. Procrastination. I'm the worst. Maybe I'll worry about it later... ha ha... I'm going to get off my butt here in a minute and make breakfast for us, lean turkey bacon and poached eggs. I've also got some black beans soaking and am going to make a recipe I found for "black bean zucchini cakes" that sound really good. I'll let you know how they turn out and post the recipe if you'd like. A guy at work has been bringing fresh zucchini from his garden. And I'm talking BIG zucchini, like 2 feet long, 6" in diameter. We've got zucchini coming out of our ears. Let me know how you all are doing!

I guess my post from this morning didn't post. Don't you hate when that happens.

Jessica - it's too bad about the gym. 8 pm does seem a little early for them to close. Good luck working out with Mike. This could be a great thing for the both of you. Keep us updated. Are you going to post your food for us this week? Losing a lot of weight is good and bad. If you're losing because you are eating so little there is the fear that it will come back when you start eating 'normally'. How did the zucchini cakes turn out? My father grows zucchini and he always has too much. My garden is just starting to produce vegetables. If I cooked I might be able to enjoy the fresh stuff. Oh well, maybe it will be motivation to at least do a stir fry or something. I hope everything went well with your cat. I have two and love them dearly - both are fixed and behave very well. I know what you mean about getting an early start. I ran at 7:15am with my club and just kept going until 9:30pm. It was a good long day and I feel like I did a lot. 4.5 mile run, 3 hours of weeding, 2+ hours of mountain biking, 2 hours of watering. Unfortunately dinner was a brownie sundae with friends. I never said I was a good eater. The rest of day -

breakfast - bagel, scrambled eggs (2)
lunch - wheat grass shake (BF made it for me), fruit
midafternoon snack - slimfast shake
dinner - sundae, smart ones meatloaf dinner, plain hotdog

mette - be careful with the body fat testing. The only accurrate method is using a pool. All of the hand held or standing scales work with varying degrees of accurracy. Pick one method and stick with it to see differences. Don't put too much stock into the actual amount. A friend has a BIA scale and seems to like it. At least that way you are comparing apples and apples from one week to the next. My opinion is that you are better off using a tape measure and monitoring your progress that way - not weight or body fat. Let us know what you decide. btw - I have a regular scale (I'm a little obsessive about it - not healthy) but keep a log of body measurements to really track progress, and of course there is how my pants fit each morning.

You are exactly right about my BF. I actually had a good weekend with him and after a week of him being home he 'seems' to be 'warming up to me' and I think we are getting a little closer. Work is stressing him out so I am being supportive. For now I think I am just going to try and enjoy the relationship and when the time is right I will talk to him. You are right that I have been so scared and stressed about everything with him that when we were together I would not enjoy myself and it would make matters worse. I guess time will tell. I know it is lame, but I am afraid he will leave me if I make him upset. In thelong run I want to be in a supportive and loving relationship. If he is giving me that but won't say the words it is not good but not the end of the world either. Everyone is different in how they show love. I know I am making excuses for him, but this weekend we talked, laughed, and he said and did a few things that really warmed my heart and made me feel that he was supporting me, wanted to be with me, thought about me, etc. I'll let you know if anything transpires. For now I am trying to do my best to improve myself so I have the strength and self esteem to stay or go as it benefits me.

mette - how did your housework and reading go?

Great Monday to all. Ang

Wow - you guys had effective weekends, and got a lot done, didn't you? What ever happened to slack and relaxed weekends??? (like mine - heh)

Jessica: Oh. Your poor kitty! I hope he's doing well!

shyangel - do you have a big garden? You're talking about hours and hours of weeding and watering - plus home-grown vegetables? It sounds absolutely wonderful! And what are you doing with your vegetables if you're not cooking?
I think it's a good idea to make it a goal for the summer to do a stir fry a couple of days a week. And vegetable-soup - it only requires chopping and boiling!
I'm really not a great cook by any standard - but I see that I improve a bit when I'm having a period where I'm loosing weight. I try out new dinners so I won't get bored with what I'm eating. There's no question: food becomes more important when I'm limiting my eating!

I haven't tried wheat grass shakes - or wheat grass in any form - do you eat it a lot? Do you like it? It's supposed to be very healthy - rich in fibre and protein, isn't it?

So nice to hear you enjoyed your weekend with the boyfriend, shyangel. Maybe it's just as you're saying: he warms up slowly. Some of us do that!
Your plan to improve yourself and your self esteem is a very good one. It's strange about self esteem - that you can have so much of it in some areas, and almost none in others. I have a lot of it when it comes to my studies, what I'm doing here - but not so much when it comes to relationships. And I suppose I have to start looking into the fact that I have been using fat to hide behind - now that it's going off.

I'm rereading Huxley's Brave New World right now - the first time I read it was about 10 years ago I think (I'm a sucker for postapocalyptic and dystopic sci-fi novels!). I have this one, plus Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-four and Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale lined up for the summer. Do you guys enjoy reading?

Also: I lost another pound this week!