Week 3 Weigh-In

Weight: 147.6
Calories eaten yesterday: 1897
Calories burned: 2141
Calorie deficit/overage: -244
Carbs: 62g
Fat: 87g
Calories burned in exercise: 297

Week 1: 147.6
Week 2: 147.6
Week 3: 147.6

Total loss: 0

Oh, Whoosh Fairy where are you? I have been very good!

Would you believe I was exactly 147.6 again? That's three weeks in a row. I'm maintaining really well, but why can't I lose? Even assuming 3000 calories on Saturday I still have a calorie deficit for the week, so why can't I lose? *sigh* Oh well, I'll just keep on keeping on.

Week 1 I was up most of the week and then came back down for the weigh-in. This week I was down most of the week and then came back up for the weigh-in. Does my body hate me or what? And NO, my clothes are not looser so please don't tell me that. :(

Ran into my trainer at the gym and now have a body fat test set up for Thursday at noon. I doubt I will do any better than last time. I haven't lost any weight in the intervening three or four months. He says 24% body fat is the high end of okay, and that my current weight might be where my body wants to maintain. God knows my body has always loved being a bit chunkier than normal.

After three weeks of no loss, I'm changing my goal to 141. I think 137 is too low. I'm changing my tickers accordingly. This is subject to revision again, up or down.

Stopped at Western Dental on my way to the gym. I have an exam set up for Friday afternoon, at which point they will tell me all the work I need, much of which I will pass on. I just need to get things cleaned up in there; I don't have the time or money to deal with the cavities at this point. It's $87 for the exam alone. The cleaning will likely be done at a later time and cost extra. I don't like it, but I just keep telling myself this is the next step forward to better health.

TOM is here, and I wish my lack of loss would be due to that, but I don't gain before nor lose after. :(

Spent 45 minutes doing weight training at the gym, 15 minutes on the treadclimber, 15 on the crossramp elliptical, and 10 just walking on the treadmill. FitDay says 294 calories.

Felt much better working out today - had a lot more energy than the last two days.

Walked over 12,000 steps yesterday. In fact, over 14,000.


Click to enlarge.
Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, health and we llness, obesity, obese, overweight, fat, exercise, fitness, pedometer

Day 20

Calories eaten yesterday: 1642
Calories burned: 2117
Calorie deficit/overage: -475
Carbs: 47g
Fat: 77g
Calories burned in exercise: 278

Tomorrow's the big weigh-in! I'm so nervous. I just want to be under 147.6. I'll find out how much Saturday's indiscretions hurt me. I feel I will be up, but who knows? Last week I got lucky and came in even. I'm drinking lots again today hoping to get off any excess water weight for tomorrow's weigh-in.

Today at the gym I did 30 minutes on the treadclimber, 15 on the crossramp elliptical, and 20 walking. Only 10 minutes of weights.

Been "off" at the gym the last couple days - no energy. The only thing I can think is that the blood donation Friday has left me with fewer red blood cells to transport oxygen and therefore intense exercise is harder than usual. Since they only allow donations every two months, it stands to reason that it takes about that long for the body to fully recover. Here I am just three days later and I am feeling (overall) more tired than usual. Bleh. I like giving blood, but I don't like feeling like this. It just never occurred to me that a lower blood volume would equal less energy even a few days later. All they tell you is to avoid intense exercise for 24 hours.

Yesterday I was so out of it coming from the gym that I crossed the street on the red light with cars coming. One narrowly missed me and I didn't even notice until he honked at me! Yike! That is so not like me.

My new iPod is working great. I put all my songs on it last night and then charged it. I was able to rock out today with something light strapped to my arm rather than lugging a Walkman around my waist (and making my workout shorts damp). I will give Apple this much - the replacement was fast. Of course, I think being in the same state as the company probably helps. :)

Now I need a new pair of authentic headphones (nothing but the real thing will do!). I was careless and my vacuum munched on my original pair. Needless to say, in the battle of vacuum vs. iPod headphones, the vacuum won. Anyway, you can find anything on Ebay, and I eventually found a pair and ordered them.

By the way, on the pork rind issue I just want to make clear that I did not say that pork rinds are the perfect food. I said they are the perfect snack food. Which they are - no carbohydrates, high in fat and protein, and a good replacement for potato chips. The perfect food would have to be the much maligned egg - the white is pure protein and the yolk is full of healthy fats and vitamins. Unfortunately, they seem to spike my cholesterol so I've cut back and will see if that helps.

While we're at it, here's a short post entitled In Defense of the Pork Rind.

