Goals for Kristen

/ coffee

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 18:36:37 GMT

This is day 1 of no coffee. I'm not cutting out caffeine entirely, just coffee (for now). Rocking the tea =)

Yesterday I realized I was just feeling more and more tired, no matter that I was drinking a TON of coffee.

So far, I feel great! Heh, I know it's definitely too soon to say anything, and the afternoons will probably be the hardest. I'll celebrate after 10 days, and then maybe start cutting out the other caffeines

Stop the caffeine!

Tue, 16 May 2006 23:59:16 GMT

I slept so poorly last night that I'm cutting myself off from caffeine at 5pm today.

That means I have 4 minutes to finish this coffee. Tomorrow I'll move it up to 4pm.

Bleah. I hate being too tolerant of caffeine. Plus, I can't go through a con this way. I'd need cases of redbull, I'd go broke!

If not progress, at least not a total loss...

Thu, 11 May 2006 00:08:29 GMT

I've been bad lately. Going off the diet, trying to get back on. NO exercise for like two months. I finally made it to the gym twice in the past week and a half or so, which felt great. Today my arms are sore, which given my workout last night means I need to go more often. I hadn't been weighing myself recently, because I'd been sure I'd gained back a lot. But I finally did last night, and saw 186, which is pretty good since I usually weigh myself in the mornings... That was totally encouraging. I hadn't gotten below 180 yet, so that's not even a 5lb gain! Woot!

Now, to be good... I gotta work hard especially since summer is coming up. My goal is 170 again... although the timing for my ultimate reward depends on how I feel about myself, so it may not be a number issue.

progress?

Sun, 19 Feb 2006 18:34:00 GMT

Well, I've been stlightly better about drinking water, but I need to get better still. The other day I was back up to 185 :( but then again, the fact that I can say "up" to that number is pretty good. And this morning I was again at 181-182. So that's good. I'm not noticing any physical change though, so I'm trying not to get too discouraged there. I haven't been going to the gym lately, so I should really get back into that. Technically speaking I'm only 7 pounds from my goal. But then, I'm not getting my reward until I feel ready for it. =)

wow...

Mon, 13 Feb 2006 15:25:45 GMT

I've been pretty bad lately, cheating here and there, not drinking enough water, etc..

But when I stepped on the scale this morning I was pleasantly surprised (nearly shocked) to see 182.

Must be a fluke. Either way, I haven't seen less than 185 in a long time. That's -13 lbs so far.

I think that's enough incentive for me to make the extra effort and try to not slip as much as I've been. I hope it is anyway :)

This week I'm going to really focus on the water thing. I'll update on that subject around Friday.

This makes me happy...

Thu, 26 Jan 2006 17:06:14 GMT

I'm wearing size 12 slacks right now!! Granted they're a semi-stretch cotton, but the 14s I have in the same style are definitely too big. And just a few months ago I was wearing 14s and even bought a couple pairs of 16s...

This is encouraging =)

50%!!!

Sat, 07 Jan 2006 18:18:52 GMT

Haven't updated in awhile... the last few weeks I've just been hovering around 7-8 lbs (more on 7). I know some of that has to do with not working out much at all, and I haven't been that good about drinking water (trying to get better)

But this morning I weighed in at 185. That's 10 lbs, which is halfway to my "reasonable" goal!

*happy dance*

Atkinsing, still doing pretty good...

Thu, 22 Dec 2005 17:12:03 GMT

Well, so far I've lost 8lbs. Woot! It is a bit harder during the Christmas season, and I have cheated a couple of times with chocolate. But I'm still trying... I packed my breakfast and lunch with me today, and am bringing a side dish of zucchini in lieu of potatoes to go with dinner at my dad's tonight (the rest of which sounds like it will be pretty low). So I should be OK for today. Doing Christmas Eve at my mom's I'm also bringing some sugar free drinks and I found a sugar free chocolate sauce with hazelnut syrup, both using Splenda. I'm going to mix them and attempt to have something resembling Nutella ;) I thought the mini saugages we always have (lil'smokies) would be full of carbs, but I checked and they're relatively low- I'll just have to not eat too many. (Its something like 2g per 6 sausages)

Trying to still avoid TOO many sweet things, even with no sugar, but about once a week A and I treat ourselves. I'm still trying to perfect that custard... I tried it with unsweetened cocoa this time, and managed to keep the 4g/serving from the original coffee recipe. It set a little better this time, but could've been a touch sweeter. I think I know how to improve it next time.

