December 13, 2008

I stepped on my scale today, mostly to make sure I don't gain and couldn't believe that I had lost 2 of the 3 Thanksgiving pounds...woo hoo! I am working out so hard and watching my food intake so carefully that this was such a good surprise. I really didn't expect anything to change over the next couple of weeks and was just hoping to stay the same.

I went out to dinner tonight with friends to PF Changs. I swear they used to have a light and lower carb menu, but they don't. I decided to go with the lettuce wraps for my meal. Does anyone have an idea what the carbs, sugar, and calories are on them? I'm hoping I made the right choice, cause if I gain back my 2 pounds I'm going to be pretty upset!

December 6, 2008

The end of 2008 is coming fast and I am so glad I can kick off 2009 with my exercise program already in place.

Monday Spin class (talk about sweating off the pounds...WOW)
Tuesday Running (Gotta work my way up to a 8 minute mile)
Wednesday Step class (love it!!!)
Thursday Pump class (my least favorite, I hate targeting muscle groups)
Friday Swimming (my favorite)
Saturday Whatever I feel like

I have to admit that my maintenance took a little step up over the Thanksgiving Holiday! I gained about 3 pounds ugh! I'm back on track now and eating sensible (no carbs, no sugar). Hopefully I can drop those 3 before Christmas, so that I'm ready for my next round of HCG in January. I am getting closer to my goal and I think I can get to it by the end of January. Cruise or Hawaii in February?

St George 10K

So I have my next fitness goal coming up in a couple of months! It is the St. George 10K! By the way, I've been continuing on my weight loss and lost 3 more pounds....whoooo hooo! I am up to 15 pounds now and still losing (like 15 more would be perfect).

Now at least I can focus my exercise on running more, swimming & biking less. Should be fun!

Quinn, can I stay at your house when I come?

Triathlon completed...what's next?

So all summer I have been working out to get ready for this event and now that it is over, I've got to find something else to keep me working out. I am currently maintaining my weight loss, although I think I've added some extra muscle.

I am currently eating about 1200 calories per day with very limited carbs. I thought I would continue to lose, yet I haven't. I suppose that is ok as long as I stay the same.

The holidays are coming quickly and I need to get my mind focused on another goal to keep from gaining over this season (since I almost always do).

Any suggestions? Anyone know of another race to train for?

November 5th

I made it through my 3 week 500 calorie diet losing about 12 pounds! Now, I begin the next phase which consists of eating 1500 calories. I must eat protein, veggies, & fruit - no carbs or sugar. The biggest luxury of this next phase is that I can now eat fats (nuts, cheese, dressing, etc.). I had a Cafe Rio salad with black beans, chicken, and dressing...what a change from the lettuce, chicken, and tomatoes (no dressing) I was eating before!

After this phase I will have set my body at this weight making it harder to gain back as easily as typical diets. Because I still want to lose more weight, I plan to eat healthy until New Years day when I begin the HCG all over again.

Sunday, November 2nd

I finished my 3 weeks of taking the HCG and as of Friday morning, I have lost 12 pounds! I debated on going on another 3 weeks, but I am struggling with cravings and feel that I cannot put another apple in my mouth (the food is getting really old).

I weigh in tomorrow and will ask how long I can be off it before I start another 3 weeks session.

Thursday, October 23

So as of Monday, I have lost 5 pounds according to the place where I weigh in. My scales show me as losing about 3. My first weigh in the week before was not accurate, as it was night time and after dinner! It is not coming off as fast as I've heard, most people lose 1 pound per day and I am not anywhere near that!!! Oh well, I'll take my 3 pounds and try to add 3 more by next Monday.

Friday, October 17th

Here I am eating about 500 calories per day and I'm actually doing really well! I weigh in on Monday morning to see how much I've lost in 1 week.

Surprisingly, I am beginning to feel pretty good. I've kept up on my exercise and I rarely feel hunger pains. Although, I did attempt to hike the "Y" on Wednesday and felt dizzy and nauseated. We didn't quite make it all the way:( ! I guess my body was still releasing the sugars and other toxins, but each day gets a little easier. The hardest part of this diet is cooking meals for my family. I struggle keeping myself from tasting what they are eating!

I am going to try and do this for the full 6 week plan, rather than 3 weeks. Now that I am used to eating this way, I think it would just be easier to keep going.

Here are some yummy variations my mom and I (mostly my mom) have come up with:

SOUP
Take your raw 3 oz. meat portion and cut it up in small bite size pieces. Add onions, spinach, tomatoes, garlic, and seasonings. Add water and boil for an hour to create a yummy soup!

