'Morning!

I'm still trying to wake up, it's before 7 a.m. here, so bear with me! ~Yawn~

I had a really good day at work yesterday. Finally! Ha ha... The first good thing that happened was that my supervisor from my old department (I changed departments when I got promoted last October) called me and asked me to sit on an interview panel to interview people for a position that's actually higher than me. She said that she and the department manager thought I would know just what they're looking for and that I'm a good judge of character. I was so flattered! Plus, it would be really good experience to be on the other side of a job interview and see exactly what people are looking for in an interviewee. I'll find out today if my current boss will let me go for the day to participate.

The second good thing that happened was that my current manager and supervisor met with me because they want to put me in charge of a HUGE project that is going to be taking place over the next 10 years or so in our City. It's a big responsibility, will be a lot of extra work, but I was really surprised they have enough faith in my abilities to handle it. It was a big compliment, as well as being really good experience and good leverage the next time I have a salary negotiation... ha ha... Again, it comes down to self-esteem. I guess I didn't realize how much people at work appreciate what I do. And maybe as I gain more confidence through my weightloss, I'll see more opportunities come up like this. Or at least come to realize that I'm capable.

Anyway, enough rambling about that, just thought I'd share some good news!

Mette: Right now I'm drinking "Designer Protein" whey protein, vanilla flavored because it was the best one they had at the store I was at when I bought it. A good health food or supplement store might be a better place to get more of a variety. There was one I used years ago, and I can't for the life of me remember the name. I might have it written down somewhere, I'll try to find it. I would just look for one with the least amount of sugar and fat. I think this one has 19 g protein, 2 g sugar, 1 g fat. Then it's just a matter of finding one that tastes good to you, which could be the challenge! Thank you for the cudos on my food for the day. I'm really trying to get in more veggies and protein. It's harder to get protein in as snacks, unless I'm eating nuts or nut butter, which is then high in fat. Any suggestions?

That's my ramble for this morning. Time to get ready for work. Hope everyone has a good day!

Good morning!

I am hitting the computer a little late because I had to go shopping for my experiment. Being paid to shop...hmmm...not a bad deal.

Epiphany: good luck with your new doctor. Sometimes a new perspective can really help. If you take control of your health you'll eventually get everything you want. Keep us posted.

mette: you are definitely right about me needing to plan meals. I just don't want to cook and I am not in a place in my life right now where I can/want to change that. I am trying to keep better things in my house and know that there are things I can do to keep my eating under control and healthy. I am not bad when I am not stressed but when stressed, which is all too often, all thoughts of control go out the window. I am determined now to log EVERYTHING that I eat and post it here. I haven't in the past because I am ashamed of what I eat at times. I don't even want to admit it to myself, but I think I can handle it with your support. You and Jessica just seem to be doing so well and I feel like I still haven't gotten to the start line. (OK - more self pity today - sorry - been a bad and emotional week).

Is it possible that I could actually be more hungry with the increased exercise? Has anyone experienced that - legitimately needing to eat more to maintain energy?

Jessica: I'm interested in good protein shakes too. I think the carbs in the regular Slimfast shakes are probably too high. They have a low carb alternative, but I'd be up for trying something new and different. It is difficult sometimes to get in more protein and less carbs. Carbs seem to be everywhere. A lot of places recommend nuts for snacks even though they are high in fat, because they are high in good fat. Single servings of cheese (low or no fat) are also an idea. How about slices of turkey breast, maybe a slice of turkey around a small piece of cheese?

Great news about the job Jessica! Sometimes we need other people to remind us of what great people we are. You go girl! (or should that be You go woman? )

I hope everyone is having a great day!

Ang

Jessica – Congratulations on your work situation! How exciting for you! Really hope they’ll let you join in on the interviewing process – that sounds very interesting. And as you say: useful to see how the process works from the other side!
And being put in charge of this huge project! How great is that?!? Wow! It’s very good to feel appreciated at work – and it sounds really nice that you finally see that they appreciate you! You go woman!!!! (doesn’t sound quite right, does it? )

Suggestions on snacks high in protein and low in fat? I have to admit that my snacks usually are low in protein and high in carb (I usually go for fruits).
But cheese & meat – like Ang suggested. Low-fat dairy like cottage cheese and yogurt. Yogurt without the fruit – if you’re going for low-carb. Baby carrots with low-fat cheese dip. Crackers (rye is good): crackers with turkey/low-fat cheese, crackers with ham/low-fat cheese, crackers with tuna/egg –
And I must say that I eat nuts as snacks – it’s just that I keep to very few at a time. No eating the whole bag!!! No!!!

