Didn't do anything major today. I want to try to go for another bike ride tomorrow, but I'm not too sure the weather is going to cooperate, so I may have to put that off for later in the week. Also, I wasn't sure that the Wii Fit was actually doing anything for me anymore - I don't get sore after using it like I used to. So I spent the entire half hour doing the strength training exercises. We'll see if I feel any of it tomorrow.
- 30 minutes Wii Fit
- 1.5 mile walk with the Fuzz Face
Showing posts with label thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thoughts. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Day 14
Today's weight: 130
Today marks a very important occasion. My weight has dipped, ever so slightly, below the 130 pound mark. I NEVER, under ANY circumstances, want to weigh more than 130 pounds, ever again in my life. There is no reason for it, and there is no excuse for it. I am all grown up, with grown-up parts that are all fully matured, and I really should be able to keep my weight pretty stable from here on out. If I am moderately responsible, I should be able to keep myself below 130 for the rest of my life. There are exactly 10 pounds more to go before I hit my goal weight, but I am happy to have successfully reached the half way point.
so, the other day I was on www.mypyramid.gov, trying to figure out about how many calories a 5'5" 21-year-old female who gets between 30-60 minutes of moderate exercise a day should be eating. Apparently, the answer is about 2200. I read something somewhere that mentioned that if you wanted to actually lose weight, you should probably be eating about 500 FEWER calories on average than recommended. So today I took a stab at figuring out how many calories I had eaten to see if I was meeting the goal of taking in about 1700 calories. I think today was a pretty average food day - maybe I ate slightly more than usual, but not by much. There were a few food items that I had to make educated guesses for as far as total calorie count, but my best guess for the day came to around 1800 calories, give or take. Not bad, and definitely below my recommended calorie intake, but maybe I could cut back ever so slightly to maybe move the process along a little faster. But I certainly don't want to hurt myself, and I'm not going to just not eat if I'm hungry, so we'll see how it goes. I guess I'm just glad to see that I'm not exceeding my recommended calorie intake. I'm on the right track.
Today marks a very important occasion. My weight has dipped, ever so slightly, below the 130 pound mark. I NEVER, under ANY circumstances, want to weigh more than 130 pounds, ever again in my life. There is no reason for it, and there is no excuse for it. I am all grown up, with grown-up parts that are all fully matured, and I really should be able to keep my weight pretty stable from here on out. If I am moderately responsible, I should be able to keep myself below 130 for the rest of my life. There are exactly 10 pounds more to go before I hit my goal weight, but I am happy to have successfully reached the half way point.
so, the other day I was on www.mypyramid.gov, trying to figure out about how many calories a 5'5" 21-year-old female who gets between 30-60 minutes of moderate exercise a day should be eating. Apparently, the answer is about 2200. I read something somewhere that mentioned that if you wanted to actually lose weight, you should probably be eating about 500 FEWER calories on average than recommended. So today I took a stab at figuring out how many calories I had eaten to see if I was meeting the goal of taking in about 1700 calories. I think today was a pretty average food day - maybe I ate slightly more than usual, but not by much. There were a few food items that I had to make educated guesses for as far as total calorie count, but my best guess for the day came to around 1800 calories, give or take. Not bad, and definitely below my recommended calorie intake, but maybe I could cut back ever so slightly to maybe move the process along a little faster. But I certainly don't want to hurt myself, and I'm not going to just not eat if I'm hungry, so we'll see how it goes. I guess I'm just glad to see that I'm not exceeding my recommended calorie intake. I'm on the right track.
Day 13
Today's weight: 131
Oddly enough, my weight didn't change even the slightest little bit between yesterday and today. While this is still the least I have weighed in a long time, I'm still hoping that I can get below this now that the Passover weight is gone. I don't know - we'll have to see how the next few days go. I'd be kind of sad if this was the furthest down I can reasonably get it. There are always unreasonable options, such as simply not eating anymore or running 15 miles every day, but I just really don't want to go there. And if I did, I'd just end up gaining it all back anyway.
But if I do have trouble losing more weight after this point, I may want to take another look at my eating habits. I don't think I need to do much more in the exercise department, but just keeping a log of what I eat isn't really the end-point in a diet. That was really just to help me keep track of where I could start to do better if I need to. Over the next few days I think I'm going to need to decide whether I need to make major changes to my eating habits.
