.150...146.....140...136.....130...126 GOAL
Hi.
I’m still alive.
But yeah…I totally fell off the wagon there…for several months. Sorry ‘bout that. Anywho, after it was reccommended to me I decided to give SparkPeople a try. It’s a free service and it makes tracking my calories and exercise and such much, much, much, much easier. I highly suggest you check it out if you’re trying to make healthy changes in your life.
If you want to be buddies my username is DomesticDork. Feel free to look me up. :)
Breakfast {165 calories}":
Went for a rainy walk/run {mostly walking} with Lucy in the new-to-us jogging stroller this morning. Felt pretty good. Probably should have done more running but whatever. I’m still planning on shredding today too so there’s no need to push myself too hard. I have the Nike+ for iPod, which I quite like. It tracks my speed/distance/time for me and even posts runs on Twitter and Facebook for me. Click the image of today’s run graph the be taken to my Nike+ profile.
After-Workout Snack {121 calories}:
Lunch { calories}:
Obviously I didn’t get this posted Friday. And I took the weekend off. I wanted to see if I could get away with not counting calories on the weekends. Maybe it was because we had a special dinner Adam won from a local radio station, plus Mother’s Day lunch, but I completely sabotaged my progress by not counting calories this weekend. My Wii Fit told me that I gained nearly 3 pounds back over the weekend.
I also failed to do the shred all weekend. @_@ I’ve got, something, going on right now. I’m not ready to blog about it. There’s still too much to prepare. But it’s definitely proving a hindrance to my weight-loss goals. I’m going to try counting calories again this week. But I’m not sure if I’m going to kick myself for missing it. The “something” needs to be ready by the end of the month. The Shred can be done once the “something” is ready. So, we’ll see.
Anyway, I’m just checking in to report my progress. And by “progress” I mean “complete lack of progress.”
Breakfast {237 calories}:
Lunch {429 calories}:
Dinner {990 calories}:
Snacks {470 calories}:
Total: 2162, higher than acceptable range
A word about dinner and dessert: I’m not gonna lie. I’m an emotional eater. And today was not a good day. When I’m feeling upset, or sad or angry BAM! I crave junk, usually baked goods, but sometimes, like today, fast food. Hence, the McDonald’s for dinner. I tried to make the best of it, choosing the smallest size fries, and opting for 1 burger when I really, honestly wanted two. I also had NO SODA. In fact, since hopping back on the bandwagon the only beverages I’ve had are water, coffee, and tea. And I can’t remember the last time I had soda. Soda will DESTROY your calorie count for the day. And most of the time it’s just not worth it. But I digress. Anyhow, as for the cupcake and pita chips, those were consumed at a get together at a new friend’s place. I knew they would put me over and I made a conscious decision to let it go. I actually would have been under 1800 and therefore within the acceptable range if I had passed on the cupcake. But I’m OK having gone over today. There have been several days this week when I had wiggle room left at the end of the day. So going over this once isn’t going to kill me, especially since I’ve been doing the Shred as well {except yesterday, but all went well today}. I guess what it comes down to is this, I may have lost the battle but I’m still winning the war. I’ve even moved my little running ticker again. :)
Breakfast {340 calories}:
Snack/Lunch/Thing {479 calories}:
Dinner {~892 calories}:
Snack {40 calories}:
The good news? Even with that big, honkin’ burrito at dinner I came in under 1800 calories for the day putting me within my acceptable range. The bad news is that Lucy got vaccinations today and pretty much spent the whole day in my lap leaving me no chance to do the 30 Day Shred. That’s OK. I missed one day last time I did the shred too. I just made up for it by going one day longer than I had planned, which is what I’ll do this time.
Breakfast {241 calories}:
Snack/Lunch/thing/meal {~384 calories}:
Second Snack/Lunch/thing/meal {316 calories}:
Pre-Dinner Snack {80 calories}:
Dinner {~403 calories}:
Snack {355 calories}:
Total: 1779 {within acceptable range of 1500-1800}
Like yesterday, I’m not entirely sure how much I had at dinner. But Adam and I guesstimated the amounts as best we could. So, if our calculated guesses are correct then I came in well within my acceptable range yesterday!