Ang – your idea to keep better things to eat in your house is a good one! If you're totally starved before you eat anything, you’ll need food that’s easy and ready – in addition to good and healthy.
And there’s really no point in being ashamed of what you’re eating – it’s completely wasted energy! Nobody here would ever – in a million years – judge you for what you’re eating!! You think we’re not just like you? Well, let me tell you that we are!! Really!!

And you’re way over the start line by now, Ang. You have started to loose weight, you’re exercising, you’re making better choices daily. And you’re finding out a little everyday on how you can change your eating – because you’re finally facing it. You don’t pretend it’s not happening anymore. The fact that you come here everyday and talk with us about it is also part of your process. I know for certain it’s an important part of my process. This place, with you and Jessica helps to keep me focused!
Just remember that you’re doing much better now than when you first came here! And you have Jessica and me now! I think you need a “You go woman!!!” too – because you’re on your way Ang!

I think I’m hungrier when I exercise too. And I have no idea what to do about it. But I see that my hunger fluctuate very from day to day sometimes – and I don’t always see reasons for it.

Anyway – I’m off planning a visit by my mother this weekend. This is where my emotional stress is activated – thankfully she’s not staying that long, just Saturday to Wednesday – but it’ll probably be more than enough for me!

Talk to you guys later!

Hi gals,

I'm all set to sit on the interview panel. It's July 29th. I'll let you know how it goes! I also had my first big task this morning for the project, calculating about $70k worth of fees for a meeting our manager had at 11 this morning. Whew. It was a little more pressure first thing in the morning than I was hoping for, but I asked for it!

Ang, I think you are doing really great. If I exercised like you and you cooked like me, we'd be at goal weight by now!!! lol~ That's all it comes down to, I think. Learning, taking action, and then putting all the pieces together one at a time. I'm learning about how to exercise with your and mettes advice, you're learning what you can do now to improve your nutrition, mette's learning... what are you learning, mette? I think you're the guru of the group! :-) Then, we start taking action with what we CAN, then we put all the pieces together to get the total picture, one piece at a time. Sounds good to me.

Ok, my food for today:

Breakfast: 1/2 cup whole shredded wheat cereal, 1/2 cup 1% milk, 1 nectarine
Snack: Sm ready to eat cup of chili (got my protein!)
Lunch: BLT with 4 slices turkey bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayo on sprouted wheat bread
Snack: I'm thinking part-skim mozzerella cheese and almonds
Dinner: Chicken breast w/basalmic vinegar and olive oil, leftover cauliflower "mock mashed potatoes" and maybe a sweet potato or a salad (we'll see how hungry I am)

Well, back to work for me. Ang, how is your experiment going? And mette, I know the stress that parents can cause. Mine live about 15 minutes away in a neighboring town. As I'm getting older I find I can tolerate spending time with them less and less. Is that normal? In fact the 4th was the last time I saw them, and that was just because my brother was in town. I wish you luck!!

Congratulations Jessica on being part of the interview process. It sounds really interesting. Let us know how it goes. It sounds like you have a very important job. Although I am sure the pressure isn't always fun, do you get extra satisfaction out of completing big and important jobs like today? You'll be running the city in no time.

Thanks for all of the support. I really need it this week. The rain we are getting is not helping as I have not really exercised since Sunday. I think the most frustrating thing for me is that my exercise is not enough. I lose 2 pounds and then I put it back on. I'll keep trying though and with your help I am sure success is just around the corner. I agree Jessica that together you and I have the problem solved. Today I let me emotions get in the way of my actions (nothing new there) and did not weed the garden. I finally got off the couch and did a little cleaning. My house needs it.

Getting my experiment set up is really time consuming but a relatively fun part of my job. If I can find time to do the other work on my desk then things should be good. I get to 'boss around' 3 research assistants. This is my first experiment where I am the principal investigator so all of the responsibility ultimately falls on my shoulders. Today we got our lights installed that will create the targets that people have to walk on. Tomorrow we run another pilot subject so wish me luck. Each person brings us a little closer to a smoothly running experiment.

