A New Day

It's been several months and no post from me. Why? Well, it's because I simply didn't have anything to say. Weight loss has been secondary on my mind lately. Lost of thing going on in my life at the moment that I really don't want to discuss here.

Now that I've got my mojo back, I'm going to lose this twelve pounds I've gained in the past several months. The ticker says 224 - I hit that for a couple days but now I'm right back up to 238. This will never do. So, tomorrow it's back to structured exercise.

I'm excited and I'll take this weight off in no time.

New Gym Equipment - Well Sorta

Got me a dandy Body Sculpture stair climber/stepper today at the car boot sale for only £8! Hardly a nick on it. The lady said she was selling it because she has four floors of stairs to climb at home. Yeah, right. We all know it's not the same thing....but anyway. Got the thing sitting in front of my exercise bike so when I'm done biking I whip around and do some climbing while holding onto the handle bars of the bike.

I'm all enthused now about getting back to the basics of reducing. Been weighing and measuring food, cutting a lot of fats from my meals, choosing all my meals and snacks wisely. Just like last year. Going to dig out all my exercise stuff and make up a daily routine.

Well, I'm off for my afternoon coffee and biscuit.

Toodles.

Life Is Good

I'm sitting here with my favourite magazines, Grazia and Cosmo, and drinking a cup of hot lemon tea. And before you ask, the answer is no, I'm not on some wacky lemon diet. I just happen to like lemon tea. My mother made it for me when I was a child and I've loved it ever since. I find it very refreshing and relaxing. One freshly squeezed lemon in my favourite china teapot and sweetened with plain old refined white sugar. GASP! Yeah, I know, but artificial sweeteners hurt my stomach so I have to go easy with them.

Hubs fetched some of my shoes down from the loft that I've not worn for a while. Shoes that actually fit me now because my feet aren't as chubby and don't tend to swell anymore. Strange how little things like that can make me feel good about myself.

I made some very good soup the other day. All I did was pile a load of fresh vegetables (carrots, spring onions, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, a potato and some peas) into a pot with some chicken stock, boiled till tender, then processed with a hand blender. The result was a thick soup that I had with a dollop of plain yogurt and some saltines. Quick, easy, yummy and extremely healthy. None of that processed tinned crap for me. Tonight will be hamburgers made in the George Foreman grill with homemade BBQ sauce. Tomorrow, roast chicken with sage dressing and steamed veg.

Went to the grocery store today and spotted some millet seed. I've never eaten millet seeds before so I read the instructions which said it can replace rice or cous cous. I'm going to try it. Who knows, it might be good. Millet seed? I thought that was budgie food! Budgies are sweet little creatures.

Next Friday is our sixth wedding anniversary and I plan to treat myself to homemade lasagna and homemade chocolate cake with gooey chocolate frosting. YeeHaw!

OK, I'm out.

Time For A Change

It's been a month since my whinge-fest. My post of September 18 was nothing but moaning about how my weight-loss had reached a plateau and how I was going to change my goals etc., etc., etc. So, I went back and analysed my logs in FitDay and even though I'm losing more slowly, I am actually still losing. I've lost 7 pounds in four weeks which averages out to 1.58 pounds lost per week. That's really not bad at all. What more do I want? So what if I'm not losing two pounds per week like back in July? I'm still losing and that's what counts. If I stay on this course over the next few weeks - and I see no reason why I shouldn't - I'll have reached my 225 goal by the end of the year - which is what I had originally projected. I'll stay with my original projection.

I have to say, this new lifestyle is getting easier. There's some foods I no longer consider as part of my diet and I don't miss them. It doesn't bother me at all when everyone else around me is eating sugary and fatty foods. It's kind of like quitting smoking. When I first stopped smoking years ago, I didn't particularly like being around smokers because of the temptation. But as time went on I found I was no longer tempted to light up when socialising with smokers. I'm actually looking forward to the Holidays because, for the first time in years, I'll not be tempted to over-eat.

Hubs is off to Japan on business sometime in December and I may go with him. Not sure though as it depends on my health (and my mother's health) at the time. This last arthritis flare-up has left me with some stiffness in my legs and back and I really don't look forward to spending 11.5 hours on a plane. We'll see.

More later......

