Just 10 - Days 3 & 4 Recap - Day 5 Plans

This weekend was busy, but in a good, fun-filled way.

Saturday (Day 3) started out good enough, but then a nap and no desire to pass up the choice of Chinese Buffet followed by 6 hours of games with family, complete with some snacks put my calories over my limit. I weighed in, got in 10 minutes of movement, in the form of a walk (OH! And some weeding and raking time) and overall, I'll place the day at a 3 out of 5.

Sunday (Day 4) was just not that great. I had a massive sinus headache which had me taking medicine I don't normally take and then I just slept... for hours. Lunch and dinner were not bad, I had soda, due to my inability to focus and make some sugar free kool-aid. I didn't log any food and I doubt I moved at all more than to the car, couch, bed. The only thing going for me? I weighed in. So, Sunday gets a 1 out of 5.

Day 5, I started off with a good breakfast of oats and berries. Jonas is home sick today, so my normal strength training will be pushed until tomorrow. I'll plan to get some cardio in this afternoon for my movement. I did weigh in this morning and am back to where I started this Just 10 challenge. I'm not happy with that, but I am optimistic that I'll get back to where I was at.

Remembering to write my recaps and look-aheads is helping me keep myself accountable, even if no one is reading this. (Those of you that are, kudos and thanks).

Just 10 - Day 3

Day 2 Recap: 5 out of 5.

I had a soda with the Subway for lunch, but then refilled my glass with water. Food wise, I had a really good day. Jonas and I took a break during my work (which I rocked yesterday) to do a 10 minute exercise video from U-Verse. We played games last night, had a Greek yogurt w/ cranberry and almonds for dessert. Finished that well before I went to sleep last night.

Yesterday I also bought a books geared towards kids and families. One of them, is in the same line of "Eat this, not that" books, the other looks at food in a stoplight fashion. I think both books will be helpful not only for me, but also for helping Jonas make good choices.

Day 3 is a test of eating out for a meal, but one I will be prepared for. We had a good family breakfast together. Plans for today include some grocery shopping and hanging out together.

I weighed myself this morning and am a bit floored in the amount of weight I've lost over the past 2 days. I'm half way to the first goal of 10.

Following this plan has been simple, so I don't feel overwhelmed with the amount of right or wrong I am doing. I also made sure I looked at what I've done in the past when I was very successful in my weight loss. What was it? I didn't stress so much. That's it. Simple. I didn't plan out meals a week in advance. I went with what I felt like, for that day. Following that, has helped me tremendously over the past week.

Just 10 - Day 2

Day 1 Final Results: 4 out 5

Why? I had candy. Not just any candy. I had a whole Baby Ruth candy bar, and a mini Almond Joy, and a mini Butter Finger. If I had just had the whole Baby Ruth, I would have considered the day a success, as I brought it with me to have after my workout. The plan was, if I worked out, I could have it. If I didn't... I couldn't.

I also managed to have dinner by 8:30pm and in bed by 10-10:30... so I was around my two hour limit.

What will Day 2 bring?

Working from home, although more relaxing, tends to be a little harder. I had a good, big, breakfast this morning. Lunch... I need to go to the post office to mail something. My plan is to take the box to the post office, then grab some Subway on the way home. A half sub and an apple are a good choice. Dinner will be ground turkey stroganoff, as requested by Jonas. With that, I'll make some veggies and possibly a dessert.

Other goals for today? Cutting out soda? Done. I'm drinking awesome coffee this morning and will make some sugar free kool-aid this afternoon as well as a glass or two of water.

The other bonus for working from home? Earlier dinner. Rule #2: Stop Eating at least 3 hours before bed should be a bonus easy today.

Move for 10 minutes? I can fit that in, and not just walking to pick up Jonas. When Jonas gets home, we'll do a quick workout to get some energy out and some blood pumping. He'll enjoy working out with me as well.

Weighed myself this morning. I was 2.5 pounds lighter than yesterday. Odd, considering the intake of sugar I had mid-afternoon. Anyway, that is awesome, I'll take it!

Just 10 - Day 1

Today starts my journey on the Just 10 challenge. I started the day off weighing myself. I can say I'm not pleased with the number, but I do have the starting number and the 10 pound goal weight.

I plan on working out today at the gym. I'm pondering which cardio is my choice of poison. While I know that I do better on the elliptical, calorie burn wise, I'm still pondering the whole running thing. Do I want to be a runner? Do I just want better health?

Dinner tonight is going to be simple: pancakes, eggs and turkey bacon. Getting home at 7:15, this should take about 20 minutes to cook. With extra movement planned and laundry folding, that should give me a good 3 hours before bed to digest and stuff.

I think, for my 10 minute movement sessions after work, I'm going to do the Hacker's Diet Ladder program that I have on my phone. It will allow me to move with the family, in short sessions.

The fifth goal, portion control, I'm working on again. Breakfast was not that great (McDonalds burrito, with a side of apples instead of hashbrown). Lunch will be out as I haven't been doing well at preparing my meals. I am going to get the nutrition down though with a veggie heavy lunch. I brought good snacks and dinner will be portion controlled.

So far, my outlook is good and I know I will do well.

Since I'm doing a strength training program, I don't expect that I will lose the 10 pounds overly quickly. My current time goal is by 12/31.

Just 10!

