Satisfying Sunday

Sunday's Goals
Exercise: Rest
Calories: 1500

Sunday's Accomplishments
Exercise: Tennis
Calories: 1465

Today was a successful day on my program. Since I skipped the workout on Friday, I decided that I would make up for it today. Hubby and me played tennis after dinner which was a lot of fun.

I was right on target with my calories today. For breakfast I had Cream of Wheat with a little butter and sweetened with Stevia (260). I also had a cup of hot chocolate (made with skim milk) (185). I decided to skip lunch and had a banana to hold me over until dinner (90). For dinner I had large bowl of butternut squash soup (I used a recipe from my favorite cookbook) with 2 slices of Tuscan Pane bread spread with butter (690) and it was fabulous! For dessert I had a Zitner's Caramel Apple with nuts (240).

Goals for the Coming Week

Here are my goals for the week of October 1st:

Monday
Exercise: Strength training
Calories: 1400

Tuesday
Exercise: Cardio (preferably ice skating)
Calories: 2000

Wednesday
Exercise: Strength training
Calories: 1500

Thursday
Exercise: Cardio (preferably tennis)
Calories: 1400

Friday
Exercise: Strength Training
Calories: 1800

Saturday
Exercise: Cardio
Calories: 3000

Sunday
Exercise: Rest
Calories: 1500

Sunshine, Friends & Food

It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day on Saturday - the kind of day dreams are made of - sparkling sunshine, temperatures in the 70's, a soft breeze, leaves starting to turn. It was the perfect day for an outing. My hubby and some friends and me went to Ridley Creek State Park, a beautiful state park in Pennsylvania, for the day and hung out. I took some really pretty pictures.

We did a little hiking, played some paddleball, hung out and talked and right before we left the park we made some funny videos of us singing stupid commercial songs, and videotaped some "original" commercials as well. Our sides were splitting from being in stitches.

Anyway, I was proud of myself because earlier that morning I did not feel like working out AT ALL but I talked myself into it. I told myself, "you didn't work out on Friday and you'll probably be too tired on Sunday to work out, so you better work out today or you'll have three days in a row with no exercise". My rule is that I must do 5 days/week of exercise MINIMUM (and preferably 6) to consider myself sucessful on my program. So I dragged my sorry butt into the workout room and did Fitprime's Weights First. This is an out-of-print video that's hard to find these days (maybe sometimes on EBay) but it's a good one. Tough as nails! It SHOULD be called "The Death by Lunges, Squats and Leg Presses Workout". It's a butt and leg blaster!

Saturday was also my 3000 calorie SPLURGE day - my favorite day of the week as far as the diet goes. As I mentioned before, I don't actually count calories on my 3000 day. I just forget the diet altogether and it is wonderful. It's probably the main thing that keeps me commited to this program. I can't even remember everything I ate yesterday. I didn't have a real breakfast...I just snacked on different things from breakfast through lunchtime. For dinner, we drove from the state park to Media which is one of those adorable main street Pennsylvania towns that you visit and then long to move there. We walked around and found a Thai-French Restaurant. I had my favorite...pad thai with shrimp and a side of coconut shrimp. DEEEEEEELICIOUS! Psychologically I really wanted dessert (they had creme brulee on the menu...my favorite) but I was simply too full.

Too Wiped to Workout

Friday's Goals
Exercise: Strength Training
Calories: 1500

Friday's Accomplishments
Exercise: None
Calories: 1500

This morning I was feeling run down from too much exercise so I decided not to work out. I am really careful about overdoing it. When my body feels tired and overworked, I let it rest. I love to exercise, but I am not so obsessed that I will wear myself down.

I was right on target with my calories today. For breakfast I had my usual shake (300). For lunch I had a veggie burger on high-fiber bread with roasted veggies, cheddar and mustard (500) followed by 2 jawbreakers (50). I made a really yummy dinner tonight - panko/wheat germ/parmesan/bread crumb crusted tilapia (400) with a side of mashed potatoes (135) and roasted vegetables (147). After dinner I had a glass of my homemade lemon soda to take the edge off my sweet tooth.

Pita Pizza and a Compliment

Thursday's Goals
Exercise: Ice Skating
Calories: 1400

Thursday's Accomplishments
Exercise: WHFN Fast Cheetah (Cardio workout)
Calories: 1400

Unfortunately, my schedule did not permit time for skating today so I did a cardio workout instead. I did WHFN's Fast Cheetah workout. This is a fun, mostly-cardio workout. I noticed I felt a little sore today from yesterday's workout - especially in the butt, so if anyone reading this wants a workout that really blasts the butt, you may want to try Tom Holland's workout.

