I kinda lost track of what day I'm on.. but I started on a Monday a little over two weeks ago, so I think that means it is Day 17. My last day on this cycle. And no, it didn't go quick.
Before I reflect, I have to share what I'm doing right now because it is pretty unbelievable to me. Today was busy at work, then I went on a huge walk shortly after getting home, and returned with Gavin just in time to get him down for bed. And now I'm sitting here eating a chicken breast tender stir fry:
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 package of chicken breast tenders (non organic, foster farms variety; sue me, I'm lazy)
1 package of Safeway's fresh asparagus, onion, and mushroom chopped veggie mix for stir fry*
Herbs/spices of any kind
Heat oil.. add chicken and herbs/spices and cook thoroughly.. turn off heat, remove chicken, but keep remaining oil in pan. Add one tablespoon of water and veggies. Cook until desired done-ness is reached (I like my veggies still a little firm). Makes about 3 servings.
*I've noticed that a lot of grocery stories will pre-chop veggies and fruits and sell them to you for three times what they're worth in their whole forms. Safeway has stir fry medleys, roastable veggie combos, etc. Whole foods has some pretty awesome fresh salsa that I add to my scrambled eggs, and a broccoli carrot mixture that I'm guessing is meant for slaw, but it is plain (nothing but the veggies)- great to add to salads and I even add it to my eggs. I love these options because I'm lazy and left to my own devices, I would not chop a vegetable and therefore probably wouldn't eat any.
This whole scenario might not seem very unbelievable to most people, but it is to me. Tonight would have been the night I said, "eff it, I'm going to eat cereal for dinner" because of sheer exhaustion. But, I powered through and took the time to make a real meal. I'm proud of myself!
I'd like to say that eating well makes me feel better, but that's only partly true. I feel better mentally, thrilled to think that I am taking care of my body. I can tell you exactly what I've eaten all day and the majority of it is not processed at all (unless I cheat, which I do sometimes). Physically, I'm pretty exhausted trying to run mostly on lean meats, veggies, the occasional fruit and yogurt. I don't have a ton of energy, which is fine during the week, but awful on weekends when I take care of my 4 month old by myself the majority of the day. I'm truly looking forward to the next cycle where I am allowed minimal portions of whole grains and friendly carbs.
More reflection: What have I learned?
-When you eat mostly veggies, fruits, lean meats, and yogurt, your farts stop stinking after a few days
-When you cheat and eat a slice of your own homemade german chocolate cake, your farts stink again
-Cooking a lot at once and using the extra for leftovers helps you stay on track, but it gets boring
-When you tell coworkers you are not eating carbs, they notice when you cheat. ALWAYS.
-Peet's coffee is really bitter without milk
-Artificial sweetners, and even truvia, makes coffee taste horrible
-Artificial sweetners, and even truvia, makes plain greek yogurt taste a million times better
-I'm terrible at drinking enough water and was only good at it when I was pregnant and always thirsty
-Working near a Pluto's is a dieter's dream come true
-Working near amazing froyo, french bakeries, and italian coffee shops is a dieter's worst nightmare
-Being a stress eater and having a baby is a horrible combination
-Cheating is fun
-Weighing in is not
So, tomorrow I will weigh in and provide the results of my 17 Day Diet experiment. I'm pretty sure they aren't mind blowing, and mother nature is working against me because my monthly bloat is here. But I'm excited to see and report my results, along with what will probably be another huge rant about trying to lose baby weight.
Word!
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Week Two
I got busy this week and also figured a daily diet journal was getting to be too much. How many times can I say I want oatmeal? I really want it.
Sadly, I was a bit of a failure this week. I cheated pretty much every day. I also ventured into the questionable area of condiments. Lite dressings, mustard, some ketchup. I even ate a hot dog and froyo (the tart kind, but still). It was also a coworkers birthday this week, and I couldn't resist making him a German Chocolate cake. Big mistake. I ate a whole slice.
Moral of the story is, I only lost another half a pound. That means a) I only burned 1750 calories this week, b) or on the upside, as Lala would say, I lost two sticks of butter, c) my metabolism is going at a glacial speed.