Day 3/30 of the 30 Day Shred. Day 3 is, not surprisingly, better than day 2. Day 1 is hard of course, but day 2 is harder because you’re so sore from day 1. But by day 3, and maybe it’s just psychological, you’re already feeling like your body is adjusting to the new routine. Adam didn’t get a chance to do it with me this morning. We both had trouble falling asleep last night so we didn’t get up early enough like we had planned. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll both get a chance to shred.
Breakfast {218 calories}:
Snack {24 calories}:
Lunch {620 calories}:
Snack {320 calories}:
Dinner {??? calories}:
Total: ??? I don’t know because I don’t have my count for dinner. But I’m OK with that. I think it was under or close to 1800 today which is in the range I’m aiming for. Aaaand dinner was a nice, healthy meal. It tasted fantastic. And we made it on our new Foreman grill so it was cooked in a healthy way. I’m gonna have to be careful with those muffins though! They’re really good. And while they are healthy as muffins go {no sugar, whole grain, and veggies!} they are pretty calorie dense. Just FYI, I make my Full Meal Muffins with whole wheat rather then spelt and barley flours.
This morning we weighed ourselves with the Wii Fit before doing our Shred. Despite my recent lapse in healthy habits I’ve actually lost about a pound and a half. Yay! That means I get to move my little runner icon above. :) I’m planning on eating oatmeal every morning, or close to every morning. It should help keep my milk supply up while I’m losing weight. The good news is that Lucy isn’t dependent on milk like an infant is. So I’m betting it’s probably, actually OK if I do lose at the rate I was losing a month or so ago. Most breastfeeding information and guidelines are designed for moms nursing babies, not toddlers, because, unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of moms nursing toddlers in the Western world. So there probably haven’t been many studies done on the mom/toddler nursing dyad. And, just in case my supply takes a dip, I’ve got the oatmeal to help combat that.
Day 2 of the Shred was, not surprisingly, a bit painful {helloooooo sore muscles}! But we pushed through. We know that our endurance will build up and that, in the end, it will all be worth it.
Breakfast {316 calories}:
Snack {64 calories}:
Lunch {364 calories}
Snack {172 calories}:
Dinner {400 calories}:
Snack {305 calories}:
Total Calories: 1621 {within acceptable range of 1500-1800}
Day one of my month-long habit building challenge. Started the day doing the 30 Day Shred w/ManDork. Muscles feel like jelly now. I added two bracelets to my bracelet habit system, a white one to represent my daily session with Jillian Michaels, and a purple one to represent that I’ve taken my vitamins {as well as having given Lucy her vit D}. I’m really proud of myself for doing the Shred even though I’m fighting off a cold. It’s been hard to motivate myself to care about fitness and healthy eating lately. But, despite having my ass kicked by that workout, I feel really good. I feel good about myself for having done it. I feel confident that I can ditch all this baby weight. And I feel more awake.
Breakfast {388 calories}:
Lunch {394 calories}:
Snack {382 calories}”
Dinner {419 calories}:
Snack {182 calories}:
Total Calories Count: 1765 {within acceptable range of 1500-1800}
It’s almost time.
I try to participate in the MS Walk every year, in honor of my mother. It’s a cause that matters greatly to me. And I would love your help.
This year I’m hoping to raise at least $1,000. If all 328 of my Blogger followers gave just $4 that would be more than enough. See? Even small donations can make a big difference! So, if you’re able, please consider sponsoring me. Not able to donate? That’s OK. You can still help me out by blogging, tweeting, and sharing on Facebook. Any help at all will mean a lot to me, and to the MS Society.
I’m sure you’ll be hearing from me about the MS Walk a few more times between now and the date of my local walk. Consider this a “kick-off” post.