Jessica - any more thoughts on your exercising? Can you walk to work?

mette - good luck with your mother. When I used to live further away I always hated visiting family for long periods of time. Now it's great because I stay for one night. With my own house I hate to be gone at all so one night is all I can handle. In general do you get along with your mother? What do you usually do together when she visits? Jessica - are your parents older? Mine are quite a bit older so I lose patience when I have to 'move so slowly' to keep up/down with the pace of their lives. They also tend to repeat themselves. Do your parents still treat you like children? I work hard to be independent and hate how things revert back to childhood almost when I visit my family. So Jessica, I would say it was relatively normal how you feel.

Another great day of eating for Jessica! mette - how are you doing with your eating and exercise? This is what I remember of mine eating today:
breakfast - nothing (I know, not smart)
snack - apricot
lunch - turkey smart ones dinner, banana, wheat thins
snack - peanuts, apple
dinner - Panera steak salad, banana with peanutbutter and ff pudding, french roll, chocolate muffin, small can of sour cream and onion Pringles

I know I ate too much at dinner and the wrong types of food, but that is what happens when I eat to fill emotional holes. Any siggestions on what to do to not let this happen again would be appreciated. Believe me, it could have been much worse so thank you again for your support as at least I was thinking a little tonight.

Until tomorrow...Ang

Jessica - great that you got to do the interviews!

Heh. I'm a guru?!? Yeah, right. *snort*
Doing the things we can and putting the pieces together as we go! Sounds like we've come up with an excellent philosophy for the group!!!

..and what is: "mock mashed potatoes"?

It's what we're here for!!!

And congratulations on your job too, Ang! And good luck on running the pilot subject tomorrow!

My mother doesn't live close by - so when she comes to visit, she usually stays for a while. I normally get along with her, but it is still stressful to have her here.
And I think that basically it's me feeling guilty for not being able to give her what she needs from me. She wants me to stay put, live close to her, have a family, have children, be a big part of her life - and for years and years I have tried to compensate for being this 'horrible daughter' that moved around, changed jobs often, never wanted to get married or have children or being tied down in any way.
I think she's clingy and claustrophobic - she thinks I'm cold, distant and aloof, and: "when am I going to grow up and come home?"
I try to tell her that it's not going to happen, but I can't seem to get the message through.
[/rant]

The worst part is that it's going to be lousy weather this weekend - so I don't know what we'll do. Go see a movie, go out to eat, stay indoor - (yey! that shouldn't be stressful *at all*!)
And my eating and exercising goes right through the window - so I have to look into ways to minimize that too.

And yes. On reporting food: I thought it would be boring if I report in what I'm eating every day: I alternate between 3 different breakfasts, have almost the same lunch everyday, and vary just dinners and snacks.
But anyway - yesterday:
Breakfast: oatmeal, cinnamon, banana, skimmed milk
Lunch: whole grained homemade bread, low fat cheese, red peppers. 1 apple.
Dinner: tuna salad with avocado, egg, tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, leek.
Snacks: Dried prunes. Nuts on chunks of cantaloupe.
1470 calories

Exercise: Weights yesterday, jogging today.

Ang - there are a lot of good choices in your eating too - together with the not so good ones. I think that a lot of your dinner-snacking is due to the fact that you ate very little at the start of the day. If you eat breakfast, before-lunch-snacks and lunch with protein - so that you're really satisfied - maybe you won't want so much for dinner. What do you think?

Morning, all!

Ang, I'm sorry you are having such a hard week. It's pretty clear that you don't only exercise to lose weight, but it helps you emotionally, too. Is it a way for you to relieve stress? I agree with mette. Your eating could be ALOT worse. I think if you try to make little changes, start eating breakfast, add more protein to lunch, eat one less thing at dinner, and you'll start to build better habits.

With that said, I ate 1600 calories yesterday! It was what I posted yesterday afternoon, dinner was the chicken and the "potatoes" (more on that later) plus nonfat yogurt with frozen berries for dessert. Mike didn't get home from work until 9:30 p.m., so I may have been more "hungry" because I was alone. Anyway, it was all healthy food, but I guess I ate a few too many calories per meal. I'm going to make an effort to cut back a bit today.

