2. (Same)

Okay, the feast days are over - it's time to buckle down again and work towards some change.

Planned for today -

espresso + 1 tsp sugar
2 eggs with butter

Fage 2% yogurt

salmon fillet
1 cup mushrooms
1 cup cabbage
cooked with butter
_________________
869 calories

1. +2.0lbs Eeeeewwww

Not surprised!  This was a fun weekend that unfortunately included way too much alcohol and cheese.  Matter of fact that was my dinner Saturday night: cocktails and a cheese plate.
Ah well.  I can lose this and then be on my way again.

Today's foods: TBD

I ate really well today.  Comparatively more than usual, but the quality was very good I think.
Need more greens.  Going to try getting up earlier in the morning to make an egg-meat-spinach scramble, and then maybe just having some nuts or something to snack on while at work.  That will be a good experiment for tomorrow.  As for today:

espresso w 2 tsp sugar
1 small lemon chicken breast
1 oz almonds
chicken thigh, cooked in the Crockpot with vindaloo curry sauce -- so good!
big portion of onion, cabbage, and broccoli sauteed with 1 tbsp butter
1 oz dark chocolate
8 oz red wine
__________________________________________________________
about 1213 calories

7. -0.5lb Dukan vs Paleo, and To Review

Another loss.   That means four pounds total for the week.  I realize this is a temporary rate of loss and that eventually it will slow down, but I'm enjoying it for right now.
I started out following a vaguely Dukan eating plan, but I'm thinking of revising it to Paleo.  The Paleo Diet is supposed to be our bodies most natural diet, that our ancestors evolved to eat over thousands of years, under the assumption that our bodies aren't really meant to handle modern foods like milk and bread in the quantities we eat them today.
The reason for my change is that all week Ive felt really great.  No weird blood sugar episodes.  More energy than usual.  Not even craving alcohol nearly as much - which could be directly linked with my sharp decrease in sugar and carb consumption this week.  I don't think I need bread.  And my body seems to really like higher fat foods.
Over time, the Dukan diet reintroduces bread products and fruit.  The early phases are very high protein and low fat.  The Paleo diet has no limit on fat as long as its the healthy kind, and is much lower in dairy, although usually not completely cutting it out.

To review, this has been what I've been eating this week:  Ive drank coffee, tea, a little diet soda, wine, and lots of water all week.  Ive eaten eggs, yogurt, lots of fish, chicken, veggies, nuts, olive oil, and a little cottage cheese.

I can see myself eating this way for a long time, with maybe the odd bit of something not on the list, but rarely.  It still surprises me how low the calories can be given the quality of food that I'm eating.

My take on Paleo: (what Im planning to base my food choices on)
Proteins: fish, chicken, eggs, sometimes steak
Vegetables: All
Fats: nuts, olive oil, avocado, limited butter
Dairy: yogurt, rarely cheese
Fruit: not often, berries mostly
Grains: None, if I can help it.
Legumes: rarely, very limited amount

Will update food and activities later.  Thanks for reading! :)

6. -0.5lbs I Love Fall

So glad it's Friday!  The weather is cool, and there are a lot of choices for things to do this weekend.  I need to be sure to get outside more to enjoy the crisp fresh air before it gets too cold.  Fall is my favorite season of the year.

I'm looking forward to extra-spicy homemade shrimp cocktail, a glass or two of cold dry rose, and some salty cashews and almonds for dinner.  I'll have to lighten up a little elsewhere today but it will be worth it. 

Planned for today:

espresso w. 1 tsp sugar
1 cup of 1% cottage cheese

Fage 2% yogurt

15 jumbo shrimp
1/4 cup homemade cocktail sauce
8 oz dry rose wine
1/2 ounce cashews
1/2 ounce almonds
___________________________
958 calories

I didn't work out last night, so I really should for a least a bit after work today, before dinner and anime watching. :)  I get to sleep in tomorrow, and then I think I'll get up, have my coffee, and take a nice long morning hike through town.

5. -0.0

Awww, I guess that losing streak had to end sometime.  Yesterday's calories ended up around 1100 because I had some wine with dinner and cashews.
Today we have a group coming over to game with my husband, and I get self-consious spending time in the kitchen when everyone is here.  I think I'll just make some vegetable soup and let it simmer until I'm ready to eat (its a sort of fend-for-yourself night) and if he wants to add a sandwich or something, he can make one.

