RECOMMITTING

After having lost nearly 60 pounds in the last 11 months, and gaining back about 7 since my wedding last month, I have made the decision to recommit myself to weight loss and health improvement! I don’t want to be that girl who loses a bunch of weight for her wedding, then promptly gains it back (and then some).

My health educator at Sansum in the Doctor’s Weight Management Program suggested I find a new goal, whether it be running a marathon or just a small short-term goal like losing 5 more pounds. I’ll need to think on this one and figure out something to work toward.

Current weight (as of 4/2/09): 188.4

Day 27

I don’t feel good. Tired. Fuzzy headed. Tummy hurts. What a crappy yesterday was (and what a crappy way I responded). I created a new page, My Vocation, describing my work. Yesterday, I wrote that I was pouring all my energy into my job and my children giving little or nothing to my wife. In my About Me page and my original post, Day Zero, which listed my goals I said “I want to be nicer to everyone - especially my wife” among other things. I’m really dropping the ball with that goal to say the least.

If the kids at work, my fellow staff, and the friends who think I’m noble and saintly for working there saw the disgraceful way I behaved yesterday I would lose credibility with all of them. Yesterday and at other times, I’ve said I give a lot to my children but when they watch the anger and cruelty, living in this negativity and tension … I’m not being the good father I like to think I am.

I like to think I try really hard but I’ve simply got to try harder … no, no … a wise man once said, “Do or do not. There is no try.”

DAY 27 DIARY:

Breakfast: Assorted sliced fruit.

Lunch: xxx

Soda Pop: none.

Coffee: none.

Alcohol: none.

Dinner: xxx.

Snacks: xxx

Exercise: xxx

Weight: xxx lbs.

Missed my mark...

Mondays are my official “weigh-in” days to check my progress. I decided once I lost the first 5 lbs I would reward my self with a haircut. This morning I checked, and I only lost 4 lbs. Which is a really good amount for only 1 week, but I really needed a haircut and I wanted one before all of the events this week! Just for an idea of how long my hair has gotten- this pic was taken over a month ago!

Oh well- something to look forward to next week.

Today I felt quite blah. I didn’t sleep well last night but I had to get up to finish some reading for class. I packed a turkey and cheese on wheat sandwich with some pickles (I love these!) and an apple.

 

When I got home from class I craved something salty and made some modified nachos- just shredded cheese melted on tortilla chips.

After that I wanted something sweet, so I had a small cup of Mini Wheats. Later Sara and I met up for a workout again. I started on the Arc Trainer, but less than 5 minutes into it, I started feeling really sick. I had to give it a break and switched to walking a slow pace and slight incline on the treadmill for 45 minutes. The machine estimated I burned over 230 calories, so at least I got my blood moving a little. I did feel better afterward, but I’m scared I’m getting sick  

I need to be better soon because I’m celebrating Passover with friends on Wednesday, then going to visit my family for Easter this weekend.  At least I have an easy night of TV watching ahead of me!

Cookies and Blooms

It could not have been a more gorgeous day to see the cherry blossoms. It was sunny, yesterday’s crazy wind had blown out of town, and the temperature was just right! I decided to make the 10+ mile roundtrip jaunt by foot (walking and running) to see the cherry blossoms rather than fighting the crowds on the metro, and I got a good workout during my day of playing tourist in my own back yard. It was quite a day. 

I fueled my excursion with this chocolate breakfast cookie:

I was hoping it would taste like a “no bake” cookie. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, we used to make cookies with chocolate, peanut butter, oats, tons of butter and tons of sugar that didn’t require baking. Have you had them? Did you call them something else? Anyway, this was good, but not as much like my old “no bake” cookie as I’d hoped. I used some chopped roasted peanuts, reduced fat Jif, Jay Robb’s vanilla whey protein powder, unsweetened vanilla almond breeze, and a spoonful of cocoa powder. I’m having fun experimenting with the b’fast cookies, but I have to say that yesterday’s is my favorite so far. 

For lunch, I had some more of the soup I made yesterday along with one of my favorite little sandwiches:

I had some Alexia breads in the freezer, and decided it was time to get them out and bake them up. I had one piece of ciabatta left, which is what you see above. I topped it with some Trader Joe’s Bruschetta topping, smoked mozzarella and avocado. I hit upon this combination last summer, and it has become one of my favorites! This little sandwich packs a ton of yum! The soup was even better the second day. I love when that happens!

Before I struck out on my trek, I decided to use some more things from the freezer and make a batch of cookies. I was looking for a recipe involving banana, because goodness knows I have plenty of frozen bananas. I also used some of my coconut stockpile and some of the walnuts I keep in the freezer. I’m making progress! I got invited to a cookout later in the afternoon, and was happy to have a batch of cookies just waiting for an outing. I found a recipe on Cooking Light and changed it just a bit. The recipe made me laugh when I saw it. One of the ingredients is light mayonnaise. I think that any good southern cook who has taken foods to a church potluck probably has a chocolate cake recipe in the arsenal that involves mayo. I’d never seen it in a cookie recipe, and, of course, I had to try it! The original recipe is here. This is my version:

Coconut Banana and Apricot Cookies

Ingredients:

2/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1 medium sized banana, mashed (I used an 80 gram banana from the freezer)

1/2 cup reduced fat mayo (I used Hellman’s light mayo)

1 tsp. rum (I couldn’t tell it was in there so I’d just skip it and use coconut or vanilla extract the next time)

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup old fashioned oats

8 Tbsp. (90 grams) of flaked sweetened coconut

1/2 cup chopped dried apricot

1 ounce of chopped walnuts

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

a dash of ginger

a grate or seven of nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl and beat with a mixer at medium speed until blended. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and the remaining ingredients, stirring with a whisk. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

This made about two dozen cookies.