Also, I haven't been to the gym once in the past two weeks, and I know that's affecting how I feel. I'm going to try and make it this afternoon after work.

Week 1 finished

Mon, 12 Dec 2005 18:57:06 GMT

I lost 4 pounds!! I told myself to absolutely not get too excited for the first weigh-in or so. I can't wait for next week =)

As I told A this morning: This is by far the best diet I've been on. I'm actually enjoying the food, and don't feel deprived, even though I'm eating about the same quantity, maybe a little less. Last night we made the espresso custards with homemade whipped cream. My technique needs some work, but I think they were quite tasty. And only 4 carbs each =) That's a treat worth doing again.

On Eating Out (slacker)

Sat, 10 Dec 2005 20:12:37 GMT

Thursday I did that work lunch at Mimi's. So I asked for the low-carb menu, and chose a chicken and vegetable platter. We've been eating a lot of chicken...but I like it. I should mix it up tonight and do something beef, I think..

Anyway, the platter said it had 15 total carbs. Eeek. But I substituted the blue cheese dressing for a vinaigrette (mostly preference), and didn't eat a couple of the veggies. It had a whole tomato, and lots of cut up carrots (about 1 medium), which I didn't eat. So I think I kept it under 10 grams, which was okay. We got there before the lady we were meeting, so I got the menu then, and it wouldn't have even been noticed that I was on the diet except one of my co-workers brought it up. Oh well. I don't like talking about what I eat, mostly because I get a lot of the criticism (well-meaning or otherwise), and just because I don't like talking about it. But it wasn't a big deal.

Monday I'm doing sushi. ... What can I eat at a Japanese restaurant?? I have a few days to research. I like sushi, but I'm not very familiar with it all. I know rice is out :P

temptations

Thu, 08 Dec 2005 19:06:32 GMT

Hmm... there is pumpkin cheesecake in the coffee room. *sigh* I'm trying really hard to convince myself that I like neither pumpkin nor cheesecake. It's really hard, but at least when I go look at it, that's easier. It has nuts. I don't do nuts :P

Plus, my teabag quote is appropriate, if maybe a little heavy:

"Choose well, your choice is brief, and yet endless"
-Goethe

Along the lines of quotes, I don't know where I heard this, but I've repeated it to myself in the face of great tempations: "There is nothing tastes as good as being thin feels."

I don't have very much of a sweet tooth, generally, so that's good. Next post will be on eating out. I go to lunch today at Mimi's Cafe. I know they have a low-carb menu, but I'll still have to pick and choose without making a big deal out of it. I don't want to make any kind of big deal about my diet in front of our work associates/clients.

Day 3

Wed, 07 Dec 2005 19:14:44 GMT

So far this bringing food to work thing is going great. A and I prepare our dinner and the next day's lunch at the same time. A couple things of note:

First off, the sugar-free robitussin is SO gross. Bleah. Yeah, my cough is still here but I'm trying alternatives after realizing that nyquil had ~19 grams of carbs. AND my sugar-free halls coughdrops have 3 each. *sigh*

Second, peppermint tea with a little bit of splenda is very yummy. =)

The next couple days and the weekend will be interesting. I have a work lunch tomorrow that I'd all but forgotten about. Eek! my first attempt at low-carb eating out. I'm going to try and check out the menu today so I don't have to be the slowest one ordering tomorrow.

Also, I'm going to try and not drink coffee today, although I might give in midday. Yesterday I only had one cup though. Yay!

So far so good...

Mon, 05 Dec 2005 21:56:00 GMT

This day is going pretty well so far, but it's not over yet. And one of my co-workers brought in a delicious-looking chocolate cake! At least I don't have to walk by it every time I get up, but it's still pretty close and temping. I'm thinking of asking if she'll move it to the back room... but I'm resisting so far, so that's good! I'm actually not as hungry as I thought I'd be. I had breakfast about 10am, and have eaten half my lunch by now.

