Starting Weight: 221
Today's Weight: 210.6
Total Loss: 10.4 pounds
So I am a terrible terrible blogger! I have been really busy with traveling and getting ready for the move that I haven't updated this blog in 12 days..........But! I have still been loosing weight. Tomorrow is my 30 day mark so we'll see how close I got to the 30 pounds although I don't think it will be quite half way I'm down more than 10 pounds from where I started and I can't hate on that kind of loss in a month.
Check in tomorrow for my final weigh in............I promise I'll post it :)
Thanks for reading,
Mellissa
Monday, April 25, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Day 17
Starting Weight: 221
Today's Weight: 214.2
Total Loss: 6.8 pounds
Today was a challenging day. I had a busy start at work so I didn't eat anything for breakfast. Then had lunch with a co-worker and since we went to a place that she had a giftcard for there were not really many healthy options. I did ask for the nutritional value and picked the lowest calorie dish and only ate half. I stuck with water so that made my lunch calories 500 but since I didn't have anything for breakfast I thought it would be ok. Then I remembered I had dinner plans with a friend and we always go to Cedars which I haven't quite figured out how to do and still stick to a calorie count. I was conscious the whole time I was there about how I was feeling since I usually leave there so stuffed that I can feel the weight gain before I even get to the car. I ate a lot less than I usually do and only had water to drink there too. I'm still feeling that I might not have a loss today even though I'm trying to mentally add up the calories and can't believe that I'm too far off from 1300-1500 but still feel like I ate more than that. I guess my weigh in tomorrow will tell.
I was really proud of myself for skipping the after dinner coffee and dessert too. I'm definately in the zone and feel in control of my eating right now. Writing this blog has definately helped me to stay focused. Now that I feel that I'm back on track I'm going to start working on my carbs starting tomorrow. So I will add a new line item to my count for the day. I don't really have a goal in mind for the carb count but know that I need to significantly cut my intake of them. Guess I will see where I am tomorrow and set my goal from there.
Thanks for reading,
Mellissa
Food Journal for April 13, 2011
Breakfast - 0 calories
Lunch - 700 calories
1/2 angelhair pasta with sausage
2 pieces of bread with oil/vinegar
water
Dinner - 800 calories
1 cup rice
1/2 cup chicken curry
1/2 garlic naan w/chutney
water
Total calories - 1500 calories
Today's Weight: 214.2
Total Loss: 6.8 pounds
Today was a challenging day. I had a busy start at work so I didn't eat anything for breakfast. Then had lunch with a co-worker and since we went to a place that she had a giftcard for there were not really many healthy options. I did ask for the nutritional value and picked the lowest calorie dish and only ate half. I stuck with water so that made my lunch calories 500 but since I didn't have anything for breakfast I thought it would be ok. Then I remembered I had dinner plans with a friend and we always go to Cedars which I haven't quite figured out how to do and still stick to a calorie count. I was conscious the whole time I was there about how I was feeling since I usually leave there so stuffed that I can feel the weight gain before I even get to the car. I ate a lot less than I usually do and only had water to drink there too. I'm still feeling that I might not have a loss today even though I'm trying to mentally add up the calories and can't believe that I'm too far off from 1300-1500 but still feel like I ate more than that. I guess my weigh in tomorrow will tell.
I was really proud of myself for skipping the after dinner coffee and dessert too. I'm definately in the zone and feel in control of my eating right now. Writing this blog has definately helped me to stay focused. Now that I feel that I'm back on track I'm going to start working on my carbs starting tomorrow. So I will add a new line item to my count for the day. I don't really have a goal in mind for the carb count but know that I need to significantly cut my intake of them. Guess I will see where I am tomorrow and set my goal from there.
Thanks for reading,
Mellissa
Food Journal for April 13, 2011
Breakfast - 0 calories
Lunch - 700 calories
1/2 angelhair pasta with sausage
2 pieces of bread with oil/vinegar
water
Dinner - 800 calories
1 cup rice
1/2 cup chicken curry
1/2 garlic naan w/chutney
water
Total calories - 1500 calories
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Day 16
Starting Weight: 221
Today's Weight: 215.0
Total Loss: 6 pounds
Whoop Whoop I finally got past the 215.2 hurdle. It's only down scale from here! Also? I got a job!!! That deserves another whoop whoop!! I am so excited for this job and the opportunities that will be opened because of it but really really dreading the sucky commute (could be up to 2 hours each way). I was traveling today back home from Chicago so was much more consious of my choices this time around. My flight left Chicago at 8am so I grabbed a fruit cup and starbucks in the airport and passed on everything on the plane. I had a Lean Cuisine hot pocket for lunch and a Lean Cuisine frozen meal for dinner. I did eat a handful of candy before dinner but quickly put it away so I wouldn't run into another 600 calorie mess like I did last week. If I gain anything from this blog being able to adapt my past mistakes into future successes is what I want it to be.
