day 241 ...

the scale taketh away and the scale giveth back ...sigh.

blueberry season in full swing and i have been shoveling them into my mouth by the pound. since i eat virtually no junk, i feel that this is perfectly acceptable. fresh, unprocessed fruit ... what's not to like ?

water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reading ... FAIL ( 176).

day 243 ... forgot to post yesterday.

normally that would mean good news but the scale has other ideas, correcting the nose-dive it took earlier in the week.

water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reading ... FAIL (177).

day 244 ...

realized that the way i am recording scale readings could easily show a bunch of wins while actually gaining weight, so for days when the scale reads no change i will record a "neutral", rather than a win.

i am concerned that the amount of blueberries that i am inhaling may result in a small weight gain before the season is over. we shall see.

water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reading ... WIN (176).

day 245 ...

i am now wishing that i had recorded my weight on each daily post. early on, when the weight was coming off at 1.5 lbs. per week it wasn't really necessary, but at this point, i am wondering whether any is coming off at all; i.e. am i still running at a calorie deficit ? i don't actually count calories but i am keenly aware of the calorie load of the food that i am eating. i am ok with the weight coming off at a snails pace, as long as it IS coming off.

water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reading ... WIN (175.5).

day 246 ...

water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reading ... FAIL (176).

day 247 ...

indulged in a couple of buns last night. the weird thing about bread is that i can eat it and then forget that i have, by that i mean, if i had eaten those buns in the middle of the day, later in the evening i would be thinking that they were still in the cupboard. maybe wishful thinking at work; i don't know, but i do know that baked goods are my weakness. i don't miss cheese, jam, meat, nuts, etc as much as i thought i would but i sure miss bread a lot. with my "dietary correction", no food is off limits, so i think that having the option of eating bread OCCASIONALLY, keeps me sane. the challenge, of course, is to make sure that i only eat it occasionally.

water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reaing ... WIN (175.5).

day 248 ...

a birthday celebration involving 2 beers and a dessert. scale was neutral on the matter this morning ... so there's that.

water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN (nothing is banned; it's about self-control);
scale reading ... NEUTRAL.

day 249 ...

scale decided to penalize me for the previous days indulgences . c'est la vie. need to string together a few spartan days in a row and, having had some french fries and sugary iced tea earlier, today isn't shaping up to be all that spartan.

water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reading ... FAIL (177).

day 250 ...

DID manage to keep the calorie load down yesterday evening, but the scale still going the wrong way.
staying the course.

water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reading ... FAIL (177.5)

day 251 ...

fresh blueberries stop coming usually around labour day. by then i will have eaten my weight in them. beats stuffing myself with bread, pie, peanut butter, jam and cheddar, i sez.

water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reading ... NEUTRAL (177.5).

good job

day 252 ...

in spite of the hot summer weather, i find i am barely getting enough water into me, and i am sure i earned a demerit in that department yesterday.

water intake ... FAIL;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reading ... WIN (176).

day 253 ...

did better in the water department yesterday. at least i got enough in me to score a win. i find if i don't have a glass very soon after waking i will put it off for many hours ... so there's that. went a bit off-plan for dinner yesterday, having sushi AND 2 bagels so i score a rather rare fail in the clean-eating category. nothing is actually off the menu but a sensible meal would have eliminated one of those items and included a leafy green instead.

water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... FAIL;
scale reading ... FAIL (177).

day 254 ...

not sure what my weight was on july 1, but i am pretty sure that i am going to "break even" for the month. considering that there were a couple of birthdays, and a bunch of restaurant breakfasts thrown in, i am ok with that. a loss would have been nice (and is still a slim possibility) but at least i won't show a gain.

water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reading ... NEUTRAL (177).

day 255 ...

another hot one, but a good day all around. easy to drink water when it's hot out. got some stuff done and the scale is going in the right direction.

water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reading ... WIN (175).

day 256 ...

monthly weigh-in day. i didn't start recording daily weights until july 13, and the current weight on my signature shows as 176, so, while i score a fail on the scale reading as compared with yesterday, i have to call it a win for the month of july as i seem to be down half a pound. of course it's not the minute day-to-day changes of the scale that are important. what's important is the plan ... does it work ? am i sticking to it ? is it sustainable ? according to what has been going on for the last 256 days, the answer appears to be "yes", although i may already be at CICO maintainance level ... we shall see.

water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reading ... FAIL (175.5).

day 257 ...

water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reading ... FAIL (177).

day 258 ...

water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reading ... WIN (175.5).

day 259 ...

indulged in 2 beers last night. it's summer, it was a hot day, i got a lot done, i deserved it, and on my plan, nothing is off the menu. beer consumption approved by the operations manager (me).
the scale was cool with it this morning, but the last time i did this it punished me the 2nd morning after. we shall see.

