swim practices, particularly, built enormous appetites. we tried to have a coming home routine, like putting clothes away, rinsing suits, etc. if supper wasn't ready before we got home we'd let the boys spit an energy bar while the routine kept them occupied and we cooked. china palace buffet worked, too.
Not much time to log today, but yesterday went well, ended up doing kettlebells last night with kids in tow. I felt a little guilty because I made daughter 10 min. late for swim practice...
Today has been fair - didn't go to gym or run over lunch, which is unlike me, and it's such a beautiful day, too. I'm feeling tired and unmotivated, I think because of stuff going on in my personal life. Will be going to the gym tonight as daughter has practice, but don't know yet what I'm going to do. I need to just run and zone out to my music, but would like to do some cardio intervals on the elliptical. I'll decide what I feel like when I get there.
Diet going well with exception of a pastry after lunch today - a little peer pressure mixed in with my current state of mind didn't do much for my ability to make good choices. And I had almonds with me, too, part of my "crisis" plan. I really just wanted the sugary mess, which often goes along with me being tired. I should go to bed a little earlier tonight.
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"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right" Henry Ford
swim practices, particularly, built enormous appetites. we tried to have a coming home routine, like putting clothes away, rinsing suits, etc. if supper wasn't ready before we got home we'd let the boys spit an energy bar while the routine kept them occupied and we cooked. china palace buffet worked, too.
My daughter has been absolutely ravenous after practice - I usually have a dessert snack for her, since she's not done until 8:00, and by the time we get home and she get's showered it's time for bed at 9. Plus the chocolate or other sweet serves as something for her to look forward to, since she often doesn't want to go to practice .
I get home from work about 5:10, usually fix a bowl of pasta and some fruit for her, and then we are out the door at 6:00. On days my son has football, he has to be there at 5:30, and we just make that! He can eat after practice, though. I need to get better at either packing dinner or getting something going in the crockpot that would be more filling than the pasta. China Buffet sounds like a great idea-only once a week, though!
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"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right" Henry Ford
We frequently sauteed vegetables, ground meat, and spices to add to red sauce to make pasta go further. Do the same thing to this day, usually without the meat, to Annie's Mac & Cheese or similar products. Lucky for us, our boys ate damned near anything we put in front of them.
warm-up - .5 mile 10:00 pace, .5 mile 9:30 pace
800m x 3 at 8:30 pace with 400 jogs
At the end of the last speed interval, I hopped on the stationary bike and rode for about 10 minutes (4 miles)
Ran another 800 at a 9:30 pace
10 more minutes on the bike (3.78 miles)
Ran another 800 at 9:30 pace
10 more minutes on the bike (hit 3 miles, then the rest of the time was cooldown)
Walked 400 m around track and then got a good stretch in before daughter came out of practice.
I didn't know what I was going to do until I got into it - a great workout. My legs felt fast during the first speed intervals, and even though I was getting tired, I felt I transitioned well between bike and track. Interestingly, during one of my jog laps, I was thinking maybe I could do some DLs and squats when I finished running. A week off and I'm beginning to miss them? It never works for me to combine a running and lifting day, though, my legs just get too tired, regardless of whether I run or lift first. Funny, I have no problems doing other cardio after lifting...Anyway, I really liked what I did last night and it improved my mood significantly.
Today's plan:
B-spinach and portabello omelette, banana 310 c, 8.5 fat, 34 carbs, 27.6 protein
S-Luna bar 180 c, 5 fat, 27 carbs, 9 protein
L-Still have salsa chicken leftover - 1 cup over 3 cups salad greens, apple 387 cals, 5.4 fat, 37.8 carbs, 46 protein
S-5 strawberries and greek yogurt 139 c, 0.2 fat, 13.6 carbs, 20.4 protein
D-3 oz Italian chicken and vegetables (5 baby carrots, 20 green beans, 1/2 cup diced tomatoes) 219 c, 3.3 fat, 17.9 carbs, 30 protein
S-hot tea
Totals: 1235 calories, 22.4 fat, 130.3 carbs, 133 protein
Workout-tonight is kettlebell and jiu jitsu night. I would usually go to the gym at lunch today, but I'm not going to. Maybe I'll only take two weeks off from lifting...