Today's weigh in marks the half way point of this blog. I've lost 6 of the 15 pounds I'd need to hit 30 pounds in 30 days. 1.6 pounds a day will still get me to my goal on time but even if I stick with my original 1 pound a day goal I'll still have lost 21 pounds in 30 days which ain't to shabby. I'm not giving up though!! 30 pounds in 30 days!! Let's go!!
Food Journal April 12, 2011
Breakfast - 270 calories
Fruit Cup
Tall Iced Chai w/ soy
Lunch - 280 calories
LC chicken/cheese/jalapeno hot pocket
Water
Dinner - 330 calories
LC frozen dinner
Water
Snack - 100 calories
handful of junior mints
Total calories - 980 calories
Today's Weight: 215.0
Total Loss: 6 pounds
Whoop Whoop I finally got past the 215.2 hurdle. It's only down scale from here! Also? I got a job!!! That deserves another whoop whoop!! I am so excited for this job and the opportunities that will be opened because of it but really really dreading the sucky commute (could be up to 2 hours each way). I was traveling today back home from Chicago so was much more consious of my choices this time around. My flight left Chicago at 8am so I grabbed a fruit cup and starbucks in the airport and passed on everything on the plane. I had a Lean Cuisine hot pocket for lunch and a Lean Cuisine frozen meal for dinner. I did eat a handful of candy before dinner but quickly put it away so I wouldn't run into another 600 calorie mess like I did last week. If I gain anything from this blog being able to adapt my past mistakes into future successes is what I want it to be.
Today's weigh in marks the half way point of this blog. I've lost 6 of the 15 pounds I'd need to hit 30 pounds in 30 days. 1.6 pounds a day will still get me to my goal on time but even if I stick with my original 1 pound a day goal I'll still have lost 21 pounds in 30 days which ain't to shabby. I'm not giving up though!! 30 pounds in 30 days!! Let's go!!
Food Journal April 12, 2011
Breakfast - 270 calories
Fruit Cup
Tall Iced Chai w/ soy
Lunch - 280 calories
LC chicken/cheese/jalapeno hot pocket
Water
Dinner - 330 calories
LC frozen dinner
Water
Snack - 100 calories
handful of junior mints
Total calories - 980 calories
Day 15
Starting Weight: 221
Today's Weight: 216.2
Total Loss: 4.8 pounds
Down a little bit today but not enough to get me back to where I was when I left for the extended weekend. I did really well today with food. I had two really imporant interviews so was really only thinking about that. I grabbed a fruit cup to take with me but my first interview was downtown at 10am and with rush hour and lack of parking (which cost me $21 for an hour!) I left at 830 to make sure I got there on time. My second interview was in Oakbrook at 2pm so I ate the fruit cup once I got out to Oakbrook and was waiting for my interview time. I did have a tall coffee from Starbucks as well while I was waiting but figured having the fruit cup instead of McDonald's for breakfast really made up for that. I went out to dinner to Applebees and was pretty proud of myself for picking off the under 500 calorie menu and still probably only ate half of the entree so dinner was really successful.
Food Journal - April 12, 2011
Breakfast - 100 calories
Fruit Cup
Snack - 170 calories
Starbucks iced chai with soy
Lunch - 810 calories
2 McDonald's cheeseburgers
1 small strawberry lemonade
Dinner - 200 calories
Less than half of the steak/grilled shrimp entree
Iced Tea
Total calories - 1280 calories
Today's Weight: 216.2
Total Loss: 4.8 pounds
Down a little bit today but not enough to get me back to where I was when I left for the extended weekend. I did really well today with food. I had two really imporant interviews so was really only thinking about that. I grabbed a fruit cup to take with me but my first interview was downtown at 10am and with rush hour and lack of parking (which cost me $21 for an hour!) I left at 830 to make sure I got there on time. My second interview was in Oakbrook at 2pm so I ate the fruit cup once I got out to Oakbrook and was waiting for my interview time. I did have a tall coffee from Starbucks as well while I was waiting but figured having the fruit cup instead of McDonald's for breakfast really made up for that. I went out to dinner to Applebees and was pretty proud of myself for picking off the under 500 calorie menu and still probably only ate half of the entree so dinner was really successful.
Food Journal - April 12, 2011
Breakfast - 100 calories
Fruit Cup
Snack - 170 calories
Starbucks iced chai with soy
Lunch - 810 calories
2 McDonald's cheeseburgers
1 small strawberry lemonade
Dinner - 200 calories
Less than half of the steak/grilled shrimp entree
Iced Tea
Total calories - 1280 calories
Day 14
Starting Weight: 221
Today's Weight: 216.4
Total Loss: 4.6 pounds
Really?! With all that exercise I have a gain?!? I throw a big middle finger up to that bs.....