Oddly enough, my weight didn't change even the slightest little bit between yesterday and today. While this is still the least I have weighed in a long time, I'm still hoping that I can get below this now that the Passover weight is gone. I don't know - we'll have to see how the next few days go. I'd be kind of sad if this was the furthest down I can reasonably get it. There are always unreasonable options, such as simply not eating anymore or running 15 miles every day, but I just really don't want to go there. And if I did, I'd just end up gaining it all back anyway.
But if I do have trouble losing more weight after this point, I may want to take another look at my eating habits. I don't think I need to do much more in the exercise department, but just keeping a log of what I eat isn't really the end-point in a diet. That was really just to help me keep track of where I could start to do better if I need to. Over the next few days I think I'm going to need to decide whether I need to make major changes to my eating habits.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Day 12
Today's weigh in: 131
I completely forgot to blog yesterday, which isn't good, but I did exorcise and keep track of everything that I ate, so I'll just be filling out two entries today. Not the end of the world.
So, yesterday I finally took off the rest of the Passover weight, which is good, and I'm back down to where I was on Tuesday. Nothing all that drastic to report. I'm still mostly keeping with the diet (except for one cookie, which I think is okay. and feel good, so yay for me!
I completely forgot to blog yesterday, which isn't good, but I did exorcise and keep track of everything that I ate, so I'll just be filling out two entries today. Not the end of the world.
So, yesterday I finally took off the rest of the Passover weight, which is good, and I'm back down to where I was on Tuesday. Nothing all that drastic to report. I'm still mostly keeping with the diet (except for one cookie, which I think is okay. and feel good, so yay for me!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Day 11
Today's weigh in: 132
It went down ever so slightly, but it's kind of holding where it is. If I want to get rid of it, I am definitely going to have to work harder than I did today. I just really need my whole family to not be around all the time. I need some me time to work out. Just one more day. Just one more day.
It went down ever so slightly, but it's kind of holding where it is. If I want to get rid of it, I am definitely going to have to work harder than I did today. I just really need my whole family to not be around all the time. I need some me time to work out. Just one more day. Just one more day.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Day 10
Today's weigh in: 132
I didn't really drop a whole pound today - just enough to round down. Sorta. It was actually a little disappointing. I'm worried that I may have already lost the easy weight.
My younger sister (the not fat one) is only about an inch shorter than me (if that) and she told me the other day that she weighs 105 pounds. That was disheartening. I will never be that thin again. Will I be happy if I can get back to 120? And what if I can't? I've started feeling kind of disgusting if I feel full. I know that's not healthy, and the last thing I should do is starve myself - that's terrible for your metabolism - but I just really want to get as much off by summer as I can.
I'm going back to Ithaca in exactly 1 month for my graduation ceremony, and it probably doesn't matter, but I wanted to look my best for that. I'm praying that I can get down to 125 by then. I don't know if I can or not. I mean, I've only been doing this for 10 days so far, and I've lost a bit in that time. Maybe I can take the rest of it off in a month. Really, if I get it off before Florida, that is the ultimate goal, but I'd kind of like to just have a stable routine down by then - not necessarily a weight-loss kind of routine that will just get messed up during the week-long drive. I dunno. We'll see. Just not feeling so great about it right now.
I didn't really drop a whole pound today - just enough to round down. Sorta. It was actually a little disappointing. I'm worried that I may have already lost the easy weight.
My younger sister (the not fat one) is only about an inch shorter than me (if that) and she told me the other day that she weighs 105 pounds. That was disheartening. I will never be that thin again. Will I be happy if I can get back to 120? And what if I can't? I've started feeling kind of disgusting if I feel full. I know that's not healthy, and the last thing I should do is starve myself - that's terrible for your metabolism - but I just really want to get as much off by summer as I can.
