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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 8 June 2012 07:26 pm |
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Hi oneday! Thanks for the support! Yes, having a husband in the Navy has been a challenge for my family. I know it is especially difficult for him, trying to fit back into a family that has developed a life without him while he was deployed. I think he feels a little lost when he comes back home. I wish I could make it easier for him by picking up and moving to whatever tour he chooses, but I have a great career in California that I'm not willing to give up either, especially with the lack of jobs out there. Ah well. He has just 4 more years until he can retire. We will figure things out and make it work.
Weight: 164.4
I am soooo proud that I didn't have the pizza at work yesterday. I think the key was not only making the commitment but being happy with the choice. Once I had asked myself why I shouldn't have the pizza I immediately felt the weight of my choice lifted from me. There was no more feeling of being tortured by the desire to have pizza. It was completely replaced by the larger desire to keep experiencing the joy of losing weight and sticking to my new lifestyle. I think all those things my weight coach has been telling me are starting to hit home and come true. It's one thing to hear someone tell you what works, but it's so much more when you finally experience it. Now that I'm experiencing the joy of true success in my battle over food, I find that I want to keep repeating that feeling.
The only way I was able to resist the pizza yesterday and the popcorn at the theater was to use the tools that my weight coach gave me. I go through my mental exercises every day by reading my power list and my list of ways to cope with my most difficult moments with food. One of the biggest realizations for me is knowing that these foods are not entirely gone from my life, but that I can control when and how often I indulge in them.
In the past I have tried setting a specific frequency for these indulgences, like having a hamburger once a month. I don't think that worked out very well. Now, I'm happy with the less specific frequency of just rarely. I will rarely have a hamburger, or I will rarely have pizza. That sense of rare means that I can wait until the moment is right so that I can get maximum enjoyment out of it, like a special celebration with friends and family. It will be so rare, that when I do finally indulge there will be no quilt about it because it won't happen enough to throw off my weight loss (or management when I get to that point).
The physical therapist worked on my neck some more this morning. It's really weird to feel the muscles on my neck loosen up. Sometimes, it takes a conscious effort to hold my head up. I feel like a bobble head. She found a trigger point just at the base of my skull that caused a shooting pain through the right side of my head. She asked me if I experienced migraines. Wow, that would be so awesome if she was able to cure my headaches.
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 12 June 2012 05:53 pm |
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Weight: 166.2
The weight shot up over the weekend. I had a huge craving for carbs after my long ride (60 miles) and my monthly craving for chocolate is not helping either. I indulged on the carbs Sunday and am done with that, but the chocolate has hung on for the past 2 days. Yesterday it hit me hard. I ended up eating the equivalent of a king size candy bar and a cup of ice cream.
This morning I find that someone has brought donuts to work. There is the instant desire to have one and the anticipation of the sweet glaze melting on my tongue and the chewy softness of the donut. But this time, the emotional turmoil is less strong and the desire does not last long. It is replaced by the deeper desire to gain control over food and improve my body. Now I see the donut as globs of fat and lard, and I anticipate the depression and frustration that I feel after mindlessly eating one. I know it's just a mind game, but it works for me.
As for the PMS cravings, I don't think there's anything I can do about it. I've looked all over the internet for a plausable explanation for PMS cravings, but I don't see anything that I quite buy into yet. I don't have any of the emotional issues of PMS so I don't think that's the reason I need sweets, and it's certainly not a lack of exercise. All I know is that after I indulge in a big helping of chocolate, the craving goes away and I'm good for the rest of the month. So until I find a way to deal with the craving otherwise, I'm going to allow myself one big chocolate fest once a month.
I'm about 4 weeks away from the half ironman race. Other than looking forward to nice vacation with the family in wine country, I haven't really thought about the race. I'm still not running and my swimming is almost non-existent. I'm not too worried though. I'm pretty sure that I can get myself to swim a mile in the next 4 weeks even if it's slow, and as long as I don't fall off my bike this time, I'm confident I'll be able to complete the run. It won't be a race for speed, but it will still be a good experience.
Total Calories: 1391
Last edited on 13 June 2012 04:46 pm by mchen01
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 13 June 2012 09:04 pm |
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Weight: 163.8
My eating and cravings are returning to normal. I did have some residual chocolate craving but was able to ignore them for the most part. I only allowed myself a 40 calorie chocolate after dinner when I saw that I'd made my goal.
My weight is dropping quicker than it ever has before. I'm still in awe that after all these years of trying to overcome my overeating that the solution was so simple. I've just been focused on the wrong things. Sure exercise and diet were part of it, but the core of my problem has always been a cognitive one. All these years of falling off the wagon and not understanding why. All these years thinking it was just a lack of will power. Now I know better.
I now understand the emotional reward effects of food, the addiction and the mindless habits that have formed over the years. I can recognize the triggers now and know how to change my emotional response to those triggers. My weight coach has armed me with an arsenal of mental tools to fight the eating monster inside me. I can feel it working, and it's liberating and so exciting.
Here is a list of the top 5 Q&A that help build my momentum towards success. I read these everyday along with my power list. It's part of the exercises that will change the cognitive processes that have made me so addicted to food and overeating.
How will I feel when I see foods that used to tempt me? I will probably feel the initial draw, knowing how the food tastes and knowing how much I enjoy eating those foods. But the realization of what it does to me physically and mentally will take over, and the temptation will turn to rejection of the me that I hate. There will be no regret or turmoil over not eating these foods. Rather I will feel pride and joy in my control over food and accomplishment with my weight loss.
How will you celebrate special occasions? This is my time to eat pizza, hamburgers, french fries, etc. Knowing that I'm not denying myself these foods forever, but limiting them to special occasions is a situation I can accept. I can handle using the emotional aspects of food to enhance the emotional aspect of a celebration. It's like thinking of birthday cake as something that you have only on birthdays. This is how I want to see calorie dense foods. I want it to be something that I have so rarely that when I do there will be no guilt or frustration over it. I'll be able to enjoy the food along with the occasion for which I'm celebrating with it. But I should qualify that the occasion is only special if it's with family and friends. I'm not giving myself the excuse to celebrate everyone's birthday, retirement, promotion or whatever. It has to be with only the special people in my life, because that is really what makes the occasion so special.
How will you feel when you see muscle definition? Ecstatic! It's my dream to look like a Nike ad. I won't feel like a true athlete until I look like one. I want the flab to be gone. I'm tired of looking at the awful bulges and pooches on my body. I know there's muscle there, but I can't see it when it's still buried in fat. When I'm at a race I get self conscious about the way I look. I feel like I'm the fat chick that no one wants to get beaten by. Having muscle definition will give me more confidence as an athlete. I will look like I belong out on that race course. I will feel like the fit chick that people look at and say there's no way they can beat me.
What will you do on weekends/vacations? Weekends and vacations have always been difficult in the past. But as I practice my mental power over food more and more, I feel confident that weekends and vacations will become like any other day. I'm establishing new habits to replace the bad ones. When I'm home, I set my breakfast and lunch so that I know how many calories I've consumed and how much I have left for dinner. When I'm out and have to eat at a restaurant, I know what my calorie goals are and I stick to foods that will meet those goals. I've learned that any menu item can be brought within my calorie goal by picking which foods on the plate to eat. I know that I can happily choose a lighter menu option instead of the fried and fatty foods. I know that I am always in control. There is never any excuse for me to fail. Being able to exercise my mental strength over food in any situation continues to fuel my pride and happiness in a way that overcomes any other feelings I get from food.
How will it feel to know that you will never return to the feelings that are in the black box? It was agonizing to complete the black box exercise. I cried a lot over my frustration, my hopelessness and my failures. I felt weak, stupid, ugly and out of control. I was confused and it was hard to even name the feelings I was going through. I've been successful in everything in my life except weight control, and I didn't understand why this was so difficult. I was stuck and I so badly wanted a way out, but I wanted the fix to be permanent. I didn't want drugs or surgery. I didn't want to diet. But all I knew was what I didn't want. Now that I've been shown a way that works and been given the tools to get there, I feel like I've been reborn. I'm a new person in the way I feel and think about food. I'm powerful and free. Food is no longer my kryptonite. It will never be able to bring me the stress and turmoil that it used to. Now I don't have to cry over the pain that overeating has brought me. Instead I feel like crying over the joy of being freed from my chains and being able to move on with my life. I know that those awful feelings that I've buried in my black box will never see the light of day, because I'm never going to be that person again.
Total Calories: 1318Last edited on 14 June 2012 04:40 pm by mchen01
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 14 June 2012 09:15 pm |
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Weight: 162.6
I'm so happy to see the big drop today. It comes at a good time too. Just when I was starting to get a little frustrated and had a little struggle with dinner last night, it's good to get such a nice positive reinforcement.
For all that I'm happy with my progress, I still struggle a little bit with my habit of overeating. I wish the desire for fattening and addictive food would go away completely, but I get the feeling that this is never going to happen. All I can do is keep reinforcing my new feelings of control and accomplishment over the desire to eat. There are times I want to give in, but I feel so close to reaching a peak. Winning the struggle with overeating feels like climbing a tough hill, and I don't think I'm over the peak yet. But if I don't stop moving forward I'm at risk of tumbling back down the hill and having to start all over again, and that's not acceptable. Somehow I know though, that once I'm over the peak, this fight with food will be a lot easier.
