Grande Skinny Latte

Weekend Report

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:58:00 +0000

I'm going to admit that I didn't track what I ate this weekend. We went home to visit my Mom and Dad, attend the annual Oasis Players Dinner Theatre (coincidentally, the caterers were serving the same menu we will serve at our wedding, so we got to try it out. I believe that in fancy wedding circles, they call this a "tasting")

I watched what I ate and tried not to go overboard, and that'll have to do. It was a very busy weekend.

On the upside, I had my first dress fitting. I was worried that the dress I bought in November, that was too big then, might not fit anymore due to my few months of completely out of control overindulgence.

Good news! It fit! We worked with the seamstress to pin the bustle hooks (this will be complicated, Bridespeoples, brace yourself) and she's taking it in an inch on either side at the bustline, according to my measurements now. If in June, it's still too big, because I have become smaller, then we'll go smaller yet.

I can't wait to wear it! I felt really gorgeous, even with bad hair and pins sticking out in every direction.

Is this what it looks like? Perhaps yes. Perhaps no. You'll find out in July :)

Weigh-in

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:57:00 +0000

I took 56 rocks out of the jar this morning.

That's a lot of rocks!

I was down 5.6 lbs today, and I'm owning every single one of them. It feels great to be back on track.

But I'm Not at My Ideal Formal Wear Weight

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:02:00 +0000

I've talked about this before, a while ago. I've got a job that requires me to attend a number of "fabulous parties" every year. They are excellent parties and don't get me wrong - a lot of fun - but they can also be very stressful.

Particularly the "what do I wear?" issue.

I have a large stock of cocktail dresses I keep in my closet and rotate through for events. Most of them are black, most of them are at least 5 years old, and all of them are boring.

We have a big, big, BIG event at work next weekend, and I've just learned that not only will I be attending, I'll also be speaking on-camera to any media that attend.

I need to look awesome.

I've got two options - one is a sparkly red cocktail dress that is swishy and fun, but VERY loud. And maybe a bit matronly.

The other is aforementioned bridesmaid's dress that doesn't fit.

I don't really have the money to go buy a whole new outfit, nor do I want to buy a new party dress in the size I'm currently at, given that I hope to be minus forty-five pounds in the future.

So.

Double spanx it and wear the bridesmaid's dress, or risk looking like a rhino in a sparkly red gown next to the herd of tastefully sequined gazelles?

Sometimes, being a lady is really, really hard.

Roses for my Calendar

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:53:00 +0000

This is a familiar tactic, and one I've never stopped doing, but the tiny little star stickers I've been posting on my calendar on days that I work out aren't cutting it for me anymore.

For the month of February, every day that I go to the gym, I'll get one of these totally obnoxious glitter and rhinestone rose stickers on the calendar.

I picked the roses for two reasons - one, I'm a sucker for seasonal holidays (Turkeys in October, Shamrocks in March) and it's the cheesiest of all the holidays this month, but the second is more personal. The flowers I've chosen for my wedding bouquet are red roses.

Every time I see these gaudy, sparkly, fabulous stickers, I'll remember that vision, the goal I have of walking down the aisle, confident and feeling beautiful.

Tool: Tracking

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:07:00 +0000

I know that to make this weight loss work, and make it stick, I need to be accountable. And I know that I need to journal/track/write down what I'm eating.

I've used a lot of different methods over the years - the weight watchers system and their online tracker, pen and paper, even posting my daily food consumption on this blog.

This time I've decided to use SparkPeople, because it's free, it's online, and it's easy. It works with pretty much every diet system (except Weight Watchers, but it's essentially the same). I've used it before, and it has a recipe calculator, and the website is kind of fun to use.

I'm sure there are hundreds of options out there. I thought about going back to pen and paper, but for now, this is the best option for me.

What do you use to stay on track?

Starting from Scratch

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 03:40:00 +0000

I stepped on the scale at the gym on Friday night and scoffed. It must be broken, I thought. It's definitely not the same as the scale at home, I reassured myself.