Walked over 10,000 steps yesterday. I've decided to stop taking pictures and uploading them whenever I get over 10,000 steps because I've been making that goal a lot. So now I will only take a pic and upload it if I am over 12,000 for the day, a goal I made yesterday and will make today.


Click to enlarge.
Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, health and wellness, obesity, obese, overweight, fat, exercise, fitness

Vegan insanity

Vegans really hate us low-carbers because we eat meat and other animal products (cheese, eggs, butter, etc.) Unfortunately, not everyone is as tolerant as my vegan friend Lira, or my raw vegan friend Tina. Some people feel they have to bash and/or ridicule anyone who doesn't believe in veganism.

In a blog post entitled "Health Points," some guy I don't even know ridicules me for calling pork rinds, "the perfect snack." They are, but I guess this sort of silliness is to be expected from someone who believes, "A diet-style rich in phytonutrients and low in animal protein will resolve your cravings, and hypoglycemic signals...Atkin’s [sic] has a history of dangerous and fraudulent statements that has injured the health and likely shortened the lives of thousands of people." In other words, he's just another crazy vegan with an ax to grind who thinks that carbohydrates should form the basis of our diet.

That worked real well for me. I guess carbohydrates are wonderful if being 70 pounds overweight (and I was still gaining) is "wonderful." The anti-Atkins people will never get their heads around basic nutrition. Carbohydrates aren't necessary people! There is no such thing as an "essential carbohydrate." There are essential proteins and fats, however. Jeez...biology 101 here.

Therefore, since carbohydrates are not essential, they should not form the basis of our diet. Basic logic, no? Give your body what it needs (protein and fat), not what it doesn't need (carbohydrates). Long-time readers here know that most of the carbs I eat come from vegetables and non-sweet fruits (such as tomato and cucumber, both of which are fruits). These are the only carbs I eat because they give me all the vitamins and minerals I need with minimal carbs to wreck my blood sugar.

I left a comment on the blog post. Who wants to take bets on whether it passes moderation? LOL

Keep on keeping on, people! Living la vida low-carb has always been the healthiest way to eat. Let vegans eat their low-fat beans and rice. Give me a steak with lots of yummy fat and protein! :)

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, health and wellness, obesity, obese, overweight, low fat, vegan, vegetarian

Of iPods and eggplant lasagna

Calories eaten Friday: 1810
Calories burned: 1966
Calorie deficit/overage: -156
Carbs: 52g
Fat: 67g
Calories burned in exercise: 80

Saturday calories burned in exercise: 120

My iPod was waiting for me when I got in to work today. It's a new used one and they didn't transfer my info. so tonight I have to put all my songs back on it and at some point reformat it to act as a hard drive...pain in the butt. But at least I'll have my iPod for the gym instead of hauling around my big ol' Walkman.

Pigged out on peanuts at church and low-carb ice cream at home yesterday. I'm still farting from the sugar alcohols. Oh well. Weigh-in is Tuesday. We'll see how I do. I knew I'd be up this morning so I didn't get on the scale.

The eggplant lasagna went over really well at church. Tasted pretty good, too. The entire thing disappeared. I took home an empty pan! This is a recipe I'll make again. I just didn't fry the eggplant first because it seemed like unnecessary work; I just threw it all in the pan and baked it. Who needs pasta?

Spent more time weight training today than usual because I can go to the gym tomorrow but am not supposed to do weights two days in a row. So I hit them long today and will do only a little tomorrow and mostly focus on cardio - will probably sleep in just a little, too, since weight training is pretty much off the menu.

My butt bones hurt. That new bike has a really hard seat and now that I don't have all the extra cushioning in my rear end, hard seats hurt.

Now that I have conquered my fear of giving blood, it's time to clean up my mouth and see if I might have an infection in my gums that would prevent me from giving blood - yep, it's time to see a dentist for the first time in God only knows how long - darn near a decade. I think an exam and cleaning are in order. I know I have several cavities (that don't bother me), but I need to know if I have anything more serious. Everything is closed tomorrow because of the holiday, but come Tuesday I need to get up early and hit the dental clinic that's on my way to the gym. Pray for me.

Today's plan: drink lots of water to clean myself out from yesterday's indiscretions and try to get my calories down.

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, health and wellness, obesity, obese, overweight, fat, exercise, fitness

Testify!

I came across an awesome thread of low-carb testimonies, and had to share some here. This way of eating (with the unfortunate acronym WOE) really works! Another common acronym is "WOL," which means "way of life." This distinguishes it from a simple "diet" that one goes on to and then off of when the weight in lost.

