202.5

Spouse and I started a diet at the same time. I lost 2.5 pounds, he lost 7.5. Fucker.

205

Given how shit this month was, I'm amazed it's this low.

205

It's been a bad month. I ate donuts.

202

It was 201.5 but I somehow gained a half pound after pooping.

201.5

That is all.

203.5

That is all.

205

Probably an anomaly

On Tuesdays we do jumping jacks

Poorly

210

That is all

Fitbit

I got a fitbit through my insurance for under $20. So far, three days in, I rather like it. Still trying to work out how to log my sleep as I was trying to stop sleep mode every time I woke up, but that wasn't really working out. I'd get confused and sometimes forget to restart when I was dozing off. I might just leave it on sleep mode all night in bed and see if the restless periods correspond with when I'm awake.

Busy, busy

I feel like this is such a busy week at work that I can't really shut my door for a full Jack exercise. Yesterday I did one at home before coming in and then another half of when after I got back. Today I just completed 10 minutes of Episode 7 before feeling like I really needed to open my door again. It was enough to warm me up though, which was nice. If I can manage another chunck today, that will be great.

Didn't exercise last week

No excuse really. And I had a doctor appointment on Tuesday and everything. Plus a blood draw on Friday which I just got the results of. My cholesterol is high, which actually surprised me. My glucose was NORMAL! Not that surprising since I was testing it too, but it was nice to have that lab confirmation. Now I just need to get back into exercise!

Just can't exercise at work today

The reason is a bit stupid, but I took a lot of time getting my hair up, and while I have a shitton of hairspray in I think it will still get messed up. Will exercise with the sprog when I get home. We're on Day 6 this week.

Vacation was great!

I didn't exercise at all! I did run around the back garden, chasing and being chased by the child, plus did some painting and a bit of wallpapering, but no formal exercise. I probably ate healthier as I was focussing on making sure the kid had good meals and sure enough didn't gain any weight.

I've been back at work a week and a half now and this week back on the office exercise routine. I feel great! I feel like I'm starting to strengthen muscle and I have so much more energy. Trying to be more mindful about food (although as I type I'm eating chocolat Spouse brought back from England) but since we're a bit tight on money right now that helps me to cook healthier things from the pantry.

188

I weighed myself many, many times this morning as I really didn't believe it. But yes, I'm under 190. It may not stay, but I'm optimistic.

Managed one day of Jack over the weekend. Child played along for a couple of the exercises, but was mostly ignoring me. The weather looks like it will be quite clement while I'm on staycation, so I anticipate being able to keep up with the routine. I should be able to do five days a week as well, if not more.

Yesterday I sat down with a diet book and examined their sample menus. It looks like breakfast has a fruit (or juice), a meat, (sometimes eggs instead or in addition) and a bread, usually muffin. Lunch is what I would consider a sandwich filling - chicken salad, egg, meat - although not usually as a sandwich, plus fruit, bread and milk. Dinner is meat, potato, cooked veg and salad. All very sensible, although the breakfast does look like more than I usually eat (and the lunch a lot less.) I think I can manage those while we're home. And if I can get some chairs in, we may even start using the kitchen or dining room tables for meals! How civilized!

Two weeks in

So it's my "Friday" today and I've done Day 2 of Jack every weekday. This day seems to have more abdominal exercises than Day 1 and I feel my midsection tightening. Not enough that it's visible, but I am aware that there is muscle under there and it's gotten some work in.

Next week I will only be working on Monday and then I'm off for a two week staycation. The plan is to exercise at home as Spouse got my playlist in  our XBMC favourites. If possible, I'm going to actually try to do one more Day 2 tomorrow just to make sure it streams okay. Tomorrow is supposed to be the hottest day of this already hot week and there's no AC in the living room, so  don't know how well it will work. I'll also need to make sure the floor is clean as there's a bunch of floor exercises.

Since I'll be home all day, I'm going to try to plan meals more (having three to worry about each day.) So this may be the time when I start some diet modification to go with the exercise.

Week 2 (or 500-and-something)

I didn't do any regimented exercises over the three-day weekend but my weight is still the same (a post-poo 190.5) and Spouse says my thighs seem smaller. So that's nice.

Started Day two of Jack as my Week 2 regime. It's got floor exercises in it, which might suck at home on the (toddler-encrusted) hardwood, but is only mildly gross on my office floor. At least I know my office is vacuumed daily! He's still pretty talky so I find myself marching, or even today jogging(!) in place while he prattles on just to make it real exercise for the full 20 minutes. As the weeks get harder, that might not be needed, but for now it works for me.

Yeah, I weigh myself after I poop

Nice to hear a mention of why you should:

Why We Lose Weight When We Sleep

Four days in

I've managed exercise at work every day this week (yes, I'm only working four days. It's summer!) I hope to be able to get in a regular routine at least one day over my three day weekend as well. I know that I will at least be going housework or gardening , or just running after the wee one, so some exercise will happen, even if not formalized.

During this first week I have done nothing with my diet. I'm consuming vast quantities just as I have been. It's summer though so my appetite does change, but I haven't made any effort to improve my eating. Once the exercise has been going for a while (maybe three weeks?) I'll look into that. It may mean the dreaded menue planning though.

I really don't like menu planning, especially in the summer. Summer for me has been all about farmers' markets and eating what's fresh and picked that week. How can I plan when I don't know what the farmers will have? Even over the last winter I relied on a CSA supplemented by the wintermarket (where I picked up the CSA) and Farmers To You.  Just having that has improved my eating generally over the past couple of years. But planning? <shudder> I may have to give myself a range of meals to be finalized when I see what's available.

As for my exercise, it's time to reveal that yes, I've been back to Jack Lalanne. Something about the patronizing, but really caring manner and horrible (yes, I do hate it) mid-century moder decor that draws me in. Plus it's on YouTube and only takes 24 minutes of my day. Right now I'm on episode 1. Next week I will do episode 2 each day and work from there. Baby steps. That's the plan.