And then on Saturday morning, I checked the scale at home - for the first time in several months - and surprise, surprise. The scale at the gym was bang on.

225.

That's almost right back where I started in 2010.

Utterly depressing, right?

Well, yes. And, no.

I'm all for a fresh start. I've had dozens of fresh starts. But I sort of reassured myself when I fell off the wagon, knowing that I'd "maintained" my weight loss for over a year.

I've stopped maintaining, and put on about 10 pounds since October. That's a wakeup call that I definitely needed, knowing that I can't eat whatever I want and stay the same weight - even if it was a weight I wasn't exactly happy with.

So instead of getting depressed and heading for the chips, I've decided it's time to get real with my bad self.

I got dressed and headed out to Michael's to pick up a few things I'd need to motivate myself.

This is the first tool I'll be using. I got the idea from my friend Carmen, who got the idea from here.

Inside this glass container are 450 rocks. I know, I counted them each individually. Each rock represents a tenth of a pound - so 45 pounds. Every week, I'll remove from the jar the appropriate number of rocks - if I lose .40 of a pound, I'll take out 4 rocks. If I'm down 5 lbs (hahahaha) I'll take 50 out of the jar. And then, one day, that jar will be empty.

Something I've always had trouble with is the notion that smaller losses are just as good as larger ones - because they're more sustainable. If I'd lost even .2 pound/week for a year, I would have lost 10 pounds, not put them back on.

So this tool is going to serve to remind me of that fact. It's sitting in my living room right now, but it's going to move around. Maybe the dining room. Maybe the kitchen counter. Maybe the bathroom. Wherever I need to see it, to be reminded of my goals.

I've got a few other tools that I'll be using to get on track and stay motivated, so check back later this week. I can't WAIT to share good news with you :)

photos

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:08:00 +0000

The internet is not a very nice place sometimes. And I've been really fortunate to not actually experience this first-hand. I don't have any snarky commentors, and I'm really grateful for that.

I was on a website recently, looking for some shapewear to wear under my wedding gown. Shapewar is awesome. It smoothes out everything and thank god for it. But anyway, I was poking around, looking at photos and reviews, when I came across a "vision board" that someone had made, that was basically a collage of plus sized brides on one side (faces cropped out) and much slimmer brides on the other side. One set was under a heading that read something like "How I probably look now, gross" and the other set had a "motivation!" headline.

You can guess which set of photos went with which headline, right?

It broke my heart. It hurt so much to think that somewhere out there, someone might be looking at photos of me and filing them under a "gross, stop eating or you'll look like this! FAT BRIDE!" file.

But I do it to myself all the time. I have a photo of myself in a bathing suit when I was 20 pounds heavier that I look at sometimes when I'm craving nachos. I think, "gross, don't want to look like that! Ewww." and then feel quite satisifed that I've resisted temptation.

How is that ok? Running through the scenario casting the words I say to myself in the mouth of someone else makes me want to die. The hot shame, the pain, the feeling of choking back tears. I'd never say something like that to someone else.

But I say those things to myself and believe them ALL THE TIME.

I don't know where I'm going with this. We're all beautiful. I couldn't believe that someone would actually say/write those things about gorgeous women on one of the days when they are told to be, and are actively trying to be, their most attractive. It's an important day, a memorable day, a vulnerable day.

But I can't decide if it's more appauling that I might say those things about myself.

I am still sick.

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:39:00 +0000

This is the longest I've been sick in a very long time. Last week was spent moving from bed to couch to office and back to bed. Tonight I have plans to head to the gym, but only if I'm still feeling ok. Given the number of people there, it seems like perfect germ breeding and spreading conditions, and even I'm not that cruel.

Under the weather

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:26:00 +0000

Friday night we were super exciting people without children or responsibilities and hit the gym. Ah, Fridays at the gym - quiet, spacious, undisturbed workout time, even in the midst of the resolution rush.

