Day 320, 9/29/2011

My morning weight: 131.6 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✔

What I ate:

10:55 AM: breakfast quesadilla
3:30 PM and 8:15 PM: 1.5 cups spinach, 0.5 black beans, two hardboiled eggs, 10 yellow cherry tomatoes, 2/3 cup mushrooms, 2 tbsp Ranch dressing
9:25 PM: 1 can tuna fish, half an avocado, and 1 tbsp mayonnaise
10:40 PM: 2.1 oz Brie

Total nutrition data:

1417 g calories
94.9 g fat
61.3 g carbohydrates (30.2 g fiber, 8.6 g sugar)
93.5 g protein

Workout:

NRLW Stage 1 Workout A1

New Workout Routine - NRLW

I decided to shake up my workout routine to blast off fat at a faster rate.  I have been doing steady-state cardio and lifting light weights (though not in the past couple weeks because I've been sick) but I know this isn't the most efficient and effective use of my time.

I've decided to start following the heavy weight lifting program outlined in The New Rules of Lifting for Women by Lou Schuler (NRLW).  It's a pretty intensive program.  It's about six months of 3x/week workouts.  There are seven different stages!  The program shuns Barbie weights so I have to familiarize myself with the part of the weight room with barbells and heavy dumbbells.  Unfortunately I can't do the workouts in my home or apartment complex gym as I have been because of the equipment required, so I'm back at my university gym.  They actually renovated the weight room over the summer and there are all new machines and the layout was completely rearranged.

In addition to these weights workouts, I would like to do interval training.  I don't think I'm going to go for HIIT because the heavy weight lifting will require time for my muscles to recuperate and HIIT also needs recuperation time.  But I think I will try to do some interval training on my non-lifting days.  NRLW does prescribe interval training in some stages so I will use that as a guide.

I think an ideal week would consist of 3 weights workouts, 2-3 interval workouts, and 0-2 steady-state cardio workouts.  If I miss any days, the steady-state should be the first to go.

Day 319, 9/28/2011

My morning weight: 131.6 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✘
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✘

What I ate:

11:15 AM: 1.5 cups zucchini sauteed in 1 tbsp olive oil with 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese; two eggs

3:10 PM: 1.5 cups spinach, 0.5 cup black beans, 4 slices bacon, 8 yellow cherry tomatoes, 2 tbsp Ranch dressing
6:25 PM: 1 can tuna fish, half an avocado, and 1 tbsp mayonnaise
11:20 PM: 1 serving oatmeal with 2 tbsp peanut butter

Total nutrition data:

1564 g calories
101.2 g fat
79.4 g carbohydrates (25.4 g fiber, 13.2 g sugar)
87.4 g protein

Workout:

none

Day 318, 9/27/2011

My morning weight: 130.8 lbs

Objectives (not including pb binge):

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✘

What I ate:

9:30 AM: 1.5 cups zucchini sauteed in 1 tbsp olive oil with 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese; two eggs

1:45 PM: 1 cup slow cooker pork sausage, bean, and vegetable chili

6:25 PM: breakfast quesadilla
9:30 PM: 7 oz chicken breast cooked in 1 tbsp salsa; 15 raspberries
Once again, lots of peanut butter.  This time it tasted good and I actually wanted it, though.  Still ate way too much.

Total nutrition data (not including pb binge):

1303 g calories
76.0 g fat
62.0 g carbohydrates (25.8 g fiber, 10.5 g sugar)
105.5 g protein

Workout:

none

Day 317, 9/26/2011

My morning weight: 130.8 lbs

Objectives (not including pb binge):

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✘

What I ate:

8:45 AM: breakfast quesadilla

12:45 PM: 1 cup slow cooker pork sausage, bean, and vegetable chili

3:15 PM: two hardboiled eggs with 1 tbsp mayonnaise
3:40 PM: one serving roasted almonds
7:10 PM: 1.5 cups zucchini sauteed in 1 tbsp olive oil; one chicken breast cooked in 1 tbsp salsa
Then, lots of peanut butter.  I didn't even feel hungry, I just wanted to taste it.  It wasn't even that good.  I was just feeling sick and sorry for myself.

