Lisa and Becky trying like hell to get healthier and thinner. Ok, most days we try like hell. Sometimes? Just read. You'll laugh, probably not cry, but you just might be a bit entertained.
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Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Diet Dr. Pepper
Okay, class over.
I haven't ever given anything up for Lent. I won't go into my reasons why not, but I still never have. This year, I've decided to, and the thing that I'm going to give up, as you can tell by the title, is diet Dr. Pepper.
Hello, my name is Becky Weber, and I'm addicted to Dr. Pepper.
Dr. Pepper, and now diet, has led to a lot of the problems that I currently have: excess weight, bad teeth, bad skin (I'm sure, although not quite so much anymore). When I was in high school, my mom tried to restrict me to one Dr. Pepper a day. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. When I moved out, I went crazy on Dr. Pepper. That's all I drank, all day. Considering the fact that each can of Dr. Pepper has 150 calories (I think - it's been awhile), if I have 5 cans a day (and that would be a low day), then that is 750 calories, just from drinks. Empty calories, anyone? Invisible calories, too, so I don't really realize how much I'm drinking. At my worst, it was probably between 7 -10 a day. A freakin' day. Yikes! That's not even talking about the amount of sugar in my mouth everyday, all day, ruining my teeth.
Then I switched to diet Dr. Pepper. It took some getting used to, I'll admit, but now I prefer diet to regular. Plus, there's no calories, so yay! Back up to 5 or 6 drinks a day. I was drinking DDP at the expense of drinking water.
Now, I don't know about those studies that say that the artificial sweeteners in diet drinks are linked to cancers or various other diseases in the long run. I haven't read the papers and looked at the research (what can I say, I'm a scientist). I know that it's not conclusive, though. What I do know, though, is that water is kind of important to drink (supposedly), and the sweetness of diet drinks can be very misleading to your tummy. It makes you actually hungrier, apparently, because of the sweetness, but lack of calories... I don't know; I know that it can actually hinder dieting attempts.
I've actually been trying to cut down on DDP for a couple of weeks anyway, focus on drinking more water. I take one with me to work for lunch, and then water the rest of the day until I get home. But this is where my plan of cutting down sometimes falls apart, because that's all I drink all evening and all night.
So here we go. No more DDP. I'm hoping that it will be reflected in my weight, but we'll see. I'm down to 2 travel mugs of half-caf (black) coffee a day, and at least 64 ounces of water a day. I'm brewing the (unsweet) tea right now, so I have something to drink besides water.
And as a side note: I still haven't gotten back to my running thing, although my headaches are gone. Maybe it was the weather, I don't know. Don't care. I have been watching my food intake, for the most part, walking more, drinking more water. Things seem to be going well. I had a bad weekend, so I haven't weighed myself recently, but I'll do that tomorrow morning. Promise. Oh yeah, and of all the Girl Scout cookies we have in house, I restrict myself to the suggested serving amounts. And that sucks. Did you know that you only get 2 Samoas cookies for 140 calories? That sucks.
Monday, March 7, 2011
still going...
Not too bad for a lazy bum.
Also, I had a few pieces (small) of candy, but oh well! I wanted it. :O)
My weight this morning was 266.
So,
Start: 272
Today: 266
Loss: 6 (sigh)
I know, good things come to those who wait but good things come faster to those who don't. I will get there, I will.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Crazy Busy!
I used my under desk cycle thing a bit today. It is rough to use for me, personally, though. My knees hit my desk so it is a bit awkward to use but I did it! I had to steal my boss' chair because it has no wheels. When I use it in my chair, it rolls me backward and I spend more time scooting up than cycling. Then I had to take my shoes off because my go-fasters (what my mom calls sneakers) don't fit well in the pedal straps. So, as crazy as it sounds - i MacGyvered everything to make it work.
Tomorrow I think we will be doing some yard work so that will be good for me too. Plus, I plan on riding my bike even if for a short time.