Mette, the "mock mashed potatoes" are (to me) one of the best inventions for people trying to lower starchy carb intake. It's cauliflower boiled or steamed until it's tender, then prepared in a blender. The taste and texture is VERY reminiscent of mashed potatoes! The best recipe I found calls for adding about a tbsp. of nonfat cream cheese, 1/4 cup grated parmesean cheese, a little minced garlic and pepper. Put all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and vwala! It fills a little need for the "comfort food" we grew up with, it's healthy and tastes really good!

My parents aren't old, mom is 54, step-dad is 63 and very active. My problem is that they are pretty judgemental of me and I feel like I'm still living my life to a certain extent to please them. I mentioned the non-support of my going to school. They also would RATHER I stay single, never have kids, be somewhat dependent on them alone. It's hard to explain, but right now I'm making an effort to break that emotional dependence and start living my grown-up life and making decisions for me, not them. It's been a struggle.

Ang, can you also post the approximate times that you eat along with the food? I think this is relevant too and might help us give you more ideas.

Well today is my "Friday" (yay!), although I do have to attend a work meeting at 7 tonight. I am going to make a vow to exercise at least two times between Friday and Sunday. I'm going to make that statement here so I have you guys to hold me accountable.

Hope everyone has a great day!!

Good morning - well at least it's morning.

mette - I can relate with your feelings about your mother. I am the only one in my family (old Italian) that moved away and 'broke the mold'. No one knows me in my family so interactions are very superficial. Does you mother need constant entertaining? Maybe she can do some small things by herself while you exercise (or just take a break for her). I know it's hard, I still struggle, but you are your own person and you can't take on your mother's issues or expectations. I am sure she is not a 'perfect' mother but you're not going to change her. If you can't convince her to accept your life choices then stop trying and agree to disagree. You are doing great things with your life and you should be proud for yourself, whether she is or not.

It's not boring to me for you to post your food if you don't mind. Does the cheese give you enough protein at lunch? Looks like good choices though for the whole day, and weights. Yeah for mette. Did you jog today? I am determined to get out tonight even if it is raining. I need to break this bad cycle.

I think in some ways you are right that I need to eat more during the day, more protein, but I do know from past experience that sometimes I eat whether I am hungry or not when I am upset, stressed or bored. I'll try to improve from both sides, more protein and trying to find alternatives at night to eating.

Jessica - 1600 calories is not too much, particularly for just one day. The 'mock potatoes' sound pretty good, maybe I'll have to give them a try when my cauliflower grows in my garden. I'm sorry about your parents. I agree though that you need to live your own life. We can't change them but we can change ourselves. Good luck and know that we support your choices. I think you are doing great with your life.

I'll post times with the food in the future. Anything that might help.

Jessica - you mentioned exercising in the coming days. Do you have any idea of what you are going to try and do? Sometimes it helps to have a small plan, the key word is small to get started. We'll hold you accountable.

btw - things are even more strained with BF which is not helping anything. he already hates his job, is very stressed, and tired. Since he doesn't let me in too much I feel helpless. I talked to him for a minute (literally) this morning but couldn't understand him on his cell phone. I know I could help if he would just let me but I don't think his ego will let that happen. For now I just feel rejected a little. Anyway, looking for inner support and doing better today, with your help. Going to see my family this weekend and afraid of the same things mette is about not exercising and eating too much. I would much rather be home. If you don't see me online this weekend you'll know why as I won't have access to the internet.

Have a great day both of you - Jessica, you're so lucky that it is Friday in your world. I wish it were Friday here. Weeding for an hour and running 3 miles tonight for me. Hold me to it.

Ang

Jessica – those “mock mashed potatoes” sounds absolutely wonderful. Those are definitely going on my list of dinners.

And aren’t you just tired of parents who want you to be somebody you’re not? Breaking the emotional dependence sounds like a very smart and very hard thing to do. But I'm sure you'll do fine!

Good luck with the “exercise at least two times between Friday and Sunday”!!! We’ll remember if you don’t!

Ang – thanks for suggestions on how to deal with my mother. I’m thinking that the world doesn’t end for me if I get no exercise Sunday and Monday – I can get some exercise Saturday before she arrives, and Tuesday morning I can go jogging as usual before work. And by Wednesday she’ll go home – and I can lift weights again.
As for the eating – I’ll just do the best I can.

