Day 17 - Clearance Items and Poptarts

Diet tip of the day: Make sure you weigh yourself at the same time each time you do it. If you weigh in one week at 3pm and one day right after your lunch, it will really throw off your numbers. Also, don't step on the scale every day. Your weight can fluctuate a lot over the course of the week, so just pick 1 day for your official weigh in. If you want to check your progress, do it mid-week, not the day before. If you haven't lost weight for most of the week, you'll end up obsessing all day about it.

I bought a new scale yesterday. I've been using the one at work, and that complicates my weighing in times. I try to weigh myself right before my shift starts, but some days I eat lunch at work and sometimes I eat before work. So I decided to go buy a scale. Luckily, I work at a store that has such things, so I headed over to the fitness area and found the endcap with bathroom scales. I picked one out, turned around to leave, then noticed there was a clearance endcap with scales. I thought I'd lucked out and bought a really nice glass surface with lithium batteries and a blue and green design. When I weighed myself, it registered 276.4. I was upset to say the least. Have I really weighed more than I thought in the first place? But when I stepped off, it registered "4.8" on the screen. I thought it was funny, so I tried it again. Same result and same "4.8" when I stepped off. I subtracted 4.8 from 276.4 and wouldn't ya know it, it was 271.6... exactly what I weighed in as at work. I'm thinking it was on clearance because you can't zero out the weight of the 4.8 pound glass surface. So I guess I'll have to subtract 4.8 from each of my weigh-ins from now on. Oh well. I can handle a little mental math if it means more accurate results.

With the scale, I bought some Special K strawberry Fruit Crisps. They taste like a thinner, crispier version of a Poptart. I have to say, I am a big fan, and I'm really glad I'm finding more healthy options for my daytime snacking. I've also up'd my daily snacks from 1 snack bar and a protein water to 2 snack bars. The protein waters make me feel more full, but I don't know that they should be enjoyed as a snack.

I just want to thank everyone for responding to my posts. I really appreciate it a whole lot, and I love reading your comments. Please keep inviting people to check out my blog and keep commenting. Just a quick note, I know I've made a Facebook group for inviting people to my blog using my own personal profile, but I'm still trying to keep this anonymous. Even though my family and friends know this is me, there's a lot of weight discrimination out there, and I'm trying to be careful that this can't be traced back to me. Even though I'm not an advocate of being overweight, in fact, I'm trying to lose weight. However, it's really important to me right now to keep my anonymity so that I can be as candid as I am with you guys. I really appreciate it.

And for today's workout tip, if you're shopping, find a parking spot farther away from the door than you usually do. The few extra steps are good for you, and someone else might need the closer spot more than you do. You don't have to park at the back of the lot, just don't pick the first spot you see. Good luck! Remember to answer the question about ab work-outs from my last post. I'm still looking for tips from you all.

Day 16 - One Tenth

Diet tip of the day: If you feel frustrated with a diet, change it up. If you try to force yourself to eat something day in and day out, you're more likely to break your diet completely than if you give yourself a little leniency from time to time. Allow yourself to have that really fatty thing you want, but have it as a side, not the main event of your meal. Plus, 1 cup of lettuce is only 10 calories, and you'll end up more satisfied with a plate full of salad than the tiny sliver of 5 cheese lasagna you'd get for the same amount of calories.

I am going through the moment I dreaded: the time that I realize I cannot and will not eat cereal for 14 of my 21 meals a week. It's funny this should happen exactly 2 weeks after we started the diet, and that they recommend you only do it for 2 weeks. Do you think they planned it that way? "Let's see how long we can get people to eat our cereal for the majority of their meals and then build a diet around it!" Well, I am certainly not complaining. My looser fitting jeans are a testament to how well the program works.