More incentive

I just made an appointment for an annual exam (the first "annual" I've had since having a child) on September 3rd. I would like to be able to tell my doctor that I was 10 pounds heavier when I made the appointment than when I see her. Even though that will still make me obese, it will show some initiative and should spur me on.

Today was Day 2 of the exercise regime. It's still a very modest amount, but it's more than I had been doing. Two days in a row does not seem that big a deal, but considering how little sleep I got last night (restless child syndrome) I thought it was really needed. the extra oxygen and bloodflow should be able to keep me awake for the rest of the work day.

I can't go on like this

Today my weight was 190.5 lbs. It's been in that area for almost two years now. It's just not healthy for me.

That said, I do NOT want my daughter to ever see me diet or fret about my weight. I would rather she see me make and eat real food and be generally active and have that be normal. She already gets to see her dad as an active bicyclist and we now have a vegetable garden (although that's more of a "proof of concept" this year) in addition to farmer's market and other fresh food coming in the house.

But I need to do something about my weight.

The short-term I'm trying, which I have tried before (but this time I mean it, I swear!) is to do some exercising at work during my lunch. I'm day one into a twelve-week regime. I hope I can keep it up. My goal is to be 180 lbs by daughter's 2nd birthday in October. A modest goal.

192

I weighed 192 on January first.

Should I even bother?

I've been trying to lose weight for years and like most people, it just comes back in even greater amounts. Since having a baby last year I have managed to keep a consistent weight, and one that is even lower than before I got pregnant, but I really, really, want to lose more. I managed to quit smoking to have a baby and I'd like to be able to get rid of this weight that makes it hard to get around. I want to be able to carry my child for a few more years and I don't know if I can do that while hauling my own fat ass around too. So I'm going to try again.

Goal 1 Achieved

Current weight: 189.5 lbs Goal: 190 lbs maintained for one week Reward: New stockings I think some Havana Heels are in my future!

Post-baby body

I only gained 20 pounds during pregnancy, and lost it all almost imediately. Unfortunately, I was at 198lbs when I got pregnant so I was starting obese. One thing you don't often hear in the talk of losing baby weight is the number pregnancy does on your shape generally. As fat as I am, I was never this doughy until having a child. I can tuck it in, compress it and otherwise try to hide it behind clothes, but that dough is still there, lurking. Spouse looked at me last night and asked if I was "cooking another one in there." He is never having sex again.

Goal 1, Update 2

Current weight: 189 lbs Goal: 190 lbs maintained for one week Reward: New stockings Must maintain now.

Goal 1 - Update

Current weight: 190.5 lbs Goal: 190 lbs maintained for one week Reward: New stockings Very close. Need to actually change diet and exercise for things to happen. Been busy with move.

Goal 1

Current weight: 193.5 lbs Goal: 190 lbs maintained for one week Reward: New stockings

Day off

Work was closed today due to the storm, which unfortunately turned to rain early on. I did day 3 of Jack and then 30 minutes of Wii fir this morning, but no stairs. The only other real exercise was trudging out through the rain and deep puddles of slush to go buy milk and other provisions for a day in (eg cocktail ingredients).

Snowy Day

I trudged through the cold and beginning flakes of snow this morning, but not before doing my Jack LaLanne and nearly an hour of Wii Fit! Given that I was feeling a little ill again before lunch I opted to postpone the stairs until after, but then only managed the 6 flights.

Tomorrow is a snow day. While I can still do my LaLanne "Trimnastics" and Wii Fit, I'm stuck with our three flights of stairs in our apartment building. Given how hard it's been for me to do the stairs, this might not be a bad thing. If I can do the stairs twice I'll be happy.

Stairs: I am not the master

I got rather inspired by the recent stair climbing post by Bitch Cakes and thought it might be good to try some stair climbing here at work. Originally I was planning the north stairwell from basement to top, four flights, starting with one flight on Monday and working up to five on Friday. Today, the first day I was to attempt, it occurred to me to try the central stairwell which is six flights (yes, there are additional stories in the middle of the building.) Let's just say I'm happy I started with one. While I'm sure I can work my way up, I may resort to the shorter stairwell until I'm fitter.

In addition to the stairs today, I got my ass out of bed early so I could start week 1 of Jack LaLanne before work. He starts things off rather easy so it wasn't a real challenge to start my week. It even got me warmed up enough to do 30 minutes of Wii Fit after while listening to the news. So today I've not only managed to get all my exercise in before noon, I got in more than my typical goal.

Exercise Goal for the rest of the week:
Jack LaLanne every morning
Stairs (four or six flights) every late morning/early afternoon, increasing by one repetition each day (six flights today, twelve tomorrow, etc). If I have to rest on a landing, that's okay.
At least 10 minutes of Wii Fit either before or after work.

Wish me luck!

All right Jack, you talked me into it

Or: Maybe you can live to 96 too.

My challenge is to follow Jack LaLanne's 6 week exercise regimen.

Exercise

Before Christmas, and after my last doctor's appointment, I told Spouse nag me to exercise five days a week. The run up to and after Christmas were dead losses, but we did manage to come up with something that would work for us where I exercise for 30 minutes and he practices piano for 30 minutes (he's exercising too, but since that's not part of the deal I don't nag.)

I am happy to report that I have exercised every day so far this week (beginning Sunday) for a minimum of 30 minutes. I've even bought a new sports bra that actually WORKS so can do some of the more aerobic Wii Fit exercises. In fact, I have mainly been doing aerobics (since I CAN), but last night went for yoga and strength so I can mix things up a bit. I will probably incorporate some pilaties and/or belly dancing for more variety.

I can't say I've been looking forward to exercise (it has, after all, not even been a week), but I do feel so much better after I do it! It's just the forcing me to do it I still need help with . When I get home from work, the first thing I've been doing is getting into my workout gear before having a chance to sit down or prep dinner. I know that if I do anything else first I will kill any possible motivation. The trick for me seems to be just get it out of the way first thing (well, first thing in the evening as there's just no way I could do this in the morning.)