First, from Linda, who's on Atkins.

Ok, I just had to rant, but in a good way!

I love Atkins and cannot thank Dr. Atkins (may God rest his soul) enough for all of the good he has done for me.

I have tried EVERY diet around. Weight Watchers (gained 4 lbs. my first week), Jenny Craig (food was good, but expensive and I lost 12 lbs. in 6 months), etc. I have dieted for years, I am 46. But, I gave up dieting and changed my WOE. I started last November and have lost almost 100 lbs. so far. I have my blood work done every 3 months and every time there is an improvement. My doctor is really impressed with what I am doing and cheering me on. He said I have almost inspired him to lose weight!!! Oh, btw, I am diabetic and have high blood pressure too. Guess what? I am medicine free as of June!

So if someone says LC WOL doesn't work, I say rubbish. It's the only WOL for me and I will shout it from the roof tops.

Linda

Way to go, Linda!

And from MiniMe, also on Atkins:

I agree. It's the only woe...that keeps me from being hungry!

From Lessara on Atkins:

I love my low carbing WOL too for because of it I'm finally losing weight again and my blood sugar (for 8/29/06) monthly average went from 160 to 93!!! I'm a type 2 diabetic on no meds!!!

Of course, I had to chime in:

I love low-carb because I feel great, need less sleep, don't get the mid-afternoon blahs, my eczema and acne went away, and I don't get cold sores anymore!

And then Mermaiden (also on Atkins) said

I love it too. The weight loss, feeling satisfied, no crazy depressive mood swings, strong nails and hair, no random chest pains, and no acne for me as well! It would be worth it for that alone. Also, knowing that I'm preventing against a lot of serious diseases is great as well.

Keep up the good work, guys! Maybe someday the rest of the country will wake up and see (as we have) that Dr. Atkins - and Eades and Agatston and other - were right after all!

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, health and wellness, obesity, obese, overweight, fat

I gave blood today!

Weight: 145.4
Calories eaten yesterday: 1815
Calories burned: 2165
Calorie deficit/overage: -350
Carbs: 43g
Fat: 89g
Calories burned in exercise: 173

For the second night in a row I was under 150 at my weigh-in before bed Yippee! :) Weight was up this morning, but only 0.2 of a pound.

The blood donation went okay. The nurse tried to talk me out of it when she saw how nervous I was, but I didn't come all this way to leave. I tried to explain that coming back at another time wouldn't make me any less nervous. They finally allowed me.

I do have a fungal infection under a toenail, but they looked that up on the computer and it didn't disqualify me. Yippee!

They pricked my finger for the iron test. It didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would, but I still gasped when they pricked me. They said my iron was good - 42. I'm not sure how good that is, though, since I have no idea of the optimal range. Anyone know?

The blood donation room was freezing to me in shorts and a tank top so they gave me a blanket. I did fine during the donation and was signifiantly more relaxed than 20 years ago. After they were done they wrapped my arm up tightly in a self stick bandage that reminded me of an ace bandage. I was a little lightheaded, so they tipped the chair back so that my head was lower than the rest of my body. The phlebotomist said my color was returning and that I'd been a bit pale. After lying like this for several minutes she sat me halfway up and then I came all the way up, feeling much better.

I went over to the snack area and passed up the cookies and bars and Cheese Its and settled for some black coffee and my Atkins almond brownie bar. Maybe next time I go I'll just plan to make it a binge day so I don't feel denied having to pass up the sweets.

They said not to exercise, but I needed some calories to play with so I did 20 minutes (just over 4 miles) on the new exercise bike. FitDay says just 80 calories, but hey, it's something.

Walked over 10,000 steps yesterday. :)


Click to enlarge.
Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, health and wellness, blood, Red Cross, overweight, fat, exercise, fitness, pedometer

It sucks being fat

Weight: 145.2
Calories eaten yesterday: 1887
Calories burned: 2165
Calorie deficit/overage: -278
Carbs: 49g
Fat: 87g
Calories burned in exercise: 307

Down again. This time I think it's the lack of pork rinds yesterday. The salt seems to really effect me, and yet they are the perfect snack of pure protein and fat - the macronurtrients our bodies need. I'll be up tomorrow because I did eat the pork rinds today.

I did an obscene amount of walking today to try to burn some more calories - nearly an hour total. First I walked down to the main street and then a ways along that street. Then I walked to work from the BART station, dropped my stuff, and just headed a bit further down the road to rack up more time and steps. FitDay says 173 calories, so not bad. I needed those calories so I could eat a bit more without exceeding what I burn.

