Inevitable Holiday Weight Gain

After months of maintaining my weight and um, bragging about it - I've gained weight. :-/  I weighed in last Thursday (yes, on Thanksgiving) and did a little dance because I was still right on target.  But yesterday when I weighed in I gained a little more than 2 pounds.  Diet Fail!  But I have two really good excuses!!  Excuse #1: There was a lot more eating and drinking over the past few days and a lot less activity.  Excuse #2: This new running regime is leaving me hungrier so I'm eating larger portions.

But, even with two really good excuses, I have to get back on track because 2 pounds could lead to 5 pounds and then all of a sudden I'm back on Weight Watchers complaining about not being able to drink beer.

So in order to lose the two pounds I've started logging my food on the fitbit website and will pay closer attention to portion control...especially how much cereal I consume. (It's so tasty!)

I'm not going to beat myself up over gaining a few pounds.  Lesson learned and those two pounds will be gone before I know it! Below are my daily food totals and calories burned v calories eaten.  Not too shabby!

Run, Melinda, Run!

Woooo! I'm a runner!!  Just kidding.  I have a lot more work to do, but I'm making progress.

If I had updated my blog for the last few weeks it would have been full of complaints.  This is too hard. My lungs hurt.  I have shin splints.  I'm sweaty. This sucks!   But, I was a little busy and failed to update everyone on my progress (um, complaints) and now I can successfully report that I can run 1/4 mile straight!

That may not seem like great progress to some, but for me it's awesome!  My first week I could barely push past 30 seconds and maxed out running one minute with longer recovery times.  My second week wasn't much better, I think I maxed out at two minutes. And, I went home for my sister's wedding so I had a good excuse for not training much. (Congrats to Laura and Matt!)

Week three I got back into my training routine and went to the track with a friend, which changed how I'm interval training.  I didn't have a stopwatch so she and I ran half of the track and walked the other half.  We completed 2.4 miles in 35 minutes. I kept my training to 1/8 mi intervals the rest of the week decided to go for three miles on Friday.  After two intervals I pushed myself to keep going for a full 1/4 mile. And, I did it!  Yay!  Of course, I was so red in the face after completing a 3 mile walk/run I think other gym patrons were worried about me.  But, I didn't die!  And, I ran all the way around the track today at lunch!! 

This isn't easy and I still have a hatred for those who can easily run but it's not quite as strong as it was three weeks ago.

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving! I know I'll be running on Friday to burn off all of the food and drinks I plan on enjoying.  :-)

I am (not) a Runner...Yet.

I want to be a runner.  Not a marathoner.  Just a runner.  I want to be able to jog along happily without needing to pause to catch my breath.  This doesn’t seem like it should be too hard, right?   I look around at others at the gym, jogging along on the treadmill at a steady pace and it looks easy.  Looks are deceiving.

I get on the treadmill and after a warm up I crank up my speed up between 5.0 and 5.5 and I start jogging.  30 seconds.  Stop. Pant. Walk. Walk. Walk.  30 second jog.  Pant. Pant. Walk. Glance over enviously at my neighbor running with ease.  Walk. 30 second jog. Repeat for 30 minutes.   I’m out of breath.  I feel like my legs can keep going but my lungs can’t keep up. 

But, I keep going.  By the end of week one, I worked up to 45 second intervals.  I’m now into week two and I’ve managed to run for two minutes straight but then had to knock it back down to 1 minute intervals. 

This is a lot harder than I thought it would be and in spite of how awkward I feel running I’m determined to do this.  If I can reach my goal weight, I can be a runner too.  And after watching My 120 Pound Journey, I’m also inspired.  This guy started out slow too.  And, look what he’s accomplished.  He found happiness along with losing120 pounds and running the Boston Marathon with his father and brother. 

If you want to do it, all you have to do is do it.

These Hips Don't Lie

I'll be honest.  This white girl can't dance. Even after a few drinks and I think I can dance, I still have no rhythm.  I'm also intimated by group classes.  I'm clumsy, awkward and a little paranoid that everyone is judging how awful I am. Even with all of my worries, I still signed up for Zumba over the summer and am entering in my second week for the the fall session.  After 8 weeks in the summer, I learned about half of the steps the instructor taught us so I was pretty excited to be a step ahead of any noobs this session brought. But I was wrong! We are learning all new dances!! The only exception so far is Hips Don't Lie by Shakira. I can't shake my hips like Shakira but I try and burn a few calories in the process. 

