Sat (9-1) TOTAL CALORIES: 1141

Coffee, two cups
Breakfast: Oats 'n' Honey bars
Snack: 1/4 medium cantaloupe
Lunch: Sandwich and salad

Sandwich was on two 100 calories each slices of bread with 50 calories of meat
Salad was 80 calories of Ranch done right dressing and the rest and estimate of the salad ingredients

Snack: Yogurt
Snack: 2 string cheeses

Supper: Tilapia fillet, broiled and slaw

Slaw (94)
1 cup cabbage (21)
1/4 cup chopped green pepper (7)
2 T onion, chopped (8)
1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped (4)
4 baby carrots, chopped (14)
1 Tbsp Hellman's lite mayo (4)
lemon juice
packet sugar substitute

1/8 piece of cantaloupe

Calorie Count Log:
Sat, Sept 1, 2007
coffee 40
coffee 40
Oats&Honey Breakfast bars 180
1/4 Melon, Cantaloupe 47
1 string cheese 60
1 string cheese 60
Sandwich 250
Salad 120
Yogurt 110
Total Calories Consumed 907
Cabbage - Raw 89 21
1/4 cu chopped Peppers, Sweet, Green - Raw 7
2 Tbsp Onions - Raw 8
1 Pepper, Jalapeno - Raw 4
4 Medium Baby Carrots, Raw 14
1 Tbsp mayo 40
4oz Tilapia Fillet 93
1/8 of cantaloupe 46
Total Calories Consumed 1,141

Fri (8-31) Low Carb

Coffee, two cups
Breakfast: Two boiled eggs topped with a dollop of mayo and mustard
About 2 Tbsp of mixed nuts
Snack: Kellog's Special K Protein meal bar (25 carbs)
The store I stopped at didn't have Luna bars (I'm not sure who does) and I was having to pick quick. The bar has 190 calories


Lunch: combination of chicken salad and 7 layer salad from Vincent's deli. I couldn't eat it all at lunch time. I finished the rest when I got home

Snack: 2 more Tbsp of mixed nuts

At home: rest of the salad and about 3/4 cup of milk

Thu (8-30) TOTAL CALORIES: 1229

I was 189.5 this morning!!! My scales play tricks with me. I have to get on twice to get a good reading. The first one was 188.5 WOW! wouldn't that have been nice??? But I guess I can conclude I didn't sabotage my diet with what I ate yesterday.

Coffee, 2 cups
"Breakfast": Broiled chicken breast and slaw. I seasoned the chicken with garlic salt and a little Cajun seasoning.

 Slaw
scant cup of shredded cabbage
3 Tbsp chopped green pepper
3 Tbsp chopped onion
1 small apple cut in chunks
2 baby carrots shredded
1 Tbsp Hellman's light mayonnaise
2 packets sugar substitute
jalapeno vinegar

Cut up chicken and add to "slaw"

Snack: Two pieces of string cheese.

Lunch: Sandwich and veggies

Snack: Yogurt and a small apple

After work: Small baked potato (warm water added for moisture),
salt and pepper and a topping of
1/3 cup green peppers, chopped
1/3 cup chopped onions
1 small jalapeño pepper sautéed with
1 slice of bacon (nutrition facts given)

Calorie Count Food Log:
Thu, Aug 30 2007
Chicken Breast, 1/2 broiled 260
Salad 140
coffee 40
coffee 40
Total Calories Consumed 480
Sandwich 240
4 Carrots, Baby - Raw 14
4 Radishes - Raw 3
Activia Yogurt 110
1 string cheese 60
1 string cheese 60
apple 65
Total Calories Consumed 1,032
1/3 cup Peppers, Sweet, Green - Raw chopped 10
1/3 cup Onions - Raw 22
1 slice bacon 35
1 small Potatoes, Baked, Flesh And Skin - With Salt 128
1 small Pepper, Jalapeno - Raw 2
Total Calories Consumed 1,229

Exercise

The reason I began this diet in the first place was because my weight had become TOO HEAVY for my knees. Maybe I should have cared, but I did NOT care that my weight affected my appearance. AT least I didn't care enough to do anything.