Oh, I did step on the scale. I am lost. I got three readings in four tries so I guess I will go with the one I got twice.
1st: 253.2 (NICE!)
2nd: 259.7 (ok but not as nice)
3rd and 4th: 269.4 (bollocks)
So, I started this thing at 271.2 lbs on November 8th 2010
To date I have lost a grand total of 1.8 lbs! Un-woo hoo. Granted, I have lost more than that and then gained it back. I have not stuck with this as I should have but I also have not gained it ALL back, so that's a plus, right?
I am back on it now and ready again. I go through these phases all the time though. I do great and then do bad but usually I gain it all back and more. These last few times I have fallen off though, I don't do that. I catch myself sooner and right the wagon. Here's to continued use of my brain!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Whoa…
Man, you guys! I have not been on here in SO long! It’s just that I have been SO busy. What, with Lars, and working, and all the running and exercise I have been doing, I just can’t keep up. Oh, wait, that’s not me – that’s Becky doing all of the working out – I get so confused!
The rest is true and I HAVE been exercising some. I have my stationary bike and when I ride it, I ride about 5 miles. I was doing it every day, sometimes twice! I am getting back into it. In fact, when I am done typing here I will get on and ride tonight too.
As of this moment, I do not have my stats. I will get them back up tomorrow though. Let’s see, I have not been keeping track of my food. I know I should but honestly, I feel I am doing ok. I am being conscious of every single thing I eat and drink. There are some days I do a bad job and make up for it doing a great job the next few days. I have to say, it felt horrible keeping tack and going over my idea of an ideal calorie count. I don’t want to be THAT hard on myself. I am still working on this though. In fact, people have said I look like I have lost some, although I don’t feel like it. We will see tomorrow when I weight myself.
I miss you, blog. I really do. It feels good to have a place to go and let out what I am feeling about how I look. It also keeps me in check.
Becky, I think the girl sold the treadmill! I wish I had gotten it, actually.
OH, so this couch to 5k thing. I too was always envious of runners. I thought they were so cool with their little ponytails and cute running shoes. So, I thought I would do it. In fact, I was using the exact same program Becky mentioned using. I am a damn fool to think that was a good idea. It was HORRIBLE for me. I did the first session; which was supposed to be 5 minute warm up walking (brisk), then alternating 60 seconds of jobbing with 90 seconds of walking until you reach a total of 20 minutes. Yeah, I got the 5 minute brisk walk down ok and then did, what felt like, running until I felt like it had been longer than my 60 second limit only to see that it had been 37 seconds. I can’t even run for the full 60 seconds without feeling like I am dying. I MAY try it again, I have not decided totally against it but I really don’t see it happening. Chris even told me he would buy me a new laptop if I worked all the up to the 3 mile mark. Yeah, not worth it. Not worth it at all. Hot damn, it sucked.
Part of me says to keep going, you can do it. Then the other 99% of me is laughing like a batshit crazy person saying, “are you effing mad, woman?”. It really is not for everyone.
My main problem is I get this severe pain when I walk (or run) for more than 10 minutes or so. It is on the outer side of my calf. Almost like a shin splint I guess, but on the side rather than the front. It gets so bad I have to stop sometimes. I almost had to call for a ride the other night. I don’t get this when I ride the bike, so that is the numero uno reason I am thinking I may just not even give the running thing another think.
ok – if I am going to ride tonight I need to get my ass on the bike and pedal. So – I WILL be on here again very soon.
**Update: I rode the bike!
5.86 miles
301 - 546 calories (420)
Depending on how you figure it.
The bike said 301
Based on my weight and average speed the internet said 346 - 546 so I have no clue
Livestrong.com says i burn approximately 15 calories per minute equaling 420. That is in the middle so I will go with that. Plus it is easier to figure out with that method.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Procrastinating from studying
*****
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!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
D2W1 down!