I have a new exercise from my weight coach, and I guess I'm struggling with my newfound confidence and sense of control. If I can get through this exercise though, there will be no doubt that I've reached the peak. The exercise is a set of 3 increasingly difficult bouts with temptation. I'm not worried about the first 2, but the last one is going to be pretty tough. I will have to buy one of my most tempting foods, bring it home and keep it in the house for 48 hours, and then I have to throw it away. My mind is reeling with all the foods I love to indulge in and what I will decide to bring home. Will it be a napoleon, red velvet cake, McDonald's cheeseburger and fries, cream filled donut, a bag of bbq potato chips...? Just thinking about what's the most tempting is putting me in a bad place. I'm going to forget about it for now and not worry about it until I get there. In my heart I know I'm going to do it, but I also know that it's going to be very hard to do.
Total Calories: 1435
Last edited on 15 June 2012 06:53 pm by mchen01
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 15 June 2012 06:48 pm |
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Weight: 163.4
I was hungrier than usual last night and ended up eating an extra portion of pasta. That's ok though as I had enough calories to spare. It felt good to know that I will never have to go to bed hungry because I'm watching my calories.
I was struck by an ad for a website that offered weight loss by curbing hunger. In the past I might have been interested in this, but I've learned a lot in the past couple months about my hunger. My habit was usually to eat all the time so that I very rarely felt hungry. When I did get hungry, eating would become my primary goal. I would find whatever fast food was available to appease my hunger. It was just not ok to be hungry. Now that I know it's normal and ok to feel hunger several times a day, the feeling doesn't alarm me as much as it did. I also realized that normal hunger was never really a cause of overeating. I would always eat well past feeling full because I love the taste of food. So I can see why all these methods and pills that help overeaters feel full almost never work. It's not about the hunger. It's about the cravings and the habits and cognitive triggers of certain foods.
Besides the focus on changing my eating habits and losing weight, I'm still trying to get my workouts in. Training has been pushed aside because of injuries, workload, house renovation and family stuff. I'm trying to cram everything into the next 4 weeks before Vineman 70.3. I'm back to strength training and am feeling pretty sore, but the worst has been swimming. I didn't last 1000 yd before the pain in my shoulder started to get bad. An hour after the swim it felt like my arm was useless as any movement sent a burning pain across my shoulder and down my arm. Bummer. It's not all bad though. With a little experimenting, I was able to find a position that decreased the pain while swimming. I'm going to try again this weekend and see if I'm able to swim a little farther.
I might also be buying a new/used tri bike. A friend has an incredible deal on a used Fuji D6 Pro. I rode it around the parking lot today and fell in love. It fit me perfectly and I love the balance and stiffness. I was going to let it go but my friend will take my current bike in trade. It's a tough deal to pass up. He's going to let me take it out on my long ride this weekend. Yay, something to look forward to besides work, chores and escorting a bunch of girls at the mall.
Total Calories: 1077Last edited on 17 June 2012 02:47 am by mchen01
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 17 June 2012 03:34 am |
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Weight: 161.2
Oh yeah! What an awesome drop in weight. Ok, it's probably because I didn't eat enough yesterday, but I wasn't very hungry. Plus, I forgot to weight myself this morning and didn't do it until after my 2.5 hour workout. I drank a lot but was most likely still dehydrated.
I didn't get a chance to eat until after 2pm today. I felt the need for something filling so I had a burger for lunch. I ate the whole burger but only ate half of the fries. I'm still not hungry even though it's been 5 hours since I've last eaten. It was enjoyable to eat the burger, but I didn't get the thrill that I normally would have. I'm wondering how long it will take before I feel the urge to have one again, but I doubt it will be anytime soon. I think my enjoyment in certain foods is starting to wane. My need to divorce my emotional attachment to food is outweighing my previous enjoyment, and that's a good thing.
Last night we went to the movies, and the hubby bought popcorn. I sat between him and the boy as they both ate it and felt perfectly content to abstain. It was so easy that it was almost a subconscious choice. I'm so amazed that I didn't struggle with my decision to not eat any of the popcorn - that was a big step in progress for me. However, I don't think I've achieved full control yet. Last night would have been the perfect time to do the second part of my current exercise, where I take some of the popcorn in my hand, don't eat it and then throw it away at the end of the movie. I didn't do it because I was afraid of failing. It's weird that I was completely comfortable with the food nearby but totally worried I would lose control if the food was in my hand. I didn't think this would be so hard but I was wrong. I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to do this exercise and am resolved to complete it at the next opportunity.
Swimming went a little better today. I didn't go any farther, but the pain in my shoulder didn't last as long and I did the workout faster this time. My ankle is still bothering me too, but I was able to do a 7 mile trail hike this morning. I was limping a little towards the end when I had to go uphill, but again the pain didn't last long and I don't feel any worse for it.
Tomorrow is a long ride on the Fuji. I'm pretty excited to ride it. 
Total Calories: 1468Last edited on 17 June 2012 11:30 pm by mchen01
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CrimsonAnimus
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 17 June 2012 06:11 am |
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Hey, Michelle! Congratulations on your awesome drop in weight!
I'm glad that you're finding success with divorcing your emotional attachment to food. I still have quite a loving relationship with burgers, even 93/7 ones I make at home. There's just something about them that are so appealing...maybe it's all the cookouts we had when I was a kid and how much I looked forward to them.
There are some foods I like that just the thought of what they do to my body is often enough to deter me from eating them. Movie popcorn is one of those foods. I can't count the times that it's made me sick. I'm sure your body thanked you for refraining.
That hike sounds really fun. For as long as I've read your journal, you've always stayed pretty active, which is awesome. To me, exercise is just as critical to good health as eating habits.
Keep swimming (and hiking, and biking, etc.)! 
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 17 June 2012 11:28 pm |
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Hey Nick! Yeah, burgers is one of my favorite foods but mostly because it tastes so good (my family didn't cook out and never owned a bbq grill). I always know that when I eat a burger I get a total food rush, but that's the problem with them too. Eating them too often helps feed my addiction to food.
Weight: 161.0
Yesterday's eating went very well. With the burger for lunch, my only option for dinner was a salad. What's wonderful about my diet is that I don't have to count vegetables, so if I'm hungry I just make a big salad. To make it heartier I add a bean salad mix and some olive tapenade. There's enough flavor in the beans and olives that I don't have to use dressing. Calories for my salad (not counting veggies) is about 100.
Today I bought apple strudels for my family because they were on sale and I could tell my mom really wanted some. I thought about using them for my temptation exercise, but they don't seem tempting enough. Yes, I want one because I love pastries, but my control over food is apparently strong enough for strudels. Hehe, how cool is that! I'm still amazed at my new power over food every time I feel it working.
The ride this morning was pretty fun. The Fuji bike is fast. It's balanced and stiff enough to be very responsive but not so much that I feel every vibration from the road. It's not great for steep climbs and it doesn't corner as well as my road bike, but that's to be expected. My shoulder definitely did not like the aero position, and I ended up cutting my ride short because of the pain.
I was surprised to see my weight was still low this morning. At just over 3 lb, this is the most weight I've lost in a single week ever. I'm probably catching up since the week before my weight seemed to have plateaued, so I'm not worried about excessive loss. What this does tell me is that I'm finally on the right track and I know I can do it this time. I'm finally going to reach my goal weight.
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mchen01
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Posted: 20 June 2012 06:10 am |
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Weight: 162.2
I finally woke up today around 3PM after nearly 2 days of migraine oblivion. This one was all tension. I went to physical therapy this morning and the therapist loosened my neck and shoulder enough that I was finally able to get some solid sleep. The headache is still there, but I feel a lot better.
I have to admit that I ate one of those apple strudels yesterday. I woke up hungry but my head hurt so much I thought it would explode if I had to eat anything crunchy or noisy. The strudel was perfect since I didn't have to chew too much. It would have been nice if I hadn't eaten it at all, but oh well.
I haven't recorded what I've eaten for the past couple days either. It's probably more than my goal since it was mostly leftover dinner and bread. Hopefully I didn't do too much damage. Time to reset tomorrow.
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 20 June 2012 10:27 pm |
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Weight: 162.2
Now that I'm back to the land of the living, I'll be able to get my weight loss going again. My head no longer feels like it's going to explode just from the simple act of chewing, so I'm back to eating my veggies. I won't be touching any more of those apple strudels either.
My weight coach sent me a free link to watch "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead", which is about an Australian man's weight loss through juicing and includes Dr. Fuhrman as a consultant. While I know I'm not supposed to drink my calories, I'm a big believer in juicing and have been doing it for several years now. Juicing allows me to take in natural supplements, like ginseng, that I normally would not eat in any other form. I have never thought about doing a juice fast and am not sure that I ever will, but the 10 day one in the movie does look interesting. I bet my mom would do it with me. Anyway, I'm about halfway through the movie. It's a good supplement to what I'm currently working on for weight loss. It's very interesting and is a confirmation that my new lifestyle is happily sustainable and will pay off with more than just weight loss.
We have enlarged our vegetable garden this year and planted some new stuff. This year we have added spaghetti squash and beets. The beet is called Bull's Blood and its leaves will be what we harvest versus the root. The young leaves taste ok, but the older leaves are very bitter. I think I'll try throwing those in my juice. There's also the usual peppers, snow peas, cucumbers and tomatoes.
I did a light bike ride at lunch today and will be doing an hour walk later today. I'm going to buy the Fuji bike, but I'm not going to ride it again until I get a proper fitting. The current weakness in my shoulder and the fit of the Fuji are probably the causes of my migraine, so I'll wait until I fix both.