And I’m sure I could have made a point out eating on plan, weighing my food, logging in it, making sure I got my exercise, etc – with her here. But frankly? I don’t want her to know about it, I don’t want her opinions and I don’t want her to start asking later on the phone how my diet or weight loss is going. So, I’ll just do my best – and pretend like nothing is going on!
Very healthy – I know!!!

As for my eating – my lunch is satisfying enough for me in that I don’t get hungry again before I get home and can make dinner in the afternoon. And it seems to be enough protein for me, maybe because I eat enough protein for breakfast? This morning I had oatmeal pancake made with 3 egg whites – so I suppose I got enough there.
And yes: I did jog in the rain this morning! Which was quite nice actually. The grass smells sweet and nice when wet! But there’s still a lot of huffing and puffing when I jog – so I don’t think I’m ready for a race just yet!

Hope you got to talk to the BF and sort things out later on today? Did you tell him that you felt a little rejected? So that he knows about it too?
Also: best of luck for the weekend! I think we both will need that.

Have a nice Thursday everybody!

Hi there -

I think we all are going to need some extra strength to deal with our families. A little time, a lot of patience. Good luck to all. mette - I think that you should do whatever makes you comfortable with your mother. I don't tell my mother a lot of stuff so I don't have to hear her comments. I don't think there is anything wrong with it. You 'll tell your mother if and when you are ready. If it relieves some stress for you, I also don't think two days off from your exercise and routine will be detrimental. You'll probably come back even stronger after your mother leaves because you took care of yourself while she was visiting.

Congratulations on your run today. You are doing great. Everyone huffs and puffs if they are working at the right intensity so you just keep on jogging. I also ran this evening - 3 miles with my running club at a fast pace because I keep up with this other woman. It was good to run again after not running for 3 days. I also weeded for 40 minutes prior to the run.

mette - I think you are right about eating more during the day. Now I know why you say you are not hungry for dinner without tons of protein at lunch. The wrap really filled me up so I wasn't starving when I got home. I had the shake because I was a little hungry and needed fuel to run and get me dinner, which I knew would be late because of the run. I think I am going to really try to eat more substantial lunches and maybe make some turkey and cheese snacks for the afternoon. We'll see what happens.

Breakfast (8am): Slimfast shake
Snack (10:15am): handful of peanuts and apricot
Snack (11:30am): another handful of peanuts
Lunch (12:15pm): apple and Thai chicken wrap
Snack (5:30pm): Slimfast
Dinner (8:15pm after run at pub): fresh veggies dipped in blue cheese, one potato skin, 1 1/2 pieces of chicken tender

Jessica - I hope your work meeting went well and that the rest of your day was as good as the beginning.

mette - I talked with BF but nothing major. I should see him tomorrow though and hopefully in person I will say something. He was very sweet on the phone this evening though. He said things that indicated he listened and remembered stuff I had told him along time ago. He actually talks about me and my life some now and not just the plants. He also told me that he tried to take my birthday off but couldn't. I told him that I could take another day off during the week so hopefully he will spend one day with me. I was just happy that he remembered my bday and tried to get it off. It really is the thought that counts. I could be fooling myself, but things seem to be a little better with him each day. Again, time will tell.

Good night. Ang

Ang

Just checking in!

Ang - thanks. I agree with you that the best thing I can do is to take care of myself with my mother here. You do that too this weekend! It's also great that it motivates you to run with other people - your run sounds excellent.
And how good that you're figuring out your eating! That's really good news.
Your eating looks good - I just wonder about the missing breakfast. You have only 2 proper meals? Is that enough for you? And have you any idea how many calories yesterday came to?

As for my eating:
Breakfast: oatmeal pancake, chunks of cantaloupe on top
Lunch: the usual bread/cheese/red peppers/apple
Dinner: vegetables & bean-stew: onion, red peppers, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, lots and lots of spices.
Snacks: dark, sugar free chocolate! (mmmmm!)
Calories: 1490

I know my lunch is kind of boring and repetitive - but it works - and I like it! Simple and no fuss in the morning - I go on autopilot making lunch!
I had a really good food-day yesterday - I felt so satisfied with my dinner (hot and spicy and delicious!) and ended the evening with chocolate!