But as my weight creeped up, my knees began to complain about it. Especially did they complain if I picked up extra water weight. Something about fluid gain makes you miserable all over. It even affects your moods.

One day when I clocked out at work, my knees actually started SCREAMING. I was afraid I was not even going to be able to walk out of the store to my car. A fellow worker who was leaving at the same time had an empty shopping cart she was going to push to the front. I asked to "use it". I used it as a "walker" to get myself out of the store. By the time I got to the front, the pain in my knees had alleviated enough that I was able to walk across the parking lot without the aid of the shopping cart.

That day my weight had "bounced up" to 210.5. It's not unusual for me to sometimes pick up a fluid gain of 3-5 pounds. But adding that fluid to 207 was just TOO MUCH.

That "crisis" --needing the cart to get me out of the store-- was my "wake up call". I knew I had to quit preferring my taste buds over my knees.

First, I got serious about my knees. I thought I needed to strengthen them. Then, it occurred to me that probably what I needed to do was NOT to workout my knees, but to strengthen my legs --above and below the knee-- so that they were doing more of the work. I began doing some leg strengthening exercises intermittently. I also did some "light-weight" stuff to help my knees.

A friend gave me a DVD of Leslie Sansome Inhome One Mile Walk. That really worked well for me because, with my knees tending to give out SUDDENLY, I was afraid to GO FOR a walk that took me very far from the house.

When I started this One Mile Walk, I could hardly get through half of it. I've done it enough now that I can make it through and even do the arm movements. It has been a great energizer for me. I'm not sure if it has helped in my weight loss. I really don't seem to get around to doing it but about two or three times a week. And it's only 16 minutes, so it can't be helping weight loss a lot. But IT HAS BEEN A TREMENDOUS AID TO MY ENERGY LEVELS.

Energy to do what you have to do just makes life better all around.

Wed (8-29) NOT COUNTING

Wednesday is freight day and I work hard. I've decided I'm not going to be so hard on myself on Wednesdays. I had already determined that I walk about a mile on Wednesdays just taking freight to the floor.

Coffee
Breakfast: Two fried eggs, two pieces of (100 calorie each) toast with some Fleishmann's Spread and marmalade on half of the last one (NOT sugar free)
Snack: About 2 Tbspoons of peanuts and a small apple
Lunch: Sandwich and Veggies (celery, radishes, baby carrots)
Snack:
I intended for my snack to be a yogurt and a cheese stick, BUT....

Panera Bread has opened a new location not far from where I work and they sent in this huge tray of complimentary items: bagels, muffins, cookies, toppings, GOOD STUFF. I tried as much of it as I felt was "allowable" given the fact that I just happened to be taking a break when it was brought in and it was brought for ALL of the people who are working--not just a few.I ate four different cookies and half of a bagel with Hazelnut topping on it.

I ate two cheese sticks after I got home. (60 calories each)

Supper: Spaghetti--probably a cup and a half (pasta and meat sauce combined) so I would say it would be around 400 calories. Two pieces of Texas Toast (150 calories each) After church I'm going to eat some popcorn and milk. That is one thing I have deprived myself of on this diet.

Snack after church: Milk (probably 20 oz of 2%) and Mini Bag of Act II Butter popcorn (210 calories). I could have chosen the lesser calorie version--975 fat free. I have it here. It's 130 calories. But I didn't

I'm sure I'm way over 2000 calories in what I ate today. Tomorrow and Friday are going to be low carb days for me like with the Woman's Day Carb Cycling Turbo Diet menu

I had several soft peppermints(20 each) and some Altoid peppermints. My throat tickled all the way through church and I thought they might help. They didn't. Now it feels like it's getting sore.

Probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 2500-2600

Tue (8-28) TOTAL CALORIES: 1073

Coffee, two cups (By the way, I only list drinks that have calories. I put enough creamer in my coffee that I have to count it.)
Breakfast:Toast with sugar free marmalade

Early Lunch: Homemade soup

Snack: Apple
Coffee
Late Lunch: Baked Potato with bacon, onion, and green pepper. 1/2 cup milk

I fried the bacon and cooked the onion and green pepper in the bacon grease. I put it on top of the baked potato. It was good.