Total Calories: 1410
Last edited on 21 June 2012 04:00 pm by mchen01
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 21 June 2012 05:04 pm |
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Weight: 162.2
I didn't get my walk last night because I forgot I had to go to a bonfire. The kids got invited to a schoolwork burning party to which the hubby and I joined because the hosts were friends. It was really cute to watch the kids bring out big stacks of paperwork and laugh and cheer as it all burst into big flames. One of the hosts is a lifeguard manager and the house is in a state park by the beach. The evening weather was perfect and we were treated to a gorgeous sunset over the cliffs and ocean. I barely minded all the food and was happy and relaxed and content to just sip on my bottle of water. I can't say that I wasn't tempted. The burgers and hotdogs smelled delicious and the roasted marshmallows brought back memories of sweet gooeyness surrounded by a toasty, carmelized shell. In preparation, I had made sure to eat my dinner before we got there so I wasn't hungry. The rest was practicing my control by surrounding myself with the joy of the occasion and the feeling of power over food. I wasn't going to let a simple thing like food bring negativity into my life anymore.
As I practice this more and more, it becomes a lot easier. There was no hesitation when I declined offers of food over and over again last night. Uppermost in my mind was the knowledge of where my weight has sat for the past 5 days and my inability to follow my diet while I was sick. I didn't have room to stray if I wanted to stay on course and keep the momentum going. I am wholly committed to my weight loss goal this time. Failure is not an option.
Total Calories: 1222
Last edited on 22 June 2012 05:54 pm by mchen01
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 22 June 2012 05:54 pm |
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Weight: 162.0
Still holding steady around 162. I wish it would drop a little. My calories came in a little low yesterday, but that was with subtracting the veggies and avocado. My mom made one of my favorite meals called Ma Po Tofu, which is tofu in a spicy sauce. There's usually a little meat in it but not this time. So without the meat it wasn't as filling, and I had to go back for more. I ended up eating a whole cup of rice instead of the 1/4 cup that I've been doing lately.
Next weekend is our semiannual trip to Las Vegas. This time we're checking out Mandalay Bay. I want to check out their manmade beach including fake surf. I'm thinking of bringing a swimsuit, but I'm not sure I'll use it. I feel a little weird playing in the water by myself. It might be ok if there aren't too many people there, but if it's too crowded then forget it.
The reservation includes free buffet. Now that's going to be a challenge. I find myself wanting to give in and have a free weekend of uninhibited eating. Not only is there the buffet, but there's the gourmet burgers and milkshakes at one restaurant, and then there's the noodle shop. I want to eat at all of them. But if I do, it's going to set me back so far that it'll take me weeks to regain the progress I've already made. Sigh. I really need to maintain my momentum and not get out of control while I'm in Vegas. I need to prepare a plan for how I'll eat. Otherwise I know I'm going to slip and indulge in mindless and impulsive eating.
So, here's the plan:
1. The only food I'm allowed to eat at the buffet will be salad and sashimi (no rice).
2. I can have only one glass of alcohol.
3. I can have one indulgent meal at either the noodle shop or the burger restaurant but not both.
4. Breakfast will be fruit that I bring from home.
5. Lunch will be salads.
6. I will record everything I eat on a notepad.
Total Calories: 1269Last edited on 24 June 2012 05:38 am by mchen01
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 24 June 2012 04:39 am |
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Weight: 161.0
Today was a great workout day. I had a nice 40 mile bike ride and then an easy 7 mile run/walk. Total workout time was about 5 hours. Next time I'm going to bring some cash with me when I run. As I got close to the pier by the beach, there were a bunch of food stands and one of them had fresh coconuts with straws in them. I usually don't like coconut juice, but at that moment it seemed so refreshing. Yummy! Although, maybe I should just bring a bottle of coconut juice with me since it might be too awkward to run with a coconut in my hand. I walked most of the run and ran the other parts pretty slowly for about a 12:45 pace. The plan was to keep the stress on my ankle down and it worked pretty well. My ankle felt good as long as I took it easy.
Despite having pizza today, my calories are at my goal. I just haven't been hungry today. I had a banana for breakfast and then didn't eat again until after 3pm. It felt good to have a little pizza today, but I made sure to eat a small serving. I ate enough to feel satisfied and was surprised to find that I didn't have the usual urge to overeat. In fact, I filled up quickly and didn't even finish my pizza. Can't be unhappy with that.
Tomorrow is a 2 hour run/walk and a short swim. I hope my shoulder shows some improvement.
Total Calories: 1437Last edited on 24 June 2012 05:38 am by mchen01
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 25 June 2012 05:52 am |
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Weight: 162.2
Today's been a tough day with food. I've been super hungry and craving salty and sweet. It's been a while since I've had such a big failure. I'm not quite sure what happened.
I went on a 2 hour run/walk today and didn't think about bringing anything to eat during my workout. To make it worse, I didn't eat right after my run either. I was having some GI issues and couldn't eat. Like yesterday, I didn't eat my first meal until around 2pm. For lunch I stuck to mostly veggies with some chicken and my usual juice and was on track with only 550 calories eaten so far. Then I fell asleep and napped for a couple hours.
When I woke up I started doing some work. I only got about an hour of work done before I got hungry again. After dinner, I still didn't feel full. I had one snack and would've been within my goal but I couldn't stop there. I think I'm just not in the mood to fight my hunger tonight. I still have work to do and am feeling really tired. Maybe some of the eating was stress related. I don't know. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between real hunger and cravings.
Total Calories: 1932
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oneday
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 11 August 2009 |
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| Posts: | 794 |
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Posted: 25 June 2012 02:13 pm |
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Michelle,
Are your calories in your diary Gross or Net?
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mchen01
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Posted: 25 June 2012 06:44 pm |
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Hi Oneday. I don't count calories burned at all. The total calories are less than gross as there are certain foods (veggies and workout nutrition) I also don't count. Here's what I do. If I exercise less than 2 hours, then I don't eat during my workout. Given my estimated basal metabolism and my heart rate efficiency, I think I only burn about an extra 200-300 calories per hour of exercise. That's not enough to need to eat any of it back. When I do exercise for 2 hours or more, then I eat about 200-230 calories per hour during my workout. I don't count this food because my body is burning it faster than I'm taking it in. So besides the 200 cal/hr for my workouts, my total does not include about 150 cal of veggies per day.
Weight: 165.2
I feel really bloated and uncomfortable today. As the day progresses, my midsection seems to swell more and more. I know I took in more salt than usual this past weekend, but I think there's something else going on as my stomach has been out of sorts lately as well.
My stomach is gurgling right now and I can't tell if it's hunger or just upset. Either way, I don't feel like eating. I've got a handful of soy nuts that I've been working on for the past 4 hours and still have most of it sitting on my desk. I think I'll switch to just drinking tea and hope that flushes out whatever is bothering me.
I met my deadline this morning so am feeling a lot less stress now. It seems like a bunch of my projects all reach critical mass at about the same time, and suddenly everyone is asking for 100% of my time. This just means overtime (without overtime pay) to try and meet enough of a project's needs to keep them afloat. Oh well. At least now I'll be able to work on a couple of my research projects. One of them is showing serious promise and may be turned into a full 2 year project for next year. Woohoo!
On a side note, I've been watching a lot of Korean drama lately, mostly romantic comedies. They remind me a little of the old Hollywood romantic comedies like the ones Doris Day did. They're really cute and innocent, which is refreshing given the current trends in American drama and reality shows where everyone seems to just be playing musical beds. The only part I don't like is the kissing, which is closed mouth and tight lipped, not even a pucker. So while I am entertained by the sweetness and silliness of these shows, the romance is not steamy enough (I mean the kiss is the pinnacle, so it's got to at least be hot enough to make the heart flip a couple times) to make me go all gooey inside.
Total Calories: 1466
Last edited on 26 June 2012 06:10 pm by mchen01
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 26 June 2012 06:09 pm |
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Weight: 164.0
Still feeling bloated and am constipated as well. I'll be drinking lots of tea in the hopes of flushing things out. Yesterday was an exhausting day and I didn't get any workouts done. My shoulder was driving me crazy, maybe too much inflammation? There was a burning feeling in my shoulder and then an itchy sensation down my arm and into my middle finger. It drove me nuts and I had trouble sleeping. The therapist has given my a nerve glide exercise to help with the itch.
I ended up eating all of my calories at dinner last night. I wasn't feeling up to eating anything at work but felt a little better once I got home. I had my regular dinner and because I had so much calories left over I ended up eating a bunch of chocolate. The chocolate gave me a little bit of energy to at least do some cleaning. My renovation is almost finished and the painters started yesterday. The house was a mess when I got home so I just went through some piles of stuff and put them somewhere out of the way so they wouldn't get damaged.
Today is going to be awful. I have meetings all day, some last minute notice and even through lunch, so I won't get my afternoon workout. And then tonight, my daughter has her first water polo match, which is funny because she just joined the team and had her first workout yesterday. She doesn't even have a team suit yet. She told me that the suit has to be extra tight so the girls can't accidentally snag her suit and pull it down. Yikes. Anyway, I'm hoping to at least get in a walk/run and short strength routine after her match, but it's going to be hard.
I've been thinking about the weight management exercise I'm supposed to do and just realized that the buffet at Vegas will be my best opportunity to do it. I'm going to put a few extra tempting treats on a separate plate and leave it on the table in front of me without eating it. It's not quite perfect since I'm not paying extra for the food so it won't be as difficult to throw it away, but since I have to pay for the food in the third part of the exercise I figure that counts enough.
I talked to my weight coach about the difficulty I have with throwing away food, specifically food that is still unopened (I'm ok with not polishing my plate). Because this is hard for me my coach thinks it is an even bigger reason that I throw the food away as opposed to giving it away. It's obvious that I've placed so much importance in food that the simple act of throwing away a couple dollars worth of it brings me a lot of stress.
Total Calories: 1305Last edited on 27 June 2012 04:49 pm by mchen01
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mchen01
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Posted: 27 June 2012 05:34 pm |
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Weight: 163.4
Still having bloating issues, abdominal pain and now rectal bleeding again. I'm sure it's due to the constipation. I'm not sure why I'm so constipated. I can't believe it's a lack of fiber in my diet considering how many veggies I eat now. Maybe I should try some cereal? I've been drinking plenty of water too, but maybe it's still not enough. I do sweat a lot when I workout.
