Want2Lose's Diary

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February 8, 2013

I've gained a fair amount of weight. I was up to 135 pounds but think I am around 130 now. I have not been on the scale in a couple of weeks.

I had a stressful time this past fall and pretty much dropped the ball on the healthy eating and exercising. I have picked things up again, but some bad habits have stuck with me. I am grazing instead of eating well-defined meals and snacks. I am not weighing myself daily. I am not drinking 8 glasses of water a day. I am not weighing and measuring my food. I am not eating a large variety of fruits and vegetables each day. I am drinking more coffee than I should (it stimulates my appetite). And perhaps worst of all, I am eating more prepared foods (again, something that gradually stimulates my appetite until I binge.) Last night I had three "diet" fudge bars (no sugar) when one would have been enough.

On the positive side, I have once again eliminated sugar from my diet. I have realized that it is something I just can't have. It starts out ok, but before I know it, I am stuffing my face.

Menu
Breakfast: Coffee with 1% milk; two slices cheddar cheese; several crackers
Breakfast 2: Yogurt (1%) with blueberries and almonds; coffee with milk
Lunch: Garbanzo beans with pesto sauce; soup (onion, garlic, tomatoes, carrots, celery, bok choy, lemon juice, black pepper, pesto sauce, dried basil, dried parsley); green pepper; apple
Dinner: Smoked oysters; yogurt with blueberries and almonds; grapefruit

I think that's all. I am not as mindful about food as I was, so I may have missed a
snacks or nibbles. I am really going to try to get back on track again.

Exercise:
12,000 steps
10 push ups
 
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Welcome back W2L!

Pleasure seeing you here and back in the groove!

Good luck and looking forward to your posts!!
 
The main thing is you are back and focusing on what you want to achieve. I can totally relate to over doing the sugar. I'm a chocholic and is fat because of chocolates, not food, chocholates and I'm proud to say I haven't had a drop of sugar in any form since 2 Jan 13. So if I can do it (used to have 3 - 4 chocies a day) then so can you.
 
Well done for getting back on track. Eliminating sugar is a brilliant accomplishment.

I think that it would be good for you to get back on the scales as soon as you feel up to it. That way you can use the scale to monitor your progress... Watching the scale move can be a powerful motivator. If you do not want to get on the scale for any reason - maybe consider measuring using a tape measure or start trying on something you enjoyed wearing at goal or something that is just a bit tight... I have just bought a top that will look great when I am back at goal...
 
February 9, 2013

Hi Flumes, Mands, and Omega. It's great to see so much support in my diary! I bit the bullet and weighed myself today, and I am at 130. I am not going to set a goal yet. I want to get my eating habits in order first (no junk, no mindless snacking, no obsessing) and see where the weight settles. My guess is it will be around 125. I also weighed and measured some of my food today (not all) and am trying to drink more water and cut down on the coffee.

Menu
Breakfast: Yogurt with blueberries and almonds; coffee with milk (2%)
Lunch: Two eggs scrambled with tofu, onion, garlic, kale topped with salsa & black pepper; sweet potato; clementine
Snack: Popcorn (50g) with pesto sauce (note: did not care for this combo)
Snack 2: Apple with peanut butter
Dinner: Italian vegetable medley (zucchini, carrots, red pepper, cauliflower, lima beans, green beans); Cuban-style black beans (Trader Joe brand) topped with cheddar and salsa
Snack: Almonds

Exercise
12,000 steps
10 push-ups
 
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Well done for getting back on the scales. That is a really good move. It always takes a bit of courage if you know that you are up...

A confirmed 130 is really good in a gain situation... LOL I wish that my weight was 130...

I had a glance back into your diary and see that you were at one time uncertain where your best maintenance weight should be - varying between 120 and 125. I think that you suggested that you may have gone too low in taking your weight down to 120... They are certainly both healthy weights - so it really depends on where you feel the most comfortable.

If your weight settles at 125 as you predict - have you given any thought to whether you will want to reduce your weight at all or maintain it?
 
Omega, those are good questions. I was overweight most of my life, so I don't have a feel for what is a good weight for me. When I was at 125 I felt more energetic than I do now, but that could be due to many factors, not just the weight. At 120, you're right, I did feel like that was too low. I was hungry all the time and obsessed about food. Even 130 isn't a bad weight. It's just that I got here not by eating normally and healthfully, but by eating a lot of junk and not exercising. That's why I want to concentrate more on behavior this time around, instead of focusing on the scale number.

February 10

Menu
Breakfast: Oatmeal (44g) with apple, peanut butter, cinnamon, 2% milk (1/2 cup); coffee
Lunch: Lentils (1/2 cup dried) and brown rice (1/4 cup dry) with tomatoes, onion, garlic, carrots, dried basil, dried parsley, black pepper, topped with nutritional yeast, yogurt, cheddar cheese; grapefruit
Snack: Popcorn (50g) with 1 tsp. olive oil, salt
Dinner: Tuna salad (avocado, onion, miracle whip, lemon juice, black pepper)
Snack: Almonds, peanut butter, apple

Exercise
12,000 steps
10 push-ups
 
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If I were you I would be inclined to think long and hard about where you want to be...

Funny things will come into the equation... things like how your favourite clothes fit and also how it is going to fit into your lifestyle. When you are looking at such a small range - the lowest weight isn't always the best weight... When we have been big we can imagine that it would be - but it isn't necessarily... People can actually look too boney and a few curves can look simply "feminine" and not "fat"...

Eating healthily and exercising is a good move - irrespective of the weight that you want. We have lost weight in the past by doing that. The answer to the questions above will indicate how many healthy calories that you plan on eating.
 
February 11, 2013

Too much snacking last night, but at least I stayed away from the junk food.