I learned a long time ago that one way to keep a baked potato from being so dry-- instead of adding sour cream and butter-- is to add water, a teaspoon full at a time. Mash it into the potato and it gives enough moisture that the lack of butter and sour cream are not as noticeable.
Later: Collard Greens and a boiled egg


Tue, Aug 28 2007
coffee 40
Toast and sugar free marmalade 110
soup 250
Apples - Fresh Fruit 80
coffee 40
baked potato 110
bacon, one slice 35
onion and pepper 25
onion and pepper 25
Fleishmans olive oil margarine 30
coffee 40
milk 1/2 cup 60
Total Calories Consumed 845
toast with sugar free marmalade 110
Collards, 1 cup 40
Egg, Whole - Cooked, Hard-boiled 78
Total Calories Consumed 1,073

Responses to this blog

I didn't even think of putting a counter on my blog when I began it six weeks ago, but this week I did. I have been quite amazed at how many people are dropping by. Not like for someone "famous" or anything, but certainly more than I'm getting daily on my baSfsoGp blog.

Anyhow, I got a comment this morning from Big Daddy D so I went right over and checked out his site. It looks like it will be a wonderful resource and motivation for continuing on my diet. And I appreciated his comments.

*******************

Postscript: I went back and delved further into his site plus went to some of the links of those who commented there and it looks like I have been provided with a positive "gold mine" of information.

This is really going to help me because I've been thinking ahead to how I am going to maintain my weight loss and I'm convinced that I will HAVE TO watch what I eat MOST days. That means I need a good supply of alternative eating than what I usually indulge in.

Back in 2004 I lost the weight I am trying to lose again. I used what I called a "modified South Beach" approach. (I watched my carbs but not my fats. I worked to keep my carbs at around 100 a day.)

It worked.

Maybe it shouldn't have, but it did.

I lost around 25 pounds.

The problem was that I went back to eating like I had always eaten after I lost it and I went back with "gusto" I guess because I ended up heavier than I was before.

All this weight stuff has been a problem for me because up until I was in my mid forties, I was very satisfied with my weight. (I was about 155 in 1992. And I liked being that size. It was 15 pounds less than what I'm going for now--as seen in my goal weight picture.) I could eat like I wanted to and not worry about weight.

When I started gaining (at the rate of 3/4 a pound a month), I had this misconception in my mind that-- since I'd never had a problem with my weight before-- I would reach a plateau and stop. That didn't happen. I just kept going up to the tune of about 8 pounds a year.

Up until then I had done a lot of walking but I began to have problems with my feet and had to stop that. No doubt that was one of the reasons I had been able to keep my weight down. Without the walking to offset my eating, I kept on gaining. By 1999 I had gained over fifty pounds!!!

In 2004, using that "modified South Beach" approach, I lost down to 170.

That may sound like a lot (and it still throws me into the "overweight" range) but it is really as far as I care anything about going down to. (It is the weight I was in my goal picture). I doubt I'll change my mind about that.

If I can get back to the size I am here, I will be happy regardless of the fact that 170 SOUNDS big.

But after I got the weight off, I had a birthday and a number of my friends -- at different times-- took me to my favorite Mexican restaurant. And I ate everything I wanted to eat.

I could not bring myself to go back to limiting my carbs. It was such a radical change from what I wanted to eat. I like Mexican food. I like corn. I like buttered bread. I like popcorn. I like cornbread and pintos. I like baked potatoes--loaded. And from time to time I like a big ol' piece of chocolate cake with plenty of icing. Or cobbler.

So when I'd think of losing my weight, the thought of not enjoying my carbs held me back. That is why I ended up taking the calorie counting approach.

Silly.

Because when you start counting calories, it doesn't take long to realize that a whole lot of what is high in calories is high in carbs. So if you are going to be successful, guess what?! You have to cut carbs. The cakes, cookies, doughnuts, and cobblers have to go. You can't just eat all the corn on the cob you'd like to eat heaped with butter. You have to pass on the loaded baked potato (not the potato, just the load).