We had plans to do the same on Saturday morning, but when Gary and I woke up, he was feeling very stiff and quite sore in his leg, and I was feeling like I'd caught the cold Gary nursed all of last week.

So, instead, we went for breakfast and then I met a friend for coffee. Gary hung out with his friends and I made dinner for my brother - pure comfort food, sausage and perogies sent back to us from Grandma's - and then I spent Saturday night and most of Sunday on the couch, consuming cough drops and watching Downton Abbey.

My fingers are crossed that I'll be feeling better tomorrow. I'm really hoping to get to the gym 5 times (yikes!) this week, but it's very hard to get motivated when you feel like your head is full of fluff and the couch is calling your name.

What's your go-to workout for days when you're feeling a bit sick? Or do you scrap the workout and call it a rest day? I'm not sure I deserve any rest quite yet - you kind of have to do some real work first, don't you?

Lunch at My Desk

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:39:00 +0000

This is my lunch today. Half a chicken breast that I baked in the oven, leftover from dinner on Wednesday, with spinach, a few walnuts, and a handful of raspberries and blackberries. Top it with a tiny bit of calorie wise balsamic vinaigrette, and it's pretty tasty!

Hello, Old Friend

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 03:17:00 +0000

I spent some time with an old, trusted friend today - the elliptical machine at the gym.

The gym was, as you can expect for the first week of January - totally packed. But it was a pleasant surprise to see that the gym has replaced a lot of their equipment, and added several more cardio machines. That's great, because finding a treadmill or bike can sometimes be really challenging during peak hours.

I refrained from commenting on the "new machines" in case they were actually brought in sometime in early November, which, to my estimation, is the last time I set foot in there.

yikes.

But it felt good to reconnect with my old pal, who tonight, I shall call Elly. I'm not a fan of giving names or genders to inanimate objects, however, so I wouldn't really expect to see the name stick.

Have you made it back to the gym? Did you go through the holidays when it was dead and are grumbly about the influx of new blood, or does it excite you to see so many new, fresh, dedicated faces?

Embarassed, Disappointed, Ashamed

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:19:00 +0000

Those are three words that describe how I feel about my diet and fitness efforts lately, and generally about myself.

In late September, I was in a wedding. This is the picture. I'm the girl on the left at the end. Nice dress, right?

Well, I figured I'd wear it for my company Christmas party in the middle of December, two and a half months later.

Except it didn't fit.

My dear fiance, Gary, was kind enough to spend 10 mintues with me trying to get the zipper up in the back. Of course it fits. Don't be ridiculous - I just wore it! is what I was thinking.

Finally, the zipper was up but the dress was bunching in the back, obviously too small. I bit back tears as Gary told me that it didn't matter, I was lovely, why don't I put on the black dress I wore the weekend before?

He loves that black dress. I wore it when we got engaged.

I hate it. It's a safety dress. It's black stretch jersey, draped in front, and hides a multitude of sins - and big fluctuations in waist size.

That day I added mortified to the list of words that describe how I feel about my body. And I sat around for the rest of the month, shoving whatever I wanted into my mouth and not going to the gym - because what's the point? I am fat.

Then today, I woke up, and after I blinked back my hangover, I realized that I don't want this to happen on my wedding day. I don't want this to happen on any day, ever again.

I'm tired of being embarassed and hiding in well-cut drapey dresses. I'm tired of putting the jeans that make my butt look awesome in the back of the closet because I've gained a bit too much weight to pull them off. I'm tired of looking at photos and thinking they should be titled, God, Look at How Fat My Arms Look.

I'm tired, and feeling quite depressed about it. I want to be done with wallowing and just DO it already, dang it.

Anyone else with me?

In Arizona

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:17:00 +0000

I've been in Phoenix this week, visiting my snowbird parents. It's been lovely. I packed my gym clothes and sneakers and thought I'd get a good amount of time in at the gym, but to my surprise, this vacation has been anything but lounging by the pool and reading books. We've been up and on the road sight-seeing, going to potlucks and jam sessions and to ghost towns. There hasn't been a ton of time for running, but I'll pick it back up when I get back to snowy, frozen Calgary.

