Day 20-23: Becoming a Gym Bunny

I didn't get to post yesterday because I was too busy at the gym before work. That's right, we finally rejoined the gym as of last Friday. So, I spent a good bit of time on the treadmill, in the weight room, and the pool. It is terribly sad to see how much my speed has dropped since we had to quit before. The first day, I wanted to quit at 30 minutes going between 3-3.5 mph. I persevered and went another 20 minutes. I was up to 9-10 minute miles last year. But, I will regain my power if I keep going! Luckily, my strength hasn't decreased much...and my legs are very strong! I really do need to work on my upper body strength, which is what I'll focus on this week.

Time for my weekly weigh-in results! I weighed myself at the gym and was shocked at the low number. Sunday night, my Aunt Flo decided to restart again (how dare you keep visiting more than once a month without proper notice!!!) so I am up a couple pounds from Sunday, which still puts me at 302. So, 10 pounds down this month! Yeehaw!

And forget what I said about me needing my carbs so much!!! I figured out that was my TOM cravings that were deluding my thoughts. I did indulge in Ritz Bits with Peanut Butter on Saturday...extremely high carb day! But, I am feeling more fulfilled with my peanut butter and banana wrap for breakfast than with just eggs and canadian bacon or veggie patties or whatever else I was doing for the first two weeks.

Day 20-23 Totals:

• Calories: 1099/1439/992/1057
• Fat: 49/79/43/32
• Carbs: 121/175/62/77
• Protein: 45/38/101/127
  

Day 19: We're #2!!

If you've read my previous posts, you can tell I am a fan of The Biggest Loser. While reading another person's blog (I forget whose, sorry!), I found out that the Australian episodes are available on YouTube. Score! So, I sometimes watch an episode or two after work. I noticed right away that a few gals there were bigger, maybe a bit heavier than me. In the American version, the gals are usually smaller, with the exception of Isabeau and Amber in season 4 who both weighed 290ish. Season 5 Kelly weighed around 270 I think at the beginning. Now I know there are heavier gals out and about, maybe just not pleasing to American viewers so they aren't seen, except for those headless fatty videos on the news. But based on the sizes I saw on the Australian episode, I wasn't surprised to read the article stating that Australia is now the World's Fattest Nation! The US was beat by a whole 1%....only 25% of us are obese. Interesting, no?

I have decided to head on to Phase 2 of the SBD. I'm really missing fruit and I would like to go back to a bit of breakfast or lunch grains. My brain seemed to function better on the days that my carbs went high earlier in the day. I will NOT be eating high GI/carbs at dinner or later in the evening though. The pizza night and one of the other off-plan days taught me that I feel like shit the morning after and cannot drag myself out of bed. Overall, I think the South Beach Diet has been a good thing for me to try. I've learned so much about how my body reacts to food. When I eat well, I just feel better about myself. And I'm glad I decided to track my food intake, even though counting calories isn't really required for the plan. I'm also finding it easy to track my food...I always thought it was a pain in the ass before. I don't know why! With keeping everything updated on SparkPeople, I can go back and review what works best and what days I felt better. Now, all I need is a cheer squad to keep me going :)

Day 19 Totals:

• Calories: 1753
• Carbs: 149 (yep, I had a sub and a cookie because I would have felt bad by saying no to the person who gave it)
• Fats: 78
• Protein: 120
  

Day 18: Loser Envy!!

My scale at home has some serious issues!! Actually, I believe it has The Biggest Loser scale envy. You know what I'm talking about. On the show, the scale goes up and down before finally settling on the weight to create suspense. My scale tries the same technique even after changing batteries! The first time I step on, it gives me a low number...not extremely low, but I just don't trust it!! I jump on a second time and it gives me a huge number! My scale finally commits to a number after the third try. Today, all my weights were lower than my last weigh-in, so that's a good thing!!

Yesterday, I had a great food day until after work. Giggleman was supposed to cook white bean turkey chili when he got home. He emailed me at work and asked if he could order out instead. Grrrrrr!! So, I come home to pizza, of course! "But, I ordered you whole wheat crust!! That's healthy!!" Ummmm, yes it is, but I'm trying to stay off bread this last week. Man mentality. I was hungry, and planned on eating 2 slices, tops. I still am lacking in self-control...I had another piece because it was just sitting there prodding me to take more. But, I stopped after that piece even though there was still a lot more pizza left. Baby steps...

Day 18 Totals:

• Calories: 1876
• Carbs: 217 (sigh!)
• Fat: 89
• Protein: 84
  

Day 17: Pulling Out the Tape Measure

This morning, I was going through my email and followed a link to LIVESTRONG.com. The site has many dares you can choose to do in order to change your life, like stop smoking, run a marathon, lose weight, etc. I was checking out the diet and weight loss portion...I went to check out a video about how to speed up your metabolism and it was pretty much just an ad for a certain personal trainer. Nothing about metabolism whatsoever...ok. Then, I click on the weight loss area and the first articles are about "4 Ways to Qualify for Gastric Bypass" and "Smart Shopping for Weight Control Pills". Under the video section, the highlighted ones were on lap band surgery. This part of the site just seems off to me! I would think I'd see more about nutrition and whatnot.

I then checked out the calculator to find my ideal weight. It asked me for my height and my wrist size. So, I had to go find my tape measure! My wrist came to 6.25 inches...my ideal is supposedly 140. If my wrist was a quarter-inch bigger, I could weigh 14 more pounds. Yikes, who knew what a difference a little bit could make. My ideal sounds a bit low to me...I was talking to my sister the other day and she said she weighed 170. She looks good and she's shorter! But, I remember weighing that in high school and I was ridiculed by some and feeling like a big cow. I know the country is getting bigger, but I'm shocked that I'd be considered pretty normal to the other kids now. Wow! Since I had the tape measure out, I figured I'd check out my waist size. I forgot to take measurements at the beginning of the month, but I did have that measurement from the health fair. Good news! I've lost two inches! Yay!

Day 17 Totals:

• Calories: 1310
• Carbs: 78
• Fats: 34
• Protein: 169
  

Day 16: Wow, Visitors!!!

Welcome to all my new visitors yesterday! I checked my email and I was shocked that I had so many comments to moderate :) I'll be working on replying and visiting all of your sites later today. I also need to work on my blogroll! As I've mentioned in a previous post, I have soooo many blogs set up in my Google Reader. The convenience of GR has made me very lazy about actually visiting the individual sites and commenting. I'll work harder, I promise!

So anyways, yesterday was pretty ordinary. I stayed on track with eating. I got 45 minutes of exercise in---I did the Biggest Loser Cardio Max video again and this time I'm not experiencing that crazy leg pain. So, I no longer have to kill Bob :) I also drank tons of water!! I was reading through my old blog's archives and realized my key then was having a straw. On my shopping extravaganza last week I happened to buy a new water bottle that came with a straw. Voila, problem solved! It is so much easier to guzzle water at work when I don't have to tilt my head and look away from the monitor. Am I just that lazy to move or am I too devoted to working? :)

Day 16 Totals:

• Calories: 1146
• Carbs: 86 (I realized I'm eating some starchy veggies which I'm supposed to stay away from Phase 1. I lent the SBD book to my mom so I conveniently forgot! Oops!)
• Fats: 47
• Protein: 100