Sunday brought along with it grandma's biscuits and gravy which also almost gave me a heart attack when I added up the calories (after I ate it of course, in true Mellissa style). It honestly was worth every bite though. I tried to skip dinner to make up for it but ended up having more of the dreaded pizza from Saturday at about 10pm because I was so hungry. Traveling sucks for eating healthy!!
Food Journal April 10, 2011
Breakfast - 900 calories
2 grandma's biscuits and gravy
Late lunch - 400 calories
1 very small (and then shared with my niece on top of that) pork chop with bbq sauce
1 small baked potato
sliver of butter
1 tablespoon of sour cream
Dinner - 500 calories
1.5 pieces of pizza
1 can of Coke
Total calories - 1800 calories
Today's Weight: 216.4
Total Loss: 4.6 pounds
Really?! With all that exercise I have a gain?!? I throw a big middle finger up to that bs.....
Sunday brought along with it grandma's biscuits and gravy which also almost gave me a heart attack when I added up the calories (after I ate it of course, in true Mellissa style). It honestly was worth every bite though. I tried to skip dinner to make up for it but ended up having more of the dreaded pizza from Saturday at about 10pm because I was so hungry. Traveling sucks for eating healthy!!
Food Journal April 10, 2011
Breakfast - 900 calories
2 grandma's biscuits and gravy
Late lunch - 400 calories
1 very small (and then shared with my niece on top of that) pork chop with bbq sauce
1 small baked potato
sliver of butter
1 tablespoon of sour cream
Dinner - 500 calories
1.5 pieces of pizza
1 can of Coke
Total calories - 1800 calories
Day 13
Starting Weight: 221
Today's Weight: 215.2
Total Loss: 5.8 pounds
I'm back home so I'm going to catch up on the last three days now that I have my computer back. Saturday was day 13. I did the gorilla challenge (well attempted a few clues anyway) so I thought today would have been a really good day since I probably walked at least 10 miles throughout the day. I did have McDonald's for breakfast though and did stop mid race at McDonald's for lunch too but ate while we were waiting for the El so I didn't have fries (too hard to carry) or pop. I had 1 cheeseburger and a strawberry/banana smoothie (maybe more calories than the pop would have been). But then we did eat pizza (pretty much a must if you are in Chicago) for dinner. The slices were small squares so I didn't think I did too bad for the day (around 1300 calories) but as you'll see tomorrow I had a gain so I must have underestimated something. Perhaps it was all the culture I gained by riding all forms of Chicago public transportation for the first time in one day. Haha.
It was a great day and I realize in hindsight that I could have planned better for the food. I should have taken a snack with me on the race and planned breakfast beforehand then the pizza wouldn't have made too much a difference. One splurge in a day with 10 miles of exercise is ok, but not eating out on all 3 meals.
Food Journal - April 9, 2011
Breakfast - 510 calories
Egg McMuffin
Hashbrown
Coke
Lunch - 510 calories
Cheeseburger
Small strawberry banana smoothie
Dinner - 700?
3 pieces of pizza
Iced Tea
House salad w/ranch
Total calories - 1720 calories Guess my guessing was a little skewed with the 1300 calories!
Today's Weight: 215.2
Total Loss: 5.8 pounds
I'm back home so I'm going to catch up on the last three days now that I have my computer back. Saturday was day 13. I did the gorilla challenge (well attempted a few clues anyway) so I thought today would have been a really good day since I probably walked at least 10 miles throughout the day. I did have McDonald's for breakfast though and did stop mid race at McDonald's for lunch too but ate while we were waiting for the El so I didn't have fries (too hard to carry) or pop. I had 1 cheeseburger and a strawberry/banana smoothie (maybe more calories than the pop would have been). But then we did eat pizza (pretty much a must if you are in Chicago) for dinner. The slices were small squares so I didn't think I did too bad for the day (around 1300 calories) but as you'll see tomorrow I had a gain so I must have underestimated something. Perhaps it was all the culture I gained by riding all forms of Chicago public transportation for the first time in one day. Haha.
It was a great day and I realize in hindsight that I could have planned better for the food. I should have taken a snack with me on the race and planned breakfast beforehand then the pizza wouldn't have made too much a difference. One splurge in a day with 10 miles of exercise is ok, but not eating out on all 3 meals.
Food Journal - April 9, 2011
Breakfast - 510 calories
Egg McMuffin
Hashbrown
Coke
Lunch - 510 calories
Cheeseburger
Small strawberry banana smoothie
Dinner - 700?
