Sometimes, things are just too hectic to routinely keep a blog updated.
I'm happy to say I've walked four times this week. We did, on Thursday, have a terrible, terrible day. (Really, really awful.) So we not only ate at Red Robin (gasp) but also ordered pizza that night. (I got a personal pizza so there wouldn't be leftovers.) Overall, though, I'm still ahead of the curve. Though I think that fast food may have had too much sodium in it to be good for weight loss. It'll work its way out of my system soon enough. Lots of water!
I hope you guys are doing well in your own efforts!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Day 7
Okay, I know I don't have much of a life. One of the things about fatigue is it keeps me homebound and, thus, internet addicted. But I would really love to hear from everyone about how things are going. (Maybe after the weekend will be easier, since you'll be sitting in an office anyway?)
Apparently I lost the least weight, which is probably to be expected. Frankly, one pound was just a guess. Despite weighing in at 203.5 on Monday morning, the rest of the weigh-ins (I had been doing one first thing and another later at night to check scale continuity) had me around 202. then down to 201. And while I would love to believe that I magically lost 1.5 lbs between Monday morning and night (and then kept it off the rest of the week, plus lost another lb) I figured I'd better play fair and readjust my starting weight to 202. So at 201 I'm going strong. And getting more psyched about this competition.
Point is we're TIED FOR SECOND! (Or, at least, we will be when Baker checks his math and notices that 3.5+1+1.5+1+2 = 9 and not 6)
Also, please see the comments of the weekly update for helpful hints about our getting ahead! Or, ya know, we could just focus on our own weight loss.
I'll shoot for 1.5 lbs this week!
Getting leaner by the moment,
Abby
Apparently I lost the least weight, which is probably to be expected. Frankly, one pound was just a guess. Despite weighing in at 203.5 on Monday morning, the rest of the weigh-ins (I had been doing one first thing and another later at night to check scale continuity) had me around 202. then down to 201. And while I would love to believe that I magically lost 1.5 lbs between Monday morning and night (and then kept it off the rest of the week, plus lost another lb) I figured I'd better play fair and readjust my starting weight to 202. So at 201 I'm going strong. And getting more psyched about this competition.
Point is we're TIED FOR SECOND! (Or, at least, we will be when Baker checks his math and notices that 3.5+1+1.5+1+2 = 9 and not 6)
Also, please see the comments of the weekly update for helpful hints about our getting ahead! Or, ya know, we could just focus on our own weight loss.
I'll shoot for 1.5 lbs this week!
Getting leaner by the moment,
Abby
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Day 6 already?
Yeesh, that means we're 1/10 of the way through the challenge! Appropriately, I've lost a pound (woot woot!) so I guess I'm on track.
I walked the last two days and kept my calories under 1800. I'm finding the main challenges are:
1. Remembering to take my Alli. (You can take it up to an hour afterward. I tend to remember around 1.5 hrs later. So now I try to take it right before I start to eat.)
2. Making myself leave the computer (work/blog) and go get to my walk. But I'm finding the walk itself very nice. Energetic, but not completely draining. Yesterday, I walked for 22 minutes, so I may just make my way up to 30 at some point. Who knows?
How's everyone else doing?
Frankly, maybe I've been disabled too long, but I'm a little concerned about Brad and Dave's weight loss goals. 2 lbs/week is tenable, if somewhat difficult -- so long as Dave doesn't slip at ALL he could do it. Plus you men have your annoyingly high metabolisms. You sneeze and lose weight. Bastards.
But Brad, 30 lbs in 8 weeks is a lot to work for. Clearly you have some good impetus -- you have a son to go hiking with. I guess I'm just wondering what your overall plan is. I'm not saying you can't do it. I am just curious how you're going about it.
I definitely would like to lose AT LEAST 25 lbs, but given my obvious restrictions, I had to shoot for 10 lbs for now. And after this, I'll try to do another 10, I suppose.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
I walked the last two days and kept my calories under 1800. I'm finding the main challenges are:
1. Remembering to take my Alli. (You can take it up to an hour afterward. I tend to remember around 1.5 hrs later. So now I try to take it right before I start to eat.)
2. Making myself leave the computer (work/blog) and go get to my walk. But I'm finding the walk itself very nice. Energetic, but not completely draining. Yesterday, I walked for 22 minutes, so I may just make my way up to 30 at some point. Who knows?
How's everyone else doing?
Frankly, maybe I've been disabled too long, but I'm a little concerned about Brad and Dave's weight loss goals. 2 lbs/week is tenable, if somewhat difficult -- so long as Dave doesn't slip at ALL he could do it. Plus you men have your annoyingly high metabolisms. You sneeze and lose weight. Bastards.
