Wow... well it appears I haven't checked in here in a few days... whoops!! It's not for any reason other than the fact I have been extremely busy at both work and at home. I haven't had a lot of time for posts at work which in all honesty is where I do most of this. At home I've been giving at least an hour a night to my workouts and that comes first! I need to be able to post here someday that I have made goal.
Right now I am averaging a - (Neg) on my calories in and calories out. I burn about 400-500 more calories per day than what I'm consuming in food. Then there is also the lovely BMR... which I adore!!! Thank goodness for burning calories every second of the day huh?? LOL
It seems I will end up with about -2,000 or -1,500 calories for the day. Awesome!!! That's about half a pound a day! Of course in my body it doesn't happen like that. I just stall until my body wants to *finally* release some pounds and then I'll lose like, 5-6 Lbs in one week. Crazy stuff... I don't know the science behind it, but it is what it is and I know as long as I'm doing the right things I'll see my big losses really soon.
I realized just recently that I have been in the 190's for the last 2 months. This is NOT okay! In fact in the last 2 months I'd only been posting about 5-6 Lbs loss each. That just stinks to be honest... I know I'm capable of doing so much more. I guess that's why I started up the Journey to Goal forums. I needed some kind of motivation to get me back to my workout routines 100% and to eating as good as I can. I was slipping up way too much and it showed.
I guess in my latter years I would have gained significantly otherwise. Now that I'm sleeved I'm still losing weight even when I'm not being ultra strict. Well I'm definitely back to that now! Pushing tons of water, eating proteins first then veggies... and the occasional carb. I'm averaging about 80-100g protein per day and 60g carbs. I'm fitting in all my fiber too, so yeah I'm really kicking butt.
I'm also getting in about 2-3 hours of physical fitness per day. My running is the mainstay of what I do. I cannot give enough good word about this activity. It really raises the heart rate, gets you all crazy sweaty and out of breath but when you complete your task its the BEST FEELING!! Yes YOU CAN!! OMG I just love it. I'm doing this 6 days per week now. Ohhh yeahhh!!!
Not only that the side benefits of this is I notice my skin is really snapping back great. My muscle tone underneath looks nice and best of all its burning off that stubborn FAT on my thighs!! That has always been my biggest foe in weight loss and I looked in the mirror yesterday and was actually pleased with what I saw! I can't remember ever feeling that way when looking at my thighs...
So with that I will KEEP IT MOVING!! As I always say. I can't get the last two months back but I can look forward to the next two and say they will be much better. I hope everyone is reaching for that elusive goal -- we will get there!!
Blessings!!
Source: Diva's journey to GOAL
Hi everyone!!! I'm here to tell you that I have chosen an amazing GOAL PRIZE that is going to help me stay on track until I get there. I have ZERO doubt at all!!! It's all good folks, however - my goal prize will remain a secret until the time comes. In the mean time I'll just work my tail off until I get there. I'm back to full time logging and doing my workouts. Whooohooo!!! Oh I sooo needed this. I needed that carrot to keep chasing. Got it! And away I go!!!
Here are my totals for today:
Calories In:
Breakfast: 179 AM Snack: 140 Lunch: 269 Dinner: 202 PM Snack: 170 Totals: 960
Calories Out:
AM: Treadmill 35 Mins – 469 Noon: Walk@Work 45 Mins – 327 PM: Elliptical 30 Mins – 531; Yoga 12 Mins – 86 Basal Metabolic Rate: 1622 Totals: 3035
Difference: -2075 Calories
Nutritional Breakdown:
Protein: 36.74% Fat: 39.46% Carbohydrates: 23.8%
Daily Intake Totals:
Water: 138 oz. Protein: 88g Carbs: 57g Fiber: 9g Sugars: 22g Fat: 42g
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The only thing I can see that I messed up on is my fiber. Whooppss!! I'll need to do better tomorrow. I forgot to do my chews during the day and now the day's over and it's too late.
Oh well... have a great day tomorrow all and I hope to see some check ins!
