Thursday, December 27, 2007

Thursday, December 27, 2007
Weight loss: 8lbs
Mood: good


Today when I stepped on the scale I was expecting it to be a little high for a couple diffenret reasons but to my surprise it was down! yay! I am now only 2 lbs away from my London goal and have enough time to reach it (I think). I am so happy about that.


I have been eating more (calories) than I did at home but they are extremely well balanced healthy meals and I think that is helping the weight loss. I am eating about 3 or 4 points more than usualy which is only about 150 or 200 calories but I am getting proper amounts of protein which I don't usually get that much of at home. I will have to keep that in mind when I return in the New Year. I have been drinking more water than normally too since it is so convenient hereas the fridge has a dispenser and it comes out filtered and at the perfect temperature.


I haven't been getting proper exercise as Comet doesn't do long walks and it has been nasty weather any of the times I wanted to go on my own. I did go Boxing Day shopping yesterday and that was a crudload of walking so that should help and I have been doing little workouts around the house once or twice a day but nothing serious.


As I have mentioned before I have my weight loss plan and exercise plan all scheduled out in a big spreadsheet which I love. I am however, planning and redoing this spreadsheet to reflect changes which have occurred in my plan. The exercise plan has to be restarted as I totally fell off the wagon on that right before the holidays and will need to start slow again and work back up. That's not a big deal though since I am sure it will happen many times during my journey. As long as I get back on it in a short period of time it doesn't really matter that I took a week off now and again. I also need to readjust for the fact that I no longer have to take school into consideration. I got my last marks while I have been here and did really well in them and as long as I haven't missed a class or something I am done my undergraduate degree. I also have a lot of work to do to get ready for London so I am not sure if my workout schedule is too heavy considering how much preparation time is needed - but I will figure that out probably when I get back home and have all my stuff sitting in front of me.

I hope everyone's Christmas went well and that the New Year looks good.

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Saturday, December 22, 2007

Saturday, December 22, 2007
Weight Loss: 6.6lbs
Mood: feeling fine

Today I came back to my hometown (and childhood house) for the Christmas break. I met the new puppy and he is adorable. He isn't a very good walker though (since is so small) but I am going to take him out tomorrow and see how it goes. I may just have to go for walks by myself to keep myself active. I went in the hot tub but that really isn't exercise - not like you swim around haha! Like I said before, I just want to maintain my current weight as much as possible until I get back to my regular routine.

I went grocery shopping with my dad and bought healthy food - the kind of have back home so I should be able to eat properly here now which is a very good thing.

I hope all my readers have a wonderful Christmas incase I don't get a chance to right anything else. Happy Holidays.

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Water for Weight Loss

Water is really important to effective weight loss. If you are drinking enough water than the pounds you lose will be actual fat and not simply water weight (which could mean the pounds seem to come off slower, but it is less likely that they will pile back on later). At the same time, if you give your body the water it needs, it will flush out the extra bits it has been storing because it knows (or at least thinks) that you will continue to give it the amount it needs. According to some sites water also helps with your complexion and to prevent saggy skin - who knows if that is true though. It also helps with muscle production as they too need water to function properly and if you don't have enough water in your system, you won't be able to increase your body muscle effectively. It also helps to keep your stomach full and therefore decrease your appetite - but it doesn't contain many nutrients or other substances that your body needs so you still need food!

As I have mentioned before I have been consistently drinking about 1.5L a day and I am attempting to increase this to 2L. Once I have that I will probably try to increase that as well. The problem is that I don't know how much water one is supposed to drink in a day. There is the old standby of 8 8ounce glasses a day which is about 2L. I have also heard that you are supposed to drink half your body weight in ounces to lose weight effectively. Now I don't know about you guys, but for me, that is a lot of water - much more than I am comfortable drinking so I highly doubt I will ever be drinking that much water in a regular day. Perhaps a day full of exercise and activity, but not a regular day in which I work all day in front of a computer and then hang out at the house all night (with of course the elliptical workouts that I do most nights).

According to some weight loss sites (the legit ones at least) you need to drink the regular 8-8ounce glasses and then an extra 8ounces for every 25lbs of excess weight you carry. I guess that would mean and extra 3.36-8ounce glasses for me (since I need to lose a total of 84 pounds or 3.12-8ounce glasses since I have already lost 5.8lbs!). That means I need to drink a total of just under 3L (again a whole crapload of water) about twice what I am currently taking in.

