Weight Training Non-Scale Victory

Calories eaten yesterday: 1315
Fat: 42g (30%)
Carbs: 101g (32%)
Protein: 109g (35%)

Weight this morning: 134.6 (One week ago: 134.2)
Calories burned in exercise today: 260

Worked out today and got a compliment from a woman in the locker room. I was putting my gloves away after my weight training and getting out my towel and she was using the locker next to mine. She said she had been watching me and that I was looking "muscular"! I've never been called muscular before! She asked me if I was getting personal training or what, and I said that 1) I'm on a low-calorie diet, and 2) yes, I signed up for the $99 personal training special they are running right now. I gave her the name of the trainer I had and said he was really good.

At any rate, this is called an "NSV" (non-scale victory) and I am pleased as punch. :)

Not much else to report. Below you will find a couple NutriSystem food reviews, and expect a couple more next week.

Weekend plans:
Brad and I hope to hike up to the West Ridge Trail tomorrow, but take a slightly different way up and back to explore more trails. Then we will make low-carb mojitos and watch the Fearfully and Wonderfully Made DVD I have.

Saturday I have no ride to church so I will have to get up around 6 a.m. to get ready, and Doug and Jane will pick me up at El Cerrito Del Norte BART station. Brad and I plan to have eggplant lasagna for dinner once I get home.

More NutriSystem food reviews:
Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Cheese lunch - This was sent to me accidentally in my last order. It's a carb nightmare at about 25g net carbs. It tasted okay. Not great, but okay.

Nacho Crisps snack - I liked these. They are not Doritos by any means, but for only 4g net carbs and 12g protein, I'll eat them every day! They are the lowest carb dessert/snack that NutriSystem offers, so I ordered a ton.

Ok, I'll be back Sunday with my official weigh-in numbers!

Technorati tagged: diet, low fat, weight loss, health, obese, overweight, NutriSystem

Week 17, Day 4

Calories eaten yesterday: 1265
Fat: 31g (23%)
Carbs: 92g (30%)
Protein: 137g (44%)

Weight this morning: 135.6 (One week ago: 135)
Calories burned in exercise today: 87

Nothing much to report today. Bought some basic groceries (mostly salad, veggies, and cottage cheese). Checked WalMart for Carb Smart ice cream and they had one carton so I bought it. It's stashed downstairs at work and I will have Brad bring it over Friday with the NS food shipment.

My weight is still stalled as you can see. Oh well. I will just keep plugging along.

Technorati tagged: diet, low fat, weight loss, health, obese, overweight, NutriSystem

Week 17, Day 3

Calories eaten yesterday: 1235
Fat: 35g (26%)
Carbs: 91g (31%)
Protein: 120g (41%)

Weight this morning: 137 (One week ago: 135.8)
Calories burned in exercise today: 262

Busy day!

I guess all the water drinking yesterday didn't help. I'm now 1.2 lbs. heavier than this same time last week. :(

My NutriSystem order came today - in record time! I just asked them to put the order through yesterday and it was here this afternoon. Wow!

They did mess up one thing - instead of two scrambled egg breakfasts I found two whipped sweet potato lunches! Yike. Carb nightmares that I did not order, but I guess I will eat them. It's food.

The other problem was I ordered 24 pancakes because the nutritional information on the website indicated carbs that I felt I could deal with (just 8 net carbs). When I looked at the nutritional info. on the back of the package however, it has 9g more carbs. After subtracting fiber the pancakes had 18g net carbs.

I called NutriSystem about this and the sweet potato issue and the lady asked how many pancakes I wanted to return and I said half. She asked me what I wanted instead and I said eggs. So I will be getting 14 eggs - 12 to replace the pancakes and 2 to replace the whipped potatoes. I expected to be able to keep the whipped potatoes since that is their mistake, but she also said I could keep the pancake mixes. Cool beans! :)

I ordered a bunch of tuna salads that come with Melba toast. I gave Brad the Melba toast and told him he could pay me back by buying the items I'll need for dinner this Saturday. I'm going to make eggplant lasagna (recipe).

My bears were in the order. This may be my last order so I wanted to make sure I had them, but I haven't earned them yet, so I will put them in my closet until I do. There was a goal bear (I need to be 137 lbs. on Sunday for this), and a 20 lb. bear (I need to hit 134 more often, but not on a Sunday). I'll post photos of them when I earn them. The goal bear is gold and the 20 lb. bear is purple.

I received another package today, from Amazon. It's a gift order of a study guide for The Screwtape Letters. It was on my wish list. The billing address given goes to someone named "Palyne" in Oklahoma. I don't know anyone by that name. I posted a "thank you" note on the NS forums (in the Newbies Get Acquainted folder) since I do spend a lot of time there.

