Another day...

Here I go again....

Yesterday was another pretty good day.  Drank lots, ate well, feeling good. 

Still haven't trouble fitting exercise in.  I know I HAVE the time- I exercised every day in January, just about- but how to re-figure out HOW to put the exercise in is a different story.  Because I'm not exercising, it's okay to eat fewer calories without risk of going into starvation mode.  I always boost my food intake when I'm working out, eat most of my exercise calories.

I had a peanut butter and banana wrap yesterday for breakfast, with a bit of chopped pecans- it was delicious.  For lunch it was a Gourmet Steamers (Red pepper alfredo) meal and for dinner I had half a can of tuna in half a whole wheat pita with a couple pickles and some lettuce.  Through the day I snacked on strawberries, grapes, laughing cow cheese, carrots... and I had a 100-calorie pack of oreo thinsations after dinner.

Consumed: 1360kcal (-200 nursing calories)
Burned: 0kcal (it was Glee night!  Barely even did housework...)
Total deficit: 876kcal
Target deficit: 811kcal

So my total deficit for the day was pretty good.  Probably should have eaten a touch more but the thing is, 200 is just a guess when it comes to nursing calories- I could be burning less than that.  Most nursing mothers burn 200-500 calories per day, but since Logan's a toddler he doesn't nurse as much as he once did, so I'm counting calories on the lower end of the scale. 

Anyways, on Monday I seemed to have gained about two pounds (not surprising- a combination of water retention and less-than-ideal eating over the weekend) but it's already dropped off and then some.  I retain water so badly and my weight fluctuates up and down so much, sometimes it's hard to get a handle on where I really 'am'.  We'll check back next Monday and see where I'm at.

God, these last 10 pounds are HARD TO SHAKE!

On the plus side, I'm taking Ritalin now and one of the side effects is weight loss.  Ha!  I think this is the first time I've ever HOPED for a side effect.... ;)

"Counting Calories is TOO HARD!"

It always blows my mind when friends/family make comments about how 'hard' it is to count calories.  They can't believe I track every calorie, and have been doing it since the end of November.

Even when I wasn't losing weight, just maintaining, I still counted the calories.  I think it's good to know what's going into your body.  Also, it helps keep you on track.

It's really not a hassle for me! I enter in my food for the day at the beginning of every day.  This allows me to a) plan ahead so I'm never hunched in front of the fridge saying, "What should I eat?" b) not accidentally go over in any area (sodium, sugar, etc) c) make sure I'm getting enough of the proper nutrients and d) keep on track throughout the day. 

Of course, what I enter isn't set in stone.  I may decide in the morning that for dinner I'll be having tuna, rice and vegetables.  When I get home, I may decide I'd prefer coucous, veggies and chicken.  The overall calories of those meals are similar, and I'll just switch it out.  But the primary calorie entering happens in the morning, after I've eaten breakfast and packed my lunch for work.  Bada-boom, really simple.

I did fairly well yesterday- didn't get a work-out in though because, like Sunday, my focus when I got home was organization of my house.  On the plus side- cleaning house burns calories.  Certainly beats my normal routine of coming home and sitting on the couch to watch TV until bedtime!  (Well, minus dinner prep and clean-up, of course). 

Consumed: 1591kcal (-200 nursing calories)

Burned: 325kcal
Total Deficit: 970kcal
Target Deficit: 811kcal

So, all in all, a pretty successful day!  I ate lots of veggies, drank quite a bit of water, and my daily deficit was pretty respectable.  No complaints here!

Aches & Pains

Was going to start Chalean Extreme yesterday but couldn't find a freaking 40 minute window to exercise in- how sad is that!?  Def. planning on getting a workout in today.  At the end of the day, I don't think it matters WHAT exercise I do (I have Chalean workouts, Insanity workouts, 10 Minute Trainer workouts.  I've got 30 Day Shred, Tae Bo, and several Pilates DVDs.  I also have JMFU2010, The Biggest Loser and Wii Fit for the Wii), as long as I'm doing exercises and burning calories. 

On the plus side, I HAVE been living up to my promise to myself and becoming more active again.  On Saturday I went golfing for 2h23m and burned 958 calories (thank you Polar f6 HRM!).  UNFORTUNATELY I spent much of Saturday dealing with the nibbly-nibblies and ate back all those calories and then some.  Faaaaaack.

