February Weight loss Journal

151!!!!!

tuesday feb 28

“The mind can forget what the body, defined by each breath, subject to the heart beating, does not.”

smoothie, pecan sandie

yoga w/ milan

run from pp to cp w/janet

piece bread w/pb

one chocolate (god, are those christmas chocs ever going to run out)

drive to creekside w/shelly

salad w/tuna fish, avocado,lettuce (from my garden!), tomato

orange from my tree!!

I think the last pound is probably the hardest because then you go into "maintain mode" and it's easy to say, ok I made it here, now I'm done...  but you really have to just keep working just as hard as you have been all along...  just to stay where you are.

That's why they say it's a lifestyle change, not a diet.  If you look at it as just a diet then the weight will come right back. 

Sadly.

Which means my days of eating pints of ice cream are probably gone for good.  And now my days of exercising frequently, possibly multiple times a day...  might be something I have to do long term.  Eating less, exercising more.  Sometimes it seems like I have to work harder than other people, but when I look at slim people, I actually see them exercising a lot.  And they don't really eat that much either. 

I think the whole "metabolism" thing is kind of a myth too (that slim people have a better metabolism than heavy people)

I read that your metabolism is actually how many calories you burn just by existing.  And heavy people actually burn more calories just by existing because they have more mass so they need more calories just to maintain the mass they have.

However definitely exercise and eating well do "get your body going" and working better and I think help you to process food better and get everything functioning better.

I am at 154 as of this morning but I didn't sleep very well last night, not sure why...  So I took a nap today and have just been resting today mostly...  I'm not going to stress about it. 

But I hope I can still be at 154 tomorrow, it would be really nice to close out the month with a 3 lb weight loss.  Still, with not much sleep and kind of a lazy day today I'm not going to count on it... but we'll see.

I'll post my exercise/food/weight tables on the 1st.

Monday feb 27 2012 130!

Wow...finally down to 130, one pound to go....the last one is always the hardest I think

"Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road,but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence." - Lin Yutang

Great hike yesterday at Mt Diablo with Russ. Sheez. He had a beer, I had water, it was fine.

smoothie, pecan sandie

hour of power

oatmeal

leftover vegetables

run around neighborhood with janet

orange from my tree (surprisingly tasty)

salad -- lettuce, tomato, cottage cheese, avocado

I am making money in property renovation, it's exciting

I feel like I keep hovering around the 155 marker, I am losing weight sooooo slowly.  But at least I'm losing it. 

Some before & after pics

This is me now (above)

And this is me back in Dec of 2011 (below)

sat feb 25

130.5!

smoothie (and of course pecan smoothie)

jog w/ milan

35 min yoga

1 piece of bread w/pb & honey

4 mile (?) walk with laura, hiroku & terry, lots of uphill

dried fruit

salad

lentil soup

talk to betsy

vegetables w/ a little sausage

feeling anxious about walk with russ, why is is SO HARD for me to be direct

I went for a nice walk today with Mike H.  It was pretty short, just a little ways into De Laveaga.  I went out for lunch with him at India Joze and ordered the Dragon Chicken which was really good, and came with bamboo shoots and rice, and I also got a side salad.  It was a big lunch.  I have been pretty hungry lately, maybe adding in the gardening I have been doing every day has been making me hungrier. 

Also I am walking further I think, and doing the yoga too.  It is hard to know how much is the right amount to eat.  I don't like being hungry but I think my rule of not eating after 6:30 is a good one.

I don't like going out to eat, in general, but I tried to order food I thought would be healthy.  I probably shouldn't have eaten the rice...  I would have substituted for black rice but I didn't have the extra money.  I wish I had asked for an extra dollar from Mike because he ended up eating some of my food anyways.  Then we could have shared all of it.

I ate a bunch of oatmeal for breakfast so I didn't really need the rice.

I couldn't go to dance class tonight because I guess Chris and Jessica were tired after the Rueda Festival and plus the louden nelson center is closed.

i thought about going to the 418 project but am just feeling tired tonight.