Speaking of walking, I found this cool toy last night, signed up, and filled in my steps for the past 8 days. I'm going to see how long it takes me to get to 1 million steps. :) So far I'm at 85,813 steps since August 22, which the furthest back I could find near daily stats for.

Here's me. Be sure to click the profile/stats tab for the rest of me. ;) Here at my blog, you can find my tracker in the left hand column.

If you have a pedometer and like walking, don't miss Walker Tracker as a way to motivate you to walk more. It tracks steps each day, total steps, and averages. And it's free!

Tomorrow I am supposed to give blood. Pray for me that I pass all their screening tests!

I'll likely be weak afterwards, and there won't be time for exercise anyway, because I am making some eggplant lasagna after that. So no exercise tomorrow.

Walked over 10,000 steps yesterday. :)


Click to enlarge.
Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, health and wellness, obesity, obese, overweight, fat, exercise, fitness, pedometer

Organ and tissue donation

I have signed up with the Donate Life California Organ & Tissue Donor Registry. Please join me in saving and enhancing the lives of thousands of people in need of your help. It took me only a few minutes to sign up -- minutes that could mean years of life for someone else.

To sign up or for more information, please visit http://www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org.

If you are not in California, visit the national Web site.

Of course, blood donation can be done while you're alive and healthy. :)

Technorati tagged: donation, organ, tissue, give life, life, health

I'm fat

Weight: 146.6
Calories eaten yesterday: 1900
Calories burned: 2022
Calorie deficit/overage: -122
Carbs: 57g
Fat: 88g
Calories burned in exercise: 151

Finished The Rapture yesterday. Yay! This was not one of the better books. I gave it 3 stars on Amazon. So much of it came across as just "filler," a way to take up space. Jerry Jenkins could have covered all the relavant stuff in less than half the space. I sincerely hope the next book is better and is the last. The series has really run its course. All good things should end before they go too far downhill and "jump the shark."

Well, after my large 8s getting dirty, I switched to my pair of medium 8s today. They were very hard to get into and so tight. Thankfully they are stretch jeans so I can wear them at least. Ug! I have GOT to get this weight off. I got rid of my 10s so I have nothing to wear if I keep gaining.

This next paragraph is gross, so if bathroom talk offends you, skip it. You've been warned! Yes, I was down a pound this morning, but I know why - it's because a good dump right before weighing really can make a huge difference on the scales, lol! And that's not something I'm able to do every morning, so I suspect I'll be back up tomorrow.

I'll just keep on keeping on because I know low-carb is the healthiest way to eat.

Went to the gym today and worked my butt off. I was tired because I got a bit less sleep today than usual. I did 20 minutes on the stairmaster, 15 on the treadclimber, and then 20 just walking. FitDay says 307 calories. Woohoo!

Got mentioned on Dr. Mary Vernon's blog today. She's helping to carry on the work Dr. Atkins started. Here's the entry about me, taken from a comment I made on another post. Low-carb has cured my acne, eczema, and cold sores. Who would have known that carbs caused these?

Walked over 10,000 steps yesterday. :)


Click to enlarge.
Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, health and wellness, obesity, obese, overweight, fat, exercise, fitness, pedometer

Week 2 Weigh-In

Weight: 147.6
Calories eaten yesterday: 1727
Calories burned: 1951
Calorie deficit/overage: -224
Carbs: 48g
Fat: 85g
Calories burned in exercise: 76

Week 1: 147.6
Week 2: 147.6

Total loss: 0

I expected to gain, so I'm pretty happy with no loss. To address the person who said I'm not losing because I'm gaining muscle: I wish! Unfortunately, my clothes are not looser; they are tighter. I have to wear my large and medium size 8s because the small and extra small pair are way too tight. My belt was once on the sixth hole; now it's back at five again. Additionally, I have not made any progress on my body fat percentage (as measured at the gym). In fact, I may have even gone backward! So no, I am not gaining muscle. :(

Oh whoosh fairy, where are you?


The peanut butter seems to be helping with my appetite. Two tablespoons do more to take the edge off than 8 ounces of plain yogurt. Go figure! It's gotta be the fat content helping to satiate.

Set up an appointment this morning to give blood. I'm to go in at 1:30 on Friday afternoon. I wanted to set it later, but it takes an hour and they close at 3 (and you never know what might go wrong so an extra 30 minutes is good). Here's a thread I started about it on the low-carbers forum.

Giving blood?

Just a note, I'm having problems with spell check right now, so if you see things spelled wrong, that's why.

