I have lost 1.25 pounds.
Pleased? Yes :-)
Continuing? Yes
It has not been too hard. Now that I have the app, I can log easier and keep better track throughout the day. I am going to try to keep this up as long as possible. Even if I have a not-so-great day, I am going to attempt to not let it put me off track.
Thursday, 30 August 2012
Friday, 24 August 2012
Logging
I am back... to the blog and to logging.
Previously, I had given up or taken a break - whichever fits... both, I guess. I was focusing for a while on my health issues. Focusing on them did help me, but like dieting, it becomes tiring and tedious after a while.
The reason I am back to logging my calories is two-fold. Firstly, I now have a nexus 7 tablet, which gives me the ability to lo easier with an app and secondly, I have managed to maintain my measurements since I blogged the penultimate time. Actual weight, I am not sure. Anyway...
I needed to get new jeans and I managed to comfortably fit into a pair from Marks and Spencers that were a size or two smaller than I would have fitted at the beginning of the year. This being the case, I do not want to get any bigger. I would be pleased to be between 5-10 pounds smaller. Obviously even smaller would be better for me with my mobility struggles and my issues with my legs, but even 5 would be great too.
As I was having some success with losing by logging, I decided to revisit it and see what happens. I have just finished day 2 of eating up to 1340 calories and logging via My Fitness Pal app.
Aiming to weigh once a week for now - Thursdays.
Previously, I had given up or taken a break - whichever fits... both, I guess. I was focusing for a while on my health issues. Focusing on them did help me, but like dieting, it becomes tiring and tedious after a while.
The reason I am back to logging my calories is two-fold. Firstly, I now have a nexus 7 tablet, which gives me the ability to lo easier with an app and secondly, I have managed to maintain my measurements since I blogged the penultimate time. Actual weight, I am not sure. Anyway...
I needed to get new jeans and I managed to comfortably fit into a pair from Marks and Spencers that were a size or two smaller than I would have fitted at the beginning of the year. This being the case, I do not want to get any bigger. I would be pleased to be between 5-10 pounds smaller. Obviously even smaller would be better for me with my mobility struggles and my issues with my legs, but even 5 would be great too.
As I was having some success with losing by logging, I decided to revisit it and see what happens. I have just finished day 2 of eating up to 1340 calories and logging via My Fitness Pal app.
Aiming to weigh once a week for now - Thursdays.
Monday, 25 June 2012
Moving on to something new...
I am moving on...
I am about the same size in terms of measurements as when I last posted. Last week I started overhauling my eating. I am now eating a gradually increasing proportion of raw food (vegetables and fruits). I have always eaten some raw, but now I am aiming for about an average of 50 per cent raw per day. I haven't quite got there... some days I am probably doing that and others not so much.... I will have to start keeping note and tallying up to get a better idea of it. In the long-term, I would be happy with eating 60% raw.
Part of this decision comes from this: I am really conscious that in order to deal with my weight, I need to deal with my WHOLE body - holistically... I have been doing a lot of research into how I can facilitate this and I realised that I need to find a way to improve my overall health. I am leaning towards the Hippocrates 3 week eating plan/Ann Wigmore's diet. The Hippocrates Institute in Florida (and many other similar and cheaper clinics/retreat centres) have amazing results in helping people with diseases (especially cancer). I don't have the money to go to a clinic or the Institute. If I am to have any chance at achieving any results, I need to do it by myself. So I am making strides in that direction.
In other news, I have been somewhat more active, but I am so stiffled and frustrated by the fact that I am so stiff and swollen, in a lot of pain, and have little stamina to do anything whether it be physically or cognitively (even going out of the house is a major event for me).
One thing this journey so far has taught me is that whereas I thought it was all about my weight, it's actually very little about my weight and very much about my whole. That is to say that regardless of whether I weigh what I weigh now or slightly more or slightly less, if I am still this unwell, I am still going to be unhappy. Health is pretty much everything in this world and for so many years I have not had the blessing of healthiness... I am going to try to get it back or as much as I can.
Wish me luck!
I am about the same size in terms of measurements as when I last posted. Last week I started overhauling my eating. I am now eating a gradually increasing proportion of raw food (vegetables and fruits). I have always eaten some raw, but now I am aiming for about an average of 50 per cent raw per day. I haven't quite got there... some days I am probably doing that and others not so much.... I will have to start keeping note and tallying up to get a better idea of it. In the long-term, I would be happy with eating 60% raw.
Part of this decision comes from this: I am really conscious that in order to deal with my weight, I need to deal with my WHOLE body - holistically... I have been doing a lot of research into how I can facilitate this and I realised that I need to find a way to improve my overall health. I am leaning towards the Hippocrates 3 week eating plan/Ann Wigmore's diet. The Hippocrates Institute in Florida (and many other similar and cheaper clinics/retreat centres) have amazing results in helping people with diseases (especially cancer). I don't have the money to go to a clinic or the Institute. If I am to have any chance at achieving any results, I need to do it by myself. So I am making strides in that direction.
