| Diet delivery - day 1 |
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| Oct 23, 2008 |
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Today was the first day of my meal delivery service and I have to say I am impressed! The meals were tasty and fresh, while the snacks were interestingly delicious..I'm really looking forward to the upcoming meals. Very happy so far...I did struggle with cravings twice today though. I opted for a low-fat, no sugar yogurt (35 cal) and a half small glass of milk (40 cal) . The plan has me on only 1200-1300 calories a day, so I guess I can sneak in another 100 or so calories. Ok. I also had about an eighth of a wine glass of Spanish Drysack Sherry..but that doesn't count, does it? ;-)
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Posted in nutrition, meal-planning, calories | No Comments  |
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| Week 10: Update |
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| Oct 16, 2008 |
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I'd rather not put my stats this week.
My weight is up and I have been neglecting my commitments to myself.
But on a lighter note, I like this site:
http://www.videojug.com/film/best-tips-for-dieting
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| Posted in weight-loss, update, nutrition | 3 Comments |
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| Another gimmick? Nice strategies. |
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| Sep 25, 2008 |
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Today I came across Prevention magazine's promotion book for FlatBellyDiet.com.
It's a diet based on consuming MUFAs (Monounsaturated fatty acids) at every meal. See the site for diet claims and more info.
5 MUFAs proposed are:
1-oils (olive, canola, peanut, flaxseed, sunflower, safflower, sesame, pesto sauce, walnut, soybean) 1 TBSP=serving
2- nuts and seeds (almonds, brazil nuts, cashew butter, dry-roasted cashews, peanuts, macademia, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, tahini, sunflowerseed butter) 2 TBSP=serving
3-avocado (Hass or Florida) 1/2 c=serving
4-olives (kalamata, green, etc) 10 large or 2 TBSP tapenade = serving
5-chocolate (dark or semi-sweet) 1/4c or 1/2 oz = serving
The diet calls for:
-eating four 400 calorie meals a day(1600cal diet for average dieting women)
-eating one serving of MUFA in each meal
to reduce belly fat and cravings
What I liked the most was the section on heading off problems that we encounter on weekends.
Weekend Issues:
food splurging - catch a movie or get a massage or buy new yoga pants
entertainment - couch=boredom=eat instead get outside limit TV to 2hrs on the couch.
cocktails - have a drink only with the meal
last supper splurge - have little treats throughout the week so you don't feel deprived
outside obligations - bring snacks
I also liked the cravings control section.
1. Am I stressed? Stress increases cortisol - sugar and fat blunts it.
stimulate happiness (listen to music)
wait it out
choose the best distraction (identify emotions) "I feel...because..."
2. Have I been eating less than usual? Leptin the appetite suppressor goes down.
-lift food bans, use controlled portions of whatever you want to eat
-eat what you crave, no shoddy substitutes
3. Am I sleeping enough? Leptin decreases, grhelin the appetite trigger increases, crave carbs
-drink coffee
-take small portions
4. Creature of Habit? Environmental cues
-watch TV away from the kitchen
-eliminate sensory clues
-divert attention, read emails.
I could easily put these strategies to good use!! Thanks Prevention Mag!
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| Posted in weight-loss, nutrition | 2 Comments |
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| Week 7: Past the half-way mark and still going strong |
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| Sep 25, 2008 |
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Week 7: day 46
start date: August 10, 2008
end date: November 10, 2008
3 month goal: lose 15lbs
start weight: 173lbs
current weight: 169lbs
target weight: 158lbs
last year's fittest-ever weight: 145 lbs!
ultimate wishful weight: 135 lbs
I'm past the half-way mark and I've only lost 4lbs. Not great, but at least I have come to the realization that I have to focus more on my nutrition and I've already started identifying ways to do so. I recognize that my food problems are completely emotional. Really I know what and what not to eat, but I get into food frenzies or states of unconsciousness where I have a hard time controlling my eating. I just have to be better prepared, as I am with the exercise routine. Most mornings I get up and exercise before work - no problem. Also, I look for opportunities to walk and fit in physical activities with friends and family. It's easy for me to DO something, but hard for me to STOP DOING something, like eating badly. But I can DO things to actively reduce food frenzies and raise my level of consciousness, like call a friend, go for a walk, let my cravings pass, have healthy snacks on hand, meditate, etc. For the next half of my 90day challenge, I'm going to focus on developing and implementing healthy eating strategies because really..therein lies the problem.