water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reading ... WIN (175)

day 260 - 263 ...

on the road, nowhere near a scale for 3 days ... pub food, gas station snacks ...

really i think i did a good job of keeping my head above water under the circumstances. never went off the rails at any point, drank a decent, if somewhat sub-par amount of water. kept weight gain to a bare minimum. with all that in mind i will summarize the 4 days with a NEUTRAL. back home now and planning on working the plan.

water intake ... NEUTRAL;
clean eating ... NEUTRAL;
scale reading ... NEUTRAL (175.5).

day 264 ...

back into a more normal routine. it's a lot easier to make good food choices when virtually everything in the fridge and cupboard could be considered "healthy" food. of course, there's a 7-11 and a bakery 3 blocks away ... if i were really determined to eat some junk.

having said that, i still struggle with drinking too much coffee and not enough water. this may have only a minor effect on weight gain/loss but it is, for me, an on-going health issue. thinking of switching some of my coffee intake to tea. at one time, i gave up coffee altogether but i wasn't happy about it and i am definitely not ready to go that route. i think i can make the coffee/tea compromise work.

water intake ... FAIL;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reading ... WIN (174.5).

day 265 ...

today is day 1 of the caffeine reduction program (CRP). the plan is to have a cup of tea (sweetened with a small amount of stevia), then walk over to starbucks, as is my custom, for a cup of coffee which i bring home, water down a bit, and enjoy with breakfast. the rest of the day will be tea, as required and, of course, water. the net result will be 2 fewer cups of coffee per day, and as tea has substantially less caffeine than coffee, i am hoping to reduce my dependence on it.

water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reading ... FAIL (175,5).

day 266 ...

day 2 of the caffeine reduction program. yesterday went about as expected ... faint headache which tea alone could not eliminate. because we don't have breakfast until noon on practice days, i decided to tough it out until then, rather than take a pain-killer. the noon coffee took care of it.

this mornings headache was even fainter, as expected, and my 3rd cup of tea seems to have eliminated it. i expect to be in good shape tomorrow morning.

meanwhile, we are back into what is, for this area, a big heat wave. water consumption will not be a problem.

water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reading ... NEUTRAL (175.5).

day 267 ...

day 3 of the Caffeine Reduction Program ... thought i would have a lower caffeine requirement by now, but not the case, still woke up with a withdrawal headache, albeit a very mild one. staying the course. i find that i really enjoy the tea ... of course, sweetening it with a bit of stevia doesn't hurt. am drinking my one-a-day coffee as i type this and i find the taste a bit on the "heavy" side, whereas tea is "light" and refreshing.

water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reading ... NEUTRAL (175.5).

day 268 ...

day 4 of the CRP. still a very slight headache in the morning. not enough to knock me out of bed, and not enough to require a pain-killer but it's definitely there. very much enjoying the switch to tea.

water intake ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reading ... NEUTRAL (175.5).

day 269 ...

day 5 of the CRP. woke with a slight headache again but this time, for the first time since starting the CRP, the morning cup of tea was enough to knock it back. hoping that this is indicative of progress and not just a bit of luck.

seriously considering closing the kitchen at 9pm again. while the late-night eating definitely helps me sleep better, and it seems to be the time of day when i most WANT to eat, AND my late-night eating consists of foods which are entirely healthy by almost anyones yardstick, the scale is telling me that i am in calorie-neutral territory. i am still not sure about this move, for the reasons just stated. i may be able to achieve a calorie deficit by substituting some of my beloved cottage cheese (i eat a lot of it) for a piece of fruit or a serving of vegetables. TBD.

water intake ... FAIL;
clean eating ... WIN;
scale reading ... WIN ( 175.0).

day 272 ...

did i really forget to post 2 days in a row ? i wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that i have scored a lot of "fails" lately ... hmmm ...

anyhow ... the good news ... the switch to tea is going well. today was the first morning (it's day 8 of the CRP) that i woke with no headache at all . BIG win here !

the bad news ... have not been drinking that first glass of water in the morning and as a result i wind up drinking not much water at all during the day unless it's very hot out. have been snacking too much at night and, to top it all off, i went of the rails with a 6 pack of croissants yesterday.

time to regroup; as hard as it may be, the kitchen is once again CLOSED at 9pm and i am going back to the 3 star system that worked well for me.

water intake ... FAIL;
clean eating ... FAIL;
scale reading ... FAIL (177.5).

day 273 ...

posting late, so yesterdays details are a bit blurry, but i do know it was day 9 of the CRP and i woke with no headache at all, however, i was quite late in getting my morning coffee an by the time i did a slight headache was developing; the coffee knocked it right back.