Yesterday's diet went very well. I had 2 big salads and a small plate of pasta. I've been playing with my guesstimation of the weight of pasta and have been over by about 1.5 - 2 oz everytime. Considering a serving of pasta is only 6 oz, a bad guess on my portion can add up to a big mistake over time. What else am I not estimating correctly? I need to be better about weighing my food.
I'm still reading "The End of Overeating". The book so far is very informative, but maybe a little too repetitive. After getting through all the explanations behind conditioned hyper-eating, I'm finally at the section that talks about the treatment of overeating. I can see where my weight coach is going with the exercises she's giving me. It's in line with what the book calls habit reversal. Where conditioned hyper-eating is the unconcious formation of bad eating habits (due to a society of high fat foods with easy access), habit reversal is the forced conditioning of good eating habits. I am forcing my mind to develop different responses to food cues by consciously inserting negative thoughts about the food that override the thoughts of craving, and by creating new positive feelings about power and control over food and liking my body.
It's been a busy day, but I did get a bike ride in during lunch. I felt pretty happy to be outdoors until I came upon a ghost bike memorial for a cyclist killed by a hit and run driver. The police were able to arrest a man who had crashed a car further up the road and matched the description of the hit and run car. Apparently the driver was drunk and racing another car at 80 mph when he swerved into the bike lane and hit the cyclist from behind. So senseless and so very sad.
That's it for today. I'm going to rush home for another water polo match for my daughter. I hope to get in a nice long walk during her warmup so that I don't completely miss all of my workouts for the week.
Total Calories: 1423
Last edited on 28 June 2012 06:26 am by mchen01
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oneday
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| Posts: | 794 |
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Posted: 27 June 2012 07:35 pm |
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A 6oz serving of pasta?? What are you eating? I must know! LOL I eat the Ronzoni smart pasta and a serving is 2 oz 
Have you tried drinking "cleansing" teas? I love the Be Well Red Teas called "get clean" and it is nice b/c if you forget to drink a lot of water with it you don't get gasy but if you do drink enough water you don't get cramps.
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mchen01
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Posted: 28 June 2012 12:21 am |
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LOL! I guess I should have qualified that with 6 oz of COOKED pasta, which is the rough equivalent of 2 oz uncooked.
I've never tried cleansing teas. I usually lean towards mild green and white teas. Currently I drink the flowering white teas because they're so pretty. That's a good idea though. I'll have to find one that does a colon cleanse and helps with constipation. Thanks for the recommendation!
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mchen01
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Posted: 28 June 2012 04:44 pm |
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Weight: 162.0
Yay, the bleeding is gone and things have moved along. I feel so much better. Maybe it was 2 days of heavy tea drinking, maybe it was the cereal and granola, or maybe it was the extra coffee. Whatever it was, I'm glad it worked and I don't have to resort to a pill to fix my insides.
I can tell I'm still a little bloated, because my ring is a little tight on my finger. That means I'm probably carrying at least an extra pound of water weight. If I'm lucky (and good with my diet today) I hope to see 161 tomorrow.
My challenges for today are a day full of meetings and an icre cream team celebration. I plan on getting to yoga today for lunch and stopping by the ice cream party after. I had thought about eating a couple bites of ice cream, but now I don't want any of it. Instead I'd reallly rather see 161 tomorrow, so I'm going to put in some extra effort today to make sure I get there. Besides, ice cream might just bring back the constipation. There, I've put some negative images in my head and set up the reasons for not eating ice cream. The decision is made and I'm sure I won't have any problems staying away from the ice cream.
Because I'm so busy today, I'm going to make an effort to eat my lunch early so I don't get too hungry later in the day. Hunger is another potential diet breaker, so I have to make sure I plan accordingly. I know that if I keep up with my morning ritual of reading my diet rules and planning my eating strategy for the day, this will all become second nature and I won't have to even think about it anymore.
Here's another interesting tidbit from "The End of Overeating". Part of habit reversal and re-conditioning is to try to connect negative feelings with the thing you are trying to give up. The example was cigarettes, which is easy because they are so foul smelling. I remember that as I learned to give up smoking, the smell of cigarette butts began to nauseate me. Now I find that smell so repulsive I can't understand how I ever found smoking pleasurable. However, it's not so easy with food. I don't think I'll ever find the smell of food repulsive (unless it's cooked in sulfur water from a well, in which case it smells like poo). Since I can't make food repulsive, I have to find thoughts and emotions that override the pleasure of food. I have to think past the immediate reward I'll feel from eating the food and instead focus on the shame and frustration I feel after the food is eaten. I can also picture the food as fat sitting on my belly, the muffin top spilling over my favorite jeans, and never becoming the athlete I want to be. All of that is enough to tamp down the craving for food.
The book says that a study shows that when the brain is given reason to not expect an immediate reward, it is able to refocus itself on other thoughts and the cravings go away. That's why I feel such a sense of relief once I've made a decision to not eat something and given myself good reasons to justify that decision. My brain seems to immediately let go of any thoughts about the food and moves on to other thoughts.
I've found that there is no need for will power to overcome these food cravings if the cravings are gone. I now understand why my weight coach never imposed a true calorie goal for me or gave me a recommended diet. I would have failed at both, because I didn't have the mental control to achieve either yet. I think more people would be successful at weight loss if they could go through the psychological changes before attempting to diet, because if you are not prepared mentally to handle the emotional stress from denial of pleasure then you are going to fail at any diet.
Total Calories: 1671
Last edited on 29 June 2012 08:11 pm by mchen01
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Ladyfish
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| Joined: | 1 May 2012 |
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| Posts: | 16 |
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Posted: 28 June 2012 06:58 pm |
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Fat Chick to Fit Chick!
Michelle,
It is so wonderful to read your posts. It is clear that you are working really hard and that you are succeeding. Changing your brain isn't easy but it IS POSSIBLE with the right motivation and with practice, practice, practice.
I love that you are using veges to fill you up and that you are experimenting with ways to make your salads heartier- Olive tampanade and bean salad to replace the dressing is excellent. ....I also relate to your discussion about morphing from the Fat Chick everyone thinks they can beat, to the Fit Chick that others are afraid to challenge. The power that comes from feeling proud of your looks is tremendous and it is there, just waiting for you. You are tasting that power already. Isn't it intoxicating to feel so powerful?
It is interesting to read about your evolution. Imagine a buger loosing a bit of it's sparkle? That's the name of the game. While everything around us encourages the worship of food, bigger, greasier, more and mightier, it takes courage to turn off the sensors in your brain that are sensitive to these messages. It is hard, but it can be done. And if you want it bad enough, it MUST be done. Humans are amazing creatures.....they have survived all shorts of horrors and how did they do it? It is a matter of CHOOSING what to focus on. The ONLY one that can control that is you and you are making amazing progress. Bravo Michelle
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mchen01
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Posted: 29 June 2012 05:57 pm |
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Thanks Ladyfish!! You've taught me a lot, and I will be forever grateful! Yes, the power is intoxicating, so much more than the pleasure of food. The feeling of control keeps a smile on my face all day.
Weight: 160.0
OMG, I'm almost below 160. Can that be right? Maybe my scale is broken. Whatever the reason, I'll take it. I'm so excited to see the big drop today. It will give me some extra motivation this weekend while I'm in Vegas.
I did eat a bit extra yesterday. I was very hungry and craving granola for some reason. Well, it doesn't take a lot of granola to go over on calories. Oh well. I don't think I overate yesterday, because I woke up still feeling a bit hungry today. I had a little extra for breakfast and have already dug into part of my lunch.
Not having any ice cream at the work party was super easy. As I looked at the ice cream, I had mild thoughts of yeah, that looks pretty yummy, and for a small instant I had the urge to go get me some. But I knew I wasn't going to eat any of it, and the urge and craving went away almost instantly. Occasionally I would feel the urge resurface as I watched everyone eat, but I had no problem ignoring the urge and enjoying everyone's company. I brought my fruit with me and ate my apples, figs, grapes and pineapple instead. It's such a relief to feel the battle within me calming down. I know success is just around the corner, and I feel a confidence I've never felt before. This time I'm going to lose the weight and keep it off for the rest of my life.
I've decided to complete the third part of my exercise this weekend as well. It will be a good time for me as I tend to want to snack when I'm at my most relaxed. So, I decided to bring some of the worst and most tempting snacks with me to Vegas, a bag of Honey BBQ Fritos (320 cal, 20 g fat) and a Hostess Lemon Fruit Pie (490 cal, 22 g fat). I used to eat these frequently and still love the taste despite knowing the contents. It's been a very long time since I've eaten either of these, but I still feel the occasional urge to stop at a convenience store to pick one up. So for 2 nights, they will be sitting in my hotel room by the tv. On the day of checkout, they will be sitting, uneaten, in the trashcan of my hotel room, and I will have passed one of the more difficult tests of my control over food. (I hope my mom doesn't see me throw away the food, or else she might just dig it out of the trash and bring it home with us. Haha.)
Oh yeah, I almost forgot, today is the boy's birthday and I was going to go buy him a birthday cake. I really really like birthday cake, especially with lots of frosting. To keep the temptation down a notch, I'm going to get ice cream cupcakes. For some reason I feel that I can resist those easier than a cake. Maybe it's the lack of frosting. In any case, whatever I buy, I won't be eating any of it.
Total Calories: 1756Last edited on 1 July 2012 07:07 am by mchen01
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mchen01
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Posted: 30 June 2012 04:09 pm |
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Weight: 160.0
I guess yesterday's weight wasn't a fluke. I'm pretty happy that I get to start the weekend this way.