I'm going back to Ithaca in exactly 1 month for my graduation ceremony, and it probably doesn't matter, but I wanted to look my best for that. I'm praying that I can get down to 125 by then. I don't know if I can or not. I mean, I've only been doing this for 10 days so far, and I've lost a bit in that time. Maybe I can take the rest of it off in a month. Really, if I get it off before Florida, that is the ultimate goal, but I'd kind of like to just have a stable routine down by then - not necessarily a weight-loss kind of routine that will just get messed up during the week-long drive. I dunno. We'll see. Just not feeling so great about it right now.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Day 8
Today's weigh in: 131
The weight actually did go down ever so slightly from yesterday - it was below the 131 mark, but it wasn't far enough below to justify rounding down. Just wanted to let that be known.
Today was Passover, meaning that I managed to eat more in one meal that I have for the last 2-3 days combined. It was pretty much disgusting, and I felt awful afterward. Great food, but I was definitely full after the soup course. At least it gave me an excuse to get a walk in, which I hadn't really had the time for with all the preparation.
So, today was pretty much a fail all around, and I'm curious to see what happens tomorrow because of it. It's sad that I really can't eat that way anymore. I used to do it all the time. So that's what the rest of my life is going to be: counting calories and watching my diet closely so that I don't gain an obscene amount of weight just by living a normal, American lifestyle. That's kinda depressing.
On a less depressing note, I got a packet of probiotic pills today, which I guess are supposed to help kill-off excess yeast and promote "healthy digestion." I'm starting to get quite the cocktail of dietary supplements, here. Is there really such a lack of basic nutrition in my food that I need to be taking all these things to make up for it? I dunno - I guess we'll see if they help.
The weight actually did go down ever so slightly from yesterday - it was below the 131 mark, but it wasn't far enough below to justify rounding down. Just wanted to let that be known.
Today was Passover, meaning that I managed to eat more in one meal that I have for the last 2-3 days combined. It was pretty much disgusting, and I felt awful afterward. Great food, but I was definitely full after the soup course. At least it gave me an excuse to get a walk in, which I hadn't really had the time for with all the preparation.
So, today was pretty much a fail all around, and I'm curious to see what happens tomorrow because of it. It's sad that I really can't eat that way anymore. I used to do it all the time. So that's what the rest of my life is going to be: counting calories and watching my diet closely so that I don't gain an obscene amount of weight just by living a normal, American lifestyle. That's kinda depressing.
On a less depressing note, I got a packet of probiotic pills today, which I guess are supposed to help kill-off excess yeast and promote "healthy digestion." I'm starting to get quite the cocktail of dietary supplements, here. Is there really such a lack of basic nutrition in my food that I need to be taking all these things to make up for it? I dunno - I guess we'll see if they help.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Day 6
Today's weigh in: 132
Everything is going very well. I'm feeling great, and so far I've had no trouble keeping up with everything. Nothing really big to report except that the numbers keep going down, which can only be good! I'll try not to be too disappointed when they go up again at some point.
Everything is going very well. I'm feeling great, and so far I've had no trouble keeping up with everything. Nothing really big to report except that the numbers keep going down, which can only be good! I'll try not to be too disappointed when they go up again at some point.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Day 5
Today's weigh in: 134
Well, I went up a pound, but that's totally expected. I'm afraid that it's going to be hard to get down to 130 or below. I read something a while back that said that the better shape you were in to begin with, the harder it was going to be and the longer it was going to take to lose weight. Now, I'm in the worst shape I've ever been in, but in all honesty, that's not really that bad in general. So, it may take some extra effort to get down to where I want to be, but it's been going down for the most part so far. We'll see how it goes.
On the dietary supplement side, I haven't noticed any effects at all from the acai berries. No boost in energy, sped up metabolism, cleared up skin or general feeling of detoxification. I'll keep taking them until the bottle runs out. I don't really know how long you should usually wait before you start noticing that something is working, but I noticed a difference with the Fish Oil after just a few days, so I'm thinking these things are really nothing special. We'll see what they do with some time. Otherwise, a friend mentioned that he's been taking Coconut Oil, which seems to have had some interesting detoxifying effects. I may give that a try.
Well, I went up a pound, but that's totally expected. I'm afraid that it's going to be hard to get down to 130 or below. I read something a while back that said that the better shape you were in to begin with, the harder it was going to be and the longer it was going to take to lose weight. Now, I'm in the worst shape I've ever been in, but in all honesty, that's not really that bad in general. So, it may take some extra effort to get down to where I want to be, but it's been going down for the most part so far. We'll see how it goes.
