Geovicsha's Diary - New Years Resolution.

Hi Shannon

It is hard for me to answer because when I started I was a LOT bigger than you. In build you are not much different from me now (compare BMI). I was very slow at the start and could not do that great a distance. It would not be right to compare you to me then (you are nowhere like as big or unfit) and it wouldnt be right to compare you to me now (although I am larger than I should be I will probably be pretty fit since I walk maybe 11 or 12 miles every day). I am a bit of an unlikely athlete for walking - although I wouldnt dare jog now!

I would say - let your body be your guide. Step out with as brisk a walk as you can (but you do not want to feel ill or anything) and go for say half an hour. Then look at the pedometer and see how far you have gone. Then do it again and see if you can go further in the next half hour. That way you can have little competitions with yourself. A faster pace is always better if you can do it without too much ill-effect. For one thing it gets the walk over and done with quicker.

Although many people care about speed - I dont worry about speed as much as distance. I like to get a certain distance walked before I feel happy that I have done enough for the day. The stepcount is always well worth going by.

Wear your pedometer all day long like I do and that way you can compare your stepcount to others. The UK national average is 5000 steps so if you do better than that you are on the way to becoming fitter.

Take care
Best wishes
Margaret
 
I love your advice Margaret, thank you so much. You've done so well thus far!

Shannon. :) :)
 
Today's initial reading was 91.1kg or 200.84lb. Either my scales are inaccurate and stupid or I'm doing something really wrong.

So not in a good mood right now. What's the point.
 
Thursday, January 17, 2008

Diet

Once again I woke up very late, tomorrow I swear I am getting up about 9am. And that is a promise! I realised that we had no non-fat milk.

Dad bought some before that were on shelves and are long lasting. Seems to have less calories, less sodium and it actually tastes nicer. I'm confused. Are the long lasting milks bad for you? Surely there's a catch.

I weighed myself before I ate and was shocked at my current weight, I was nearly in tears. So angry. All that work for nothing and it's just going up!

Breakfast
One banana - 138 cals (Not good at all, damn lack of milk!)
Total: 138 cals

Lunch
Two lettuce, tomato, wholegrain bread - 350 cals
One apple - 75 cals
5 strawberries - 28 cals
Total: 453 cals

Snacks
Two bananas - 276 cals
One glass of skim milk - 83 cals (Tastes nicer, less calories, less sodium and doesn't expire. What the hell's the catch?)
Total: 359 cals

Dinner
Lettuce - 12 cals
Tomato- 30 cals
Onion - 30 cals
Cucumber - 20 cals
Crabmeat - 350 cals
Total: 442 cals

Water
3 litres+

Grand Total: 1305 cals

Exercise

Normal Walking

Another lazy day of not going out until my walk. Damn lack of uni right now!

Steps: 1,284
Distance: 0.513km
Calories burnt: 30 cals

Power walking/Jogging

The problems with living in a 10,000 population city is you know a lot of people. My first 25 minutes I only accumulated 3,000 steps due to bumping into people and briefly chatting on three different occasions. Every minute counts. So I tried to beat the 3,000 on my second half and I did, getting 3,469.

Another two jogs, but my shorts are getting two big for me and nearly keep falling down. Which is a good sign in weight loss? :p

Tomorrow my aim is 7,000 steps in an hour. I can do it. I can do it!

Steps: 6,469
Distance: 2.587km / 1.607 miles
Calories burnt: 151.2 cals
Duration: 50 mins

Conclusion

Wish I had skim milk and oatmeal for breakfast, my weight is going DOWN as the day goes by which is odd. Must be water weight.

I'm still wary of this new skim milk.

Tomorrow I aim to fix my sleeping patterns, get 7,000 steps and be proud of my achievements.
 
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Don't get too down about the scale. I know mine weighs heavy, but I keep using it because it is consistent with itself. In other words if I lose 3 pounds on my scale, I know I've lost it on any scale I'm using.
 
Hi Shannon

We all get impatient and disappointed when we anticipate a weight loss that doesnt happen. We also all hate to see the weight go up. This is one reason why so many people say not to weigh more than once a week.