On the food front, I've been baking bread, made some more butter (not a particularly good batch this time, unfortunately) but have been using lots of veggies in dinner. Plus I've brought my lunch to work every day this week. I'd like to get the exercise to start being a habit before I try doing much more though. That said, I put on a skirt this morning that's usually a bit tight even with a waist cincher. This morning, no cincher, it zipped right up with a heavy shirt TUCKED IN! Maybe this exercise thing ain't so bad after all.

190.5

I had an ultrasound a couple weeks ago that showed fatty liver (my fois is gras) so now that's one more thing saying LOSE WEIGHT!

I've asked Spouse to make me exercise 30 minutes 5 times per week and he's been quite god about it so far. We've even had negotiations about days I want off or how I can trade one activity for another. While I'm not thrilled about having to exercise, I do notice how much better I feel after I've done it. Eventually it may get to a point where I look forward to it, but I don't see that happening for a while.

Brunch
scrambled eggs with leeks and spinach
tea with 2% milk

Snack
Cider down the pub

Dinner
veggie pizza (whole wheat crust)
salad

190.5

BREAKFAST
tea
egg and cheese sandwich

LUNCH
leftover homemade lasagna

190

BREAKFAST
tea
toast

SNACK
Tea and biscuits

LUNCH
convenience food, microwaved frozen lasagna

DINNER
Proper home-made lasagna (albeit with jarred sauce)
wine

189.5 - Weigh-in Day

BREAKFAST
grapefruit
tea
egg and cheese on croissant

LUNCH
BBQ tofu
Quinoa
broccoli
pumpkin pie (damn you pie!)
fizzy water

188.5

BREAKFAST
scrambled egg with spinach
toast
tea
water

188.5

BREAKFAST
Pink grapefruit (can one even buy white grapefruit anymore?)
Tea
scrambled egg with spinach
toast

LUNCH
Salad of veggies with hard boiled eggs
tea
biscuits (2)

DINNER
"chicken" pot pie
rum and diet cola

191.5

I was 186.5 on Saturday. Let's pretend it's Saturday today.

BREAKFAST
Quorn sandwich (1 slice of bread)
tea

LUNCH
Another sandwich (2 slices of bread)
water
Nice cup of tea and a biscuit


Okay, two biscuits

DINNER
Another Quorn sandwich (with spinach in it this time)
cider

188

BREAKFAST
tea
toast with honey

187.5

Sick again. Throat is sore, probably from the acid reflux (or whatever you want to call it) over the weekend.

toast with honey
tea
veggie calzone
water with bitters
plain water
ice cream

188.5

Bread and boxed mac and cheese today. Water and tea for drinks. Home sick because of random acid tummy thing that kept me up all night.

190 - Weigh-in Day

Fuck you scale

BREAKFAST
tofu
tea
egg and cheese on croissant (yea, that'll show that scale)

LUNCH
mushroom quiche
kale
carrots
tea

187

BREAKFAST
veggie bacon
scrambled egg with kale
toast
orange juice
tea

LUNCH
macaroni and cheese
garlic spinach
mixed veggies
corn bisque
water
tea

DINNER
soup of baked tofu, rice noodles and mixed veg
diet Coke

189

Fresh, hot bread at 11:30 at night is not such a good idea for the waistline

BREAKFAST
veggie bacon
scrambled egg with kale
toast
pineapple juice
tea

LUNCH
vegetable soup
slice of dry bread
water

DINNER
Quorn with:
potato, parsnip, apple, saurkraut
cider

188

BREAKFAST
tea
toast

LUNCH
spaghetti with tofu and red sauce
zucchini
green beans
leek and apple soup (not that tasty)

DINNER
"chicken" noodle soup
cocktail
fresh, hot bread

186

Ah, avoid solid carbs at night and the weight comes right off

BREAKFAST
egg and cheese on english muffin
tea
grapefruit juice

LUNCH
brie
bread
minuscule amount of fruit
glass of wine

189 - Weigh-in Day

Okay, 187 by next week even if I have to stop eating all together

BREAKFAST
scrambled egg
veggie bacon (2 slices)
dry toast
tea

LUNCH
I have no willpower
Cafeteria mac and cheese, broccoli, green beans, a cup of homemade soup
water

DINNER
beer
3-4oz tuna
breaded Quorn (it was a protein extravaganza tonight)
rum and Coke

189

The back is slowly recovering. I make a point of getting up periodically throughout the day so I'm not stuck in the same position in my chair.

BREAKFAST
shirred egg with spinach
dry toast
tea

LUNCH
cafeteria salad bar: lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, roasted veggies, broccoli, potato salad (not much), sesame dressing
water
tea

DINNER
When Spouse went off to UDS he said I'd be having lots of girls nights out while he was gone. Well, no such luck (do I *ever* go out when it's not a show someone I know is playing?), so tonight I had a Girl's Night Out instead and went to Franklin Southie for a cocktail and decided to have dinner there as well since the special sounded good.
Salmon
lentils
carrots
beet relish
Daiquiri thingie made with vodka but somehow didn't suck

Came home to roast the squash for the soup I'd originally planed for tonight. Soup part only takes 20 minutes so I should be able to make it to take to work.

189.5

Yesterday was 189. I'm creeping back up, which is not good. I wish I was able to exercise but my back is still in bad shape.

BREAKFAST
onion soup with less than 1oz cheese
tea with soy milk

LUNCH
salad bar: lettuce, cucumber, roasted veggies, hard boiled eggs, sesame dressing
water

DINNER
Onion soup with cheese and bread
wine
dried apricots

188

Yeah, that was a lot of food last night.

TODAY
tea
mushrooms and spinach in cream on bread
beer
highball
tuna with spinach and a splash of cream, seasoned with garlic and shallots

186.5

No real breakfast to speak of as I didn't get out of bed until after noon. Had lots of orange juice though.

LUNCH
veggie bacon, peas and ricotta on spaghetti

DINNER
We went to Marlaive for in impromptu date night. I started with Lake's Edge cheese, then on to trout (without the shrimp) then finished with tapioca, which was huge and Spouse had to eat half. Also had almost tow Jennie Churchill cocktails (far too full to finish the second one.)

188

See, I knew it was too much pasta and cider!