I am going to go to sleep early.

I weighed 155 and a half this morning...  I am still losing weight, but slooowly.  I guess I get frustrated wishing it would go faster but that doesn't help, it makes it worse to push myself like that.  It's better to just try and relax and be healthy.

I got my period yesterday.  I am thinking..  what are good foods to eat when you are on your period?

you want to make sure you have enough iron.  which means eating lean protein sources.  such as chicken.
you can also eat leafy greens (always good) but if you choose vegetable iron sources you should combine them with vitamin C to increase absorption.

you should also probably keep your salt intake down...  I ate some salty popcorn before going to sleep last night which was a mistake.

anyways...  reduce salt intake.  increase iron.

make sure you have enough calcium, so eat some yogurt (however greek yogurt doesn't have very much calcium so make sure you have some skim milk too)

nuts and seeds and pineapple to get enough manganese

Lentils: provide fiber, protein, satieting

oatmeal: B vitamins boost serotonin help with mood

Bananas: potassium helps with cramps and bloating

Yogurt: I think that yogurt helps everything.  I want to eat some every day.

soybeans can help with hormone balance.

the brain uses 20% of the calories we take in.  another important reason to eat a lot of small meals to maintain even glucose levels and to maintain a steady mood.

tuesday feb 14

“I had to get over [him]. For months now, a stone had been sitting on my heart. I'd shed a lot of tears over [him], lost a lot of sleep, eaten a lot of cake batter. Somehow, I had to move on. [Life] would be hell if I didn't shake loose from the grip he had on my heart. I most definitely didn't want to keep feeling this way, alone in a love affair meant for two. Even if he'd felt like The One. Even if I'd always thought we'd end up together. Even if he still had a choke chain on my heart.”

“But that afternoon he asked himself, with his infinite capacity for illusion, if such pitiless indifference might not be a subterfuge for hiding the torments of love.”

131 yesterday..several days now, would like to stay there for another week

only 2 more lbs!!

taking tranks cuz of Vday, started Sunday, 1 S, 2 Monday, none so far today

45 min yoga w/milan

making french onion soup

pecan sandie, smoothie, 1 piece bread w/pb

run 4 miles creek trail w/ janet

downtown w/ martine 1.5 mile walk (from postalmate to library and back)

gelato, long walk

sigh

good foods to fight depression

-oily fish eg wild salmon and tuna
-keep even blood sugar (eat lots of small meals and get enough protein) the brain depends on an even supply of glucose
- get enough chromium - such as romaine lettuce, onion and tomatoes (so make a salad with red onions, tomatoes and romaine... yum)
-get enough vitamin B: snack on nuts and bananas (yum)
-eat the rainbow! get all your fruits and veggies in all the colors and lots of them

154 this morning!  what a great valentines day surprise! 

:)

maybe being single is not so bad.

every time I think about giving up I just keep trying and it pays off.  the secret isn't never making mistakes, the secret is to keep trying even if you do make a mistake. 

back down to 156 today.  just flushing the salt from my system i think.  trying to drink a lot of water, especially with PMS happening.  it sucks because the combination of valentines day, PMS and being single were making me have major chocolate cravings yesterday.  however, I did a google search for good foods to eat when you are having PMS. 

advice was to eat consistently.

ok this isn't reallly weight loss relevant but it's a cool video of david beckam in his underwear.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQb_-OY7Z0E

well even if you are sad at least you are losing weight.  I have been feeling stressed and sad too but I have gained some weight.  I am at 157 now. 

I was so happy to be down to 155 before I just hope I can get back there soon.  I want to have other methods and a good routine to deal with stress and sadness but it's difficult to change bad habits.

sat feb 11

131 !!