The thing I liked about my "modified South Beach" diet was that I didn't have to count calories. I was watching WHAT I ate, not how much. I don't remember getting hungry when I did that diet.

But I learned a VERY IMPORTANT LESSON that I'm trying hard to keep in mind now. I cannot just diet and then be done with it. If I really want to keep my weight down, I will have to be careful about what I eat MOST OF THE TIME for the rest of my life. (LA-Lifestyle Adjustment)

And that is one reason I am thrilled to have been given this resource, and this one, and this one, and this one to find good recipes that will satisfy my taste buds and not blow my diet and also the motivation to keep on watching what I am eating.

Mon (8-27) TOTAL CALORIES: 1229

I WAS DOWN SEVENTEEN POUNDS THIS MORNING..... 17 pounds in six weeks!!!

I am so happy for that. And, if you look at my calories on a daily basis, you'd have to admit that whether it was intentional or not, I've NOT kept them on an even level. Perhaps that is one reason I've had the success I've had-- to hear these who believe in spiking your intake one day and then dropping it another as the Wendie plan promotes.

Anyway today is the last day of Week Number Six and I've lost 17 pounds.

Coffee
Breakfast (I overslept): Oat 'n' Honey bars
The picture is blurry because the bars were still in the wrapper when I scanned them and I suppose the bulk caused it to blur.

Snack: Yogurt
Another snack: about a Tbsp on peanuts

I couldn't understand why I was getting hungry AGAIN after the first snack. I was sure the yogurt would hold me until lunch time. FINALLY, when lunch time came and I went to clock out I realized MY WATCH HAD STOPPED. It was way past my lunch time.

Lunch: Sandwich and veggies and 1/4 of a cantaloupe (left from my Women's World low-carb day)

Snack: Two string cheese sticks

Home: Coffee-- while I add up my calories so I can see how much I can eat for supper.

At this point I'm up to 928 calories.

Supper: Broiled Tilapia cooked with Cajun Seasoning and a Concoction of my own.

I wanted a potato. So I cleaned and cut one into small pieces (chunky slices) and started cooking it in about a teaspoon and half of Fleishmann's olive oil spread (or whatever they call it). I added pieces of veggies I had left in my crisper drawer: green pepper, onion, three baby carrots,celery and some jalapeño peppers. I let them all cook together until the fish was done.

It was really quite good.

I think almost anything is improved by adding a jalapeño pepper.

I liked the fish with the cajun seasoning too.





C-C Food Log:

Mon, Aug 27 2007
Melons, Cantaloupe 69
coffee 40
coffee 40
Oats&Honey Breakfast bars 180
Activia Yogurt 110
Peanuts, All Types, Oil-roasted - With Salt 108
Sandwich, with one slice 120 calorie bread 240
Radishes - Raw 1
Celery - Raw 6
Carrots, Baby - Raw 14
1 string cheese 60
1 string cheese 60
Total Calories Consumed before supper 928
tilapia 98
Potatoes, Flesh And Skin - With Salt 128
Fleishmans olive oil margarine 35
Other veggies 40
Total Calories Consumed 1,229

By the way

I am now tired of trying to figure out calorie counts.

I read on a blog that I checked on for awhile-- she's quit keeping it up now-- that trying to figure out the foods you could eat while on a diet was like having a second job.

That really "rang a bell" with me because I had come to the conclusion myself that it was such a huge "project" that left no time to do anything else. Whatever other stuff I would like to get done has been "put on hold" while I figure out the number of calories I'm putting in my mouth.

I certainly can see why some people would rather just pay to have someone else decide what they can eat every day.... if you have that kind of money to spend.

But as I've worked my way through this, I'm really trying to keep an eye on the future when I reach my goal and want to maintain the weight loss. I want to be able to put together for myself a "scrapbook" of meal ideas and recipes so that I can just pick it up and look through it for something that I know I'll like that is SIMPLE to fix. Something that will already have the calories figured out for me based on the ingredients I've used.