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, health and we llness, obesity, obese, overweight, fat, exercise, fitness

Giving blood

Calories eaten yesterday: 1540
Calories burned: 1972
Calorie deficit/overage: -432
Carbs: 43g
Fat: 71g
Calories burned in exercise: 221

I know I'll show a gain for the week when I weigh-in tomorrow. *sigh* I'll just keep plugging along, doing the best I can, and see if some weight doesn't come off after a few more weeks. Even counting my sky high Saturdays I still burn more calories than I eat when you factor in the other six days. I should be losing.

This blog is now on the new Blogger Beta. So if things look a little different, that's why. They are still working out the bugs, so if you see anything that doesn't work, e-mail me so I'll know.

Brad brought to my attention that I never posted the pictures of the new bike like I promised. So here you go - pics of the new (used) exercise bike that Brad brought me.




Click to enlarge the pictures.
I'm thinking about giving blood. In The Protein Power LifePlan, the Eades' contend that it is not just a great civic thing to do, but that it is actually healthy. Most of us have too much iron, and giving blood is a great way to keep iron levels down. And so I am actually seriously considering the proposition for the first time in a long time. My only experience giving blood was about 20 years ago and I fainted afterwards. That took away any desire to give blood for a loooong time after that.

I looked up the Red Cross donation center closest to me (enter zip code on left), printed out their hours, and even plotted the bus route I'd need to take. When they took my blood before, they said my finger prick test revealed a low blood sugar and made me eat some crackers and wait 20 minutes, plenty of time to get more and more nervous. I think I will handle it better this time, and a Xanax beforehand wouldn't hurt either. ;)

I tried to give blood about 10 years ago after I screwed up my courage at a church drive. During the interview portion the man noticed I had an active cold sore and said I couldn't give blood with that. Now would be the perfect time because eating low-carb has made me healthier; I can't remember the last time I had a cold sore. (Pimples and eczema have gone away, too.) Of course, on low-carb I will have to turn down the juice or cookies afterward. I can bring something low-carb to eat to minimize the stress on my system.

I think Friday would be the best day; it would just mean not being able to work out that day, or working out very early.

Walked over 10,000 steps yesterday. :)


Click to enlarge.
Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, health and wellness, obesity, obese, overweight, fat, exercise, fitness, pedometer

Busy weekend

I know I haven't been around in a few days, so let me give you the quick rundown.

Thursday, August 24:
Weight: 147.8
Calories eaten: 1821
Calories burned: 1978
Calorie deficit/overage: -157
Carbs: 47g
Fat: 83g
Calories burned in exercise: 99

Friday, August 25:
Weight: 147.8
Calories eaten: 1968
Calories burned: 2118
Calorie deficit/overage: -150
Carbs: 54g (too high)
Fat: 75g (too low)
Calories burned in exercise: 261

Sabbath, August 26:
Weight: 147.8

How can I gain when I am being so good?!? This is so depressing. :-p My body truly does hate me and wants to be fat. I have a calorie deficit every day and I gain. Do I need to eat even less? I'm already hungry most of the time trying to keep the calories in the 1800 range.

I did have one good thing happen. Pastor Tim was mowing the lawn and his morning appointment had arrived. He hadn't noticed so I ran after him. He asked me if I was at my goal yet and I said no, and he said I looked slender. Me. Slender. Damn, that felt good. :)

Sunday, August 27:
I won't start my cheat-free count over, but I was a bad girl yesterday and binged on low-carb foods. I'm somewhat sick today and feel awful about what I did. I wasn't even hungry! I just had to keep stuffing my face and I wasn't even hungry! Argh.

I'm also dehydrated from not drinking enough water and I've gained weight yet again. Yesterday I was up a pound and I was too afraid to even get on the scale this morning.

I was going to work out extra long and hard at the gym, but I left my gym bag on the bus and ended up taking the train all around trying to catch up with the bus. Down to West Oakland - watched the bus drive off. Back on the train and down to Fruitvale. Beat the bus that time and as soon as he pulled in I jumped on looking for my bag. It was stashed behind the driver's seat. Someone had found it and NOT stolen it - amazing for where I live.

So (thank You, God!) I got my bag back and then headed to the gym, arriving an hour late. Needless to say, my workout was very short. I decided I needed cardio more than weights, so I did a half hour of intervals on the treadclimber and then headed to work. Because I didn't do weights I skipped my post-workout protein shake.