I am very sad because of valentines day

smoothie

1.5 hours power yoga

1/2 pb & honey sandwich

walk around neighborhood (3 miles?) with terry

3 scrambled eggs

fri feb 10

smoothie

run around neighborhood with janet

no yoga cuz of deirdre's hearing

sigh

raspberries

jambalaya soup w/ cc

1/2 grapefruit

short walk w/ deirdre

salad with tunafish and avocado

junk food total

2 pecan sandie one chocolate

wed feb 8

Everything that I've ever been able to accomplish in skating and in life has come out of adversity and perseverance.
Scott Hamilton

131.5

pecan sandie

smoothie

1hr 15 min hatha yoga

pb sandwich (2T pb, 2 slices bread)

run janet 4 miles

2 tangerines

chocolate

feeling awful about pc meeting last night, hope I make it through today

feel bad about russ

So I am weighing in at 156.  I don't have to wiggle on the scale to get there, which is good.  I thought about going to a Salsa party last night but decided not to go because there would be an open bar and it just wasn't really my thing.  So I went to an "intermediate" yoga class from 5:30 to 7.  It was definitely beyond what I normally do, especially because I had already taken a yoga class in the morning and gone for a long walk during the day. 

tuesday feb 7

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." Winston Churchill

smoothie, cookie, chocolate

yoga w/v & m

run 4 miles janet

1 piece bread w/pb

1 bowl popcorn with 1 TB butter

1 tangerine

I large bowl broccoli, mushroom, sausage, pepper

1 pecan sandie

1 slice mozzarella/prosciutto

monday feb 6 2012

"Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another." Walter Elliott

cookie, smoothie, chocolate

short stack lumberjack pancakes at stacks w/butter & maple syrup (700 cal?)

mozz/ham piece (180)

grapefruit

sausage/broccoli/pepper/mushroom stirfry

1 hour power yoga

walk with janet 4 miles on creek (too tired to run)

This is a cute photo Lance took of me at his birthday party.  All I can think is "shoulder back!" like they always tell us in Yoga, but I still think it's a cute photo.  I think my face and collar bone area do look slimmer but it might just be a flattering photo.  I wish my face could be a lot slimmer than it is though.  It was a fun party and I absolutely love this blue dress.  I wore it on a date on Saturday which was a lot of fun.  This dress is a lot of fun.  I bought it through a Groupon.

well back down to 156!!!  at least the scale is moving in the right direction again!!  I think a big part of the problem was I was just swollen with salt.  my new plan of not eating burritos after noon is a good one I think.  and also cutting back on the salt.  I was thinking about it and during that time I ate: canned soup, packaged kale salad from new leaf with a lot of salt on it, and the burrito.  buying already cooked food is way easier but it's just so easy to gain weight eating food that is pre-cooked.  I'm so happy to be back down to 156, and I am going to keep eating salads and try to get back to 155 soon.  I am going to drink a ton of water too which should help.  I'm drinking some as I write this!

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2sGhhp/www.health.com/health/condition-article/0,,20274378,00.html/

above is a cool link about bipolar and pregnancy... hopefully you will be able to see it even though it is through stumbleupon... let me know??

I am doing pretty badly weight-loss wise.  I gained 2 pounds!!! back up to 157 and I don't even know what i'm doing wrong...  i guess it's because I ate a goat burrito the night before last and maybe it was really salty so i'm retaining water or something.  or maybe i am more stressed so i am holding a lot of cortisol which is making me hold onto weight. 

I ate some yogurt with breakfast today and that felt really cleansing, and good.  i always feel better after eating yogurt.

I read this weird article when i was doing some weight loss research that said that obesity can actually be "catching" or something, like a cold.  it's based on mice, who actually eat each others poop, so it's probably not as aplicable to humans, but it's based on the idea that obese people have unhealthy gut flora (bacteria) and it can be spread...  I guess if they put an obese mouse in a cage with skinny mice they catch the bad bacteria.  

sooo....  i'm eating yogurt!!  build up my probiotics and healthy bacteria.  build up my health. 

and definitely eating some salads and veggies today..  lots of high fiber foods.  i read that skinny people eat more foods that have lots of volume compared to their calorie load.  ie fruits or veggies.  lots of water in them.

