I decided to start a journal in this section instead of continuing on with my 'weigh-in' in another thread.
http://www.diettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52264

I was going through 'My Documents' on my computer here at work yesterday to get rid of some old personal files I no longer needed. I came across a file called Weight and it was an Excel program I had done to keep track of my weight. It was done in October of 2004. I was 185 pounds then. Considering that I was 212 pounds in September of 2005, I now realize that I put on almost 30 pounds in less than a year. I went on a off birth control a few times last year and it seemed like everytime I would do the cycle again, I would gain a few pounds. I guess that was true. I just never though going OFF the pill would make me gain weight. Perhaps I need to go to the doctor. I was going to go for my normal exam in October, but I had decided to go back on birth control and was thinking about the patch. It was right about that time that some controversy came out about it, so I decided to wait a bit for it to settle down (and also wait for my next cycle so I could plan the appointment at an appropriate time of the month). In the mean time, I only got my period in August and September. (I went off the pill the last time in May and it was a few months before my period came back.) It never came in October. Or November. Or December. I finally got in January. So now I am waiting again - as soon as I cycle in February, I will call and make an appointment. Only now I guess I also have the Nuvo ring to consider. (I am horrible about taking the pill - I would be late taking it about half the time.) I am dreading going to the doctor though. Last year she lectured me about gaining 5 pounds from the previous year and I had just gotten back from vacation!! What is she going to say about this much weight gain?? At the same time, what if I do have something hormonally inbalanced? What if I have PCOS? (I think I would rather have an underactive thyroid - at least then not ALL of the weight gain would be my fault!)

Well, to start off the journal, I will do a summary of my weight, estimated calories of food, and calories burned by exercise.

Date - lbs - calories - exercise calories
1/20 - 207.6 - 1410 - 0
1/23 - 208.6 - 1024 - 96
1/24 - 207.6 - 682 - 244
1/25 - 206.4 - 941 - 450
1/26 - 205.4 - 786 - 800
1/27 - 204.6 - 1729 - 40
1/28 - 204.4 - 994 - 0
1/29 - 203.8 - 1110 - 365
1/30 - 205.2 - 1069 - 120
1/31 - 204.6 - 1209 - 330
2/1 - 203.8 - 959 - 245
2/2 - 203.8 - 961 - 122
2/3 - 202.4 - ?? - 0
2/5 - ??? - ???? - 430
2/6 - 203.6 - 996 - 250
2/7 - 202.2 - 1236 - 122
2/8 - 203.6

Tuesdays Food:
Breakfast - 1/2 breakfast sandwhich (eggbeaters, light velveeta, and an english muffin) with 8 oz of V8. = 162 calories
Lunch - soup (one can of Progresso Sirloin Steak with Vegetables) and Apple Cinnamon Quakes mini ricecakes for dessert = 320 calories
Dinner - large center cut pork chop (had to estimate on its weight) with shake 'n bake, canned carrots, brocolli with light velveeta, and a single Reece's cup for dessert = 614 calories
Snack - Chocolate Quakes at work (60 calories) and some light cranberry juice (80 cal)
Water - some water, some sugar free drinks

Wednesday:
Breakfast - 2% cottage cheese with pineapple
Water - made up my 2 liters of sugar free drink, hope to drink it all at work.

Maybe I am taking in too few of calories on some days. Maybe I am not exercising enough. Actually, I know that is true. I try to get at least a mile in (normally around 122 calories burned at my speed on the Gazelle), but I know I should do more. Some days I just run out of time. I keep hearing conflicting reports about exercise. Some people say that it doesn't matter when you do it, it still burns calories. For instance, two 15-minutes sets as opposed to one 30-minutes set. Others say that you need to do it all at once to get to optimum fat burning level. Who knows. I have been doing it in 15-minute sets. That is how I motivate myself, but saying you can stop after one mile. Perhaps I need to change that to you can stop after 2 miles.
Also, I hate plain water. I can do bottled okay, but it's just too expensive to drink if I am trying to get in 64 oz per day. I can do okay with the sugar free powders that you add to water though (crystal light knock offs). Some are 0 everything, some are like 5 calories per 8 oz, or 40 cal per 2 liter bottle. I keep a 2 liter coke bottle in the fridge at work that I keep refilling and adding drink mix to. Please tell me if I am shooing myself in the foot by not drinking the plain water....

I would love to hear any thoughts or opinions from others on what I am doing, what I can do to improve, and if anyone has ever had any experience with any hormonal issues.

Welcome to the journal pages. I hope that you find the support you need and some good advice. I think that the journal pages are some of the most active on DT, and I have recieved lots of help and support here.

Don't let your fear of the doctor yelling at you get in the way of what they are trying to tell you. The safest way to lose is to involve your doctor, and he/she should be a partner in your plan.

