Day 44: 40 Days of Sweating

Today is Fat Tuesday, so I'm pretending calories don't exist and just not stressing out today. As of this morning I'm back down to 213 (yay!) and in need of a better short term goal (834 calories/day? What was I thinking???)

Tomorrow I'm beginning a 40 Day intensive challenge to get below 200lbs by the end of Lent. I'm not catholic, but it's as good a time as any to give up sweets and junk food and to put focus on activity.

The plan includes:

• Working out every morning at the gym (They open at 6am!)
• Going to the gym after work if my whiny, lazy inner child won't let me wake up early enough
• Following a balanced meal plan (kinda like weight watchers)
• Counting the calories in everything I eat
• Weighing every Sunday and measuring on 2/17, 3/10 and 3/28
• Drinking a ton of water and only 1 beer or glass of wine/week
• Avoiding sugar and fatty meats like the plague and limiting my bread intake
• Updating my blog daily, like the good old days

I've been feeling really discouraged lately and giving up the fight on a daily basis and it would be super helpful if everyone that reads this would send me notes of encouragement throughout this endeavor.

Thanks in advance for all of your support!

Day 5: Getting Full

Yesterday was great...
I had 3 clementines for breakfast and was full. I was too busy and not at all hungry at lunch time. For dinner I chopped and roasted two medium red skin potatoes with a little bit of olive oil and a Tuscan seasoning blend I had. It was satisfying and delicious. I'm getting fuller on less food. I think this means my stomach is shrinking back to normal size. I like it!

If it weren't for the smell of the potatoes roasting in my toaster oven, I don't know that I could have made it through making the creamy chicken and pasta casserole for the warming center without grabbing a few "tastes". The casserole smelled really good too, but I was super careful not to lick my fingers or the spoons.

I only know one way to be sure that pasta is cooked, though... and I bit into one of the penne tubes with my front teeth and spit the bite out into the garbage. I'm serious about this challenge and I don't want to get the carb train rolling out of the station just yet.

The mental craving cycle is beginning to break. Yesterday was full of thoughts of Doritos. At the grocery store, while buying the ingredients for the casserole, I noticed how much the low nutrient/high fat foods are marketed over healthier, tastier options. It makes me mad because, even though the choice to by is ultimately mine, I feel preyed upon by large companies selling bags of garbage to fatten their wallets and us. I wonder if weight loss companies are connected to the food makers somehow. It wouldn't shock me if Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig paid for Frito Lay's advertising.

Today is more of the same; Phase one of the Daniel Fast (fruits and veggies only) and tons of water. So far I'm 1,543 calories under my weekly budget of 7,700 and feeling good. Tonight's physical activity is giving haircuts to the homeless folks at the warming center... it's tougher than you think. :)

Day 3: Everything Smells Wonderful

Yesterday went well.
I was still unable to walk like a normal 30 year old, but I made it through the day and stuck to my meal plan... sort of. I replaced my intended avocado and tomato salad dinner with about 8 cups of movie theater popcorn (no butter, of course). It turns out, though, that even that much popcorn is only 440 calories so as a meal goes it was ok... but I didn't get my healthy fat in for the day so I won't be able to make a habit of it. Another downside is that I didn't realize how much salt is really in the stuff when it was coated with. I drank about a gallon of water when I got home from the movie.

A couple new things I'm noticing:

• I can smell things a whole lot better. Similar to when I quit smoking, my sense of smell is hightened. So much so that I can smell whatever people are heating up in the microwaves in the cafeteris that is about 60 yards away from my desk.

• I'm excited to be able to work out again. My tiny stint with a sports injury is upsetting, but it's less about having hurt myself and more about not being physically capable of following my workout plan. 

Tonight I intend to do a 20 minute basic pilates workout just to keep things going. I expect to be fully recovered by tomorrow and I plan to tackle the 30 Day Shred again... hopefully this time I'll make it through without hurting myself. I'll definitely be spending more time stretching when the video ends though. :)

As for the meal plan: Today is a new approach. Day 1 I fasted, Day 2 I went with moderation (and popcorn!) today I'm working on a steady flow of raw fruits and vegetables. I'm thinking my body might react better to variety and not just a variety of foods. My hope is that this variety method will keep my metabolism guessing and it's a lot more fun for me. It's also easier for me to stay focused on the little goals if I keep changing the game plan each day. We'll see, huh?

Almost to the half way point of the first week!!! 51 and 1/2 to go!!!

Day 2: Sore and Satisfied

This morning I woke up, still sore from the Jillian Michaels workout I did on Sunday afternoon... I'm not sure if I didn't stretch enough or if I was just way too out of shape for the Beginners Level 1 on the 30 Day Shred video, but I'm feeling pretty shredded and not in the good way.

Needless to say, I won't be working out today... I'm waiting for my torn muscles to heal before damaging them anymore.

Yesterday's meal plan went rather well with the intention of fasting for 24 hours being a success. From 6pm Sunday to 6pm on Monday I drank only water. At 6 on Monday I had a salad with lots of veggies and a fantastic olive oil and garlic dressing. I also broiled some zuchinni and summer squash with a little bit of spray oil and salt and pepper. I was satisfied by the time I finished my salad and was comfortably full after the squash. A few cravings hit after breaking my fast, but determination kept me in check.

For the record, I don't recommend anyone fast without consulting their doctor. The fact is that at 218 lbs I am not putting my body at risk if I choose to fast for a day or two. I've got a lot of stored energy my body can use and I believe fasting to be a biblical and spiritual event. So no worries, I'm no where near anorexia and have no intention of becomming skeletal, I just want to be able to run and wear skirts without my thighs falling apart... probably don't want to do both at the same time, but you get the idea. :)

As for today's meal plan. I'm going to try a consistant approach. I'm having some apples for breakfast, a nice salad with lot's of veggies for lunch and sliced avocado and tomatoes for dinner. I anticipate my physical hunger to be nonexistant, but my mental cravings to be off the charts... Wish me luck!

Day 1: Bravery Required

This is the first full day of my endeavor to lose 100 Lbs by January 3rd 2011.

I am a 30 year old female, 5'2", 218 Lbs. I have been overweight since the age of 13.

My lowest weight in the last 5 years is 192, my highest is 230.

I have tried Weight Watchers, Adkins Diet & Sadkhin Complex and have tried suplemental programs like Alli, Metabolife & Equinox. I gave vegetarianism, veganism & raw foods a whirl and even went a month on nothing but prepackaged foods. As for exercize; there have been countless work out sessions and hours spent on tread mills and elliptical machines with no understanding of what it was even doing for my body. To be perfectly honest I had to have spell check help me out with spelling exercize. My plan is to shake things up with my metabolism. I wnat to take the consistent advice of a few different gurus and mix it with the science of calories in vs. calories out and see what happens. I will update daily with what nutritional method I used and which workout I did and describe hunger, energy, dificulty and what I'm feeling. I will also update every Monday evening with my weight and measurements.

The Food Plan:
Detox by fasting for 1 day
Kick start the calorie reduction by only eating fruits and vegetables for 19 days
Stick to a balanced menu of 1300 calories/day for the remaining days.

The Action Plan:
Sundays, Cross train at the gym 1-4
Mondays, Video: Pilates Basic, 20 min
Tuesdays, Video: Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred, 20 min
Wednesdays, Video: Pilates Buns & Thighs, 20 min
Thursdays, Video: Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred, 20 min
Fridays, Video: Pilates Abs, 20 min
Saturdays, Video: Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred, 20 min