3 pieces of pizza
Iced Tea
House salad w/ranch
Total calories - 1720 calories Guess my guessing was a little skewed with the 1300 calories!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Day 12
Starting Weight: 221
Today's Weight: 215.2
Total Loss: 5.8 pounds
I'm in Chicago!! I got a late start this morning since I didn't get to bed after flying in until 2:30am and chose sleep over food this morning. Then I went straight into interview mode so didn't even really think about the fact I hadn't eaten anything until I was well on my way to my interview at 1:30pm. Luckily I still had a cup of fruit that I grabbed in the airport so that was enough to hold me over through the interview. I hung out at the mall across the street after the interview while the recruiter was trying to get my 2nd round interview scheduled. She was taking her sweet time getting back to me and I was trying to hold off on the food until I could get somewhere with better options. But I caved (after I got my Clinque bonus gift - thanks Candice!) and got preztel sticks from Auntie Annies (having a flash back here to a few days ago when we had this conversation before). Logically I reasoned myself through it by saying I've had less than 100 calories for the whole day since I'd only had the fruit but if I'm being completely honest there is more there. Just not quite sure what it is yet. Luckily, the recruiter called and put me out of my downward spiral (2nd round interview on Monday afternoon!! Woohoo!!).
Then I had to drive back to the airport and switch out my rental car (long story) and then drive back to where I'm staying in rush hour traffic which took me more than 2 hours. Needless to say I was pretty hungry when I got there. We went out to dinner and I did make the best choices I could at the restaurant we were at. I got unsweetened iced tea and ate half of a side salad (with a little bit of ranch dressing) before starting on the entree assuming I'd eat less. Mmhmm, well how that worked out is I ate every french fry on my plate (except for the gross ketchup logged ones) and about 2/3 of the burger. I estimate the whole meal at around 800 calories which might be a little bit of a high estimate but still not great in the end. I did give away the pie that came with the meal though so am trying to look at the positives here. I haven't done a calorie search for the pretzel sticks yet so I'm concerned about them being extremely high and completely throwing me off for a loss today. Guess I'll find out in a couple minutes. Very excited about the gorilla challenge tomorrow which will give me a ton of exercise I'm sure. Go Team Oh My Goodness!!!
Thanks for reading,
Mellissa
Food Journal April 8, 2011
Breakfast - 112 calories
1.5 cup of mixed fruit
Lunch - 680 calories
Pretzel sticks
hot salsa cheese dip
frozen strawberry lemonade
Dinner - 800 calories
side salad w/ranch
2/3 of average size cheeseburger
french fries
iced tea
Total calories - 1592 calories
Today's Weight: 215.2
Total Loss: 5.8 pounds
I'm in Chicago!! I got a late start this morning since I didn't get to bed after flying in until 2:30am and chose sleep over food this morning. Then I went straight into interview mode so didn't even really think about the fact I hadn't eaten anything until I was well on my way to my interview at 1:30pm. Luckily I still had a cup of fruit that I grabbed in the airport so that was enough to hold me over through the interview. I hung out at the mall across the street after the interview while the recruiter was trying to get my 2nd round interview scheduled. She was taking her sweet time getting back to me and I was trying to hold off on the food until I could get somewhere with better options. But I caved (after I got my Clinque bonus gift - thanks Candice!) and got preztel sticks from Auntie Annies (having a flash back here to a few days ago when we had this conversation before). Logically I reasoned myself through it by saying I've had less than 100 calories for the whole day since I'd only had the fruit but if I'm being completely honest there is more there. Just not quite sure what it is yet. Luckily, the recruiter called and put me out of my downward spiral (2nd round interview on Monday afternoon!! Woohoo!!).
Then I had to drive back to the airport and switch out my rental car (long story) and then drive back to where I'm staying in rush hour traffic which took me more than 2 hours. Needless to say I was pretty hungry when I got there. We went out to dinner and I did make the best choices I could at the restaurant we were at. I got unsweetened iced tea and ate half of a side salad (with a little bit of ranch dressing) before starting on the entree assuming I'd eat less. Mmhmm, well how that worked out is I ate every french fry on my plate (except for the gross ketchup logged ones) and about 2/3 of the burger. I estimate the whole meal at around 800 calories which might be a little bit of a high estimate but still not great in the end. I did give away the pie that came with the meal though so am trying to look at the positives here. I haven't done a calorie search for the pretzel sticks yet so I'm concerned about them being extremely high and completely throwing me off for a loss today. Guess I'll find out in a couple minutes. Very excited about the gorilla challenge tomorrow which will give me a ton of exercise I'm sure. Go Team Oh My Goodness!!!
Thanks for reading,
Mellissa
Food Journal April 8, 2011
Breakfast - 112 calories
1.5 cup of mixed fruit
Lunch - 680 calories
Pretzel sticks
hot salsa cheese dip
frozen strawberry lemonade
Dinner - 800 calories
side salad w/ranch
2/3 of average size cheeseburger
french fries
iced tea
Total calories - 1592 calories
Day 11
Starting Weight: 221
Today's Weight: 216.2
Total Loss: 4.8 pounds
Had a pretty good day today with food. Really busy at work and then packing and to the airport so I had quite a few distractions to keep my mind off of eating. I was very proud of myself that a good habit came out today without me even thinking about it. I was in the airport and getting on the plane and fully intended on getting a venti size chai at starbucks to take with me but when I got to the counter I instead said tall since I have been getting that size for the last 11 days that I've been journaling my food and blogging my progress. That habit saved me 170 calories today!! Though it doesn't seem like much that one small change has saved me 1870 calories over the last 11 days. That is more than 1/2 a pound! In the minute that I realized I ordered a tall (not until she put the cup on the counter) it really clicked in my head that every decision we make food wise really does matter.