BREAKFAST
fresh mozzarella
tea

LUNCH
salad with veg, egg, pasta
water

DINNER
cocktails
veggie calzone

185.5 - Weigh-in Day

I'm up far too early this morning in order to get to work by 7:30. It wouldn't be so bad had I been able to get to sleep before midnight instead of tossing and turning. But hey, it's official weigh-in day and I'm down!

BREAKFAST
orange juice
tea
"bacon" sandwich with thinly spread ricotta

LUNCH
Korean barbeque tofu
quinoa
broccoli
water
and just a soupçon of stress

DINNER
too much pasta and cider

187.5

Slow and steady

BREAKFAST
tea
bread with ricotta

LUNCH
Leftover stirfry and wheat berries
water tea

DINNER
"chicken" parmesan
linguine
tomato sauce wih mushroom and zucchini
bread with butter

188.5

BREAKFAST
"bacon" sandwich
tea

LUNCH
went to the farmers' market



Lunch in the raw



Lunch prepared

DINNER
salad
wine
stir-fried veggies and "chicken" on wheat berries (out of brown rice)

188.5

Didn't diet over the weekend. Back on track today.

BREAKFAST
tea
creamy potato leek soup

LUNCH
more soup
water

DINNER
cider
"chicken" sandwich
water

187.5

Up, down, up, down

BREAKFAST
grapefruit half
veggie bacon sandwich on whole wheat toast
tea

LUNCH
"ham" cheese and pickle sandwich
tea

189.5 - Weigh-in Day

Well, that went up fast.

BREAKFAST
tea with milk
scrambled egg with spinach
veggie bacon

LUNCH
"ham" and low fat cheese on whole wheat

DINNER
Quorn naked cutlet
mushroom and brown rice pilaf
asparagus
far too much wine

185

I had gin and tonics for dinner, which apparently are conducive to weight loss.
And I met Neil Gaiman!!!!!!!!!!!

BREAKFAST
egg and cheese on croissant
(2) 12oz Coke with real sugar

LUNCH
Salad with fatty things

DINNER
"meat" loaf
roasted potato and golden beets
salad
gravy

189

The long weekend was spent nursing my bad back, hosting an out of town guest and running off to attend a wedding. I ate and drank lots and didn't weigh myself until this morning. Not bad, considering.

BREAKFAST
tea
egg and cheese on croissant

LUNCH
cheese and pickle on whole wheat
an under-ripe pear
lots more tea

189

Sheesh! Can I just blame the weight gain on my period?

188.5 - Weigh-in Day

No change.

BREAKFAST
shirred egg with mushrooms and veggie bacon
tea with skim milk
water

LUNCH
cheese (reduced fat Irish cheddar) and pickle sandwich with cucumber on whole wheat
water

DINNER
My back had a freakoutt. It took me 30 minutes to walk from the office to the T. When I got home I lay down on the floor and directed Spouse on the making of a Manhattan. Food was leftovers from the night before.

188.5

Need to get back on track.

BREAKFAST
scrambled egg
veggie bacon
toast with butter
water
tea with skim milk

SNACK
orange
tea with soy milk

LUNCH
frozen curry meal
water

DINNER
linguine with mushrooms and leeks
salad
water
wine

187.5

Clearly the whole box of Annie's had an effect.

BREAKFAST
Nyquil
tea with skim milk
hot granola with skim milk

SNACK
brie-wrapped dates

DINNER
packaged foods
Real salad

187

This Lump On The Couch Over A Vaporizer Diet is working wonders!

BREAKFAST
tea with skim milk
orange juice
water
egg and cheese croissant
grapefruit juice

LUNCH
Nyquil
Orange mango juice smoothie

DINNER
Annie's alfredo shells with added peas and garlic
water
Nyquil
lemon fro-yo

Weekend Sickies

I came home early on Friday with a cough. Spouse made tea and went out and got us a veggie calzone to split, which probably bumped my caloric intake up quite a bit.

Saturday - 190.5 - I stayed on the couch drinking tea and orange juice and eating whatever (Quorn nuggets and fig bars). Spouse made black bean soup, which was very yummy.

Sunday - 188 - Who knew lying on the couch with a book and a vaporizer could be so slimming? Food plans for today include ice cream and soup.

190.5

I new the 180s were too good to last.

BREAKFAST
scrambled egg with kale
three veggie bacon slices
water
tea with skim milk

189.5 - Weigh-in Day

Yeah, you read that right: 189.5. I lost four pounds in a week. I know the rate will slow down, but this does show that I had been consuming far too many calories and not exercising enough (or at all to be honest.)

BREAKFAST
scrambled egg with kale
three veggie bacon slices
orange juice
tea with skim milk

LUNCH
Stupid me didn't pack a lunch today. I had a very busy and stressful morning at work and our cafeteria had macaroni and cheese today. But I RESISTED! Instead I went to another food place on campus and got veggie sushi and a container of carrot and celery sticks with dip. Bad me ate the dip but I think that was my food reward for not eating mac and cheese.

DINNER
Post work beer
scalloped carrot, white and sweet potatoes
seitan and sprouts in mushroom sauce (low fat milk in both)
Walked for a bit over half an hour

190.5

I did end up going for a walk last night but cut it short when I got rained on.

BREAKFAST
granola and yogurt, 1/2 cup each
1/2 cup orange juice
water
black tea

LUNCH
Boca burger on bread (1 slice) with Branston pickle
vegetable soup
plum
tea with soy milk
water

DINNER
wine
toad-in-the-hole
gravy
beer

No walk

191.5

And hour's walk and a low calorie dinner kept me at the same weight. This is going to be a long, slow journey.

BREAKFAST
1 egg scrambled with mushroom
2 slices veggie bacon
1 slice toast with bitter
tea with soy milk

LUNCH
Boca burger on bread (1 slice) with Branston pickle
vegetable soup
plum
water

DINNER
Manhattans
"meat" loaf
roast corn with butter and garlic
steamed green beans
water

The weather was crap tonight so I didn't go out for a walk. Although I'm feeling guilty not (at 10 to 8) and might do 30 minutes before bed.