But Brad, 30 lbs in 8 weeks is a lot to work for. Clearly you have some good impetus -- you have a son to go hiking with. I guess I'm just wondering what your overall plan is. I'm not saying you can't do it. I am just curious how you're going about it.
I definitely would like to lose AT LEAST 25 lbs, but given my obvious restrictions, I had to shoot for 10 lbs for now. And after this, I'll try to do another 10, I suppose.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Still overheated
There's only a couple of weeks (total) each year in Seattle where you need air conditioning. But those weeks SUCK.
This appears to be one of those weeks. So, by the end of the week, expect there to be a picture of a little puddle of goo and an arrow pointing to it saying "Abby." Do you think melting would mean weight loss?
Okay, but seriously, the one benefit to the heat: You're just not eager to eat. I got up and ate breakfast around 10 a.m. Then didn't eat again until 7 p.m. Just couldn't stomach it until then. The kicker is that the apartments here retain heat really well. So it's 62 degrees outside but it's still sweltering in our apartment, despite fans running all day and night.
Unfortunately, I have trouble sleeping in the heat. So bad sleep last night. And not enough, at that. Which is why I didn't take a walk today. Didn't want to set myself back. But tomorrow, I'm determined to get out and do at least a light walk. Even if it's supposed to still be sunny & hot. Thank goodness for sunscreen!
Calories tonight are under 1500. About 1465. It's too hot to cook and too hot to want to eat my microwave meals. Still, I ate relatively healthily: Cereal, Fiber One bar (if you can find these on sale, the apple streusel one is TASTY!), a PBJ, a banana, a cup of Jello Pudding, some grapes and a Luna Bar. Probably should cut down on the bars a bit -- they have a tad more sugar than I'd like them to. But they're good for quick noshes.
I know Green Panda said she does some meal replacements. They are amazingly quick & easy, which is a huge bonus for people. (When my fatigue was at its worst and I could barely leave the house, I lived on 2 slimfast shakes a day so that I only had to make one meal a day.) Have either of you tried the GNC whey protein replacements? Tim and I did, and I'm considering getting another bag. It's great because you don't even have to mix with milk. Just blend (or shake) with cold water. It tastes like slightly diluted chocolate milk. Not bad at all and lots of protein! You definitely want to wait for a sale or coupon if possible -- I think we did a Buy One, Get One Half Off -- since the 1 lb packets are $15.99. Of course, that's also 14 drinks so...
Anyway just an idea. What kind of tricks have you guys found to keep yourselves eating healthily? Other than frozen meals, I really don't eat veggies, so that's something I should focus on. I don't dislike them. I just don't actively like them either...
This appears to be one of those weeks. So, by the end of the week, expect there to be a picture of a little puddle of goo and an arrow pointing to it saying "Abby." Do you think melting would mean weight loss?
Okay, but seriously, the one benefit to the heat: You're just not eager to eat. I got up and ate breakfast around 10 a.m. Then didn't eat again until 7 p.m. Just couldn't stomach it until then. The kicker is that the apartments here retain heat really well. So it's 62 degrees outside but it's still sweltering in our apartment, despite fans running all day and night.
Unfortunately, I have trouble sleeping in the heat. So bad sleep last night. And not enough, at that. Which is why I didn't take a walk today. Didn't want to set myself back. But tomorrow, I'm determined to get out and do at least a light walk. Even if it's supposed to still be sunny & hot. Thank goodness for sunscreen!
Calories tonight are under 1500. About 1465. It's too hot to cook and too hot to want to eat my microwave meals. Still, I ate relatively healthily: Cereal, Fiber One bar (if you can find these on sale, the apple streusel one is TASTY!), a PBJ, a banana, a cup of Jello Pudding, some grapes and a Luna Bar. Probably should cut down on the bars a bit -- they have a tad more sugar than I'd like them to. But they're good for quick noshes.
I know Green Panda said she does some meal replacements. They are amazingly quick & easy, which is a huge bonus for people. (When my fatigue was at its worst and I could barely leave the house, I lived on 2 slimfast shakes a day so that I only had to make one meal a day.) Have either of you tried the GNC whey protein replacements? Tim and I did, and I'm considering getting another bag. It's great because you don't even have to mix with milk. Just blend (or shake) with cold water. It tastes like slightly diluted chocolate milk. Not bad at all and lots of protein! You definitely want to wait for a sale or coupon if possible -- I think we did a Buy One, Get One Half Off -- since the 1 lb packets are $15.99. Of course, that's also 14 drinks so...
Anyway just an idea. What kind of tricks have you guys found to keep yourselves eating healthily? Other than frozen meals, I really don't eat veggies, so that's something I should focus on. I don't dislike them. I just don't actively like them either...