I was right on target with my calories today. I had my usual shake for breakfast (300). For lunch I had a veggie pita pizza (435 calories, recipe below) and a couple of jawbreakers afterwards to settle down my usual post-pizza sweet tooth (50). For dinner I had Yankee Bean Soup and a cheese sandwich on - what else - Tuscan Pane bread (602).

Something encouraging happened at work today. I passed a colleague in the hall and she said, "you're getting skinny!" SKINNY???? I think that adjective is a little strong, but I'll take it! :)

Anyway, I thought I'd post my pita pizza recipe. I make this all the time and take it to work for lunch (it's great baked in the toaster oven). It's really good and moderate in calories (for pizza).

SASSY'S VEGGIE PITA PIZZA

1 round 8" pita bread (I like the Greek type)
1/4 cup jarred marinara sauce
A handful of chopped veggies (I like onions, mushrooms and peppers)
1 tbs grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 ounces grated part-skim mozzarella
Garlic powder
Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a piece of aluminum foil or a cookie sheet with non-stick spray and lay the pita bread on top. Spread the marinara evenly over the pita bread. Sprinkle with garlic powder and Italian seasoning to taste. Spread the chopped veggies evenly over the sauce and sprinkle the tablespoon of parmesan evenly over the pizza. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over top. Bake for about 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and edges of pita are golden brown.

(435 calories)

A Cheesy Day

I woke up a little late this morning so I had to select from one of my shorter workouts - luckily I have a few that are about 40-45 minutes. I decided to do Tom Holland's Total Body Workout.
It's a good, challenging, total body gym-style weight training workout with cardio intervals and it's only 45 minutes. I usually rebound during the cardio segments. (Actually, I usually rebound during the cardio segments on all of my workout videos). This is a fast-moving workout that really gets me sweating, but it's not too painful since Tom is quite easy on the eyes. But man does he sweat a lot! They filmed this workout in real time with no edits and the man literally has sweat visibly dripping off his face in this workout. A little unappetizing before breakfast, but his cuteness more than makes up for it!

Today my calorie goal was 2000 but I decided to decrease it to 1900 since I went overboard a little yesterday with the hard candies. For breakfast I had - what else - a chocolate protein shake (300). For lunch I had a toasted cheese sandwich on my favorite Trader Joe's Tuscan Pane bread with mustard (570). After work I attended a seminar at the university I attend for my Masters program and had a few refreshments (350). Once I got home, I was a little too tired to cook a formal dinner, so I quickly heated up some tortilla chips topped with black beans, salsa and reduced-fat sour cream (655). And that was it for the day! I was right on target with my calories today.

My Reward System

I thought I would take a break from the usual blog entries and talk about a reward system I have developed for myself for sticking to my program.

I have always wanted a gold charm bracelet...I just think they are so cool - you know, having charms on a bracelet that represent my hobbies and interests. I'm not usually a big jewelry person - I like it, but I am not obsessed by any means. But this is just something I always wanted. I think it appeals to me because it's so personalized and I have plenty of interests to represent with charms. Travel, music, cooking, photography - the list goes on and on.

So I decided on the following reward system for my weight loss:

When I reach 30 pounds lost (which is just about to happen) I will buy myself a charm bracelet. I actually have picked one out already. Here's a picture. (Note - it even comes with one charm already on it!)

For every 5 pounds I lose above and beyond 30, I will buy myself a charm to add to the bracelet. Since I have about 50 more pounds to lose, this should amount to about 10 charms altogether by the time I reach my final goal.

I figure this will be fun reward and it will be a visual reminder that I can wear that may also inspire me to stay on track.

Another thing I wanted to write about today is a positive experience I had this morning. I had gotten dressed for work and got in front of the full-length mirror to do a quick once-over to make sure everything looked right and I had an immediate shock. I thought "I look thin!" Now, I realize that in reality, I am not thin. I am still 50 pounds from my ideal weight about 3 dress sizes away from goal. However, compared to what I was back when I started this program, and compared to how I have looked for the past several years, I look thin. I turned sideways and I even was pretty happy with the sideview. It also struck me that the exercise is really starting to pay off. I look more fit and I feel great. I feel "tight" - like everything is exactly where it should be.