I agree with you about having too few calories on some days. I don't know if this is what you are doing, but I cannot start a cycle of rewarding and punishing myself with food. It really screws me up, and I alwasys blow it after a short while. Food is fuel. It is tasty, and sometimes wonderful fuel that I love, but "fuel" is its primary function.

I try to balance my calories pretty evenly over the entire time that I am awake. Right now, that is 3 pretty rigidly measured and planned meals a day. I don't plan my meals a day or week in advance or anything, but still measure just about everything that I do eat. I know that I can't do this forever, and my doctor and I plan how and what I eat soon (when I weigh under 225 pounds or so).

The reason that I mention this, is that it is a good idea for some people, like me, to start off with a rigid plan at first to sort of set a baseline platform for how much and what you should eat to lose weight and/or keep it off. You can't stay rigid forever, but it is a pretty fast way to get things under control for the first few months (longer for me, but I had a lot more weight to lose).

Almost any food plan will work. I have seen people be really successful with Weight Watchers, Tops, Jenny Craig, Metabolic Nutrition Centers, Richard Simmons, etc. You can find free information for what is in the pay plans online too. Tops is free.

I also suggest that you set up and stick to an exercise plan (start slow, and don't hurt yourself), and get some face-to-face support too. Exercise is self explanitory. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

On the emotional front, however, you may be dealing with lots of issues that you have not had to pay attention to while. There are numerous free support groups out there (Tops, Overeaters Anonymous, etc.), or you could start some type of professional counseling if your insurance will pay for it. Pick one that fits your lifestyle (some fall into the food nazi category, so be careful). It really helps. This place is also a wonderful place for support.

Having said all of that, I have to admit that I don't have all of the answers. I still have a ways to go before I reach my goal weight. I have not kept my weight off for any length time or anything either. But, what I have done so far this time feels a lot different to me than previous times I have lost weight. It feels more like a permanent lifestyle change than just a weight loss. I think that I will be able to eat and exercise the way that my doctor and I have discussed for the rest of my life. It does not seem impossible anymore.

Hope this helps. Did I mention that you are already kicking butt? Take care.

Fagan
My Journal (http://www.diettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50403)

http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/3;2;64;0;0/c/-125.5/t/-155/k/92f5/weight.png
(http://www.TickerFactory.com/)

Well, today was not so bad. I had a cottage cheese double (pineapple) for breakfast. Midday I had a Laughing Cow cheese wedge. For lunch I had a can of Progresso Chicken and Homestyle Noodle. I then had some nuts as a snack. For dinner I had about 8 inches of a Subway club with light mayo. I'm up to 1144 calories recorded. I had a bit of light cranberry cocktail with my sub, so I figure that puts me in right at 1200 which is what I am trying to shoot for now.

I did a quick mile on the Gazelle during Days of Our Lives. I got in in 11 minutes and 45 seconds which is a pretty good pace for me. That averages out to over 5 mph - however it was a combination of slower walking and hitting it hard. I like to mix it up and get my heart up for a bit and then back off and do that a couple of times. Now it's about time to get off the computer and do another mile or so.
I drank my 2L of water today while at work, unfortunately, I have maybe had 4 oz of liquid since I got home. I just don't think about it here. I guess I need to get me a water bottle that I can attach to my gazelle.

Hopefully the scale will be kinder to me tomorrow than it was today (1.4 lb gain).

Well, the scale was a bit kinder this morning. I was down to 202.8 lbs, a .8 lb drop from yesterday. I am feeling a bit bloated though, so TOM may be sneeking up on me.

Also, I got back on the Gazelle last night and did another 1.5 miles, bringing my daily total to 2.5 miles. My weekly is now 9 miles, so I have a good chance of reaching my 10 miles per week goal.

02.09.2006

Hey Allison! (I love that name btw... it's one of my sister's names) Anyways.. you are doing great so far. I love your food choices, such a variety.. I feel like I eat the same old things day in and day out. Good job on the 11 minutes for the Gazelle! I've never been on it, but I heard it's a "kick butt" machine!

Your issue with the water has been MY issue with water up until a few weeks ago. I have found that if you get a LITER bottle of water and take it everywhere with you... like in your hands at all times, you will be more likely to drink it. Especially at home, it's the hardest right? WELL-- if you are watching a program, keep it by yourside, and everytime a commerical comes on... drink a few sips... soon enough... the L will be gone! Sounds CRAZY.. but for someone like me: an avid soda & lemonade drinker... it has really been a helpful task. I take that darn Liter bottle to my college classes, to the gym (of course), to the bathroom, to watch my shows... etc.. etc.. :laugh:

So far... you are doing really well. I am sure that somedays we over & under-eat and under exercise, but overall-- you are doing superb!