Total nutrition data (not including pb binge):

1488 g calories
96.9 g fat
63.5 g carbohydrates (27.0 g fiber, 10.3 g sugar)
106.2 g protein

Workout:

none

Day 316, 9/25/2011

My morning weight: 130.8 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✘

What I ate:

10:20 AM: 1 cup slow cooker pork sausage, bean, and vegetable chili
1:55 PM: breakfast quesadilla
7:15 PM: half an avocado and 1 can of tuna with 1 tbsp mayonnaise

9:30 PM: 3 cups spinach sauteed in 1 tbsp olive oil with garlic; fifteen raspberries
10:35 PM: 2.0 oz of Brie

Total nutrition data:

1468 g calories
100.4 g fat
68 g carbohydrates (34.4 g fiber, 6.3 g sugar)
90.7 g protein

Workout:

none

Day 315, 9/24/2011

My morning weight: 130.8 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✔

What I ate:

1:05 PM: breakfast quesadilla
5:40 PM: spinach salad - 1.5 cups spinach, 1/2 cup black beans, half an avocado, two hardboiled eggs, and 2 tbsp Ranch dressing
7:15 PM: 1 can of tuna and 1 tbsp mayonnaise

10:05 PM PM: fifteen raspberries and 2.1 oz of Brie

Total nutrition data:

1382 g calories
94.9 g fat
55.2 g carbohydrates (29.6 g fiber, 5.0 g sugar)
90.3 g protein

Workout:

I attempted some HIIT but it was, you know, REALLY FREAKING HARD.  So I only did 5 out of 20 planned intervals.  I sprinted for 15 seconds and jogged for 45 seconds.  Then when I gave up on that I jogged for 6 minutes.  When I got back to my apartment I did the 101WTWOWW 5-Minute Abs workout.

Day 314, 9/23/2011

My morning weight: 131.8 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✘
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✘

What I ate:

12:35 PM: 1 cup slow cooker pork sausage, bean, and vegetable chili
3:15 PM: spinach salad - 1.5 cups spinach, 1/2 cup black beans, half an avocado, a small tomato, and 2 tbsp Ranch dressing

5:30 PM: one chicken breast (7 oz) cooked in 1 tbsp salsa with 1/4 cup cheddar cheese

6:15 PM PM: fifteen raspberries and 2.2 oz of Brie

9:10 PM: two hardboiled eggs with 1 tbsp mayonnaise

Total nutrition data:

1586 g calories - not sure how I went over because I was looking at my numbers closely!
98.5 g fat
72.8 g carbohydrates (28.6 g fiber, 10.4 g sugar)
100.2 g protein

Workout:

none

Day 313, 9/22/2011

My morning weight: 133.0 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✘

What I ate:

11:25 AM: 1 cup slow cooker pork sausage, bean, and vegetable chili
12:45 PM: one smart-carb tortilla with one slice Havarti cheese

5:30 PM: 1 cup slow cooker pork sausage, bean, and vegetable chili

9:35 PM: one chicken breast (7 oz) cooked in 1 tbsp salsa with 1/4 cup cheddar cheese

10:00 PM: fifteen raspberries

10:10 PM: two hardboiled eggs with 1 tbsp mayonnaise

Total nutrition data:

1466 g calories
78.7 g fat
86.6 g carbohydrates (33.6 g fiber, 10.8 g sugar)
112.6 g protein

Workout:

none

Day 312, 9/21/2011

My morning weight: 134.0 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✘

What I ate:

11:00 AM: breakfast quesadilla with Havarti instead of cheddar
3:40 PM: half an avocado with a can of tuna and 1 tbsp mayonnaise
6:40 PM: 1/10 box of whole wheat linguine with 1/4 cup low-sugar pasta sauce
10:15 PM: 1.5 cups zucchini sauteed in 1 tbsp olive oil with 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
10:50 PM: 2 slices Havarti cheese

Total nutrition data:

1356 g calories
90.8 g fat
66.0 g carbohydrates (26.0 g fiber, 7.2 g sugar)
84.2 g protein

Workout:

none

Hand-Waving Over a Bad Period

Wow, it's been a while since my last update!  I have had a crazy month of traveling/doing stuff on weekends, which has made me exhausted for the weeks.  Instead of writing like 15 individual posts, I'm going to gloss over what's been going on.

While away from home, I tried to eat low-carb, which I did pretty successfully.  I ate 2-3 times per day instead of my usual 5ish, which meant I got pretty full during my meals.

While at home, I had many days where I overate on semi-on plan foods.  Peanut butter was a chief offender.  I also ate a bunch of Cheezits, Doritos, and tortilla chips on a few days when they were hanging around the house.  Those foods are ok because they contain very little sugar but not ok because they have a lot of carbs.  I basically just didn't care.  My weight didn't increase right away so I felt like I was getting away with something.

I didn't exercise much in the latter part of the month.  I got mildly sick for a few days so I didn't want to work out during that time.

I got up to 134.0 lbs on September 21, 2011, which was a real wake-up call.  After a few days eating on-plan I've gotten back down to my pre-September weight, more or less.  So not too much damage done except for time lost.