For those of you who live under a rock and haven't heard of Zumba here is a YouTube video of Hips Don't Lie.



In other news, I stopped counting calories and have happily maintained my weight.  It's still hard work, but this was a lifestyle change, not a quick fix. 

La Jolla Walking Trail

I'm very lucky to live in San Diego where the weather is almost always perfect and the ocean is just a hop, skip and a jump away.  I've realized that after hiking through Balboa Park, I'd much rather enjoy an ocean view while I try to burn a few calories.

After a some research, I discovered there is a walking trail in La Jolla.  It takes you from La Jolla Shores to La Jolla Cove and vice versa.  We started out at the Cove and walked about 30 minutes until we reached La Jolla Shores. Part of the walk was supposed to be on the beach, but the tide was too high.  Maybe next time!  The trail was easy and a little too short, but the views make up for the lack of calories burned. 

Bench with view of Cove

La Jolla Cove

Walking Bridge

View from the trail

Viewpoint above Cave

La Jolla Cave (those tiny dots are kayaks)

Lifeguard Box

La Jolla Cove

San Diego Heart Walk

My sister has walked in the Ft. Worth Heart walk benefiting the American Heart Association for the past few years honoring both of our parents. Now it's my turn to do the same.  I'm walking the 5K through Balboa Park on September 19th in remembrance of my Dad and in honor of my Mom who is a survivor. 

The saddest day of my life occurred on April 25, 2006 when my Dad passed away due to complications with his heart.  He had aortic valve replacement surgery when I was young and lived 2 decades with his artificial valve. I can remember as a kid hearing his heart beat and then his valve tick.  I thought it was the coolest thing in the world.  There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about him and wish he was still with us.

Fast forward to 2008 when we found out my Mom needed open heart surgery for the same condition.  Luckily, her heart condition was caught early (although ironically something she was born with) and we are so thankful that she is fully recovered and will outlive all of us.

I have set a personal goal to raise funds that are needed for critical heart disease and stroke research and education. If you'd like to donate to the cause, please click on the image below.  Thank you in advance for your support. 

Sunset Cliffs

As part of the exercise routine, Nico and I started going on 3-4 mile walks on the weekends.  We set out last Sunday for a 3 mile hike at Sunset Cliffs. The hike was easy, some trails, some sidewalks, but the views were breathtaking.  I hope you enjoy!

I Quit!!

After 4 solid weeks of maintaining my weight, I've officially quit Weight Watchers!!! No more counting points! Yay! Instead I'm becoming acutely aware of how many calories I consume each day since I'm using the fitbit website to track my every movement. One obsession leads to another, right? At least in my case it does.

The most valuable lesson Weight Watchers has taught me is portion size. Before starting the so called diet I didn't realize that a full chicken breast is 2 servings, not one. And, I should only eat 3/4 cup cereal with 3/4 cup of skim milk. A steak is 3 oz, or about the size of a deck of cards, pasta is 1 cup and brown rice is 1/2 cup and supplement every meal with fresh veggies. And of course, the most important lesson learned is how essential exercise is. This was the hardest part for me but now it's just a part of my daily routine. Thank you Weight Watchers!

Me after goal June 27, 2010


Me before so called diet - February 21, 2010

Calories versus Points

Since I started using the FitBit (see previous post here) I am moving towards counting calories versus counting points. There is a complicated formula to convert calories, fat and fiber to points and since I'm no math wiz, I'm using the WW website to calculate the points for me and logging my food on both websites. According to Fitbit, I'm consuming on average 1200 calories per day and with Weight Watchers I am averaging 23 points. (This doesn't include my binge fest over the weekend because I lost count of what I ate and drank after a beer tasting.)

In order to determine the correct daily point usage I have to convert each item individually and then add up the total points. One would think that taking the daily intake of calories, fat and fiber would work but it ends up being about 4-5 points higher. Just a little time consuming, but it's cool to see how it all works out.