When I first started this program, January 1st, I decided to take photos of myself every month, and take my measurements and keep track. My goal in doing this was to have another source of inspiration - I figured there would be nothing more inspiring then to actually SEE photos of my results and read the changes in my measurements. I did this for the first several months but then, I fell off the wagon a bit over the summer and didn't do it for a couple months. But anyway, I am here to announce that on October 1st, I will be getting back to my monthly photos and measurements and posting my results here. I may even post some photos if I can muster up the courage to do so (they're not the most flattering photos in the world!)

Still Goin' Strong

Another pretty good day on my program. I have to say, blogging is making a big difference in my being compliant. It's really silly, but because I know that someone might be reading my blog, it makes me more concerned about doing what I am supposed to do and not screwing up. The last thing I want to do is publicly blog about what a screw up I am!

Anyway, I couldn't fit a tennis game into my schedule today so instead I did WHFN's Steamin' Cardio workout. Not as much fun as tennis (tennis doesn't even seem like exercise, it's so fun) but it did the trick. The WHFN workouts are really fun - good intermediate workouts with excellent production and music.

I went a little over my calorie allotment today - probably by about 100 calories. I had a mean sugar tooth late in the afternoon and downed a handful of candy (jaw breakers, gum, etc.) Otherwise I did well. For breafast I had my usual shake (300). For lunch I had a grilled veggie burger sandwich topped with roasted veggies and part-skim mozzarella (on my favorite Tuscan Pane bread) (447). For dinner I had a Bean, Cheese & Shrimp Burrito (435) and some Mallomars for dessert (240). So my total calories were about 1522. A little off target but hey - not that bad really considering how good I've been lately!

A good day

Monday's Goals
Exercise: Strength Training
Calories: 1800

Monday's Accomplishments
Exercise: Strength Training
Calories: 1830

For my exercise I did Tracie Long Training's Finding Your Core (a challenging strength workout which utilizes the stability ball).

I went over my calorie allotment by 30 which isn't bad. Actually, I consider myself on target if I stay within 50 calories of my calorie allotment for any given day.

Anyway, I had my usual protein shake for breakfast (300). For lunch I had a pita pizza (pita topped with marinara sauce, veggies, vegetarian sausage, grated parmesan and part-skim mozzarella (495). I indulged today and had a pile of Mallomars for a treat (420) and a few hard candies (100) - can you tell I was craving sugar today? For dinner I had stuffed baked potatoes (baked potatoes topped with brocolli and cheddar) (515)

An A+ day

Hubby and me played tennis this morning. Wow - what a GORGEOUS day it was! Every year, right before fall, I am simply in awe of how beautiful it gets. I don't know why, but the beauty is a surprise to me very year. I am really looking forward to October which (I think) is the prettiest month of the year. I love the vibe in October - the whole Halloween thing really appeals to me.

Anyway, we played 10 games (I won this time) and felt like playing more, so we played a round of 5 more games (hubby won). After that, I felt pretty beat.

My diet was a little odd today, but I did stay within my calorie limit (1400). For breakfast, I decided to make some banana bread. We had some really ripe, spotted bananas on the counter and I usually peel and freeze them for my breakfast shakes, but I already have a good supply in the freezer. So banana bread it was! I tried a new recipe from the Passionate Vegetarian Cookbook (the recipes in this book tend to be a little more on the healthy side than other cookbooks) and we really liked the way the banana bread came out. It was moist, but not greasy, and lightly sweet. I toasted mine and smeared some peanut butter on it. YUMMMMMMY! It was so good, I had 2 servings. (616)

Since I had so many calories at breakfast (for a 1400 calorie day), I decided to try to forego lunch and save the rest of my calories for dinner. Luckily, I was able to stave off hunger by drinking some of my homemade stevia-sweetened lemon/lime soda and chewing some sugarfree gum. By 5:00 p.m., though, I was really hungry. Hubby had already eaten, so I cooked just for me. I decided I felt like having breakfast for dinner. I know, very weird, but that grilled Tuscan-Pane-vegetarian bacon-egg-cheddar sandwich I made the other day was calling my name, so I made a nice big one (775). And that was it for my calories for the day. Again, not a veggie in sight today. Oh well. I can't beat myself up over that. At least I am sticking to my program.

