j-snyder's Journal

yeah
May 16 2008 14:44

Definitely too much salt.  Going much easier on the teapot, and still having to "go."  Good deal.

S-M-R-T
May 16 2008 09:20

I was so close to 200 it hurt, and then inexplicably my weight climbed the past few days.  I couldn't figure it out - I was eating fine, well within my calorie limit, and I'd actually INCREASED my exercise.  What else had changed?

I had switched from my afternoon snack of chips to pretzels, because they were lower calorie.  And I started drinking vegetable juice with breakfast.  A lightbulb went off, and I compared salt content.  Turns out the pretzel thins have 3x as much salt as my "reduced guilt" chips.  And V8 is undoubtedly much saltier than chocolate soymilk.  So I figure, I'd significantly increased my salt intake.  I am a bloatation device!!  It would also explain why I was hitting the teapot hard all day.  Usually I only drink about half to 2/3 of the pot.  I've been draining it by 3pm for a few days in a row.

So, yeah, today's motivation:  Knowing how my body works. This is kind of important, too, since I'm not big on going to the doctor.  It's great that through the process of really examining my physical habits, I have better control and understanding over what's going on with me.

favorite weight loss
May 12 2008 09:22

Almost saw 200 even on the scale this morning.  I thought the weekend was going to be another downer after thoroughly enjoying an indian buffett on Saturday, but I managed to maintain a decent eating strategy on Sunday, and I guess the reward on Monday was a scale reading of 200.2 :)

Although, I suppose I kind of "cheated".  Had to poo in the morning, which was not usual for me, so probably part of that was just weighing myself right after a BM.

But I have to say, that is my favorite way to lose weight.  It's a light effort way to drop some #s, and good LORD do you ever feel good after :P

Well, all kidding aside, I really am glad to see me lose weight.  I bought a digital camera this weekend, and I'm starting a project with my husband: One picture a day (same position, same spot, same clothes) until I reach my first goal.  I'm hoping to use Flash to turn it into a cool flip-book animation of me losing weight.  Especially now that it's apparent I'm losing REAL weight.  The first 10 pounds or so I didn't really believe it - I went with the usual water weight theory.  But those pounds have stayed away, and I've lost more in addition to them, so I can't deny it now.  This is really working :)

Hubby says he's lost 25 pounds himself.  It's all really kind of neat :)

Also - so looking forward to the Wii fit!!

Motivation:  Not being "that guy!" A lot of the admiration and kudos hubby and I are receiving are not from the weight loss, but from everything we're doing from which that is a byproduct.  We get a lot of praise for volunteering, for getting out of the house, for eating better, and generally improving the quality of life.  That's what I see people envying/admiring, not that we're losing weight, but that overall our lives are so much more improved.  It feels really good not to be "that guy" - that guy who wallows around in his own sedentary lifestyle, never being able to figure out why nothing ever feels good or right.  :) 

jazz hands!
May 07 2008 08:55

Woke up and weighed myself - 206.  I expressed irritation and dissapointment to my hubby, cuz just last Friday I was at 205.4, then had a tuff weekend, and now I'm grinding away back down to that.  Then, we go out walking, and tried some interval jogging.  Got back, weighed myself again - 204.8.  Woo!  Ok, some of that I realize is just regular scale deviation, but it's a new low again, and my trend is quite steadily downwards, so I'm happy again.

On jogging - it's crazy.  I liked it.  It was fun.  I always thought I hated running, that nothing could get me to run like a fool.  And today, we kept picking landmarks, and saying "Ok, we're going to jog that far, and then walk a bit," and I found I had tons more enthusiasm for it than I would have ever guessed.  So here's today's motivation:

Childlike glee at the wonder of my body.  Suddenly I was remembering when I was a kid, and I would run EVERYWHERE.  I had 2 modes - running, or passed out.  No in between.  It's fun to feel like I could be like that again :)

Rawr
May 01 2008 10:25

Hit a new low this morning... on the scale, that is!  Ha ha.  Dinner last night was great - Erin is a picky eater, so everything was very simply prepared (read: easy to figure out what I was eating), AND she's at least respectful that we're trying to eat better (well, so is she, at that) so it was a wonderful diet-friendly dinner-with-friends :)  That's a huge step up from last week.