What I did right this week:
-finished the 5k race under 30minutes!!!!
-took a day of rest before and after the race
-brought healthy snacks to my classes and only had 1 cookie, 1 muffin, and a tiny piece of cake during the breaks over 4 days
-maintained my morning workouts despite the change in schedule
-attended yoga and meditation class (it's practically a habit now)
-took a walk after overeating pizza and ice-cream
-got some new strategies from Nana on dealing with "food crises"
-marked food items in my journal that my body doesn't need henceforth to be known as "NEFI'' (Non-Essential Food Items)
My goal this week (week 7):
-reduce NEFI markings in my food journal to every other day
Workout routine for month 2:
1. alternating 30 min cardio with 30 min weights daily, one day 45 minutes low intensity cardio, one day off
2. 1 x 60 min walk + 1 x 45-60min dance class
3. 1 yoga class
or 1 pilates class
I noticed that I haven't been doing these at all. Next week I'll make a point of fitting them in. It's not that I don't want to do them-I actually forgot about them. ;-0
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| Posted in goals, update, nutrition | No Comments |
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| Body in overdrive and calculated meal activites for weight -loss |
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| Sep 23, 2008 |
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Wow! Because of that race my body has been in overdrive for the past two days. I actually feel like I'm burning more calories and I'm so ravenous all the time. Being aware of this, I'm making sure to prepare healthy snacks to bring with me whenever I leave home.
I was thinking - since weight-loss is 70% about what you eat and 30% about working-out, instead of looking for ways to exercise more I should put more effort into my diet...not like I haven't said this before, but now I'm putting it in perspective. I spend about 1 hour a day, 6 days a week on working out including preparation time, getting to the gym, showering, etc. - so that means in terms of time equivalencies, I should be spending about 2 hours and 20 minutes on food planning, shopping, preparation, eating and cleanup every day!! It takes me about 20 minutes on average to eat each of my three meals and add another 20 minutes (max) for the two snacks combined. Yes, it's obsessive, but it keeps me motivated. ;-) Just consumption alone takes 1hr20min per day. So that leaves me 1 hour for the rest of the activities.
Typical values:
Cooking: 30min
Baking: 1hr
Cleanup: 15min
Washing and chopping veggie or fruit snacks: 5min
Not so sure about these ones:
Meal-planning: 30min?
Counting calories: ??
Shopping: 1hr 30 min?
Light shopping: 30 min?
Recording daily consumption in FitNRG: 10min?
Let's see if it's doable with a concrete real-world example:
(allotment is 60 min. daily budget for non-eating food activities)
Monday: cook+cleanup+chopping=30+15+5= 50min. (not bad, under budgeted 60 minutes)
Tuesday: bake +cleanup= 60+15= 1hr15 (ok. I passed the limit, but I've got 10min leftover from yesterday)
Wednesday: shopping = 1hr30 (now it's a bit much, no time to cook, should eat leftovers or restaurant?)
Thursday: cook+cleanup+chopping= 50min.
Friday: day off (gain 1hr20)
Saturday: cook+cleanup+chopping+light shopping= 1hr20
Sunday: meal-planning+cook+cleanup+chopping= 1hr20
On a weekly basis, it actually looks pretty good once you average out the times (avg = 60.7min.). I also have to consider that sometimes I spend more time at the gym and some snacks I finish off in a couple of minutes and sometimes my bf does light shopping, etc. However, in the end, there are many benefits:
-cooking 4x a week is not so bad (eat leftovers on days off and for lunch)
-baking snacks or breakfast egg-muffins once a week will help me avoid the unhealthy pastry cravings
-shopping 2x a week will ensure we get fresh produce
-having that day off works as a reward
-meal-planning will ensure that I WILL lose weight.
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| Posted in weight-loss, nutrition, meal-planning | 4 Comments |
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| I finished the 5k race!! |
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| Sep 21, 2008 |
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I reached my goal of finishing under 30 minutes at 29:28. Although I'm a little stiff and my knees are hurting, I am motivated to keep going. There's another 5k race in October that I don't think I'll pre-register for because you never know what the weather will be like. I'll still train for it anyways and if the weather is nice I'll be ready to sign-up on race day. At this point, I'm setting my next race goal for a spring-time 10k in 2009.
