Posts by merimeriqcontrary

Also, thanks a lot Denise and Dove, I owe you one! :)

Sorry I was MIA, but I was in hospital with a respiratory viral infection - some sort of lung flu - not pretty I must say. Needless to say, I am failing all my goals this round, even if my eating was not terribly off track, I couldn't count any calories. In truth, maybe what I should be aiming at, now that I know how many calories most of the things I eat are, I should probably try intuitive eating, and get as many veggies and fruit as possible.

The exercise is truly off balance, lately I only managed to exercise twice a week, but now that the weather is better I'm hoping for renewed enthusiasm. Sun :)

Questions about exercise....

Lemme think...

I've never been to a gym with proper machines, so where do I start?

Treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike etc...

I need to draw a beginner's lifting program, but I have no access to weightlifting books for women... I could ask the trainer at my gym, but he doesn't seem too keen on building workouts for women other than involving barbie weights.

Also, welcome to dothehokeypokey!

Hello everyone,

A little late this week, but I had such a nasty cold that I couldn't get myself in front of the computer for more than logging.

Check in:

100% on eating goal. 75% percent on workout goal. (Flu + weather = never a good combination)

Focused on healthy food this week and it was great. I didn't go over my calories per se. Last week too. I had a crazy sick day, fever and all and I would just eat and be delirious. It was freaky. [I'm still wondering if it's the swine flu]

I don't mind that I'm not always perfectly on track with my exercise goal because I always exercise at least three times a week and that feels great.

I've been on a tea diet without wanting to, but the colder the weather, the bigger the teapot, this is my motto.

Assignment:

1. I don't have the money to go to the gym. That's a true problem for me, however in the summer I can do my usual outdoors stuff, biking and rollerblading and in the winter I'll go to a cheaper, less fancy gym and hit it with a student pass. Also the small community pool at my local medschool is great.

2. I'm too busy to eat healthy, everything needs to be done on the run and fast. This one was tricky to get around, but thanks to my three days at home translating, I also have some cooking time to prepare meals for the three days I'm away for the day.

3. It's too expensive to buy veggies and fruit. In my house if I want to buy more healthy stuff, I do it out of my own money. I don't have a big income and that can be difficult sometimes. But over the last year, I've managed to convince my parents to buy more vegetables on their Sunday market run. It can be a bit boring to eat more of the same thing every week, but with a bit of imagination and the right basic ingredients, it can be done! :P (Btw, the Mediterranean Lentil Soup was divine, I slightly modified it and made it hotter [long live chili], but all in all it was great]

4. I can't exercise because of the bad weather. See above - number 1

5. I'm too depressed to cook or go out and exercise. This used to happen a lot. And by a lot I mean every few days. It's better now, really because whenever I do exercise, my depression seems to melt away like magic (endorphines, serotonin)

6. I haven't done my share of translating, therefore I cannot exercise. I have to ask myself if procrastinating or well-being comes first for me. Sometimes I have the feeling it's procrastinating. But I must make it well-being.

Yesterday I found myself wearing a coat whose last button wouldn't button right before and my belly (which is not monumental, really) would stick out unpleasantly. But yesterday it wasn't so bad. It did close, I did button up ok. (not perfect mind you, but ok)

Julie, now this may seem such a mean and selfish thing to say, but brace yourself: somehow seeing that other people get their trouble days and say "It's ok", makes me feel a bit more motivated to climb back on.

I've kept saying: It's just a phase and It'll pass this past week, but until I heard it live/online... from someone else, it never actually worked towards giving me hope. School often makes me lose what scanty grip on myself.

For me it's baby steps, today I was barely glad to go ride my sister's rundown bike for 45 minutes (in the drizzle), but I bet the weather and the Schwartz will let me do better tomorrow. Autumn slump is something I usually spend: downing soup and tea and gulping grilled cheese sandwiches. Must strike out the grilled cheese sandwiches (since no one can replace Gouda or Swiss Cheese, with healthier alternatives).

In other news: Bigbitty, congratulations on your baby! I wish she has a long and meaningful, beautiful, healthy and creative life! Enjoy her and her sister. (I know I did my two sisters growing up)

Marcekd, you could also try fruit jell-o when you are so inclined... I think the thing I miss the most about the states is the sugar-free, fat-free jell-o and the fruit trapped inside it. I know it's not particularly healthy, but I have my obsessions.

Carol, your carrot ginger soup sounds great! :) I love this week's recipe exchange since people come up with so many lovely soup ideas. 'Tis the season to get soupy! :P

Brrr, it's cold here... It almost snowed yesterday.