I've realized I really need to hit the gym if I want to see results. I'll probably have a bit more energy to do so once I'm allowed my small portions of whole grains. I can't wait to eat oatmeal. It's all easier said than done though: I don't get free time until about 8:30 and I'm usually beat by 9:30. I guess I'll just have to run to the gym in that short amount of time and hope for the best.
Wish me luck!
Sadly, I was a bit of a failure this week. I cheated pretty much every day. I also ventured into the questionable area of condiments. Lite dressings, mustard, some ketchup. I even ate a hot dog and froyo (the tart kind, but still). It was also a coworkers birthday this week, and I couldn't resist making him a German Chocolate cake. Big mistake. I ate a whole slice.
Moral of the story is, I only lost another half a pound. That means a) I only burned 1750 calories this week, b) or on the upside, as Lala would say, I lost two sticks of butter, c) my metabolism is going at a glacial speed.
I've realized I really need to hit the gym if I want to see results. I'll probably have a bit more energy to do so once I'm allowed my small portions of whole grains. I can't wait to eat oatmeal. It's all easier said than done though: I don't get free time until about 8:30 and I'm usually beat by 9:30. I guess I'll just have to run to the gym in that short amount of time and hope for the best.
Wish me luck!
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Day 6
I was super nervous for my first weekend on the plan.. and of course it had to be a three day weekend!
First thing I did on day 6 was weigh in. I wasn't sure if I should do it or not. Part of me knew if I didn't lose any weight, I might be bummed and inclined to feed my depression with a donut. But I could tell my clothes were fitting a tad looser and I was curious.
I am down 2.5lbs! Huzzah! Seeing the weight come off is a huge motivator to keep doing what I'm doing. They say rapid weight loss is mostly water weight, and I say, whatever. That's only true if you lose a few pounds and don't keep going. If you keep going, you lose more, and that's definitely fat.
So I'm basically done with week one and I have to say, it was the hardest first week of a diet I've ever been on. I've had comparable hunger, but never the constant urge to eat bread without being able to fulfill that urge. Not eating sugar has been easier than not having any grains. I am dying to eat oatmeal. Dying. I'm worried what that urge will turn into.. it could make me beast out later on in the day. We'll just have to see.
First thing I did on day 6 was weigh in. I wasn't sure if I should do it or not. Part of me knew if I didn't lose any weight, I might be bummed and inclined to feed my depression with a donut. But I could tell my clothes were fitting a tad looser and I was curious.
I am down 2.5lbs! Huzzah! Seeing the weight come off is a huge motivator to keep doing what I'm doing. They say rapid weight loss is mostly water weight, and I say, whatever. That's only true if you lose a few pounds and don't keep going. If you keep going, you lose more, and that's definitely fat.
So I'm basically done with week one and I have to say, it was the hardest first week of a diet I've ever been on. I've had comparable hunger, but never the constant urge to eat bread without being able to fulfill that urge. Not eating sugar has been easier than not having any grains. I am dying to eat oatmeal. Dying. I'm worried what that urge will turn into.. it could make me beast out later on in the day. We'll just have to see.
Days 4 & 5
Torture.
Day 4 was pretty much torture. I woke up starving.. what else is new. The egg whites just don't cut it for me. which means I've been eating two eggs a day. My cholesterol has always been normal, so I hope I'm not messing it up too much. I am really looking forward to the day I can have grains, so a bowl of oatmeal is an option in the morning. I prefer oatmeal for breakfast and have no problem eating it plain (though a little bit of brown sugar is amazing). I wouldn't even mind the greek yogurt so much if I could add some whole grain/ high fiber cereal to it.
Tangent. For reals though, I sorta cheated on Day 4. Well, I really cheated. I had a work lunch and went to dim sum. Things started out bad- my coworkers refused to let me sit there with a summer salad. I already broke the rules with it because it had shrimp. In an attempt to get me to eat something else, they ordered a lot of steamed dim sum options. Which is when I had pork and shrimp steamed dumplings :O Just one of each!! Then they bullied me into eating dessert- one little sesame rice ball (which I later learned is deep fried). OOPS. I behaved the rest of the day.