If you weigh every day just about everyone's weight wiggles about quite a bit. You can see that if you work through other people's postings on the weigh every day club. It isnt because on those up days all those people were cheating with their food and exercise - it is more that this is the way it is.

The general trend is the important thing and you have not really weighed yourself often enough to see a general trend. All sorts of things have a bearing on what you weigh. It is not just a question of losing fat and or gaining muscle. Toilet habits play their part. Be aware of how that goes. Also water retention. You retain water if you have anything salty. Sometimes I buy meat with a spicy marinade and find that I get a water retention gain. I suspect that there is a salt content to the marinade. In addition when looking at other peoples weights you will note that women retain water at other times too. In order that you are not confused I will tell you that women retain water around the time of their period. Water retention is nothing to worry about. Generally it disappears in time or as they drink plenty of water to wash away the salt.

Phoebe (allyphoe) uses a double concept of weighing whereby she notes the weight at the scale and a calculated trend weight which is a form of weighted average of so many results. She explained it in her diary two or three weeks ago. You might find that interesting.

You know that your efforts are being successful because your clothes are looser.

The key thing with weighing is to weigh about the same time of day. Everyone's weight alters as the day progresses. As you eat and drink it can go up by a few pounds. You can get a nasty shock if you get on the scales in the evening.

I weigh first thing in the morning (after toilet of course). Then I often do not eat anything or drink much until I have been out walking (this is naughty - I know, but I am no saint). Anyway - after another trip to the toilet my weight is normally down a bit. I take whichever is the lower as my official weight of the day. If I eat and drink - I probably get stuck with the first one. I often drop by half a pound between pre-walk and post-walk. I know that in a way I am kidding myself - but we all like to see our weight in the best light.

I quite happily drink long life skimmed milk.

Dont worry about meeting friends when you are out walking. Just tell your Dad that you will be out for longer and spend the time out walking and bumping into people. It sounds more fun than lazing around the house anyway - after all - it is the summer where you are. I stopped and chatted to people today and it is winter here.

Pretty soon you will be feeling and looking so healthy you will be hoping to bump into people and chat - particularly girls......

Are you sure that you are having enough protein. As I look down your food it looks like your protein food was 1/ milk and 2/ crab.

You can work out how much of each you had. Weighing 200 pounds you will be aiming for 100g protein.
crab is 19g protein in 85g crab
milk is 6.8g protein in 200 ml milk

I have no way of knowing how much you had of each but want you to be sure that you are having enough.

I cannot help but notice that you are not having any breakfast cereal. I suspect that it would be good if you had some. I eat tons of it.

1300 calories is very low and eating too few calories will do you no favours in the long run.

Take care
Best wishes
Margaret
 
Thanks Margaret, yep I'm beginning to realise how weight varies as the day goes by. I guess i should just go along with the ride.


Are you sure that you are having enough protein. As I look down your food it looks like your protein food was 1/ milk and 2/ crab.
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What are good sources of protein? Maybe I should invest in some protein bars or shakes?

I cannot help but notice that you are not having any breakfast cereal. I suspect that it would be good if you had some. I eat tons of it.
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This was only a one off day as I woke up to find we lacked milk, I was as disappointed as you were.

1300 calories is very low and eating too few calories will do you no favours in the long run.
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I think the lack of breakfast cereal vastly contributed to that today. But tomorrow I have enough milk for plenty of cereal!

As with the calorie intake, I try and eat more, but I fill full after the 1500 mark. Sleeping patterns might have something to do with it which I am fixing tomorrow.

What I'm thinking is I might be miscalculating my calories, especially when it comes to dinner as my father is feeding me and giving me the portions. I might take a photo of the dinner tomorrow to see what you guys think of the quantity.

Hope you had a lovely walk today Margaret,
Shannon. :)
 
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Cannon 2006 said:
Don't get too down about the scale. I know mine weighs heavy, but I keep using it because it is consistent with itself. In other words if I lose 3 pounds on my scale, I know I've lost it on any scale I'm using.
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I need an accurate scale to compare to. For all I know I could have been easily scammed on eBay and got a really horrible inaccurate scale. :p
 
"Dietary sources of protein include meats, eggs, grains, legumes, and dairy products such as milk and cheese."