Technorati tagged: diet, low fat, weight loss, health, obese, overweight, NutriSystem

Water retention - weight's up

Calories eaten yesterday: 1318
Fat: 33g (23%)
Carbs: 98g (31%)
Protein: 135g (42%)

Weight this morning: 138.4 (One week ago: 137.4)
Calories burned in exercise today: 88

As you can see from my stunning weight gain (I weigh a pound more than last week at this time), I seem to be retaining water. Maybe it's because I gave blood, or the popcorn I ate Saturday. I don't know. I do know my fingers are swollen so I can't take my ring off, and my abdomen is bloated. And it's not even TOM or anything. I'm trying to drink plenty of liquids to see if I can get rid of some of this.

I called NutriSystem today and had them start processing my order. It should be here by the end of the week. I wanted to wait until I had earned my bears, but no luck. I'm on an upswing right now instead of a downswing.

The new NS site allows you to go back and change your past weigh-ins, so what I did is I entered 134 today - so it would look like I had made goal and lost 20 lbs. When I get my bears I'll go back and change the weights each day to the correct ones, then put the bears in my closet until I actually earn them. I probably won't order again so this may be my last chance to get those bears. I have spent more and more time at or below goal, and have even seen 134 on the scale a few times.

I thought about going to the gym today and just doing some cardio, but when the alarm went off I turned it off and went back to sleep. I needed a good night's sleep.

Technorati tagged: diet, low fat, weight loss, health, obese, overweight, NutriSystem

Week 16 Weigh-In

No, it's not real. Brad and I played around with the special effects on his computer. I sure have been working out hard! ;-)

Okay, my weigh-in numbers.
Start: 154
Week 1: 150 (-4)
Week 2: 148.6 (-1.4)
Week 3: 146 (-2.6)
Week 4: 147.2 (+1.2)
Week 5: 145.6 (-1.6)
Week 6: 144 (-1.6)
Week 7: 143 (-1)
Week 8: 142.8 (-0.2)
Week 9: 143.6 (+0.8)
Week 10: 141.2 (-2.4)
Week 11: 143.8 (+2.6) (carb-binged for the race)
Week 12: 142.4 (-1.4)
Week 13: 142.4 (-0)
Week 14: 141.6 (-0.8)
Week 15: 139.4 (-2.2)
Week 16: 140 (+0.6)
Total loss: -14

Ok, now to catch up on other numbers.
Calories eaten Thursday: 1358
Fat: 20g (14%)
Carbs: 90g (28%)
Protein: 138g (43%)
Weight Thursday morning: 134.2 (One week before: 134)
Calories burned in exercise Thursday: 231

Calories eaten Friday: 1327
Fat: 28g (19%)
Carbs: 76g (23%)
Protein: 116g (35%)
Weight Friday morning: 133.8 (One week before: 134)
Calories burned in exercise Friday: 213

I would say this is a new low, but the scale kept jumping between 133.8 and 134, so I'm not really jumping for joy.

Weight Saturday morning: 134.8 (One week before: 134.8)
Calories burned in exercise Saturday: 0

Crap, I gained this week. Up 0.6. Well, it could be worse. Next week I'll get out of the 140s forever for sure. At least last week I was under 140 for all 7 days. If you count the week before it comes to 13 straight days.

Okay, on to my weekend. Friday I gave blood at the Red Cross. Of course I got lightheaded. This is the fifth time, sixth if you count the time when I was a teen. Here's a few photos. Click to enlarge them.


After I gave blood, Brad and I went walking. Here's the photos from our walk.



Saturday I had to stay late with the folks from church. Everyone watched The Nativity Story at pastor's house. It was a good movie. I munched on popcorn while everyone else had popcorn and root beer floats.

Then I went home and Brad met me. We made smoothies at home, then went out to Starbucks. There was a 20 minute wait at Applebee's, so we went to Quinn's Lighthouse for dinner instead. I had a buffalo cheeseburger (no bun) with a side salad instead of fries. Then I ate way too much ice cream before bed, lol.

At the gym today they had some clothes on sale - shirts and hats at 2 for $24. That's $12 apiece instead of the usual $18. I bought a pink tank top with black writing that says, "Look Better in the Buff." I also bought a white hate that has pink lettering saying, "Fit Happens."

NutriSystem has totally redone their Web site and it still has a ton of bugs. Leave it to NS to launch something with a zillion bugs in it. Looks like I'll be on the forums there less until they get things sorted out. All my message notifications that I got over the weekend don't work. I can read whatever post was e-mailed to me, but not anything posted after it. Grrrr. I am spending a great deal of time just learning my way around the new site.

Technorati tagged: diet, low fat, weight loss, health, exercise, obese, overweight, NutriSystem, Red Cross, blood donation

Body fat test

Calories eaten yesterday: 1187
Fat: 30g (24%)
Carbs: 93g (33%)
Protein: 110g (39%)

Weight this morning: 134.2 (One week ago: 134)
Calories burned in exercise today: 231

Crap. I'm higher today than a week ago. That is not good. :(

Settle in with hot cocoa. Today's a long entry.

Today is the summer solstice - the longest day of the year. So why are more days still so chilly here? I'm wearing long sleeves more often than not.