Source: Diva's journey to GOAL
Hello hello HELLO LOSERS!! And of course I mean that with the best of intentions... Well I can tell you this, I'm a loser and darned proud too!!
Anyway today is Day 8 and I WILL reach my goal in 91 DAYS... *faint* Hahaa!! Well I'm going to give it one heckuva try anyway.
So, the whole sick sleeve thing is now a past issue. I am days away and feeling back to normal. I've been eating solids regularly and drinking tons of water. Here is my menu from yesterday:
Breakfast: Atkins Shake
Snack: String Cheese
Lunch: 2 oz chicken, mixed veggie & brown rice w/1 TBSP of red fat cheese
Snack: 1/2 single serv container of Fage w/blueberries
Dinner: 3 oz. Grilled chicken on green salad w/whole grain crouton, ranch dressing & 1 Tb of full fat grated cheese.
Snack: Whole Grain Saltines
Water: 120 Oz.
Hmmm no workout either. Whoa!! Thank goodness I'm doing much better today... LOL I guess it could have been worlds worse, so I'm not too mad at myself.
Pro's of yesterday:
I felt good about my eating. I did pretty good. I know I can still do a little better but there's always tomorrow for that (or should I say today - lol). I finished my minimum ration of water. Whooohooo!!! That's super important.
Con's of yesterday:
Here's something I notice - I've forgotten to take my vitamins and iron supplements twice in a row now. This is NOT okay! I need this to function properly. Also, I didn't do any workouts yesterday, and it wouldn't of hurt to do a little something. Yeah, well - again there's always today and today is a success. One more, I didn't go to bed on time last night. A good night's sleep is super important for good health! Also, it ensures I'm going to get up for my early morning run. *sigh*
What I can improve on:
Definitely my eating. I ate a little too many carbs yesterday in my opinion. Mainly the crackers I guess. I know I don't want to eat meat for a snack. I need to make sure the night time snack isn't carb loaded... LOL I created my new workout schedule so that's already helping me get back to my schedule.
Tomorrow is weigh day. I really don't want to because my TOM is just getting over and I know I retain water during this time. However, to keep myself on schedule I will. I'm already doing better so I know my next weigh in should be ok.
See you all tomorrow for the check in!!
Source: Diva's journey to GOAL
Hello everyone! I wanted to post this:
...and the reason being because I want to share what a typical day looks like for me. Now, please know I'm not this perfect every single day! I might squeeze in a few things here and there, and most likely its around TOM due to stressful cravings...
Things are going quite smooth today. I have not had any negative sleeve issues and my food is going down without a hitch! I feel really good and I'm just getting over TOM and my cravings are at a Two right now (Won't say zero because before lunch I wanted an extra snack but was able to ignore it!). Yes, I grade scale my cravings! I was a 10 (Maximum) last weekend which I think is the main culprit in me eating so many forbidden foods. Even a taste here and there got me feeling sick!! Oh yuck... Blechhh!!!
Here's something I just noticed... me being so close to goal and actually feeling quite comfortable with how I look allowed me to nearly fall apart. I would not normally allow myself to eat so many bad things and haven't since surgery. I have not been perfect!! Not at all but this last weekend I really let loose. I can't do this! I have to stay on track. I'm sooo close, and I just need to stay on the straight and narrrow for a few more months! It always sounds a lot more daunting than it is... LOL I do have to remind myself though because I DON'T want to ever do what I just did. I don't think I can anymore anyway. With my surgery my Dr. also took my ability to eat junk food!
Anyway, I'm feeling back to my normal self and I'm ready to tackle these next 3 weeks where I get the most out of my sleeve and weight loss.
I'm really going to push for 11 Lbs by the 15th of July. Wish me luck!!!! Or should I say fortitude.
Source: Diva's journey to GOAL
Today is day 4 and I have 95 days to reach goal.
Wow!!! I haven't posted in here all weekend, sorry for that! I've been busy and I find that my weekends are usually that way. I did take some new photos for my 9th month post op (check my photo gallery). Yay!! 9 months out -- WOW!!!!!!!