I didn't have any birthday ice cream cake last night, but it was hard. The cake had frosting on it, and it looked so good. I could have had a small piece, but I was feeling vulnerable and knew that a small piece would turn into a much bigger piece. I was still very hungry yesterday evening and needed to fill up on healthy food instead of cake.. I ate some extra chicken for dinner as well as heaps of veggies. That helped me resist the cake.
I'm taking off for Vegas soon. I just wanted to go over my eating plan before I left. I've got tons of water and fruit ready to go. Too bad I can't bring salad fixings with me. Maybe I'll order an extra salad to go to have around for hunger issues. Anyway, I'll stick to my plan and should be below 160 when I get back.
Oh, and I almost forgot. I bought the chips and fruit pie yesterday. I was actually embarrassed to take them to the checkout. I feel like a total closet addict, afraid to be caught with my junk food addiction in public. Whenever I remember that I have them, I immediately get the urge to eat them. It's going to be a big challenge to not only not eat those but to not turn to substitutes while on our weekend vacation. Uh oh. Too many negatives in one sentence. Bad, bad grammar.
**************************** From Vegas ********************************
Doh, I forgot to bring the chips and fruit pie. I guess that exercise is going to have to wait until I get home. Drat! On the other hand, I did complete the second part of the exercise. At tonight's buffet, I got some stir fry noodles and sweet and sour pork, my regular Chinese takeout order. It was certainly tempting, but I had no trouble leaving it untouched on the table. Go me! The plan went a little awry with the lack of sashimi and a tiny salad bar - Mandalay Bay has one of the worst buffets I've seen on the strip. There wasn't even dessert so I couldn't add that to the temptations on my table. Anyway, I got seaweed salad and some boiled shrimp and smoked salmon with pickled ginger. That didn't fill me up so I went back for a baked chicken thigh and huge servings of steamed veggies. I estimate my buffet meal to be just under 500 cal.
Today went pretty well in terms of intake. In terms of gambling, so far I've lost $40 on the penny machines. I was up about $60 until I lost most of it on the Godzilla machine. I was adamant that I wanted to see the bonus round. It took almost all of my money but I finally got the bonus on my last $20. It was almost worth it. It felt pretty satisfying sending Godzilla to destroy a city for money and then fighting the military by blasting tanks with Godzilla breath. Too bad the military won. After feeding $80 into that machine I only got back $6 on the bonus round. Good thing gambling is not a major interest for me.
I'd like to go to sleep now, but there is a very loud concert by the pool, and of course, we have a pool view. It's after midnight and I'm hoping that it will end soon. It's way past my bedtime.
Total Calories: 1372Last edited on 1 July 2012 07:43 am by mchen01
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Ladyfish
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| Joined: | 1 May 2012 |
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| Posts: | 16 |
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Posted: 1 July 2012 12:44 am |
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Michelle,
Your son and I have the same B-day...how weird is that? I will be thinking of you over the weekend and I already know you will do fine. Have fun in the wave pool. I thought of you during my 5k swim this morning--lots of rocking and rolling in the swells, you would have hated it .
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mchen01
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Posted: 1 July 2012 03:47 pm |
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Now I'll be able to remember your birthday Ladyfish.
Wow, 5k! You are a fish! I had a hard enough time trying to do 3 miles in a pool. I can't imagine how much harder it was in the ocean. And the swells! Makes me nauseous just thinking about it! Still, I miss swimming and wish I could've joined you for at least a mile of it.
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mchen01
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Posted: 1 July 2012 03:59 pm |
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Weight: ?
Who weighs themselves on vacation? I wanted to but thought it would be just a little too anal to pack my scale in my small suitcase. But, I'm dying to know if I'm below 160 yet.
I'm totally constipated again. I can't understand it. I drank tons of water. In fact, the casino keeps handing out free bottled water (probably because it's soooo hot outside). Grrrr! I guess all I can do is keep drinking tons of water and hope the fruit helps. I snuck a banana out of the buffet, and I have some figs, apples and oranges that I've brought from home.
After that we're off to the cemetery to bring my mom's hubby some new flowers.
Total Calories: 3139
Last edited on 3 July 2012 07:57 pm by mchen01
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mchen01
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Posted: 3 July 2012 09:44 pm |
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Weight: 162.6
Sunday was a very bad day. I've found that I'm good with temporary temptations and am able to resist food that sits in front of my face for maybe a couple hours. But sitting in front of all kinds of tempting foods all day long was a bit too much, so I finally caved on Sunday.
I started out Sunday according to my plan, eating fresh fruit for breakfast. Lunch was a bit off because my mom wanted to eat at the noodle shop, so I didn't get my planned salad. That's ok since I figured I could eat my salad for dinner. I had Vietnamese pho and some lettuce wraps for lunch. I was very hungry at this time because it was a late lunch and I had just finished 1.5 hours on the treadmill. It still wasn't that bad, and a salad at dinner would have kept me at my goal. Alas, I was stuck sitting with my mom at the slot machines near a frozen yogurt shop, and these young girls kept walking by with their big tubs of frozen yumminess. I was already bored with the gambling and feeling a little stir crazy with the inactivity and cigarette laden air. I decided to get a small yogurt which turned into a much larger yogurt and requires explaining in the next paragraph. 4 more hours of boredom later, my mom decides we should have dinner. By then my brain is scrabbling in my skull for some kind of emotional release and of course, I find it in food. The dinner menu had a taco salad and a ceasar salad, both of them no help for my diet. I decided to order something else and couldn't resist the burger but do at least cut the burger and eat only half (but take the other half with me - big mistake). Another 4 hours later (and a beer to calm me down) and even my mom decides to call it quits because of the cigarette smoke. In the room I find I'm still hungry but make an effort at salvaging my diet by eating the rest of the carrot sticks I'd brought from home. But now, for some reason I can't sleep. At 2am I eat the rest of the burger. I don't fall asleep until after 4am.
So, about the frozen yogurt. This is the first time ever I've been to a self-serve, so I don't know if this is what happens at all of them. When I walked in a person handed me a large tub, so I guess there's only one size. I poured a small amount in the tub, but it looked wrong, and this is what I wasn't prepared for. I got chocolate yogurt, and that little bit sitting in the tub ended up looking like a turd. I immediately felt there was no way I could eat something that looked like coyote scat, so I poured more until it no longer looked so bad. Before I realized it, I had about 9 oz of yogurt in my tub (which couldn't be measured until you were at the register). Lesson learned. BTW, I usually don't go to these places because I've seen little kids stick their fingers in the spouts to get a taste, and the gross out factor scored pretty high for me there. Next time I see a self-serve I'm going to think pretty hard about that so I won't be tempted to go in.
As for yesterday, I didn't do too well there either. Breakfast and lunch were great, with fruit and salad, plus a granola bar for a snack. But the combination of only 4 hours of sleep, the long drive home and shopping to do as soon as we got home had me exhausted and not able to make my salad. Dinner was 1/4 of a large Costco pizza, putting my total calories at 2172.
This was my first vacation since working on my new diet and lifestyle. I've learned a lot and will have to update my power list and my strategy for dealing with these new situations. My control lasted for only a day, so I'll have to do better. My biggest challenge is being stuck with family throughout the day and not being able to always do what I want or need to do to get away from food.
Total Calories: 1427
Last edited on 5 July 2012 04:08 am by mchen01
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Ladyfish
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| Joined: | 1 May 2012 |
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| Posts: | 16 |
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Posted: 3 July 2012 10:17 pm |
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Hey Michelle...
Why do we fall?
So we can learn to stand back up.
This is an opportunity to demonstrate to yourself how far you have come.
Stand back up RIGHT NOW!
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mchen01
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Posted: 5 July 2012 04:52 am |
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Thanks L-fish! This is me picking myself up and coming back stronger.
Weight: 161.4
Yesterday I got back on track. Being back at work put me back into my routine. I don't have the unplanned situations that I had on vacation and can deal with the usual everyday temptations. I did well on my diet and stayed at my goal.
Today was slightly higher, but I did do almost 40 miles on the bike, and I'm counting a small lunch that I had in the middle of the ride. Without the lunch, I'm well below my goal.
Today's ride was very pleasant. It wasn't much in the way of a workout, but I got to spend time with friends I hadn't seen in a while. They took me on a route full of sights I hadn't seen before. After passing through and watching a small part of the Huntington Beach 4th of July parade, we rode over to Corona del Mar and then on to Balboa Island. After a 40 minute wait in line, we boarded an auto ferry that took us on a 2 minute ride across the bay to Balboa Peninsula. There we stopped for a quick bite so I could try out this awesome Manhattan clam chowder and smoked albacore. Both were absolutely delicious. I was good and stuck to about a cup of soup and 1 oz of tuna. From there we cruised through the neighborhood where college-aged kids had rented what seemed like half the homes in the area and were partying in the streets like it was Mardi Gras. Police were everywhere and there were paddy wagons on many of the corners. It was maybe 2pm and the police said they were filling the wagons pretty quickly already. I can't imagine what it's like in the evening when the real party starts. The place was a maze of pedestrians, bikes, skateboards, roller skates and cars all trying to maneuver through narrow roads. At this point no one was following the lines in the road. It was a total free for all. While I found the drunken social antics of 20-somethings both funny and reminiscent, I was glad to get out from the chaos and back into moving traffic.
It's been a nice day. The kids enjoyed the city fireworks display which we can see from our house. It lasts for 30 minutes and is quite a show. Too bad it's Wednesday, because I have to go to work tomorrow. There's a bunch of fireworks still going off around the neighborhood so I'm unable to get any sleep. Sigh.