After waiting for the bus for a while I decided I had time to walk the last leg to work, so I did that and racked up 27 minutes for a total of 221 calories and I'm already at over 10,000 steps for the day. At least I got honked at some times during my walk. Of course, the fact that I was still wearing my gym clothes (bicycle pants and a tank top) might have helped. ;)

I changed into my jeans at work and even the largest size 8s I have are tight. I must get this weight off since I got rid of my 10s!

Plan for the day - drink lots and lots of water and try to keep my calories down as much as possible.

I'm making fast progress on the latest Left Behind book. The print is large and the margins are wide, and all chapter have to start on the right hand page, making for plenty of blank pages - so, yeah, fast read.

The rapture happens about halfway through, but the vivid descriptions of heaven (using Irene as the POV character) are a bit off-putting. Looking through the book it looks like that silliness continues for quite some time. While I love the LB series, the quality has gone down.

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, health and wellness, obesity, obese, overweight, fat, exercise, fitness, left behind

Day 9

Weight: 147.6 (fourth day in a row)
Calories eaten yesterday: 1770
Calories burned: 1988
Calorie deficit/overage: -218
Carbs: 49g
Fat: 73g
Calories burned in exercise: 111

9 days cheat free and still spinning my wheels. *sigh* I wouldn't be in this position if I hadn't had the glucose tolerance test. Stupid GTT!

Some good news today at least: Guess what? Today is the 10th anniversary of my baptism! I'd post pictures, but I didn't have a digital camera back then and don't know where the pictures are anyway. :-p Hopefully someday.

I was saved in May of 1996, but didn't get baptized until August 24. It also happens to be my sister's birthday, though that was just by accident. August 24 fell on a Saturday in 1996 and that was the best day for my InterVarsity leader to dunk me as we had a fall kickoff planning meeting that day, it was at his parents' house, and they had a backyard pool.

I wrote a poem that day while sitting by the pool in the sunshine. Check it out!
Cleansing Waters

Today was grocery day and I was a bad girl. I picked up low-carb ice cream and sugar free Hershey's syrup for my Saturday treat. Also got some blueberries and plan to pig out on those on Saturday. I love blueberries and now that I've gotten sugar out of my diet, berries taste sweet again.

Brad is supposed to bring over the bike tomorrow and he wants to bring some chili (without beans) to put over pork rinds with some cheese. Not sure how low-carb it will be though, even without beans. Besides, it's hard to find chili without beans.

Still raging hungry today. I'm looking forward to eating my fill on Saturday. I like low-carb food - love it even - but I just feel like I never get enough to eat, even though I'm getting more than enough calories and keeping my carbs down.

Walked over 10,000 steps yesterday, even though it wasn't a gym day.


Click to enlarge.
Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, health and wellness, obesity, obese, overweight, fat, exercise, fitness, pedometer

Day 8

Weight: 147.6 (third day in a row)
Calories eaten yesterday: 1852
Calories burned: 2125
Calorie deficit/overage: -273
Carbs: 45g
Fat: 81g
Calories burned in exercise: 271

Really hungry today even though I ate a respectable amount yesterday. I keep hoping that if I follow strictly for three weeks my body might let go of the excess water I know I'm carrying. *sigh* Just gotta keep following the program, even if there's no loss. Ug...I want liposuction to get rid of this fat!

Came up with a way to lower protein a bit and raise my fat - get rid of the yogurt all together (make it a weekend treat) and sub in celery with peanut butter. :) It's at least worth a try.

Low-fat plain yogurt (8 oz.): 150 calories, 3.5g fat, 4g carbs, 13g protein.
One serving = 8 oz.

Peanut butter (2 tbls.): 210 calories, 16g fat, 4g carbs, 8g protein.
One serving = 2 celery sticks with 2 tbls. peanut butter

That's only about 60 calories difference (the celery would add a few more calories) but can much improve the amount of fat I get - 12.5g more fat and 5g less protein. It's swapping a complete protein for an incomplete one, but I get enough complete protein from meat and cheese so I'm not worried about that.

We'll see if the extra fat helps diminish my appetite at all. Most of the time I find it easy not to eat if I'm not hungry. The only exception is the weekends when I'm home more and likely to be bored.

Took pictures on my old bike today, so you can see what I currently have. Pictures of the new (used) bike to follow later. :)




Click on pictures for full size with notes.
Walked over 10,000 steps yesterday. Woohoo! My pedometer says 5.83 miles.


Click to enlarge.
Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, health and wellness, obesity, obese, overweight, fat, exercise, fitness, exercise bike, pedometer

Week 1 Weigh-In

Weight: 147.6 :(
Calories eaten yesterday: 1990
Calories burned: 2128
Calorie deficit/overage: -138
Carbs: 49g
Fat: 101g
Calories burned in exercise: 275

Week 0: n/a
Week 1: 147.6

My goal: To lose the weight and/or lose body fat (even if the scale stays the same).