(Wow, am I hyper this week)

Have a great week and may all your goals go smoothly,

Meri

4 Month on WJ have changed my approach to weightloss and made me realize that all of the motivational stuff needs to be a part of me 24/7, that there are so many adjustments you need to make to a goal in order to reach it and be fulfilled, that being an emotional and social eater is what makes me get out of control and I still have no idea what to do about weekend family meals or birthdays. (Today's main eating event meant pigging out)

Even if I have a non-logging day, I discover myself craving white bread and fatty cheese and... oh I truly go wild.

I've discovered that sports makes me control my eating habits better and make healthier choices and if I don't move, I fall prey to some form of depression or complacence. I often wonder how to change this complacence and lenience.

Ok, so I'm adding a personal goal to my life: Will check in on WJ on Sundays.

Because otherwise, during the week, my schedule is too hectic. The internet connection at my university is down, when I'm at home, I have to translate and tons of errands to run. It's too complicated.

I missed you guys!

Vera, I hope the situation with your daughter is better now. I know what refusing/throwing up your medication feels like and trust me, it's a misguided blur to me how I could pass on that.

I'm having great trouble with my goals. This week my exercise was truly off: 2/4 times. It was terrible. It's been raining cats and dogs here and a car run me over last week (on a zebra crossing, green light for me... it was pretty traumatic) and now my bike is wrecked. No chance of rollerblading and since I didn't get my MA honours stipend, no money for the gym yet. I feel like a big, fat loser, but I bet that'll change next week. I finally found a great solution to my exercising: I'm going to take up swimming twice a week at a community pool which is cheap and sometimes pretty crowded, but you take stuff as it comes, or else. Also I'll come up with the money for the gym next week some way or another.

Food: food has been ok, meaning I've been eating less, but I feel like I've hit some kind of an extreme: I eat around 1000 cals a day now because I literally don't have much time to eat. I know my 300 cal dinners and lunches inside out and the combinations and the only healthy snacks I can come up with fast and without much cooking/running around are pieces of fruit. Since I didn't much exercise I didn't feel like I needed more food, but I'm guesssing, this is not great.

Gah, I'll force myself to raise the calories next week too.

Check-in

Doing very well on the exercise goal

However last week is a goal on logging as I've had the flu for 3 days and I was bedridden with horrid fever and I only managed to log 5 out of 7 days. :((

I feel like a failure for missing the first week, but you know I'll get up and go on. This week has been great up until now 3/4 workouts and I've started a Zumba tape. It's tons of fun although I don't know all the steps and I feel like a whale for some of the moves, but I'll take it slowly.

Julie Welcome back and I hear ya sister about working out at home. Sometimes I feel like crying because I don't beat myself hard enough when I'm here, then I don't reward myself, then I get frustrated, I stop going out... etc. bad Meri.

You need rewards. You do. They don't have to be money necessarily. This month, if I reach my tracking goal, I'll go out on a picnic with a few friends (healthy one).

And if I get it right next month I'm getting a professional mani-pedi or a haircut. ( I usually go to salons 4 times/year - combination of lazy and all the ladies there commenting on the sorry state of my nails/hair/acne...)

I'm not sure yet for the month after that, I'll prolly buy a new scale or something.

Carry Terry Pratchett and Margaret Atwood rock. (I have a huge soft spot for Terry :) ) I love your creative rewards. Wish I had any inkling of talent except for maybe dabbling in writing.

NEW: Hover around 1200  calories(non-workout days) and around 1400-1500 calories on workout days, 6 days/week. (at least 9 out of 12 weeks)

True. I'd rather focus on keeping my calories in check. Usually it all goes downhill if I don't log dinner.

Maintenance: Work out at least 4 times/week for at least 10 out of the 12 weeks.

And as for my maintenance, yes, I already work out 3 times a week and I wanted to challenge myself to workout four times a week, since I finally found a gym I like (I only go to the gym in the autumn and winter because it's not subject to weather conditions).

Also, I specified last time that I considered a mere  half an hour would count as cardio workout (in-line skating),  but I noticed I tend to go out for more, usually at least an hour.

But if that's not ok, then I'll leave it at three (as it was right now) and be happy that I work 4 times per week.

Sorry I didn't reply faster.

It's a new week and as always I hope this'll be the big break for me. My weight has been fluctuating so much lately I don't know what to think. I woke up today 4 pounds fatter than yesterday.:-s

Anyway, I didn't do great on my goal, missed a week of exercise due to the rain (and that was not planned). It's just that rainy weather gets me unbelievably down and I get terrible headaches. However on the week I blew and on all the three other planned weeks of non-attainment I did workout at least 2 times out of three. So it wasn't such a terrible thing. I'll call 80% and be happy I did it at least.