But I know how frustrating diets can be, especially when they are strict or monotonous. I think I was a senior in high school when my family tried Nutrisystem. My mom, my dad, and I would get our huge box of food for the month or two months or whatever it was, and every day we would pick out our meals from those boxes. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert/snack. This wouldn't have been a problem if they hadn't kept on running out of my favorites. I'd go to my box and dig for macaroni and cheese. (You saw my last post. It's my weakness.) And what did I find? Let's see... stir fry, stir fry, stir fry, dehydrated burger, dehydrated burger, rubbery chicken, rubbery chicken, stir fry, stir fry, black bean thing that explodes in the microwave every single time, stir fry. By the way, I hate peppers, so stir fry is my enemy.

At the time, I was also taking a medication for my PCOS that causes a lot of nausea. One night, I sat down in front of my box, trying to muster the strength to pick something, and I remember reaching for things, then pulling my arm back, knowing I couldn't do it. I felt absolutely sick to my stomach to even think about eating one of those meals for dinner. I was gaining weight from all the sodium in those prepackaged meals, and I was worse off than where I started. I just started crying right there on the living room floor.

When you feel defeated by a diet, it's the worst feeling. You wonder why you're torturing yourself and not getting results. It breaks you down psychologically when you can't achieve even the smallest of goals. I know what it's like, which is why this time I am refusing to let my confidence by shaken or to be deterred from my weightloss path.

And now for the weigh in. I don't know if I said this in an earlier post, but I was definitely thinking that I didn't lose any weight this week. So, I admit it, I prayed when I stepped on the scale today. Even after eating my big meal of the day (a salad w/ 1/2 slice of turkey, 6 whole wheat crackers, 1 Tbs thous. island dressing, and an apple), I lost weight.

My current weight: 271.6 lbs
Weight lost this week: 2.6 lbs
Weight loss total: 10.4 lbs
Pounds to lose: 96.6 lbs

As one of my roommates pointed out, I'm about one tenth of the way to my goal. I'm really pleased with my weight loss this week. I noticed today that I wasn't hungry when my break came around at work (I actually forgot about it and ended up having to take it 30 min before my shift was up!) and I didn't feel sore or tired after work at all.

My boyfriend and I are going to go for a walk tonight, either once around the block and eat cereal for dinner or a long walk to the center of campus to eat something healthy there.

For my exercise tip, I'm throwing you guys a question. My stomach is a problem area. I have a big ol' saggy belly and a big ol' droopy gut. How do I make sure I target my upper and lower abs? What is your best or favorite ab workout? How do you keep you prevent a tubby tummy?

Day 11 - On My Own

Diet Tip of the day:
Don't forget to satisfy the chocolate addict inside you.

This is mainly aimed at the ladies out there, but I think it applies to everyone. For several years, I had a bad reaction whenever I ate chocolate on an empty stomach. I would get terrible migraines and couldn't function for the rest of the day. Years later, I still don't know what it is about chocolate that gives me problems, but I've figured out how to satisfy my chocolate cravings without the backlash.

This morning, I ate a bowl of Special K Chocolate Delight cereal. The chocolate pieces aren't overwhelmingly rich, and a bowl is only 160 calories (with 1/2 cup of skim milk). It's a perfect chocolate fix, especially while dieting.

And now for today. It is Friday! Usually, on Fridays I eat dinner with my boyfriend's family, but this weekend they are going to Iowa for the girl's soccer tournament his team is competing in. So I'm on my own tonight for dinner. Normally, I would eat my daily meal for lunch because it gives me the energy I need to get through my day; but on Fridays I have a meal bar at work instead. Tonight I'm going to make myself some tilapia with rice and veggies.