Day 5 wasn't so bad, but I cheated.. AGAIN! I'm noticing a trend. Friday at work is Philz Phriday- we all take the semi-long walk to Philz and spend a lot of money on semi-fancy hipster coffee. I like it because they add cream and sugar for you and the coffee just tastes magnificent. I knew I'd be in trouble going there... but I couldn't resist. I ordered the Mocha Tesora- delish coffee with cocoa powder. It would be zero cal if ordered plain.. but.. I asked for light cream and sugar *blushing*. Whatever, I say. It was PHRIDAY! Before a three day weekend!! I deserved it. Then we had Pinkberry catered in so I had a 4oz plain tart with fresh strawberries and blueberries. I counted it toward my probiotic and fruit serving. HA!Of course, I behaved the rest of the day.
I don't see the harm in allowing myself these little cheats. Save for the deep fried rice sesame sugar ball, I am not overdoing it, and the fact that I felt satiated and fabulous after a coffee with just a little bit of cream and real sugar is a good thing. And it was a fun treat. Even with the cheats, I can see I'm really getting used to not eating a ton of carbs and I don't really miss them. Still, I would like to have some more fuel in the mornings and look forward to adding oatmeal in the next couple of weeks.
To anyone reading this who is suffering through the first few days: it does get better! Hang in there. Allow yourself something small as a treat- you'll probably feel better physically and once you pass the initial guilt, emotionally too. :)
Day 4 was pretty much torture. I woke up starving.. what else is new. The egg whites just don't cut it for me. which means I've been eating two eggs a day. My cholesterol has always been normal, so I hope I'm not messing it up too much. I am really looking forward to the day I can have grains, so a bowl of oatmeal is an option in the morning. I prefer oatmeal for breakfast and have no problem eating it plain (though a little bit of brown sugar is amazing). I wouldn't even mind the greek yogurt so much if I could add some whole grain/ high fiber cereal to it.
Tangent. For reals though, I sorta cheated on Day 4. Well, I really cheated. I had a work lunch and went to dim sum. Things started out bad- my coworkers refused to let me sit there with a summer salad. I already broke the rules with it because it had shrimp. In an attempt to get me to eat something else, they ordered a lot of steamed dim sum options. Which is when I had pork and shrimp steamed dumplings :O Just one of each!! Then they bullied me into eating dessert- one little sesame rice ball (which I later learned is deep fried). OOPS. I behaved the rest of the day.
Day 5 wasn't so bad, but I cheated.. AGAIN! I'm noticing a trend. Friday at work is Philz Phriday- we all take the semi-long walk to Philz and spend a lot of money on semi-fancy hipster coffee. I like it because they add cream and sugar for you and the coffee just tastes magnificent. I knew I'd be in trouble going there... but I couldn't resist. I ordered the Mocha Tesora- delish coffee with cocoa powder. It would be zero cal if ordered plain.. but.. I asked for light cream and sugar *blushing*. Whatever, I say. It was PHRIDAY! Before a three day weekend!! I deserved it. Then we had Pinkberry catered in so I had a 4oz plain tart with fresh strawberries and blueberries. I counted it toward my probiotic and fruit serving. HA!Of course, I behaved the rest of the day.
I don't see the harm in allowing myself these little cheats. Save for the deep fried rice sesame sugar ball, I am not overdoing it, and the fact that I felt satiated and fabulous after a coffee with just a little bit of cream and real sugar is a good thing. And it was a fun treat. Even with the cheats, I can see I'm really getting used to not eating a ton of carbs and I don't really miss them. Still, I would like to have some more fuel in the mornings and look forward to adding oatmeal in the next couple of weeks.
To anyone reading this who is suffering through the first few days: it does get better! Hang in there. Allow yourself something small as a treat- you'll probably feel better physically and once you pass the initial guilt, emotionally too. :)
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