My new goal has to do with my eating, and this I truly find challenging. I'm not sure how much I should increase my calories when I exercise, given that rollerblading counts as vigorous cardio and I usually do at least an hour, I have no idea if I should increase my intake or not. 1200-1300 is mostly what I should eat if I'm not active and this calculator says I should eat around 1400 if I do sports 2-4 times a week. Would this work? I don't know. What do you people feel?

My new goal would probably sound like this zig-zag my calories to average around 1200-1300 per week while keeping my nutrient ratio: 25% protein, 15% fat, 60% carbs or 30%protein, 15% fat, 55% carbs.

Is it too complicated?

Hey, everyone, late meri is late... obviously.

But I stuck around for three months and that makes me really proud, because perseverance in accounting for my goals and eating hasn't been on my personal menu up until now! Who would've thought?

Wow, Carol I'm so glad someone figured your knee out!

Dove, you are the best, I hope more uncharted fat comes into view soon.

Sara, how's the meal plan going? If I don't have time for meal plans I just do a quick estimate and eat stuff in 100g ratios - for instance 100g of lentils is about 100 cals and it contains both fiber and protein, 100g of brown rice is around 100 cals as well, 50g of chicken is about 80 cals etc.... I mix and match really fast and tadaaa!

I loved all of your bullseye exercises. I hope mine won't be too blah, but eh, I can't always be deep and insightful.

Outer ring - I want to look nice, smoking hot even. I have a pretty face, so I want a pretty body. I want to be able to wear shorts, shorter skirts and wife-beaters without ever doubting myself for a second. I have pretty eclectic tastes when it comes to clothes, so I want to be able to better model them.

Towards the centre of the Earth #1 Trying to lose weight is constantly challenging me to be creative about cooking and workouts because money is tight, but sometimes all you need is a few essentials to stir up perfection. Regardless, I've invented so many new recipes and tried so many new vegetables that I feel really hopeful I won't really get bored. Maybe I've mentioned this before, but I'm a huge geek in the bookworm sense of the word and I love reading up on health of late. I was pretty clueless a year ago when I joined this site about amounts of nutrients required, cooking healthy etc. (I knew I had to eat more fruit and vegetables and cook with less oil and stay away from white bread and eat in moderation, but that was it.) Now I've gotten in the nasty habit of telling my grandma all about nutrient composition and calories and strategies to minimize fat and portion size.... She seems to enjoy it, but when I hear myself rambling... it sounds so weird. For someone who likes to hold all the facts I sure have been letting myself go off the hook.

Closer to the centre of the Earth #2 There's a risk of heart condition in my family and I don't want to risk getting one. I love hiking and anything that has me out and about. I'd like to build more endurance, to be stronger and go for longer. Exercise makes me happy and that's important for a bipolar person. (Maybe that's what turns people into exercise nuts - they discover that it makes you happier to some extent).

Even closer: Overeating and emotional eating have been the biggest pitfalls in my life, so I want that to end. To put the fork down and say no to more than a helping of desert. To be able to enjoy some apple tart from time to time without getting depressed and skipping it in my log and then deciding there's no point in logging if I went overboard. I want to be perseverent and disciplined. I don't understand it, some areas of my life I can control so easily... but this one... it always slips. I always slip... But this group is helping me with this goal, although I notice I post later when I feel ashamed of myself - for instance this week was my name day (St. Mary's day) and I overindulged and then I was ashamed to post on the group because of eating cake. I'm just not strong enough to admit my mistakes sometimes and that kills every diet I've been on. Same goes if I don't exercise because it's raining (this week I got 2 out of 3 workouts and hopefully I'll squeeze in another one tomorrow because of several downpours).

Inner ring:

I want to feel better naked, to feel like I can be free. Sometimes I feel so puritanical and prudish I want to smack myself with a paddle.You know, the kind of feeling that one gets when they are not self-conscious at all or drunk.... more accepting, uninhibited...I've always been a terrible klutz and self-consciousness does not help, let me tell you.I know that one is probably a psychological barier but seeing the orange-rind effect on my butt does not help much with that. I'm a pretty spontaneous person all in all and I hate the fact that my body image holds me back and makes my enthusiasm drain sometimes. Also, being manic-depressive aka bipolar, I tend to exaggerate the importance of my weight and make a few pounds seem like gazillions when I'm going through a low. If I reach a healthy weight, at least I'd know that the feeling will go away and I'll feel sexy again. Because, right now, I'm not so sure.

Hope you had a beautiful sunny orange autumn week,

Meri

BTW. pumpkin season is round the corner.... oh lovely roast pumpkin soup....glorious soup....