Ok, measurements and body fat test results from today and from March 9, just after starting NutriSystem. (I started NutriSystem March 4.) It turns out he did the math wrong back in March, so my body fat was way off from what I thought it was. I will update my March blog entry to reflect the real numbers, and I have updated them here in the parenthesis.

Measurements in inches (3/9/07 measurements):
Neck: 11.9 (12.3)
Chest (above breasts): 35.6 (33.3)
Breasts: 33.6 (35.25)
Biceps: 13 (11)
Forearm: 11.9 (9.25)
Waist: 30.5 (29.25)
Hips: 35.75 (37.5)
Thigh: 21.6 (21.25)
Calf: 14 (14.9)

Weight: 135.75 lbs. (146.75 lbs.)
Body fat percent: 27% (29.5%)
Fat mass: 36.5 lbs. (43 lbs.)
Lean mass: 109 lbs. (103 lbs.)

I think the waist is off because he tells me to suck in my tummy, so I do suck it in, but only a little. I don't think sucking it in is an accurate measurement.

Higher numbers on some of these aren't bad. It could mean I'm building muscle. Glad to see the hip measurement go down.

However, body fat is an inexact science unless you are weighed in a water tank. Calipers have an error margin of 3-5%. So when Jason told me that I'd lost 6 pounds of fat and gained 6 pounds of muscle, I asked how the scale could reflect a 10 pound loss because if those numbers were true I should have stayed the same weight. He said water weight varies from day to day and that the calipers will always be a little off on body fat percentage, which throws off the numbers for fat and lean mass pounds.

So overall good news, but could have been better.

What I'm doing in terms of workouts and eating are working, so I'll continue. He had me do a squat test and said my form was better than last time except that I lean over too far still. But no more of my feet turning out or arching my lower back.

Jason and ended up spending an hour together going over this and other stuff, so by the time I started my workout it was already 12:30. I did 1 hour of weight training, and since I had to leave for work then I walked from the BART station to work for my cardio.

One thing I asked Jason about was the ankle attachments for the cable machines. He said they are hidden because people steal them, and showed me where they are kept. He said if I use them, to return them when I am done. In the same drawer I saw resistance bands and asked about them. He highly recommended using them and that they are great for travel. I got to thinking about my vacation in a month and thought, "Hey, I could pack those in my suitcase!" He didn't recommend the types that 24 Hour sells and told me (in a quiet voice) to go to WalMart or a sporting goods store. When he showed me the bands and explained the weights he said I was "advanced." I don't know what exactly he meant, and I don't care. I'll take the compliment!

I hit WalMart on my way to work to get the bands and there they were - three "weights" of bands with detachable handles, perfect for travel. Only $11 for all three! These will enable me to do something while on vacation. Jason said all the equipment you ever need to work out is an exercise ball and resistance bands. That's it.

Technorati tagged: diet, weight loss, health, fitness, exercise, obese, overweight, NutriSystem

Week 16, Day 4

Calories eaten yesterday: 1250
Fat: 26g (20%)
Carbs: 89g (30%)
Protein: 140g (48%)

Weight this morning: 135 (One week ago: 135.4)
Calories burned in exercise today: 87

A new low for a Wednesday. That's good. Nothing much to tell today. Went grocery shopping and then walked to work from the BART station. Jonsing for something sweet today. Not good. Need to put that demon back to sleep.

Picked up the 24 Hour Fitness shirt that I had altered. It fits great now and I love it. :) It's not a tank top instead of short sleeved and doesn't bind me under the arms.

Hope to get back to the gym tomorrow.

Technorati tagged: diet, low fat, weight loss, health, obese, overweight, NutriSystem

Week 16, Day 3

Calories eaten yesterday: 1202
Fat: 30g (24%)
Carbs: 111g (39%)
Protein: 101g (35%)

Weight this morning: 135.8 (One week ago: 137.2)
Calories burned in exercise today: 261

A new low for a Tuesday and the earliest in the week I've gotten at or below goal! :) Yay me! The last two weeks I was at or below goal for four days; with luck I may stretch that to five days this week. :) And hopefully a whole seven days under 140.

Temptations abound at work. Yesterday Lynn brought in a tray of brownies for Lisa's birthday. She took yesterday off so the pan is still sitting around. I placed it on Don's desk in the back of the KEAR office so it's out of sight. Today Thad's friend baked chocolate chip cookies for Lynn's birthday so I was forced to stare at the plate while someone said a prayer and then everybody started munching. I came back to my office. Bleh and *sigh.*

Made it to the gym today. I ran into my trainer and he bugged me about eating more, but I am losing so he conceded that you don't need to mess with success. He said he worries about me because I exercise so much, but I don't think I'm overdoing it. Close to that maybe, but not quite there.

Tomorrow I'm buying groceries even though I'm broke. A girl's gotta eat. I think I will get some spinach as I am giving blood this Friday and will need the extra iron. Thursday is my weigh and measure appointment at the gym. Here's to hoping the news is good!