In other news, I have been somewhat more active, but I am so stiffled and frustrated by the fact that I am so stiff and swollen, in a lot of pain, and have little stamina to do anything whether it be physically or cognitively (even going out of the house is a major event for me).
One thing this journey so far has taught me is that whereas I thought it was all about my weight, it's actually very little about my weight and very much about my whole. That is to say that regardless of whether I weigh what I weigh now or slightly more or slightly less, if I am still this unwell, I am still going to be unhappy. Health is pretty much everything in this world and for so many years I have not had the blessing of healthiness... I am going to try to get it back or as much as I can.
Wish me luck!
Monday, 11 June 2012
Getting Active
Yesterday was an active day. Yay! I took my dog on a walk - and gave myself a blister in the process... not so yay - and...
I got out into the garden and did about 1.5 hours of gardening, which mainly consisted of pulling up and hacking off (trees) my nemsis: ivy. The day before I did a little 'taster session' where I cut a box bush into a ball... but the ivy really started to annoy me, so that was somewhat motivating to continue yesterday. Apparently this strenuous activity burnt between 400-500-ish calories. I'll take that! Anyway, there is plenty more ivy where that came from, but unfortunately, the weather has taken a turn for the worse and is TIPPING it down...
Boohoo!
The challenge for me this week = to log Monday to Friday. I have a 'housewarming' lunch to attend on Saturday and Sunday is Father's Day, which means homemade treats. I am under no illusions over the futility of trying to log those days; it's bad enough trying to log 'normal' days. Anyway, I have made a good start.
I got out into the garden and did about 1.5 hours of gardening, which mainly consisted of pulling up and hacking off (trees) my nemsis: ivy. The day before I did a little 'taster session' where I cut a box bush into a ball... but the ivy really started to annoy me, so that was somewhat motivating to continue yesterday. Apparently this strenuous activity burnt between 400-500-ish calories. I'll take that! Anyway, there is plenty more ivy where that came from, but unfortunately, the weather has taken a turn for the worse and is TIPPING it down...
Boohoo!
The challenge for me this week = to log Monday to Friday. I have a 'housewarming' lunch to attend on Saturday and Sunday is Father's Day, which means homemade treats. I am under no illusions over the futility of trying to log those days; it's bad enough trying to log 'normal' days. Anyway, I have made a good start.
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
This blog is real...
So I could lie and pretend all was well in the weight loss department.
The truth - Nope...
This is HARD. When I started my next phase, I forgot that this weekend (just gone) was a holiday that went on for 4 days. Holiday = holiday food. The result is more like this:
I am enjoying being honest. I have a diet buddy who I share my successes and failures with. I have found it cathartic to be honest with her when I am going wrong... e.g. yesterday when I ate 2 ice creams and today when I ate a cream cake. I have had so much guilt and shame over eating things I shouldn't in the past, that I have found being open about it when I am eating so-called bad foods (they are not bad, they are foods that are treats and should not constitute the largest part of your diet if you want to get all your nutrients) to be novel and take away some of those shameful feelings that I am bad, wrong, failing...
I went out today and bought a lot of fruit and vegetables. I am going to make some fresh juice tomorrow and on Thursday I hope to make a nice soup and have more juice... flush my system with some vitamins and minerals and get back on the wagon.
If anyone ever reads this blog, especially if the person reading is a person who has struggled with their weight, I want them to see reality... that this is hard, that it's not an automatic thing - e.g. you start 'dieting' and lose weight and this continues till you hit your target weight... some people do manage that and some people don't. If I wrote how amazing I was doing and there were no slip-ups or hard patches, I don't think I would really be dealing with my 'food issues'.
Anyway, I am still of the mindset that if I could get back to exercising it would definitely help offset where I am slipping up with my food. I have decided I am also going to focus on this. Anything is better than nothing right?
The truth - Nope...
This is HARD. When I started my next phase, I forgot that this weekend (just gone) was a holiday that went on for 4 days. Holiday = holiday food. The result is more like this:
I am enjoying being honest. I have a diet buddy who I share my successes and failures with. I have found it cathartic to be honest with her when I am going wrong... e.g. yesterday when I ate 2 ice creams and today when I ate a cream cake. I have had so much guilt and shame over eating things I shouldn't in the past, that I have found being open about it when I am eating so-called bad foods (they are not bad, they are foods that are treats and should not constitute the largest part of your diet if you want to get all your nutrients) to be novel and take away some of those shameful feelings that I am bad, wrong, failing...
I went out today and bought a lot of fruit and vegetables. I am going to make some fresh juice tomorrow and on Thursday I hope to make a nice soup and have more juice... flush my system with some vitamins and minerals and get back on the wagon.
If anyone ever reads this blog, especially if the person reading is a person who has struggled with their weight, I want them to see reality... that this is hard, that it's not an automatic thing - e.g. you start 'dieting' and lose weight and this continues till you hit your target weight... some people do manage that and some people don't. If I wrote how amazing I was doing and there were no slip-ups or hard patches, I don't think I would really be dealing with my 'food issues'.