I haven't necessarily been eating the most diet-friendly foods, either. But I'm trying to remember to stop eating when I'm satisfied, not over-stuffed. The portion sizes I've encountered are ENORMOUS, so it's important to remember that I don't have to eat the whole thing.

I've got a few more days here, and then it's back to reality, and the pre-Christmas blitz of parties and sweets and speciality seasonal coffees. What's your strategy this year for dealing with the holiday temptations? One bite? Total willpower? Or swearing to starting again in January?

How do you eat an elephant?

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 01:50:00 +0000

It's an old joke, I know. But obviously it's still around for a reason.

I made it to the gym four times this week - Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. I completed Week Two of the Couch25K program. I tried to remember some old tricks, like drinking tea instead of hitting the vending machine for an afternoon snack.

But this is the big breakthrough for this week - reminding myslf that if it's not really that good, don't eat the rest of it.

I think a lot of us were raised not to waste food. My mom and dad weren't enforces of a "clean plate club" but I do recall offering to box up my leftover pork chop and peas and carrots for the starving children of Ethiopia. They can have it! I don't want it!

Eating until I'm satisfied and then stopping is really hard for me. Even, disturbingly, when I'm eating something isn't that great. So it was a pretty big deal for me when multiple times this week, I pushed my plate away because I was either no longer hungry, or not really and truly enjoying what I was eating.

Portion control is one of my next goals - I've got to get my portions back in check. They've inflated again, and that's a great step to getting my diet back on track.

So back to that elephant - I'll get there. One bite at a time.

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:18:00 +0000

It occurred to me the other day, on one of my increasingly infrequent trips to the gym, that the towels provided by my health club are getting smaller.

Or, as I stood there, trying to decide if I wanted to cover my top half or my bottom, or conversely, my front half or my backside - I realized that maybe it's me, getting larger.

Crap.

I went wedding dress shopping. Turns out it was an AWESOME experience, and lots of dresses fit, and there were no tears. Even if I don't lose a single pound, I will find a gown that I love that makes me look and feel absolutely beautiful.

But apparently using that as an excuse to eat cheetos and watch The Vampire Diaires is wearing a little thin.

So I'm trying again. I'm back at the gym, dipping my toes in the water, back attempting to do Couch25K AGAIN, because my life motto appears to be borrowed from my most despised playwright, Samuel Beckett.

"Ever tried, ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better."

Every year for the past 3 years, I have attempted to write a 50,000 word novel in November, and once in August. I've never gotten there, but each time I learn something. I get closer and closer to finding characters that work, writing habits that fit, tools that help me get to my goal. I don't beat myself up - well, sometimes I read what I've written and throw myself across my chaise and bemoan the fact that I hate every word, but what I mean is - I can identify that what I've done here is a good start, but there are some problems and it needs polishing, and hey - next time I'll know better.

But when it comes to trying to lose weight, every 'failed attempt', every false start, every time I don't achieve success as I've definied it, I feel like I get further and further away from every achieving my goals.

So. Here are my goals, for the immediate short term:

Run 3 times a week.

Drink more water, fewer lattes with whipped cream.

Pack my lunch and stay away from the pastry counter.

Report back.

Day 14

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 02:57:00 +0000

The past few days have come and gone with relative ease. No big splurges planned this weekend, and I resisted the few that the little voice in my head tried to talk me into.

This is a really easy diet to follow. But it's a really hard diet. Does that make sense? It's simple. There are no weird juices to drink at specific times, with the exception of the hot lemon water in the morning. There are no bizarre restrictions like "no citrus on Day 3 and 11" and once you've figured out a few breakfast, lunch and dinner options that work for you, you can repeat them.

But at the same time, it's the same food. Over and over. If you thrive on variety, you can mix it up with different seasoning blends, or maybe even take some new veggies for a spin, you wild child, you. But basically, I eat eggs, mushrooms, peppers, lettuce, cucumber, carrots, chicken breast, turkey breast, fish, yogurt and fruit. There's only so much you can do with salsa, trust me. When I get to the point of trying to add it to my yogurt? Someone stop me.