Technorati tagged: diet, low fat, weight loss, health, obese, overweight, NutriSystem

Week 16, Day 2

Calories eaten yesterday: 1271
Fat: 31g (23%)
Carbs: 104g (34%)
Protein: 131g (42%)

Weight this morning: 137.4 (One week ago: 138.8)
Calories burned in exercise today: 102

A new low for a Monday. That's always good. :)

I've come to the conclusion that oatmeal (old-fashioned with no added sugar) and me don't get along. I even added a couple egg whites for protein, but the high carb and low fiber content left me hungry and with an edge to my temper before snack time. I think oatmeal needs to be occasional. I love it, but it doesn't seem to love me back.

My Netrition order came today. I got Dixie Diner sugar-free chocolate chips. They are larger than I expected, but will taste just as good on ice cream or in oatmeal. :) I also order several Baja Bob's low-sugar pina colada mixes, and one Mojito mix to try.

Along with my order I qualified for a free bottle of Reduce diet pills. I see they are a starch and fat neutralizer. They claim it's a $20 value, but I know from experience that they are about worth what I paid - nada. LOL Can't hurt, and I'm not one to turn down free diet pills so I'll take them. Maybe it will help neutralize the large amounts of starch in some of the NutriSystem foods.

Speaking of neutralizing fat, Alli went on sale today. It's a fat blocker with some pretty nasty side effects. On NutriSystem I often get only about 30g of fat per day, the recommended minimum RDA. The last thing I need to to block part of that and risk being deficient in fat-soluble vitamins (A,D,E,&K). Alli is also quite expensive. Another miracle diet pill that won't lighten anything except people's wallets because few people are willing to permanently change their whole lifestyle.

Today I ran into the City. Tomorrow I'll hopefully get back to the gym.

Technorati tagged: diet, low fat, weight loss, health, obese, overweight, NutriSystem, Alli, diet pills

Week 15 Weigh-In

First, my weigh-in numbers.
Start: 154
Week 1: 150 (-4)
Week 2: 148.6 (-1.4)
Week 3: 146 (-2.6)
Week 4: 147.2 (+1.2)
Week 5: 145.6 (-1.6)
Week 6: 144 (-1.6)
Week 7: 143 (-1)
Week 8: 142.8 (-0.2)
Week 9: 143.6 (+0.8)
Week 10: 141.2 (-2.4)
Week 11: 143.8 (+2.6) (carb-binged for the race)
Week 12: 142.4 (-1.4)
Week 13: 142.4 (-0)
Week 14: 141.6 (-0.8)
Week 15: 139.4 (-2.2)
Total loss: -14.6

Ok, now to catch up on other numbers.
Calories eaten Thursday: 1292
Fat: 29g (21%)
Carbs: 109g (35%)
Protein: 101g (32%)
Weight Thursday morning: 134 (One week before: 135.6)
Calories burned in exercise Thursday: 86

A new low for Thursday, and a new low overall! :)

Calories eaten Friday: 1416
Fat: 29g (18%)
Carbs: 107g (31%)
Protein: 97g (28%)
Weight Friday morning: 134 (One week before: 134.8)
Calories burned in exercise Friday: 295

Same as yesterday. Not bad, and a new low for a Friday. :)

Weight Saturday morning: 134.8 (One week before: 136.2)
Calories burned in exercise Saturday: 0

Woot! Under 140 on a Sunday!!! I'm ecstatic! If I am really good all week I could see numbers under 140 for seven straight days.

And not bad for last week. Six days under 140 and four days at or below goal, same as last week.

Ok, now to catch up on the weekend. Brad and I went walking/hiking on Friday. We took the Orchard Trail up to the West Ridge Trail, then down the Chown Trail to the French Trail to the Mill Trail to the Stream Trail and back to the parking lot. We covered about six miles in two hours. Here's a couple photos I had Brad take of me. Click to enlarge them.




The shorts I am wearing, by the way, the Calvin Klein size 8s that I have never been able to wear before and now they fit!

Saturday Brad came over fairly late and we had dinner (vegetable casserole and some leftover cauliflower potatoes from last week). Then we watched one of the creation DVDs on his new laptop. This is from The Riddle of Origins series that I bought at the creation conference back in February. This one was about the origin of humans and why the fossils found don't point toward evolution as most people believe. It was a good program and very interesting.

Today I was back at the gym for a good workout and then headed to work.

June is National Fruit and Vegetable Month, and did you know that today, besides being Father's Day, is also Eat Your Vegetables Day? I didn't, but I sure plan to eat my veggies - I love veggies! :) So everyone - eat your veggies!

Technorati tagged: diet, low fat, weight loss, health, exercise, obese, overweight, NutriSystem

Thanks to dubby for the photo.

What type of Fae are you?

What type of Fae are you?

Technorati tagged: diary, life, quiz, quizzes

Week 15, Day 5

Calories eaten yesterday: 1284
Fat: 31g (23%)
Carbs: 97g (31%)
Protein: 139g (45%)

Weight this morning: 134 (One week ago: 135.6)
Calories burned in exercise today: 86

Yay! A new low for me today! :o) I've never weighed this little my whole adult life! I can also get into those Calvin Klein jeans shorts and I have never been able to wear them. And they fit! I bought them without trying them on, only to discover that they were really tiny size 8s. Last summer (and the summer before) they were skin tight. Now I can wear them! I'll get a picture.