On the dietary supplement side, I haven't noticed any effects at all from the acai berries. No boost in energy, sped up metabolism, cleared up skin or general feeling of detoxification. I'll keep taking them until the bottle runs out. I don't really know how long you should usually wait before you start noticing that something is working, but I noticed a difference with the Fish Oil after just a few days, so I'm thinking these things are really nothing special. We'll see what they do with some time. Otherwise, a friend mentioned that he's been taking Coconut Oil, which seems to have had some interesting detoxifying effects. I may give that a try.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Day 4
Today's weigh in: 133
Well, I have dropped 5 pounds in 4 days - there must be something to this exercising every day thing. I'm expecting a rebound at any time - I've really never dropped much below this weight, even during my brief fitness periods in the past.
But I've been good. I've made actual dietary changes, which I had never bothered doing before. I've seen a lot of diet advice that talks about "changing your relationship with food." I never really thought that my relationship with food was in need of changing, but there's probably something everyone can do. I'm trying to think of food differently. Food isn't a form of entertainment. It is a source of nourishment for the body. So if what I am eating is not fulfilling that purpose, then I shouldn't be eating it. That goes for both eating when I'm not really hungry and eating foods that generally have no nutritional value.
So I've stopped eating piles of cookies as a snack food, and I've tried to stop wandering into the kitchen when I'm bored looking for something to eat that will keep me occupied for a few minutes. I really don't want to do anything that involves counting a lot of calories. That just seems like a miserable way to live. I have a pretty fast metabolism - I can eat a lot in a day. I'm just trying to change WHAT I'm eating.
As for the exercise front, it is extremely awkward to Wii Fit when the entire family is home. And the tread mill is completely out of the question. I guess it wouldn't kill me to go to the gym every now and then, when I'm getting really bored of what I can do here.
But yes, so far, so good.
Well, I have dropped 5 pounds in 4 days - there must be something to this exercising every day thing. I'm expecting a rebound at any time - I've really never dropped much below this weight, even during my brief fitness periods in the past.
But I've been good. I've made actual dietary changes, which I had never bothered doing before. I've seen a lot of diet advice that talks about "changing your relationship with food." I never really thought that my relationship with food was in need of changing, but there's probably something everyone can do. I'm trying to think of food differently. Food isn't a form of entertainment. It is a source of nourishment for the body. So if what I am eating is not fulfilling that purpose, then I shouldn't be eating it. That goes for both eating when I'm not really hungry and eating foods that generally have no nutritional value.
So I've stopped eating piles of cookies as a snack food, and I've tried to stop wandering into the kitchen when I'm bored looking for something to eat that will keep me occupied for a few minutes. I really don't want to do anything that involves counting a lot of calories. That just seems like a miserable way to live. I have a pretty fast metabolism - I can eat a lot in a day. I'm just trying to change WHAT I'm eating.
As for the exercise front, it is extremely awkward to Wii Fit when the entire family is home. And the tread mill is completely out of the question. I guess it wouldn't kill me to go to the gym every now and then, when I'm getting really bored of what I can do here.
But yes, so far, so good.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Day 2
Today's weigh-in: 136
So I re-lost most of yesterday's weight. I know - I know, normal body fluctuation and all, but it definitely had me freaked. Of course, working myself into a frenzy about it may not have been the healthiest thing I've ever done. I'm sore pretty much everywhere today. But anyway, I'm working on it.
Today I got a bottle of Acai berry capsule things that I ordered last week (from Amazon - not one of the 3,000 scam websites that offer you a "free" sample if you agree to let them charge you $100 a month in subscription fees). I'm hoping that various dietary supplements are the answer to my problems.
The Acai capsules are interesting - they don't taste like anything, which I appreciate, and they're smaller than other things I'm taking, which is nice. I haven't noticed any effect after taking the first pill, but then, I wouldn't expect to. I'll give them a few weeks and see what happens. But they're supposed to be super good for you, so hopefully I didn't waste $7 here.