So I was 281 Lbs at the start of my pre op diet. I was 272 on surgery day. On my last weigh in I was 191 Lbs!!
My largest sizes I wore was a VERY tight 28W and 3-4X tops. On surgery day I was wearing 24W and 1-2X tops. Today I can fit into sizes ranging from 8's and all the way up to 14's. 14's are my max though, anything larger is simply too big. I am almost out of 14's though and I have to wear them with belts. I just don't want to give them up!
My largest bra size ever was a 44D and I was wearing 40D on surgery day. Today I wear a 34C.
Panties, largest ever were 13's!!!! On surgery day (iirc) I was wearing 10's. Today I wear a 6.
My ring size largest ever was a 9. On surgery day I was wearing 8.5. Today I wear a 5.5.
All that said, I actually have not been feeling too good lately. Every time I eat I feel kinda nauseated and just... blahhh... So I read my post op instructions because it's been awhile. I guess I don't remember seeing it before but Dr. A suggests if you're feeling like that after every meal it's best to go back and do one day of clear liquids. So I put my dinner aside after feeling sick after about 5 bites. I pulled out my Unjury chicken soup and heated me up a mug. It was delicious and it made me feel so much better. So from the rest of today I'll just drink water. And I'll finish it off by doing clear liquids tomorrow. After that I'll do full liquids on Tuesday. Then hopefully by Wednesday my stomach will be feeling much better.
Who knows, but something I must have eaten did upset my stomach. I've been eating more beef and pork actually the last few days and seeing I don't really eat those, that might be the reason. Ever since, every time I eat anything I can only eat a few bites and then I'm feeling yucky. :(So, it's back to square one! Not because I want to but because I HAVE to. That's the only way I'll do those liquids... LOL
I didn't workout at all today, and I won't tomorrow, nor Tuesday really except maybe a little bit of something. Nothing too strenuous because it's hard to do any major training and do liquids for days. I'll get too hungry and I'll fall off the liquids and I really need to stick to it. Once I get back to solids I'll get back on to doing my morning runs. I might just do a 30 set on my spinner, kinda light - just to get the blood pumping a little bit. Gotta do that at least.
I do still need to create a new workout schedule, but priority one right now is for me to feel better. Gawsh no more pork or beef!!! They just don't agree with me at all. My stomach is so sensitive anymore. Oh well it's what I signed up for and I am forced to follow the rules. It's working for me that's all I know!!!
See you all tomorrow.
Source: Diva's journey to GOAL
Helloooo okay today is day 2 and I have 97 days to reach goal.
So I'm down one pound from last weeks weigh in. I could've done better sure, but oh well. I'm not upset about that, especially since it's close to TOM and I've been snacking a bit too much in the last few days. That's why I've set this thing up so I can push myself and be motivated to reach my goal faster. 26 lbs now and I'm on my way! Anyway the snacking stops TODAY and I get on this ball. I will keep a log (minor log nothing fancy) on what I eat today. I know what I should be eating and what I shouldn't. I don't care about the calories/fat/carbs - any of that. I lose weight when I eat healthy and I get my workouts in. Simple as that. I do keep my calories up anyway when I'm doing my runs, that stuff burns a lot of energy, so I'll usually drink an extra power and calorie packed protein shake. Yes, I still drink protein shakes, and no I'll never stop. I need them and I like them.
My protein shake is usually the EAS Carb Advantage 11 oz in either vanilla or chocolate and half a scoop of Unjury any flavored - or Bariatric Fusion one scoop. Both are low carb and and very high in protein per scoop. I also add crushed ice and shake that up in one of my mixer cups. I got them from GNC, its a plastic cup with a whisker ball inside. It works great.