17 Days is simultaneously a really short time commitment and an eternity. My craving for peanut butter toast? Still nagging away in the background.

I'm getting really sick of grilled chicken breast and salad. And baked fish and vegetables. But I really do like the way I feel - energetic, lighter, even "thinner" if that makes sense. I don't look any different, but I feel stronger. I think it's worth it.

I've got three days left, and then on Thursday it's on to Cycle 2. I'm down another 1.5 lbs, to make 8.5 lbs total. That's more than half-way to the goal I set for myself for September.

Day 10

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 21:16:00 +0000

Our internet is out at home for the week so I haven't been able to update.

This diet is actually getting easier. I am still craving toast with peanut butter and I don't think that will ever go away, but it is not as hard to look forward to my salad with protein for lunch. I'm also not starving before dinner.

I weighed myself on Monday and I was down 5 lbs. This morning, I've seen the scale move an additional 2, for a total of 7 lbs lost in 10 days. Obviously I'm not expecting this rate to continue, but it's nice to get a headstart, is it not?

I'd like to be at 15 lbs lost by Labour Day, which I feel is a reasonable goal. I've got 7 more days on Cycle One, and then I can move on to Cycle Two and two servings of glorious starch. Oh, legumes. Lentils. Beans. Corn on the cob. I'm very excited about it.

Celebrations

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 20:32:00 +0000

Yesterday I went to the wedding of a former coworker and good friend, and then love of her life. It was a blast.

Gary and I before the ceremony.

I definitely did not stick to the 17 Day Diet guidelines. But I hadn't planned to.

In the morning, Gary and I got up and went for lunch at the bakery down the street. Baked goods and cheese are my favourite treats, and this place was heaven. Gary ordered a delicious looking salami and havarti sandwich and this incredible red pepper soup; I deliberated for quite awhile before making my selection.

I had already planned to eat whatever was served at the wedding and enjoy it. Since I was taking the day "off" anyway, would it hurt? I might as well have a sandwich with cheese on a fresh bakery bun, and throw in some sweets to top it off.

But I didn't. I planned for one evening off the diet, not one day. I knew that if I splurged, I'd regret it, feel depressed and then I'd give myself an excuse to keep eating whatever I wanted.

I've worked really hard for a week, why throw that all away?

So I ordered a garden salad with buffalo seasoned chicken breast. Honestly, guys, it was amazing. One of the freshest, tastiest salads I've had from a deli EVER. It was completely satisfying.

At the wedding, I had 3 or 4 glasses of wine (over the course of the day), some cheese and crackers, and at dinner then I ate until I was satisfied, not full. The prime rib roast and yorkshire pudding was really good, and the carrots and asparagus were also pretty tasty. I enjoyed the cheesecake dessert and a wedding cupcake.

My one regret is the midnight lunch bun with salami and cheese. I should have skipped it. I felt quite sick when we got home, and given that I stopped drinking and started dancing so I could drive us home, I think it was the rich food.

Today I'm right back at it. I did have a tiny piece of the lemon cake Gary bought at the bakery, but I own that choice. Tonight's dinner is cod with cajun seasoning and green beans. I've had yogurt and fruit and a ton of water, and my meals are planned for the entire week.

Celebrating with friends is important, and part of the great joy of life. But I'm trying to remember that a celebration isn't an excuse to fall off the rails entirely, because getting back up hurts more than giving up that second piece of dessert!

Day 4 & 5

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 21:11:00 +0000

Day 4 wasn't a walk in the park by any means. 17 days is staring to feel like a very, very long time.

My lunch was really disappointing, and I threw most of it out. I had a super stressful day at work, and I was craving toast with peanut butter like no tomorrow. Not fries, not chips, not candy or even a cookie - wheat toast.

I did cheat at my book club meeting, where I had about half an apple, a handful of edamame beans and 3 mini quiches.