My big problem with water, as stated in the previous blog, is that I drink the vast majority of my water during one meal, lunch. This isn't good and I am trying to fix that starting today by sipping my water throughout the day while still having regular glasses with meals. We'll see how that goes and whether or not I can stay committed to it.

Considering that I don't really like drinking water that much, I think the amount I am taking in right now is amazing and the fact that I am willing to continue increasing it as I get hold on amount is simply remarkable. That being said I am interested to know what the proper amount is, so if you have heard anything else or know the right answer for sure, let me know.

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Thursday, December 20, 2007

Thursday, December 20, 2007
Weight Loss: 5.8lbs lost
Mood: Happy

I got on the scale this morning and it finally went down! I am so happy. I guess I just wasn't being patient enough. I was really getting scared that it wouldn't move before I headed home for the holidays where my goal is going to be to maintain maintain maintain. I won't have my elliptical or my tapes and food is unlimited there (as my parents pay for it not me - haha) so I am going to be realistic and state that there is little chance for loss while I am there. BUT I am going to try super-duper hard to not gain a single pound while I am there either. Not even .1lb if possible.

I didn't exercise last night - which would normally upset me a little but I understand why I didn't so it's better. When I left work yesterday I walked to the bus stop and waited for one of the four buses which can take me home. And there I stood for 5 minutes less an hour. The 86, 111, 117 and 118 can all take me home and none of them came for almost an hour. It was ridiculous. To make matters worse the shelter which was heated was compeltely full and only had one or two working heaters anyways and since the doro kept getting opened it wasn't that much warmer in there - definitely not warm enough to counteract the loud children screams and wails - oh my! So I stood out in the unheated shelter freezing my butt off - hmm maybe this is where the .8 pounds went haha.

C helped me figure out what the email address was to post updates to the blog from any computer so as long as this works I will have no excuses for not updating this thing on a regular basis. I am hoping that having to update it every couple of days will mean that I a) have to be more accountable to what I eat and how much I exercise because it will show up on the internet and b) might delve further into my issues with eating as I will need to find some things to talk about to keep this thing interesting and not just the same report every time - haha, you know like my other blog.

I am back on track for reaching my London goal. I got some more supplies for the trip last night as my Christmas gift from D's parents. I really love them and it makes me want to be ready for the trip even more then I already did - every little jolt of extra motivation, etc is helpful really.

Today I plan on moving around the office more since I got a ride into work and will get one home as well - (getting a ride will knock off about 3000 steps to and from the bus stop). Drinking water should help accomplish that as I will need to go to the washroom more often (perhaps too much info - who knows) and it will also regulate my water intake. I do get all my water in every day. I am consistently drinking 1.5L a day and am trying to increase that to 2L but that will probably take another week or two to get consistent with that. The problem is that I drink about 800-900mL of that in one go (well at one meal) as I drink my entire Nalgene bottle at lunch everyday. I need to try and drink smaller amounts throughout the day instead of large amounts twice or thrice a day.

I think D and I are going to the movies tonight so I probably won't be able to go on the elliptical - or perhaps I will be able to go on but just not for very much, depends on what time we get home I suppose. I am also going to try to eat only a little popcorn while we are there - you know by not getting the massive combo pack that could feed a small country. That's basically the plan - walk around and not eat tons of popcorn at the movies.

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Monday, December 17, 2007

Weight Loss: 5lbs
Mood: sad and ashamed

I have been avoiding posting recently since I have experienced my weight gain. For about a week I have not been exercising well for different reasons - excuses really. At the beginning of last week I had exams and I always tend to gain weight during this period. I don't exercise because I feel I don't have time to not be studying and I only eat one maybe two meals a day so my body probably thinks I am going to starve it or something and stores the food instead of using it. Then since exams I have been shopping for Christmas and hanging out enjoying my freedom from academics. I have not really been eating badly (though I had a slice of cheesecake the other night with C), I have been within my points every day. I need to get back to exercising. I just got off the elliptical and am planning on going on it again in a little bit (after I catch my breath a little).