Menu
Breakfast: Yogurt with blueberries and almonds; black tea with lemon
Lunch: Hard-boiled egg; sweet potato; kale; Italian vegetable medley; salt
Snack: Coffee; mix of soynuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds
Dinner: Italian vegetable medley with tomato sauce, dried basil, dried parsely; brown rice with jalepeno refried beans (Trader Joe brand) topped with avocado and salsa
Snack: Apple, almonds, cashews, two slices cheddar

Exercise
7,000 steps
10 push-ups
 
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February 12, 2013

Thanks, Mands!

Menu
Breakfast: Grapefruity; yogurt with blueberries and almonds; black tea with lemon
Lunch: Hard-boiled egg; sweet potato; kale; Italian vegetable medley; salt
Snack: Apple; coffee with skim milk
Dinner: Refried beans and salsa; salmon; baked potato; broccoli

Exercise
10,000 steps
10 push ups
 
You sure your getting enough calories there W2L? Looks low to me....but Im not an expert.

If you're ok with it...go for it. You are doing well!!!!
 
February 17, 2013

Hi Flumes. I don't usually record quantities, but I am averaging 1600 to 2000 calories a day.

I weighed again this morning, and am still at 130, which I am ok with. I have had some wild cravings this past week, but have managed to satisfy them with fruit, nuts, popcorn, cheese. I am pleased because I managed to stay away from the sugar. That is always the beginning of the long slide for me.

I do need to pull away from the coffee. Yesterday I had three cups. I can usually tolerate one, but more than that stimulates my appetite, and makes me very nervous to boot.

I woke up early today, hungry. It's the day I go grocery shopping, so the larder is pretty bare right now. I have such a craving for three-bean salad, with lots of cilantro and green onion. I am going to buy the ingredients at the store and make some today.
 
Yum to the three bean salad!

I had my first starbucks coffee the other day. The "dark roast". OMG It was the biggest caffeeine rush I had in my life. I was bouncing off the walls for about 4 hours!

Hope you have a wonderful day W2L
 
Just checking in. I am at 129 pounds. The quality of my nutrition has been slipping again. I have been pretty consistent with walking 10,000 steps every day. I have been trying to reincorporate a daily serving of legumes and a wider variety of vegetables.

I have cut way back on coffee.

I wish everyone success in their journey.
 
Went to Farmers Market today and got all sorts of veg : bell peppers (red, orange, yellow), cucumber, corn, tomatoes, eggplant, cauliflower, kale, lettuce, leek, parsley, oregano, sage, thyme, concord grapes.

I made a cauliflower soup. First I trimmed the leek, kale, cauliflower, and herbs and used the inedible parts to make a vegetable stock. Then I sautéed the white part of the leek and some garlic in butter. I added the cauliflower and enough stock to cover. Seasoned with cayenne and a tablespoon of miso paste right before serving. It was good.

I treated myself to a small Starbucks, my first coffee this week, and it seems to have done me no harm.
 
Weight still in 129-131 range. Exercise consistent. I have been eating out more, about 2 or 3 times per month. My eating had taken on a grazing pattern. Lots of snacking, fewer structured meals, nuts and cheese edging out vegetables. For the last week I have been journalling my food and making more of an effort to plan meals.

I have found a few prepared foods I enjoy. When I am not motivated to cook from scratch, these are handy:

Amy's tofu scramble. 23 grams protein

Dr McDougall soups. The split pea, lentil, and black bean varieties are an easy way to get legumes. low fat, low sugar, lower sodium, higher fiber.

Quinoa crunch patties. 200 calories each. I have tried only the curry flavor. Only 4 grams protein, but they have a great crunchy texture withou being fried.

Trader Joe Tofu Burgers. A flavorful treat.
 
October 28, 2017

It's been nearly three years since my last post, but I wanted to stop in, say hello.

Over the past three years, I have had ups and downs. At my highest, I weighed 137 pounds. I got discouraged. I was sure I would gain it all back. I stopped weighing myself. I kept trying to eat right and exercise the whole time, but I couldn't face the scale. In fact, until yesterday, I had not weighed myself in nearly a year. Yesterday I finally braved the scale and weighed in at 124 pounds, which I am happy with and am going to try to maintain.

They say it's an ill wind that blows no good, and that is certainly true in my case. I had a financial setback and in an effort to save money have cut my grocery bill by two thirds. That means no more prepared foods, no frozen dinners, no fancy cheeses. The foods I buy now are plain and uninteresting and do not stimulate my taste buds. The biochemist and obesity researcher Stephan Guyenet suggests that a bland, repetitive diet, low in palatability could help people lose weight. I was always interested in this idea and now I can say that it works. The menu I post below is pretty consistent most days.

I also have had some health issues and have had to give up caffeine, alcohol, and certain carbs. This also helps keep me at my goal weight because the caffeine and alcohol always stimulated my appetite.

Anyway, it's good to be back and see old friends and new faces. Wishing you all success in your weight loss and maintenance journeys.

Breakfast: Apple, walnuts
Lunch: Two eggs scrambled with tofu, onions, spinach, olive oil, black pepper. One slice cheese. Grapefruit.
Snack: Cottage cheese with walnuts
Dinner: Navy bean soup (navy beans, onion, carrot, garlic, tomato, oregano, olive oil, salt, black pepper. One slice cheese.

Exercise
Walked 5,000 steps
 
Welcome back!
I too have come and gone and then returned but I do think I do better when I am posting and interacting with my friends on here.

Cheap food doesn't always have to be unexciting. Some creativity can go a long way

Good luck!
 
Hey, Want2Lose! Welcome back :) Thanks for popping in to say hello. It's always nice to see old friends. I'm sorry you have had a hard time of it, financially, but well done on maintaining your weight. I know how hard that is. It would be good if you keep in touch xo
 
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