I read once that most people eat basically the same menus week after week, that is, they have about TEN different things they fix and then cycle back through those same ones over and over AS A RULE. They may use a slight variation on the "theme" but basically it's the same. (For example, spaghetti OR lasagna or something that is pasta with a sauce.) So I figured if I could come up with two weeks of menus for things that I LIKE that are low calorie, I'd be setting myself up for success.

Why do I tantalize myself surfing through these food pages? The pictures on this site take awhile to load but they give a step-by-step picture of every inch of the progress toward creating what you see here.

Sun (8-26) TOTAL CALORIES: 1464

Coffee, 2 cups
Breakfast: Fried egg, Toast with sugar free marmalade
At church: 2 peppermints, 1 hard candy, Oat n honey bars
Lunch: Spaghetti and meat sauce with 1/2 piece garlic bread and salad with about 2 TBsp dressing (One low fat)
counted as 9/10 cup of noodles and 1 cup of meat sauce
It was VERY HARD to find a source to give me the calorie count of meat sauce by the cup. I ended up getting it here and subtracted what they said the noodles were.

One chocolate chip cookie
10 crackers and 1/4 cup salmon mixed with onion, celery, jalapeño and mayo

After church snack: wrapped 1/2 piece cheese and 1/2 dill pickle in a piece of ham and the same in a piece of turkey. It was good.

Food Log:
Sun, Aug 26 2007
Spaghetti - Cooked, Unenriched, Without Added Salt 178
meat sauce, 1 cup 250
coffee 40
coffee 40
Egg, Whole - Cooked, Fried 93
Oats&Honey Breakfast bars 180
toast 100
salad with dressing 50
choc chip cookie 90
Peppermints , two 20
Jolly Rancher Hard Candy Original Assortment 6 23
garlic bread, 1/2 slice 75
salmon with celery, mayo, onion, jalepeno 1/4 cup 100
Crackers 10 calories each 100
ham & turkey wraps, w/cheese & dill pickle 95
one hard candy, one peppermint 30
Total Calories Consumed 1,464

My Pyramid Plan

The USDA Food Pyramid for ME

Sat (8-25) LOW Carb Day Number Two

More Information on Carb Cycling -- excerpts from the site (by Roman Malkov)

"By alternating between low carb and higher carb days, my clients have been able to get the lean, strong bodies they have always wanted. They also enjoy the luxury of eating the foods they love, as long as they eat them at the right time. It takes a little discipline at first, but it is far easier and healthier than low-carb, restriction diets.

How can you try it at home? During normal carb days, I recommend eating between 350 to 400 grams of carbohydrates. That’s about what you probably are already eating. Keep in mind that you should focus on eating unrefined carbs from whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. These carbs are packed with healthy compounds that help ward off disease and keep your body young. Limited refined carbs from sugar and processed white flour. This includes white bread, crackers, and all processed junk food. Remember, all carbs are not created equally!

On limited carb days, do not eat any foods containing sugar or white flour. Try to keep your carbs under 300 grams a day. You should never starve yourself or feel hungry, even on limited carb days. Sound tricky? It’s not! Counting carbs is pretty easy once you get the hang of it. I suggest picking up a carb counting book, like the ones used by diabetics.

The small extra effort it takes to carb cycle can bring a huge payoff. If you combine carb cycling with exercise, you will protect yourself from countless age-related illnesses, such as osteoarthritis, cardiovascular disease, and even form of cancer. You’ll also look and feel great."

*********************

I thought I had really blown it when I got on the scales before bed last night. I was UP to 195.5.

THIS IS NOT GOOD.

However, I went on to bed. What surprised me next was how many times I had to get up in the night. By morning I had got rid of every bit of the extra fluid I had picked up. I was back at 192. Before morning was done, but also before I ate breakfast, I was down to 190.5 That was five pounds gone in just over 12 hours! So, at least there was no harm done. And when I weighed in at 190.5, I actually thought it might have HELPED.

And I got to eat more meat and drink more milk.

Today I'm going to go up to Food-4-Less and buy me a rib-eye. I don't eat them much but every now and then I want one and the Food-4-Less way is the cheapest.