Sunday, which was the target date for starting Chalean, was a lot better for me.  And it was a huge victory because I ate well on a weekend, which is always almost impossible for me.  Like I said, I didn't get a formal workout in, but that's because I was so busy with housework and renos.  I hung shelves and reorganized our bedroom closet.  Moved furniture, organized MORE shit... ugh.  Actually, it was AWESOME because I'm not always so productive.  Wish I'd worn my HRM but MFP gave me an estimated calorie burn of 584 for three hours of work.  I know I worked more than 3 hours, but I prefer to err on the conservative side when estimating caloric burn without the help of my HRM.

Like I said last entry (god, I suck at writing over the weekends) I'm still really trying to focus on boosting my overall fruit/veggie intake.  I'm also working on adding healthy fats to my diet, because apparently I don't do enough of that.  I bought myself some ground flax seed, which I've been adding to my food to give it a nice boost of Omega-3 fatty acids, and fibre. 

Yesterday I had a cup of Fibre1 raisin bran cereal for breakfast, with a half a cup of skim milk.  I snacked on some strawberries in the afternoon and for lunch I had a half a can of tuna in a half a whole wheat pita, with iceberg lettuce and 5 bread and butter pickles (btw: YUM!).  I snacked on some pecan halves  later on in the day and for dinner I had half a baked chicken breast with lemon spinach couscous and zucchini, spring peas and carrots. 

I DID nibble on some jellybeans during the day, but I counted and tracked them, so I didn't go overboard.  And I had some Oreos Thinsations for dessert.  Drank lots of water through the day as well.

I've started tracking my nursing calories as a food deficit instead of an exercise (on MFP) because not only does nursing burn calories but it also steals nutrients away from me.  I am STILL working on weaning Logan, and it's... a work in progress.  The child has discovered the fine art of the tantrum, and he wields that tool like no child I've ever seen.  On the plus side, nursing burns calories and has kept him SUPER healthy thus far so at least there's that.

Here's yesterday's numbers:

Consumed: 1300kcal (-200 nursing calories)
Burned: 584kcal
Total Deficit: 1520kcal
Target Deficit: 811

So, I did pretty well diet-wise and exercise-wise, but didn't consume nearly enough calories.  I usually try to keep my deficit closer to 1000kcal max (which should equal about 2 pounds a week of loss) and my target is 811.  I just got super-focused on my house projects and all the work I was doing and, honestly, forgot to eat.

I've previously talked a bit about focus issues, and how I have a difficult time focusing on any weight-loss 'regime'.  Sometimes my lack of focus causes me to nibble without me even realizing I'm doing it.  Tomorrow I've got an appointment with a Dr. to talk about those focus issues and hopefully address them.  I'm looking forward to it because I really want to start feeling more 'normal', with a little more clarity and a little less noise inside my head.  Wish me luck!

Day 23 - Veggies and Planning! (+Weigh In)

So it's been a while since I last posted.  To be honest, it's just difficult as hell to update my blog OR my livejournal during the weekend.  To actually sit down and type something coherent when little buggers are tugging at my shirt or screaming or being... little buggers?  Difficult, very difficult. 

I've decided that I need a direction, fitness-wise.  I'm losing weight, but not at the rate I was when I was working out every day.  And since I'm down to the last 10-15 pounds, I really need to push myself that extra mile!

I am thinking of starting Chalean Extreme this Sunday.  The program is a 90 day one, and is supposed to be REALLY good for getting those extra pounds down. 

I'm also trying to really focus on my intake of fruit and veggies.  I tend to do an ok job of eating what I'm supposed to during the day (calorie-wise) but I seriously don't eat enough of the green stuff.  Nor do I get enough healthy fats, but that's a different matter entirely. 

I've done very well in other areas.  That is, I RARELY eat red meat anymore, my sodium levels are (usually) down.  I've been drinking lots of water.  But it's so hard to stay on track during the weekends.  During the week, it's easy to sit at my desk all day chugging water.  And I can't nibble because I pack my lunch in the mornings and don't have the $$ to buy anything extra.  The real trick is that period of time between when I get home from work, and when I go to bed.  I think I've mentioned that before. 

Anyways, I got busy doing work stuff yesterday and didn't record my weigh-in.  Ooops!  As always, I weight more on Mondays than I did the following Friday, because I tend to eat too much sodium during the weekends and retain water!  But I have to stay true to what the scale says on MONDAY because that's when I do my weigh-ins, and I want the total amount loss to be tracked accurately.  That said....