Have a nice day - both of you!

Good morning all!

Well, I wrote this nice long post this morning and wouldn't you know, right before I sent it, my computer crashed and I lost the whole darned thing. I hate when that happens!!

Had a good sleep last night. I guess my busy work week wore me out as I slept until 8:45 this morning, which is really rare these days. It felt really good, though. Mike has to work today (we normally have the same Friday off) so I'm on my own. It's really nice to have time to myself. I'm sitting here working on my first cup of coffee, looking around at my messy house. I feel so much better when my place is organized, the kitchen is clutter free, everything is in it's place... I'm working on getting up my motivation to clean! I have some errands to run today, and I'd like to get to the bookstore and check out a couple of books that have been recommended here.

Ang: I'm so glad you got your run and weeding in last night! You're doing so awsome. Your meals for today seemed like a real improvement and that apple thai wrap sounds really good! Did you make it yourself or get it at a restaurant? Do you remember what was in it? I'd love to try and make one at home. Yum! The only thing I noticed when you posted the time that you ate was that there was a big gap between lunch and your snack at 5:30 p.m. Since I've been eating small meals every 2-3 hours, I notice how horrible I feel when I don't eat often enough. I take it as a sign that my metabolism is doing its job.

I'm so glad your bf seems to be taking more notice of you and making an effort to talk to you about important things in your life. Do you guys see each other during the week or is it primarily on the weekends? Maybe getting together for coffee, dinner, or a walk after work would be good to stimulate some more conversation between you? Just an idea.

It does sound like we all deal with our parents in similar ways. I, too, try not to give mine too much information. I tell them about things I know they won't have negative comments about, like work stuff, and pretty much leave my personal life at the door. I hate that it has to be like that. All I've ever really wanted was an accepting family who gets excited or is at least supportive of my friends, relationships, dreams, and goals. My aunt is like that, so I spend a lot of time on the phone with her talking about the things I can't talk to my folks about. She is a wonderful person and is so supportive.

mette: with your lunch, do you make a sandwich out of the red peppers? It sounds yummy. I used to get this wonderful sandwich at a little cafe that is unfortunately out of business now. It was whole grain bread with proscutto, provolone cheese, and roasted red peppers and onions. Soooo good. I have made it myself and it was really yummy. I'm not sure of the nutrition value of the proscutto (I know I'm not spelling it right, it's a cured ham, I think, sliced very thin), but it would be a nice treat.

I agree with Ang, I think if you do a good job of taking care of yourself during your mom's visit, you'll feel even stronger in your efforts and will have that much more motivation to keep going. We know you'll do great.

I didn't post my food yesterday, so here it goes. Mind you, I didn't have much time in the morning and I got home from my meeting at 8:45 last night.

Breakfast: Instant cup of vegitarian chili, nectarine
Snack: 2 low fat Laughing Cow cheese bells
Lunch: Salad with leftover basalmic chicken, oil and vinegar dressing
Snack: Sm ready to eat cup of chili (do we see a theme here?! ha ha)
Dinner: Hot pastrami sandwich on sprouted wheat bread, 1 slice provolone cheese, 1 tsp mayo and mustard

Not sure of the calories, probably around 1500. In any case, I was down another pound this morning! I can't wait to see how the weightloss goes when I finally get my exercising down. Ang: Yes, I absolutely could walk to work. It's just a really hard habit for me to get into. I work 9 hour days, so I really milk every second in the morning and at lunch. I really would be doing so good if I walked. It would be good exercise, better for the planet, save wear and tear on my car, etc. I just need to be more organized, like fixing my lunch ahead of time to save time when I come home to eat. I know I can do it. Thank you for the advice.

Alright, time to get moving. Hope you ladies (there, I like that best!) have a great Friday. Ang, hope to hear from you again before you visit the parents!

Just so I can see it in print:

sw: 202
cw: 187
gw: 145-148 <------- Only 39 more lbs to go!

mette - when the shakes are gone I will start eating yogurt and granola or something for breakfast. The shake may not be proper, but it does fill me up for the morning. I think the big meal for me to worry about is lunch so I am not starving at dinner. As for calories, I know that the shakes are 220 each (10g protein), but I don't know about the other stuff, particularly the wrap since it was bought premade at a deli. I'm not good with counting calories - maybe I need to buy a little scale or something. If the calories aren't on the package I am at a loss even if I used fitday or some other program. Can you give me any advice on how to start counting the calories?

