Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Wednesday Weigh-In

HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 223.2 (-2.0 since last Wednesday)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5"
Age: 48

I am actually somewhat surprised to see a net loss this week. It's a fluke, really. On Monday, I weighed in at 228! Five whole more pounds than today. Of course, I'd had a 6" Subway sandwich on Saturday and a bunch of pita and hummus before dinner on Sunday. The water retention from the carbohydrates gave me that smooth 8 month preganat-looking belly, too. I didn't like that!

Yesterday, I spent the day quite depressed. At bed time I was very cold. Fortunately a hot water bottle helped. Today, I am stiff and sore everywhere. Argh. I don't want to complain, but there's more going on than just losing some weight. My energy is low, too.

I'm sure everything will be fine shortly. Next weigh-in will be after Christmas, thankfully.


Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Wednesday Weigh-In

Lets get right to it, shall we?

HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 226.6 (-2.2)
corrected 12/19: weight on 12/12 was actually 225.2 (-2.2)
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5"
Age: 48

I'm pleased.  I\ve lost 2.2 pounds since last Wednesday's weigh-in. I was quite careful for a couple of days this week to eat under 50g of carbs just so I would see a loss. I'm glad it worked out!

Nonetheless, the loss feels quite precarious and not quite real. It's as though it could all vanish in an instant.

I could increase my weights on the bicep curl and the added muscle building would retain a pound or two of water to reuild. My sleep is terrible: I am oversleeping to compensate and it's becoming a problem. I've trouble staying asleep, fitful dreams and I've been in bed so long these past few days my hips hurt. I could sleep one or two hours less and poof, the weight loss would be gone. It's getting close to Christmas and I am getting stressed. A little bit more, and the weight loss will vanish.

So, yes, I'm pleased. But that's all. For now.

Monday, December 10, 2012

One Approach: Low Carbing It.

Taking off the training wheels (learning to reintroduce foods back into the diet after a whole30) led to a huge stall in my weight loss. True, it was that time of the month, but when that was over, I expected the scale to drop: and it didn't.

So, per Barbara Berekley's recommendation, I decided that for a couple of days, I would eat less than 50g of carbohydrates. Last night, I realised that I had also cut back on my coconut oil consumption, so today, I decided to go back to using it. (I had fallen into my old habit of using olive oil.)

Fifty grams of carbohydrates is not a lot! I've never counted carbs before: now, I'm reading packages and looking up things on web sites and I'm shocked.


One cup (250ml) of this Ruby Red Grapefruit juice has as many carbohydrates as a 2" round, 5" long piece of sweet potato. That's incredible. Juice! I don't drink a lot of juice, fortunately. We opened this one which has been in the pantry for months because my daughter wanted it. I don't think I'll buy it again, even though I really enjoy it.

Another shocker: dried dates. I was told they were not a good idea while trying to lose weight. Looking at the package, I now know why: 5-6 of them contain 28g of carbs...almost all of it sugar.

So, it has been an interesting excercise. Yesterday, I ate a total of 50.5 grams. (Best guess, of course.) --I had a date before I looked at the package! Today, we'll see.

The whole30, by the way, does not micro manage food intake in this way. In fact, looking back on my logs, there were days I easily consumed more than 100g of carbs per day in squash alone.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Wednesday Weigh-In (The First)

The scale does not measure my self-worth.

When I am losing weight, I am focused, focused, focused on that and almost nothing else (which may be why all the Christmas stuff is still packed away).

That's just the way I am, though. I can hyper-focus on anything that interests me. I can hyper focus on anything: scrapbooking, housecleaning, budgeting, even laundry for short bursts. The hard thing for me is doing everything I supposed to do as well as something I'm intensely interested in. Like, housecleaning and budgeting and learning about the paleo diet and exercising.

In this environment of hyper focus, though, the scale can become, well, god. It is the arbiter of all decisions, it is feed back, it is the measure of all I have done and not done this week, it dispenses praise (and blame), it determines whether I have been good or bad, it accuses, it absolves.

That's all nonsense. Of course. Right?

It tells me a number--and do you know what that number really is? It's not how many calories I ate this week. It is not how many hours I slept. It doesn't even tell me how much fat vs. how much lean muscle tissue there is in my body. Nope,  the number is actually a measure of the force of gravity on my body. That is all.

It is hard to remember that, though. I want that number to go down, every week, and not by one pound or two, but by lots and lots. Then, it tells me I did everything right. I got to bed on time, I  exercised as much as I should have. I handled my stress properly, I ate as I should have. And the truth is, if the number is going down, then I did do everything right.

It is vital information. I started this thing 100 pounds overweight. I am still over 200 pounds. You could argue that as long as my clothes continue to get looser, I don't need the scale. But, while I think that's excellent advice for folks who need to lose about thirty punds or less, for those of us, folks in this for a year or more? We need better and more frequent reenforcement.