Goals for Week of September 24, 2007

Here are my goals for the upcoming week:

Monday
Exercise: Strength training
Calories: 1800

Tuesday
Exercise: Tennis
Calories: 1400

Wednesday
Exercise: Strength training
Calories: 2000

Thursday
Exercise: Skating
Calories: 1400

Friday
Exercise: Strength training
Calories: 1500

Saturday
Exercise: Cardio
Calories: 3000

Sunday
Exercise: Rest
Calories: 1500

A Good Day

Saturday's Goals:

Exercise: Tennis
Calories: 2000

Saturday's Accomplishments:

Exercise: None
Calories: 2000

My body was feeling like it needed a rest (worn down from too many days of exercise in a row), so I decided to take my rest day on Saturday instead of on Sunday.

I did stay on track with my calories. Of course, it's pretty easy on a 2000 calorie day. For breakfast I had eggs, vegetarian bacon and cheddar on my favorite bread - Trader Joe's Tuscan Pane and then grilled the whole thing in a little butter (675). MMMMM MMMMM MMMMM! I'll tell you, as good as those chocolate protein shakes are, there's nothing better for breakfast than this concoction. And that Tuscan Pane bread is the best bread I have ever eaten...especially when used to make grilled sandwiches. If anyone reading this is a Trader Joe's shopper, you simply MUST try that Tuscan Pane bread. It is to die for.

After breakfast I had some chai made with skim milk (150). I buy Trader Joe's brand chai - the stuff that comes in the canister. They now have an unsweetened version so you can sweeten it as much or little as you like. This is great because I can use Stevia instead of sugar and save some calories. Plus, their regular sweetened version is a little TOO sweet (even for a sweet tooth like me).

I had to run some errands yesterday and got really hungry so I had a Snickers bar for a snack (250). For dinner I had a nice big plate of cheese tortellini topped with marinara sauce sauteed with mushrooms, garlic and onion and with grated parmesan on top (925). Afterwards, I was craving chocolate (I always crave chocolate after Italian food for some reason) but I restrained myself.

Fully on the wagon

Thursday's Goals:

Exercise: Strength Training
Calories: 1400

Thursday's Accomplishments:

Exercise: Strength Training
Calories: 1400

Finally my morning schedule was back to normal and I didn't have to go into work early! I did Fitprime's Up & Down (a toughie!) and it felt good to get a strength training workout in after 3 days of cardio.

Despite it being a 1400 calorie day (the toughest), I was able to stick to my calorie allotment. I had my usual shake for breakfast (300). For lunch I had a bean, cheese and shrimp burrito (490 - recipe below) followed by some hard candies (50). For dinner I had tortillas sprinkled with reduced-fat cheddar and served with salsa (560) . Guess I was feeling a little Mexican yesterday. I am posting this burrito recipe because it's delicious, very filling (lots of fiber) and healthy. Imagine - healthy AND delicious (now there's a concept!)

BEAN, CHEESE & SHRIMP BURRITO

1 large soft flour tortilla
1/2 c black beans (canned), drained and rinsed
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed, thinly sliced
chili powder
cilantro (fresh chopped is best, or you can use dried)
salt & pepper
Juice of 1/2 lime
3 tbs salsa
2 oz pre-cooked shrimp, tails removed (optional)
1 1/2 oz. reduced fat cheddar cheese

Spread out a large piece of aluminum foil and spray it with non-stick spray. Lay the soft tortilla on top. Dump the beans on top of the tortilla in a pile, to one end. Sprinkle the sliced jalapeno over top of the beans. Sprinkle with chili powder, cilantro and salt & pepper (to taste). Squeeze the lime over top, sprinkling the juice evenly over the pile of beans. Spoon the salsa over top and spread evenly. Lay the shrimps evenly over the pile and sprinkle the cheddar over.

Fold the sides in and at the same time, roll the tortilla into a wrap. It will be large, so roll it tightly, trying to keep all the ingredients from falling out. Place seam-side down on baking sheet, spray the outside of the tortilla lightly with non-stick spray, and bake at 325 for 30 minutes (flip the burrito over half way through baking time to make sure the crust gets baked evenly).

Alternately, you can take this burrito with you and bake at work (that's what I do) if you have a toaster oven at work. The only difference is, when you roll the burrito, just roll the alumimum foil tightly around it and bake it rolled in the alluminum foil - same temperature 325 and flip it over half way through baking time.