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"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right" Henry Ford
We frequently sauteed vegetables, ground meat, and spices to add to red sauce to make pasta go further. Do the same thing to this day, usually without the meat, to Annie's Mac & Cheese or similar products. Lucky for us, our boys ate damned near anything we put in front of them.
Great idea, thanks!! I'll have to modify a little, my daughter is very picky, but I could do the same thing with chicken and a white sauce...
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"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right" Henry Ford
Yesterday went according to plan for the most part. I need to add 6 licorice sticks and a peanut butter sandwich to my totals, which brings my totals to: 1735 cals, 35.4 fat, 218.3 carbs, and 142 protein. I really should have looked up that licorice before eating it to remind myself of the carb/sugar load in that "snack".
Anyway, did my kettlebell and jiu jitsu class. I was feeling a little weak and tired during kettlebells, and for some reason my quads were really aching while doing ab work (legs in the air). I pushed through though, and quickly changed so I wouldn't miss the jitsu warm-up. Sometimes, I'll take my time changing to miss the running laps part of the warm-up since I'm already warmed-up, but I decided that 5 minutes of running through different paces really wouldn't hurt me. Class was good, though last night's instructor talks a lot and we spend a lot of time listening...glad I did the extra few minute warm-up. Live drills were fun-one of the guys I rolled with was new and quickly got out of breath. I remember when that used to happen to me...
I woke up this morning with a stuffy nose and still feeling tired despite going to bed at a reasonable time and sleeping well. I must be coming down with a cold - that may explain why I wasn't feeling as strong last night. I also woke up with what feels like a strained hamstring. I don't recall hurting myself last night, and it was my quads that were aching during class, so I don't know what it is. The bane of getting older, I guess!
Today's plan:
B-same as yesterday, but moving my banana to snack time
s-same as yesterday, + banana
L=same, then the salsa chicken will be gone! It was good, though
s-same as yesterday
D-Last night's chicken and veggies in a wrap with salad greens, sliced cucumber. I wish I had some humuus, need to add that to the grocery list.
s-square of chocolate and tea
Since it's pretty much the same as yesterday, I'll just do a total: 1563 cals, 39.4 fats, 165.3 carbs, 145 protein. This works out to about 22% fat, 42% carbs, and 36% protein.
Workout-May go for an easy run or just a walk over lunch, depends on how the hamstring is feeling. I am really starting to miss the lifting.
Plan for next week:
Journal meals the day before so I can make sure I'm balanced the way I want to be. I want to tweak my carbs down just a little and my protein up a bit.
Look into lifting routines to see what I could do in the short-term without making me so hungry. I'm a little worried that if I go the rest of the month without lifting, I might not miss it as much as I do now and so have a hard time getting back into it. I still don't feel that I have a good enough handle on my eating and hunger patterns to be able to add in the extra calories and still lose weight.
Weigh-in on Monday!
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"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right" Henry Ford
I'm going to go ahead and plan for the weekend, since I have time right now and I don't usually get on the computer when I'm not working. I would like to journal Sunday evening for Monday, but we'll see how that goes.
I ended up walking at lunch - hamstring was still hurting and since tomorrow is my long run, I decided to just take it easy. Glad I did - it feels much better now.
Saturday
B-Portobella, spinach, and pepper omelette 183 c, 6.4 f, 8.1 carb, 23.8 p
S-Luna bar 180 c, 5 f, 28 carb, 8 p
Lunch- 1 can Amy's Organic Chunky Tomato Bisque Soup with 1/4 c. parmesan cheese on top, an apple 453 c, 15.1 f, 68.1 carb, 15.2 p
S-1/2 cup ricotta cheese, 1 oz almonds, 1tbs cocoa powder 392 cals, 30.6 f, 12.2 carbs, 21.1 p (I don't have any part-skim ricotta, so using full fat)
D-homemade pizza made with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, spinach, olives, tomatoes, and artichoke hearts 415 c, 15.8 f, 44.8 carb, 24.3 p
S-square of dark chocolate, tea 140c, 9 f, 16 c, 2 p
1763 calories, 81.9 fat (42%), 177.2 carbs (40%), 94.4 protein (21%). These ratios are not good, fat way too high and protein too low, but I have to go with what I know I have in the house - grocery shopping on Sunday. I had originally planned to have a banana instead of ricotta as afternoon snack, but decided I'd rather have more protein and fat than carbs. At least I should feel full and satisfied all day with this much fat!