Since I didn't take my weight last Tuesday, this is as close as I come to a starting weight for the challenge. I don't like it, but my body resists losing weight and holds onto fat jealously. I'm hoping that as I use up the low-fat foods in the house and incorporate more fat and a little less protein, that might change. I can't wait to rid my house of low-fat junk! I must be eating too much protein to lose. I am not sure how to get that down, though.

Today is only day 7 instead of day 8 because my first day doing this challenge was last Wednesday. And so I begin again, now 10.6 pounds above goal (instead of 0.5 pounds like I was!) and way more body fat than I should have. I suck. Why won't my body lose weight? I am eating less calories than I burn! *sob* Not losing is so depressing.

Don't get me wrong. I feel better on low-carb and my health issues clear up. That alone is reason enough to stick with it. But damn. Why is my body hanging on so tenaciously to these last 10 pounds?!?

My calories were higher yesterday because I was so darn hungry after eating so little the day before. It's okay. I still burned more than I ate. The fat was so high because I bought peanuts from the vending machine and those have 34g of fat in a single serving.

My legs are sore today and I am bone-weary tired. Three straight days of working out (because that's just the way things fell this week) is exhausting. And my lower-than-normal carb intake isn't making those workouts any easier.

Brad found me an old exercise bike - for free! It's an old, green Schwinn. And this one is in better shape than my current one - the speedometer and odometer actually work! Woohoo! Now I can track how fast I am riding and how far I go. :) I'll take and post pictures of both when I can. Brad showed me the bike today, will drop it off Friday evening, and will help me get the old one downstairs to the dumpster area. It's a pretty crappy bike, but better than the one I have and that's big! Yippee!

For now, here's pictures of a similar bike (except it's brown) that I found on ebay.




Click on the picture for the Flickr photo with notes.
Walked over 10,000 steps yesterday (easy on gym days). I discovered today that exactly 10,000 steps for me is 4.41 miles. However, I never calibrated this pedometer. Something I definitely should do.


Click to enlarge.
Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, health and wellness, obesity, obese, overweight, fat, exercise, fitness, pedometer

10 things I love about myself that have nothing to do with my appearance

1) I'm not afraid to go against the flow. So many people think low-carb diets are bad and that I'm messing up my health. Oh well.

2) I enjoy reading and have learned quite a lot about nutrition from reading books and magazines. (My Mom sat me down when I was 3 and started teaching me to read.)

3) Once I decide to do something, I follow through. I'm strong-willed, and once I make up my mind to do something, I do it.

4) I can write. I've even been paid for some of my writing, so I can actually claim I'm professional.

5) I'm smart. I got all A's and B's in high school, and mostly A's and B's in college.

6) Working out isn't hard. I actually enjoy it. The endorphine rush is awesome!


7) I took in a feral momcat and her six kittens. I ended up adopting momcat. (Love you, Abby!)

8) I now love veggies. Isn't that weird? I didn't used to, but my tastes have changed the longer I've stayed on my diet.

9) I'm a Christian. Yes, I do like that about myself because it means I'm going to heaven! :)

10) I'm physically fit! I'm in better shape at my age of 35 than I was when I was 25 or even 15! :)

Technorati tagged: quiz, quizzes, about me, low carb, weight loss, health, health and wellness, obesity, obese, overweight, fat, exercise, fitness

Day 6

Weight: 147.6
Calories eaten yesterday: 1443 (yay!)
Calories burned: 2083
Calorie deficit/overage: -640
Carbs: 41g
Fat: 56g
Calories burned in exercise: 239

Took my weight this morning. *sigh* 147.6. Bleh.

After eating so little yesterday (and having my usual light breakfast this morning) I felt week by 4:30 today and needed to eat lunch. (My normal lunch time is 3, but I can sometimes postpone it until 6.) I swear I could feel my blood sugar dropping, so I went and warmed up lunch real fast. Once I got a few carbs into me (in the form of veggies) and protein (beef) with which to make glucose, my blood sugar went up a bit and evened out. Whew.

After yesterday's really low day I'm hungry today. And I forgot to pack the pork rinds this morning! I bought nuts from the vending machine downstairs. My carbs are too high today, but I will do better tomorrow!

Finished The Protein Power LifePlan today. Now I can start in on the newest Left Behind book.