Lost a few inches since last month according to my questionably accurate body measurements. So I'm happy about that.
I'm considering going vegetarian for a while just to keep me from making bad restaurant choices. I read somewhere that eating a french fry is as bad as smoking a cigarette. Chips are even more toxic with all the processing they go through. In light of that news bit, I'll keep those choices off my menu from now on.
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| Posted in goals, running, challenges, nutrition | 3 Comments |
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| Week 6: Up and down |
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| Sep 17, 2008 |
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Week 6: day 38 (5k Race this week!!)
start date: August 10, 2008
end date: November 10, 2008
3 month goal: lose 15lbs
start weight: 173lbs
current weight: 171lbs
target weight: 158lbs
last year's fittest-ever weight: 145 lbs!
ultimate wishful weight: 135 lbs
My weight is going up and down! Overall I feel like I'm getting in better shape though. Unfortunately, last years clothes still don't fit much better. Sunday is still my devastation day running into situations where I have no choice but to make bad food choices!! On top of that I had a triple-resto weekend, going out to restaurants Friday, Saturday and Sunday. So even though I trained hard all last week, my Monday weekly weigh-in had not budged from the week before. I don't feel good about my over-eating. I work so hard at the gym only to have my efforts thwarted by food aka instant pleasure aka reward aka consolation aka energy-booster aka escape aka
emotional-soother aka social glue, etc. Also I did not count calories this last week..and I barely kept track of what I ate every day. Bad week gone. Better week on the way, right?
What I did right this week:
-45 minutes on the treadmill
(Lance Armstrong congratulated me on my Nike+Ipod)
-slipped away from bf and kids to fit in my weight routine + 10min run
-15min step after weight routine
-took a day off to mend over-training
-brought my lunch to work EVERY day!
-had a very light dinner after Saturday resto lunch binge
My goal this week (week 6):
Bring healthy snacks and water to my classes to avoid chips, cookies, muffins, etc. during breaks.
Workout routine for month 2:
1. alternating 30 min cardio with 30 min weights daily, one day 45 minutes low intensity cardio, one day off
2. 1 x 60 min walk + 1 x 45-60min dance class
3. 1 yoga class
or 1 pilates class
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| Posted in update, nutrition | 3 Comments |
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| Weight-loss is soooo slow... |
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| Sep 01, 2008 |
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Well..officially it's been three weeks and I've lost 3 lbs. Not too impressed. I know that I have to get serious about my eating, but it's sooooo hard. I have such a sugar craving all the time and I'm not organized so I'm eating irregularly. Good thing is the bf feels bad that he's eating in restos all the time. I'm realizing that it's up to me to be a good Holly Homemaker to plan and prepare healthy meals for the both of us. We're better at eating fruits and veggies, now we have to work at more home-cooking over all. I think I'll take an inventory of our favorite healthy recipes and make sure that we cook at least 3x a week to have better dinner and lunch options available. Also, we should make it a habit to have a healthy Sunday dinner with the boys. Hmmm, I'm likin' where this is going. I know it's counter-intuitive for a liberated North American woman (no offense intended) but it's definitely easier to start eating healthier when I consider taking care of others first. Also looking forward to learning new recipes with Dad, heretofore aka Dear-old-Dad, or DoD, for short!!
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| Posted in weight-loss, nutrition, meal-planning | No Comments |
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| Keeping up with it |
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| Aug 31, 2008 |
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I have to congratulate myself today. Yesterday I did the yoga and meditation in the early afternoon, then went back to the gym and did a weight-training routine in the evening. The bf says he can tell my body is getting more toned already...it's been a month! I'm still disappointed with my eating, but I'm keeping in mind that it's better not to send my body into starving-mode and slow down the metabolism. I see some people on different diets (eating clean, low-carb, etc.) though and it looks like they're getting better results than I am. Maybe I have to resort to planning a weekly menu. :-(
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| Posted in weight-loss, challenges, nutrition | No Comments |
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| Gailish's Latest Activities |
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