Posts by foodietootie

weighed in at 202.  Sigh.

I, Naomi, solemly swear that for the rest of the 9 weeks of Schmooze, I will not get discouraged by the plateau right now, I will try and balance out my diet with more protien and vegetables. 

When you have your coffee, can you maybe squeeze in a half a piece of fruit or maybe a couple of crackers to give you stomach something to gnaw on while you get hungry for real food?  It's not much and it might help with you getting hungry at little eariler too :)

Hm...no measuring tape...maybe i shall head over to the general store and see if i can scrounge one up...

As for why I am here--the shameful truth is that at 5 feet 8 inches, and 232 pounds, I went to the doctor one fine morning for a headache that wouldn't go away, came away with some strong ibuprofen and a diagnosis for pre-diabetes. 

I became extremely motivated right away, lost ten pounds in 2 months.  My prediabetes disappeared, and I got lax, gained it back, and whoops, it was back as well. 

This made me realize that health was a permanent commitment, not a superficial I want to lose 10 pounds for such event kind of thing.  Since then I have lost about 30 and hit a plateau right this month.  I cannot seem to get under 200.  It's extremely frustrating.  My goal for this 10 weeks would be to get to 192, but really if I get under 200 it would be lovely. 

yep yep...being a student is hard.  when the semester starts, may I suggest you do a few things? 

Know your campus--thoroughly.  Know exactly which fast food chains are around, then go online and look up good options that are appealing to you.  For example, there's a sandwich shop next to my school that has this HUGE chicken caesar sandwich, that you can order with lo-fat dressing.  It comes out to 550, no chips, no drink.  But it's so large, it's completely satisfying.  Other examples are like the chilli at Wendy's, and a couple of salads at McDonald's.  There's a small convenience store where I can get a can of soup, some popcorn, etc.  There's a japanese place where you can always get some sushi...  These are emergency foods, ones that won't break your calorie budget.  Also know where the nearest microwave is at all times.  Salad and sandwiches are great, but with a microwave, you can add soup, leftovers, ramen noodles, whatever.I bring weird things to lunch, from rice balls (super fast to make--have one plus lots of veggies), to lunchables :)Oh, and you mentioned that salad goes bad quickly.  Shopping for one can be very difficult...but if you think about it, it's not the salad, it's the lettuce that goes bad.  Instead, of lettuce, buy cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, celery, olives, bell peppers, peas, mushrooms, lentils, chickpeas, beans, cubed chicken, tofu, whatever floats your boat.  Add a small amount of dressing in a ziploc bag, add veggies, beans, protein, NO LETTUCE, and then shake.  if you precut the veggies over the weekend, and leave them in a giant bowl, it literally takes about 2 minutes to get ready in the morning.

As for home food, I had to simplify.  I have a few stock meals that can be prepared in 15 minutes, unsupervised, and I rotate those.  I cook time-consuming things (>15 min) on the weekends, and eat leftovers till Tuesday, make another meal Wed night, and usually on Friday, the friends and I will go out.  Make sure that you also have some convenience foods around the house.  Lean cuisine, pita and pizza fixings, smart ones, etc, so you're not likely to order takeout. 

Lastly, I know I'm on the move ALL the time, so I pack snacks to keep my from getting too hungry.  Grapes, strawberries, bananas, carrots, cucumber, etc, or cereal, nuts, pretzel sticks, etc work well.  I actually take a ziplock back in the morning, and layer them all in, with the softest fruit going on top.  When I take it out, it looks pretty, and I want to eat it.  I don't really mind the mixed flavors.  

That's what I can think of right now for being a student, lol.  If you need some more ideas you can message me :)

START     Sept 3-5:       &nb sp;  205
Week 1.   Sept 10-12:
Week 2.   Sept 17-19:
Week 3.   Sept 24-26:
Week 4.   Oct 1-3:
Week 5.   Oct 8-10    
Week 6.   Oct 15-17:
Week 7.   Oct 22-24:
Week 8.   Oct 29-31:
Week 9.   Nov 5-7:
FINISH.   Nov 12-14:

gained a couple of pounds...not sure what that is--could be water, not a big deal.  I've been eating maintenance calories for a few weeks to see if I could jostle my metabolism up a little to get rid of this unpleasant plateau business.  I guess we'll see how it works in a week :)

lilygirl...thanks for the friend add...feel free to peruse journals at any point-I heart comments :)

goal--1650-1750 calories

Breakfast--10 olives and four squares/half of a chocolate bar--don't judge!  My roommate stared at me eating, and she asked me if I was pregnant, lol!  I just really wanted some olives...

Snack--Strawberries

Lunch--Chopped son's salad, with half the vinaigrette it comes with.  Includes chicken, some sliced salami, provolone, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes.

Snack--1 banana-walnut-chocolate chip muffin (made them myself, divided up a banana bread recipe into 24 muffins)

Dinner--homemade chicken curry (1 drumstick + sauce), 1/2 cup lentils, and rice (about one cup)

Total: 1671

I'll probably break down and have a cookie before I go to bed.  +90 cals.  And despite the weirdness, without the cookie, it's still an A- nutrition goals wise!  Yay~!