I would assume my wholegrain bread included protein. Might have cheese or egg tomorrow too.
 
Friday, January 18, 2008

Thoughts

Today my routine was slightly altered. I ate out to lunch with friends today and found the task of finding something healthy on the menu harder than expected. I ended up with the Chicken Breast Caesar Salad which is healthy for you, it came with unexpected things such as grated/sprinkled/minced ham and cheese, eggs and bread crumbs. The calories will only be an estimated guess from Google and FitDay since eat out places usually don't come with the calories. :(

I'm excited about going back to University so I can eat the healthy things and measure them more accurately and not mess with my father's dinner, but at the same time I'm worried I'll get lazy and resort to eating easy and unhealthy things like I did in 2007. I don't want to go back to that. I want to eat healthy. I WILL eat healthy, I WILL do jogs/power walks and I WILL join a gym and feel confident in one.

I might not see visible physical results yet, but my mind has never been so optimistic. Not just weight loss, but everything. I feel more intelligent, more happy and I just love life. I refuse to go back to my old ways of eating. I won't.

Diet

Woke up early for once and went back to my breakfast routine.

For dinner wise, especially, this is going to be so much easier when I prepare my own (HEALTHY) meals. I might need you guys for some suggestive recipes. :)

Breakfast
Oatmeal - 112 cals
One banana - 138 cals
1/2 glass of skin milk - 42 cals
Total: 291 cals

Lunch
Chicken Caesar Salad
One tablespoon of caesar dressing - 77 cals
Chicken breast - 250 cals
Lettuce - 12 cals
Minced Ham - 70 cals
Minced cheese - 85 cals
Two small eggs (boiled) - 114 cals
Bread crums - 100 cals
Total: 708 cals

Snacks
One apple - 75 cals
5 strawberries - 28 cals
Total: 103 cals

Dinner
Chicken Stirfry
Carrot/Peas mixed - 85 cals
Corn - 50 cals
Sliced Pineapple - 50 cals
Sliced mushroom - 16 cals
Sliced brussel sprout - 25 cals
Chicken marinade (breast and thighs) - 250 cals
Wholegrain/brown rice - 200 cals
Total: 676 cals

Water
3 litres+

Grand Total: 1778 cals

Exercise

Normal Walking

Walked around town all day. It rained when I went on my power walk and thus nobody else was out walking. :(

Steps: 8,032
Distance: 3.212km / 2 miles
Calories burnt: 187.7cals

Power walking/Jogging

Didn't met much people today as it was raining and got 3,500 in half an hour, thus averaging my desired 7,000 in an hour. However I finished at 50 minutes.

Steps: 6,404
Distance: 2.561km / 1.591 miles
Calories burnt: 149.7cals
Duration: 50 mins

Grand total

Steps: 14,436
Distance: 5.773km / 3.591 miles
Calories burnt: 337.4 cals

Conclusion

Went over 1,700 today but anything under 2,000 is fine. I think I need to have a steady and consistent calorie intake. I'm not very happy with the ham and cheese, but I guess ham gives protein.

Since lunch was ordered and dinner was prepared by my dad it is really hard to know exact proportions and calories and I wouldn't be surprised if I was 100 or so calories out (give or take).

Very happy going over 10,000 steps. :)

Thanks for reading guys,
Shannon
 
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Hi guys,
It seems since getting my scales that every day the weight goes up one day and down the next. The figures vary.

Can someone inform me what I'm doing wrong? I thought yesterday with the amount of walking and the good food I ate things would at least look somewhat optimistic.
 
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What you're doing wrong: expecting to see short-term results on the scale. Seriously, no good will come of that. I lost absolutely no weight (none, not a pound) the first 4 weeks I started improving my diet. Some people see a big initial loss, but I wasn't one of them. If you have a plan that gives you a caloric deficit, you will lose weight. Stick to your plan, and eventually the scale will get on board with you.