Hello everyone and a hearty welcome to all the new members. :)

Congrats on resisting the temptation and welcome to the club of people trying to cure themselves of emotional stuffing face, vera.

Austie and Zora, nice to have you on the same boat and I can't wait to know you better.

I feel that autumn is always a great time for planning (whether realistically or not), so it indeed a time of renewal.

Nanny Take the compliment already and feel great! :P You totally deserve it, even if you always say you're the lead wagon jumper of this group, it's getting harder and harder to believe.

Sara You're from N. Ireland, how very nice...

Check-in

Last week was great exercise-wise (5 workouts) and food-wise I've finally climbed back in the saddle, calorie-counting again. I was away from home for three days at my bf's house and didn't actually log my food, but roughly I know that I didn't go over my planned total.

This week I'm already at a 2 workout mark and today I'm renting a bike for 2 hours to go wild. :)

Regarding the food ratio of 40/30/30. At the end of the day I always end up with a 30/50/20 ratio. In 1200 cals, it's really hard to fit more protein. Any ideas? The carbs are mostly veggies and fruit. (And I'm trying to cut back on fruit from 3-4 to two servings per day). I don't really like fish, so for protein I go for yogurt, chicken breast, milk, eggs, lentils and lean beef. I try to work out at least 3-4 days a week and I know I need more protein.

Hey Sara,

The only dark green vegetable I eat regularly (kale doesn't grow here, neither do collard greens...) is spinach. And I like the classic green eggs. So this is my recipe:

Spinach Omelette

Check in:

Last week wasn't so great foodwise. Something got into me, I keep abusing some dark chocolate covered almonds that my gran brought from the states. (Irresistible). I don't eat much but I feel bloated all the time without the physiological side-effects. My body isn't feeling ok. Neither is my digestion or sleeping pattern (for some strange reason I only fall asleep at about four am lately)

Have been working out, yay. But eating candy, nay!

At this rate I'll probably never lose the weight I need. Help.

My love to all.

Hello everyone,

First of all thanks to Sara, who even through her days of mayhem and unpacking has managed to stay on top of me and kindly remind me that I'm being irresponsible. :-<

Wagon Jumper reporting live

Update

Long time no talk.

Esentially I've had the most hectic schedule in years. My friends from the ONG I work with have decided that I should be the head of a summer camp for kids in a village in Bucovina (in North-Eastern Romania) and so I've embarked upon planning said camp for about 25 children - finding trainers, buying equipment, materials, finding locations, organizing trips, negotiating with the town hall/village hall and council. And all was just fine.

Until 50 (59 on some days) kids aged 8 to 13 showed up on the first day of camp. From here on all hell broke loose (even if I did have internet access I didn't have a second's rest) - I ran around all day with requests to the mayor's office, trying to control 59 kids in 5 people is a job fit for Superman, teaching them useful things like English, Improv, Geography, woodwork, pottery, drawing and painting is a job fit for Chuck Norris/Obama.

But the kids are amazing and today was the goodbye party (I was crying like a baby secretly on my way home).

I love this crazy bunch of brilliant, noisy, happy kids.

Needless to say I totally forgot about posting and I really am sorry. I read the topics and the posts and I loved last week's homework. Getting to know people from the group feels great. I wish this could happen more often.

Anyways foodwise I've been doing ok, meaning under the given circumstances I've managed to maintain (this was my goal for the camp) and not overeat. The exercise goal is there 150-200% this week (We've taken countless hikes and walks with the kids, whether nature walks, photowalks, orientation classes etc). I've been trampolining every day at the hostel where we are staying.

Topic

I'm a big fan of biking. Ardent supporter of rollerblading as a workout. (learning HIIT on blades soon). Swimming in the ocean/sea has been a longtime hobby. Walking... well... I have my dryspells with it. It's terribly hot here for August and I can't really handle it well right now, but in the spring/fall I'm mostly on my feet, iPod buds in ear.

I wish I could go hiking more often, short sturdy legs and training can take you far and high. (I have pictures)

I also love rowing, but renting about here isn't exactly cheap and inflating my dad's boat alone counts as a workout for me (hand pump... big boat... Meri out of breath),

My parents are the outdoorsy type so I've been raised on camping trips watching the stars and fighting bugs and mosquitos.

I'm already rambling, I wish everyone a great week!

And I'll be back with more annoying comments tomorrow evening when I get home and properly groomed.

I'm really really sorry I missed the thread last week. I totally forgot to send an email to Sara and tell her that I was on vacation. I'm terribly terribly ashamed. I'll check right in sometime tonight (GMT +2).

Missed you guys a lot, my vacation was amazing (camping on a deserted beach with twenty people really is the thing for me!)