Weigh-In
Posted by Sylvia
82.7 kilos
.3 of a kilo (so over a pound) gained over the past few weeks. Looks like that kick came just in time!
Heading in the Right Direction
Posted by Sylvia
Down by .3 of a kilo – not a lot but at least I’m heading in the right direction again.
Next Week Will Be Better
Posted by Sylvia
I’ve upgraded my machine to Windows 7, which is fast and shiny and working great, but now my USDA calorie counter program doesn’t work.
I could work around it but within a day or two, Cliff will fix the program he made me and it will all be so much simpler. Also, my numbers are a bit sketchy ANYWAY so putting in the effort for an approximate count seems not worth it.
However, I AM noting the meals here to make sure I’m not tempted into eating a pound of Brie. Read the rest of this entry »
Getting Into the Swing of Things
Posted by Sylvia
I’m not fretting too much about details this week, just getting myself back into the habit of counting calories and watching fatty foods. I’ve set a goal of keeping meals under 500 calories each and not snacking in between meals (or especially while cooking them). I also wantneed to get back into the habit of exercising.
So I had four cups of coffee with milk (120 calories!) instead of switching to tea and in the evening we sat down with wine and talked about Apple’s policies towards development on the iPhone until the early hours.
Having said that, I was was pleased to see that it was easy for me to make low-calorie meals without having to think about it. This does beg the question why I’ve not been doing this throughout, of course!
I did some yoga out on the balcony to stretch out.
lunch: Spicy Lamb and Cabbage Stir-Fry for 2
| 150g lean lamb | 292 |
| 150g noodles | 291 |
| 350g cabbage | 88 |
| 1 tablespoon sesame oil | 120 |
| fresh ginger and garlic and chile | 20 |
| 40g chile sauce | 71 |
| soy sauce | 20 |
| Total Calories | 902 |
|---|
Per portion: 450 calories
Dinner: Chicken filet with white beans and salad
| 100g chicken breast filet | 110 |
| 125g white beans | 142 |
| 75g green tomato | 20 |
| Tinned mushrooms | 53 |
| Total Calories | 325 |
|---|
At the end of dinner, I felt like I was starving to death. Despite the fact that I wasn’t counting towards a total (and drinking wine) I decided not to go in search of more food but just to accept it. I drank two large glasses of water which helped a bit.
As time went on, I felt nibbly but not ravenous so waiting it out was the right thing to do.
Pad Krapow
Posted by Sylvia
In the interests of kick-starting myself into action, I made a point of /measuring weighing last night to get back into the habit.
I’m glad I did it, I missed out on really blatant stuff (like not actually measuring the rice) and if it had been “official” I would have felt a failure for not having a final count.
Also, as always, I forgot that I have to leave myself some extra time to measure things and get the calorie count right.
And I forgot how completely vain I am about posting photographs of food I made. I am quite happy for food photos to be realistic but if it’s a dish I prepared then I want the photo to be beautiful.
Dinner was based on this description of a thai dish:
Pad Krapow Moo – spicy stir-fried pork with Thai holy basil: chez pim
You should look at her photo of the dish because she makes it look much more appealing than I do!
| 1 tablespoon oil | 120 |
| 600g lean pork | 858 |
| 6 cloves garlic | 27 |
| chile | 5 |
| 1 tbsp fish sauce @67/100ml | 10 |
| green pepper | 20 |
| onion | 20 |
| 200g rice | 740 |
| 1 egg | 70 |
| 1 tablespoon oil | 120 |
| Total Calories | 1,990 |
|---|
This was too much meat for two people. I think this recipe would be correct for three. That would put it at 663 calories a serving. As it was, I threw away some of the meat before serving (still very painful to do).
Total time in the kitchen was 30 minutes, including chopping and searching for the fish sauce.
I tried frying the pork in half a tablespoon of oil but the pan dried out and the meat was sticking so I went for a whole tablespoon.
I have no idea how you count how much oil is on the egg so I went for a tablespoon. I’m pretty sure it would be a lot less than that but I wanted a worst case scenario.
It’s a good, strong-flavoured dish and I’m sure I’ll make it again.
As part of a calorie-controlled diet, I would make the following changes (without worrying about authenticity):
- decrease the meat
- increase the veg (and the variety)
- use long-grain rice (WHY is it lower in calorie? I wish I understood.)
- poach or softboil the egg
- serve with a salad of pickled cucumbers or similar low cal option to bulk out the plate without adding calories
Autumn Weigh-In
Posted by Sylvia
Well, I knew summer was going to be difficult and my primary goal was to not put any more weight on.
Weight gain: 2.3 kilos
I failed.
I was doing really well for the first half of the summer. I think I’ve spotted a pattern, actually. If I calorie count and am strict with myself, it carries over to my eating habits when I stop, which is great. But it only carries over for 4-6 weeks. Little by little, I edge into bad habits until the weight gain starts up again.
About two weeks ago, I noticed my clothes feeling tighter and realised it was going downhill. I weighed myself and it came in at 82.8. We had guests so I decided that I would just try to increase the vegetable count of the meals and to get back into doing exercise.
Last week I exercised every day. This week I’ve been more sporadic but I’ve at least taken a walk most days.
I weighed myself on Tuesday (and will keep weighing myself so that I notice the smaller increments) and it came in at 82.7 – possibly just random fluctuation but I’d like to think it is the result of my re-focusing on my weight.
My goals:
* I will do more swimming while the weather is nice
* I will at least take a walk 5 days a week
* I will go back to calorie counting on weekdays (even if it’s only to know how many calories I am consuming rather than a specific limit of calories per day)
Like Paola, I’d like to lose weight before the new year. It would especially be nice if my clothes fit!
(note: These weights may not be quite right as I’ve used the (dodgy) scale rather than the wii fit. I mention this only to remind myself of the issue should there be a sudden jump/loss next week!)
Making It Through
Posted by Sylvia
Are you guys out there? I’ve not been posting but I’m hanging onto my weight by the skin of my teeth. Basically, I’m not counting calories but I’m trying to stick to low-fat dishes for the meals I’m making and I’m trying to be pretty strict on my intake of sweet drinks / ice creams / fun summer stuff. I’m also taking advantage of the sunny weather and going on walks on weekdays and even went swimming last week.
I’ve stopped doing the Maya work-out thing (various people around means that the TV room is often in use and I’m too self-conscious to kick people out knowing they will then hear me panting and groaning) so I’m not getting the exercise that I was. In a way, the guilt from that is really helping me to actually go out and do the walks each day. :)
I realised I was putting off a weigh-in which is pretty counter-productive. I thought I had gained weight despite my efforts. Certainly, I do feel that my face feels rounder and I feel very flabby. But according to the numbers, I’m not putting weight on so I guess I’m just getting more and more out of shape. I’ll have to try to focus on exercise for the rest of the summer!
Last update: 81.0 kilos
Today: 80.4
A tiny net loss! I’m amazed, really I am.
What about you all?