On my way to the airport I had a "oh my god" moment when I was on the shuttle and glimpsed myself in the rear veiw mirror. Its still shocking for me to see myself so damn fat because I really still feel like the 130 pound girl that I used to be. When I was trying to recover so the driver and the other passenger wouldn't think I was a nut job something that I read a couple years ago popped into my head. It was an article about things that are guaranteed to help you cut calories and one of them was to put a mirror in front of your table so you could see yourself eating. That sounds like some serious pshycological torture to me but I bet it would work. Is anyone brave enough to try it with me for the next week and see if it has any affect on your calorie intake? Even if it is just for one meal a day??
Thanks for reading.
Mellisa
Food Journal April 7, 2011
Breakfast - 510 calories
McDonald's Egg mcmuffin meal
Lunch - 260
about 1/3rd of a 6 inch subway sandwich
rootbeer
Dinner - 530
1/2 of a wolfgang puck pizza
tall chai tea
Total calories - 1300
Today's Weight: 216.2
Total Loss: 4.8 pounds
Had a pretty good day today with food. Really busy at work and then packing and to the airport so I had quite a few distractions to keep my mind off of eating. I was very proud of myself that a good habit came out today without me even thinking about it. I was in the airport and getting on the plane and fully intended on getting a venti size chai at starbucks to take with me but when I got to the counter I instead said tall since I have been getting that size for the last 11 days that I've been journaling my food and blogging my progress. That habit saved me 170 calories today!! Though it doesn't seem like much that one small change has saved me 1870 calories over the last 11 days. That is more than 1/2 a pound! In the minute that I realized I ordered a tall (not until she put the cup on the counter) it really clicked in my head that every decision we make food wise really does matter.
On my way to the airport I had a "oh my god" moment when I was on the shuttle and glimpsed myself in the rear veiw mirror. Its still shocking for me to see myself so damn fat because I really still feel like the 130 pound girl that I used to be. When I was trying to recover so the driver and the other passenger wouldn't think I was a nut job something that I read a couple years ago popped into my head. It was an article about things that are guaranteed to help you cut calories and one of them was to put a mirror in front of your table so you could see yourself eating. That sounds like some serious pshycological torture to me but I bet it would work. Is anyone brave enough to try it with me for the next week and see if it has any affect on your calorie intake? Even if it is just for one meal a day??
Thanks for reading.
Mellisa
Food Journal April 7, 2011
Breakfast - 510 calories
McDonald's Egg mcmuffin meal
Lunch - 260
about 1/3rd of a 6 inch subway sandwich
rootbeer
Dinner - 530
1/2 of a wolfgang puck pizza
tall chai tea
Total calories - 1300
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Day 10
Starting Weight: 221
Today's Weight: 216.8
Total Loss: 4.2 pounds
Day 10. Yep. I started today with a gain and back down to 4.2 pounds lost instead of the 10 I should be at for 30 pounds in 30 days. I also started today with another pattern that I've seen from doing this blog. I usually have one good day followed by one bad day. Its almost like there is something in my subconsious that wants to fail. Uh Oh I lost 2 pounds, I better eat cookies today. What is up with that?! And what do I do with all of these patterns once I identify them? That is probably a better question to be asking.
Following along with this pattern I did well today. I was super busy when I first got to work so didn't realize that I hadn't eaten anything until 1230 and then it was time for lunch :) I wasn't even really that hungry so I was able to make a good choice and went to Subway. Didn't get any chips or drink so my lunch was only 330 calories! I kept it going with eating right fajitas when I got home and was really going to be under my calorie count for the day but the candy and cookies I had on the counter helped me out. Don't feel as good physcially as I did two days ago but probably because I just stuffed my face with a sugar cookie.
I'm flying out to Chicago tomorrow and won't be back until Tuesday so I've been laundering and packing all night and did not work out. I'm optimistic about continuing to loose even when I'm there (no matter what Grandma's biscuits and gravy want to do to me) and really excited about the Gorilla challenge on Saturday. That will definately be some exercise. Oh yeah, and I may fit in a couple interviews too, haha.