SASSY'S RECIPES

All of the recipes posted in this blog will also be stored at my new recipe site - Sassy's Recipes (link is also at the right). I decided since I will probably be posting recipes frequently, I should put them in a place where they will be more easily findable than just here scattered throughout my blog.

1800 and a Walk

Thursday's Goals:

Exercise: Tennis
Calories: 1800

Thursday's Accomplishments:

Exercise: Walking (3 miles)
Calories: 1800

Another successful day on my program!

Since we just played tennis on Wednesday, hubby and me decided to take a walk instead of the tennis, which was the original plan. We went to one of the local county parks and walked for about three miles. Now, I must admit, walking is not my favorite form of exercise. I find it rather boring, but it's definitely tolerable when I have a walking partner to talk with.

I was again right on target with calories. I broke my morning protein shake routine and instead had cereal with skim milk and a banana (490). For lunch I had a bowl of lentil soup and a grilled cheese sandwich (585) and a few hard candies after lunch (100). For dinner I made pasta with tomato, feta and garlic (625).

This blog is definitely helping me to be more on top of my program. Just knowing I am going to post my accomplishments (or failures) publicly makes me more adherent.

A productive day

Wednesday's Goals:
Calories: 1400
Exercise: Strength Training

Wednesday's Achievements:
Calories: 1400
Exercise: Tennis

I ended up playing tennis with hubby last night instead of doing my morning strength training. That's because I had to go into work early yesterday because of a situation that arose at work and therefore my morning was cut short and I didn't have time for exercise. I can't do strength training at night - I just don't have the energy for it (I'm a morning person) and even tennis is a challenge for me at night. Hubby and me start our tennis match with a 5-10 minute warmup - just hitting the ball back and forth and then once warmed up, we start playing. We play "first person to win 10 games" and that usually is an hour to an hour and a half. We were neck-in-neck the entire time until the very end when he won. It's fun to play with him because we're exactly the same skill level (i.e. we're both beginners) so sometimes he wins and sometimes I win.

I have never been a person who enjoy competitive sports so it's funny that I like tennis so much. When I am playing, I don't feel competive against my opponent as much as I feel competitive with myself. I like to win because I like to think I am getting better at the game.

As for my diet...I was right on target with my calories yesterday, which is always an accomplishment on the low-cal days. I had my usual protein shake for breakfast (300). For lunch I had 2 veggie dogs on whole wheat bread with cheese and mustard (440) and for dinner I decided I just wanted ice cream (I know, not healthy) so I measured out enough low-fat ice cream, banana and whipped cream to equal my remaining calories of 660.

So I wouldn't say my diet yesterday was the HEALTHIEST in the world (not a vegetable to be found!) but I did stay within my calorie limits and that's the only requirement I set for myself with my diet.

Skating and Dining - and a Recipe!

Tuesday's Goals:

Exercise: Skating
Calories: 3000

Tuesday's Achievements:

Exercise: Skating
Calories: 3000

Yesterday was my 3000 calorie day, so no problems with the diet! ;) As I said, I don't even bother counting calories on my 3000 day. I just eat whatever I want. It's my splurge day.

My brother and me met at Brio for dinner, a new Italian chain restaurant that recently opened near where I live and had a delicious dinner. I have been really impressed lately by the quality of food one can get at some of the chains now. Brio was fantastic. We shared a bruschetta appetizer that was honestly the best bruschetta I have ever eaten in my life. And the pasta dishes were extremely good. And then for dessert we both got this New York cheesecake that had a crispy creme brulee top. Oh my!

Okay, enough about my indulgences.

I did go figure skating yesterday and skated for a good hour, although I must say my energy level wasn't as high as usual. And the usual show-offs were there who skate 200 miles per hour and zig-zag in and out of everyone backwards and scare the crap out of me because I don't think they are watching where they are going. There are two types of skating show-offs. The first are the hockey guys. They come to open session to practice their hockey skating, so they are flying around like maniacs, skidding to stops, weaving in and out of everyone and shredding up the ice. They make me nervous because I never know what they are going to do. The second type of skating show-off is the semi-professional figure skater. Not all of them are problems, but there are certain skaters who skate EXTREMELY fast, spinning around frontwards to backwards, weaving in and out of everyone backwards and they don't seem to be watching where they are going. They brush past me at 100 miles an hour within an inch of me and it makes me nervous.