191.5

One day of bad eating (and eating late) has already caught up with me.

BREAKFAST
1/2 cup granola
1/2 cup FF Greek yogurt
tea with soy milk

LUNCH
vegetable lasagna
Caesar salad
garlic toast
ice water
(I'll be back up to 192 tomorrow I'm sure)

DINNER
vegetable soup
wheat bread
1 oz brie
a beer

EXERCISE
walked for an hour in the drizzle. The soup hit the spot after that

191

In spite of all the alcohol yesterday, I'm still on a losing streak. Today we're going to Six Flags and I don't think they'll have the oyster stew that's on today's menu.

BREAKFAST
tea with soy milk
left over Quorn roast - 4oz

LUNCH
vegetable quesadilla and diet soda at a fast food place

SNACKS
sno-cone
some cheesey bread thing

DINNER
vegetable lomein
diet soda

Not enough water today. The amusement park was great fun though AND I got in for free! Some guy gave his free passes to me when I was in line to buy a ticket. I only needed one (Spouse was using a friend's season pass) so we all got in with no charges for the day.

192

BREAKFAST
multivitamin
tea with soy milk
veggie bacon - 4 slices on
toast - 1 slice with 1/2T veganaisse

LUNCH
No real lunch to speak of
Glass of wine
some green beans nibbled while prepping dinner
grapes for the same reason
2 beers

DINNER
Tuna crusted with pepper and cumin
sweet potatoes
green beans
custard with bananas
More beer
more wine

193, BP 118/82

BREAKFAST
Orange Juice - 1/2 cup
veggie bacon - 2 strips
scrambled egg - 1 with
mushrooms - 2T
buttered toast - 1 slice
tea with soy milk

Lots of blood work done at Dr today along with TDaP and 'flu vaccines.


LUNCH
Salad of tomato (1), lettuce (1 cup) and seitan (3 oz) with Branston pickle
water
vegetable soup
Banana - 1 med

DINNER
Quorn Roast - 5.5 oz (was supposed to be 4 oz roast chicken)
baked potato - 1 medium
steamed green beans - 1/2 cup
FF veg gravy with diced fresh mushrooms - 1/4 cup
Manhattans - 2 small with 2 Luxardo cherries each

193.5 - Weigh-in Day

BREAKFAST
Tomato Juice - 1/2 cup
Granola - scant 1/2 cup
FF Greek yogurt - 1/2 cup
tea with unsweetened soy milk
water
multivitamin

LUNCH
Vegetable soup
Sandwich of:

egg - 1 hard cooked
veganaisse - 1/2 T
mustard - 1/2 T
White bread - 2 slices
sliced radish - 2

carrot - 1 cut into strips
orange - 1 small
water

DINNER
Seitan - 3 oz
Roast potato - 1 medium
Brussels sprouts - 1/2 cup
brie cheese - 1 oz
tea

Food, Glorious Food

We had an agreement when my class started this semester that Freddie would make me dinner on class nights. It's not that he hates cooking, or is bad at it, but he often doesn't want to bother or just is uncomfortable both using recipes or making something on the fly. You can see where this is going, can't you?

Here we are mid-way through the semester and I finally got my dinner last night. And it was lovely! I called it a deconstructed cheese burger and chips. He filled a bowl halfway with fresh spinach, topped it with bits of cheddar then some oven fries and a veggie burger. The top garnish was sliced tomato. There was even bread as well, although served sliced on the side. He promises he'll cook again, but lucky for him he has a one week reprieve as next week is spring break.

And no, I've not been dieting or exercising. Bad me. But hey! Spouse cooked!

Hungry + Work Stress = GRUMPY

I was horrible when I got home. I snapped at spouse for putting something I use almost daily (the oil spray bottle) in the back of the cupboard above the stove where not only could I not reach it, but couldn't even see it. He's done that sort of thing before (being 6'3" it never occurs to him that these things are far out of reach for me) but I usually just get the step ladder and start searching rather than snap. I did thank him for starting dinner and for cleaning the kitchen. He also made toasted bread crumbs out of my failed bread so now we have that for katsu and the like.

Dinner last night was scheduled to be:
Broiled ham (3 oz)
stuffed baked potato (1/2 med)
sprouts (1/2 cup)
carrot curls (1/2 med)
celery sticks (3 stalks)
gingerbread (2" cube)
coffee

I planned to do a pork chop for Spouse and seitan for me (with an onion and white wine sauce), but he opted to just have the potato and veg. I did have sprouts in the 'fridge, but we went for asparagus instead. The potatoes were just baked and he had butter on his while I went for plain yogurt on mine. In lieu of carrot, celery, gingerbread and coffee I had Manhattans. It was that kind of day.

The morning menu was fairly close today. Scheduled:
tangerine (1 med)
vienna sausage (2oz)
scrambled egg (1)
whole-wheat toast (1 slice)
skim milk (1 cup)

Actual:
grapefruit (1/2)
Quorn sausage (2oz)
scrambled egg (1)
whole-wheat toast (1 slice)
tea with soymilk (practically the whole damned pot)
orange juice (1 cup)
multi vitamin (1 giant horse pill)

Lunch was supposed to be baked 4oz salmon steak but good luck finding one that small. I get all flustered buying salmon too as it's on the environmental "NO" list so I picked up flounder fillets and baked them with some curry spices, onion and a splash of white wine. Green beans go with and a pear for dessert.

Tonight I'm going out with Miss E so have no idea what I'll actually have for food. The book, which I did get yesterday, has a meatloaf meal listed but I don't think I'll bother with that even if I do cook. I'll see what Spouse feels up to when I get home and go from there.

Hungry today

Last night turned out to be a bust as far as exercise goes. Plus I forgot to bake the bread I set in the oven to rise and it had fallen this morning (baked it anyway and it's vaguely edible.)