Total Calories: 1497
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mchen01
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Posted: 5 July 2012 05:09 pm |
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Weight: 162.0
I'm disappointed to not see a drop in weight, but it's to be expected considering my 2 days of binging. At least my average weight is still coming down, although a bit slower. I'm also still feeling irregular, so I'm going to be giving myself the tea treatment to loosen things up again.
This morning is not starting off well. I'm feeling super hungry and have already eaten some oatmeal with blueberries, over 2 servings of peanut butter pretzels and a hard boiled egg. That's the biggest breakfast I've had in a long time. I will have to chill on dinner tonight to make sure I stay within my goal. After I eat my lunch I think I will only have about 350 calories left for dinner.
Looks like it's a good time to re-affirm my commitment and get my motivation back. I'll but putting up a new power list and maybe some new vacation strategies in my journal before the end of the day.
Total Calories: 1383Last edited on 6 July 2012 03:50 pm by mchen01
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mchen01
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Posted: 5 July 2012 05:26 pm |
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Power List
1. I can do everything my food coach recommends with no problem.
2. This will be a big turning point for me.
3. I don't need to reward myself with food.
4. It is normal and healthy to be hungry several times a day.
5. I can stay away from the fattening snacks at meetings.
6. The diet does not end on the weekends but continues for life.
7. I will never again need to buy larger size clothes.
8. I am able to stay away from the samples at Costco.
9. I'm ok with throwing away food.
10. I feel really really good when I meet my calorie goal.
11. Not eating popcorn at the theater saves me a lot of calories as well as money.
12. I don't have to eat everything on my plate.
13. I can stay within my goal at any restaurant by making the right choices and eating moderate amounts.
14. I can always bring fresh fruit on vacations for breakfast and snacks.
15. I will become a better athlete.
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mchen01
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Posted: 5 July 2012 05:59 pm |
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Obviously, this part of my strategy needs revisiting. When I first wrote out my startegy, I hadn't been on a vacation in a while and weekends were usually too short and busy to have to worry about being exposed to too much temptation. After my 3 day trip to Vegas, I've come to realize a few things about why I failed the last 2 days and what I can do to prevent future failures.
What will you do on weekends/vacations? Weekends and vacations are still proving to be difficult times for me. I want to be able to enjoy local restaurants and foods without feeling deprived, but I still want to stick to my eating goals. In order to accomplish this, I need to think harder about what moderation means in unfamiliar situations. For instance when I get dessert, I need to stop and picture in my head how much of a portion I'm allowed to eat so as not to let my bad habits mindlessly take over. Once I make this decision, it will be easier to stop myself from overeating. I also need to stop my obsession with french fries since they double the calories of every meal. From now on, I will order salad or fruit as a side to replace the fries. French fries will now become a rare indulgence. I will also carry a journal with me so that I can write down what I eat. Being able to remind myself how much I've eaten for the day will help me stay on track with late meals. Plus, it will give me a reason to buy one of those pretty journals I always see on sale at the bookstore.
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 6 July 2012 04:34 pm |
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Weight: 161.8
Yesterday went great! I made it through dinner even though it was a challenge and got to my calorie goal. Dinner was beef and broccoli - yummm. I stuck to my portions with a 1/4 cup of brown rice mixed with 5 oz of beef and broccoli. I also had fruit for dessert. I was still hungry and I wanted seconds, but I knew I was close to my goal so I opted for a big salad (only about 70 calories) instead and got rid of the hunger. It felt great to make it through the day without overeating and finally feel like I'm back on track.
Everytime I indulge in super fatty and sugary foods, my cravings for them come back a little stronger. So the 2 vacations days of binging brings about a week of cravings and fighting to gain back control. Again, the fight is not as hard as it used to be, but it's still a couple steps back in my momentum.
Last night I finished the last part of my latest food exercise. I didn't eat the lemon pie that's been sitting on my dining table for the past 2 days. I threw it in the trash last night. Not eating it was easy. Throwing it away did cause me some pain. It's just the way I was raised, to think of food as precious. I always had to clean my plate, and we ate expired food as long as it didn't smell bad or had too much mold. I also tried to throw away the bbq chips, but my daughter caught me and ratted me out to my mom. My mom rescued them from the garbage and chastised me for throwing away good food. Sigh. At least the lemon pie stayed in the garbage since nobody wanted it anyway.
I've got another vacation coming up soon. This time I'll be going to wine country for a second try at the Vineman 70.3 Ironman race (last year I crashed on the bike and sliced my knee open to the bone). My shoulder is still a big problem so my main goal is to just get through the swim. The bike will be no problem, but the run will be difficult as my ankle is also giving me some pain. Still, I'm pretty confident I'll be able to finish since it's only a half Ironman distance.
I've rented a house for the week that we will be there. That means we'll be able to stock the kitchen with plenty of fresh produce and cook most of our meals. Renting a house costs the same as 2 moderately priced hotel rooms (~$285/night). Considering we'll be saving money on restaurants, I call it the better deal. Plus we'll be right on the Russian River with direct access to the water and lots of water toys.
Total Calories: 1428Last edited on 7 July 2012 05:12 am by mchen01
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 7 July 2012 04:42 pm |
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Weight: 159.4
Woohoo! I've gotten back down below 160! Now to get where I haven't been in over 20 years. I've got to get below 150, and I know I'm going to do it this time. Progress on my weight loss is good and consistent, even with the few slip ups. I'm learning a lot about what triggers my bad eating habits and how to control it without the need for massive amounts of will power. This is so awesome!
Yesterday I went on a nice ride with co-workers. I felt a little lazy but knew I had to start pushing my workouts on the bike since that's all I can do right now. I made myself do my 2 mile sprint. It felt slow and clunky but I beat my buddies by a wide margin. I guess they were feeling tired too.
Dinner was BBQ spare ribs and they were delicious. I did want to go back for more, but I stuck to my portions. A couple hours later I was hungry again. Instead of going back for the tempting leftovers, I grabbed a bag of baby carrots. It doesn't taste as wonderful, but who needs wonderful when it comes with too many calories. The carrots tasted fine and sweet. They filled me up and I was comfortable enough to forget the ribs were even there. Yay!
I'm off to meet some friends for a long bike ride. It's going to be a blast.
Total Calories: 1631
Last edited on 9 July 2012 12:51 am by mchen01
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 2461 |
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Posted: 7 July 2012 11:25 pm |
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Congrats on hitting the 150's!! You're really making great progress and all of the sudden the weight is just dropping. Your recent discussions about how to control overeating, etc, are very inspiring.
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CrimsonAnimus
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 7 July 2012 11:27 pm |
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Awesome job, Michelle! Way to go!
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 9 July 2012 01:20 am |
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Thanks Nancy and Nick!! 
Weight: 160.8
A little up on weight but probably part of normal fluctuations. I did eat a bit more yesterday, but I know I didn't have enough to eat during my ride yesterday. The pace was faster than my usual, which shows how lazy I've been - blah. I'm going to have to start working a little harder and get back to wearing my HRM. Anyway, it's hard to eat when you're struggling to breathe and keep up. I was good during the first 20 miles but started to wane on the last 20. Boy am I out of shape! I only took in about 300 calories in 2.5 hours when I should have done at least 500 calories.
Today is going very well. The girl had a water polo tournament that lasted longer than expected. We went to Starbucks for coffee, and even though I was pretty hungry, I stuck to a non-fat cappuccino and left the food alone. All of it was a little high in calories and wouldn't fill me up until dinner. I waited until I got home where I made myself a very large salad. Yay me! I even had enough calories to spare to enjoy half a croissant.
Time for dinner. I've been working for most of the afternoon. I took a little break to enter in my food and write in my journal. I'll probably be working late tonight to turn in some work before I go on vacation. If I get it in Monday morning then the analysts will have a day to test and give me a day to fix before I take off. Whew! At least I'll be able to bring my computer to do any work on vacation if I have to.
Total Calories: 1388
Last edited on 9 July 2012 03:17 am by mchen01
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 9 July 2012 03:09 am |
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Following is an excerpt from "The End of Overeating" which summarizes what the author, Dr. David Kessler, explains as the essential principles to food rehab. This book and what my weight management coach have taught me has really brought about a big change in the way I view food. I wanted to copy these principles into my journal so I can read them everyday along with my power list and strategies for success.
Conditioned hypereating is a biological challenge, not a character flaw. Recovery is impossible until we stop viewing overeating as an absense of willpower.
Treating conditioned hypereating means recognizing it as a chronic problem that needs to be managed, not one that can be completely cured.
Every time we act on our desire for sugar, fat, and salt, and earn a reward as a result, it becomes harder for us to act differently the next time. Effective treatment breaks the cue-urge-reward-habit cycle at the core of conditioned hypereating.
The loss of control that characterizes conditioned hypereating is magnified by diets that leave us feeling deprived.
New learning can stick only when it generates a feeling of satisfaction. We can't sustain a change in behavior if it leaves us hungry, unhappy, angry, or resentful.
Restoring control over eating requires us to take a comprehensive approach, one that has many interlocking steps. To gain the upper hand, we need strategies that address the multiple behavioral, cognitive, and nutritional elements of conditioned hypereating.
Lapses are to be expected. Most of us are never fully cured of conditioned hypereating. We remain vulnerable to the pull of old habits, although with time and the rewards that accompany success, they do lose some of their power. With practice, we can find ways to use "slips" to our advantage, as tools for recognizing where we might stumble and reminders of the need to develop new learning.
Eventually, we can begin to think differently about food, recognizing its value to sustain us and protect us from hnunger, and denying it the authority to govern our lives.
