Counting Calories and Getting Back on the Treadmill

I decided to count calories, rather than points. I am shooting for 1500 a day and I hope that will allow me to lose 1-1.5 pounds a week. I weighed 132.5 yesterday. I must have lost 1.5 lbs from the Jorge diet.  It must have just taken a few days to show up. 


This is going to be an unusually busy week. I have two evening commitments (work related and graduate school) and I have report cards due. Parent conferences begin at the end of the week. However, I am going to put myself on the to do list and exercise!  Regardless of how busy it is I am going to fit in at least three exercise sessions. (I don't care what else has to fall by the wayside.) I need to do it for weight loss but also for the energy boost. Plus, it will help me manage my stress level.


I am tired of pondering weight loss. I think about losing weight constantly. I need to spend more time DOING and less time considering.  My plan is to get focused and get to 125 by Christmas. Anything lower than that will be a bonus.  :)


Jackie Warner has a treadmill plan that is 20 minutes of interval work. A five minute interval goes like this:


ramp at 15 and walk for 2 min.
ramp at 1 and run for 2 min.
ramp at 0 and walk for 1 min.


Then you repeat the interval four times. I might try this workout for a while. She has a similar one for the elliptical. Once I did the treamdmill workout for a change of pace and I was surprisingly sore afterwards. Walking with the ramp at 15 was actually harder than running.  On the other hand, I might just get on the treadmill and start my jog/walk routine - with the goal of working back up to jogging 30 minutes. Either way I guess - as long as I do something.  


I think I need a positive affirmation to say to myself.  I take time to care for myself in a healthy way. I am strong, confident, and energetic.  

Bye Bye Jorge!

After 5 days with no weight loss, I have bagged the low carb / low sugar idea. I just don't have enough trust in the plan to wait it out. I think I need to do what I know works - weight watchers or calorie counting. Of course, I don't really want to track and all that. But if I want to get thinner I need to just shut up and do it.  


I am glad I tried Jorge Cruise's diet though. It definitely raised my awareness of sugar content and carb content. I did like the food - but it was a not my normal way of eating so it didn't feel natural. It felt forced. 


This is probably ridiculous but I am thinking of buying an iphone so I can track my points easily.  :)

No Weight Loss Yet??

I weighed myself today after 3 days of sticking religiously to the low carb/low sugar plan. I haven't lost a pound! Grrr. What do you think? Do I stick with it a full week and then decide?? Do I decide it is quackery/faddish and go back to counting calories?  I don't want to waste my time and motivation. Here is what I ate yesterday: 


Breakfast - 2 eggs scrambled with cheddar cheese, 1 sl rye bread w/ butter
Snack - cheese stick
Lunch - chicken salad I made - 1/2 cup
carrots, celery and hummus, 5 wheat crackers
Snack - walnuts
Dinner - pretzels, cashews, cup of soup, cheese 


 (I had a long day, not getting home until 7:30 so I snacked during my graduate class rather than cook a "real" dinner.)
All my portions were reasonable - like 1 oz. cheese with dinner, or 1 oz cashews - measured out.  


It just seems weird to eat butter, nuts and cheese so much. I know they are high calorie evven if they are low carb/low sugar.

Bye Bye Sugar.....

Things have been crazy lately with Halloween and then Emily's birthday. On top of all the usual chaos activity, Evan has been sick. He missed 10 days of school! He had strep followed by a sinus infection. It was stressful because he had a fever the whole time. He is well now - finally. 


Last night Emily had five friends sleep over to celebrate turning 12. We took them to an indoor rock climbing center and it was awesome to see how fearless and fit they are. Girl power! They are still sleeping.


I am trying something new foodwise. It is the Belly Fat Cure by Jorge Cruise. The idea is to eat fewer carbs (120 g a day) and less sugar (15 g a day). Typically I reject fad diets. When I want to lose weight I either count calories or do something sensible like Weight Watchers. I decided to do this diet for a few reasons:


I think I need to shake things up a bit and give my body a surprise. Now that I am 43 losing weight is harder and may take a new approach.


While I have never heard of Jorge Cruise, his diet was endorsed by people I believe to be widely respected and conservative medical professionals such as Dr. Oz, Christiane Northrup, and Pamela Peeke. Christiane Northrup is a best selling author and ob/gynecologist who writes about women's health (but not diets). Pamela Peeke is an MD who writes sensible eating plans for women. She emphasizes a holistic approach - reducing stress, exercising, eating well. I was quite surprised to see them supporting a "fad diet".


Christiane Northrup actually wrote a forward for Jorge's newest book stating that she has always struggled with her weight and eating less sugar has changed that for her. I was impressed.