Today:

espresso w. 1 tsp sugar

1 can of salmon
1.5 tbsp light olive oil mayo
Fage 2% yogurt

1 cup 1% cottage cheese
9 turkey meatballs
1.5 tbsp light olive oil mayo + sriracha
_____________________________
911 calories

No eggs this morning, since I didn't lose.  I have to work out tonight but I'm trying to find the motivation.  Watching a movie on the elliptical would be a good idea...
Otherwise, I feel great lately.  Maybe this whole "grainless" way of eating could become a permanent thing.  I don't miss bread.  Cheese and crackers would be different without the crackers, but I would't eat as much cheese that way anyway.  Haven't eaten cereal regularly in forever - I prefer eggs in the morning - if I want breakfast.  I do like rice and couscous and pasta, but it certainly isn't a dealbreaker to do without them.
The way I've been eating lately, I get less than 50g of carbs a day, about 100 grams of protein, and range between 25-40% fat.

4. -1.0lb

Planned for today:

espresso w. 1 tsp sugar
2 eggs
vitamins

6oz cold chicken
dip: 1.5 tbsp light mayo + sriracha hot sauce
2% Fage yogurt

6oz baked salmon
mushrooms cooked with 1 tsp olive oil
cucumber and onion salad with yogurt dill dressing
____________________________
872 calories

Really??? I triple checked, but yeah.

3. -1.0lb Yea, Protein!

Good!  I worked out pretty hard yesterday

quad-shot iced latte
2 eggs

5 oz cold chicken
dipping sauce: 1 tbsp light mayo + 1 tsp sriracha sauce
2% Fage yogurt

Dinner TBD

8oz red wine
2 light cheese wedges
______________________
877 calories

   Focusing on high-protein foods makes keeping calories low so easy... And when you think of it, it makes sense, since all the things that are so easy to overeat ARE carby and rather high in calories: cereal, crackers, juice, etc. I know that most recommendations for a low-carb diet say not to not count calories, just to keep the carbohydrate count within a certain range.  But I think many people go about it the wrong way. (But true, lose a lot of water weight quickly, which is what happens when the body metabolizes a large amount of protein.) Not only eating just too MUCH meat at meals, but snacking on cheese and eggs and lunchmeat, and things like that all day long.  Then what happens when the diet ends?  The appetite hasn't been changed at all.  In my feeling that would make it so much easier to put the weight back on, even if on a plan like the Dukan Diet where the carby things are introduced gradually and in a heathy way.  I would much rather learn to control my appetite and eat at mealtimes.
   I know I could eat more than this and probably be okay, but there isn't much I want right now and I'm not going to work out tonight.  Tomorrow should be another 1000-something calorie day.
   Went to Sam's Club (one of those warehouse stock-up stores) and got a supply of canned salmon, frozen salmon fillets, cooked chicken, shrimp, eggs, herbal tea, and vegetable juice.  I also found these packets of vitamins from GNC that look pretty amazing.  I've been neglecting taking a vitamin for a while now so I feel better now that I'll get back into that habit.

2. -1.0 lb

I lost a pound overnight and feel pretty good about that. 
Today:
coffee with milk and sugar
2 eggs

1 can albacore tuna
1 tbsp light olive oil mayo
romaine lettuce
Fage 0% yogurt

3 oz braised pork tenderloin
1/2 cup cooked broccoli
1/2 cup cooked mushrooms
1 tsp olive oil

1/3 cup trail mix
_____________________
954 calories

Elliptical - 40 minutes (200 calories)

1. Dukan Diet. Why not?

Wow, I haven't been able to count past 2 on-track days in a while, which explains my lack of any appreciable weight loss.  Still hovering in the same +/- 2 pound territory.  Darn wine nights.
So why not try shaking things up a bit?  I've never really been too trustful of carbs anyway, so this Dukan Diet might be worth a shot.  I'm going a bit loose on the rules tho - I'm going to eat vegetables every day (gasp), put a bit of whole milk in my morning coffee, and probably have a serving of beans every so often instead of the oat bran.  It also calls for NO alcohol, but I do want to allow a drink or two a week.  Especially at the end of this week: a new cocktail and small plates venue is opening, and they specialize in pre-prohibition cocktails.  For example -  a good Manhattan. NOT a silly chocolate martini. Woohoo!

So today my intake thus far:
coffee with milk and sugar (out of s/f syrup)
1 cup lowfat cottage cheese
turkey slices
= 416 calories

I might have some tuna salad later with lowfat mayo, but only if I get really hungry.  I think I'll be okay until dinner.  I'll cook us some scrambled eggs (with my new truffle salt) and some grilled zucchini (on my new grill/press).  My husband can round that out with some toast if he wants.  Will update totals later.