Workout-possibly a kettlebell class, they just started offering them on Sat. mornings. It depends on my kids whether or not I go. Long run planned for afternoon, 7-8 miles with my dog on my favorite trail-looking forward to it.
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"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right" Henry Ford
Wow, dumb me. I wrote out my entire plan for today, which consisted of 1260 calories, 21% fat, 48% carbs, and 30% protein. Thinking my calorie count was a little low, I went back and looked at my previous posts without first posting my plan!! ARRGGHHH! Oh well, I know what I'm going to eat today and here were the important points I wrote that I want to remember:
-3.2 pounds so far
Great weekend, stuck to plan, went out to dinner last night and made good choice
I need to eat all the food I planned - thinking I can cut on serving size or leave out something all together in order to save calories since I'm not ravenous does not help me in the long run
Jiu jitsu class tonight is the only planned workout today
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"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right" Henry Ford
So, I think I need to eat between 1500 and 1700 cals per day - the days I try to stick to 1200 I end up starving and eating an extra snack, including yesterday. My weight loss has been good over the last two weeks, and that was with most days being in the 1500-1700 range. I think it's just been beat into my head that in order to lose weight, you have to eat 1200 cals a day - all those women's magazine articles!
I decided not to go to jiu jitsu last night, but to stay at the gym while my daughter had swim practice. I was going to drop her off then go to class, but that would have resulted in my missing the first 10 minutes, which is sometimes the most intense (depends on what the lesson is for the evening). Plus, I would have had to leave a little early in order to get back to pick her up. A better workout was to be had at the gym. And I lifted and did some body weight stuff!
I developed my own plan to use during my fat loss, adapted from MissJane's plan (I hope you don't mind!) and some reading I did over the weekend. I realize that I may end up needing to add more calories, but by journaling here, I feel like I can handle that if I need to. Plus, going down in weight and reps will help me perfect my form. So here was my workout:
Basically, I did five giant super-sets:
Squats
45 x 5
65 x 5
65 x 5
65 x 5
65 x 5
Will increase last 3 sets to 75 next time.
Reverse incline push-ups on the Smith machine
BW x 5
BW x 5
BW x 5
BW x 5
BW x 5
Step-ups with DBs
40 x 5
40 x 5
40 x 5
40 x 5
40 x 5
Will increase to 50 next time.
Push-ups - military
BW x 5
BW x 5
BW x 5
BW x 5
BW x 5
Plank
60" x 1
60" x 1
60" x 1
60" x 1 one leg up 15s @
60" X 1 one leg up 30s @
Increase to 65" next time, with one leg up at 30s @ for last three sets.
Then 30 min on elliptical trainer:
2 min warm-up
10 x 30 s sprints with 60 s rest
3 min steady state
4 min Tabata drills
6 min slow, steady state
Great workout! I did a few slow walking laps around the indoor track, then stretched til my daughter was done. I'm only increasing weights in some areas because it was still a little too easy, but I'm probably not going to go any heavier for a while.
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"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right" Henry Ford
I never got around to journaling today's food and workout plan. Crazy day, just did eat lunch at 4:00, had a small handful of candy corn around 1:30 to tie me over - forgot to put my almonds in my purse!!
Ran fast 3 mile trail run at lunch - opted to do that instead of eat during what I knew was going to be my only chance until late. It was a great run, beautiful day, and only partially undone by the candy corn (but I could think of it as carb replenishment...)