Anyway, some foods I eat regularly that have too much sugar in them for me to eat right now are: skim milk, yogurt, "healthy" granola bars. I also have to monitor my fruit intake carefully. My typical breakfast of yogurt and a banana actually has 20 grams or more of sugar! I also can't eat oatmeal. the oatmeal itself is fine but the two tablespoons of brown sugar I add are not.  (I don't enjoy it without the sugar.) It is surprisingly hard to eat only 15 grams of sugar. Everything has sugar in it - even carrots!


I do have mixed feelings about not eating things I consider healthy (like skim milk). I am definitely still skeptical about this. In the back of my mind I can hear Slim Katie saying "Don't do anything to lose weight that you don't want to continue to do...." Such smart advice.  But maybe my body is sensitive to sugar. I also know that I never eat enough protein. So, I think this is worth a try. I hope eating less sugar will help me crave it less. It may also help my frequent headaches. 

New Quote

When you want something 
you've never had,
You have to do something
you've never done.


I got this quote from a Hollys-doin-it's spark page. Very true.  :)

Weigh In. - Oct. 6

137 today.  UGH. This is my first step. Facing it and posting it. I am going to try and post my weight each Thursday.

This Too Shall Pass

I am struggling right now - not just with my weight, but overall. The beginning of the school year is always demanding and I knew I wouldn't have time to blog for a while. But this fall has been extremely difficult. I had my first binge the second week of school and was halfway through the binge when it dawned on me "Oh no! I think this qualifies as a binge. I have broken my streak!" It is amazing to me that the eating was that unconscious. 


Since then, I have continued to plan and eat healthy breakfasts and lunches. Dinners have been hit or miss. Fridays and weekends have been terrible. I shovel food into my body like I am a garbage disposal. I know this is NOT the answer.


The thing that has really put my stress level into the self destruct range is that my son has started fourth grade. He has a disability called Aspergers, which is on the autistic spectrum. Dealing with his disability is demanding, but it is nothing new in my life. The difference is that now he is in the same building I teach in. So the challenges/issues are much more "in my face" if you will. On top of this he has had a very difficult transition and we are back to him needing a one on one aide.


As I write this, I am trying to process why having him in the building is so much more difficult. I am not in denial about his disability so it isn't that. I guess being at work usually gives me a kind of "break" from everything else. It seems funny to call it a break because although my job is is a passion of mine and is joyful for me, it is also demanding and stressful. Somehow the challenges of work and being well respected at work, help me deal with everything else. 


Now my son is with me before school and after school. I am having much more contact with his teachers and discussions of little daily problems that were probably dealt with without my "help" before. I work in a school I consider to be outstanding. And everyone cares about helping my child. Yet, there are many, many, many things that hurt or upset me. Having a child with a disability is hard. People have no idea. And I am guilty of helping them stay in a dark. I don't talk about how hard it really is because people don't want to hear it. I don't want to be a Debbie Downer. 


Don't get me wrong. People are aware Evan has a disability and it is challenging. I do mention little things, just not the dark stuff. Like how I worry about his future. Will he be able to have a job and be a successful member of society? Or will he be the guy walking down the sidewalk muttering to himself? Or how I constantly feel judged as a parent, because people are ignorant about Aspergers? Evan looks fine and has  normal intelligence, so his disability often looks like "bratty behavior" or "she's making excuses for him". 


I want to be clear that I do feel blessed to have Evan and I adore him. He is full of love. He and Emily are our top priorities. I am thankful to have two healthy  and happy children. I am just being very honest - it is very challenging and we are in a difficult period here.


I do have some things in place to help cope with the stress. For example, every Thursday night, I spend a few hours with my best friend. She "gets it". I also have a husband who is highly involved with parenting our kids - not all husbands are. 


I know we will get through this time. We will tweak Evan's routine until things are going smoothly again. In the meantime, it is just taking a LOT out of my husband and myself. I don't want to gain weight. That just adds stress.


My stress level is a 10 out of 10 right now every day. I am overwhelmed and stressed. (You would never know it if you saw me at work.)I don't have it in me to count calories or points. Instead I will start by just NOT BINGEING. I also ordered a new low calorie cookbook by Ellie Krieger, so maybe that will provide some inspiration. 


I have to nurture myself without food. The new plan is:
1.  No bingeing.
2. Plan comfort food in reasonable amounts.
3. Go to bed early and read.
4. Blog at least once a week.


I might do more blogging about Evan. Perhaps having an outlet for some of my feelings will help me not binge. It is hard for me to be open about it because my default position is "I can handle whatever life throws my way and still be smiling/functioning." I am going to change the setting of my blog so people must get permission to join. I wouldn't want one of my colleagues to find it and feel I was being critical of my school.  :)