In a normal day, I check twitter a couple times, but really only ever read the top 5 or so at that time. During one check today I see a tweet by Dr. Oz about his Just 10 challenge. Basically, to create a goal of losing 10 pounds at a time. While I've been trying to figure out how to get myself back on a goal driven basis with my weight loss (I'm doing the workout goals well enough with the New Weight Lifting for Women plan), this showed up and looks like I can do it!

So I signed up for the challenge.

There are 5 simple rules:

1. Cut out Soda (Just replace one soda with water is the goal given. Since I have usually have one per day, I'm going to aim to have none at all)
2. Stop Eating at Least 3 Hours Before Bed (Due to times I get home, this is sometimes not doable. Instead, I will aim to not at least 2 hours before bed. If I do end up eating, I will do an extra 10 min exercise before bed)
3. Move for 10 Minutes Each Day (This one, while I move a lot will be an additional 10 minutes, done at home in the evenings with the family to meet my goal)
4. Exercise Portion Control (I need to get back into the habit of weighing and measuring everything!)
5. Weigh Yourself Daily (No problem! I can do this, even if I don't like it just yet)

I also liked this picture about how to balance what you're eating:












Easy enough!

So this is my new challenge to myself. To lose 10 pounds. Simple enough.

I'm going to track my goals daily as a 5 out of 5 type of way to keep track of how I'm doing. I think this is easy enough that I'm not going to become overwhelmed, but will help me in my journey of becoming healthier.

Overeducated??

So, I've lost my inspiration yet again. I've started a new workout program, but I can't seem to follow an eating plan. Is it because I'm reading too much and am over-educated in what everyone thinks is the right percentage of macro-nutrients, what someone else thinks is the "better" food? I honestly have no clue. Either way, I haven't been losing fat. That's the way that I'm looking at things now. I'm not trying to lose weight, I'm trying to lose weight.

It's still hard for me to fathom that I'm at the top of the healthy body fat % for women my age. What's that mean? The last time I had my body fat measured, it was under 33%. Yet, I have this big ol belly of fat. It's this big ol belly that has my mind in a matter of chaos.

I no longer know what I should be eating, how often, etc.

The strength training workout I put myself on recommends a 40/30/30 ratio due to the amount of strength training. (That is protein/carb/fat ratio)

Ok, great. I know lean meats are better than fatty meats. I know whole grains are better than the processed crap with no nutritional value. What about organic vs. non-organic fruits and veggies? Is organic going to salvage my hormone imbalance from years of playing whack-a-mole with my eating plans?

Should I continue logging what I eat? Should I just let go for a while? Why was I so successful and now am struggling just to maintain my weight?

I'm so frustrated with everything, I'm sure it isn't helping. I'm anally obsessed with this journey and I wish I could just "go with the flow". But I also know that I can't.

I realized that while writing down my thoughts and feelings does help, I can't force myself to do it every day. Yet, I should try and do more of the "good days" and not the days where I realize my unhealthy obsession with making myself healthier.

I was going to instill a more organic diet starting next week in our house, however, now I'm wondering, is that really what I want to do? Is it really what will help me, and the rest of the household, become healthier? There are SO many conflicting studies and opinions around, that I can't find a straight answer.

I think, for now, anyway, I'm just going to go the old fashioned route of counting calories, logging my food, and abiding by the principles of lean meats, veggies, fruits, legumes and whole grains. Watching the ratio due to the strength training program, but not worrying overly much on the whole organic/non-organic front.

I'll make weekly menus and reevaluate in 2 months to see how the whole thing is going for me.

A New Path

Today I met with a Registered Dietitian. This is something I've wanted to do for a while, to make sure the journey I've been taking is nutritionally sound. It was a very good appointment! She congratulated me on my successes so far. She said I no longer would qualify for bariatric surgery and that I am very close to the "overweight" range instead of the "very overweight/obese" range I'm in currently. Considering I was once in the "super obese" (which is above "morbidly obese" level... this is a VERY good thing. :)

We looked at my eating over the past week and she felt I was eating too much protein. She also felt I should make a short term weight loss goal of 14 pounds. Once I reach that goal, do short term weight loss goals of 10 pounds until I reach my goal weight.

Eating wise, she suggested an 1800 calorie/day diet. This diet includes 3 servings of carbs, 8 oz of protein and 6 servings of fat. It also includes at least 4 cups of veggies! She showed me how I should spread these nutrients across my daily meals.

Meal breakdown is as follows:
Breakfast: 3 carbs, 1 oz meat, 2 fats
AM Snack: 1 carb, 1oz meat, veggies
Lunch: 3 carbs, 3 oz meat, 2 fats, veggies
PM Snack: 2 carbs, veggies
Dinner: 3 carbs, 3 oz meat, 2 fats, veggies

Carbs include starches, fruits and milk.

She also suggested that I don't eat any calories I "earn" from exercising, but that they are bonus calories lost.

Exercise wise, she said I should be doing 420 minutes a week, burning approximately 3500 calories a week, or one pound of fat. Due to the fact that I am aiming to work out 4 days a week at work (35-40 minutes/140 minutes total), 2 days of Pilates (120 minutes) and one day at home (40-60 minutes) she suggested that I add in a weekend activity to burn ~ 400 calories. I can do something on Saturdays to cover that.

She also suggested that I train for a sprint marathon and also think about setting up personal trainer sessions at the gym.

I was depressive and stressed before I saw her (unrelated), but all her positive energy and praise really helped boost my mood. I'm really glad I went today and talked this all through.