Start weight: 148.4lbs

LW Weight: 146
Current Weight: 145

So a pound down, not too bad!  I was 143.1 on Friday, though!  Gotta make sure I keep a better eye on that weekend sodium and water intake!
Now... off to plan my workouts for next week!

Day 15 (Summary)

So here's the thing: I'm awesome at keeping to my calories all day.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks.  Then after dinner, when I'm sitting down to relax, I wind up snacking without fail.  It's like a compulsion, one I cannot seem to shake.  Last night Steve sat down next to me with a bowl of popcorn, and I started eating- WITHOUT EVEN REALIZING I WAS EATING.  How fucked-up is that?  That you can be sitting down and putting food into your mouth without thinking about it?

I'm aware of this- this is what I'm going to focus on all week.  Going from dinner to bed without snacking.  Can I do it?  God, I hope so.

Calorie intake last night wasn't TERRIBLE, but I was at 1700 which is about 200 above my target. 

Didn't exercise (excuses, excuses!  Really I was just too busy setting up my computer, which I FINALLY got back from the shop!!!!), either. 

Target Daily Deficit: 811
Actual Daily Deficit: 336 (+200 nursince calories)= 536

So, not terribly abysmal but also nothing worth writing home about.  On the plus side- I did get my 8 cups of water in yesterday and, popcorn and all, was only at 1479mg of sodium (more than 1000mg under my 'max').  Hurray for small victories!!!

Day 15 - (Third Weigh-in)

Well, it's been about two weeks since I decided to start eating better (after taking a month off).  Time to do another weigh-in.  As of today I'm at 146 pounds, which is down 3.2 pounds from last monday and 2.4 pounds overall.  Yay!

But also, boo!  Because on Friday (April 2) I was at 144.4 pounds.

Basically, I had an Easter weekend chock-full of turkey dinners.  Didn't do too bad as far as candy is concerned, but I had three turkey dinners in a row which isn't ideal.  Calorie-wise, I don't think I did TOO terribly, but I know I didn't drink nearly as much water as I could have and consumed more sodium than I should have.  I'm confident that the 1.6 pounds I seem to have gained over the weekend is water weight, so I'm not TOO upset.

Actually, I'm very happy right now because for over a month, my weight bounced between 147 and 149 pounds.  I could NOT seem to get below 147.  I do believe it was because I lost 20 pounds so fast- my body didn't know what was going on, so I hit a plateau.  I spent a little over a month not eating too poorly, but also not creating a calorie deficit.  I just ate to maintain my weight.  This 'reassured' my body that no, I wasn't starving to death.  So now that I'm trying to lose again, it seems that my body is (again) willing to let go of some weight.  Thank heavens!  I'm so happy to be below 147.  Plateau breaked!

Still, I wasn't exactly miss good-dieter over the weekend.  Time to start fresh again today!  I'm happy because there are no events on the horizon that would cause temptation.  Joey's birthday is over, Easter is over.... it's all smooth (well, smoothER) sailing from here. 

Honestly, I'm just excited to hit 135.  Of course 125 is my ideal target weight, but 135 is my 'happy' weight.  That is, I look good when I'm 135.  I feel good, I'm healthy and happy.  I don't have to work as hard to maintain 135 as I do with 125.  I can LIVE with 135. 

I've got today all mapped out, calories counted.  Doing really well so far- wish me luck!

Day 10

Not really an ideal day yesterday.  Most of the day went well then I got hungry and snacked on cookies.  Not celery or carrots, which were available.  Then I got so pissed at myself I threw all the cookies in the trash.  Hurray for small victories!

My calories for the day were at 1703, but minus my nursing calories (which automatically deduct from my food tracker at MFP), I was at 1503, which is almost perfect.  Didn't do any exercise, though, again due to chest cold and that time of the month.  Hey, body, any time you wanna get better......

So my TDEE is 2036-1703+200=533

Target daily deficit: 811
Total daily deficit: 533

Not as good as it should have been.  Glad I threw those cookies out.

On the plus side, I have pre-made tonights dinner last night, so at least I don't have to fumble around wondering what to eat come dinner tonight!  I'll be having a half-cup of parboiled rice, a half cup of mixed veggies, and half a chicken breast.  Total calories = 325.  Also going to treat myself to a six-inch subway sub for lunch (turkey breast on wheat, no cheese or mayo) which will work out to 226 kcal.  I anticipate today's numbers will be better than yesterday.