skookum's Journal

And back to normal

Jul 02 2009 23:06

Well yippee. I ate at leiusure all weekend. Didn't count.

And didn't gain.

My goodness...it's possible I may finally know what I'm doing.

Camping...Results!

Jun 28 2009 16:05

Yup. Up to 150.

The hike was fabulous and then I just laid around, ate, and read the rest of the weekend. I feel pretty good, even though I am up 5lbs. Hope to have all this extra water and food weight flushed out by Wednesday. If I'm back to 145 by Wednesday, them I'm going to stop counting calories and see if I can keep things under control on my own. It will be my reward.

Camping...all weekend

Jun 26 2009 01:01

I remember this trip last year. I had only been calorie counting for about 3 months. I calculated all the food I brought and tried to keep track of what I ate. It was not easy and I'm sure my calculations were pointless and way off. I gained a couple pounds of water weight from digging into the snacks my friends brought, but I was back to normal in a couple of days. On this trip last year, I weighed 160.

Now, a year later, I will not be counting. I am bringing healthy, low sodium snacks this time, but I will eat whatever, whenever. Smores!

I now know that if I overeat on my trip, I will not gain fat. It's a moderation issue and this isn't something I do frequently. I'm now maintaining at 145-150 (145 this morning). It will be interesting to see where I'm at when I return.

Tomorrow morning we're stopping for bagels and coffee for breakfast. I haven't had a bagel since we made this trip last year. I love bagels! When we arrive, we're going on a long trail hike tomorrow that is about 3 1/2 miles total. Tomorrow night for dinner, we'll be dining on fabulous veggie burritos. Big ones! The rest of the trip I plan to spend reading a good book.

I'm bringing sweet corn, sweet potatoes, and veggie sandwiches (with veggie patties) as my main meals the rest of the trip. I also packed quite a few snacks, like baby carrots, snap peas, dried fruit, oranges, hummus, protein bars, and different types of low sodium chip-type things. I will miss my almond butter and greek yogurt, but decided not to pack much that will need to stay cold.

I'll be sipping on tea most of the time...but my alcoholic beverege for the evenings is whisky!

On the way home, we're stopping for the best garden burgers ever!

Yeah...I'm sure I'll weigh close to 150 when I return.

Progress Report, 071008

Jul 10 2008 14:23

July 10, 2008: I lost 17lbs in April and May, averaging about a 1 1/2 lbs a week eating an average of 1500-1600 calories a day. However, the entire month of June I was still creating a deficit of at least 500, but was stuck. So, I decided to maintain for a month instead of losing another 10 (below my initial goal). I also want people to get use to seeing me thin so they don't freak out and it's very important to me to make sure my metabolism is in check. So far I've been eating between 1700 and 2000 for a week to maintain. I feel great, so we'll see how it goes.

Progress Report, 072808

Jul 28 2008 14:23

July 28, 2008: After the first week of maintaining, I LOST another 3lbs and am averaging 155lbs. I've been maintaining at 155lbs on my estimated intake of 1700-2000 (adjusting for extra activity). I am ecstatic to find that my metabolism is in check and that I've been able to successfully maintain at 1700-2000 cal (with the exception of the initial loss after upping and the latest loss after lowering again).

Progress Report, 080108

Aug 01 2008 14:22

August 1, 2008: Back to losing. Began eating closer to 1700 this past week and am at 153lbs. Today I lowered to 1600. I don't really have a goal weight set. Plan is to eat 1600-1700 calories a day through August and see where I end up. If I lose anymore weight off my upper body, I'm stopping. I want it to come off my legs *whine*.

Progress Report, 091308

Sep 13 2008 14:21

September 13, 2008: Haven't gained any weight but have only been bouncing around the same 5lbs for a month and a half. Haven't tried very hard to lose...snacking on a lot of chocolate, ice cream, and chips. Nothing binge-worthy, just things I hadn't planned into my daily intake and had completely eliminated when I was serious about losing. However, this past week I regained my motivation. I feel great and ambitious about finally losing those lost 5-10 pounds. I've increased my workouts to at least four days of faster running and have strictly set my calorie max at 1700 and min at 1500. I did really well this week, so we'll see how it goes.

Progress Report, 101608

Oct 16 2008 14:21

October 16, 2008: Still bouncing around between 150-155. The new scale was a waste, so I've gone back to my tried and true analog. Since I haven't really lost anything anyway, I decided to maintain where I'm at. I'm thin enough and have lost the drive. So, just gonna eat healthy (between 1800-2000) and exercise. I guess I'm done losing weight.

Progress Report, 113008

Nov 30 2008 14:20

November 30, 2008: WRONG, I'm not done losing. Still in a half-hearted maintenance mode, though increased the intensity of my exercise and have been passing up the candy tray...so I've watched the scale slowly climb down to a stead 150, instead of the more frequent 155. Looks like I'm down another solid 5lbs while eating between 1600-2000 (I've embraced my natural tendancy to zig-zag).

I passed the test of decadent eating

Nov 02 2008 22:08

Tonight a group of my gal-friends and I went out for fancy cocktails and an amazing dinner.

The restaurant was a fondue place. Basically, the appetizer was three shared bowls (for the six of us) of melted cheese served simmering over a small flame and used for bread dipping.

Then the entree...steak and lobster! For the steak and lobster portion, we each had a bowl of broth type fondue set over a flame. The steak and lobster was served uncooked, to be skewered and cooked in the broth. Could only cook one bite at a time, so when I'd finally get a bite cooked I really savored it. So good!

And dessert. Oh man. Melted bowls of caramel, chocolate, and tiramisu dip for a platter full of bite sized cookie dough, fruit, and cheesecake.

I am pleasantly satisfied with a very calorie dense meal. I may have gone a bit over on calories today...hard to say for sure, but it was worth it (I ran this morning, having pre-planned the decadent dinner). The great thing about this type of restaurant is that you have no choice but to eat slowly so its nearly impossible to overeat. Also, I wasn't covering my bites in melted goo like I might have in the past. Instead, I was just touching it in, using the contents of the bowl to enhance the dipped item...not using the dipped item to eat the contents of the bowl.

Yes, I strayed away from my usual "healthy food" meals. But it was great to put my new skills to the test. I've learned so much and have trained away so many bad eating habits! I was easily able to control what I took in, making sure to not completely stuff myself and to not drown my food in the cheese, sauces or chocolate. At the same time, I was able to try everything and completely enjoy the food. I'm very confident that I'll be able to maintain my new size forever.

Update: I did not gain an ounce! It's two days later and I'm actually down a pound. Muhhah hah hah