It's such a relief to finally understand my reasons for overeating and how to break the habit. As I read this book, the light of understanding that kept blinking over my head turned into a strobe light. The brain is truly an amazing organ, giving humans the unique ability to reason with rational thought. But the brain can also be our downfall with the irrational thoughts that are based on emotional stimuli. I don't know how many times I've told myself it's ok to have one more piece of candy even though I know it's too much, and how many times I've rewarded a workout with a burger and fries even though I know I didn't burn half of those calories. And it all happened without me even realizing what I was doing, because my brain is preset to function that way, to prefer the highly pleasurable and to be automatically stimulated by memory cues. It happens a hundred times a day with other decisions, like watching tv instead of reading a book, or running the hot water of my shower longer than I need, or letting the dog on the bed even though he leaves hair everywhere, etc, etc... Overeating just became a habit, stimulated by countless triggers from restaurants, shops, tv shows, commercials, magazines, and the internet. I am a victim of our society where food is a lucrative business.
After over 20 years of slowly gaining weight and over 3 years of battling to take it off, I've finally found my way thanks to my weight coach. My coach saw me in herself when she stumbled on this journal, and I in turn see many people like me. I'm glad I started this journal 3 years ago. Without it I might never have received the help I so badly needed. I hope in turn that what I'm learning now will help someone else gain control of their eating.
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 9 July 2012 06:45 pm |
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Weight: 161.4
The weight is a little up today, but that's ok. Like my weight coach tells me all the time, I can't really control the daily fluctuations in my weight, but I can control what and how much I eat. When I look at it that way, I'm showing lots of progress and that just makes me want to jump for joy in spite of what the scale says.
Last night was another challenge in changing my eating habits. I was up past 2AM working on a project that is having all kinds of unexpected problems (I think my program file might be corrupt at this point). Anyway, the urge to eat out of frustration and stress was rearing its ugly head. I was hungry, and the feeling wasn't going away. I did the circuit around the kitchen a couple times, opening refrigerator, freezer and pantries several times. I knew what I had to do, but my brain was tired and my automatic cravings for unhealthy snacks were fighting to gain back control. All that mindless wandering around the kitchen, I think the new habits I've been building these past couple months were warring with the old habits I'm trying to break. Luckily, all that exercising of my control over food finally took over on its own. I didn't have to think. I didn't have to argue with myself. I went to the fridge and grabbed a bag of carrots and scarfed them down in no time. Once I was full, the cravings went away and I was back in control.
The new choices I've been making consistently and happily are finally becoming habit. I wasn't bummed about the choice to eat carrots instead of chips, crackers or a sandwich. I just knew from experience that once I ate the carrots I would feel better, no more cravings. I was looking forward to getting rid of the hunger and staying on track much more than the few minutes of pleasure I would get from tastier but fattening foods. My mind automatically refocused on the anticipation of joy I would feel with winning the battle over food and made the proper choice on its own.
Every day brings an eating challenge, some of them too small to barely notice and others that require effort and active planning. Every good choice brings with it a sense of pride and joy that I bask in for hours if not days, replacing the times I used to sit and savor the foods that ignited my taste buds with pleasure for just a few minutes. I no longer want to put highly palatable food up on a pedestal. It's just food. If I don't eat it today, there's always tomorrow. There's no shortage of it. I'll never have to worry that it's going to disappear. It can wait for the right time to eat it.
I forgot to add that I got a new exercise from my weight coach. This one is a strategy worksheet for vacations which comes at a very opportune time since I've just come back from a vacation where I learned about some new food triggers, and I'll be leaving on another, longer vacation in a couple days. In preparation, I've already purchased a bunch of fruits and vegetables to bring with us on the drive. That way I'll have the foods I like to eat and won't be caught off guard by not wanting what's available at the local market in a small town.
One of the things that sits heavily with me is the thought of how much weight I can gain while on vacation if I'm not careful. I'm pretty sure going up by 5 lb would be pretty easy to do. It took me a month to lose 5 lb. Do I really want to sabotage a month's worth of effort and hard work in one week? Heck no!! It's a depressing thought and a good enough reason to stay on track. I'll be writing that one down for motivation.
Now I need to set a goal for my calorie intake. My coach has given me 4 options to choose from. The first one, continue as I am, is not going to happen. I know that I won't be happy if I can't take part in enjoying some of the local restaurants. The last option, splurge on an extra 1000 cal one time only, is going to be too much and will bring back my cravings in full force. At least this is what I've learned from my trip to Vegas. The other 2 options are to factor in extra calories per day for a small treat, either 300 cal/day or 500 cal/day. I think 300 cal is plenty (goal intake will now be 1700 cal/day). That's enough for a 12 ounce beer and half a dinner roll with a pat of butter, or a cup of ice cream, or a donut. I will make one exception for a large meal (I don't think this counts as the 1000 cal option), and that is right after the half ironman race. My recovery meal is going to be a burger and fries with lots of ketchup. After 7 hours of cardio, my body is going to be ready for lots of protein and carbs, and the salt is probably not a bad thing to replace too.
I'm not sure how my body will react to a large recovery meal as it's been a long time since I've done a workout beyond 5 hours, and my recovery meal for a typical long workout is just a protein shake. I can't remember what my cravings are like right after a big workout. I do know that in general I tend to get hungrier when I'm in full training. Unlike others, I gained weight during full Ironman training instead of losing weight, so obviously I tend to eat more than I burn. I'll have to be extra mindful of what's going on and be conscientious about journaling what happens post-race.
Besides the race, there will be plenty of time for exercise. I have a few warmup workouts before race day, but after race day I plan to enjoy plenty of outings with the family, walking and hiking and playing in the river. So even with the extra 300 cal/day grace period, I still plan on losing weight while on vacation by being very active. One thing is for sure, and that is that I won't be coming home with a 5 lb gain.
Total Calories: 910
Last edited on 10 July 2012 04:41 pm by mchen01
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 10 July 2012 05:52 pm |
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Weight: 159.6
Last night was a little tough. TTOM hit me hard. My back and belly ached while I sat at work until 9 PM, trying to make some progress on my project. I finally gave up and went home and found I was in too much pain to eat dinner. I put what was left for me into the refrigerator and cleaned up the dinner pots and dishes and went straight to bed. I got out my computer for some quick logging of my food and promptly feel asleep afterward with a pillow wrapped around my tummy.
I feel much better this morning but am surprised to find that I'm not hungry considering I didn't eat dinner. Maybe it's because I sat at my desk all day and had so little activity. That's ok though. I like being able to have a deficit day every now and then, especially when it's given to me.
So today is going to be a busy day. I have to stop by the bike store to buy some tire liners for the road bike, and then I have to pack. Packing takes forever since I have so much stuff to bring for the race: bike, tool bag, race nutrition, bike gear, running gear, wetsuit, swim gear, and tons of other little things, not to mention my regular clothes and toiletries. Then there's the dog and dog crate and food, and there's our food. At least the kids are old enough to pack their own clothes.
I love the excitement of racing. Even though I know my body is not even close to 100% (maybe 70%), I'm still going to be able to finish and probably have a fairly good race. I have the bike jersey my hubby bought from last year's race. I haven't had the heart to wear it though since I never finished the race. It's the first time I've ever DNF'ed a race, and even though it was due to a pretty bad crash, it still leaves a bad feeling with me. Being able to go back and finish the race this time will erase that bad feeling, and I'll be able to wear my pretty jersey on my next ride.
As for the weight loss, I'm at a critical point in time. I usually yoyo or plateau after around 3 months of consistent loss. It's happened several times in the past 3 years of dieting. I'm determined that it's not going to happen again, but I wanted to recognize the possible weakness in me. I have to be extra focused and push through any negative feelings that might slow me down - my coach calls it hitting the wall. At this point I feel pretty good about my diet, not feeling hungry, deprived or anxious. That may change while I'm on vacation though since I won't be able to stick to a routine, but will have to think and make decisions at every meal. Do I eat this or that, and how much is enough?
Every bad decision will break my momentum and decrease the strength of my control over food. I have to see all of these decisions as not huge, insurmountable walls, but as small obstacles I can just step over. "Do or do not. There is no try." There are no tough decisions when it comes to food. It's only tough if I make it tough in my head. It's easy to say no to any food because it's just food. I only need enough to sustain me and maybe an occassional indulgence to keep me from feeling deprived. There, that's my pep talk to myself. On with the show!
Total Calories: 1573
Last edited on 12 July 2012 05:51 am by mchen01
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JamesH
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 27 November 2011 |
| Location: | Alabama USA |
| Posts: | 435 |
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Posted: 11 July 2012 04:25 am |
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Michelle, I like your "pep talk", I will write down some of these and refer to them daily for my own pep talk. You have been doing great and I know you will have a successful race. Hope it is a safe and enjoyable trip for you and your family.
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 12 July 2012 05:09 am |
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Hi James! Thanks for visiting my journal and thanks for the nice comments. The pep talks help a lot. The key is to truly believe what you're telling yourself and to be fully committed to any decisions you make. Stay strong!
Weight: ?
I got up so early this morning that my brain was too foggy to remember to weigh myself. Oh well. I'm not going to weigh myself at all while on vacation, so I won't have a trend line to tell me how if I'm moving in the right direction. I'm just going to have to trust my diet.
Since today was spent mostly in the car, I knew my food options were going to be limited to fast food. I tried to keep things in control by doing small portions. Since it was the start of vacation though, I did allow myself a treat in a small frosty. Anyway, breakfast and lunch were small and totaled less than 600 calories. That was good, but dinner was late tonight and I resorted to snacking because of the hunger. I forgot my carrots and had an apple instead, but I ended up snacking on something a little heavy as well. I made up for it by reducing dinner and ended up ok for the day. I didn't really need the extra 300 vacation calories for today.