Anyway, I am still of the mindset that if I could get back to exercising it would definitely help offset where I am slipping up with my food. I have decided I am also going to focus on this. Anything is better than nothing right?
Monday, 28 May 2012
Back to the land of logging...
So I am back!
I have decided to give this another shot. I don't know my current weight, but I do know my measurements. They are roughly the same as on the 3rd of May. That being said, I am guessing that I have probably put on between 1-5 pounds during my time off. I have no idea of the actual amount. My clothes are still loose; smallest jeans are still too big... so it can't be that bad.
I will weigh next Monday.
I already logged my breakfast. I shall be aiming for 1,200 to 1,400 again. I am hoping if I can keep this up for a couple of months at least, I can lose between 7-10 pounds. I would be pleased with that.
I do find the whole process frustrating. I realised a bit about myself during the time off:
I have decided to give this another shot. I don't know my current weight, but I do know my measurements. They are roughly the same as on the 3rd of May. That being said, I am guessing that I have probably put on between 1-5 pounds during my time off. I have no idea of the actual amount. My clothes are still loose; smallest jeans are still too big... so it can't be that bad.
I will weigh next Monday.
I already logged my breakfast. I shall be aiming for 1,200 to 1,400 again. I am hoping if I can keep this up for a couple of months at least, I can lose between 7-10 pounds. I would be pleased with that.
I do find the whole process frustrating. I realised a bit about myself during the time off:
- I enjoyed not being fixated on food
- I enjoyed eating a mixture of things - including fattening things I would normally not be able to eat on a 'diet'
- I tend to eat without thinking - this is still a big issue for me
- I tend to eat companionably - i.e. so-and-so is having one, so I will have one too... regardless of if I am hungry/need it or not
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
Relationship With Food - Feeling The Best I Have In Ages!
The decision to give up on this hyper-focus has probably been one of my better decisions of late. I am in the best place I have been regarding food for an extremely long time.
Talking about exercise, this is going to be my focus for a bit. I think I shall keep an eye on my calories and try to aim for around 1,600 on my higher days, but I am not going to sweat it and get all tangled up in labels and numbers. I really want to concentrate more of my efforts on getting this body moving. I remember earlier in the year I was really enjoying doing yoga and some TurboJam and ballet workouts and fun stuff like that. I lost my way a bit due to not feeling well and also concentrating so hard on the food aspect of this journey. I really need to figure out more of a balance if I can. So focusing on the exercise part is a good start. I did a walk yesterday with the dog. I did keep my walks up as much as possible, which wasn't all that much at times due to the weather, but I do feel I made an effort, which is more than I can say for other things.
My exercise plan is to get kick-started with something different. I don't fancy doing TurboJam for some reason (mainly all the jumping around) so I think it's time to dig out Leslie Sansone and start Walk Away The Pounds again. Most of Leslie's workouts that I have looked at are PERFECT for people who have joint and muscle problems or who are very overweight/unfit/deconditioned as they are not focused on leaping around so much. They usually have good modifications. In terms of movement they are more of a power-walk than a run. Yet, in the past I have found them incredibly useful for burning calories and increasing my stamina. I do have one that is a bit more intense because it is intervals of strength training mixed with cardio, but the rest seem okay. So I shall start with the 3 mile one and see how I get on.
- I am enjoying food
- I am eating what I feel I want
- I am not feeling bogged down by restrictions
- I am not going crazy & eating with abandon
Talking about exercise, this is going to be my focus for a bit. I think I shall keep an eye on my calories and try to aim for around 1,600 on my higher days, but I am not going to sweat it and get all tangled up in labels and numbers. I really want to concentrate more of my efforts on getting this body moving. I remember earlier in the year I was really enjoying doing yoga and some TurboJam and ballet workouts and fun stuff like that. I lost my way a bit due to not feeling well and also concentrating so hard on the food aspect of this journey. I really need to figure out more of a balance if I can. So focusing on the exercise part is a good start. I did a walk yesterday with the dog. I did keep my walks up as much as possible, which wasn't all that much at times due to the weather, but I do feel I made an effort, which is more than I can say for other things.
My exercise plan is to get kick-started with something different. I don't fancy doing TurboJam for some reason (mainly all the jumping around) so I think it's time to dig out Leslie Sansone and start Walk Away The Pounds again. Most of Leslie's workouts that I have looked at are PERFECT for people who have joint and muscle problems or who are very overweight/unfit/deconditioned as they are not focused on leaping around so much. They usually have good modifications. In terms of movement they are more of a power-walk than a run. Yet, in the past I have found them incredibly useful for burning calories and increasing my stamina. I do have one that is a bit more intense because it is intervals of strength training mixed with cardio, but the rest seem okay. So I shall start with the 3 mile one and see how I get on.
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