That number on the scale gives us a chance to course correct before the bad habits overwhelm the good ones once again. Sometimes I'd already know that before I stepped on the scale, but sometimes not.

Like, right now. I am not measuring my food. I have no idea what my caloric intake is. I am still following the whole30 protocol--and adding in the odd item here and there to see how I respond. A few days ago it was dairy. Today, I think I'll have popcorn (with butter and salt).

So, weighing in is my feedback. I've done it every day since I finished my whole60.

But it is not a measure of my worth. I am not "good" or bad" based on what I eat, don't eat, my exercise, my sleep, my stress level. Nuh uh.

So, as long as we've got that straight, here are the numbers for this Wednesday's weigh-in:

HW: 252.6 (Sept 30, 2012)
CW: 227.4
GW: 140's
Height: 5'5"
Age: 48


Sunday, December 2, 2012

Workout for Beginners with Jillian Michael's: review

Awesome.



Unlike the rest of the free world, I have never seen an episode of The Biggest Loser. I have never seen Jillian Michaels walk and talk before this video, either, though, I am, of course, aware of her. In this video, she was thorough, professional and seemed to really enjoy the people she was working with.

This video is a wonderful introduction to circuit training and weight bearing exercise. It is divided into two parts: One for the front side of your body and the other for the back (plus biceps). Each routine is broken up into 6 circuits and each circuit contains an excercise to elevate one's heart rate and then two, sometimes three weight bearing exercises. The circuits start with the larger muscles first and work their way down to the smaller muscle groups and then the abs.

Jillian includes several variations of each exercise in order to adjust them to individual fitness levels, so this video can be used as you progress.

Drawbacks are these:

Most annoyingly, there was no indication of the equipment I'd need for these exercises. Just so you know, you'll need a chair (a kitchen type chair, though some padding would be OK), dumbbells, a resistence band and a floor mat. Something to step on is a good idea for the areobic session in a couple of circuits. I marched in place.

 I did this in my smallish living room. I had to move from an open space (cardio) to a chair, to another open space and then to the floor sometimes all in one cicuit. Often, I had to move things out of the way between moves in order to make room. As well, Jillian is using past contestants from The Biggest Loser who are in much better shape than I am. By the time I managed to get off the floor in circuit 5 for example to start my cardio bit, the former contestant was almost done!

As well, Jillian talks. And talks. You really have to keep track of your own repetitions --even though 1/2 way through she'll ask the contestant what "number" they are on and talk them through to the finish. If you are on a different number, this will be annoying and distracting. I didn't keep track--I was just trying to keep up!

Good stuff:

But, for someone who has never done anything like this before, it was fabulous. I did the front workout yesterday and the back workout today. I was sweating at the end of each session--enough that I felt obliged to take a shower before I joined my family again. Both workouts felt like a terrific challenge which is as it should be. I was surprised that 3lb dumbbells for the front side work out were probably too light. But then, I have always carried a ton of groceries on each arm from the drive way to the house in order to save going back and forth through the yard!

I am using a copy from the library which includes both workouts on one dvd. I think, though, that each workout is now sold seperately (which is annoying). Nonetheless, I have asked for it for Christmas.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Goals for December

It's time to set some goals, again.

Eating:

Stay Compliant (with a few exceptions).
Except for the days I am re-introducing and testing my tolerance for the foods I used to eat, I will be whole30 compliant until Dec 18, when my husband finished his whole30. After that, I will bake date squares and apple crisp and probably a few cookies with the kids. I will not go crazy. I want whatever my weight is on Dec 18th to be my weight on January 9th (my birthday). On January 10th or so, I plan to resume the whole 30.

I will continue to log my food, but not here!

Weighing:

Keep Track.
I want to join the folks over at Roni's Weigh and post my progress every Wednesday. I will go back to weighing daily, though. I believe that for me making weigh-in a daily practice keeps me informed and aware. I don't really have emotional issues with the scale--at least not yet. I'd like to make a graph, too.

Exercise:

Build Strength.
I want to continue with the 2 mile, 1/2 hour Walking workouts by Leslie Sansone. I would like to add a three mile workout once a week: but if I don't, it's no big deal. I want to keep my workouts realistic and whatever I do, I want to see myself continuing to do it after I lose weight. So, the exercise has to be done for it's own sake--not for the sake of losing weight.

I am eager to add in some circuit training with the Jillian Michael's for Beginners workouts as well as more weight bearing exercises. I'm not sure how I'll be scheduling it. Would two weight bearing sessions a week be enough for now?


I have been reading that weight gained during the holiday season is weight that is never, quite completely ever lost. So, at the very least, I plan not to gain any weight at all between now and January 10th.