SMOOTHIE
Take 3-4 frozen strawberries and put into a blender. Blend with 1 Tbs. milk (that is our max), 1 1/2 cup water, and 1 crystal light tea packet.

SALAD DRESSING
Take 1 packet of Stevia or 1 tsp. of Xagave sweetener. Mix with apple cider vinegar or fresh squeezed lemon.

Monday, October 13th

What a weekend!!! I talked to my neighbor about HCG and decided to give it a try. Basically, you take the hormone HCG and limit your food intake to 500 calories a day for 3 or 6 weeks. The hormone supposedly "unlocks" fat storage and releases it rapidly. The weight that is lost is in your trouble areas, not your bust, hands, feet, neck, etc. (you know, the not trouble areas you usually lose first). I decided that I've got nothing to lose but my weight and I would really like to see quicker results than 1 lb. per week.

My 500 calorie diet

Breakfast -1 grapefruit & 5 low fat saltine crackers
Snack - 1 apple
Lunch - 3 oz. steak, chicken, or white fish grilled
1 handful of lettuce w/ cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, & apple cider vinegar
Snack - 1 apple
Dinner - 3 oz. steak, chicken, or white fish grilled
1 handful of lettuce w/ cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, & apple cider vinegar

You have to drink lots of water and herbal teas (no caffeine).

I am so lame!!!

I feel really stupid about not blogging my progress for about a week. Maybe blogging my progress every day is a bit much, but I certainly hope I can do it at least every couple of days.

I weighed in today and as of 2 weeks ago, I have lost another 2 lbs. My track record indicates that I'm a 1 lb. per week kind of gal, but that is not good enough when you want to lose 25 lbs.

I have been doing a lot of research on HCG, recommended by my friend Carlie. She was skeptical, yet lost 14 lbs. Luckily for me, one of my neighbors does this and several of the neighborhood women have lost a lot of weight on it. My mom is starting tomorrow and I have an appointment to learn more about it.

I am not a crazy dieter that jumps on the bandwagon of every new diet. Over the years, I have tried to just eat right, exercise, and burn more calories per day to lose weight. Of course I read books like "The South Beach Diet", "Body For Life", and others. I would take certain ideas and apply them to the traditional lower fat, lower calorie, well balanced eating and exercising. That worked for me up until my last baby 8 years ago! It is very discouraging to weigh more than when you delivered at full term pregnancy! I blame this mostly on stresses over the last 8 years, but getting older (metabolism slowing down), crazy hormone imbalances, and a very busy schedule doesn't help the situation. That's all I have to say about this, so wish me luck as I learn more about HCG.

Tuesday, 9/30 & Wednesday 10/1

I am not going to weigh in due to hormonal imbalances, but will this Saturday instead.

Tuesday
Cream of wheat with splenda & skim milk
protein bar
spinach salad w/ tomato and poppy seed dressing
protein bar
1 ser. corn chips w/ salsa
chicken and tomato salad w/ Ranch on the side

Exercise for today included swimming 20 minutes and biking 1 hour.

Wednesday
EAS with skim milk
protein bar
spinach salad w/ poppy seed dressing
protein bar
4 wheat thins
210 calorie microwavable meal
soybeans

My exercise was treadmill for 1 hour.

Monday

I've got to kick it up a notch to reach my goal of 2 pounds for this week.



EAS w/ skim - same old, same old
protein bar
220 calorie microwavable meal with low carbs
protein bar
sugar snap peas
chicken breast, spinach salad w/tomato and poppy seed dressing

My exercise was riding the stationary bike and running on the treadmill at the gym.

Saturday & Sunday

I really love weekends, but I hate not being in my regular routine and I always seem to slip up.

Saturday:
EAS w/ skim milk
veggie subway sandwich on honey oat bread (no mayo or sauces)
protein bar
apple
sugar snap peas
baked beans, chicken breast, pulled pork (Lagoon actually had some healthy choices)
Diet coke - this doesn't mean that I'm going to start drinking it again, I just needed the caffeine to prevent myself from falling over exhausted (regretting the hike this morning).
small ice cream

My exercise included hiking the Y in the morning and spending the day at Lagoon walking endlessly.

Sunday:
Oatmeal w/ splenda and skim milk
protein bar
Cheetos (I don't even like these, but they were sitting out)
Dove chocolate (65% dark, yum!) I had like 7 of them...oops!
Homemade chicken noodle soup (Scot's Parents) They make the best soup ever!!!!
Slice of that yummy hard-crust bread from Costco... I forgot what it is called.

No exercise - totally wiped out from yesterday!