A new start

Mon, 05 Dec 2005 08:57:33 GMT

Tomorrow morning (technically today) I start the Atkins Diet. While I have some apprehensions about it, I think as long as you actually pay attention to what you eat (ie, not a diet consisting of bacon grease), it is a very good principal. I'm really excited about this plan, plus I have a partner =) I've never done it as a team before, and I'm feeling very optimistic.

My starting weight is 195. I'm glad to see I haven't gained weight since last I checked, which was awhile ago. My goal remains the same. More updates as they happen!

Edit: I hadn't looked back to see what my previous goal actually was, and I've decided to change it. While being 170 would be very nice, I'm going to pick the slightly more reasonable goal of 175.

New Plan

Fri, 11 Nov 2005 20:15:03 GMT

I'm on a new diet. It's the "eat what I can afford" diet. I figure if I work at it, I can cut down a lot of my grocery costs, and still lose the weight I want. Maybe I'll mix in the shakes every few days or so.

I've discovered Campbells "healthy choice" (lower fat and sodium) soups. I think I'll be getting these often. At a little over a dollar a can, you can't beat it for a cheap lunch. Okay, maybe you can, but I can't do ramen every day :P Their chicken and rice is workable. Okay, so it's not homemade, but it's not that bad either.

Also: Water, water, water. I intend to always have a glass with water next to me at work. I'm cutting out soda- too expensive and bad for me.

I'm actually kind of optimistic about this, but I don't want to get too excited. I'll do a weigh-in in about a week or so. I've also been making it to the gym about once a week for awhile now. I'm gonna try and make that two.

Day 19

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 19:56:30 GMT

A huge lunch disaster was avoided today. I made up my breakfast shake this morning, and two more at the same time for later. So I have them sitting in the fridge, but when lunchtime rolled around I started getting the munchies, and thought "Screw this, I'm going to the mexican place next door and getting a burrito."

But in the end, I realized I wasn't actually hungry per se, just a little bored with drinking the same old. But that's a lame excuse, imo. I keep telling myself I really want this, more than the immediate satisfaction of food, and that it's going to be so great to reach my goal.

Compliments help too. Some people are noticing, some people even that I haven't told about this diet. Which is pretty cool. =)

So instead of eating, I picked up some grapefruit juice for a snack. I LOVE grapefruit juice! And I'll have another shake when I'm actually hungry.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to the gym. Hopefully I'll have good news afterwards.

Haven't forgotten... (Day 17)

Mon, 17 Oct 2005 04:40:48 GMT

I haven't forgotten to post, but I haven't had great news either. I did the shakes halfway for the whole week, and not at all on the weekend. But I have been watching what I eat. I haven't been making it to the gym at all :(

I did an unofficial weigh in on Friday, and was half-relieved, half-bummed that I'm still just down 6lbs. I'll be going back with the shakes tomorrow.

Hopefully next time I'll have a better report.

Day 11

Tue, 11 Oct 2005 00:53:38 GMT

Well. I took a break on the weekend. It's WAY harder than I expected to get back on it, harder than it was starting the first couple days.

One happy note is that I was down 6 lbs on Friday, which is the last time I went to the gym.

Today I was irritable and cranky, and haven't been able to stick to the shakes. And now I'm running late and don't have time to make one for dinner.

I hope this gets better.

Day 5

Wed, 05 Oct 2005 05:12:45 GMT

I weighed myself today. I've decided to only use the scale at the gym. That way I don't weigh myself too often, and it gives me a little extra incentive to go work out ;)

- 4 lbs!!!

Okay, so I know it's really too early to count that as any kind of accurate. I mean, I know my weight fluctuates a couple of pounds throughout the month, but still... it was VERY encouraging to see that drop right from the start. I had a great workout, I ran what was probably my fasted mile, ~ 10:40. I don't always count, but I know that was a good run for me ;) My arms are sore from a pole workout last night.

And I've been good today. I'm sticking to the shakes (mostly*), and it's actually being a little easier than I thought. I don't miss food too much, although I can tell I'm going to really enjoy it when I start eating normally again. Hopefully I won't be eating junk food anymore. The way I see it, if I'm gonna splurge on a meal, it had better be worth it. No McDonalds crap for me.