I always gain at least six pounds over the weekend (Friday/Saturday), so we will see what Sunday brings.

Last night I had the strangest nightmare about a group of people (me among them) starving and having to kill and eat Abby. I didn't want to do it, but in the dream I knew it had to be done so I allowed it, all the while wanting to rescue her. We put her in a cage. Somehow this was the beginning of death for her, and that when the dream ended.

Technorati tagged: diet, low fat, weight loss, health, obese, overweight, NutriSystem

Week 15, Day 4

Calories eaten yesterday: 1209
Fat: 38g (29%)
Carbs: 98g (34%)
Protein: 105g (36%)

Weight this morning: 135.4 (One week ago: 136.2)
Calories burned in exercise today: 260

A new low for a Wednesday at least. :) My low weight to beat is 134.8, which I hit last Friday. Another mini goal of mine is to see anything under 140 when I weigh right before bed.

Went to the gym today. My right shoulder is really hurting, so I did mostly legs and core work.

Brad says he has a wedding to go to Saturday evening, so he won't be coming over until really late. Oh well. Some alone time with myself will be good. :)

Technorati tagged: diet, low fat, weight loss, health, obese, overweight, NutriSystem

Week 15, Day 3

Calories eaten yesterday: 1251
Fat: 30g (22%)
Carbs: 92g (31%)
Protein: 138g (46%)

Weight this morning: 137.2 (One week ago: 137.8)
Calories burned in exercise today: 102

Not quite to my goal weight again. Hopefully tomorrow. At least I am under 140, and it's a new low for a Tuesday.

Took the medium 24 Hour shirt I got yesterday to an alteration place. They quoted me $20 to fix it and it will be ready on Friday. I'm hoping that by taking the sleeves off and turning it into a tank top that it will be more comfy.

Bought some basic groceries. I can't afford it, but I have to eat. I even bought a large bag of baby carrots and then packaged them into 4 oz. snack baggies. I love my digital food scale!

Brad's new laptop computer has a DVD feature on it! I told him to bring it over Saturday afternoon and we would make popcorn and watch the creation videos I bought that I've never been able to see because my DVD player doesn't work.

Technorati tagged: diet, low fat, weight loss, health, obese, overweight, NutriSystem

Personal Training, Session 7

Calories eaten yesterday: 1226
Fat: 30g (23%)
Carbs: 90g (30%)
Protein: 135g (46%)

Weight this morning: 138.8 (One week ago: 139.8)
Calories burned in exercise today: 219

Well, back into the 130s again at least. :)

Had my last personal training session today. We did core work - abs and back. Jason had me doing the bench and crunch machines in the ab section, then we went into the aerobics room and did some V sits and plank variations, such as lifting one leg while doing the plank, or putting your arms or feet on a ball. He said the smaller the ball, the less surface area it had and the harder the exercise would be. With my arms he had me on a 45cm ball (I think - it was yellow), but when we did feet he had me on a 55cm ball. Another core exercise is a variation of the reverse crunch. You do the reverse crunch, but then thrust your legs straight up, lifting your middle back off the floor. Do this slowly (no bouncing!) with your legs straight up (not at an angle) and you will feel the stress in your abs.

For back work we did the superman thing where you raise your arms and legs like you're flying. Also T's and Y's where your put your arms out to the side or out to the side and slightly up, and then just raise your front half off the ground. On the T's use your hands to give a "thumbs up" to keep them positioned right, and on the Y's try to turn your palms upward when you lift your body. I had a lot of trouble with the Y's. I need to work on these because my back needs a lot of work.

I asked for the t-shirt I was supposed to get with the program. I tried on the woman's medium, but it was tight under the arms. The large was a little tight, but didn't show off my figure. The men's medium just hung off me (he couldn't find a men's small). He finally sent me away with both the woman's medium and large and told me to stretch the arms of the medium to make it fit better. Looking at the cut of the shirt, if worse comes to worse, I could probably have it altered into a tank top.

He said he wanted to see me in a week or two for an evaluation, weigh and measure, body fat, etc. I set up an appointment for next Thursday morning. I hope the news is all good!

I'm really glad I did this. I have so many more ideas for exercises now. :)

The one thing he said that got to me was that I'm not eating enough. He wants me eating 15-1600 calories a day, not the 1300 a day I said I ate. That might be maintenance for me, but I can't eat that and lose weight! He also suggested that I'm eating too much protein, but I said I like protein. I'm doing a lower carb diet and adding fat doesn't satisfy me and runs the calories up too fast. Protein has the same calories that carbs do, so it's easiest for me to add protein. I did say that most of my protein was from real food; I only have a protein shake on days I work out.