For lunch today, I'd guess your salad dressing calories low if the salad came pre-dressed. I know around here, a lunch-sized caesar salad has more like 3 or 4 tablespoons of dressing on it. (Caesar salad is one of the things that sounds healthy (and can be healthy if you customize a bit), but isn't particularly healthy the way most places make it.)

Good job on your walking. I'm surprised how little distance you have for so many steps - I always end up with at least 5 miles on my pedometer for 10,000 steps. So I'd guess twice as many miles as what you're recording, which is also more consistent with your times. (3kph is a very slow walking speed.)

I second Margaret's comment that Thursday's menu was sorely lacking in protein. Friday looks great, though - plenty of protein and fiber. I also eyeball portions and guess ingredients (I end up eating quite a few meals I don't prepare, due to work), and figure I'm off by at least 15%.

Oh, and the shelf-stable milk is just fine. We don't get much of it here in the US, but you can get shelf-stable milk for kids (to pack in lunches and such), and I'd feed it to my kid if she'd drink it.
 
allyphoe said:
What you're doing wrong: expecting to see short-term results on the scale. Seriously, no good will come of that. I lost absolutely no weight (none, not a pound) the first 4 weeks I started improving my diet. Some people see a big initial loss, but I wasn't one of them. If you have a plan that gives you a caloric deficit, you will lose weight. Stick to your plan, and eventually the scale will get on board with you.
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Thanks Ally. :) I'm not expecting short-term results, I just get a little jealous of others results in the 'weigh yourself everyday' club, even just losing 0.3 of a pound.

For lunch today, I'd guess your salad dressing calories low if the salad came pre-dressed. I know around here, a lunch-sized caesar salad has more like 3 or 4 tablespoons of dressing on it. (Caesar salad is one of the things that sounds healthy (and can be healthy if you customize a bit), but isn't particularly healthy the way most places make it.)
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Yep, that's what I was a tad cautious about. It was delicious though. I should have said "I'd like the chicken caesar salad and hold the caesar!" I know everyone there too so I think the joke would actually be followed through. :sifone:

Good job on your walking. I'm surprised how little distance you have for so many steps - I always end up with at least 5 miles on my pedometer for 10,000 steps. So I'd guess twice as many miles as what you're recording, which is also more consistent with your times. (3kph is a very slow walking speed.)
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I thought that too. Using Google Earth it shows I've walked much more km/miles than what my pedometer says in distant wise. I think it's inaccurate in that retrospect, unfortunately. I also walk quite a consistent pace.

I second Margaret's comment that Thursday's menu was sorely lacking in protein. Friday looks great, though - plenty of protein and fiber. I also eyeball portions and guess ingredients (I end up eating quite a few meals I don't prepare, due to work), and figure I'm off by at least 15%.
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Yep, it sucks when you order out. Which I'm doing so for tonight for my birthday dinner. I shall get a healthy meal though. Steak and vegetables are good, especially steak and the protein? Or should I stick to the lean white meats?

Oh, and the shelf-stable milk is just fine. We don't get much of it here in the US, but you can get shelf-stable milk for kids (to pack in lunches and such), and I'd feed it to my kid if she'd drink it.
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It's so much nicer than the previous milk I bought. I prefer it over whole milk, which is surely a plus!!

Thanks. :)
 
Happy Birthday!

If you're in the mood for steak, get the steak. I've got fewer calories to work with than you do, and I have steak. :) Not all the time, because it costs more than I want to pay, and I need to keep my saturated fat intake low-ish, but I would totally have birthday steak. Or I-had-a-long-week steak. Or MIL-cooked-dinner-steak. Or steak-was-on-sale steak. Mmmmm, steak. :)

As far as weigh-yourself-everyday goes, here's a slightly different time-frame for me:
Dec 29 141.4
Dec 30 141.4
Dec 31 141.4
Jan 1 141.2
Jan 2 140.8
Jan 3 141.2
Jan 4 140.6
Jan 5 140.0
Jan 6 139.4
Jan 7 141.8
Jan 8 142.0
Jan 9 141.0
Jan 10 142.0
Jan 11 141.5
At this point, I weighed more than I did 13 days prior, despite being extra-diligent with my eating and exercising. Sometimes, the scale is just like that. You can't let it get you down. :)