Besides those, I've been taking multivitamins and Fish Oil for a couple weeks now. The fish oil was mostly to clear up my skin, but it claims to promote "healthy circulation" in general, and that can't be a bad thing. Unfortunately, those really do taste like fish, and they're ENORMOUS.
So yes, no other big weight-loss thoughts for today. I'm thinking I might want to find a jump rope. That might be more enjoyable than doing hundreds of jumping jacks at a time.
So I re-lost most of yesterday's weight. I know - I know, normal body fluctuation and all, but it definitely had me freaked. Of course, working myself into a frenzy about it may not have been the healthiest thing I've ever done. I'm sore pretty much everywhere today. But anyway, I'm working on it.
Today I got a bottle of Acai berry capsule things that I ordered last week (from Amazon - not one of the 3,000 scam websites that offer you a "free" sample if you agree to let them charge you $100 a month in subscription fees). I'm hoping that various dietary supplements are the answer to my problems.
The Acai capsules are interesting - they don't taste like anything, which I appreciate, and they're smaller than other things I'm taking, which is nice. I haven't noticed any effect after taking the first pill, but then, I wouldn't expect to. I'll give them a few weeks and see what happens. But they're supposed to be super good for you, so hopefully I didn't waste $7 here.
Besides those, I've been taking multivitamins and Fish Oil for a couple weeks now. The fish oil was mostly to clear up my skin, but it claims to promote "healthy circulation" in general, and that can't be a bad thing. Unfortunately, those really do taste like fish, and they're ENORMOUS.
So yes, no other big weight-loss thoughts for today. I'm thinking I might want to find a jump rope. That might be more enjoyable than doing hundreds of jumping jacks at a time.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Day 1
So, here I am.
I really never thought I'd get here. I've been so thin all my life - a rather perfect blend of genetics and athletics that kept me looking like a super-model throughout high school. And then college hit; a wave of stress and inactivity that lasted four years and added almost 20 pounds to my frame. All the while I would get on mini exercise kicks, telling myself that this was definitely the time that I was going to get back into shape. That I was in perfect shape all through high school, and I should easily be able to get back to that place if I put just a little effort into it. But those kicks never lasted. I always gave up on the treadmills and the little dieting tricks. "I'll get back to it," I thought, "just as soon as I'm done with ________ and I have a little more time."
No, I'm still not "fat." I'm technically still within my "healthy weight range," whatever that means, but it's really not about a number on a scale. I don't feel right. I'm supposed to have more energy than this. I don't look right. I'm not supposed to have these extra folds and curves. This just isn't me.
So what, after 4 years of stop-and-go weight loss, has finally gotten me on a "go" kick again?
Florida.
After spending years in the horrible frigid wasteland that is Upstate New York, I decided to attend a graduate school program near Orlando, FL. I've never actually been there, coming from a hometown in California myself, but I've heard the climate is actually warm there. People are discouraged from wearing gigantic, heavy layers that cover the nice build-up of fat they have accumulated during the gorging that goes on between Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. So I'm going there. I'm starting something new, and I want to look and feel my best for this upcoming stage in my life.
And what perfect timing. With the economy in the crapper, I have found myself unemployed for the time being. It's not the end of the world. I think of it as "taking a semester off" before going away, getting my MBA, and doing something amazing with my life. So I have this wonderful chunk of time until I begin the cross-country drive to whatever comes next, where I'm really not doing anything. I might as well take the time to do something nice for my body, which has been so kind in supporting me during all of the crap I've put it through.
So here's where I am today:
I am a 21-year-old female standing 5 feet, 5 inches tall, with a slender to medium frame. At the end of my last semester in December '08, I weighed an unacceptable 140 pounds.
That's when I got a Wii Fit for the holidays, and started playing with it at irregular intervals. That's also when the last of my going-to-school-full-time-while-working-three-jobs stress ended. So, with the help of those two factors, I lost 5 pounds as of yesterday. My weigh-in yesterday morning had me at 135 pounds. It wasn't great, but I was feeling pretty good about my odds of getting the extra college-weight off.
So good, in fact, that I felt it was somehow acceptable to go to the pasta-party being held for my younger sister's high school swim team last night, and eat my freaking body-weight in German chocolate cupcakes.
This morning's weigh-in? 138 pounds.