The past two days haven't been that great, food-wise, but I blame the fact that I've had a monster sinus headache. That's why I didn't do the exercise yesterday. In fact, I went to bed before 8 pm. No way I was even walking with my head pounding. I almost tried to put it off again today (I've got laundry threatening to eat my couch if I don't fold it), but if I put it off, there'd always be another excuse. So just do it already and shut up about it! I'm glad I did, although I think I prefer to exercise in the morning, not the evening. When I did this (not sure what to call it still) Saturday morning, I had a *lot* of energy all morning, more so than usual. If I can convince myself to get up at 5 in the morning during the week, maybe it'd be possile.
Okay, baby steps. Let's work our way up to that torture.
So stats. My scale was very nice to me yesterday.
SW: 260
CW: (2/22) 249
Total Loss: -11
1st goal: -26 lbs (10% of body weight)
I'm sure it is fluctuations, but, hey, it's better than nothing!
As for my other mini-goals, I've been averaging 3 DDPs a day. Could be better, but that also means I've been drinking a lot of water during the day. I think I'm pretty close to hitting my daily goal of 64 oz every day. I've also cut waaay down on coffee (I think I already mentioned that previously; what happened to re-reading previous posts, Becky?). I have two (big) mugs a day, and that's it.
Okay, now I need to be good and go fold laundry. It really is taking over my living room. And if I'm busy folding laundry while I watch TV, that means I don't have hands free to eat. :)
BTW - does anyone (besides my brother) have Just Dance or Just Dance Kids? Opinions?
Monday, February 21, 2011
I'm so sore :(
Edit: Okay, I looked back over previous posts. I should always do that before posting on here. A little update info:
SW: 260
CW: 257
Change: -3 lbs (not much, but I'll take it)
Mini-goal #!: 64 oz of water per day and no more than 3 DDP. Maybe I should change that to 2. I've been doing well on this last week, but that's also because I didn't have any in the house. Now that I have some, I'll use my will power. :)
***
I am so sore today though! Not only from the jogging/walking/unaccustomed exercise, but yesterday Patrick and I decided to work out in the yard. After I fixed the mower, he mowed the lawn and I messed around with the flowerbeds. I pulled up and reseated 30 0r 40 of the stones blocking out the beds (I've had a total brain fart and can't think of what they are called), which kinda sucks when they are buried so their tops are even with the ground. I pulled weeds and pruned and planted (in pots). My back and legs were getting shaky by the time I was finished with it. Granted, it was better that sitting inside on my butt doing nothing or taking a nap, or whatever. Gotta do whatever I can to stay as active as I can. When the weather gets better (as in, no more chance for freezes), I have another project that is going to help me exercise and tone. :) We have pitiful amounts of grass in our backyard, so we lose a lot of dirt to erosion. We are going to get some dirt to put in the backyard, as well as mixing in grass seed so that we can hopefully convince some grass to grow. I have to put temporary fencing up around the area that our dog will be able to stay in, because you can't walk on the seed until it sprouts. Yay exercise. Ugh. I'm already dreading it, but at the same time I want to get started. There's something very satisfactory about manual labor outdoors that accomplishes something.
So, I went to the Haagens' for a party on Saturday. It was great seeing everyone and hanging, and I spent most of my time outside talking. And smoking. And I was called on it, several times. I haven't totally given up on the no-smoking thing, but it seems to have put on hiatus for a moment. My husband is smoking again, too, and we are back up to where we were in November. We did well for a little bit, but now it's back like nothing's changed. And I'm back to where I was, where I cough when I take my first breath in the morning, I sometimes wheeze when i breath, and I stink again. I can point fingers and say, well, it was this person or that person or that situation, but ultimately I started up again because I'm a social smoker and I like to do it. And believe me, I'm kicking myself in the ass for it. It's true, I'm the only one who can beat me and make me give up. Grrr. This is not good. I'll talk to Patrick and see if we can't pick another day and try again. This is why I try not to bandy it about when I've decided to give up smoking - because so far it's always been temporary.