Skinny Italian Meatballs with whole wheat pasta
384 calories, 10.6 fat, 10.5 fiber = 7 points WW -
(1 point different using totals)

Chicken adobo with brown fried rice
500 calories, 10.3 fat, 4.8 fiber = 10.5 points
(same)

Pork chops with skillet gravy, brown rice and green beans
420 calories, 7.2 fat, 7.5 fiber = 8 points
(same)

Costco rotisserie chicken with sauteed vegetables
334 calories, 2.3 fat, 6.1 fiber = 5.5 points
(1 point different using totals)

Dieting for Geeks

I've officially hit super geek status with my diet. Not only do I blog about my WW online diet, I just purchased a Ftbit. This is a cheaper, but way cooler alternative to the BodyBugg sold through 24 Hour Fitness. I eyed the BodyBugg for several months, extremely tempted to purchase one but couldn't realistically afford the whole system. The total cost for a BodyBugg is $278 plus a monthly fee to use their system. My nifty Fitbit, as seen below, is smaller, only $99 and the online system to track your activity is free. I don't really need to know my sweat, heat, and exertion - I just want to know how many calories I'm burning in a day! Yesterday was the first day I wore my Fitbit and I burned 2,176 calories; 1376 calories eaten, took 5273 steps, and traveled 2.20 miles.  Not bad for Day One!

In addition to tracking my calories burn, the Fitbit tracks sleep quality. I think the sleep quality tracking is a really cool feature and it shows on Fitbit's site, how "efficient" my sleep was, which is a percentage of how much time I spent sleeping versus how long it took to go to bed and how many times I became "active."  As you can see last night I woke up 12 times! My sleep didn't feel very efficient, but I scored 91%. 

The Daily Weigh-In

As I enter week two of maintenance I have to admit that I'm not 100% satisfied with my weight loss results. I had the idea in the back of my head that even when I hit my goal weight, I'd mostly likely keep losing weight because I wouldn't change my eating/working out habits. But, I've almost completed week 2 of maintenance and after a quick check on Monday, I was up one pound.

I liked it better when I was consistently losing weight each week because it felt like I was actually accomplishing something. Realistically, losing more weight is not what I need. I need maintenance. Which makes me wonder if I should consider starting a daily weigh-in so that I stay on target. I'm not sure if this will help ease my mind to see that on a regular basis my weight will go up and down or will I obsess more with my weight. Probably both, depending on the results.

Chicken Curry with brown rice - 8 points; steamed okra - 0 points

Staying Steady...

Maintenance Week 1:  When I weighed myself this morning, I gained 0.9 pounds but according to Weight Watchers this is completely normal to gain/lose one or two pounds during maintenance.  I can't say I'm surprised because I splurged last week with a few extra pints, chicken wings and ice cream which ended up depleting my extra points for the week.  I worked out almost daily, with visits to the gym, Zumba, Pilates, and 30 day shred.  But, it wasn't enough!

And let's be honest, I can't eat whatever I want, spend only a few hours a week at a gym and maintain my weight.  I have to still make good decisions on a daily basis and I have to remember, it's all about portion control.  Which unfortunately includes beer. 

Hooorraaayyy!

I’ve been dieting for 15 weeks now and I’ve finallllllllllllly reached my goal!! I actually surpassed it by one pound! THE DIET IS OVER! Oh wait, the diet is never really over because this is a lifestyle change and I’m going to maintain this hot body by eating healthy and working out.

It took a little longer than expected to lose 15 pounds especially after losing almost 13 pounds in the first two months. It’s no excuse but in the last month I went out of town on three different occasions - NYC, 2 pounds, Vegas, 1 pound and the most recent trip to San Francisco, 0.5 pounds. The San Francisco trip was a work related conference for a few days and I think they wanted us to have a heart attack with the food that was offered. Breakfast consisted of pastries, bacon and eggs. Lunch was creamy pasta with a wedge salad and leftover bacon from breakfast. Dinner was also swimming in grease but since meals were provided, I was stuck with my oncoming heart attack. I was surprised I only gained half a pound and I assume that is because I worked out both days I was there. Which means I’m dedicated!

I’m happy with the progress and I have to stay focused because this journey is not quite over. My next goal is to attempt at becoming stronger. Which I know will be challenging because I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to lifting weights. It doesn’t help that I feel overwhelmed in the gym but will need to overcome my fear and lift with the big boys.

To summarize: 15 weeks: 16 pounds lost which is about 11% of my body weight.

Last night's dinner:
Tri Tip - 4 points

Green Beans with Lemon Pepper = 0 points
Garlic Bread with butter spray = 2 points

3 months: -14.5, 0.5 to go

When I started my blog three months ago, the goal was to lose 15 pounds in 3 months. At the time I felt that it would be an obtainable goal but as time went on, the weight was harder to come off and I realized that dieting is definitely not easy. In the past 3 weeks alone, the scale has gone up and down a few times. But unlike the first time I gained weight, I didn’t stress out about it. I knew that if I worked out a little harder and really stuck to my diet, the weight would come right off. And it has. This doesn’t mean that I’m going to binge eat..who am I kidding, binge drink, because I’ve made a lifestyle change. I don’t want a beer gut anymore or a bigger butt than I already have. I am ready for a sleeker, toner body.