I've been either on the highest side of my weight range, overweight, or obese all of my life, but I haven't been completely single for more than 2 months put together since, and I'm 21.  Granted, the guys I've dated are always average joes, higher in intelligence, and usually like tall girls with long legs, no matter how big those legs are, lolz. My current bf has the metabolism of a small horse, and for his own vanity, is trying to generate a six pack. Definitely not my body type, lol. 

I think it highly depends on where the pounds go.  Yes, humans are visual creatures.  However, if you're a pretty overweight girl with an attractive bust, waist, hip ratio, there is no reason that a man would not find you attractive. 

I also believe it's on what you put out into the universe.  If you believe that you are beautiful and worth the trouble, you'll find someone who thinks the same :)

I know this is a little melodramatic but here it is:  you don't have to live like this!

The joy of calorie counting is that you have the freedom to eat ANYTHING you want, in the right portions and frequency.  You cannot continue living on what you are eating for long periods of time without causing harm.  You have nothing in your diet but fiber and calcium.  Figure out how many calories you're aiming to eat, have what you are eating now for breakfast, and flesh out your diet with lean protein, different colored veggies, and even some fat.  There are about a thousand veggies out there, and more ways to count for preparation.  You'll find something you like, eventually!

first and foremost, let me say...

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

still 202.5 today.  Shoot me.  With a magic bullet.

Okay...

mojo:  coolness.  That sounds reasonable :)  Let us know how that goes for you!

Girlybits:  Have you gotten any new clothes?  A smaller girl in bigger clothes still looks like a bigger girl.  You may be one of those lucky people who lose weight mostly evenly, so you look proportionately the same.  Go to a dept store, try something in a smaller size and be happy.  You don't have to buy it--just try it on!  Btw, you're right at where I am now.  I lost about 30 lbs, and now I'm stuck right over 200, can't get under.  It would be nice because 196 is when you hit overweight instead of obese :)

michelle:  Ah!  someone else in sort of my boat!  We will beat the 200s!

zoe:  it's very scary to be hit with those words.  I can't help you with the high cholesterol, but let me tell you that sometimes only 10 lbs will knock out your insulin resistance problem.  I dropped from 230 to 220, and it was just gone. 

well said :)

It almost sounds like you're not getting enough bulk food.  I personally find 2 poptarts a lot less filling than 400 calories of healthy cereal and milk.  Also, you don't have any snacks!  WHat?!?!  No SNACKS?!?! (I know, its like I'm a kindergartener, right?)  But anyway, a couple hundred calories worth of snacks might be good for you :)  Think about it.

Right now, I'm trying really hard to stop counting so much...it IS hard :)

So far the only thing I can think of is to try and preset as many of my meals as possible.  For example, I shoot for a 400 calorie breakfast, so I know how much cereal, fruit, and milk that is, or how many eggs, how much toast, fruit and milk that is, and I am trying to just stick to that. 

Good luck! :)

I don't know about weight loss, but I retain water like crazy when I don't get enough sleep.  I remember that one day, I weighed myself when I woke up, after about 4 hours of sleep, entered the number and went back to bed because i was so tired.  Woke up a second time after 7.5 hours total, and weighed myself again (I didn't remember entering it the first time at all--I may have been sleepwalking, lol), and the number was 2 lbs lighter.  Weird, right?

mojo...30 lbs is a great long-term goal, but maybe you want to start with ten?  You'll be prouder of yourself for hitting min-goals.  It's a great way to look back and pat yourself on the back for some positive change.  But if you don't get discouraged easily, by all means, do it all at once :)

kylie...good luck on your first week of school.  we don't start till after labor day, thank goodness, lol.  it's stressful getting back into the swing of things!

dkrous...there are days where I cannot decide which I hate more...the scale or the DMV...

anyway, i had a super hi-sodium day today (still about 1600 calories, but nearly 3200 mg na), so I'm sitting here drinking crap-tons of water to flush--well not JUST to flush.  I'm not used to taking in so much salt, so i am THIRSTY!

see ya!

zooplah:  no offense taken.  I reread my post and i realize where someone could misunderstand me.  thank you for taking the time to clarify, and for doing it politely.  I have noticed that in our calorie-reduced state, some of us are eager to jump down each others' throats :D

gijane: I have not ever measured my body fat, but I am assuming that it matches up with my BMI decree.  I do not look either smaller or larger than my weight, so I am not one of those strange cases that fall beyond the usual.  No extreme athletics/body building/etc for me.

All labels aside, I suppose that BMI gives us a mostly-accurate evaluation of what a healthy range is, and whether we are in it, or even close to it.  I was simply surprised to see that I fit into a category that I didn't realize I did.  This makes me take more interest in discussions that are about discrimination on obesity, job/insurance information, etc. 

I do appreciate calorie count's "fig leaves," and for breaking apart the weight loss process so that it seems more intimidating.  Thank you all, though, for the lively discussion.  I have learned a lot! :)