And, just FYI, I will make a blog signature for anyone who donates $10 dollars or more and provides a valid e-mail address in their online donation form. You’ll have to select the “name and amount” option to receive your free signature. Or, if you donate $15 dollars or more you can choose between a free signature or one month of advertising space on Domestic Dork {provide an e-mail address and select “name and amount”}. And everyone who donates {again, you’ll need to provide an e-mail address in the form”} has the option of being added to an “Honor Blog Roll.” The blog roll will be left in my sidebar on Domestic Dork for 3 months and then left indefinitely on the blog page {see the “blogs” button in my menu on the left side of my Domestic Dork blog}.
Thanks for reading this, and thanks in advance and from the bottom of my heart for any donations and/or help spreading the word.
Time to get back on the wagon because, well, obviously, I fell off. I haven’t been journaling my food. I haven’t been counting calories. I haven’t been exercising {which I need to do even when I don’t get comments on the blog}. And I may, or may not, have been unable to resist sampling my homework for my cake decorating class. Seeing as I’m tired of being disappointed with myself, and it’s about to be the start of a brand new month this seemed like a good time to recommit.
My goal of drinking three glasses of water a day for 30 days was a big success. I used some of the Habitwise bracelets I won in a giveaway. There website doesn’t seem to be working this morning. But basically it’s a bunch of simple, different colored bracelets that you move from one wrist to the other to indicated having had a serving from that food group {or in my case, having had water}. You can use bracelets to track all sorts of things really…which side you last nursed your baby on, if you’ve exercised yet that day, whatever you can think of really. I don’t recommend buying the Habitwise bracelets. One of mine broke. And you can use any style bracelets you like, even different colored pony tail holders if you’d like. But I do recommend the concept. There’s no way, with my ADD, that I would have been able to keep track of my water habit without them. I couldn’t rely on writing them down because, honestly, I could {and would} get distracted on my way to the calendar to mark my tally. The bracelets were always with me no matter where I was getting my water. And after 30 days of building the habit it’s still going. I’ve gotten used to *not* being dehydrated so I want to drink my water.
Since the 30 day habit challenge seemed to work so well I think it’s time to do it again, but step it up a notch. So, for the next 30 days {in addition to continuing to drink water regularly} here’s what I’m going to do:
Gaaaaaah…the 30 Day Shred {30DS} kicked my ass last time I did it. But, as hard as it was, and as much as I hated it at times, it was a great thing to have done. It whipped me into much better shape than I had been in for quite some time. And it wasn’t too long after doing it that I ran my first mile since high school. Seeing as I still want to someday run that marathon I need to get back on track to building a running habit. I could do a couch to 5k program, but the 30DS worked well for me, and is easy to keep track of {simple 20 minutes a day, every day, for 30 days}. After it’s done I’ll figure out the running schedule {not that I’m ruling out running during the month of may…we did just buy a new-to-us jogging stroller after all}.
And, as for counting calories. It was a little bit of work, but it worked…until I stopped. So, back on the wagon I climb. *fingers crossed*
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April Fool’s! I really just had two bowls of Special K Red Berries w/skim milk {that stuff is addictive}.
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Oops, forgot to post this yesterday. @_@
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I’m doing well, really well, too well. I’ve lost 5 pounds in a week. My goal was 1 pound a week. 5 pounds a week is doable…for people who aren’t breastfeeding. But it’s just too fast for me right now. Even my Wii Fit expressed concern about my rate of loss. It kinda sucks to purposely slow down when my new eating habits are working so well. But, oh well. I’ll get to my goal eventually, even if it takes a while.
What am I doing that’s working so well? For starters, my food journal is making a big difference. Not only do I have to admit to myself what I’m eating I have the accountability of this blog. It’s a lot easier to resist eating a box of donuts when you know you have to tell the world about it. The food journal also helps me really see what’s going on. And, after counting calories for several days, I’ve gotten a much better idea of what my needs look like. It’s also a lot easier to look at the label on a food and determine if it’s a low-cal or high-cal choice. I’m not counting calories at the moment, but I learned a lot from doing it and I highly recommend giving it a try.