D is gone for a day or two and I am hoping that not having someone around the house to hang out with will mean I workout more again. I am also starting to plan my workouts for when I go home for Christmas as I will not have my elliptical machine or really anywhere to do my videos. So far I am planning on doing sit ups and whatnot and walking the new dog everyday - I just hope the little guy can do that as he is only 5lbs and I don't know anything about it yet.

I am still thinking I can reach my goal of losing 10 pounds before London, I just have to get my butt back in gear, this recent weight gain should not be a big problem as I have caught it before it even hit 2lbs - which is a good thing.

I have heard that people are surprised I am doing this - being so open on the internet where everyone and their dog can read all about it. I guess I take it as a compliment, although I thought I was being a little reserved by not posting my actual weight - well not yet at least. Perhaps when I have reached a couple of my first goals I will be able to be more open with that factor - but not yet. Anyways, to all of you who I am told are reading this, thank you - it helps to know that people are actually there (hopefully wishing me well) - makes me more accountable.

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Monday, December 10, 2007

Weight loss: 6.8lbs (3.2 to go to goal #1)
Mood: exhausted

I am sick from studying. D is actually sick and I am hoping that I can keep true sickness away from me but it is doubtful - hopefully I can just get through the next couple of days until exams are over ... forever.

I haven't been working out lately as I have been using the time to study, study, study. I have been staying under my points every day though which is good. I am hoping that I can just stay at this weight until exams are done and then I will start work on losing again. I guess it will be the same plan throughout the holidays too, but those are a few weeks off - I can still lose some before then - mind you I do have to start thinking of how I am going to workout while I am at home as I will not have my elliptical machine or really anywhere to do workout DVDs. I plan on taking the new dog, comet, for a whole bunch of walks, but that is only so much. Oh well, as I said, there are still a couple of weeks until I head home so still time to figure that stuff out.

I am still drinking all my water, more actually since I tend to sip on it all day long and then when the glass is empty it gives me a reason to stop studying - haha!

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Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Weight: 6.2lbs (3.8lbs from London Goal)

Mood: doing well thus far

When I got home last night I got right onto the elliptical. I only burned about 300 calories, as I didn't want to go to hard when I have taken over a week off from it, but I did something and that is what matters. I felt much better about myself afterwards. I talked to D about my plan of him coming downstairs with me while I work out and he does too and he seemed to like it - don't know if it will happen though. Until it does I am going to keep getting on the elliptical when I get home from work and doing 300-500 calories and then hopefully if I do anything later on in the night, it will be a bonus.I ended up not eating all my of points last night because I screwed up the math in my head. I had 2 left (though I think I over counted a few things to try and make it not so low – in reality I think it was more like 5 or 6 left). I usually eat all of my points no problem.

I have done the math and I need to lose 0.7lbs a week to reach my London goal. Even though I am a slow loser (extremely slow) with a lot of hard work in terms of exercise I can lose about 1lbs a week and therefore I should be able to make it even with a couple weak days (which gives me comfort).

As for today, my plans are to start studying for my two exams next week (the last two of my undergraduate degree!) and workout some when I get home. Right now I have to get back to work - haha.

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Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Weight loss: 5.4lbs
Mood: a little let down (by myself)

I had a big let down today when I stepped on the scale only to find that I had gained weight. I only gained 0.2lbs but it was a gain nonetheless. I also realized that the reason I gained that 0.2lbs is because I didn't exercise this last week (well not enough).

Through past journal keeping I determined that my food intake isn't a huge problem (except for weekends where I tend to overeat because I am around the house or out with friends) and that to lose weight I NEED to exercise- my metabolism is just too slow for less food to work alone.

Today I realized why I haven't been exercising - I'm too lonely (when I exercise). My elliptical machine is in my room, which is in the basement. With D not working and everyone done classes, they tend to hang out in the living room above my room and for me to go downstairs and workout I need to leave the socializing and be alone which I don't like to do at night since I am alone all day long at work. Tonight I am going to try to create a schedule with D where we go downstairs and workout (either both of us or just me and he studies or something else that he needs to do) for at least 30-60 minutes. This way I am not the only one who needs to leave the social activity and I won't be completely alone down there in my little dungeon. I hope it works.

On the good side of things - I have consistently drunk over 1 litre of water every workday for the past week and am ready to up the daily amount to let's say 1.5 litres. Starting today.

