Procrastinating from studying

Okay, I have a test this afternoon at 2pm. It's in my linear algebra class. I should probably be reviewing right now, but I really don't want to. So I'll waste a little more time before starting research and studying. Blech. Can't wait for the class phase of grad school to be over so I quit getting interrupted by having to go to class.

*****

Stats:
SW: 260
CW: 247

Total loss: -13 lbs
1st goal loss: -26 lbs

*****

So I went down another notch on my belt this morning. Go me! The scale was very nice to me, with continued loss. My website says that my trendline for weight loss is at 252 (it smoothes out the fluctuations). I'm halfway to my 1st goal, though, which is pretty cool. Hopefully, I'll be able to get out and do the jogging thing again tonight. This cold has been kicking my butt. I feel fine for most of the day until about the middle of the afternoon, then I get a pounding headache that sticks around until bedtime. Makes it really hard to exercise, and I don't think I can get out of bed at 5am to do it (especially not since Patrick no longer gets up at that time). Sleep is too nice. Plus, you are supposed to make sure that you get adequate sleep (all the time) when you are losing weight, so, there ya go.

I really like the website that I use to count calories. There are apps that do it, other websites, other programs, that I'm sure are just as good, if not better sometimes. I just like the fact that I have somewhere to keep track of all this, rather than just my head. It's so easy to go over the allotted cals for a day without even realizing it. And I mean significantly go over. My goal is 1600 per day, as I'm sure I've mentioned (repeatedly) before. That gives me about 400 each for breakfast and lunch, 100 or 200 for snacks, then about 600 for dinner/desert. Sounds just about right. But that amount goes quickly when you buy a Cadbury egg (170 cals), then have a bag of Sun Chips (170 cals also), an apple, 8 oz of carrots, and then three slices of cheese. That right there totals up to be about 600, maybe a little over. Snacking like that, especially the chocolate, while eating healthy meals, puts me over 2100 for the day. Normally, that's not bad (which makes me feel better about if and when I ever get to a maintenance diet), but when you are trying to lose weight and not really able to exercise yet, it's kinda frustrating.

So counting calories has made me aware of two things: the calories in food, especially my favorites, and food choices. In the above example, I could either eat a Cadbury egg (love them!) or 8 oz of carrots (which is kind of a lot; measure it out) and an apple and feel pretty full. Now I know what my mom was talking about when she kept harping on empty calories (thank goodness for *diet* Dr. Pepper). I want to be able to eat more, not less, so I am starting to choose the things that have less calories. Yes, this should be an obvious choice, but sometimes it's hard to make.

Food choice is a recurring thing with me. I say that I'm on a diet and that I want to lose weight, yadda yadda, but when it comes down to it, I have to wonder how serious I am about it. If I am serious about it, that means that I need to start making "food sacrifices", at least until I have some serious weight loss under my belt, so to speak. For example, every Friday night is fast food night at our house (no judging), although with a 6-year-old and 2-year-old, it might be more accurate to call it McDonald's night. It's Friday, pay day, beginning of the weekend, so we celebrate. And I partake. I've moved myself down from (way back when) a double quarter with cheese (no onions), super-sized, with a Dr. Pepper. I shudder to think of eating that now. First I dropped the super-sized. Fairly easy to do, although if you replace the super-size part with a Drumstick (ice-cream cone) for dessert, you really aren't gaining that much. Recently, I've talked myself down to just the quarter-pounder, not the double. I mean, really, who needs a 1/2 pound of meat in one meal? Not me. Now, I need to move myself down further (cause it
s really hard to stop going - I love McDonald's). Maybe that can be my goal for this Friday (and beyond, of course). Instead of a #3, get a double cheeseburger. It doesn't save me much, only about 60-75 cals, but it's a start in the right direction.

I love fast food. I love going out to eat, but I almost can't do that anymore. Most meals at restaurants, especially the yummy ones, are about 1600 in *one sitting*! maybe that can be a splurge thing. Even though I'm dieting, I want to still be able to enjoy food. Otherwise I would eat rabbit food all day, every day.

Okay, to sum up: down 13 pounds, halfway to my goal. Looking for new, low cal lunch recipes (under 400 total). I'll stop rambling and obsessing about food, although if you have any suggestions for lunches, let me know!

Go me, go me!