Mmmm...pumpkin pie.

* 1 chocolate chip cookie (which are completely gone now, yay, no more temptation), a handful of veggies with lunch and a ZonePerfect energy bar. Oh and some apple cider I have simmering on the stove right now...

Day 4

Mon, 03 Oct 2005 21:02:39 GMT

I know this week is going to be a big challenge. The weekend was relatively easy, partly because I didn't have much going on. I'm going to have to learn to juggle social situations... so far taking the shake in a bottle works pretty well. Although I did give in and have a small dinner with friends last night, and didn't drink the shake I had brought for dinner. But given that it was the only solid food I had yesterday, I feel ok about it.

Making them up 4 at a time seems to be a pretty good idea. Taking out the blender each time is getting to be a pain.

Today I resisted the urge to get lunch. I had to go out to the bank anyhow, and I almost picked up something tasty on the way back in. But once I got to thinking about it, I realized I didn't want to deal with a food coma (which I knew would happen at this point if I ate anything larger than a snack), and I convinced myself that I really want to reach this goal. So I picked up some frozen veggies (yum! no sarcasm here), which I just finished with my lunch shake. I'm also drinking more water today.

I feel great :)

Day 2

Sun, 02 Oct 2005 02:52:11 GMT

It's definitely too early to really know if this is going to work or not. I was pretty good today, so far. I don't feel like I'm depriving myself, so that's good, I just hope this will actually be effective. I won't weigh in for a couple more days.

I don't really miss eating (yet?), but I noticed how satisfying crunching on some carrots was...

I have my shakes all made up for tomorrow. I discovered that trying to stir up this stuff with only a spoon creates a nasty mixture. A blender is a must. Good thing we have one at work now =)

Day 1

Sat, 01 Oct 2005 02:06:57 GMT

So here it is close to the end of the day. I only cheated a couple of times- I had 2 small chocolate chip cookies, and about an ounce of cheese. Other than that, I'm just finishing my 3rd shake, with a little peanut butter added.

I should be having either 4 shakes per day, or 2 shakes and either lunch or dinner. The calorie count with shakes-only is so low that I'll be adding a small amount of pb sometimes.

Okay, so those additions aren't veggies, but I think it's a pretty good start. I'll have one more regular shake later this evening, and so far I haven't felt too hungry. I'm doing better about drinking water today than I was yesterday. I really have a hard time drinking enough water, which I know is very important here, since what I'm doing is pretty similar to a liquid fast. Today I kept a cup of water with me at all times so I could sip it. That seemed to work ok.

Oh, and I'm only cutting down on coffee, not eliminating it entirely ;) but I've switched to a low-calorie non dairy creamer, and use only a small amount.

intro, and my begining stats

Fri, 30 Sep 2005 20:06:13 GMT

This journal is for me (hey, I'd lose a notebook, but LJ is always around *grin*), and to me. It's a progress marker, and a motivational tool. If anybody else wants to read it, fine by me. It's going to be all public posts. I'll do my best not to reference this journal from my other one, except for the first link. Basically this will take all the personal blathering off from my regular journal.

Okay, here's the part I don't really want to share, but I will, because it's going to be great to be able to look back at this with accomplishment. At 6 feet I weigh 200lbs even. My goal is 170lbs, and also the less specific goal of getting into shape. When I get close to that goal, I should be able to fit into my leathers, which will be a Very Good Thing. I don't need to list all the reasons why it will be good to lose this weight, although I have that list in my head. I feel good about this goal, it's reasonable yet significant. I'm looking forward to posting that I've reached it.

My routine is going to vary slightly every few days. I'll be doing mostly a shake diet called the "California Medical Diet", and supplimenting with some veggies. Every few days I'll switch and add one healthy meal to substitute either lunch or dinner. I've done this program before, a couple of years back, but I never actually stuck to it for more than a couple weeks.

I'll also be going to the gym at least twice a week. That's a manageable amount that I think I can stick to :) And I will try to fit in some sort of physical activity every single day, above what I would normally do.