The fact that I "cheated" by eating veggies and fruit is both hilarious and disturbing to me :)

Breakfast: smoothie with protein powder, berries, yogurt
Lunch: 1 can tuna on salad greens with cucumbers (too fishy)
Snack: Carrots, cherries
Dinner: Eggs with mushrooms, peppers, spinach and salsa

Today is easier.

I'm not at work today, so I'm hanging out at home, working on a writing project. I usually snack when I'm at home, grazing on little bites instead of eating proper meals, but today I actively did the opposite.

B: 1 apple (slept in), coffee
L: Large salad with half a red pepper, tomatoes, turkey breast and salsa
Snack: Cherries, yogurt, carrots
Dinner: "Key West" chicken - recipe to come if it's any good - and salad.
Snack: yogurt

Tomorrow I'm attending a wedding and have decided to let myself eat whatever is served at dinner - within reason. I'll do my best to make good choices.

I'll also have a glass of wine, or two.

It might be cheating, but one meal out of 17 days is not going to kill me - and if it does, then I guess I'll just be following it for longer.

Starbucks Bistro Boxes

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 20:40:00 +0000

Ok, so I'm not currently eating these, but how delicious do they look?

Starbucks recently launched these new Bistro Boxes. From what I understand, they are all under 500 calories. I'm a fan of the Protein Plate option at Starbucks when I need a light lunch or a bit of a heartier snack, so I'm delighted to see them and can't wait to try them out. In a few weeks. When I can have starchy things again. Like, maybe 4.

But until I can buy one, it really got me thinking about how I could make my own lunch more appealing, at least visually. I could roll up some turkey breast meat, make a little container for my salsas, cut my veggies neatly, arrange it all in a box. I'd look forward to that, instead of just a tupperware filled with some lettuce and chicken I threw in haphazardly.

Do you make 'pretty' meals for yourself?

Starbucks did not pay me for this. In fact, I paid them by visiting the location closest to me not once, but twice yesterday.

Mediterraneans Abandon Their Famous Diet

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 20:06:00 +0000

I came across this article this morning and thought it was fascinating.

The Mediterranean diet gets a lot of attention, and I have to admit, I can understand why - it's a delicious and healthy way to eat, and it makes sense. It's sad to see that obesity is rapidly becoming a universal epidemic.

The comment about diets becoming meat-heavy when income goes up is also interesting. On the flip side, the article seems to indicate that lower-income communities are seeing a decrease in the amount of fresh vegetables and fish that characterize a Mediterranean diet. It seems you can't win for losing.

McCuisine is going to be the death of us all, I think.

Tortilla Chips, Redux

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:25:00 +0000

C1D3 (cycle 1, day 3) was full of challenges.

I spent the afternoon at a Stampede BBQ hosted by one of our media partners. It's the biggest party we get invited to every year, and the food is AWESOME. Free burgers, hotdogs, smokies, cookies, ice cream, chips, candy...and booze. All the free booze in the world, apparently.

I took a little baggie of turkey breast strips and filled my plate with raw veggies, and sipped a diet coke. Oh, diet coke, my delicious nemesis. But in the grand scheme of things, if it kept me from diving headfirst into a tray of smokies, then so be it.

After the party, where I was oh-so-well-behaved, I met up with Gary and a friend of ours and we hit a patio for dinner. The restaurant?

My favourite mexican restaurant.

I almost died. Seriously. But I tried, very hard, to make the best choices I could. Water instead of margaritas. A salad with chicken instead of nine hundred tacos. 4 tortilla chips (this appears to be the magic number) instead of an entire basket.

The salad had cheese on it, but I tried my best to eat around it. I'm sure the chicken, which was shredded and in a sauce, wasn't exactly strictly diet friendly, but it was delicious. And I only ate half of it, stopping when I was satisfied, not full.

I'm proud of myself. And today, I'm not sitting here wishing that I'd eaten a smokie. The food will always be there.