In other news, my Earthlink prepayment is due. Just what I need when money is already tight is another $240 out the door. I pay a year in advance and get $2 off per month by doing that. That works out to $24 a year, which is like getting over one month free. I got the June check from Dad and that helped cover it, but the rest of the money came from grocery money. I'll buy groceries tomorrow, but only what I need to get through the week - no extras. I'll get fresh veggies, cottage cheese, and the ingredients for the vegetable casserole that I'll make for Brad and I this weekend. Probably some berries, too.

I can't wait to get out from under this NutriSystem debt. It has really run my food bill up trying to afford the NS food and also buy all the add-ins. Just one more order and that will be it for me. (I have a lot of coupons so my order will only be around $200 instead of $300.)

Technorati tagged: diet, low fat, weight loss, health, obese, overweight, NutriSystem, personal training

Week 14 Weigh-In

First, my weigh-in numbers.
Start: 154
Week 1: 150 (-4)
Week 2: 148.6 (-1.4)
Week 3: 146 (-2.6)
Week 4: 147.2 (+1.2)
Week 5: 145.6 (-1.6)
Week 6: 144 (-1.6)
Week 7: 143 (-1)
Week 8: 142.8 (-0.2)
Week 9: 143.6 (+0.8)
Week 10: 141.2 (-2.4)
Week 11: 143.8 (+2.6) (carb-binged for the race)
Week 12: 142.4 (-1.4)
Week 13: 142.4 (-0)
Week 14: 141.6 (-0.8)
Total loss: -12.4

Ok, now to catch up on other numbers.
Calories eaten Thursday: 1307
Fat: 25g (18%)
Carbs: 86g (27%)
Protein: 135g (43%)
Weight Thursday morning: 135.6 (One week before: 138)
Calories burned in exercise Thursday: 217

A new low for Thursday, and a new low overall! :)

Calories eaten Friday: 1377
Fat: 26g (17%)
Carbs: 94g (28%)
Protein: 110g (32%)
Weight Friday morning: 134.8 (One week before: 135.8)
Calories burned in exercise Friday: 284

A new Friday low, and a new low overall! :)

Weight Saturday morning: 136.2 (One week before: 136.2)
Calories burned in exercise Saturday: 0

I feel like the obese chihuahua above - fat and bloated. A 0.8 pound loss. Bah. And I'm still in the 140s. *sigh*

On the positive side I was at or below goal for four whole days last week - Wednesday-Saturday, and in the 130s for six straight days. Those are very encouraging numbers.

Went walking with Brad and Abraham on Friday. Abe is obese (6'6" and 300 lbs.) and out of shape. We practically had to drag him just to get him around the lake once (3 miles, totally flat). He opted to stay in the car while Brad and I went around again. He was asleep when we got back.

Here's the photos I took during our walk. Click the thumbnails to enlarge.

Brad and his son (Brad is the short one)


Geese and goslings

After this Brad dropped me off and I had a quiet evening at home. Brad said that Abe had a party to go to Saturday, so he would be over about 4:30. I made the cauliflower potatoes so all I'd have to do Saturday is pop it in the oven.

Saturday I ordered Pay Per View before leaving for church. I haven't done PPV in a while and wanted to see a movie that afternoon. I chose Night At the Museum. It's PG and on a scale of 1 to 4 stars I'd give it 2 1/2. An okay, fun movie, but it's not going to win any awards. :) We had popcorn and then after the movie we had dinner and dessert (the Carb Smart ice cream with all sorts of yummy (yet diet) toppings.

I wanted to go to Starbucks, but when we got out to Brad's car he'd left the lights on and the battery was totally dead - it just clicked. We got a jump from the building manager and we were off. I got a small nonfat sugar-free caramel latte. Brad got the same, only a bigger size.

Technorati tagged: diet, low fat, weight loss, health, exercise, obese, overweight, NutriSystem

Thanks to Wm Jas for the photo.

What Time of Day Are You?

You Are Midnight

You are more than a little eccentric, and you're apt to keep very unusual habits. Whether you're a nightowl, living in a commune, or taking a vow of silence - you like to experiment with your lifestyle. Expressing your individuality is important to you, and you often lie awake in bed thinking about the world and your place in it. You enjoy staying home, but that doesn't mean you're a hermit. You also appreciate quality time with family and close friends.

What Time Of Day Are You?

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Week 14, Day 5

Calories eaten yesterday: 1243
Fat: 41g (30%)
Carbs: 93g (31%)
Protein: 113g (38%)

Weight this morning: 135.6 (One week ago: 138)
Calories burned in exercise today: 217

Not just a new low for a Thursday, but a new low period! :) Woohoo! So far I've been at or below goal two days this week - same as the last two weeks. So if I can stay at or below goal tomorrow it'll be another milestone! :)

They have banned posts soliciting coupons on the NutriSystem forum. That was helping me pay for my order so now I'm SOL. :( My next order was going to be my last one anyway, but now it will cost me more than it could have. I made another payment today, but I still owe $230 on order #2, never mind order #3! Sucks majorly.