Last night's meal was listed as:
Roast veal (3 oz)
Whole kernel corn (1/2 cup)
cauliflower (1/2 cup)
salad of grapefruit and orange (1/2 each) on lettuce
strawberry gelatin (1/2 cup)
coffee

Actual meal was:
Homemade seitan (3 oz)
brocoli and green beans(1+ cup)
pear (1)
beer (1 very large bottle)

This morning's breakfast didn't work out as planned either. The boiled egg wasn't cooked (!) even after 5 minutes, the bread was flat and I felt generally rushed. Proposed breakfast menu:

orange juice (1/2 cup)
rice flakes (1 cup)
banana (1/2 med)
egg cooked in shell (1)
buttered bread (1 slice)
skim milk (1 cup)

Actual breakfast menu:

grapefruit (1/2)
homemade fruit granola (1/2 cup)
fat-free Greek yogurt (1/2 cup)
dry bread (1 very small, heavy slice)
tea with soy milk (1/3 cup soymilk)

As you can see, that's much less food than I ate yesterday and I'm already hungry (at 9:30). Lunch is quite small as well as I'm skipping the Perfection salad (a vegetable and gelatin mould - yuck!) and cup of skim milk. Lunch will be sauteed Quon naked cutlet (original called for chicken), 1/2 cup egg noodles and 1/2 asparagus with an apple for dessert. I could eat the whole thing now. I may need to grab a banana to help tide me over.

****
UPDATE

Snagged a banana and some supposedly steamed (they tasted like there was some kind of fat on them) green beans from the caff at lunch.

Apron Revolution February Challenge

I decided to join the challenge this month at the Apron Revolution. It's a diet and exercise challenge using the Better Homes and Gardens Diet Book and Jack Lalane exercises! Go to the Diet and Exercise page to see the info. I only just ordered the book yesterday so have started today based on the menus posted on the site. I'm going to have to be doing a lot of modifying to omit the meat, but veggie meats tend to have fewer calories anyway. Having such a large breakfast definitely kept hunger away during the morning though. It's just past 1:00 and I'm finally hungry and sitting down to lunch

Today's menu was scheduled to be:
BREAKFAST
stewed prunes (8)
shirred egg (1)
bacon (2)
buttered muffin (1)
skim milk (1 cup)

LUNCH
Sandwich of:
whole wheat bread (2 slices)
American cheese (1oz)
Sliced tomato (1 med)
Tossed green salad (1 cup)
Rosy dressing (1 T)
Lemon sherbet (1/3 cup)
skim milk (1 cup)

DINNER
Roast veal (3 oz)
Whole kernel corn (1/2 cup)
cauliflower (1/2 cup)
salad of grapefruit and orange (1/2 each) on lettuce
strawberry gelatin (1/2 cup)
coffee

The actual meals are:
BREAKFAST
grapefruit (1/2)
shirred egg (1)
Smart bacon (2)
buttered whole wheat muffin (1)
tea with soy milk (1/3 cup soymilk)

LUNCH
Sandwich of:
whole wheat English muffin(2 slices)
cheddar cheese (1oz)
raw spinach (1/4 cup)
mustard
Tossed green salad (spinach, carrot, celery) (1 cup)
Blue cheese dressing packet from the cafeteria (1.5 oz)
water

DINNER
TBA

With luck I bang those exercises out when I get home too!

Does having a salad for dessert count as cheating?

And does the mozzarella on the salad make a difference?

Last night I managed 42 minutes on the Wii Fit, 30 of it on the island cycle (basically stepping up and down on the board). It made me really wish I wasn't so afraid to ride a bike. I didn't learn to ride until I was 18 and then only rode in Vermont. The last time I was on a bike was back in Burlington, VT and I was TERRIFIED! That's what over 10 years of not riding will do (and time in Boston where I've known many people hit while riding). Maybe when the weather gets warmer I'll look into bringing my bike down to the nice path by the water, or riding around the river. It's going to be getting my bike there and back though that will be the challenge!

On the food front, I forgot my lunch again. Feh! It's the last of the potato soup and really needs to be eaten. I've had soup every day since I made a big batch of broth when I came home from England. I tend to make a large batch so we can have soup for several meals so in the past week I've only made three soups: vegetable bean, potato leek, and lentil. The lentil probably has one more meal left, that is unless Spouse finishes it off today. I'm at a loss as to what to make next. Maybe a garlic soup?

With the soups we've been having bread, salad, usually with fresh mozzarella, and the occasional bit it broccoli. I still need to train Spouse in bread baking as it would make it much easier for me to prep things and just leave it to rise when I go to work and have him kneed, shape and bake during the day. However, since I haven't managed that yet (he has been ever so helpful by cleaning the kitchen during the day though!) I'll be mixing the dough tonight from the sponge I made up last night. The full day of ripening should do wonderful things for the flavour!

Exercise

I really have a hard time making the time for exercise. The one time I was able to lose weight without some sort of diet was when I was unemployed and made a point of walking for an hour a day. This time I'm not exercising just to lose weight, but more importantly to get stronger.

Fortunately I have the Wii Fit now which makes moving my body around like a dork actually enjoyable (I do like long walks too, but it's too cold now for that). I've managed two 30 minute sessions on it this week and am shooting for a total of four. Eventually I'd like to be able to do it every day, but it always feels like it takes too much time (although what else I'd do with that 30 minutes I don't know.)

Remember me?

I had a good breakfast this morning. My doc reminded me that I really should eat breakfast every day. She said it was okay if I couldn't face more food to just have fruit. Now I just need to remember that I do in fact have fruit in the house!. Brekkies today was scrambled eggs with the broccoli left over from dinner and a bit of parmesan (less than 1/2 oz), plus tea with soy milk. I even remembered to take my enormous multivitamin that I need to bite into thirds to get down.

Lunch will be the leftover potato leek soup (which I didn't have last night because I was full from the starters) and a Tofurkey and spinach sandwich with Branston pickle on homemade bread.

Oops

All that crowing about how I was going to walk more and yesterday I only did the mile to Central. But we had a nice homemade dinner last night of Quorn (for me, chicken for Spouse) with mushrooms, onions and spinach in a white wine and cream sauce over brown rice, with steamed broccoli on the side. I made far too much rice and Spouse didn't even finish his portion.