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Past Logs

I have kept journals in the past and also have a massive spreadsheet with all my information in it, I am going to post some of my old logs and try to keep my spreadsheet and tickers and whatnot updated here as well as on my flash drive

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A Bit About Me

I am soon to be a graduate of Carleton University. In under a month I will have Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Engineering. I am currently working for the City of Ottawa as an engineering assistant though I am unfortunately not in the environmental department. I am from a small town on the border of Canada and the United States (what other border do we have) and have been living in Ottawa for 4.5 years now. I am in a serious relationship (coming up on 4 years in January) and have a great system of friends (though it is small – that’s how I like it). My family is healthy (finally) and though I do not see them often (due to hectic schedules and distance) I feel we are close.

I am losing weight for many reasons where health is number one. I do not want to be overweight any longer, I realize it has shortened my lifespan already and I don’t want that to get any shorter. I cannot deny the fact that I also want the aesthetic properties of not being overweight – to easily find clothes and be able to shop with anyone because I no longer fear people knowing my size would be a dream come true. The social implications of being overweight are starting to annoy me, people assume I am unhealthy and eat junk when I really do my best to watch what I put in my mouth and keep my activity level up. I realize I got this way on my own through mistakes and errors, but I also realize that I can go back just the same. All in all, I just want to be a normal, healthy size – I want to stand out because I choose to, not because I have to.

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The Journey Begins

My story is not unlike all the rest out there. But it is mine and I feel that I have to share it, if only for my future (healthier) self.

I have always been larger than everyone else. When I was in elementary school I was taller than everyone and it was about in grade 4 or so when I started getting teased for being fatter than everyone else too (although at that time it was barely noticeable). When I got into high school the pounds really started packing on. I am not sure if it was lack of knowledge about nutrition, peer pressure situations, stress from school, family and friends or a mixture of all of these things (and more I am sure) but the came so fast it felt like there was nothing I could do about it. Eventually it got to a point where the amount I had to lose was so large that is felt unmanageable – it was just so incredibly overwhelming. I realize now that I also did not have the proper support system around me to deal with all of this. I had incredibly low self-esteem and though I never thought about suicide, I was never truly happy. I thought I had great friends, but high school kids are mean and it is a time in life where even your best friends can be your worst enemies.

When I was in OAC I learned a little about what friends are supposed to be. This fact was reinforced when I left my small town home for the big city and the university therein. I met the person who would change my life for the better, someone I never knew existed, C. As soon as she walked through the residence door I knew I had made a friend for life. She slowly started fixing my self-esteem (though I am not even sure if she knew she was in the beginning) and taught me what a true best friend was.

During the first 4 months of university, I lost an incredible 20 pounds without even trying. The bad thing about that was I was doing nothing good for my body so I really didn’t learn a thing. I was eating junk most of the time (at least 2 of my 3 meals during the day) and snacking constantly. My walking was increased significantly but not nearly enough to counteract the food going in my mouth. I think it might have been due to all the new stresses entering my life, but who knows really. The weight stayed off during the second term and I met the next person who would change me for the better, D. He became the love of my life and without my best friend I never would have had the courage to start anything (I owe her for him too I suppose). He loves me for me and it is because of him that I am now able to make a good commitment to bettering my future.

Unfortunately when I returned home for the summer all the weight came flying back and it seemed impossible to lose it again. When I returned to the big city for my second year I had pretty much given up and decided that I didn’t need to lose weight.

It was about this time that my mom was getting knee surgery after knee surgery to try to lessen the pain she experienced when she walked and when she was diagnosed with breast cancer I (and everyone in my family) got a big scare. Not only could I lose my mom, but if I kept on the path I was on cancer and painful joints would likely be my future as well. Luckily my mom fought and made it through everything (proving to me that she is the bravest and strongest person I have or will ever know/n).

I lost weight last summer (about 20 pounds) and all but 5 came back, but I did manage to keep the 5 off which is a good thing.

I am now officially recognizing how much weight I have to lose to be classified as healthy (although I am taking it one teeny milestone at a time) and I know I can do it.

I do not expect many people to read this or really to care about my journey, as it is similar so many others out there, I am really just keeping this journal to help myself. :)

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