The only thing I have planned for tomorrow is to do some maintenance on my bike and then spend a couple hours on work. Other than that, the girl and I want to go to Bodega Bay, the site of Hitchcock's 'The Birds'. The hubby wants to go to Sonoma State Beach. So many options.
The weather is a bit warm and humid. Today was 93 degrees with 48% humidity. It's going to cool down a little for race day, but I expect to still have an uncomfortably warm run. The water is also a bit warm and has been about 70-71 degrees. I'll still be able to wear a wetsuit, which will help stabilize my shoulder, but I'm worried about getting overheated on the swim. I know swimming in warm pools usually gives me a headache. I'm still new to triathlon (2 sprints, 1 incomplete half ironman, and 1 ironman), so this much heat is all going to be a good learning experience for me.
Total Calories: 1479
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 13 July 2012 03:12 am |
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I splurged on food today and still didn't do too bad. We went out to Bodega Bay where I had yummy clam chowder and half of a crab sandwich. I thought that it was going to be really high in calories, but apparently not so bad. After that we went to some shops and a taffy store where I bought a few bags of salt water taffy. Then we went to a fish market where we found some delicious smoked salmon and tuna, which I had for dinner along with a huge salad. To top it off, next to the fish market was a bakery where I bought a fruit tart for dessert.
So even though my intake was higher than usual, it was still under my vacation goal. I find that it's hard to change and eat more than I have been eating for the past few months. My new habits are starting to stick and I think being better prepared for vacation has made it easier to stay in control of my diet.
Still, it's only been 2 days and my first trip to the grocery store was not as great as I'd hoped. The usual things I like to put in my salad could not be found, and I ended up trying some substitutes. The pico de gallo was pretty tasteless and had way too many onions, and the whole olives were too salty. The only thing I liked was the artichoke hearts, but that might get old pretty quick. Maybe I'll just go back to the fish market for more smoked salmon, but that was not a convenient drive.
Tomorrow I'm going for a test swim in the river. The water has been so warm that there is a ton of algae. It's not like it was last year when the water looked so clear. This year it is very green and thick with water plants. Too bad. I was really looking forward to the clear clean waters I enjoyed last year.
Total Calories: 1566
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 14 July 2012 02:34 am |
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Today I finally used my vacation calories. I feel a little stuffed tonight. There was so much carbs today, veggie Vietnamese sandwich, part of a chicken pot pie (loved the crust), and pasta with bread for dinner. Except for the sandwich, they were all small portions. I'm not intentionally carbo loading, but it may be habit and my body automatically craves carbs before a race.
Today I went for a practice swim in the river. Despite the algae, it's still the cleanest water I've ever gone swimming in. The water feels like magic. Even with the difficulty with swimming, I didn't want to come back in. At least I know I'll be ok for the race. A few weeks back I found a stroke that eased the stress on my shoulder. I tried it out today and found that even though it was slow, my shoulder felt pretty good. It was pretty warm, but I think with the morning start, the heat should not be a problem for the swim.
There were a lot of racers at the river today. A few of them looked super fit and lean. I was simultaneously in awe of how strong they looked and embarrassed to presume myself to be one of them. But what ended up being great about these feelings was that it stopped me from buying these pastries from the shops we were in. Some day I want to look like them, and to do that it's got to start with my diet. Forget the priority on exercise. I've been working on that for the past 3 years with no success. Without the control over food, I will never be able to exercise enough to overcome the eating monster inside me. So, I'm feeling pretty happy that I resisted the white chocolate cherry muffin and the mint chocolate chip ice cream and the apple puff pastry. I'll wait until after the race when I plan to celebrate with burger, fries and dessert.
Total Calories: 1656
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 15 July 2012 06:38 am |
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It's the night before the race and I've got pre-race jitters. I've gone over all my stuff several times and it's all ready to go, but in the back of me head I feel like I'm going to suffer another mechanical break down on my bike or forget something and not be able to race. I'll be glad when I get through this race and get that DNF off my back. I wish I didn't let it bother me so much.
Today went pretty well. Race meeting and packet pickup was pretty smooth, and I found a pretty pink Ironman running cap to add to my Ironman collection. I set up my run transition area and counted only 6 racks for my division. With a max setup of 9 people per rack, that means only 54 women in my division at most. That's half the people in my division from last year. Anyway, with so few people I get the feeling that my division may be pretty competitive and that adds to my anxiety. I know I'm going to be slow, but it bothers me that I might finish towards the bottom of my division. Blah! I need to stop and focus on just having fun and using the race as another learning experience.
Back to my diet. I did well today but only because I'm so nervous my stomach is upset and I can't eat dinner. No biggie because I had a fairly large breakfast and lunch. Plus, this way I won't have too much in my stomach to bother me during the race. Still, there were many temptations this afternoon. There seem to be bakeries everywhere, and the dessert menus at the restaurants make my mouth water. I've been very good at resisting all of them, and it hasn't been too hard. I just keep telling myself that I get to splurge after the race. I get one day of major indulgence, and then I'm back to my diet.
It's almost midnight. I'm going to try to get some sleep now. I've got to get up at 5 AM to setup my bike transition area. My swim wave starts at 7:34. I hope I don't oversleep.
Total Calories: 1350Last edited on 15 July 2012 07:19 am by mchen01
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 19 July 2012 08:55 pm |
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Well, I'm back from my race vacation. My diet went fairly well except for the day after the race. I ate an incredible amount of food, and I think I'm still holding most of it in my belly. So, let me go over what happened foodwise these past 4 days.
7/15 was race day. I didn't eat enough on the bike because my heart rate was too high, and what little I ate was making me feel sick. So for the 3+ hours I was on the bike, I only took in maybe 350 calories out of the 700 I was supposed to eat. After the race, I pigged out on watermelon, the only thing my stomach could handle. I tried chocolate milk and that was an immediate yuck. My family had a beignet waiting for me at the car, which I had to save for later. But, about an hour later, after a warm shower and some stretching, the hunger monster hit me hard. My family had eaten recently and didn't want to go out so I ate what we had at the house which was ramen and eggs. I ate 2 packages of ramen with 4 eggs. That would have been enough for the day, but dinner time came too soon, and I had made such a big deal about having a burger after my race that my family made me go out for that burger. I only ate half the burger and fries. It wasn't nearly as good as I'd hoped because I was already stuffed. I wished I hadn't eaten it at all. Next time I'm keeping my mouth shut about food, because I never know how I'm going to feel after a race.
Total Calories: 2144
7/16 was a day spent sightseeing around Calistoga in Napa Valley. We saw a petrified forest with petrified redwoods, and then we went to see an old faithful geyser. Apparently there are only 3 old faithfuls in the world, one in New Zealand, one in Yellowstone and the one in California. The one in California is small, but since this was my first geyser ever, I thought it was pretty cool. Then we went to lunch. The day after a race is usually when I'm at my hungriest. I should have planned for this, but for some reason I assumed that eating big the night of the race would leave me full for the next day. It didn't, and so I've learned another lesson. I craved meat and sugar. I ate a big burger with fries for lunch and a steak for dinner with cake for dessert. Oh yeah, we also had just enough time to stop at Korbel for a tasting before they closed. I tried several champagnes and the sherry and port. I made sure that I recorded the tasting in my diet journal.
Total Calories: 2928
7/17 went much better. We spent the day in San Francisco where I took the kids to the Exploratorium. I think I had the most fun though, as sometimes I would look up from an exhibit to see my family waiting for me to move on. Afterward we went to Pier 39 for dinner. The diet went well, and my race hunger was gone. I kept my meal to a crab louis salad so I could splurge on some tastier things like the sourdough bread, clam chowder and ice cream. Since parking was difficult and scarce, we ended up walking about 7 miles that day.
Total Calories: 1714
7/18 was the drive home. Since it was the last day of vacation, I splurged on McDonald's and it ended up being the most satisfying meal I'd had for the entire trip. I ended up going over on calories a little, but that was due to a small mishap on the drive (ran out of gas because someone does not know how to set the garmin) that extended our trip by a couple hours. I had already eaten my healthy snacks in the car and was only left with the snacks for the rest of the family. Once home, I was good and made myself a big salad from some romaine lettuce that managed to survive the week.
Total Calories: 1804
Notice there is no weight recorded today. I did weigh myself, and it wasn't too bad, but I know it's going to be better tomorrow. I'm carrying a lot of water weight right now, and I haven't had a you-know-what in about 4 days now.
If I have time, I will write a little race report later today. It was a slow race, but as always, there were some good learning moments that I'll need to look back on for future races.
7/19 was a good day.
Total Calories: 1355
Last edited on 20 July 2012 07:45 pm by mchen01
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Hiker
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 19 July 2012 10:09 pm |
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What a great Trip Michelle. I think you did the wisest thing during and after the race, just listen to what your body wants. I think when you work out like that you body really does tell you what you need. Who knows maybe salt, maybe the iron in meat. I sure don't know but I think your body did.
Thanks for stopping by my diary, one of the reasons I came back is the great support you get here.
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JamesH
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 27 November 2011 |
| Location: | Alabama USA |
| Posts: | 435 |
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Posted: 19 July 2012 10:17 pm |
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Michelle, did not know that there are only 3 old faithful geysers. I have seen two, now I will have to plan a trip to California some time to see the third. Sounds like you had a good vacation, looking forward to the race report.
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mchen01
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 20 July 2012 04:11 am |
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Thanks Hiker! Yes, I think sometimes the body knows what it needs and lets you know. I just wish it didn't lie so much, because I know I don't need to eat a candy bar every day despite what it tells me - haha!
James, you would enjoy coming out to northern California for more than just the itty bitty old faithful. The area is beautiful from the redwood forests to the wild cliffside beaches. Oh yeah, and the best part is very little humidity and temperatures in the 80s.
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