Plan for tomorrow: 1563 calories, 42.3 fat (24%), 177.4 carbs (45%), 98.4 protein (25%) I'm writing my diet in a journal and will just post macros. Will be looking for a way to switch out carbs for protein...
Workout plan - lifting at lunch, interval run in the evening.
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"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right" Henry Ford
UGGHH, not a good day. Eating has not been terrible, but higher carb then I had planned, and now I'm sitting here drinking a diet soda and eating a bag of peanut M&Ms, horrible, horrible stuff!! Plus, it's that time of the month - not an excuse, just a consideration.
My workout plans have been shot - lunch was spent surfing the 'net because I was too lazy to go to the gym, plus I knew I would be there for an hour and half tonight, so I could just do a combo strength/cardio routine this evening. Then, a co-worker reminded me that I had agreed to attend her Pampered Chef party this evening. So not only am I not working out, I will be eating a bunch of crap! Good-tasting crap, but crap none the less. Hence, the "what the heck" attitude, which ended with a raid of the vending machine and here I sit.
Positive changes I have made over the last three weeks:
-Took a break from lifting, which resulted in a renewed desire to lift
-Revamped strength training plan
-Started going to bed at a more reasonable hour, thereby short circuiting nighttime eating habits
-Discovered that I need to plan more calories in my day, not less, so that I don't end up miserably ravenous and over-eating
-Developed "crisis" plan and used it once (even though I've needed it several times)
-Began tracking macros, which has been enlightening
-Lost 3.2 pounds
-Starting and continuing to post in this log!
Ok, so this is not the end of the world, I have made progress even though I have not achieved perfection (I know I never will!) I do not have to overindulge tonight. I'm not hungry now, but I will eat my yogurt and pumpkin before I go to the party this evening, so I have a healthy, high-protein snack.
It's done. Time to plan for tomorrow.
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"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right" Henry Ford
Somehow my numbers are not quite adding up- not sure where the problem is, so calories may actually be a little higher than reported here.
I'm really happy with this plan for tomorrow - one of my areas of difficulty is dinner on nights where I have jiu jitsu, but this will be a quick dinner, and one I will be looking forward to after my workout. I even added in the bread to up my calorie count, even though I can take it or leave it. I think the carbs will be good though, and curtail any cravings I may have later. Of note, I would have never measured or counted relish in my calories. I like a lot of it, and there are 59 calories and 15.8 grams of carbs in 3 tablespoons! Who knew? All those "little" things here and there really could add up.
I also added a second cheese stick at lunch, OMG I'm such a pig!! While I would not usually consider having a second helping of something like this, the extra protein (7) is a good exchange for the low calories (60). This will help balance out the high carbs in the soup, too.
It feels very responsible and healthy to put so much thought into my food choices .
Tomorrow's workout
Something at lunch? Here's the dilemma- do I try to make up for today's missed run by going at lunch? I know I will be wiped out by the time I finish jiu jitsu if I do that, but I've done it before....Plus, is it going to mess with my planned intake, i.e. am I going to want more to eat? I think I will plan to either walk or run, depending upon my mood at the time.
Kettlebell and jiu jitsu class in the evening - there are no forseeable barriers to this as of right now. I hope it stays that way!
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"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right" Henry Ford
Today has been a good day so far - I've decided I just need to suck it up and be hungry if that's the way it's going to be, then add a few more calories the next day if needed. I'm doing this for 10 days.
Plan for tomorrow:
B-spinach, pepper, feta omelet 223 cals, 9.9 fat, 5.5 carbs, 27.8 protein
S-Luna bar 180 cals, 6 fat, 25 carbs, 9 protein
L-Amy's Organic Coconut Thai Soup, 2 string cheese sticks, apple 495 cals, 25.4 fat, 44.1 carbs, 22.5 protein
S-Greek yogurt and pumpkin puree 162 cals, .4 fat, 18.9 carbs, 21.3 protein
D-Shredded barbecue chicken with salad greens on whole wheat wrap, hummus, snow pea pods 375 cals, 11.3 fat, 31.8 carbs, 33.6 protein
Fantastic kettlebell class last night - I've actually brought three friends into it, which
makes it even more fun. Not much chatting, though, as kbs require so much concentration...We did a lot of squats, deck squats, and jumping lunges. It was all fun while it lasted. Plus jiu jitsu was a great workout - lots of drills last night, and opportunities to roll with people who are a little better than me. I was soaking wet and thoroughly spent when I left. I'm paying the price today though...I now have an achy, swollen left knee.