And then there is me, the beginner figure skater, focused on my basic turns, angles and essentially staying upright!

I thought I would share my protein shake recipe today. I have this shake about 5 mornings of the week. Why? Well...this shake has several advantages. First, it's delicious! Really. It tastes like a rich, chocolate milkshake - it's made with whey protein (a milk derivative) so it doesn't have any funny taste like some of the protein powders. So it helps to tame the chocolate beast inside me. Second, it is filling. It holds me over until lunch. Third, it has only 300 calories so having a low-cal breakfast like this frees up a lot of calories for lunch and dinner which (for me) are the meals that I prefer to be larger. Fourth, the incorporation of dark cocoa powder and cinnamon provides a serious one-two health punch! And it's a high protein meal. Can't beat it.

SASSY'S PROTEIN SHAKE

In a blender:

1 c skim milk
1 scoop protein powder (I like the Whey Gourmet brand, especially the chocolate peanut butter flavor)
2 tbs unsweetened dark cocoa powder (I use Hershey's Dark brand)
Few sprinkles of cinnamon (about 1/2 tsp)
1/2 frozen ripe banana
1 ice cube

Blend and enjoy!

Day 1 - 2 stars

Monday's Goals:
1500 calories
Strength Training

Monday's Achievements:
1500 calories
Strength Training

I did really well yesterday - 2 stars for diet and exercise. For my workout, I did FitPrime's From the Ground Up (did rebounding during the cardio segments) and had a 1500 calorie day yesterday. For breakfast I had my usual protein shake (300 calories). For lunch I had a bean and cheese burrito seasoned with salsa, jalepeno and lime juice (450 calories). After lunch I had a couple pieces of hard candy (50 calories) so that left me with 700 calories for dinner. I made a really good dinner last night - hubby was delighted...there's this recipe my mom told me about in our favorite cookbook The Best Recipe for salmon that is outrageously good. I usually substitute tilapia. It's fish that's broiled, then smeared with dijon mustard and then encrusted in a breading made of crushed potato chips, fresh toasted bread crumbs and dill. I also made roasted veggies (brussel sprouts, peppers, onions and carrots) and mashed potatoes.

The pain in the neck thing about this diet is that it is very cumbersome to count calories for meals like this. It takes a lot of diligence and care. What I do is, for each thing I am making, I write down the total calories for every ingredient going into the entire recipe - so, for example, if I am using a pound of tilapia, I look up tilapia in my calorie counter book and then calculate the total calories for a pound. I do this for all the ingredients. Then, when the recipe is done, I add up the total calories of the entire recipe, weigh the whole recipe on my scale and calculate calories per ounce. Then, I can dole out portions to myself that fit within my calorie limits for the day.

Major. Pain. in. the. ass.

I'd say that's the only thing I hate about this particular eating program. Otherwise, I don't really have too many problems with this diet. Well, except that the low-cal days (1400, 1500) are trying because I really never feel completely satisfied eating that little food in one day.

I will say, however, that I am NOT hungry. The plate of food I had for dinner last night was large! In fact, hubby mistook my plate for his (because he usually gets a big plate of food and mine is usually smaller). When I cook recipes that have fish or vegetables in them, they generally tend to be high in bulk for the calories, so my plate was pretty whopping in size last night. But still, I could have EASILY eaten seconds because the food was pretty light and I could have definitely gone for a nice, big bowl of ice cream afterwards and that would have been PERFECT!!!!

But as it was, I was determined to stick to my 1500 calorie limit and I did it!

Oh, and I forgot to add that usually after dinner - when I am craving sweets (which is most nights)....I make myself a homemade calorie-free lemonade (or limeade) to take the edge off. I fill a glass almost all the way with seltzer, squirt in a full lemon or lime and then stir in some Stevia (a natural herbal sweetener that has no calories). It's nice and sweet and keeps my sweets cravings from sending me off the deep end.

Day One of my Fitness/Weight Loss Blog

My name is Sassy and I have a problem being consistent with my weight loss and fitness program. That's why I am here...to hold myself accountable and hopefully increase my chance at achieving my goals!

Although my goals concern weight loss and fitness, I should say up front that I am actually already pretty darned consistent with the fitness part. I actually love to exercise and work out 5-6 days/week without too much trouble. Exercise, to me, is somewhat fun and makes me feel great and it's already been established as part of my daily routine. I wake up, go to the bathroom, take my thyroid meds, feed the cats, fill my water glass and head to the workout room for my exercise. I don't even think about it.