I have eaten SEVERAL of these today. I really like them a lot. My friends helped to make a dent in them, but I like them so much that the leftovers are either going to work tomorrow or into the freezer ASAP! In case you are wondering, I did use the sparkpeople recipe calculator to figure out the calories, and I’m counting them. I just figure that woman can’t live on cookies alone, and I’d be tempted to try it with these!  

Ok, so back to the cherry blossoms. Here are a few more photos from my afternoon:

See all the people on the steps of the Jefferson? It was really crowded, but I’m happy that so many people got to enjoy the day.

These were ready for their close-up! Here’s one more of the Washington Monument:

I was in the shade for the photos of the Jefferson and the Washington, and you can definitely tell a difference in the colors. It was a beautiful and busy day, and it ended nicely with dinner at my friends’ house. I had grilled chicken breast with Stubb’s BBQ sauce, corn on the cob (also grilled), potatoes and salad. Yum and yum. It was so good! My friends are always great at hosting, and I always love seeing them and their awesome dog. 

After all of my walking and running, it is definitely time for me to hit the hay. I do long jaunts like that when the weather is nice, but I can tell that I haven’t done it in awhile. I was tired by the time I got home. I’m going to go and mix up a breakfast cookie, and then I’m calling it a night. 

Here’s wishing you all an excellent week!! Ciao for now!

What. The. Hell.

Week 2

271.5lbs

GAINED 3lbs!

106.5lbs to go

I honestley don’t have a lot to say for my fat-ass self today. Other than “You disgust me, self!”

I was better off NOT trying to do anything about my weight. Grrrrr.

This week will be better. I will exercise and follow a strict healthy eating plan.

I am determined to lose this god-awful weight.

LARPing and Physical Fitness--An Advantage

I am probably going to direct this blog more as a question or opening point to some of our other bloggers, but I wanted to make a brief note about physical fitness and LARPing.

Back in high school, physical fitness was mandatory. So I went. I hated gym class, but I went because I had to.

In college, I only had to take two gym classes over four years. However, I was always on the go, walking across campus to get to classes and toting lots of books as well as my guitar.

After college, I noted that I was gaining weight, but I didn’t want to give up my leisure time to work out, which seemed like a chore. Since I had a full time job, I had to choose between entertainment and my health, or so it seemed.

Then I found LARP. LARP was fun, and fulfilled my full-weekend need for entertainment. I noticed soon after LARPing that I had actually lost fat and gained muscle over my LARP weekends–it’s a great way to stay fit! I look forward to LARPing more since I could definitely stand to drop some weight that I gained mostly due to an injury and partially due to my relationship with two handsome men named Ben and Jerry.

the beautiful oak trees hate me

I am having the hardest time this week with my allergies. I’ve been miserable. I never had allergies my whole life until a few years ago. I am having a hard time with congestion, ear pressure, coughing and sneezing.  I’ve been to the doctor twice this week, and I am now on steroids. Great.

Hopefully this works. The side effects of steroids can be bad. My doctor wanted to give me a steroid shot, but she told me that there is the possibility of it leaving a dime to a apple sized dimple in my skin that could last up to 2 years. I was like, “hells no”. So I am taking the oral kind. I’ve already been on them for one day, and haven’t noticed many side effects so far. The ones I’m most concerned about are  increased appetite, and water weight gain. So far so good. I did really well on my eating yesterday. Especially since I ate out at a Mexican restaurant for lunch, and picked up food for dinner.

You can apparently eat somewhat healthy Mexican food. I ordered guacamole tacos (2). The key to ordering healthy tacos is to order soft corn tortillas. The tortillas are usually the worst part of a taco for you. I have really taken a liking to them this year. I use them all the time at home. I throw mine into my panini press to cook them up, and then make my tacos. Delicious.

For dinner I got a veggie burger from a place down the street. It’s a grilled burger on a wheat bun with lettuce, tomato and green chilies. So good! I get a side salad with it, and put balsamic vinegar on it, with no oil at all, and it’s surprisingly good!

Considering that I ate these meals yesterday, I feel pretty good about it. These steroids can’t get to me! I just wish they would make me feel better. The fact that I am coughing is very scary. Last year I had an allergy attack, and developed bronchitis. I really don’t want to go that way again this year.

Right before my allergies flaired up this week, I had started working out regularly. The allergies have put a stop to that. The good thing about it is that I am not depending on exercise to lose the weight. I am depending on my eating. The exercise is a great bonus, so although I am taking a forced break from it, I am still on track to get where I want to be. I want to use exercise as a helper in my weight loss, and an aid to getting healthy. I dont’ believe you can be truly healthy without working out. I want to work out moderately about 4 days a week, but I don’t believe that you can be successful in weight loss with only exercise. Diet first…exercise second. I have done the excessive working out routine to try to lose weight. It didn’t work. I would bust my ass every day, and was upset that I wasn’t losing weight. I honestly just burned myself out, and started to dread what I was doing. I want what I am doing to be a healthy lifestyle change. I want to be forming good habits that will last me throughout the rest of my life. I don’t want to lose some weight, and then go back to what I was doing before. I don’t believe you can be successful in this way. I don’t ever want to get back to where I am now. I also don’t want to look at my eating as a diet. It’s just making healthier eating choices. I still eat!!! I still love to eat!!! Right now, I just don’t think about it all the time. I am not basing my day any more around my meal times. I used to have a hard time just living because I looked forward to my next meal all the time. That’s rediculous! I am forced to think about it in a different way. I am forced to confront what I am really shoveling into my face. I am keeping track of what I am eating, but I am not obsessing. I think I am on the right track. I think I can do this.