I don't think I've written about my knee problem in this log yet - a few years ago I sprained my right ankle quite badly (tore tendons and such). When I finally returned to running, I ended up with knee issues on the opposite side. Went to physical therapy to try to fix it (I wish my doctor had recommended PT after my ankle injury...). When I started getting serious about lifting last year, I found that getting stronger helped my knee. Through the course of time, I have gotten so I can do ATG squats and all sorts of lunges and returned to running up to 10 miles on my long runs. I still have problems if I do too much, though, and need to ice, elevate, and take ibuprophen - today is one of those days.
So, I'm probably not going to run this evening, but will report on my strength routine tomorrow.
Plan for tomorrow:
B-oatmeal with flaxseed and banana and a scoop of protein powder 426 cals, 8.2 fat, 63.2 carbs, 30.4 protein
S-Luna bar 180 cals, 6 fat, 25 carbs, 9 protein
L-BBQ chicken wrap, veggies and hummus 375 cals, 11.3 fat, 31.8 carbs, 33.6 protein
S-celery and peanut butter 210 cals, 16.4 fat, 11.7 carbs, 9.1 protein
D-3 oz meatloaf, 4 oz sweet potato, 3 oz broccoli 338 cals, 15.6 fat, 29.6 carbs, 26.9 protein
S-baked apple with cinnamon, tea 95 cals, .4 fat, 25.1 carbs, .5 protein
A little high on carbs, low on protein. Breakfast is high carb - I'm needing a break from eggs though, and I like oatmeal best with either banana or apple. I'm not sure how to fix that, or if I even want to. I could swap out the Luna bar for a protein shake - what I will do is bring a scoop of protein powder with me and mix it in with an iced coffee after my workout. I try to get enough protein without the powder, but I keep it handy just in case. I'm going to leave the menu as is now, though, to give me the option of eating the bar-I'm a little hungry today, and I might need to actually "eat" something. For the record, making this switch would decrease carbs to 167.4 grams, and increase protein to 120.5 grams. I don't think I want to make any other changes - I like everything I have planned.
Workout plan-kettlebell class in a.m., long run in p.m. but it all depends on the knee.
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"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right" Henry Ford
UGGHH, not a good day. Eating has not been terrible, but higher carb then I had planned, and now I'm sitting here drinking a diet soda and eating a bag of peanut M&Ms,
Then, a co-worker reminded me that I had agreed to attend her Pampered Chef party this evening. So not only am I not working out, I will be eating a bunch of crap!
Reading your log from the beginning, and comparing it to what my habits have been the past 5 months (the best habits and food routines I've ever had)... I have some comments.
On days when you have something unplanned and sweet/processed ie cookie/s candy: what I do on these days is eliminate something from the evening. My day's calories are a checkbook, has to balance at night if possible, or the next day. If you had cookies, why do you still have the chocolate square? What if you gave it up for that day? You are in a mode that one bad food deserves another and another, instead of one "bad food" influences the rest of the day so that you can have a great day with the unplanned treat or impulse.
Seems if you had a max cal for the day target, and you have m&m's, you can have tastes of Pampered Chef party instead of "a bunch of" crap at the Pampered Chef party. You don't take responsibilty for your actions by taking the consequences by readjusting your macros and/or calories, but you probably teach your kids that there are consequences for actions. I think if you did that for yourself, it would be a gift, because it would make you more conscious, at least some of the time, of these impulse sweets that take 5 minutes to ruin your day, and you might say no to them a bit more often during the week, since you know you will be hungry that day if you eat the empty calories... Even if you take this on for 1 week or 1 month, to see if you can develop a new habit, or get back in control of this bad habit.