My post tomorrow might have to wait a day since my flight gets in at midnight central time and I have over an hour drive then everyone in the house will be sleeping so I don't think I will be blogging to keep them up. I'm taking my scale with me so I will be able to post accurate weigh ins. Also, it was brought to my attention today that people have been posting comments?! The only comment that I have actually gotten was Shannon D. on my first entry. I was really starting to wonder if I was here all alone. If you posted a comment Thanks! and I'm not ignoring you. Hopefully the site can get this issue fixed soon. I'd love to get some feedback. Until then feel free to email me your comments at mellissa.reierson@gmail.com.
Thanks for reading,
Mellissa
Food Journal April 6, 2011
Breakfast - 0 calories
Nada
Lunch - 330 calories
6" Subway Turkey
Snack - 160 calories
Root Beer
Dinner - 270 calories
2 Eating Right chicken fajitas
Snack - 660 calories (please someone put me out of my misery!!) This was not all eaten at once but ranged from 6pm til 10pm when I finally stopped the maddness.
4 pieces of licorice
1 sugar cookie
dots
jr mints
skinny cow ice cream sandwich
Total calories - 1420 calories
Today's Weight: 216.8
Total Loss: 4.2 pounds
Day 10. Yep. I started today with a gain and back down to 4.2 pounds lost instead of the 10 I should be at for 30 pounds in 30 days. I also started today with another pattern that I've seen from doing this blog. I usually have one good day followed by one bad day. Its almost like there is something in my subconsious that wants to fail. Uh Oh I lost 2 pounds, I better eat cookies today. What is up with that?! And what do I do with all of these patterns once I identify them? That is probably a better question to be asking.
Following along with this pattern I did well today. I was super busy when I first got to work so didn't realize that I hadn't eaten anything until 1230 and then it was time for lunch :) I wasn't even really that hungry so I was able to make a good choice and went to Subway. Didn't get any chips or drink so my lunch was only 330 calories! I kept it going with eating right fajitas when I got home and was really going to be under my calorie count for the day but the candy and cookies I had on the counter helped me out. Don't feel as good physcially as I did two days ago but probably because I just stuffed my face with a sugar cookie.
I'm flying out to Chicago tomorrow and won't be back until Tuesday so I've been laundering and packing all night and did not work out. I'm optimistic about continuing to loose even when I'm there (no matter what Grandma's biscuits and gravy want to do to me) and really excited about the Gorilla challenge on Saturday. That will definately be some exercise. Oh yeah, and I may fit in a couple interviews too, haha.
My post tomorrow might have to wait a day since my flight gets in at midnight central time and I have over an hour drive then everyone in the house will be sleeping so I don't think I will be blogging to keep them up. I'm taking my scale with me so I will be able to post accurate weigh ins. Also, it was brought to my attention today that people have been posting comments?! The only comment that I have actually gotten was Shannon D. on my first entry. I was really starting to wonder if I was here all alone. If you posted a comment Thanks! and I'm not ignoring you. Hopefully the site can get this issue fixed soon. I'd love to get some feedback. Until then feel free to email me your comments at mellissa.reierson@gmail.com.
Thanks for reading,
Mellissa
Food Journal April 6, 2011
Breakfast - 0 calories
Nada
Lunch - 330 calories
6" Subway Turkey
Snack - 160 calories
Root Beer
Dinner - 270 calories
2 Eating Right chicken fajitas
Snack - 660 calories (please someone put me out of my misery!!) This was not all eaten at once but ranged from 6pm til 10pm when I finally stopped the maddness.
4 pieces of licorice
1 sugar cookie
dots
jr mints
skinny cow ice cream sandwich
Total calories - 1420 calories
Day 9
Starting Weight: 221
Today's Weight: 215.2
Total Loss: 5.8 pounds
I started today off feeling good. Tried Subway's breakfast for the first time and cut that 500 calorie breakfast sandwich I'm used to down to 180 calories. And I could taste it in every bite :) I don't know that Subway could become a morning routine for me (especially with no drive thru) but could be an alternative to my working on the weekend McDonalds runs. I finally had the move out inspection with the landlord at lunch today so I was able to eat at home for lunch which made it easy to control my calories. I had a lean cuisine stuffed hot pocket thing with chicken, cheese, and jalepeno in a pretzel bread that was actually really good. It wasn't very big but I drank a large glass of water with it and was satisfied when I finished it.
I ran around like a madperson after work trying to find something to wear for the gorilla challenge on saturday so didn't get any exercise in on the treadmill today. At to make it worse I didn't make great choices for dinner out. I even saw the under 600 calorie menu when I was at Famous Dave's but then asked myself if I really drove to southcenter to eat broccoli, pineapple, and ribs with no sauce? Uh, the answer, in case you are wondering, is no. I was more than 300 calories under my goal yesterday so I figure even though I went over today it will somewhat even out.