Another suggestion I have is Special K and Weight Watchers products. I’ve come to think of them as my secret weapons. The Special K cereal is really low-cal so I can have a big bowl of it but it’s the caloric equivalent of a small bowl of something else. And the Weight Watchers items are helpful because of the portion sizes. The cakes are small, individually wrapped portions so it’s easy to say “OK, I’ve had one, I’m done.” And the bread is good, and also in smaller portions than regular bread. {By the way, I’m not getting free samples or anything, these are just my opinions on things I’ve tried on my own.}
I still haven’t taken “before” pictures, but you can get idea of where I’m starting from by checking out these pictures.
Anyway, just thought I’d check in with my progress. Thanks so much for all your support so far. It’s been helpful. :)
What is green juice?
It’s basically a smoothie made with green, leafy plants {such as wheatgrass, or spinach}. You can make your own in a blender. I buy mine because it’s just so stinkin’ convenient {I usually get the Bolthouse Farms version, but there’s also Naked brand, sometimes a store brand, and the Odwalla version}. The trick is that they’re made with fruit to make them taste better.
I first learned about green smoothies when I worked in a health food store. We were allowed to read the store books if we weren’t busy with customers and I read Green For Life. It’s worth taking a look at if for no other reason than to get some of the many recipes in the back. I suspect the claims it makes for the power of green juice are exaggerated, but I do believe green juice is healthy stuff!
Green juice is a great way to get a serving of veggies, or several, quickly. Give it a try, you might find you like it, even if it takes some getting used to. And if you don’t, well, you can still get veggies the old fashioned way.
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If you’re interested in how I’m counting calories for items with no nutritional label {such as fruit} I’ve found this calorie counting website to be very helpful.
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Today I found myself too far under in my calories. I not only had room for snacks in the evening, I actually needed to eat more if I wanted to protect my milk supply. So I did. :)
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Some thoughts on counting calories:
This calorie counting thing is both easier and harder than I expected. I’m going to keep it up for as long as I feel like it. I don’t want to force myself to do it if it stops being helpful but at the moment I’m finding it really educational. I’m getting a better idea of what a serving size REALLY is, and what it feels like to eat what I need vs. what I want. It’s kind of like our financial budget. We have so much money we can spend each month and we need to keep are spending at or under that amount. And some things are just too expensive to fit into the budget, or need to be severely limited. Well, I have so many calories I can eat each day and I need to keep my eating at or under that amount. And some things are just too “expensive” to fit into the budget, or need to be severely limited. Same principle. In fact, a recent Psychology Today article suggests that setting a “mental budget” helps with self control. And I’m finding that’s true for me. Self-control has never been my strong suit, which is probably why I’m 30 pounds overweight to begin with. It’s certainly not my metabolism’s fault {I have a great metabolism}. So, for now, I’m gonna keep it up.
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And that brings me to just under 1800 calories for today! Yay for me! It was hard this evening because I was hungry after dinner and wanted to snack. But I found the Rice Krispies actually made a pretty good lo-cal snack. They kept my fingers busy, tasted somewhat sweet, and helped me feel more full.
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“A Princeton University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.” {via Princeton.edu}Now, we all know soda is bad for us, but most of us still love it. If you’re worried about HFCS in your Coke now is the time to stock up on Kosher Coke {released for Passover} which is made with honest-to-goodness, real sugar. Just look for the special yellow caps on 2-liters. The linked article also suggest looking for Mexican Coke in glass bottles. Check the ingredient label to confirm it’s made with sucrose and not high-fructose corn syrup.
“Physical therapy and a health education programme are effective in improving postnatal well-being and can reduce the risk for postnatal depression (PND), according to a new study.” {via TopNews.in}Health Care Reform
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So, that brings me to about 2,107 calories, including the snacks I’m planning on having. That’s still more than I need each day, especially if I want to lose weight, but that’s 713 fewer calories than yesterday {the potato salad was not the healthiest choice ever}. So that’s improvement. At this point I’m not gonna beat myself up over this sort of thing. I’m learning. I’m learning what foods are worse than they seem, and learning what my habits are.
And I have a crying toddler, gotta go!