I have to fast this morning so no coffee, no nothing. I'm having my panels taken this morning at 8 am and as soon as the results come back I'll be sure to post them. It will be interesting to see if I'm lacking anything. I mean if I'm low on anything I think it's my electrolytes - other than that I think I'm doing good. I need to keep up on those. I really don't like to skip breakfast so as soon as I'm done I'll come back home and make me some eggs and turkey bacon. Yum!!! I'm going to put some salsa and reduced fat cheese on my eggs. I can't wait. BTW my eggs are one whole real egg and one quarter cup of egg beaters (equiv to one egg). So I can have the real taste of eggs and cut the cholesterol by one half. Who says you can't have the best of both worlds??
My Dr. Appt yesterday went extremely well and my Dr. couldn't believe how much weight I've lost. She said... "You've lost One hundred anndddd... well you've lost a lot!!!" LOL That was pretty funny! So she left me with a panel request to check all my nutrients and a slip to have my yearly mammogram. Fun times I tell ya! I don't have much in the way of boobage anymore so that is not something I'm looking forward to.
See you all tomorrow! I'll have my food log done and I'll share what I did for my workout. Yesterday I didn't do any workout so nothing to share. Oh I need to change up my routine. I have it down as Thursdays and Fridays off, but I'd rather have Mondays off. I hate Mondays... ugghhh... LOL
Irene
Source: Diva's journey to GOAL
Welcome to my personal thread. I will detail my journey here on my final countdown. I have 27 Lbs to my ultimate goal!!
As I already mentioned in the other thread:
So... here I go!! It's probably going to take me 4 more months to get to this goal, however I'd really REALLY love to reach it by my Sleeversary which will be on September 15th. Just at the tail end of Summer. *Sigh*
Wish me luck!!
To start off fresh I'm going to write myself up a new workout routine and ensure I'm eating as healthy as possible. I have 27 Lbs to lose in just a little over 3 months. Ugghh!!! That's 9 Lbs per month average!! Gonna be tough but I think I can do it.
Source: Diva's journey to GOAL
Hello Weight Loss Friends!
It has been asked what my daily routine looks like and what is helping me achieve some good success right now. There is a lot so I hope you are prepared for a long read. Also, please remember that everyone will lose weight at different rates, and those dreaded stalls just happen sometimes. Ugh!! I know, I hate them... LOL :-)
My Eating:
Carbohydrates: Veggies (Green), Complex Carbohydrates, Whole Grain anything (yes even bread), and anything high in fiber. Remember poo weighs a few pounds too!! I don't like ANY kind of extra weight hanging on and I go every single day! :-P And of course fruit. I don't spend a lot of time caring about high sugar fruits or whatever. I already know which ones are and which ones aren't. If say I'm having an orange, it is a higher sugar fruit. I eat half serving instead of a whole serving. However, strawberries I'll eat quite a few because I know it's not that high in sugar. My daily total of carbs is usually from 60g to 100g per day.
Protein: I eat Seafood including many types of fish unless its a bottom feeder fish , and Poultry. I also eat eggs. Everything I eat I will prepare it with normally chicken or turkey if it is normally made with beef or pork. I do not eat beef or pork right now while I'm in my weight loss stage. I've never been much of a beef eater anyway so I don't really miss it, but I do miss my pork!! It's funny, the reason I started doing this is because I read a little weight loss plan that mentioned my metabolism is the type that beef and pork will slow down my weight loss. At first I didn't believe it, but since I've stopped eating these meats I've been dropping weight in masses. I won't stop now!! I also drink high quality medical grade protein supplements, especially right after my morning workout. It gets my day started right! In total I'm getting around 80g to 100g protein a day.
Fats: I typically make lean meat choices, and choose anything that is lower in fats. That being said, I don't NOT eat fats entirely. I know my body needs this and really when you're doing a low(er) carb type diet, some fats are essential for weight loss. I really honestly have not tallied one time how much fat I'm getting, and right now since I'm losing so well I don't intend to. Now, if I go on a stall of 3 weeks long or more I will probably give it more thought. I normally choose the healthier fats too, if cooking its Extra Virgin Olive Oil and I do take an Omega 3-6-9 horse pill every day. I will indulge in some butter once in awhile. I do not eat margarines or fake butters... ever. Firstly they taste nothing like butter, and second they are filled with some ungodly ingredients. Yeah, I'm thinking a little butter will actually do less damage to my body than synthetic fats.