So, after seeing the exciting number on the scale, I pounced on my hubby, and we had a little "pre-exercise" exercise ;)  After which I figured out what I wanted today's motivation to be:

Better education.  Ha!  Thought I was going to go for the obvious, eh?  Well, the feeling sexy is nice, but what was more exciting to me was the keen education I've been getting - and able to give - on eating healthier.  I'm not usually the type to preach (although I do probably correct people a little too often when they say something misleading about health/nutrition), but I enjoyed having a conversation last night about trying to eat better, and the feeling of camraderie, which just spurred my desire to learn more about making my body better :)  Too fun.  And then I get excited, because if I truly commit and internalize all this, I get to pass on healthy habits to my future kids. One would hope, then, that they can avoid the struggle that I've gone through over this :)

Go team :)
Apr 30 2008 09:34

I felt a little mean this morning.  I started looking forward to trying to run again, if only because it'll have my husband so winded he can't chat at me inanely at that hour of the morning XD

Finished out the day strong yesterday.   Eating at a friend's house tonight, hopefully I'll stay clean :P

Today's motivation: Being cheap.  Eating healthy means eating more often at home, and also eating less altogether.  Our food costs have been steadily dropping since we started watching what we eat :)  No exorbitant restaurant bills, no heading out shopping and grabbing food along the way, no going out for breakfast every weekend.  We stop at home, we eat together, and it's been very beneficial to our wallets :)

Midday check-in
Apr 29 2008 13:08

Hopefully I don't jinx myself, but I'm feeling a lot better already.  It's been easier to make the right choices today.  I feel pretty good about where this is going again :)

Luffs!

EDIT: Secondary motivation for today: Less smelly poots.  Good grief, I stink up the place when I eat junk food.  Phew.

Rawr!
Apr 29 2008 06:16

Ok, time to admit: I fell off the wagon.  I've definitely been sliding the past week, and it's starting to show.  I'm mad, and dissapointed, which leads me to today's motivation:

I don't wanna go back.  I wanna be fit and healthy!

I don't want my clothes to be tight again.  I don't want to wander in an out of depression.  I don't want to be anxious all the time.  I don't want stronger flare-ups of OCD, where I peel all the skin from my face.  I want to be excited to wake up in the mornings.  I just can't let myself go and say "Fuck it," anymore.  I need to care about this, and not let any excuse lead me astray.

Yesterday I tried to stick to it, but after 3 days of, essentially, binge eating, I could not stop feeling hungry.  Snacking on TOO MANY healthy snacks negates that they are healthy.  I'm going to try easing down again - more fruits and veggies packed, so I have access to light snacks, not a jar of PB and wasa crackers.

Also, I think I'm going to cut off/severely limit my eating with those particular friends I ate with all week.  They're not particularly supportive, and it's detrimental to the good habits I'm trying to cultivate.

All my love, (and rants),

-J

time delay
Apr 28 2008 08:41

I ate half-good half-crappy for three days, my weight held steady then dipped on the last day.  I eat good all day, and I'm up.  Grr.

Then again, given the stinky poots, I'm guessing the "up" will be "down the toilet" in an hour or two.  Hopefully better results tomorrow ;)

Anyway, thought about today's motivation on the bus, and I've got two of them today (didn't want to forget either by tomorrow, so I thought I'd just write them both down).

1. Getting out of bed is incredibly easy.  Used to really struggle with waking up, because of crazy dreams or just crappy sleep, but now I sleep better, so when I wake up, I pop out of bed without any resistance at all.  It's neat.  Getting stuck in bed used to be my #1 cause for calling off/being really late to work.  Just being able to get up in the morning will do wonders for the rest of my day.

2. Increased self-confidence.  This one is a total killer.  It impacts almost every part of my life.  Hey, if I can have the will to lose 10 pounds (so far), what else am I capable of that I'd never thought I could do?  I started volunteering :)  My friend got me a membership to venture outdoors (www.ventureoutdoors.org), and I'm really looking forward to going on a couple hikes a month :)  Just crazy stuff. 

Motivation et al
Apr 27 2008 07:21

Ugh, so I think I'm going to call it quits with alcohol.  It's not that I don't budget for the calories - I do - but when I get even a little buzzed my inhibition goes away and I start scarfing.  Last night was pretty sad.  I think the only thing that kept me from eating until I was sick, was I drank until I was sick first.  Then I passed out in my friend's bed for awhile.  Well, it saved me from having social anxiety too, but it's definitely not a GOOD way to get around a fear of strangers.

Well, too late now to worry about it.  I think I'm going to try to bring a salad to my friend's house on Monday so that not only am I contributing to his meal, but it also gives me something to fill my plate with, since he likes to cook really starchy/greasy meals.  And I'm staying the hell away from his beer :)

Ok, well, after going to Oakland (college part of town) on Friday, and seeing all the cute punk/hipster girls at my friend's party yesterday, here's today's motivation (super vanity-based):

Having pretty, slim thighs.  Double motivation, because maybe I won't wear out the thighs in my pants so damn fast anymore :)