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So, last night before I went to bed I decided to count the calories I had consumed that day. I don’t plan on counting calories every day {too much work and I know I’ll just give up all together}. I was just curious. What I discovered shocked me. I had over 1000 CALORIES MORE than I need per day! @_@ I consumed about 2820 calories. I need anywhere from 1500-1800 {the excepted range for breastfeeding mothers who would like to lose weight without affecting supply}. So, um…yikes.
It was the pizza and donuts that did me in. I could have eaten just as much food of another type and probably not gone over my caloric needs. But the pizza and donuts were so high in calories that even though I didn’t completely pig out {at least not compared to how I normally eat} I took a big hit.
I guess we can think of our caloric needs like a budget. You might have $200 to spend on a shopping trip. But if you buy the designer purse you won’t have room left in your budget for pants and a jacket. If you buy the Target purse for $25 you still have plenty for other items. You’re getting more without paying more. Food is the same way. In exchange for ONE honey dip donut from Timmy’s I could have FIVE clemmies. And a clemmy at least has some nutritional benefet {vit C for example}.
Just some food for thought.
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I’m not gonna lie…I feel fat. And that’s a big part of why I’m doing this {“this” being the new blog and the whole “getting in shape thing}. This blog isn’t going to be as entertaining as Domestic Dork, I’m sure. Because, really, reading about what I eat? Not that exciting. And I’m not going to worry so much about grammar and typos on this blog. Because, while I’m sharing it {for accountability, and just in case someone does find it interesting for some reason} this blog is for me.
There was a point last year when I could run a mile. I’m afraid to see how far I could run now. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t make it a mile without having to stop and walk. So I’m back to square one in my efforts to be a runner. Someday I’d like to run a marathon. But first I need to be able to run a 5K. And before I can do that I have to get off my butt and run, period.
Sugar and I, well…we’re tight. But sugar isn’t a good friend. I need to spend way less time with her. Water, on the other hand, does not see me enough. She and I need to reunite. That’s why I’m gonna have 3 glasses of water a day for the next 31 days. They say you should have 8 glasses. But you know what, I’m starting small. I’m not gonna let perfectionism get me down. 3 glasses a day is better than 0 glasses a day and if I feel overwhelmed by the goal of 8 glasses than I can promise you I’ll give up.
Tonight I’m going on a walk with Adam and Lucy. It’s another small step, but it’s better than sitting on the couch and watching a movie which is normally what we do in the evenings.
I’m going to try the whole food journal thing. I’ll post everything I consume here on The Last 30 Pounds {30lbs}. Maybe knowing I have to tell the world that I ate a box of mini-donuts for lunch will be motivation enough to NOT eat the box of mini-donuts for lunch…you know, just for example…not like I would ever really eat a box of mini-donuts for lunch…*cough cough*…um, yeah…moving on!
So, why am I doing this? Well, like I said, I feel fat. And yeah, I know…we live in a culture with an unhealthy obsession with looks and I shouldn’t focus on my appearance as much as I should being healthy. Weight is just a number, yada yada yada. But even though I know that, I still don’t like feeling fat. I can fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans, but by “fit” I mean I can get them on, not that they’re comfortable or that I don’t have a massive muffin top spilling over them {because they aren’t and I do}. I’d like for that to change. I’d like to be about the size I was when I got married {which was a little over 4 years ago}. Maybe that’s not possible since I’ve had a baby. But I need a goal and that’s what I’ve chosen.
I also want to do this for Lucy. Aside from the appearance factor I’m not healthy. I’m too sedentary and I don’t eat well enough {I blame a lot of that on the fact that I hate, hate, HATE cooking}. I need to set a good example for her.
I’m also doing this for myself, to prove to myself that I CAN make changes, that I AM stronger than I think, that my will power is not entirely non-existent.
I’m not sure if I’ll choose a reward for myself should I reach my goal. I’m not sure yet what all I’m going to do. I’ll start with the water, and the food journal, and exercising for comments {1 minute per legitimate comment on this blog}. I’m also experimenting with the off-brand SlimFast. It’s maybe not the healthiest food ever, but it’s better than skipping lunch and then going overboard on junky snack foods because I’m so hungry.
So, that’s that. Welcome to my new blog.