I do 3 days of strength training per week and 2 days of cardio, plus sometimes a bonus workout on the weekend if I feel like it. I mostly do fitness videos for the strength training (I have a pretty large collection of excellent fitness videos and a dedicated workout room).


For cardio, I also have videos but usually I will do something more fun like play tennis or go figure skating (a new hobby I picked up about a year ago). If it's not a good day for tennis or skating, I will usually do rebounding (mini-trampoline) while watching a fitness video. I really don't enjoy standard aerobic exercise like step or floor aerobics.

Now...for diet....that's another story. Like many women, I really struggle with my diet. I have emotional issues tied to food and without serious perservence, tend to binge on junky stuff, especially sweets (and especially when I am upset or under stress.)

I've tried many different types of diets over the years and while most of them work, I haven't been able to stick with them consistently because I get tired of them. This is particularly true for diets that restrict or eliminate certain foods (which are usually the foods I like, like sweets and carbs). I miss those foods too much and then end up throwing in the towel. I can't tolerate low carb diets either because I get tired of eating the same foods all the time.

So this past January, I decided to give calorie counting a try and I have been having some good success with this. I used an on-line calorie calculator to determine how many calories I should eat per day to lose weight in a moderate fashion and I came up with 1800. Then, I decided that instead of eating exactly 1800/day, I would zig-zag my calories. My daily calories for a week are like this:

1400
1500
2000
1500
1800
1400
3000

These amounts, when added together, come to the same grand total as eating 1800/day. The benefit of zig-zagging (I have found) as opposed to eating the same calories every day are:

1. My body doesn't go into a "plateau". Since the calorie amounts fluctuate every day, my body doesn't get too used to any one calorie level and therefore doesn't go into "starvation mode" to adjust.

2. Zig-zagging allows me a couple higher calorie days. The 3000/cal. day is especially useful because it amounts to a true "splurge day". I usually schedule my 3000/cal. day for a day when I have plans to go out to dinner, or a party to go to, where I know there will be lots of good food to eat. To be honest, I don't even bother counting calories on my 3000/cal. day. I just assume that no matter how much I eat, the odds are I won't be eating more than 3000 calories.

3. Those high-cal days really are helping me to stay on my program. Because I have a high cal day a couple days/week, I am less likely to feel deprived. I always know that a splurge day is just around the corner.

4. Zig-zagging has another flexibility feature built in. If, for example, it is a 1400/calorie day and I am feeling extremely weak and like I am going to blow it and eat more calories, I can simply swap my 1400/calorie day for a higher calorie day (assuming I still have some coming up in the week) in my weekly plan. So, for example, if it's Tuesday and it's supposed to be a 1400 calorie day but I am feeling like I simply need to eat more that day, and I see that Thursday is scheduled to be my 2000/calorie day, I simply switch them and make Tuesday my 2000 calorie day and Thursday my 1400 calorie day. Of course, this only works as an occasional flexibility tactic. I can't switch EVERY low cal day for a high one because there are only so many high cal days to be had each week. But at any rate, the fact is, that NOT having the same calorie level set each day does provide for some flexibility that stricter calorie counting diets do not provide.

I started January 1, 2007 and would estimate that I have been compliant on this program about 6 out of the last 8 months. I won't state my starting weight, but I was at a size 16 and my clothes were fitting tight...I was pretty much an 18. My goal is to get back my wedding size (8-10) and be even more fit than I was then - I would like to have a really toned, somewhat "cut" (although not bulky) appearance. So it's definitely a long road. Since I started on January 1st of this year, I have lost 27.2 pounds and 18 inches which puts me at about 35% of my goal. I can only imagine how much more I would have lost had I been compliant the entire time.

That's why I am here...to help myself be more compliant. My goal is to blog almost every day about how I am doing.

So today is Sunday and I am going to start by setting my plan for this coming week. I just looked at my calendar and there is only one eating-challenge day planned. Tuesday I am meeting my brother after work for dinner at a new Italian restaurant nearby. So that will be my 3000/day.

My goals for this coming week:

Monday
Strength
1500 calories

Tuesday
Figure Skating
3000 calories

Wednesday
Strength
1400 calories

Thursday
Tennis
1800 calories

Friday
Strength
1400 calories

Saturday
Tennis
2000 calories

Sunday
Rest
1500 calories