Quote:
s - energy bar 170 cals, 6 fat, 29 carbs, 3 protein
Isn't this really just healthy candy? I use my protein bars as that: healthy candy. So i buy only bars that have 20g of protein. My favorite right now are Builders Mint Chocolate. They're higher in cal than 170, but have hmm 20 or 32 g protein. I don't eat them more than once a week lately. If you're vulnerable now to having treats, why not substitute the energy bar to food of more protein and value? Or plan it for later in the day, so that if you have a minor breakdown/treat/impulse sweet, then don't eat the "energy bar"since you've eaten your "energy bar" already hahaha , how different is an "energy bar" from a bag of peanut m&m's ??? They seem like glorified candy to me.
Quote:
I need to eat all the food I planned - thinking I can cut on serving size or leave out something all together in order to save calories since I'm not ravenous does not help me in the long run
But if you had an impulse sweet, then you sacrificed some allowed calories. You can modify your dinner on days you ate candy/donuts/cookies, by eating a pure protein/vegie dinner like chicken and steamed vegies, getting your calories and macros readjusted for that day, not hating yourself for the impulse eating, and coming out a winner for that particular day. You have the next day to have a super high protein morning and noon, to sooth your hunger. If you're ravenous you need more protein. Instead of cutting serving size, change what's on your plate: large protein, large salad, large steamed vegies. So you're still eating, still filling cup, but not on carbs and fat that you've already had enough of for the day.
Quote:
I did not follow my dinner plan - I was so hungry when I got home, that I ate another energy bar, then a banana. I then decided to eat a pb sandwich and just call all that dinner. I did walk on the treadmill for 50 min, then had my piece of chocolate. I was hungry later, so measured out a bowl of cereal. Totals for yesterday: 1901 calories eaten, 2293 burned. Deficit = 392. If I had eaten my yogurt and peach for snack instead of the cookie in the afternoon, I would have been able to make it to dinner without problems. When I'm hungry, I tend to go for more high-carb foods, even though I know that higher protein foods are more satisfying for me.
If you are "so hungry ...." that is a sure sign to eat a big chunk of protein. You know the carb will beget more carb beget more carb
Why did you have "your piece of chocolate" after you had an energy bar and a banana? You might want to rethink this chocolate. I have been thrilled to have 1 square of chocolate in the evenings (not doing it now,...), but when I see that my day's food has been not what I'd planned, and that I'm getting loose about treats, I stop the chocolate for a few months, until I have a better respect for it as a treat that I've deserved and have the calories for.
Can you tell me how you make your greek yogurt and pumpkin puree? Is it raw canned pumpkin just out of the can, or do you cook or prepare it?
You're doing so great by writing your log, and you had a huge success on the day you binged and then recovered just the next day, and got right back on your program, then showed a fat loss....
Etana-Thank you for being so thoughtful as to review my log and comment on so many of the points. It's funny how I "know" stuff, but don't do it and think I'm doing well, but then to have someone point out to me that basically, I'm just fooling myself...
I really am very much in that mind set of "oh well, screw the day..." instead of resetting and readjusting the rest of my day. Part of that is I think that it's just easier to give up for the day. It takes so much time to plan out my diet. As I'm writing this I'm thinking about how hard it would be to go back to the computer to look up cals and macros for a readjusted plan (or even to buy a book and look it up...), but what I really need to do is just like you said - go high protein. I have this mindset that proteins require preparation and carbs don't (except for cheese...) Plus, I have a hard time thinking of chicken breast as a go-to snack. So much has changed in my thoughts about food over the last five years, but I still have so far to go. I'm realizing this is really about my sticking points with food, as opposed to a real "difficulty" with controlling my intake. Or maybe it's all the same thing, I don't know.