Then after my huge shopping success (finding the perfect t-shirts for saturday and an entire outfit, shoes included, for Logan for the going away party) we stopped at Auntie Annies :( I really have no logic or reasoning for why I ate this. It smelled good and I really like the way it tastes? When I really think about it though I think it is just a habit for me to do these things when I'm out with friends or even just out shopping. Why is that? Maybe because sitting down to eat is social and really what I'm enjoying is the company or conversation but feel awkward just sitting and talking to someone rather than eating or drinking something while talking. It's like we need a preoccupation or distraction from what we are really doing so we use food or coffee for that purpose. I almost feel anxious or like I'm wasting time when I don't have that distraction (why are we just sitting here?!). I have noticed (in the last 3 minutes that I've been thinking about this topic) that I never just sit and talk with people. I am either driving, eating, drinking, flipping through a magazine or whatever when I have conversations with people. Could I have just identified a pattern here? Groundbreaking. Haha. I can tell this is something I'm going to have to pay close attention to in order to correct this behavior. I'm going to write it at the top of my food journal pages for the next week to make sure I revisit this issue and see if I can dig a little deeper here.
Its 11:52pm so I better be hitting the hay.
Thanks for reading,
Mellissa
Food Journal April 5, 2011
Breakfast - 180 calories
ham/egg/cheese Subway
Lunch - 280 calories
LC hot pocket
Water
Snack - 350 calories
Tall Iced Chai
PB cupcake (bite size) Starbucks - best 180 calories I've spent in a loooog time!
Dinner - ??!?
2 bones of ribs
1 corn bread muffin
1/4 cup baked beans
10 french fries
Shopping - ? Should I really have a meal named shopping? Honestly.
Pretzel Bites
Jalapeno Cheese
Small strawberry lemonade freeze
Total calories - too damn many
Today's Weight: 215.2
Total Loss: 5.8 pounds
I started today off feeling good. Tried Subway's breakfast for the first time and cut that 500 calorie breakfast sandwich I'm used to down to 180 calories. And I could taste it in every bite :) I don't know that Subway could become a morning routine for me (especially with no drive thru) but could be an alternative to my working on the weekend McDonalds runs. I finally had the move out inspection with the landlord at lunch today so I was able to eat at home for lunch which made it easy to control my calories. I had a lean cuisine stuffed hot pocket thing with chicken, cheese, and jalepeno in a pretzel bread that was actually really good. It wasn't very big but I drank a large glass of water with it and was satisfied when I finished it.
I ran around like a madperson after work trying to find something to wear for the gorilla challenge on saturday so didn't get any exercise in on the treadmill today. At to make it worse I didn't make great choices for dinner out. I even saw the under 600 calorie menu when I was at Famous Dave's but then asked myself if I really drove to southcenter to eat broccoli, pineapple, and ribs with no sauce? Uh, the answer, in case you are wondering, is no. I was more than 300 calories under my goal yesterday so I figure even though I went over today it will somewhat even out.
Then after my huge shopping success (finding the perfect t-shirts for saturday and an entire outfit, shoes included, for Logan for the going away party) we stopped at Auntie Annies :( I really have no logic or reasoning for why I ate this. It smelled good and I really like the way it tastes? When I really think about it though I think it is just a habit for me to do these things when I'm out with friends or even just out shopping. Why is that? Maybe because sitting down to eat is social and really what I'm enjoying is the company or conversation but feel awkward just sitting and talking to someone rather than eating or drinking something while talking. It's like we need a preoccupation or distraction from what we are really doing so we use food or coffee for that purpose. I almost feel anxious or like I'm wasting time when I don't have that distraction (why are we just sitting here?!). I have noticed (in the last 3 minutes that I've been thinking about this topic) that I never just sit and talk with people. I am either driving, eating, drinking, flipping through a magazine or whatever when I have conversations with people. Could I have just identified a pattern here? Groundbreaking. Haha. I can tell this is something I'm going to have to pay close attention to in order to correct this behavior. I'm going to write it at the top of my food journal pages for the next week to make sure I revisit this issue and see if I can dig a little deeper here.
Its 11:52pm so I better be hitting the hay.
Thanks for reading,
Mellissa
Food Journal April 5, 2011
Breakfast - 180 calories
ham/egg/cheese Subway
Lunch - 280 calories
LC hot pocket
Water
Snack - 350 calories
Tall Iced Chai
PB cupcake (bite size) Starbucks - best 180 calories I've spent in a loooog time!
Dinner - ??!?
2 bones of ribs
1 corn bread muffin
1/4 cup baked beans
10 french fries
Shopping - ? Should I really have a meal named shopping? Honestly.