Breafast: smoothie made with protein powder, yogurt, 1 cup frozen berries, water.
Lunch: 3 cups romaine lettuce, 1 cup ground turkey, salsa
Snack: 1 cup plain yogurt with mixed berries
Snack: raw veggies
Dinner: salad with chicken, veggies, hot sauce

Day 2: When Tortilla Chips Attack

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 03:55:00 +0000

Today was good and bad, in waves. I had a great breakfast that filled me up until lunch, which I took at 1:00. I was definitely hungry by that point.

I felt light-headed and distracted all afternoon, and then this evening I'm feeling great again. I need to start packing some kind of protein-based snack for the mid-afternoons, maybe a hard-boiled egg or some chicken breast.

Breakfast: 2 eggs scrambled with mushrooms and half a bell pepper, lemon water, coffee.
Snack (mid-morning): 1 cup cherries
Lunch 1: 1 cup plain yogurt with 1 cup blueberries, 1 cup carrots
Lunch 2 (at 3:00): 3 cups romaine, 1/2 bell pepper, turkey breast, balsamic dressing, 1/2 cup yogurt.
Dinner: 1 cup ground turkey with taco seasoning, 3 cups romaine lettuce, 1 tbs mozzarella cheese (technically you're supposed to use fat-free cheese as a condiment, but part-skim is the closest one can get, and it was a tiny bit), 4 multigrain tortilla chips.

Drinks - 3.5 L water, 1 cup earl grey tea

Yes, I caved and had 4 of the mini tortilla chips. They were on the table for Gary's salad, but I LOOOVE multigrain tostitos and couldn't resist. But I did stop at 4, a far cry from inhaling half a bag. Plus, he's put them away somewhere and I don't know where - not that I advocate hiding food, but if I don't know what cupboard they are in, I'm less likely to head there mindlessly.

I think I did great today. I did daydream of toast for an embarrassingly long time this afternoon, but I did learn that I will not die if I skip my afternoon cookie.

In fact, as my friend Dana said - I'm probably more likely to die if I DO have a cookie every single afternoon. Being overweight, and all its associated health risks, is a real killer. ;)

The 17 Day Diet

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:48:00 +0000

Maybe I should do a quick run-down of what, exactly, the diet plan I'm following entails.

When I first heard about The 17 Day Diet, I thought 'Gimmick!' because making claims of losing all the weight you want in 17 days is preposterous.

But then I read a little bit more about it, and coupled with a growing sense of panic (that wedding is only two months away...) and despair (why can't I make this calorie counting stick?!) I thought, why not?

I read the book, and while a few things stood out as a bit gimmicky, it seemed to make sense. It seemed do-able, and realistic, and maybe even something that could lead to a change in the way I approach food permanently.

The diet breaks down into four 17-day cycles. That's where the title comes from - it's not 'lose everything in 17 days!' as I had assumed.

The first cycle (Accelerate) is what the author calls a detox. I don't necessarily believe in the concept of 'detoxing' but fine. For 17 days, you eat reasonable but unlimited portions of specific proteins - salmon, tilapia, sole, tuna, chicken breast, turkey breast, eggs. You focus on 'cleansing vegetables' and consume them in unlimited amounts. The list is pretty extensive, and includes broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc.

My new best friends! image credit

You get two fruit servings every day (low-sugar fruits to be eaten before 2pm) and you are to consume two servings of probiotics, in the form of yogurt, cultured milk or cottage cheese, kimchi, kefir, etc.

There are no starches included in the first cycle. This is probably the hardest part for most of us - no starchy vegetables, beans, legumes, not to mention grains. Also, no dairy aside from the yogurt.

The good news is that it doesn't last for long. In just over two weeks, you move on to a different cycle that alternates between eating like in Cycle 1 and days where you can add a whole schwack of foods, including red meats and starches.

Cycle 3 adds even more food, like booze. And ice cream.

