Fat Tuesday 5/22/12

This week's goal:  -2 lbs
This week's loss:  +0.8 lbs
Total loss:  -4.2 lbs


*sigh*


All that stuff about calories in and calories out is baloney.  Unfortunately, that's not the way weight loss works for everyone.


Next week's goal:  -2 lbs

Fat Tuesday 5/15/2012

This week's goal:  -2 lbs
This week's loss:  -2.2 lbs
Total loss:  -5 lbs

Reflection:
I continue to track during the week and fail to track on the weekend.  So far, it's a pattern that has worked for me because I continue to do a quick evaluation on the food that hits my plate.

Surprisingly, I haven't really deprived myself--particularly when it comes to carbs.  I'm just learning to practice a little moderation.  (What a novel concept, right?!)  I even ate pasta with my mom one afternoon and pancakes the next day at breakfast.  I just coupled those meals with a large salad and bacon and eggs respectively.  That way, my meal was rounded with protein and fat--not just endless amounts of sugar.  I also really limited my portions.  I ate about half my pancakes and only half of the pasta portion given.  Honestly, those half portions were more than enough.  Restaurants are really generous when it comes to portion sizes.

Still no exercise, but, as promised, Courtney and I will be trekking all over town starting this afternoon.  We'll see how that affects next week's weigh-in.

Next week's goal?  Two pounds.


20 sticks of butter down...a grocery store's worth to go.

Fat Tuesday 5/8/12

This week's goal:  -3 lbs
This week's loss:  -2.8 lbs
Total loss:  -2.8 lbs

Reflection:
I really like FitDay.  I haven't tracked my eating every single day, but I do fairly well on the weekdays.  On weekends, I'm very careful about what I put in my mouth and even avoided ice cream on Sunday when I visited Cool Spoons with my parents.  I do love that the program calculates where my calories are coming from--fat, protein or carbs.  I can set specific goals for nutrition or for weight.

(For the record, I contacted FitDay about their lack of a recipe calculator, and one of the men assured me that would be corrected in the coming months.  Frankly, I'm looking foward to it.  How can you track what your eating if you can't enter recipe information?  Especially since I cook so much at home these days.)

Diet-wise, I've done really well...with the exception of Friday night.  (It was Cuatro de Mayo, people.  I had a date with some of the girls from school.  And fruit trays=more carbs than I should've eaten.)  I'm very careful about the number of carbs I'm eating, and my calorie number has stayed relatively low.  That said, weight loss has been slow.  Frustrating.  In fact, if I weigh two days in a row, I may actually show a gain even though I've stuck to this diet religiously.  But commitment is commitment.  I'm actually posting a few of my pictures on instagram if you're interested in following (CrysHouse).  And I have kept my carb percentage below 35% since we started Fat Tuesday.  (Which basically means I've had one whole week of success.)

Other than dancing my butt off at prom (Anyone else know how to Wobble?  The students taught me.  It was an experience.), I really haven't had time for formal exercise.  Once my final is submitted for grad school, I am committing to walking a couple of days a week.  That means next week=me+Courtney+that unweildly walking stroller.  We should be a hit in town.

Next week's goal?  Two pounds.

After all, we're doing this one stick of butter at a time.

Fat Tuesday 5/1/2012

The six of you (one of whom is my father and maaaaaybe my mother if she gets around to it) who read my blog are looking at the logo and likely wondering how my participation in Fat Tuesday is going to be much different than the last time I tried to participate in Fat Tuesday.  I applaud your critical thinking skills.  Mostly because I'm wondering the exact same thing.  But here are a few things for your reading pleasure:

1.  I like to eat.  Believe it or not, my eating repetoire tends to go the way of savory much more often than sweet.  I do like ice cream, but sweets are not my dietary issue.  Portion sizes may be...

2.  I've heard several people comment that they do not like organized religion.  Well, I do not like formal exercise.  I love to dance at prom, and I've been known to join a good game of capture-the-flag or tag.  But I do not like treadmills, ellipticals, stair climbers or gyms.  I do not like walking without an end destination (and I fully expect we have business at said destination) and I will not run unless someone is chasing me.  Actually, scratch that.  I probably wouldn't run even if someone was chasing me.

3.  I have PCOS.  A few of you are groaning, "Is she really bringing this up again?!  But it's necessary information because it means some foods are definitely on the "smaller portions" side of the table for me when other people can eat a regular helping.  Those foods aren't bad; my body just doesn't process them correctly.  It also means that a one pound loss for the week is a huge deal.  (You should also note that I'm never pleased with a one pound loss.)

4.  I get frustrated easily.  This isn't my first rodeo.  I've been dieting since I was 13.  So even though I know my body is slow to respond, my head hasn't really gotten in the game these last 19 years.  I still think I should show a 10 lb loss in two weeks.  I lose steam when other people don't even try and drop weight quickly and I haven't had a piece of bread in weeks and only lose 1.8 lbs.

With those things firmly planted in front of my face, let me line out my plan of attack.

*  I'm quitting Weight Watchers.  (I'm sorry, Casey.  We'll still talk.  I still plan to diet.  I'm just taking a different approach that WW doesn't measure well.)  Instead, I plan to use FitDay to track what I've eaten so I can find a more balanced approach to the calories.  (The only thing I don't like about FitDay is its lack of a recipe calculator.  C'mon.  What kind of person never needs to learn what a serving is in nutrients?!)  I'm setting a goal to track diligently for one month.

One month is the goal for now, right, Taylor?

*  I'm taking a diabetic approach to eating.  I do not have diabetes, but my body is insulin resistant.  That said, I'm attempting to regulate the carbs (and protein and fat) I eat in order to balance my blood sugar.  It doesn't mean I'm going low carb.  I've tried that, and it just doesn't work for me.  Instead, I'm learning to incorporate carbs as part of my meal instead of making them the entire meal.  I'll share some recipes here if you would like and give you the nutritional run-down...well, if I remember to take pictures and post them with my Fat Tuesday posts.

*  I will probably try to do something that looks like exercise during this month-long challenge.  I will also share the likely disastrous results.

My goal for next week?  Three pounds.

See you in seven days.