So here I am three months later and I've lost 14.5 pounds which is 10% of my body weight. I didn't quite reach my goal weight, but I know I have accomplished a lot and have no regrets.

Last night’s dinner was excellent coming to a total of 7 points. The chicken turned out so moist and delicious as well as the low fat mac and cheese. I know it’s an oxymoron but it actually tasted really good. I had to stop myself from going back for thirds! Both recipes are from www.skinnytaste.com, one of my go-to websites for Weight Watchers recipes. Both recipes were slightly modified due to what I had on hand (chicken breasts instead of thighs and fake butter for the mac and cheese) which resulted in lower points.

Baked Chicken with Dijon and Lime - 4 points

Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Broccoli - 3 points

The Gambler

On a whim we decided to go to Vegas this weekend and I went off the diet for 2 days so I could enjoy eat and drink what I wanted. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas - including daiquiris and buffets! Even with all of the fun of not dieting it got me thinking about where I am with my diet. I’ll never be on of those super skinny girls at the pool or wearing a skin tight dress teetering around in 4 inch stilettos. But, I’d at least like to feel comfortable with my own body and I’m not quite there yet. Like any girl, I overanalyze my body. I want my stomach to be flat. I want skinnier thighs. I wish my arms were smaller. The list goes on and on...and becomes a bit of an obsession. Which is where I am now, obsessed.

When I set my goal weight to 130 I thought that would be the easiest weight to maintain. I am really ready to stop dieting but at the same time I wonder if I should lose another five pounds. Or should I go to maintenance and start working out harder. It’s a tough decision and if all goes well, I’ll need to decide tomorrow.

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em

Know when to walk away and know when to run.

Grilled Pork with Arugula and Tomatoes - 5 points

Chunky Balsamic Mushrooms - 1 point

Holy Shit!

I'm always running late in the mornings and today was no exception. I overslept and completely forgot that I needed to wake up early to weigh in. As much as I constantly think/talk/dream about my diet, it didn't even cross my mind until Nico politely asked me, "Did you weigh in this morning?" NO! Crap! The number one rule (which I broke in the beginning of my diet) is to weigh in as soon as you wake up. I already had several cups of coffee and that's going to add ounces! Diet FAIL! So, I took a time out from rushing around and stepped onto the Wii Fit and started the Body Test. As I stand there listening to "Calculating..calculating" I'm certain I didn't lose a lot of weight from the NYC trip. As soon as I saw that my BMI went down, I felt relieved because that means my weight went down as well ...by 2.9 pounds! Bye, bye New York weight! Hello San Diego Summer*! This means I've lost a total of 14.3 pounds with only 0.7 pounds until my goal! I may actually do this right before my 3 month anniversary with Weight Watchers! (Wasn't I just complaining about wanting the diet to be over?)

Last night's dinner - Chicken with whole wheat pasta with creamy spinach sauce - 7 points
sautéed zucchini - zero points


*Disclaimer: Hello San Diego Summer does not mean I'm bikini ready..but I'm damn close!

Is this diet over yet?

Ugh!  I feel like all I've done for the past 2.5 months is diet and exercise.  I'm ready for my life back! But not the weight... So I keep moving forward but I can tell I'm having bigger lapses in staying focused.  Maybe it was a bad idea to go completely off the diet while I was on vacation?  Nah. I had way too much fun but I've had such a hard time getting back into the swing of the diet...especially exercise.  My first day back with exercise was last Wednesday with Pilates, which was great.  But, the rest of the days I've only used the 30 Day Shred DVD and I can tell my endurance is a lot lower.  As well as my patience with listening to Jillian Michael's tell me how awesome her exercise plan is and if I have to do one more jumping jack I might punch the TV!!  Although I didn't want to work out at all yesterday, I pushed myself a little harder yesterday with squats and lunges and my legs are a bit sore.  Tonight I'm playing tennis (which is quite entertaining to watch). Hopefully the gym will work it's way back into my rotation because oddly enough, I miss the elliptical and lifting weights. 