If anyone is planning on starting NutriSystem, please e-mail me at newbirth35@mindspring.com and I'll send you a $30 off coupon, and I will also get $30 off! :)

Brad has Abraham this weekend so rather than trying to deal with how to feed a junk-food-loving obese teenager I told Brad that the three of us could go walking (Abe will really slow us down), and then they could go out to dinner and I'll go home. I said don't bother to come over Saturday and I'll just entertain myself. A little alone time at home with my cats might be nice. I said we could just walk around the lake. It's flat and so would be easier for Abe than many other places Brad and I walk. I was going to make cauliflower faux potatoes for Saturday dinner, but I'll either make it for church or just wait until next weekend.

The troll who desecrated the Seventh Day Baptist Yahoo group seems to still be angry that he was asked to leave (which he voluntarily did). I can't prove it's him (but we all know it is), but the day after he leaves I start getting a ton of spam mail - about 250 messages since last night! He says he's Jewish, but he is such a poor reflection of God that I doubt it. He absolutely hates anyone who believes in Jesus. He's not out to convert; he's out to spread his anger and misery around to others, and then is offended that no one takes him seriously. I put my Spamblocker back on "high" again. Oh well. This will dovetail well with soliciting posts being banned at NS. I won't have to worry about missing an e-mail requesting a coupon because I won't get any. Every cloud has a silver lining, right?

Technorati tagged: diet, low fat, weight loss, health, obese, overweight, NutriSystem

Skinny jeans!

Calories eaten yesterday: 1196
Fat: 30g (24%)
Carbs: 83g (29%)
Protein: 132g (46%)

Weight this morning: 136.2 (One week ago: 138.4)
Calories burned in exercise today: 102

A new low for a Wednesday! Yay! And...I can get into my skinny jeans! :) Looking back in my calendar, the first time I was at or below my goal weight (137) was May 17, a Thursday. That was just for one day. The following week I was at or below goal two days - Friday and Saturday. Same for the week after. So today is the first day I've been at or below goal this early in the week. A very good sign. :)

Finally had the money to go grocery shopping today. I bought salad veggies, frozen veggies, a couple of Weight Watchers meals that were on sale, more soy burgers that were on sale, and chicken breast. The chicken breast is all prepped and I'll pop it in the oven tomorrow and cook it while the laundry is going.

I hope to hit the gym again tomorrow.

Update on the identity theft: TRS and Telecheck appear to be the same company. I faxed Telecheck all the information on me that they requested (they wanted a police report and I just got that done last Friday). Now I need to send TRS a letter telling them to "cease and desist" calling me and do that certified mail so I know they got it. I am really hating this, and meanwhile the fraudulent account is still open!

[Later edit: The "skinny jeans" turned out not to be my skinny jeans, though I did find those and they are fitting better.]

Technorati tagged: diet, low fat, weight loss, health, obese, overweight, NutriSystem

Personal Training, Session 6

Calories eaten yesterday: 1186
Fat: 37g (29%)
Carbs: 97g (34%)
Protein: 99g (35%)

Weight this morning: 137.8 (One week ago: 138.4)
Calories burned in exercise today: 262

A new low for a Tuesday. Very good. :)

Settle in with some NutriSystem hot cocoa. This will be a big longer than I'd like.

Had session 6 of my personal training. One more left. I was supposed to get only 5 sessions, but the first day he couldn't find the paperwork so gave it to me free, and he was late once and said that session would be free.

Today we did ab stuff first - transfer exercise ball between feet and arms while lying on back, raising arms above head and legs a little above the floor; V-sits while moving your arms between your thighs; bicycle kicks with hands behind head and move right elbow toward left knee then left elbow toward right knee.

Then shoulder exercises - plank and then lift right arm straight ahead, then left arm, then stand up and do various moves - flapping arms, bend elbows and raise arms in front (as if placing something on a shelf), press arms above head, etc. Definitely something I need as my back and shoulders need a lot of work. He says I have muscles back there, but I don't see them.

He also had me do the push-ups where you come up and roll to the right and raise your arm straight up, then center and push-up, then to the left and raise your arm straight up. Then push-ups on an exercise ball. Beginner: place ball in corner, use larger ball. Intermediate: place ball against wall, use smaller ball. Advanced: place ball in center of floor, use even smaller ball. He started me with a medium-sized ball against the wall, then had me do just one rep with the ball in the middle of the floor. He says this is also good with the weight-assisted chin-up machine - do just one rep of what I can handle.

I did hit the weight-assisted machine and set it at 60 lbs. In the past I have only been able to do one rep at this weight, but today I did two. I will have to try 50 lbs. next time (the lower the weight, the harder the exercise).

Ok, on two other things.

Abby got away again last night when I took out the recycling. I thought that would be the last I'd see of her for a few days and settled down in front of the TV with my bedtime snack. It wasn't long before I heard a commotion outside - cats fighting. I ran out and saw Abby halfway up the back staircase having sparred with another cat on the ground, probably over territory. I ran down the walkway and down the stairs and coaxed Abby back up to the top floor and down the walkway to my apartment. I think she was glad to be home after the fight.

My shoe charms came yesterday and I put them on my favorite pair of shoes (photo). It's for an online walking group I joined and you get one charm for every million steps you walk. I already have three million steps, so I was sent three charms.