Later: I ended up eating another broiled chicken breast and some slaw for "breakfast". I needed to go take care of some errands (get gas, pick up a magazine they were holding for me at Friends of the Library) so I figured I'd just get my steak while I was out instead of having it for breakfast.

I lucked out because when I came back by F-4-L, they had a "family package" of rib-eyes (five) for less than $10. (They come through and mark meat down mid-morning.) I also chanced upon another of their "get rid of the Arnold's bread" carts. I had hoped this week I'd be able to get some as my bread supply was getting lower than I liked for it to. You can't beat getting that kind of bread for 75¢.

Today's food
Coffee, 2 cups
Breakfast: Grilled Chicken breast and slaw
Lunch: Rib-eye steak MILK
Later: 1/4 cantalope
Coffee
More cantalope
A few mixed nuts
Later: a salad and more mixed nuts

I guess I'm getting carried away on the milk. I noticed the carbs in it are higher than I realized. And yesterday I looked up the carbs on that yogurt and found that they were 19 for one serving.

Fri (8-24) LOW Carb Day

I decided to try an alternative.

I read in Woman's World that LA Weight Loss has this accelerator plan where two consecutive days a week you cut back on carbs significantly.


It gives your system a "jolt" or some such thing. Anyway, it keeps your body from hitting a plateau because you are on the same level day in and day out. (Probably similar to the idea of the Wendie plan.)

If it works, I'll like it because it will give me a chance to eat some stuff I don't get to eat when I'm just counting calories. Like more milk. And more meat.

Today's eating was like this:
Coffee
Breakfast:Grilled chicken breast with collard greens and slaw. MILK
Snack: Didn't eat one. I wasn't hungry.
Lunch: A salad I picked up at Vincent's deli in the Southern Market. I actually combined their 7 layer salad with a chicken salad. It was very good.
Snack: Yogurt and string cheese
After work: Salmon with mayo, jalepeno pepper, celery, onion and a pickle.

I sure hope this idea works because it would help me not get tired of what I have to eat the other five days if I could eat more protein and milk a couple days a week.

By the way, LA's basic plan for weight loss is more of carb/calorie control plan. Your eating is charted out for you so that it actually controls both.

Women's World, August 28. 2007 issue (Carb-Cycling Turbo Diet)

Excerpts from the article:

For many months now, [LA has] been slipping clients a special two-day menu plan that's so powerful, it accelerates by-the-book weight loss to the tune of 300%. Wow!

Most of the time [with the LA plan] you follow a filling good-carb plan that falls neatly within the USDA Food Pyramid guidelines. Here's the magic part: Two days a week you use a special acceleration menu. It's nothing fancy-- just a mix of ordinary super-market foods. The key is that they're low-carb, low-calorie and, most important a shock to your system....

WHY IT WORKS

Most people eat the same way every day with little variation, and our bodies very quickly adapt to these eating patterns. Any change in diet will shake up the metabolism and make it work harder....That means more calories burned and lots more weight loss.

I don't know how to check out if this is so, but here it says the LA of LA
Weight Loss stand for Lifestyle Adjustment.

Thu (8-23) TOTAL CALORIES: 1679

Coffee
Breakfast: Toast with marmalade
On the way to work: Banana
Snack: Oats and Honey bars
Lunch: Sandwich crackers
Snack: Yogurt crackers Another banana
Supper: Chili made with pintos, chick peas, onion, green pepper and canned tomatoes
4 hushpuppies
2 soft peppermints




Calorie Count Lo:
Thu, Aug 23 2007
coffee 40
Toast and sugar free marmalade 130
Bananas 105
Sandwich 320
crackers 5 calories each 35
Activia Yogurt 110
Bananas 105
Breakfast bars 180
Crackers 10 calories each 100
Hush Puppies 204
Chili, 2 cups 330
Peppermints , two 20
Total Calories Consumed 1,679

Wed TOTAL CALORIES: 1688

Coffee
Breakfast: One piece of "good" toast, lightly buttered, with a couple teaspoons peanut butter and some sugar free marmalade
Snack: Mixed nuts and an apple (large)
Lunch: (at Rosie's Tacqueria) One beef quesadilla, two chips
(There was about 3 Tbsps of sour cream on the quesadilla)
Late Supper: Sandwich and veggies
Home: Bowl of French Toast Crunch cereal