And that's why I'm starting a blog.
I leave for Florida on August 18th, 140 days from today. In that time, I am going to lose 18 pounds, and get back the the 120 pound me that I left back in the high school swimming pool.
Isn't that an awful lot of time? Yeah, probably. But as you might have been able to tell, I've never been on a diet before. I haven't the first idea how to do this, and I'm expecting slip-ups along the way. I want to take it slow. I may reach my goal before then, but then I'll have to find ways to keep the weight off during what is sure to be a stressful time in grad school. And it's just as likely that I'll have a really hard time losing 18 pounds by August. My mother tells me that those last 10 pounds are not to be underestimated.
So here's where I keep track of everything. This blog will be my exercise log, my food log, and my thought process log as I see what I can do about looking my best for two long, hot years in Florida.
Here goes nothing.
I really never thought I'd get here. I've been so thin all my life - a rather perfect blend of genetics and athletics that kept me looking like a super-model throughout high school. And then college hit; a wave of stress and inactivity that lasted four years and added almost 20 pounds to my frame. All the while I would get on mini exercise kicks, telling myself that this was definitely the time that I was going to get back into shape. That I was in perfect shape all through high school, and I should easily be able to get back to that place if I put just a little effort into it. But those kicks never lasted. I always gave up on the treadmills and the little dieting tricks. "I'll get back to it," I thought, "just as soon as I'm done with ________ and I have a little more time."
No, I'm still not "fat." I'm technically still within my "healthy weight range," whatever that means, but it's really not about a number on a scale. I don't feel right. I'm supposed to have more energy than this. I don't look right. I'm not supposed to have these extra folds and curves. This just isn't me.
So what, after 4 years of stop-and-go weight loss, has finally gotten me on a "go" kick again?
Florida.
After spending years in the horrible frigid wasteland that is Upstate New York, I decided to attend a graduate school program near Orlando, FL. I've never actually been there, coming from a hometown in California myself, but I've heard the climate is actually warm there. People are discouraged from wearing gigantic, heavy layers that cover the nice build-up of fat they have accumulated during the gorging that goes on between Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. So I'm going there. I'm starting something new, and I want to look and feel my best for this upcoming stage in my life.
And what perfect timing. With the economy in the crapper, I have found myself unemployed for the time being. It's not the end of the world. I think of it as "taking a semester off" before going away, getting my MBA, and doing something amazing with my life. So I have this wonderful chunk of time until I begin the cross-country drive to whatever comes next, where I'm really not doing anything. I might as well take the time to do something nice for my body, which has been so kind in supporting me during all of the crap I've put it through.
So here's where I am today:
I am a 21-year-old female standing 5 feet, 5 inches tall, with a slender to medium frame. At the end of my last semester in December '08, I weighed an unacceptable 140 pounds.
That's when I got a Wii Fit for the holidays, and started playing with it at irregular intervals. That's also when the last of my going-to-school-full-time-while-working-three-jobs stress ended. So, with the help of those two factors, I lost 5 pounds as of yesterday. My weigh-in yesterday morning had me at 135 pounds. It wasn't great, but I was feeling pretty good about my odds of getting the extra college-weight off.
So good, in fact, that I felt it was somehow acceptable to go to the pasta-party being held for my younger sister's high school swim team last night, and eat my freaking body-weight in German chocolate cupcakes.
This morning's weigh-in? 138 pounds.
And that's why I'm starting a blog.
I leave for Florida on August 18th, 140 days from today. In that time, I am going to lose 18 pounds, and get back the the 120 pound me that I left back in the high school swimming pool.
Isn't that an awful lot of time? Yeah, probably. But as you might have been able to tell, I've never been on a diet before. I haven't the first idea how to do this, and I'm expecting slip-ups along the way. I want to take it slow. I may reach my goal before then, but then I'll have to find ways to keep the weight off during what is sure to be a stressful time in grad school. And it's just as likely that I'll have a really hard time losing 18 pounds by August. My mother tells me that those last 10 pounds are not to be underestimated.
So here's where I keep track of everything. This blog will be my exercise log, my food log, and my thought process log as I see what I can do about looking my best for two long, hot years in Florida.
Here goes nothing.
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