You eating looks really good. I think it's great that you have found things you like that don't bore you to eat for breakfast and lunch. It must make it easier. Your stew sounds great. Keep up the good work.

Jessica - good for you for getting some extra sleep. It sounds like you have a nice relaxing day planned, although still productive. I always love to have a weekday off (rarely happens though) and feel like I am playing hooky (sp?) or something. I hope you enjoy your alone time. Do you have any plans for this weekend?

The thai wrap was bought at a deli. It had grilled chicken, lettuce, thai sauce and just a few Chinese noodles, maybe a peanut or two. One of the reasons why my snack was so late is that if I have a subject I am in the lab from 1 until almost 5 so no time for snacking. I'll see what I can do, although if I eat a good lunch I am usually ok until at least 5.

My BF works evenings mostly as a manager of a restaurant. We see each other once or twice a week. Our schedules don't mesh well at all. I hope to see him tonight but who knows these days. I'll let you know. I would definitely like to see him more but we both have to work.

Jessica - I'm glad you have an aunt that you can talk to. I agree that it would be nice if our parents could be supportive, but some family support is always good and you can 'make a family' of those that support you. I have to look outside the family. BF's family like me but it is hard to get too close to people that might be going away soon if the relationship falls apart.

FYI - prosciutto is high in fat, but very tasty.

Congratulations on the weight loss. You are doing awesome. Except for the repeat, your food looked good yesterday. Hmm...who am I commenting on good food. You will definitely kick some butt when you get the exercising down. Just a thought - could you bike to work? It takes less time than walking although I don't know about comparing the quality of the exercise between walking and biking. Anything is better than nothing though. Let us know if you decide to try walking.

I am going to weed a couple of hours after work even though I should be running or biking myself. I am not posting my food today as we went out for Thai food to celebrate one of my coworkers leaving. We even had cake a little while ago and I had a piece. I am so weak.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I'll try to write again before I leave but I can't make any promises.

Ang


Because I should have it in print.

SW - 188
CW - 187
GW - I have no idea, maybe 150 - 153 (that's so depressing)

Hi guys –

Jessica – your day off sounds perfect! I suppose it makes working 9 hours a day the other four days worth it, huh?

My lunch: yes I make a sandwich out of the red peppers and cheese. It tastes good too. No prosciutto though: since I don’t eat meat.
Your eating looks very good to me! And: Congratulations on loosing another pound! You’re doing really wonderfully well Jessica! Down 15 pounds!!!!
Do you feel any better? Your clothes must be a lot bigger?

Ang – I think the best thing for counting calories would be a little food scale and measuring cups. I have my scale standing on the kitchen bench – and everything I eat or prepare I weigh or measure first – and then log it.

As for food bought at delis, restaurants, etc – that’s where estimating comes in. And I’m really not any good at that – I’m sure I get it wrong all the time. But If I have a sandwich I will log bread, then the cheese, tuna salad, hummus, or whatever I’m having on. And just assume and estimate. Not exactly a precise science I’m afraid.

How did your pilot subject and experiment go?
And Ang, please don’t worry and get depressed about how much weight you’re planning to loose. Just wait a little, take a couple of weeks now to be in the process of finding out how you best can loose weight. And when you figure that out, you’ll loose it the way that’s best and most comfortable for you. And it won’t matter so much how much weight or how long time it’ll take. It’s only ever about today and the next day anyway.

Ah, well. Saturday and I have to clean my apartment from top to bottom! But the weather is fairly nice – so maybe I’ll go out later on.
Have great weekends both of you!

Quick check-in here. I'm late to go see my parents but just got back from BFs and had a terrible time. I'm an emotional wreck and realize that I MUST figure this all out before I can really focus on getting physically healthy. It's a good thing I have to leave town because if not I think I would be curled up in a ball on the couch.

The culmination of a bad week. I'll be better when I return - promise.

mette - have fun cleaning. When you're done feel free to come do my house. I need my yard mowed desperately too.

Jessica - I hope you enjoyed your day off.

Later ladies.
Ang