Hiking Makes Exercise Fun!
Yesterday we walked almost 4 miles! Today we are going to walk for an hour somewhere else! Rock on Alpha Team!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
My Day 2
Well, I am finally cool again after going out for my walk. It wasn't particularly hot but it was MUGGY!
It probably didn't help that I kept choosing songs with fast beats. (I tend to moderate my pace along with the music.) But at least I know I got a good workout.
Okay, scratch that. Apparently, I was underestimating myself (I grew up in Anchorage, AK, so I tend to assume I'm just being a wimp.) It is 82 degrees right now at 6 p.m. with 30% humidity. Ick.
So, I burned:
4 min warm-up walk: 15
2 min stretch: 8
21.5 min walk: 161
5 min stretch: 19
3 min cool-down walk: 20
Total: 223
So far, my day has been crazy. I had to take a mid-morning nap, which ruined my eating schedule. (I still hadn't eaten breakfast, so I finally got that in at 4 p.m.!) So I may not be able to input my food eaten today. Not that it's scintillating stuff anyway.
Hope you all are having a fabulous second day (1/30th of the way through, already?! My, how time flies!) and I'm off to sit in front of my fan and try not think cool thoughts.
Update: Today's calories came in at just under 1800. I had my morning (this time, afternoon) cereal (approx 400 calories with milk), a Healthy Choice frozen meal (380 calories), Dryer's Slow Churned ice cream (3 servings, 360 calories), yogurt (170 calories), chips & salsa (250 calories) and another kind of Slow Churned ice cream -- hey, it was hot! -- (240 calories). 1790 calories in all.
It probably didn't help that I kept choosing songs with fast beats. (I tend to moderate my pace along with the music.) But at least I know I got a good workout.
Okay, scratch that. Apparently, I was underestimating myself (I grew up in Anchorage, AK, so I tend to assume I'm just being a wimp.) It is 82 degrees right now at 6 p.m. with 30% humidity. Ick.
So, I burned:
4 min warm-up walk: 15
2 min stretch: 8
21.5 min walk: 161
5 min stretch: 19
3 min cool-down walk: 20
Total: 223
So far, my day has been crazy. I had to take a mid-morning nap, which ruined my eating schedule. (I still hadn't eaten breakfast, so I finally got that in at 4 p.m.!) So I may not be able to input my food eaten today. Not that it's scintillating stuff anyway.
Hope you all are having a fabulous second day (1/30th of the way through, already?! My, how time flies!) and I'm off to sit in front of my fan and try not think cool thoughts.
Update: Today's calories came in at just under 1800. I had my morning (this time, afternoon) cereal (approx 400 calories with milk), a Healthy Choice frozen meal (380 calories), Dryer's Slow Churned ice cream (3 servings, 360 calories), yogurt (170 calories), chips & salsa (250 calories) and another kind of Slow Churned ice cream -- hey, it was hot! -- (240 calories). 1790 calories in all.
Day 1 of the Challenge
It's going to be a busy 61 days! I started the PF Bloggers Weight Loss Challenge at Man Vs Debt. I'm trying to lose 12lbs, which I've put on after I got married a ciuple of years ago. The date of the challenge also works s my broher in law and my friend are getting married August 1.
Yesterday I got in 45 minutes of cardio workout. I'm going to try and keep record of what I'm doing, both with food and with exercise.
Breakfast: Instant Breakfast Shake
Lunch: Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
Dinner: Rice and Bean Bowl
Dessert: Tiramisu
June 1st
Well, today had its ups and downs. We ended up going to a movie preview at the last minute. Essentially, we went from my therapy straight downtown to wait in line. So I ate more calories than I normally would have by eating out.
Also, since I have therapy on Mondays at 4:15 p.m., it pretty much means that Mondays will rarely include a workout on my end. But my goal is 3-5 times a week a walk. I'm starting around 20 minutes and working up from there.
A few basic facts about me: I am shooting to lose 10 lbs in the 8 weeks provided. I'm on Alli, which helps keep me in line on the binging front. (I'm an emotional eater and a depressive, which go together annoyingly well.) It essentially means I can't eat more than 19 grams of fat at a meal without risking quite a bit of discomfort.
That's usually not a problem. My diet is relatively low-fat. I eat Kashi Go Lean Crunch every morning, because I'm boring like that. I stocked up on a bunch of Healthy Choice frozen meals when they were on sale for $1.88. And I usually have a sandwich for lunch and cram a bunch of veggies in there when possible. (I didn't grow up eating veggies, so that is something I'm trying to work into my new eating routine.)