Wed, Aug 22 2007
coffee, 3 cups 120
Peanut butter/marmalade toast 190
apple 120
B- Mixed Nuts, Oil Roasted - With Peanuts, With Salt Added 28 173
beef quesidilla and two chips 500
Sandwich and veggies 260
French Toast Crunch. 1 cup 325
Total Calories Consumed 1,688

Tues TOTAL CALORIES: 1880

I was down to 192 this morning. That's 15 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Coffee, two cups
Breakfast: Egg and a piece of white bread toast at Jeni's
Lunch: Healthy choice vegetable soup before I went to work
Snack: Banana bread muffin and a cheese stick
At work Lunch: Sandwich and veggies
Starbucks Coffee: Josh brought it to me at my request.
Snack: apple and yogurt, string cheese


C-C log:
Tue, Aug 21 2007
coffee 40
coffee 40
Bananas 105
Egg and toast 180
Healthy Choice Vegetable Soup 220
1 string cheese 60
Sanwich and veggies 270
Activia Yogurt 110
1 string cheese 60
apple 120
Starbucks White Mocha 16 0z 470
Glory Red Bean and Rice 180
Very small crackers,5 25
Total Calories Consumed 1,880

Notice I missed counting the banana bread muffin. That means 1880 is NOT right.

Mon (8-20) TOTAL CALORIES: 1137

Coffee
Breakfast: two hardboiled eggs
Snack: Banana
Lunch: Sandwich and veggies
Snack: Mixed fresh fruit (given to me by a co-worker)
Supper: Progresso Chicken Noodle Soup, 2 cups
Later: Salad

Calorie Count Log:
Mon, Aug 20 2007
coffee 40
2 large hard boiled eggs 156
Bananas 105
Sandwich 240
veggies 25
Mixed Fresh Fruit - Ukrop's Grill/Side Dishes 50
Progresso Chicken Noodle soup 180
Mixed Fresh Fruit - Ukrop's Grill/Side Dishes 50
apple 65
Mayo 40
Pecan 50
salad 50
Mixed Nuts - Without Peanuts, Oil Roasted, With Salt Added 86
Total Calories Consumed 1,137

Sun TOTAL CALORIES: Over 2000

Coffee, 2 cups with flavored creamer

Breakfast Egg and Toast with diet jam

Snack: About three peppermints
Before lunch: Numerous baby carrots
Lunch: Salad with Ranch Dressing (40 calories for 2 Tbsp) and some Feta cheese sprinkled on it (Maybe 2 Tbsp)
Whole wheat spaghetti, probably half a cup and MEAT SAUCE, probably 3/4 cup anyway
Drink: Water with lime juice and artificial sweetener.

Everything was pretty good until cheese cake time came. One slice has 610 calories. And I had some sliced strawberries and real whipped cream with it. Also later I had two cups of decaf coffee with flavored creamer.

After church I intended to eat a boiled egg and greens, but the top broke off one of the eggs as I was removing it from the carton so I fried it. I ended up putting it (92) on one slice of bread (120) with a piece of cheese (70) and some leftover chicken breast (deskinned) with milk (about 100)

Probably if I could just not count the cheesecake my calorie count would be within the right range.

Anyway, I figured after TWO days of over the top eating, my weight would jump up. But when I got up and weighed Monday morning it was okay. I was 193. Still down 14 pounds.

By the way, I averaged out my calories over the time period I've been dieting and as an average my daily calories have been more in the 1400 range than in the 1600. However, I have not done that purposely. It's just that when I would look at how many calories were in various things I was tempted to eat I would realize I didn't want them for the "price" I would have to pay to get them.

I suppose it could be compared to going shopping without regard to the price of the items there. Who of us does that? We know we have a limit and we stay within it. From time to time we might splurge on something, but we know if we do that we have to make adjustments in other areas to cover it.

Eating without even giving heed to how many calories you're taking in is like going shopping with a credit card and not looking at the price. You end up in a mess financially. With calories, you end up in a mess physically.