A typical meal for me: I normally will eat around 2-3 oz of meat (protein), about the equivalent of 2 broccoli heads and what turns out to be about 3-4 bites of my carbs. That's pretty much the extent of what my lil tummy can hold right now. It does get bigger as time goes on. At first starting eating solids, I could barely get 1oz of meat and maybe a bite or two of my veggies. I never had room for carbs. Also, since I've put my healthy good carbs back on my plate I've been losing quite well again. I rarely drink while I'm eating. Once in awhile I do to wet my mouth usually but that's the extent of it. However, I will drink fluids all the way up until my mealtime. I have never found this makes me any hungrier any faster. In fact, I'm never even hungry!! Thanks to my sleeve.
Meal Schedules: If I workout, I will have one of my protein shakes, and sometimes a half banana with it. For breakfast I normally have a Quaker High Fiber oatmeal packet. Wow!! This stuff really works good I don't typically eat again until lunch. I'll usually have 1-2 oz of protein, some kind of green veggie and a little bit of good carbs. Then again, do no eat until dinner, which is like that mentioned above in the A typical meal for me section. For a nightly snack, I'll sometimes have a serving of Peanuts. I've been loving these since my surgery! Other than that I might have some fruit or maybe a Fiber One bar if I have a chocolate craving. Those things are good! On average I intake about 800 calories on days I don't workout and anywhere from 1200-1400 calories per day on days I do workout.
My supplements: I use Unjury or Isopure for my medical grade quality proteins. I also will use some Atkins RTD shakes or EAS Carb Advantage as a baseline for the drinks and add the powders for additional protein. I take Alive! Multi Vitamins and Minerals and one Iron Chew along with a Sublingual B-12 first thing in the morning. 2 hours later, I take 500mg of Calcium citrate, 3mg of Potassium and 5,000 IU of Dry Vitamin D. After lunch I will take 500 mg of Calcium Citrate and my Omega 3-6-9 horse pill. Before bed I take another 500mg of Calcium Citrate, Biotin 2,500mcg and if I don't think I've had enough fiber during the day I'll take 2 Fiber Choice tablets.
My workouts: I have a pretty hefty workout schedule. My schedule was once put into question as if I don't really burn the amount of calories I say I do. Well I'm no liar I know that, so what else can it be? LOL Anyway, here is how it goes. I workout 5x per week, morning and night - and my days off are Mondays and Fridays. My early morning workout is ALWAYS done on an empty stomach. This is because the first 15-20 minutes of any workout is always going to be spent burning off the sugar in your blood if you eat anything before hand. This is always my most vigorous workout too! All fat burn baby!! So I start with a 15 minute warm up on my spinner machine, starting of resistance 2 and going up to 6. Immediately after I get on my treadmill for the next 45 Minutes. I am currently doing the C25K plan. I find it very easy going, especially since I have arthritis in both my knees. The last thing I want to do is blow them out before I even have a chance to actually run my 5K!! I have to work on not using my side rails during my running/walking. So far I can do the first 35 minutes before needing to use it. I'm getting better every day. Once my 45 minutes is up, I do a 2 minute cool down (total 47 minutes), then I will do a 10 minute stretch session. This is so important! Anyway I do this all 5 workout days... For my evening workouts: On Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday I'll do a 30 Minute session on my spinner and a 30 Minute session on my elliptical. On Sundays and Thursdays I'll do 30 minutes of calisthenics and about 45 Minutes of resistance band muscle toning.
In Closing: So that's all there is to it Anyway I just have my mind really focused right now. I'd love to make my ultimate goal by Sept 15th of this year which will be my one year Sleeversary. My ultimate goal is 154 Lbs which will place me at the highest for a normal BMI. Today I am 216 Lbs and at 34.9 BMI... so just 10 BMI points to go! Not bad when I started with a 53.3 BMI, huh???
Good luck everyone! If you have questions, ask! I'm happy to answer any. xoxo
Irene