One of the main problems I have is that I deal with chronic fatigue. There are days when I don't leave the house. If I get less than 8 hours sleep, I'm ditzy and unfocused all day. If I try and do too much at any given time, I can set myself back a day... or more. It's been awhile since I've pushed that hard, I'm happy to say. But when I get that exhausted, I'm actually so tired that it hurts to breathe.
I tell you about this so that a) you understand why my exercise is relatively low key and b) because we need to understand the challenges we are all facing. I work a few hours a day from home. My husband is unemployed at the moment so is also home all day. The biggest problem for me is just getting myself up and out of the house -- sometimes due to fatigue, other times depression's overwhelming inertia.
This is one reason I am happy to have people to be accountable to but also to have in my corner.
Anyway, I figure with some monitoring of calories and semi-regular walks, plus a small boost from the Alli, 10 lbs in 8 weeks is a pretty reasonable goal.
Overall, I should be shooting for about 1800 calories a day. Just keeping it to that amount would let me lose a pound a week. But I don't always follow things well. So I actually shoot for 1500 calories a day (but never to the point that I am actively hungry and don't eat) so that if I do go over, I'm still in an acceptable range. Sad to have to play these mind games, but such is life.
I'm losing weight because I don't comfortably fit in my clothes anymore, and I wasn't happy about my weight even when I did. My priority right now is getting comfortably back into a size 14. I figure losing 10 pounds should more than do it. I would like to extend the healthier habits to eventually get down to a size 10-12.
My scale's a little wonky, but seems relatively consistently wonky. So I weighed myself today and came out at 203.5 lbs. Which is actually closer to 206ish. But the point is to have a baseline, I suppose. So at the end of the two months, I want to be 193.5 or less.
And, I'm warning you, yes I actually do always write like this. So expect some long, rambling posts. My apologies ahead of time.
Also, since I have therapy on Mondays at 4:15 p.m., it pretty much means that Mondays will rarely include a workout on my end. But my goal is 3-5 times a week a walk. I'm starting around 20 minutes and working up from there.
A few basic facts about me: I am shooting to lose 10 lbs in the 8 weeks provided. I'm on Alli, which helps keep me in line on the binging front. (I'm an emotional eater and a depressive, which go together annoyingly well.) It essentially means I can't eat more than 19 grams of fat at a meal without risking quite a bit of discomfort.
That's usually not a problem. My diet is relatively low-fat. I eat Kashi Go Lean Crunch every morning, because I'm boring like that. I stocked up on a bunch of Healthy Choice frozen meals when they were on sale for $1.88. And I usually have a sandwich for lunch and cram a bunch of veggies in there when possible. (I didn't grow up eating veggies, so that is something I'm trying to work into my new eating routine.)
One of the main problems I have is that I deal with chronic fatigue. There are days when I don't leave the house. If I get less than 8 hours sleep, I'm ditzy and unfocused all day. If I try and do too much at any given time, I can set myself back a day... or more. It's been awhile since I've pushed that hard, I'm happy to say. But when I get that exhausted, I'm actually so tired that it hurts to breathe.
I tell you about this so that a) you understand why my exercise is relatively low key and b) because we need to understand the challenges we are all facing. I work a few hours a day from home. My husband is unemployed at the moment so is also home all day. The biggest problem for me is just getting myself up and out of the house -- sometimes due to fatigue, other times depression's overwhelming inertia.
This is one reason I am happy to have people to be accountable to but also to have in my corner.
Anyway, I figure with some monitoring of calories and semi-regular walks, plus a small boost from the Alli, 10 lbs in 8 weeks is a pretty reasonable goal.
Overall, I should be shooting for about 1800 calories a day. Just keeping it to that amount would let me lose a pound a week. But I don't always follow things well. So I actually shoot for 1500 calories a day (but never to the point that I am actively hungry and don't eat) so that if I do go over, I'm still in an acceptable range. Sad to have to play these mind games, but such is life.
I'm losing weight because I don't comfortably fit in my clothes anymore, and I wasn't happy about my weight even when I did. My priority right now is getting comfortably back into a size 14. I figure losing 10 pounds should more than do it. I would like to extend the healthier habits to eventually get down to a size 10-12.
My scale's a little wonky, but seems relatively consistently wonky. So I weighed myself today and came out at 203.5 lbs. Which is actually closer to 206ish. But the point is to have a baseline, I suppose. So at the end of the two months, I want to be 193.5 or less.
And, I'm warning you, yes I actually do always write like this. So expect some long, rambling posts. My apologies ahead of time.
Here we go
We're up and running. I thought we could use this to check in with each other, since I can't be on Twitter much socially.
Thought we could learn about one another and give each other updates....
Thought we could learn about one another and give each other updates....
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