Oh! The Temptations

I hate when my husband is away. He went to visit his parents this weekend and I miss him soooooo much. Mostly in the evenings around dinner and then after when we would normally be relaxing in front of the telly. I was very tempted to "treat" myself but I resisted. What I really wanted was either a bottle of Chardonnay or something really sweet and gooey and chocolaty. I think this habit goes back to before I started reducing and when hubs would go out of town on business I'd surround myself with all kinds of comfort food and drink. It made me feel better emotionally but physically it was killing me. Thank goodness I had the power to resist this time. I did however eat three granola bars this morning but that's nothing like what I really wanted. I did take my mile walk though and now I'm sitting here munching on some very sweet white seedless grapes.

So, to beat the boredom I made some wallpapers for my computer as a reminder not to eat! Here's one of them.



Hubs will be home in a couple hours. I....can't....wait.

Brazil Nuts

I've added yet another supplement to my diet. However, this one is not in tablet form but is all natural goodness. Brazil nuts. Thirteen grams, three times per week for 91 calories and 9 grams of fat.

Feeling Much Better Today

Yes, even though I messed up yesterday with my food plan. My total calories were 1,136 but the fat grams were 39!!!! That means 31% of my total calories were F-A-T calories. NO! This will never do. And I know the reason this happened. Yesterday I didn't have any complex carbs for lunch and therefore my body had no fuel to get me through the afternoon. Plus, I walked another 1½ miles yesterday afternoon and what little strength I got from my meager lunch I used up in the walk or possibly before. I was so hungry right before dinner that I reached for a slice of chocolate-caramel shortbread. That sucker was small but it contained 281 calories and 17! fat grams. What was I thinking? No wonder I was so tired after getting back from my afternoon walk - no wonder I was so hungry and couldn't wait until dinner - no wonder I reached for a carb that was totally void of nutrition instead of something healthy and nutritious. There were two bananas right there on the counter beside the shortbread! **Sigh** Hard lesson learned.

I'm on the brink of losing one of those pesky two pounds. Yes, the scale this morning flashed from 250 to 249 then back to 250 so I'm pleased about that. My intestinal tract is feeling much better due to the fact that I've increased my fibre intake.

BP is 110/56 and BSL is 5.8. All is right with the world. :)

BBL if I have anything else to report.

Toodles

ETA: Walked ½ mile today.

Analysis Complete: More Fibre Necessary

Yesterday I blogged about how I had gained two pounds and that it was time to re-evaluate my meal plan. After carefully looking at my totals in FitDay I've come to the conclusion that I need a bit more fibre in my diet. I believe the gain is due to my -ahem- plumbing being backed up a bit. TMI but there ya go. Anyway, I've begun to take yet another supplement to rectify the problem and it's a product called FibreSure. FibreSure is tasteless, contains no sugar and one heaping teaspoon twice per day will add 10 grams of fibre to my diet. I'm alreading getting an average of 20 grams per day. RDA is 20-35 grams per day so another 5-10 grams will help. As of this morning, plumbing problems are being sorted. Hopefully that pesky two pounds will go away!

Today's Walk: 1½ miles in 24min35sec - yes, I used a stop-watch. Hubs went along and that's good 'cause he can stand to lose a few pounds as well. Relaxing now with a big glass of iced water! I love water, it's my favourite drink.

Not much more to say so I'll end here and get on with my day.

Addendum: Walked another 1½ miles this afternoon

I Feel Good

Back from my mile walk and I feel great in spite of getting rained on. The mile felt effortless today so I think tomorrow I'll go a mile and a half. Foot problems are gone so I can now walk and exercise without having pain or fear of doing more damage - and I didn't have to see my GP either. Hubs went with me again today, which was nice. His company allows him to work from home so he can pretty much go with me whenever.

BSL is down to 6.6 and BP is 114/74. Those readings are a far cry from 17.3 and 150/90 a few months ago. Next time I see my GP I think I'll ask if I can go off the BP meds or at least cut down.

Back up two pounds *gasp* but I'm not worried about it. I weigh-in every day, in the morning, buck naked. I'm not one to panic or get discouraged if the scale shows a small gain. Instead I analyse my food and exercise diary for the last two weeks to see if I can find the reason - perhaps too many fat grams or some empty calories somewhere. Or perhaps my plumbing is backed up in which case I add more fibre. Am I retaining water? Or maybe I need to workout a few more minutes each day. See? No need to panic. No need to give up. No need to get discouraged. This has happened several times during my weight-loss journey and I'm sure it will continue to happen until I reach my ultimate goal and during maintenance. Might as well get used to it and learn how to deal with it. I've already dropped 18.6% of my total body weight and will continue to drop. :) I'm a winner and a loser.