Add:
1 oz cashews
Fage 0% yogurt
3 scrambled eggs (with truffle salt mmm)
grilled onion and zucchini
_____________________
941 calories

2. Scale Still Stuck...Otherwise All Good

Intake:
quad-shot iced latte
turkey and cheese sandwich on "light" bread
Fage 2% yogurt
homemade vegetable soup with beans
glass red wine (Just one!  Progress.)
--- 915 calories

Exercise:
40 min Elliptical

1. Quickie Post

Hello and good morning. 
I need to figure out a new daily routine, now that I have the chance to work out every morning.
I have this thing against my husband seeing me work out in the a.m., so either I need to get up earlier or just elipt after he leaves, which would only give me about 20 minutes before I have to get myself ready.  So I think I'll start getting up at 5 or 5:30.

Did okay today, except for some animal crackers which did nothing to help my final totals.
Thinking about pushing more protein and lower carbs, but I worry that when I do end up eating something carby I'll immediately gain.  So I'll just try to keep it pretty moderate.

Exercise: 20m a.m. elliptical, 20m walking dog, 30m p.m. elliptical + stretches/calisthenics
Intake Today: quad-shot iced latte, turkey sandwich with a slice of cheddar on whole wheat, *the animal crackers*, 8 ounces chicken breast, 2 large raw carrots --- 1124 calories

2. Limbo Day

I'm not really tracking anything today.  No work because of the holiday but I've spent all day doing stuff in the house - cleaning, laundry, finishing the extra bedroom/elliptical area, etc.
Since I haven't really sat down much today I know I've gotten a good bit of activity.  My only meal - a big meal - was a Five Guys cheeseburger, which was about 900 calories all in one fell swoop.

Later on I'll watch a movie while I try out the elliptical machine. (While I elipt?  Is that a valid verb?)  After that I'll take a long hot soak in the tub and read.

My plan for the rest of September is to work out for at least 30 minutes every morning.  After work I'll clean, take a walk outside, do some calisthenics, or do a yoga dvd before cooking a late, healthy dinner like protein of some sort and vegetables.  On the nights that I have the house to myself I'll add in an additional elliptical workout.  No drinking unless it's a bit on the weekend.
I need to lose about 8 pounds by the end of the month.  That gives me 4 weeks to do it, which is almost too reasonable.

1. Oh, It's On Now. It is So On.

This morning I woke up and thought, "I want an elliptical machine."  I've been thinking idly about joining a gym for the last week or so, but I am such a hermit that it really becomes daunting: the dressing, the drive, the parking, the hauling stuff...to go to the gym.  There is one at work but God knows I don't want to work OUT with the people I work WITH.  So really, home equipment is really the way to go.
I love my husband.  I told him I thought we should get one and he, also wanting to get in shape, immediately agreed.  A trip to the store, back home to haul the pieces in, and then after a two-hour assembly project in the spare bedroom, he presented me with - taadaa!!! - a wonderful new high-quality nearly-gym-caliber calorie burning machine.  Yay!  So no excuses now, every single day I am going to be on that thing.

Last night was weird.  I drank way too much red wine, read a book, and listened to music.  It was weird though.  Maybe my sense of time was off at some point, but it seemed like I finished a glass of wine in no time at all.  Like I was just pacing the floor between the liquor cabinet and the couch, each time with a full glass.  I know it couldn't have happened like that.
I didn't do a final calorie count yesterday since I have no true idea of just how many glasses I had.  Today was a party at my in-laws, so more wine, but I think food-wise I did pretty good.  My MIL and SIL make that pretty easy, really.
When I first met my husband, I was 117 pounds.  Now I am 147.  Yeeeaaaahhh.  He likes to say he "made me eat" and it is true to an extent.  But really, I just got too comfortable and thought I could eat like a "normal person".  I just hope it isn't too late to change BACK into my older, better habits.  We fmet when I was 23 years old.  I'm 31 now, and have been at my heavier weights for about 5 or 6 years, on and off.  God that sounds awful.  Well, now that I am officially into my 30s I am ready for a major change.  I can always look fondly back at my memories of "the years I let myself go", but I cannot go on eating like a normal person.  I just can't.  My body is far too efficient and I don't want to be matronly.  I want to be one of those understatedly elegant women.  There is nothing elegant or chic about extra flab.