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Week 14, Day 2

Calories eaten yesterday: 1118
Fat: 23g (20%)
Carbs: 75g (29%)
Protein: 133g (51%)

Weight this morning: 139.8 (One week ago: 140.6)
Calories burned in exercise today: 88

Woot! Barely eeked into the 130s on a Monday! That's a first and a new low for a Monday. If I'm really good all week I might see six days this week under 140.

Was supposed to have personal training today, but Jason called me this morning saying he had a meeting so we rescheduled for tomorrow. I switched tomorrow's activities with today and ran into the City to get my mail. There was a check from the property that's being sold, so I paid off my vacation and bought a few things at WalMart that I figured would be cheaper there than Safeway.

I also found the Carb Smart Rocky Road ice cream there! I couldn't carry it, but I gave some money to Brad and had him buy two cartons for me. It's in the downstairs freezer at work and I'll have him bring it when he comes by my apartment on Friday to go walking.

So tomorrow will be personal training and then I'll buy some groceries on Wednesday, then hopefully hit the gym again on Thursday.

Technorati tagged: diet, low fat, weight loss, health, exercise, obese, overweight, NutriSystem

Week 13 Weigh-In

I feel like this obese cat today. :( Click the photo to see a larger size.

First, my weigh-in numbers.
Start: 154
Week 1: 150 (-4)
Week 2: 148.6 (-1.4)
Week 3: 146 (-2.6)
Week 4: 147.2 (+1.2)
Week 5: 145.6 (-1.6)
Week 6: 144 (-1.6)
Week 7: 143 (-1)
Week 8: 142.8 (-0.2)
Week 9: 143.6 (+0.8)
Week 10: 141.2 (-2.4)
Week 11: 143.8 (+2.6) (carb-binged for the race)
Week 12: 142.4 (-1.4)
Week 13: 142.4 (-0)
Total loss: -11.6

Ok, now to catch up on other numbers.
Calories eaten Thursday: 1232
Fat: 30g (23%)
Carbs: 87g (29%)
Protein: 109g (37%)
Weight Thursday morning: 138 (One week before: 138.4)
Calories burned in exercise Thursday: 210

Calories eaten Friday: 1280
Fat: 26g (19%)
Carbs: 71g (23%)
Protein: 114g (36%)
Weight Friday morning: 135.8 (One week before: 137)
Calories burned in exercise Friday: 169

Woot! Got at or below my goal weight again and saw a new low. :) I know it won't hold, but it's a step forward.

Weight Saturday morning: 136.2 (One week before: 136.6)
Calories burned in exercise Saturday: 145

Weight Sunday morning: 142.4 (One week before: 142.4)
Calories burned in exercise Sunday: 266

Well, I didn't lose any weight this week. Exactly the same as last week. Bugger. Last week I spent 5 days below 140, but only 2 days at or below goal. I need to work on that.

I ran out of NutriSystem dinners last Thursday, so I am now doing dinner on my own. Today will be a Weight Watchers frozen meal. I still have some lunches. That is one meal I am NOT ready to do on my own yet. I have some NS scrambled eggs, but most days I do breakfast on my own with a lower-carb cereal such as Nutlettes, Special K Protein Plus, or All-Bran. Once a week or so I'll have old-fashioned oatmeal.

Ok, to catch up on the weekend. Friday Brad and I did a short walk. Then he bought me some basics at Safeway because I have no money for them. Actually, we eventually shared everything he bought except for the salad. We stopped at the Marketplace he likes to shop at and he bought me a bottle of Riesling. I'll probably drink most of it, but we'll share that, too. He also bought some meat for himself and our dinner Saturday. He didn't want anything to eat for dinner, but I had chicken breast and salsa with broccoli (photo).

Saturday he picked me up after church and we went out to Lafayette Reservoir. We walked around (2.7 miles), and stopped about halfway around for a picnic lunch (photo). Then he took me to Starbucks because I said I didn't have money for my Saturday treat this week.

We did the beanless, riceless burritos for dinner. I told him to take the remaining meat home and packaged it up for him. He placed it in the bathroom and left before I discovered it. I put it in my freezer and will give it to someone at work. He really doesn't understand how my diet works. He's never cared about his weight and isn't really overweight to begin with, so he's completely clueless.

I think he's tired of the burritos, so the next time we do dinner I'll make the faux mashed potatoes, but just have it as a main course instead of a side dish. I'm using low-fat products for it, though, not non-fat! That non-fat cheese is nasty.

Not sure if we're going out to dinner or not next week. It depends on my finances.

Technorati tagged: diet, low fat, weight loss, health, exercise, obese, overweight, NutriSystem

Thanks to Platinum for the photo.

What color is your brain?

Your Brain is Blue

Of all the brain types, yours is the most mellow. You tend to be in a meditative state most of the time. You don't try to think away your troubles. Your thoughts are realistic, fresh, and honest. You truly see things as how they are. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about your friends, your surroundings, and your life.

What Color Is Your Brain?

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