Lunch today will be frozen food. I bought it a couple of weeks ago to shove in the freezer in case I really needed it, and I think my schedule will be too tight today to contemplate a better lunch.

Having trouble drinking water today. My stomach is a little upset and water just doesn't feel right. Unfortunately there's no fizzy water in the vending machine, so I'll probably go for ginger ale.

Bad blogger

I've been so bad about putting anything here lately. I've been following other people's progress, which has been inspiring, but neglecting to log my own. Perhaps I'm just afraid to see in print the days I slack, overeat or over drink?

For the past two days (yes, two whole days) I've increased the walking part of my evening commute. Previously I had been walking to Central Square in Cambridge to take the T home, which comes out to one mile from my office. Last week I tried going a bit further to see how awful it would be, and it was actually not a bad walk at all!, So now my basic goal (rainstorms and heavy grocery days aside) is to walk from the office to Kendal Square by way of Central, which works out to 2.3 miles. I am allowed to stop (such as for groceries) but I must do that 2+ miles before getting on the T to go home. Then it's only the piddly 1/2 mile from the T stop to home.

Breakfast:
toast with peanut butter, tea with soy milk, water

Hey, I lost weight!

I cheated though: I got sick. Now I'm on antibiotics that have appetite suppression as a side-effect (the only positive side effect). I had been trying to get more walking in, but this weekend I was so ill I hardly moved, let alone left the house. But after looking at some recent photos today, I'm just horrified.


Yes, I am just bloody huge.

Here's hoping the warmer weather will inspire healthier meals (it usually does) and the desire for long walks. And that the four pounds I've lost stay off when I come off the meds next week!

Bad me!

I am naughty for not posting, but I'll try to get back at it.

Yesterday I took my first steps (ha!) toward walking my way into fitness. I walked for 30 minutes at lunch while listening to an old radio show I'd downloaded. The result: big blister on my toe! It's got a bandaid on it so I will not be deterred from today's walking. Since I have a meeting to go to 12-1:30, I'll be walking after work.

Yesterday I also started some warmer weather breakfasts. I bought three different bags of organic frozen fruit, plus placed three bananas in the freezer before they went off. So yesterday was a mango, banana and pineapple smoothie made with Greek yogurt and soy milk and a scant teaspoon (if that) of honey. Yesterday's tea was lighter on sugar as well. Today's smoothie was pineapple and banana with even less honey (mainly because it wasn't coming out of the squeeze bottle) and lacked only a touch of coconut to make it a total tropical explosion. I have some unsweetened coconut too, so may try that tomorrow.

I managed to keep from big snacking yesterday somewhat. My post-walk lunch was a salad with sesame dressing (about 2T?) and a hard boiled egg. There was some leftover food from noon service and I managed to avoid the olives, feta, hummus and crackers in favour of the grape tomatoes, which were really sweet. Pre-class much was veggie sushi and post-section dinner was cod and leeks with a couple tiny, 1" potatoes. I paid WAY too much for that small amount of food, but cod isn't really sustainable, so I'll just call that guilt money. Oh, and 2 pints.

Today's lunch is provided at the meeting, so I don't know quite what it will be yet. I'm hoping for a snack-feasting dinner though.

Ugh. Lunch was a Greek salad wrap. I HATE wraps as it's like someone smeared out paste in a circle, let it dry then rolled some salad up in it and let it soak through again. I ate about 1/4 of it, then picked out and ate the filling with my fingers. And then I had the included crisps and cookie. There were two cookies included but I traded my second one for some Advil.

Fruit!

Breakfast was grapes and an English muffin with butter and jam. Tea was unsweetened, unlightened as all the milk is spoiled. I poured the beginnings of tofu into my tea to discover that and then checked the cow milk and that was off too.

Spring has Sprung

The weather is getting warmer and it just cries out for long walks to be taken (yes, weather cries out to me.) We went for a walk down to the water on Friday and then out for a pub meal, which was just wonderful (the walk, not the meal. The meal was just okay.) Spouse went out hiking on Saturday while I stayed home and did grading and then went down the pub for a bit. We decided that walks would be our things, and, even better, it's getting to be the time of the year for Snack-feasting!

Our first official snack-feast meal was last night. Snack-feasting for us is when we lay out a table full of what one might consider appetisers (bread, garlic oil and caprese salad feature prominently) and then munch our way through in an unhurried fashion. Last night's feast was gingered asparagus, pan-roasted sprouts with garlic and pine nuts, steamed artichoke with dijonaisse dipping, tomato and mozzarella, olives, bread and garlic-herb oil. I somehow managed to drink an entire bottle of wine over the course of the evening though. V Bad!

This morning the snack-feasting continued with us having grapefruit, papaya and veggie sausage on home-made English muffins. A rather huge meal, but at least we won't be snacking on junk all day!

Friday again. Where did the week go?

Yet again I did not make breakfast. I had a few dried apricots with my tea and then bought a crappy excuse for a croissant at work.

Huh. Where did Wednesday go?

Well, it's Thursday now, so let's just start in. I ran very late today but somehow made in to work two minutes before start time. Showered, made tea and cooked an asparagus and Smart Bacon omelet this morning, which took a lot of the time, then setting my hair while eating took much more. I would have made it out earlier if I hadn't then spend 10 minutes trying to find my mp3 player that the cat had made off with. The thought of commuting without it was just too ghastly!

I should do a quick recap of what I had yesterday, I suppose. Breakfast was a veggie sausage and tea. Lunch options in the cafeteria were slim so I went for the salad bar even though that was pretty much full of leftovers. One of the leftovers was the couscous from Molly Katzen's visit though, so that made a nice topper on the salad. I broke down and had non-food from the vending machine in the afternoon in the form of a Milky Way. Not satisfying at all. Dinner was pizza and beer and then the last of the jelly beans at home.

Speaking of pizza, I still have store-bought dough at home and will probably make pizza for dinner tonight. We have mushrooms, asparagus and spinach, which should make something reasonably healthy. I need to go shopping soon for more flour to get our bread production back up. The pizza dough I made on Sunday was very nice (I didn't get to taste the finished product) and I thought it might be nice to make some whole wheat dough to keep in the freezer for occasional pizza nights at home.