Keep it up! :hug:

Thank you for the encouragement everyone! My breakfast got messed up this morning, so I am starting off on a different foot. I ran out of time to make my smoothie (my fault for not washing out my cup from the day before and not getting the dishes done, plus DH was asleep and I didn't have the heart to run the blender.) So, instead I am having toast with some Peanut Butter on it. I have not yet gotten any low fat PB, so I am stuck with the full version. If I eat both pieces, it will be 340 calories - yikes! So far I have just had one, so I may call one piece my breakfast and one piece my midmorning snack.

My problem with the drinking water is also that I don't drink anything normally while at home. I just don't think about it. I've done the liter bottle thing before and it works out okay, but I tend to put some mixed drink in there, forget about it, and then it molds in the plastic. Then I have to chunk the container because it never seems to come clean after that. (I'm not that tidy of a person to begin with.)

Well, I'm not starting out with water, but instead with coffee this morning. I only drink it occasionally. I needed a bit of a pick me up this morning so I have my cup full. (I think it holds 2-3 cups). I've also stopped using creamer and sugar in it and gone to just a few packs of no-calories sweetener instead. It would be better with sugar, but at least this way I don't get addicted to it!!

Yea! I actually did 3 1/2 miles on the Gazelle last night all in one session! And you know what, it wasn't that bad! It was about 40 minutes of good exercise - the Gazelle gets my heart rate up fast and then I can keep it at a good level by speeding up and slowing down.

I went slightly over 1200 on calories, but that was because I had a banana for dessert after my wonderful grilled chicken salad. I don't mind extra calories coming from a banana, because I think the nutrients in the banana are good for you.

The scale was also kind to me this morning. It read 201.8. That is a pound down from yesterday, and almost two down from Wednesday. (However it is only about half a pound down from what I was last Friday.) I think this was not so much a 'big loss' over 2 days as much as it was a getting back to the real weight after going out for Mexican food on Monday!

Maybe in the next week or two I will actually get to that below 200 mark!

Well this weekend wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst. Hubby went to his parents on Saturday morning, so I was left alone after that.

On Friday night we went to the Pub as normal. We went out to eat afterwards and even in my slightly intoxicated state, I had the chef salad with light dressing. I also made myself eat all of it (not just pick off the toppings). Okay, maybe I snuck 3 of hubbies fries, but at least I didn't eat an entire plate full!

I did 2 miles on the Gazelle on Saturday and 1 mile last night, but I did do some extra house cleaning this weekend, so I know I burned a few extra calories doing that.

Eating was okay, but I couldn't ever figure out exactly what I was craving. I would make something, eat a bit or two and then push it away, knowing it wasn't what I wanted. Perhaps it was just because I was bored. At least now it only takes a bit or two to figure it out, where as previously I would have eaten the entire plate and realized I was still missing something.

I downloaded Blood Canticle by Anne Rice for my MP3 player. I got the unabridged version. I think it is almost 12 hours long. I listened to some of it on Saturday while I was walking and had planned on not listening to it unless I was exercising. However, as I got into the book, I remembered how it takes a few chapters for you to actually get to the story lines. It is another book from the Vampire Chronicles, so she gives plenty of background info so that you know what is going on whether you are a new reader or have read them all. I just couldn't get that caught up in the introduction (and my MP3 player does not have a fast forward). I decided to listen to it while I was cleaning, etc. until I got more into it. I am now almost 2 hours into it and it is started to get interesting. I think I'm now ready to use it for exercise only as a motivational tool.

Well, I was up a bit this morning. 201.8 lbs on Friday morning and 202.6 lbs this morning. Almost a pound, but I am okay with that as I am always heavier on Monday mornings.

Maybe the rest of the week will go well!!

Well, this hasn't been the best week. DH was gone for 6 days and 5 nights. It's probably the longest we have been apart in the 8 years we have been together. Also, I got sick one day and when DH got home and asked if I wanted anything from town, I went with a taco salad. Then today I went out with my mother for a cheese enchilada. Mexican food is certainly my downfall. At least I am prepared a bit for tonight. DH has to work, so we wont be going out. He was hungry when he woke up and went to Subway. I had him get me a club with light mayo and stick it in the fridge. THat will be good for me to munch on tonight and tomorrow.

I don't know about my new favorite food. It was Light Silk Milk, but my tummy has been a bit messed up lately, and I don't know if it is the soymilk, the extra fiber (I've been eating it with the Kachi GoLean Crunchy cereal). Maybe I am just not meant to drink any kind of milk!!

A new week is coming and I am just going to focus on it and not beat myself up over this week. When my routine gets changed around, I seem to eat more and not eat healthy. That is what happened this week. I just have to deal with it and bounce back instead of continuing down the spiral.