To get back on plan I had to remind myself why I'm trying to lose weight at all - namely, to not get Type II diabetes or gestational diabetes.  I also set a new vanity goal for myself - to be in a size 4 dress by the time my 50 Pounds in 50 Weeks project ends.  Maybe I'll even get to wear a sexy dress like this one!

Now that I'm back on the right track, I will post the details of my last few days since I actually have accurate food stats.

10 September 2011 - in Flagstaff, AZ

During My Labor Day Vacation

This is me over Labor Day weekend!  It's neither the most nor least flattering picture of me from that weekend.  You can see I still have a bit of a belly bulge.  I think it's really my butt and thighs that are lagging behind in the fat reduction process.

You may notice that the T-shirt I'm wearing in this pic and the T-shirt I'm wearing in the last one are the same.  I wear them on days when I want to look my best because they (and the third one I have in a different color) are among the best-fitting shirts I have.  Many of my shirts are tents now and make me look larger than I am!

Day 299, 9/8/2011

My morning weight: 130.8 lbs

Objectives:

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✔

What I ate:

8:40 AM: breakfast quesadilla
1:25 PM: 1 serving oatmeal with 2 tbsp peanut butter; 4 oz venison

4:40 PM: 2 hardboiled eggs and 1 tbsp mayonnaise
5:30 PM: 1 cup split pea soup
9:55 pm: 3 cups spinach sauteed in 1 tbsp olive oil with garlic
10:05 PM: five medium strawberries

Total nutrition data:

1458 g calories
86.5 g fat
87.0 g carbohydrates (31.7 g fiber, 13.4 g sugar)
102.8 g protein

Workout:

101WTWOWW 30-Minute Total Body Workout

Day 298, 9/7/2011

My morning weight: 130.8 lbs

Objectives (not including pb binge):

calorie range (1300-1500) ✘
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✘
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal)
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✔

What I ate:

8:30 AM: 1/2 serving oatmeal with 1 tbsp peanut butter; one hardboiled egg and 0.5 tbsp mayonnaise

1:00 PM: one hardboiled egg and 0.5 tbsp mayonnaise
2:55 PM: 1 cup split pea soup
5:50 PM: five medium strawberries
6:30 PM 4 oz grilled venison
10:10 PM: breakfast quesadilla
10:45 PM: lots of peanut butter

Total nutrition data (not including pb binge):

1118 g calories
63.0 g fat
64.0 g carbohydrates (24.7 g fiber, 11.4 g sugar)
92.8 g protein

Workout:

36 minute jog around campus

Day 297, 9/6/2011

My morning weight: 130.8 lbs

Objectives (not accounting for pb binge):

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✔

What I ate:

9:30 AM: 1/2 serving oatmeal with 1 tbsp peanut butter

12:50 PM: 1 cup split pea soup
2:30 PM: 1/4 cup walnuts
5:50 PM: smart-carb tortilla and 1/4 cup cheddar cheese

8:50 PM: 4 slices bacon; 1 cup zucchini sauteed in bacon grease

9:15 PM: five medium strawberries

9:25 PM: 6 oz grilled venison

10:45 PM: two hardboiled eggs with 1 tbsp mayonnaise

11:15 PM: lots of peanut butter

Total nutrition data (not accounting for pb binge):

1426 g calories
84.5 g fat
72.2 g carbohydrates (28.1 g fiber, 13.7 g sugar)
116.3 g protein

Workout:

101 Ways to Work Out with Weights 30-Minute Endomorph Workout

Days 293-296, 9/2-9/9/5

On Friday 9/2/2011 I woke up early to drive with my husband and immediate family to New York City, and we drove back basically all day on Monday 9/5/2011.  The weekend was very active!  We had the continental breakfast at our hotel and one or two additional meals each day.  We walked and stood a LOT, so even though I didn't have any official workouts I felt I had a high level  of physical engagement.

I tried to make low-carb choices while not strictly following the Belly Fat Cure.  I was surprised to find that I wasn't very hungry - on Saturday and Sunday I didn't even have a proper dinner and I didn't mind at all.  I think I may have been in a serious calorie defect for the weekend, although I may be underestimating the caloric content of the restaurant food I was eating.

Overall I think I did really well this weekend.  I wouldn't normally eat a white pita or a hot dog bun but I wasn't getting many carbs from elsewhere so I thought a limited amount would be okay.  I didn't eat nearly as many vegetables (and no fruit!) as I would like but it's rather scarcely available for the kinds of meals we were eating.