Two weeks isn't a long time. Plus, no matter what diet plan I'm following, be it Weight Watchers or counting calories or a diet plan laid out by a magazine, I tend to binge on grain-based carbohydrates. Late night snacks of toast with margarine? Rice with butter? Pretty much anything I can find? Yep. Guilty. If I know that I can't have them, that might be enough to make me stop. Because even whole-grain toast with butter that I convince myself is healthy, isn't exactly the best snack, when you have three pieces every night.

You can repeat the cycles until you've reached your goal, and then it's on to Cycle 4where you eat 'clean' through the week and have treat meals on weekends. This is something I admire, the ability to eat what you want 20% of the time, and eat clean 80% of the time.

I've always been interested in the whole clean-eating movement, but giving up processed foods is hard for me. This method of phased adjustments to your diet might be the key - because honestly. Two weeks. Not that long, is it?

The 17 Day Diet: Cycle One, Day One

noreply@blogger.com (Meg) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:56:00 +0000

Day One shook down like this.

6:20 AM - Wake up.
6:25 - hot water with lemon juice. I was surprised by how disgusting this was. I like lemon water, and I often drink it at room temperature. But hot was entirely different. I choked it down, however, and moved on to a breakfast of 2 eggs that I scrambled with sliced fresh mushrooms and some baby spinach, topped off with a scoop of salsa. I also had a big glass of water and a cup of coffee, with a splash of skim milk (not technically allowed) and some splenda (also not technically allowed, but Truvia/Stevia makes me quite ill and I had it, so I used it.)

Thoughts: this breakfast was delicious. Fast, filling, spicy. I need a new, smaller non-stick frying pan because the giant stainless steel skillet isn't the greatest for frying eggs. So far, so good.

9:00 AM - Green tea. I don't love green tea. It makes me feel queasy, and sometimes I actually think I might throw up. But the book recommends it with every meal, so I subbed out my coffee for a cup of green Zen tea at Starbucks. It was quite soothing on my sore throat, but sure enough, after about an hour I felt nauseated.

9:00 - 5:00 - lots of water. Plain, cold water. About 3 L of it.

10:30 AM - 1/2 cup yogurt. I was starting to feel hungry so I had half of my morning snack.

11:30 AM - 1 apple. The other half of my morning snack.

1:00 PM - Salad made of lettuce and baby spinach, cucumber and cherry tomatoes, with turkey breast. Really could have used some dressing of some sort, and I'm not a dressing fan. I will be adding salsa or oil and vinegar to this tomorrow. I also had a serving of cherries, which I don't think are technically a "low sugar fruit" but they were in the fridge and I didn't want them to go bad. Cherries are expensive!

3:00 PM - 1/2 cup yogurt.

4:30 PM - baby carrots. I'm hoping that this will hold me over at the gym and until dinner tonight. So far, I'm feeling pretty good. Visions of cookies dance in my head, but I drown them with water. I am powerful. I can do this. I can do anything for 17 days. I keep repeating that to myself.

5:30 PM - 45 minute elliptical workout. Very, very hard - by the last 5 minutes I was holding on to the handrails for dear life. But I finished it!

7:00 PM - More water and 1 tbs natural peanut butter. Verboten. I was starving and felt like I was about to keel over, so I needed something quick. I figured this was the lesser of all the evils in the cupboard (which includes a Skor bar, wtf! Why did I buy it?)

7:45 PM - Salmon with lemon pepper seasoning, roasted cauliflower, green salad. I was absolutely famished by the time dinner rolled around. Note to self: eat a larger snack later in the afternoon. Eating dinner earlier isn't likely because of the time we go to the gym, but I will have to find some way to re-schedule my meals so I am not left with a growling stomach and light head.

After eating, I felt a bit uncomfortable and bloated. Which is weird, given the amount of water I had consumed, but I guess I did eat a big plate of cauliflower which can cause, er, fun for the digestion sometimes.

Overall, it was a pretty good day. I was only *hungry* in the evening before dinner, and my cravings for sugary, processed baked goods wasn't too bad in the afternoon when it is usually my downfall.