Re: energy bars-I agree with you, they are glorified candy. The only reason I have gone back to them over the last few weeks is because I've been trying to recreate how I lost weight years ago, and one of the things I did was eat an energy bar every mid-morning snack. Again, I'm sort of stuck in this rut of thinking of them that way, instead of considering them a treat. The funny thing is, since I've had them in my meal plan, I've wanted to eat one almost as soon as I get to work, despite eating a high-protein breakfast an hour earlier. But I've been in denial about that...really, the better place for them would be at the end of the day as a planned treat. Or even better, to go back to not eating them at all.
re:chocolate-wow, I did not realize how I put that on a pedestal. I really hold on to that piece of chocolate, and I wouldn't even consider myself a chocoholic. I guess that, again with my mindset, it's a deterrent against eating other treats that are in the house for my husband and kids.
I really need to give myself credit for having more power than food - I've been thinking about it as if I need to outsmart my body and those high carb/high sugar foods. As if I it's this on-going battle and sometimes the other side wins...if I just hit the "right" combination, then I'll win. There are days that I like to say, "what the hell" and eat whatever I want, but I need to take responsibility for that-it's still a choice, it's not food winning the battle. So when I do have an off-plan food, it's a choice - why is it some days I can make the better choice? I don't know yet, but I think I need to start by doing away with this whole battle mind-set I have.
I think I've been trying so hard to not think of certain foods as forbidden, that I've swung in the opposite direction of "I'll eat this because I can eat anything, then I'll deal with the consequences tomorrow" and yet tomorrow never comes. And that mode of thinking has caused me to gain about 20 pounds over the last 18 months.
There was a time when I was 70 pounds heavier than I am now. I had "diet" food and "non-diet" food. I had to change the way I looked at food in order to get healthy. And while I am so, so much healthier both in body and in the way I look at food, I've had this sneaking suspicion over the last few months that I need to change the way I look at food again. It's not working for me because I'm not the same person I was 70 pounds ago, and I don't have the same issues. I need finer tweaks to my program now then I did then, as would be expected with any project that starts off big and gets closer to completion (not that I will ever be at completion...)
I also think that sometimes I can outsmart that carb-carb-carb cycle, even though I really know I can't...I can't remember one time when I actually have outsmarted it. Again, I'm lying to myself when I say I can eat this one cookie and leave the rest alone...Deep down I know when I can, and when I can't and I have to listen to that voice as part of my improved way to manage my diet.
Thank you, thank you for your insights. I really have only two choices - I can go on lying to myself or I can do the right thing to move toward a healthier self.
Re: greek yogurt and pumpkin - it's just canned pumpkin puree that I mix with pumpkin pie spice and then mix with greek yogurt, I put a lot of spice in it. I've been thinking about mixing the yogurt with cooked sweet potato and cinnamon, too, but haven't done that yet.
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"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right" Henry Ford
hey, I am really enjoying your log!! I am also a runner and down 80 ish pounds from my heaviest.
with all of the activity that you do, keeping protein up, like missjane suggests, is key, but you also need your carbs as a runner. fat loss is tricky with all of that high intensity speedwork that you do, among other things. your calories and carbs might be a bit too low to support your activity. I found that I had to focus on either dieting or high intensity workouts. during the times that I dropped my calories as low as you are doing, I virtually cut out running entirely and focused on weights.
I found that I had to focus on either dieting or high intensity workouts. during the times that I dropped my calories as low as you are doing, I virtually cut out running entirely and focused on weights.
congrats on all of your successes!
It never ceases to amaze how many different ways people respond to the same situations. I'm with you 100% on the choice between dieting and high intensity workouts, but give up weights in favor of long easy aerobic workouts. My speed work went terribly this week and I didn't know why til I weighed in this morning and found that I'd lost weight for the week. For me, long slow stuff, running or cycling are the most rewarding workouts when I'm cutting weight. I carry some gel or blocks to keep me going, pay no attention to my pace, eat healthy as soon as I'm home, and get back to watching what I eat. Weight training hungry or even calorie depleted often makes me feel queasy and light headed. Curiously, I've never brought HammerGel or Clif Shot Blocks to the gym, which may take care of the problem. Thanks for getting me to think of that.
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