:)

here's to going down on the scale tomorrow!!!

sunday feb 5 2012

"Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it." Ben Franklin

pecan smoothie

smoothie

1 hour power yoga

chocolate

drive to lowes to look at stone facade

salad (tuna, avocado, lettuce, tomato)

crackers (few)

walk w/ D

crackers & cheese

1 spring roll

bowl Pho (didn't eat much noodles)

I am up to 156 today.  I jogged intervals yesterday and went for a looong hike in de laveaga so it was really frustrating to gain a pound.  It is because I didn't eat right earlier in the day and then by nighttime I was super hungry so I ate a whole goat burrito with avocado right before I went to bed.  It was too much so I am digesting a big burrito and it had a lot of calories and I think I have a lot of tension too.  I need to deal with all the things that are stressing me out and that will really help.  Get help somehow.

sat feb 4

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. ~Epictetus

132

pecan sandie

smoothie

45 min yoga w/ v&m

chocolate

sweep downtown los gatos

oatmeal (no cream)

NVC potluck (bring green salad). Green salad, fruit, small piece cheese, few crackers, small

amount rice/chickpea salad, small choc chip cookie (aagghh)

2 bowls butternut squash soup

1 pecan sandie

fri feb 3 B

132

pecan sandie

smoothie

1 hr 15 min power yoga

chocolate (still working on debbie's box, haven't gotten to Minas yet)

2 hours feng shui with kelli

run w janet gh to pp

large bowl butternut soup with sausage and cc

work on creek with martine

grapefruit

popcorn (1.5T butter)

friday feb 3 A

Sorry ladies it's been so long.

Deirdre, loved your how to weigh 155 lbs post, but for me I would like to know where you started from (ie, it took you 3 months and you started at what weight?)

132 again

THursday I had

smoothie

45 min yoga w/ virginia

pb sandwich

walk about 4 miles with Roger, not much elevation change, at Arastradero

run with Janet Garden Hill to Perk Ponds (4 miles?)

grapefruit

out to eat with Mike

2 small pieces bread w/ olive oil

green salad with shrimp and calamari

rolled eggplant with mozzarella and tomato sauce (appetizer portion)

2 large glasses wine

How to weigh 155 pounds

this is from my 43things account:

"Awesome! I am so proud!"

How I did it: I cut out refined carbs.  No desserts or white bread.  I went out to dinner last night with my mom and said "No" to bread before dinner and "no" to the little cookie they gave me.  However, if I have little slip ups or mistakes, I just get right back on the horse and keep trying. 
I think what made the biggest difference for me was I started keeping a food journal.  I weighed myself every single day and kept track of it in a spreadsheet in excel.  I also recorded the food I ate and how much I exercised.  Therefor I was accountable to myself and if I ate something and gained weight I knew why it happened and I couldn't say "oh it's just my genetics" or blame it on something vague, I knew it was because of my choices. 

Untitled

I was feeling kind of depressed after salsa class today. I wanted to get a burrito to make myself feel better and eat it but instead I bought some sushi and a seaweed salad. I read that the iodine in the seaweed salad helps to balance your thyroid.
I guess I will get a burrito soon but eat it earlier in the day. I think what I ate was probably lighter than a burrito and with more nutrients and better to eat right before bed (even though I would like to get in the habit of eating earlier or somehow changing my schedule, it’s just hard having the 7-8pm salsa class.

Totally inspiring AMAZING yoga video.  Check it out!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loszrEZvS_k

Today is the first day of February.  I've been working hard to lose weight and I've lost 5 pounds during January.  I want to keep up the momentum and lose another 5 or so in February.  Ideally I'd like to get down to 149 on my home scale (that's my first goal) just to be in the "normal" category for my BMI.  And then, ideally, I would like to be in the "normal" category at the doctor's office.