yesterday was also day 1 of the return to my 3 star system and it was a success. the scale, fussy thing that it is, approved whole-heartedly.

late night eating ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
water intake ...WIN.

day 274 ...

the bad news ... was knocked out of bed early with a headache. don't know what to make of that . the Caffeine Reduction Program seemed to be progressing quite nicely (day10). could have just been something i ate (had pancakes for dinner) or maybe just the way i slept ? definitely monitoring the situation.

the good news ... a 3 star day ... 2 in a row.

late night eating ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
water intake ... WIN.

day 275 ...

another slight headache this morning, not enough to knock me out of bed but worth noting (day 11 of the CRP. also had pancakes for dinner last night ... 2 nights in a row ... pushing the limits of clean eating but i will get back to something a little healthier tonight. i am noting it because i woke with headaches both days after having pancakes for dinner.

a 3 star day ... 3 in a row.

late night eating ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
water intake ... WIN.

day 276 ...

no headache whatsoever this morning, so either my body has (finally!) adjusted to the reduced caffeine intake (day 12 of the CRP) or, it had already done so and the pancake dinners were, for some reason, causing headaches. will steer clear of pancakes tonight but will test this out sometime in the future.

a 3 star day ... 4 in a row.

late-night eating ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
water intake ... WIN.

Dropping in to offer support and cheer you on! I'm reading your back catalogue as I enjoy a bowl of frozen blueberries.

Keep on!!! Your journey is very inspiring!!!

day 277 ...

had a headache this morning; well worth noting that i had no coffee at all yesterday, just tea, and also worth noting that i had no pancakes last night, so i can't blame it on that.. probably my body adjusting to an even lower caffeine intake. i have just finished my daily coffee and, sure enough, it knocked the headache back completely.

on the dietary correction front, in a last-ditch effort to move back into calorie deficit territory, i am going to make cottage cheese a once-in-a-while treat rather than a dietary staple. it's certainly healthy, and reasonably low in calories , but if i have it in the fridge i will easily eat a 1lb. container of it and be looking for more. also, going to have to reduce the frequency with which i eat scones/bagels/muffins. despite my sexy screen name, i don't eat nearly enough vegetables ... so there's that.

a 3 star day ... 4 in a row.

late-night eating ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
water intake ... WIN.

day 278 ...

another headache this morning ...light-to- middling in strength. just enough to get me out of bed earlier than i would have liked. day 14 of the CRP. other than the one day where i had no coffee at all, i have been rock-steady with my plan of 1 cup of coffee, supplemented with several cups of tea each day. surely my body has to adjust at some point ? if not, i will try having a cup of tea last thing at night to stave off the withdrawal symptoms.

had a (LARGE) muffin yesterday. having a bit of a hard time staying away from baked goods. i am nowhere near excessive with my consumption like in the bad old days, but even a single muffin or bagel packs quite a calorie load.

a 3 star day ... 5 in a row.

late night eating ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
water intake ... WIN.

day 279 ...

day 15 of the CRP. i am sure i felt a slight twinge of a headache this morning about an hour before i got out of bed, but when i did get up it was completely gone. keeping my fingers crossed for tomorrow. worth noting that i had blueberry pancakes for dinner last night .

i am really liking the taste of tea with a bit of stevia in it. don't get me wrong, like a good addict, i look forward to that caffeine laden cup of black starbucks coffee with breakfast, but i find that tea is a more gentle way to get going in the morning.

racking up the 3 star days with 6 in a row now. hoping this translates into some downward movement on the scale.

late night eating ... WIN;
clean eating ... WIN;
water intake ... WIN.

Just to cheer you on your path without coffee. Keep on keeping on.

Thanks

day 296 ...

thanks for the encouragement, bill ! i am doing ok on the coffee reduction program ... STILL get a twinge of a headache some mornings, others not, even though my tea/coffee regime is pretty steady.

anyhow ... it has been 17 days since i last posted. i guess i could say i took a hiatus from the dietary correction, and the scale has responded accordingly; up 5 lbs in just 17 days and i really don't think i went off the rails all that badly.

whateva !

now what to do with the jam and peanut butter in the cupboard ?

getting back on the horse, slow and steady wins the race. reminding myself that this is a permanent dietary correction, not a short-term sprint.

day 305 ... i think ...

time to re-commit, re-trench, back to basics ... whateva ...



starting the day without a glass of water (and subsequently drinking almost no water throughout the day) isn't working.
veering from the plan isn't working.
not posting every day isn't working.

going back to my "3 star" program. stringing together 3 star days DOES work, so i am going with that.

for the record, yesterdays stats :

night-time eating ... FAIL;
clean eating ... FAIL;
water intake ... FAIL.