I was slacking in posting last week too so only a few pictures of food for you.  Last week Nico and I made healthy-ish pizza using whole wheat pizza dough from Henry's, reduced fat cheese, chicken and onions.  My side of the pizza was a bit sparse compared to Nico's other half filled with twice the amount of cheese, bacon and avocados. The total for one slice came up to 5 points.

Last night Nico made Ginataang Manok with light coconut milk, chicken breast, spinach, papaya and brown rice.  It turned out to be about 7 points for a serving of Ginataang Manok and 1/4c brown rice. 

And, tonight’s dinner was Pepper Beef with brown rice, totaling 7.5 points.

New York, I love you

Ahhh, New York. Such a great city but definitely not diet friendly which was why I went completely off the diet while we were there. After 4 full days in New York City I came back 2 pounds heavier. Every bite (and drink) was worth it. I missed a couple of picture opportunities, but as you can see below I really enjoyed myself. The Halal cart on 53rd and 6th was my most favorite lunchtime meal. We ate there three times! Chicken and lamb over rice with lettuce, special white sauce and hot sauce that catches your mouth on fire. Cannoli from the Bronx, Grimaldi's Pizza in Brooklyn (followed by ice cream), and of course, beer at every bar we stopped at. Vacation is wonderful. Now back to the reality of dieting and reaching my goal!



Chicken and lamb over rice - Halal Cart


Cannoli


Pizza from Grimaldi's


beer.

No Dieting While on Vacation!

I made a decision that I won’t be tracking any points for the next five days...starting with my first bloody mary! This doesn’t mean I’ll eat pizza and hotdogs from every street vendor in New York, but I will enjoy myself and not stress out about what I’m eating and how many points each thing is worth. I always keep in the back of my mind that this is a lifestyle change, not just a temporary change. So I’m confident that I’ve learned how to make better choices and still have fun. And not annoy Nico with talking about my diet while on vacation. :-)

As a quick update, I lost another 0.7 pounds this week and slacked off on exercising since Saturday. I’ll be ready to get back in the groove when I return on Tuesday. Only 1.4 pounds left!!!!!

"Skinny" Jeans

“Skinny” jeans. I’m not talking about the jeans all of the emo kids wear - I’m talking about that pair of jeans we hang onto in hopes one day they will fit. When I tried on my pair of “skinny” jeans 7 months ago, I couldn’t even pull them up over my hips..much less button them. What the hell? When did I get this huge muffin top? Have I really gained this much weight? Sigh, I’ll just wear a dress.

It took at least another few months for me to start dieting but I thought a lot about those jeans. How sexy I felt in them. How cute they are. How I wanted to wear them but couldn’t. So when I started the diet I told myself then that I wouldn’t try on the “skinny” jeans until I met my goal. When I lost ten pounds, those jeans starting taunting me. I talked myself into trying on just one pair. And, they fit! I rocked those puppies out that night to dinner along with a shirt that I used to wear with them. I didn’t even have to unbutton them for relief! Feeling pretty damn confident, I decided to try on the other two pair. I was able to button them but didn’t feel quite comfortable in them. I took them off and reminding myself of my original plan of not trying them on until I reached my goal. It wasn’t as depressing as the time I tried them on months ago because I know now that I WILL fit into those jeans. Just a few more pounds and it’ll be like I have a whole new wardrobe!


Last night’s dinner:

Lemon (brown) rice with broccoli - 3 points



Oven Roasted Eggplant - 1 point



Pan Seared Chicken with Garlic Sauce - 3 points

61 Days: -12.9, 2.1 to go

Wow, I just passed my two month mark with my so called diet and can't believe the progress I've made.  I'm actually shocked, I didn't think I'd be successful on any diet and here I am two months later and almost 13 pounds lighter.

All around, the diet part is easier than I thought it would be.  It's not to say I love dieting, but I have found that Weight Watchers makes it at least manageable.  Weight Watchers has helped me realize what the correct portion size is and pay attention to my  hunger signals. I like trying new recipes that actually taste good and the points are already calculated for you.  I find it easy to track my points, especially with the iPhone app.

Fitting in exercise daily, however, has a bit challenging and sometimes I just dreeeeeeeaaaaaaaaad it.  I think this has something to do with the fact that I hate to sweat.  But, I go to the gym and fit in as much as I can in one hour.  Or I pull my lazy ass off the couch on weekends and go for walks, play tennis or bike rides.   It's actually becoming more and more part of my routine rather than a chore.  And, believe me, that in itself is a miracle.



Eggplant Parmigiana with 1 cup whole wheat penne - 6 points