So here's my plan for the day:
For breakfast, Special K Chocolate Delight cereal [(3/4 c) 120 cal] with skim milk [(1/2 c) 40 cal].
Snack #1 is a Special K Chocolate Peanut snack bar [110 cal].
For lunch, a Special K Chocolate Chip meal bar [170 cal] with a banana [90 cal].
Snack #2 is a Special K Iced Tea protein water mix [30 cal]. These things don't taste like dieting drinks and they keep you full. They have 5g of fiber and 5g of protein and are easy to drink while I'm working.
For dinner, some Tilapia [(3.5 oz) 100 cal] seasoned lightly with black pepper and lemon juice, cooked in olive oil [(1 Tbs.) 120 cal] with white rice [(1 cup) 260 cal], 4 carrots [50 cal], and 1 cup of blackberries [60 cal].
And finally dessert. A Yoplait Boston Creme Pie yogurt [100 cal].

That brings my daily total to 1250 calories. But look at how much I get to eat!

I'm hoping to go for a nice walk after dinner to make sure that I don't eat my big meal and then let it sit for the rest of the night. The forecast says low 60's, so maybe a walk around campus would be nice. I'll aim for 30-45 min. I read a tip that said you should make a playlist on your iPod to walk to, making every third song a faster pace so that you get your heart pumping without wearing it out in one short burst.

Your feedback is very welcome. Thanks for reading!

The Journey Begins

Well this is it. This is the time when I realize just what I've done to myself. Let me start by explaining just what brings me to this point in my life.

I have struggled with weight my whole life. As a friend of mine jokes, "I've been on a diet since grade school." For me, it started on the last day of 4th grade. I told my parents we needed to diet that summer because I was sick of being made fun of. That next Saturday, we started Weight Watchers. I weighed in as a 144-pound 10 year-old and spent the next two years losing over 20 pounds, reaching my goal weight of 120 pounds just before starting 7th grade, having grown about 5 inches. I felt and looked healthy, but when I returned to school in Fall, the boys still teased me. They called me "Man Cow" and moo'd at me whenever I entered a room. I was devastated, and gained back every last pound by the time I went to high school.

This is where my weight gain kicked into high gear. By my sophomore year, I was up to 160 pounds, despite being an active member of my high school show choir. My junior year I hit 180 pounds, and was soon diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, a reproductive disorder that can either cause or be caused by obesity. My senior year, I researched PCOS to find that there are serious reproductive and health consequences involved with this disease, including a high risk of diabetes. People with PCOS also have a harder time losing weight. A specialist I saw put it this way: "A person with PCOS can eat half the amount of food as a normal person and not lose a pound." I lost control of my weight at that point, reaching 215 pounds by graduation. My freshman year of college I reached 250 pounds, and promised myself to take my dieting seriously over the summer. Unfortunately, my boyfriend tore his ACL and needed to have surgery, putting him out of commission for the whole summer and making it a chore just to get him outside. My summer was spent indoors, either working or watching movies with him. Not only did I not lose any weight, I kept gaining steadily, and on April 5th, 2010 during my sophomore year of college, I reached my highest weight, just over 280 pounds.

Here is what changed everything. I went home for Easter the weekend before, and my sister suggested that I try the Special K diet, saying that she had lost 6 pounds in one week. I needed a jump start, and I needed something so structured that I couldn't cheat. I talked to my boyfriend, who agreed we should start it as soon as we could go grocery shopping. One week into the diet, I am down 8 pounds, currently at 274 pounds. We plan on continuing with the Special K plan for a month (twice the recommended 2 weeks) or until we run out of all the cereal we bought at the beginning.

Once classes are over, we are going to continue on a more relaxed form of the diet, substituting cereal for dinner a few times a week instead of every day. We will also add regular exercise into the mix.

My goal is to lose over 100 pounds. My ideal weight is 175 pounds, and I hope to meet that goal within a year and a half. This goal is lofty, but I need to aim high to push myself.

I will be posting my weight 1 to 2 times a week, because if I learned anything from Weight Watchers, it's that you will drive yourself crazy if you're on the scale every two hours. I will also post my daily food diary with nutritional information provided by the Lose It! app for iPod Touch.

Please leave comments, join my diet plan, suggest exercises or recipes, and join my support system. I am dedicated to kicking this over-eating habit and changing my life around.