Friday

Today is a really cool mile marker for me.... it has been 2 weeks since my last Diet Coke!!!! I decided that perhaps my weight loss has been slow because of my daily dose of a 44 oz DC.

I started drinking Diet coke 6 years ago when I began teaching preschool, seriously I was never a pop drinker before. I have battled with my weight ever since. I really believe that it makes me crave unhealthy, unwanted, horrible, fatty foods. I am still totally craving it though and would love suggestions on fighting the craves! Driving by Sonic is torture:)

Food list:

EAS with skim milk
protein bar
spinach salad with tomato and poppy seed dressing
wheat thins
homemade peanut butter cup (I've gone without treats and I just mindlessly picked this up and ate it without thinking)
apple
walnuts (about 8 or 9)
ready made dinner 220 calories (honey pork...yum!)

My exercise today was running on my treadmill for 30 minutes.

Thursday

Thank you for all the encouragement! I've kept a food journal of my eating patterns for several years now, but never this public. It really changes my mind about tasting the free samples at Costco:}


EAS w/ skim milk
protein bar
slice of roast w/ carrots (low carb, 250 calorie microwave meal)
soy beans
wheat thins
Jamba juice light
1 slice zucchini bread

No exercise today, I didn't feel good in the morning!

Tuesday & Wednesday

I weighed in and according to my scale, I lost 1 pound this week. The low weight loss reflects my bad eating weekend! I'm going to kick it up a notch and hopefully double my loss next week.

Tuesday food list:
EAS with skim milk
protein bar
2 peaches dipped in cream (I know, I know)
protein bar
romaine lettuce, whole tomato, and light ranch dressing
Vegetarian taco soup with corn chips
apple

25 minutes running

Wednesday food list:
1 egg w/ 2 whites
protein bar
Costco chicken Caesar salad with 1/3 of the dressing
apple
1/2 of a bowl of soy beans
Bajio salad shared (I ate 1/4 of it)

Hiking the Y early, then running for 15 minutes later.

Monday, September 22

I didn't take a moment to breath Saturday and Sunday. We had Baby shower, Birthday Party, Photo shoot, visitors from out of town, and just craziness at our house. I couldn't even begin to remember what I ate, but I'm sure it was thoughtless!

Monday food list:
EAS protein powder
apple
protein bar
slice of roast with carrots
apple
protein bar
Brick Oven salad, then I had 1/3 bowl of each; Broccoli soup, clam chowder, & chicken noodle (I had to sample them all).

Exercise:
aerobics class at the gym

Thursday & Friday

I have been so busy lately that I haven't gotten around to entering my food & exercise the past couple of days, so here they are:

Thursday food list-
Go lean w/flax seed cereal and skim milk
16 oz. light jamba juice
protein bar
spinach salad w/ tomatoes and poppy seed dressing
protein bar
chicken breast
biscuit

I swam for about 20 minutes.

Friday food list-
1 scoop EAS powder with 1 1/2 cups milk
Romain lettuce with chicken and tomatoes
1/2 slice zucchini bread
This is where it all goes bad - Mexican restaurant I had 1 chicken taco and a cheese enchilada. I also indulged in chips and salsa before hand.
Wait, it gets worse!!! I ate a slice of apple pie with a little ice cream. This is going to cost me!

My exercise for this day was hiking the Y.

I feel like I do really well and then family comes to town or my schedule gets off and I fall quickly off my plan. How do I break through this? Eating is a very social and emotional thing for me!

Wednesday

I weighed myself today and will continue to weigh in each Wednesday, reporting the lbs I've lost. I've also decided not to drink diet coke anymore to see if I can shake my metabolism up (that is the hardest part of this)!

My food list:
cottage cheese
protein bar
spinach salad with tomatoes & poppy seed dressing
wheat toast w/ salsa on top
protein bar
romaine lettuce w/ light ranch
wheat pasta tossed with grated Parmesan cheese
7 pecans

Exercise:
Biking up the canyon 45 minutes
aerobics class 45 minutes

Not the best first day:(

This was an unusual day with my hair appointment (cut & color) and Enrichment night. Not my usual diet and this is what happens when I get busy. Every single meal I ate today was on the go, including my cereal in a paper cup! I didn't even have time to eat a salad.

Food list in order:
Go lean flax cereal with skim milk
Protein bar - small
Light Jamba juice (berry)
Protein bar - small
7 baked tostitos w/ 1 cup homemade salsa on top (I told you I loved it).
apple
carrot and celery sticks
2 inch square of chicken salad sandwich (enrichment night)

Exercise:
45 minutes on the treadmill and 15 minutes crunches and arm weights