Right! Time to get on with my day.

Toodles

.:Weekly Averages:.

Week ending 18 August 2007



250/248/225

My Left Foot

No walkies for me today as I've got something wrong with my foot. About two weeks ago I pulled a bit of dead skin from a callus and apparently not all the skin was dead! It hurt for a bit and then seemed to be OK. Now, however, I have a lump where the sore spot was and it hurts like a mofo. Have I got some infection in there? I don't know. Surely to goodness I won't have to go back to my GP -he's going to think I fancy him. I feel like such a wuss. I've seen him more in the past few months than I did in the past few years! Anyway, my foot woke me up this morning at 6 A.M. so here I am at 7:30am typing away on this blog. Foot is not hurting at the moment but when it touches something else pain shoots all through it.

Well, that's it for the moment. Perhaps I'll be back later if I have anything else to add.

Toodles

Much More Better

After some much needed R&R yesterday I'm feeling better, not 100% but better. Hubs and I are going shopping today for a curtain pole for the bedroom. I already have the fabric to make some new bedroom curtains but I need a few extras before I actually cut the fabric. Also, I need a bit of fabric to finish a quilt so it will be a challenge to find the right color.

Other than that, I'll probably just lounge around the house with hubs today. Perhaps he and I will go for a walk this afternoon.

addendum: Shopping was good, found all the fabrics I needed. Hubs and I went for a walk when we got back. Good job we did too as it's raining now. Just enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate (made with skimmed milk and splenda) and now I'm relaxing and surfing the net.

To anyone reading this: Go out there and make it a good day!

Not All Ham Slices Are Equal

While out yesterday hubs and I stopped at the grocery store. I wanted some lean ham slices for my meals this week. Anyway, there I stood, comparing different packages of ham slices when I saw Weight Watchers ham slices. I thought, cool. First thing I checked was the nutrition label and the fat grams seemed a bit high. So, I compared WW ham slices to Morrison's (supermarket chain) own and my eyes just about popped out of my head. Not only were WW ham slices higher in fat but the ham wasn't actually ham at all but bits and pieces of pork shaped like a ham and then sliced. .:EWWW:. Naturally, I chose the real ham slices which were also less expensive.

Today is going to be busy. Nothing exciting unless you count housework as exciting. Last week I didn't do jack around the house because hubs was off all week and we were out and about most of the time. Today though I have laundry and lots of other stuff to do then I'll settle down and plan out my exercise routine. **the "N" key on my laptop sticks so apologies in advance for typos** I need to create some type of chart as well so I can keep track of exercise type, miles, reps, etc., will probably do that in Excell. I'm off!

TTFN

Torture

Why do people torture themselves with fad diets? I was just reading a blog by a person who is on one of those diets where you buy their food!? She said she had to “choke” down one of their shakes. ..:::..YUK..:::.. I’m not sure if that was her breakfast or mid-morning snack or lunch. I feel sorry for people who feel it necessary to pay someone to tell them what to eat and when to eat and how much to eat. I’m far too independent to have someone tell me what to do (diet wise) much less PAY them. I don’t mean to put people down who follow fad diets but I feel they are doing bad things to their bodies. This particular individual is starving herself. Does she not understand that by going on a starvation diet her body is going to hang on to every ounce of fat it can? Is she prepared to buy “their” food the rest of her life? Sure, she'll lose weight and fast but the question is can she maintain?

Wouldn’t it be better to learn a new way of living? To learn about good nutrition and portion control? It’s not about will power. It’s about taking charge of your health and not letting some commercial diet bone head tell you what is good for you. They don’t really care, all they care about is getting your money.

The blogger is prepared to “choke” down a disgusting shake (that she paid dearly for no doubt) than have a healthy bowl of whole grain cereal and skimmed milk. The cereal would give her body the carbohydrates she needs to get through her morning. No wonder she feels tired all the time. Contrary to what most people on these fad diest are taught, complex carbohydrates are not our enemy. Complex carbs are the good guys. I’m not saying I know it all because I don’t. But I do know how to do research to find out what the human body needs to function in a healthy way. And it’s not about “everyone is different”. No, we’re not. We are human beings and we need the same basics to live well and be healthy. It's about changing your eating habits for the better, not the worse with some disgusting liquid diet.

Come on people! Do you really want to take charge of your health? Then stop paying for horrible, pre-packaged food and do a little cooking!