I'm about halfway through In Defense of Food right now, and while it's not really telling me much that I didn't know in terms of what we should eat, it's still really shocking to see the extent of corruption of our food because of lobbying groups and how our diet has changed because the food we grow is made to be cheap and transportable. It's making me really wish we'd bought a CSA this year, but it may be too late to get one at this point.

Lunch today was quickly gobbled before running up to a video shoot at work. The food place in the lab building has premade salads and I got a spinach and berry salad, using only about a tablespoon of dressing. For dessert - yes, I got dessert - it was chocolate pudding. A fizzy water was consumed over the next hour and a half while I did the shoot.

No pizza for dinner as Freddie made it up for his lunch. He was still full when I got home, so I made red beans and rice for myself.

Hungry? Not?

I wasn't hungry at all again this morning but now that I'm at work I'm thinking I should eat something. Hmmm. Breakfast sandwich time, perhaps?

Still full from Sunday

I made tons of food yesterday and ate too much of it. I'm still full this morning so limited myself to tea for breakfast. Spouse says I feel thinner to him. I though I haven't noticed anything yet.

I made an appointment for my annual exam (nearly a bi-annual at this point!) but can't get in until July. At least that gives me some more time to slim down a bit. I weight about 20 pounds more than the last time I was in and then I was trying to lose weight too! But maybe the writing will help. I've started a private blog that I'm viewing as my therapist. I spill everything, no matter how hard it is (and some of it is hard to put down in print) and just try to let go. It's also good for general bitching when someone annoys me :) And it's probably better than slugging the person or screaming, "SHUT UP!"

Mollie Katzen was doing a cooking demo with tastings and recipes in our cafeteria today. I had a bit of everything (you got a small plate to put a taste of each dish on) and really loved the gingered asparagus most. The black beans in mango sauce were good too, but I think the dish I want to try most (after the asparagus) is couscous with orange and dill. I have a ton of dill left over from co-op last night and would only need to buy an orange. Well, technically I'd need to buy couscous too, but I'm going to try it with quinoa instead.

The rest of lunch was veggie lasagne and green beans.

Dinner was the quinoa dish and sausage over baby spinach and half an artichoke with vegan dijonaisse.

Hooray for Friday!

I have three meetings today, but still, IT'S FRIDAY!!

I forgot to pick up more grapefruit, or even juice yesterday so it was a citrus-free breakfast :( I did have a boiled egg, three slices of Smart Bacon and bread with butter along with my tea. I'm really missing the citrus though so may need to hit the cafeteria before my meetings to get some juice.

The citrus craving got the better of me. I just finished 16oz of red grapefruit juice.

I had lots of water in the morning and during the first two meetings of the day, then gorged myself on macaroni and cheese and roasted sprouts (with more water) for lunch.

Tried breakfast

This morning I made cream of wheat with dried fruit to have in addition to grapefruit and tea. It wasn't that good, but I blame that on my choice of fruit (black mission figs and cherries.) Still, I ate it all and it hasn't killed me yet.

Lunch was a white bean soup and small salad with blue cheese dressing. I've had a decent amount of water today too. Dinner will be boeuf bourguignon (made with seitan), bread and broccoli. An all B meal.

Midweek

Grapefruit and tea again this morning.

I heard an interesting thing on diet books on NPR this morning. Someone has come up with a writer's diet that, apart from the eat-less-exercise-more advise that everyone should follow, suggests writing for 20 minutes every morning to keep yourself on track. I'm such a slug that I don't know if I could manage it since it would mean getting up on time in the mornings! But I've managed to incorporate eating in the morning, even if I haven't had more food lately (and I should get back to having cereal or egg and toast), so perhaps I could manage writing, even if it's only updating my other blog.

Snacked on Smartfood from the vending machine. I really need to make bigger breakfasts to avoid getting so hungry late morning.

Lunch was rice, tarka dahl and salad with Russian dressing. And water.

Dinner was a cocktail, pizza with gorgonzola, carmelized onions and figs. And then a glass of wine.

Back at work

It's 83 degrees in the office. People keep asking how I'm feeling because I took the day off (and two people are still out) and all I can say is, "Sweaty!" I climbed up on the sill to open my window and they just opened the door to the outside, but it's still too hot.

I couldn't get to sleep last night, so I hope I can make it through the day. I've got section tonight too and need to write my notes. Breakfast was grapefruit and tea.

Lunch was a giant honkin' sandwich and water.

Dinner was salmon salad and beer at John Harvard.

Took a Sickie

I was starting to feel really drained, like when you have a fever, yesterday so used it as an excuse to stay home. But since I rolled over in bed yesterday morning and strained my neck (almost as lame an injury as when I threw my back out plugging in an iron) AND somehow screwed up my foot so it feels like the cramp from hell when I try to walk, I feel justified in staying home. And I was still oogie when I sent the email that I'd be out. The neck is starting to feel better now after Freddie gave me massages last night and this morning (and he fixed my film editor!), but the foot is still screwed up. It's been a while since I've had an x-ray though, so maybe I'm just due for some radiation :)

I mad two recipes from Vegetarian Times last night that were fab! One was a red quinoa and beet salad from the Ubuntu restaurant (how could I pass that up) in Napa Valley, and the other was a pasta with asparagus and feta. After we ate the salad, neither of us were hungry for the pasta, so I've been munching it today. There's still leftover beets, quinoa and arugula for more salad too.

Beverages today have so far been limited to tea, of which I drank a whole pot! I'm a bit wired now.

Dinner was leftovers, water and a bit of coffee ice cream

Another long day

I only managed to do 17 minutes of Wii fit today because it was just too yucky and I started crying when Spouse tried to talk to me. PMS Fit. And I have a sensitive tooth today and am in back-to-back meetings again (right now, in fact).

Breakfast was grapefruit, cornbread and tea. Lunch was avocado and cheese sandwich, chips and cookie with water.