As Margaret mentioned, I have a secondary way of tracking my weight, which is the one I use for my ticker, and the way I tell whether I'm working my plan. (I actually have a whole spreadsheet set up, that predicts my weight using that secondary method day-by-day, going back to November and forward to goal, although I was "ahead" enough at year-end that I reset my prediction to actual January 1. I'll admit to being more spreadsheet-obsessed than most, though.) And by that method, my weight went down by 3.7 pounds over the same 13 days that the scale showed I gained 0.1 pounds. And that helps me keep on track and motivated.
 
Thank you Ally for some reassurance. My birthday is on Jan 23. I'll be 19. Last year of being a teenager. Haha.

I'm sticking with this diet and exercise for the whole year, no matter what the scale says. It's been years that I've been overweight so it's not going to take a few weeks if I want to lose it for GOOD.
 
Hi Shannon

I hope that you enjoy your birthday celebration. It seems perfectly reasonable to celebrate your 19th birthday over several days. Feel comfortable about having some treats - life does not need to revolve around your weight loss project on such occasions.

I am pleased to see that Phoebe (Allyphoe) has been helping you since I was last here.

I think that you could do with a set of kitchen scales for weighing food. I sometimes weigh things in grams (generally if I am in a challenge and need to check up on my calories, protein or fibre). My food is so similar from one day or week to the next that I normally dont need to worry about this too much. Many websites also give things in a unit of measure called cups. These appear to be special measuring cups that they have in America that contain 8 fluid ounces. I got a measuring jug and measured out 8 fluid ounces and found a small mug that was that size.

If you knew the amount of grams that you were eating you could look up on the website what the protein and fibre content is (just like calories) and you would be able to ensure that your diet was supplying these in sufficient quantities.

Well done for getting up to 14500 steps. Just a thought - when you were setting up your pedometer what did you put in for your steplength? Did you by any chance put in your steplength in inches in a location where it was expecting it in centimeters?

Taking as an example 8032 steps walked.
If your step length were 25 inches
A distance of 8032 * 25 inches would be walked
8032 * 25 = 200800 inches

We do not normally think of long distances like that.

1 mile = 63,360 inches

200800 / 63360 = 3.169 miles would have been walked in the above example

If your step length is longer then you would have walked further.
If your step length is shorter then you would have not walked so far.

Juggling the algebra - it seems to think that your step is only somewhere like 15 inches long as far as your pedometer is concerned.

Take care
Best wishes
Margaret
 
Omega said:
I think that you could do with a set of kitchen scales for weighing food. I sometimes weigh things in grams (generally if I am in a challenge and need to check up on my calories, protein or fibre). My food is so similar from one day or week to the next that I normally dont need to worry about this too much. Many websites also give things in a unit of measure called cups. These appear to be special measuring cups that they have in America that contain 8 fluid ounces. I got a measuring jug and measured out 8 fluid ounces and found a small mug that was that size.
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Great idea Margaret, I plan on getting some when I move. Perhaps even before hand.

Well done for getting up to 14500 steps. Just a thought - when you were setting up your pedometer what did you put in for your steplength? Did you by any chance put in your steplength in inches in a location where it was expecting it in centimeters?

Taking as an example 8032 steps walked.
If your step length were 25 inches
A distance of 8032 * 25 inches would be walked
8032 * 25 = 200800 inches

We do not normally think of long distances like that.

1 mile = 63,360 inches

200800 / 63360 = 3.169 miles would have been walked in the above example

If your step length is longer then you would have walked further.
If your step length is shorter then you would have not walked so far.

Juggling the algebra - it seems to think that your step is only somewhere like 15 inches long as far as your pedometer is concerned.
Click to expand...

Oh, thank you very much for pointing that out. It seems to be only set on 40cm, which is 15.7inches.

I might set it to 63.5cm, which is 25 inches.

Thanks for that! :)

Shannon
 
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