Friday 9/2/2011

breakfast, at my parents' house: two scrambled eggs, can of chicken noodle soup

snack, upon arrival in NYC: cashews

lunch, a Greek place: a gyro (ONLY a pita, lamb, and the sauce - mysteriously no vegetables or other toppings) and a small Greek salad (iceberg lettuce, tomato, cucumber, feta cheese)

9/2 lunch - my husband ate the second gyro and fries

dinner, a Mediterranean place: shrimp and vegetable casserole with lots of cheese (came with rice but I passed it off)

9/2 dinner

Saturday 9/3/2011

breakfast, our hotel: two omelets with cheese and ham in the center (fake eggs) with some slices of (again, fake) bacon, one package of plain instant oatmeal and approximately two tablespoons of peanut butter

9/3 breakfast - double the left plate

lunch, yet another Mediterranean restaurant: a large amount of Greek salad and 1/3 of an order of fried calamari

9/3 lunch - about 2.5 times this amount of salad

evening snack: walnuts and sunflower seeds

Sunday 9/4/2011

breakfast, our hotel: two hardboiled eggs, five sausage patties, one package of plain instant oatmeal and approximately two tablespoons of peanut butter, cream cheese

9/4 breakfast

I am extremely excited about my sausage.

lunch, a hot dog joint: three beef hot dogs each with a little chili and one hot dog bun

9/4 lunch - two of my three hot dogs and I only ate one bun

evening snack: cashews

Monday 9/5/2011

breakfast, our hotel: scrambled eggs (fake), few slices of bacon (fake), two hardboiled eggs, one package of plain instant oatmeal and approximately two tablespoons of peanut butter

9/5 breakfast - I didn't eat all the eggs or bacon

lunch, my parents' house: can of mushroom soup, three slices of ham and three slices of Swiss cheese

dinner, home: a smart-carb tortilla with 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, lots of peanut butter

Day 292, 9/1/2011

I didn't enter this day in my personal spreadsheet because it was a crazy day - I had a rare meeting with my boss and we were packing up to leave on our trip.  But I do remember what I ate (no workout).

Breakfast: 1 cup slow cooker chili

Lunch: 1 smart-carb tortilla with 1/4 cup cheddar cheese

Dinner: 1 cup slow cooker chili

Post-Dinner: lots of peanut butter

Late-Night Snack: a hunk of Parmesan cheese

Day 291, 8/31/2011

My morning weight: 130.4 lbs

Objectives (not accounting for pb binge):

calorie range (1300-1500) ✔
carbs (≤ 6 servings, ≤ 40 g/meal) ✔
fiber (≥ 25 g) ✔
sugar (≤ 15 g, ≤ 5 g/meal) ✔
4 water bottles ✔
workout ✔

What I ate:

9:05 AM: 1.5 cup zucchini sauteed in 1 tbsp olive oil
10:40 AM: 1/4 cup walnuts

12:40 PM: 1 cup of slow cooker chili

4:20 AM: 1 serving oatmeal with 2 tbsp peanut butter

9:40 PM: smart-carb tortilla and 1/4 cup cheddar cheese

9:55 PM: lots of peanut butter

Total nutrition data (not accounting for pb binge):

1254 g calories
81.1 g fat
96.5 g carbohydrates (33.2 g fiber, 12.7 g sugar)
53.9 g protein

Workout:

32 minute jog around campus

The Return of the Peanut Butter Monster

It's always a bad sign when a constantly-updating weight-loss blogger falls off the map, right?  It's almost always indicative of backsliding.

In my case, there have been two reasons for my absence.  First, I backslid with peanut butter.  I've been eating copious amounts of it late at night when I've been at home for about the last week.  Second, I went out of town for a few days and didn't have time to update (legitimate reason!).

I'm going to write individual daily posts for the days when I was at home and one post for the days when I was out of town.

As for my peanut butter problem...  Well, I'm exposing it to light now.  I'm hoping to get through the rest of the day without eating any more of it.  When I had this problem last time, I beat it back by only eating 1-2 tbsp of peanut butter per day and only in oatmeal.  I need to return to this strict habit.  It only took me four instances of eating non-measured "tablespoons" of peanut butter, in oatmeal or not, to get me to the point of eating it straight out of the jar.

Some nights I was really enjoying the taste of the peanut butter, but it would fade.  Some nights it was never there to begin with.  I just wanted the feeling of it in my mouth.  I don't think it's the worst thing ever to occasionally splurge on a certain food (especially one that is marginally on-plan) but my problem is that if I slip up once it seems that I go on a week-long tailspin of doing it every day.

So far this bingeing doesn't seem to be affecting my weight, but I'm concerned about a-few-days-down-the-road effects.  We'll see.  Maybe if I stop this now my weight loss will resume.