There were two cakes at work today for birthdays. I had one bite of each, and then Lynn offered to take the cakes out of the room so I wouldn't have to stare at them for my shift. I thanked her. I don't need the temptation.

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, health and wellness, obesity, obese, overweight, fat, exercise, fitness

Day 5

Saw Mom and Bill again today. They picked me up and we went to my gym. I had to do a slightly abbreviated workout, but FitDay still says I burned 239 calories.

Yesterday I felt like I was way overeating so I jumped on my exercise bike for 35 minutes. FitDay says 139 calories burned. All the fat I ate yesterday did seem to blunt my appetite so I didn't eat after 8 p.m. and went to bed around midnight.

Mom and Bill went out to lunch at Denny's. I could have asked them to bring me back something but after not being able to count calories or carbs for the last two days I wanted to get back on plan and eat the lunch I packed (veggies and beef). I asked them to bring me back a black coffee from Starbucks, though. :) My workout tired me out and I needed the caffeine to perk me up.

As soon as all my low fat food is gone I'm going to try to incorporate more fat into my diet with 10% fat ground beef and full fat yogurt. I know these foods have more calories, so I'm not sure how that will work out. My calories have been pretty respectable on the days I can count, though, so there might be room for some leeway.

Dad will be down next weekend so that will mean more than one day next weekend that I won't be able to count. And Dad's a diabetic who makes the absolute worst food choices! The ADA diet is carbs and more carbs and he's now to the point where he thinks that blood sugar of 175 (fasting, with insulin injections) is pretty good. Thanks ADA! I'm going to whip up a lot of Atkins-friendly food for when we get together on Christmas, even though I'll have to do all the cooking myself.

At any rate, even with Dad in town and nothing but carbs all around I will make good food choices even if I have to carry food with me at all times.

I am committed to this challenge! I know the only way I could lose 30 pounds in 30 weeks would be to starve myself, but I just hope to lose something on most weeks at least. Alternatively, I could deal with no weight loss if my body fat went down. It was 24% at last check, though I think the water weight I carried at the time might have skewed the results high since it was 22.5% on the test before that when I had no bloat, and I know I am getting stronger because I can curl the 20 pound dumbbells now. I'd really like to get down to 21%, but that may not be possible.

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, health and wellness, obesity, obese, overweight, fat, exercise, fitness

Day 4

Pigged out on peanuts at church today. Sabbath is the only day I eat nuts; I love them too much to keep them around the house. I become a peanut-eating monster when they are around. But they tasted good and are low-carb. I'm trying to eat more fat anyway, right? A little overboard one day won't hurt. :)

At the potluck I picked the cranberries out of Jane's salad to reduce the sugar content. Then while everyone else was eating warm apple crisp with ice cream I went in to the kitchen to clean up to keep from being tempted. I had Carb Smart ice cream with sugar free Hershey's syrup when I got home.

Tomorrow I am taking Mom and Bill to my gym so I will get some sort of workout.

Here are pictures from yesterday's lunch at Quinn's Lighthouse. Sorry they are washed out. I forgot to turn the flash on and had to try to lighten them as best as I could. Click to enlarge them.


Mom and I


Bill, Mom, & I
Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, health and wellness, obesity, obese, overweight, fat, exercise, fitness

Day 3

Calories eaten yesterday: 1592 (yay!)
Calories burned: 1964
Calorie deficit/overage: -372
Carbs: 39g (yay!)
Fat: 61g
Calories burned in exercise: 102

I'm trying to keep my carbs 40g or less to help me lose. I don't feel my best at that level, but at 60g (where I feel good) I can't lose weight.

Went out to lunch with my Mom and Bill (her husband) today, but I was a good girl. I had a New York steak (with no condiments because they are full of sugar) with a double helping of veggies instead of veggies and starch. Also some Merlot wine. :) I had two bites of bread, one spoonful each of Mom and Bill's soups, and one bite of the toast that came with the soup. Oh...one bite of the chocolate cake that Mom and Bill had for dessert. "Bites" keep me from feeling deprived of my favorite foods. Plus, now that I know what those foods do to my body it's much easier to pass them up.

I'm trying to get more fat and less protein in my diet, so yesterday when I bought meat, I bought the 10% fat beef instead of the 7% like I have been getting. Cooked it up last night as burgers; when I cook it as ground beef a lot of the fat cooks out. I'm hoping that by consuming more fat my appetite will be blunted because high protein alone isn't doing it and I'm tired of being hungry. We'll see if higher fat works.

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, health and wellness, obesity, obese, overweight, fat, exercise, fitness