Sat TOTAL CALORIES: about 2100

Coffee
Breakfast at the cafe: Fried egg, one piece of toast, two pieces of bacon, more coffee
Snack: Banana
Lunch: Sandwich and veggies
Snack: Apple and Yogurt, three crackers
Later: String cheese and about six crackers

Home: Slaw and Glory Red Beans and Rice (which was good, by the way)

BUT then I got into this wanting to eat-eat-eat mode. I don't know if it was because I was tired or what. (I was tired.) I ended up eating some graham crackers and peanut butter, then a cookie and peanut butter with some milk, then a bowl of cereal. I'm not sure what my final total was. Not what I had hoped it would be.

3/4 cup of French toast crunch is 130 (I probably ate a cup), 2 tbsp peanut butter is 190 (I probably had at least 3 Tbsp peanut butter) , 1 cookie was 35, two others were 20 each, the g. cracker was about 30, the milk was probably about 200. Adding that all up I think I probably put down almost 800 calories just by munching around.

C-C Log:
Sat, Aug 18 2007
coffee 40
Pork, Cured, Bacon - Cooked, Broiled, Pan-fried Or Roasted 103
Egg, Whole - Cooked, Fried 93
Toast 80
coffee 40
Bananas 105
Sandwich 240
veggies 25
Activia Yogurt 110
apple 120
1 string cheese 60
crackers 80
Red Beans & Rice (Glory, canned) 3/4 cup 135
slaw with 1 tbsp light mayo 50
Peppers, Sweet, Green - Raw 33
"Munching around" 790
Total Calories Consumed 2,103

Picture Update

Starting weight

After three weeks

After one month

Can you tell I'm making progress?

I saw 193 on the scales. That's down 14 from my start date. I had actually been bouncing up to as high as 210.5. That's scarey!!! I have about 20 more to go to get to my goal. It wouldn't hurt to go to 168 but I'll be happy at 170. That's how much I am in the goal weight picture.

I can tell my weight is down when I look at my face in a mirror. I can also tell that I can get around much better. Of course, part of the reason for that is that I am walking and doing things intermittently to strengthen my legs (for the sake of my knees).

One thing I realize is that I am going to need to not just "go on a diet" to lose weight but in order to keep it off I'm going to have to watch how I eat after the weight is gone. I lost thirty pounds on a "modified South Beach" diet back in 2004. My goal picture was taken then.

But my birthday came along and not everyone could get together at the same time to celebrate so I had several out-to-eats. My favorite meal is Mexican and I went hog wild. After that I just didn't even want to think about cutting carbs like I had to lose that weight. Soon I was back to eating whatever I wanted, however I wanted it, whenever I wanted it.

If I'm going to keep my weight down where I feel good, I am NEVER going to be able to do that again. I can have some splurges, but I can't just throw every day to the wind. Since I realize that, as I'm going along I'm trying to make note of what I enjoy eating that is not so fattening. If I'm not satisfied, I'll want to keep looking for food until I am.

I am happy with the lunch meat and cheese sandwiches I am eating for lunch. The radishes, carrots and celery make that really good. And if I remember to throw in lettuce, it tastes even better.

I really like the Activia yogurt and fruit for a snack. And I like the string cheese. Also eating a banana every day is good.

If I eat one egg and a piece of toast for breakfast, that's not bad either. Or two boiled eggs.

The main thing I miss is my milk. I love milk. I could have more milk if I'd learn to drink my coffee without creamer. Anyway, after I've lost my weight, I will be able to add my milk back.

I like cabbage salads. And I like vegetable dinners.

I also found out tonight that there are some good Healthy Choice (and other brands too) of soup that are 100 or less calories a cup. Two cups is 200 calories or less and that is very filling. Add celery and onion and eat it before they get too soft and you have some crunch in it that kind of makes it possible not want a cracker with every bite. But if crackers are a must the little cheese crackers (very little) that are 5 calories each can add some crunch.

Also I was reading in the latest Woman's World about a diet and one of the keys to it was to buy some low calorie entrees (160 calories or less) and add a good salad or some vegetables to it. I liked that idea. That way you're not trying to dig up something.