Pretzel Bites
Jalapeno Cheese
Small strawberry lemonade freeze
Total calories - too damn many
Monday, April 4, 2011
Day 8
Starting Weight: 221
Current Weight: 216.2
Total Loss: 4.8 pounds
Day 8 was a good day for me. I really am starting to feel back in the zone of where I was a few months ago when I had some really good successes in weight loss. My calories were right on for today and I did almost a mile on the treadmill (with 5 minutes of that continuous running!) before the belt started slipping (hoping I will be able to get that repaired cheaply). To make matters even better I am typing this at 9:34pm which means I will have plenty of time to get to bed by 11pm. I wonder if anyone has done a study on the effects of a clean house on weight loss? Ever since my marathon cleaning for the move out inspection I have not wanted to eat as much and been more motivated overall. Hmmm...... maybe at my next place I'll request a landlord inspection monthly or have Grandma come clean for me (even better!).
I had another day without a loss but could probably have predicted that with 1500 calories yesterday. I'm feeling good for tomorrow's weigh in and really trying not to think about it other than when I am making food choices and when I type this blog. I usually overthink it and obess about every aspect of it which I think is what leads to my burn out (and binging) after just a few days in. So I'm concentrating on my trip to Chicago on Thursday (anyone up for giving me a ride to the airport at about 430pm? anyone? haha), my interviews there (someone please remind me to pick up my suit from the cleaners tomorrow), and the move back (anyone up for packing?). Is anyone out there??
Thanks for reading,
Mellissa
Food Journal April 4, 2011
Breakfast - 670 calories Yeah, you read that correctly. Out of bed 3 hours and half my calories for the day have somehow disappeared
Starbucks Tall Iced Chai Tea
Starbucks sausage/egg/cheese breakfast sandwich
Lunch - 0 calories
drank a bucket-o-water
Dinner - 220 calories
1 piece of thin eating right chicken breast cooked on george foreman grill
1 piece of 4 cheese garlic bread
1 cup of broccoli
Total calories - 890 calories
Current Weight: 216.2
Total Loss: 4.8 pounds
Day 8 was a good day for me. I really am starting to feel back in the zone of where I was a few months ago when I had some really good successes in weight loss. My calories were right on for today and I did almost a mile on the treadmill (with 5 minutes of that continuous running!) before the belt started slipping (hoping I will be able to get that repaired cheaply). To make matters even better I am typing this at 9:34pm which means I will have plenty of time to get to bed by 11pm. I wonder if anyone has done a study on the effects of a clean house on weight loss? Ever since my marathon cleaning for the move out inspection I have not wanted to eat as much and been more motivated overall. Hmmm...... maybe at my next place I'll request a landlord inspection monthly or have Grandma come clean for me (even better!).
I had another day without a loss but could probably have predicted that with 1500 calories yesterday. I'm feeling good for tomorrow's weigh in and really trying not to think about it other than when I am making food choices and when I type this blog. I usually overthink it and obess about every aspect of it which I think is what leads to my burn out (and binging) after just a few days in. So I'm concentrating on my trip to Chicago on Thursday (anyone up for giving me a ride to the airport at about 430pm? anyone? haha), my interviews there (someone please remind me to pick up my suit from the cleaners tomorrow), and the move back (anyone up for packing?). Is anyone out there??
Thanks for reading,
Mellissa
Food Journal April 4, 2011
Breakfast - 670 calories Yeah, you read that correctly. Out of bed 3 hours and half my calories for the day have somehow disappeared
Starbucks Tall Iced Chai Tea
Starbucks sausage/egg/cheese breakfast sandwich
Lunch - 0 calories
drank a bucket-o-water
Dinner - 220 calories
1 piece of thin eating right chicken breast cooked on george foreman grill
1 piece of 4 cheese garlic bread
1 cup of broccoli
Total calories - 890 calories
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Day 7
Starting Weight: 221
Today's Weight: 216.2
Total Loss: 4.8 pounds
First of four weeks down with day 7 today. I'm down 4.8 pounds in a week which is not quite enough for the 30 pounds in 30 days goal but definately more than I would have lost had I not been writing this blog. I went shopping today and was really prepared to be upset when I left the store like I usually am when I shop for jeans but I grabbed a pair of jeans that didn't have a tag when I was going through jeans for the dressing room and when I tried them on I really liked the way they fit. I started looking for the tag assuming they would be the most expensive jeans in the store and I found the tag stuffed in the front pocket and it said size 14! I took those jeans off so fast to check the size sewn into the jeans for verification and they were a 14! I swear if my wrists wouldn't snap on impact I would have done a backflip right there in the Macy's dressing room.
That great feeling really carried me through the rest of the day. I did have McDonalds for breakfast (a bargain I made with myself years ago if ever I have to go into work on the weekend) but was able to control my calories later in the day and still feel really good about the day as a whole. I didn't get to the treadmill today as its d-day for the landlord inspection so I swept, mopped, scrubbed, and picked up 2600 square feet today. To make it worse it is exactly 11:19pm as I'm typing this so I obviously am not in my bed with the lights out. Strike two on my resolutions for today. Logan has been in bed for almost 3 hours and has already been up twice convinced there is a pirate under his bed. I laid down with him to get him back to sleep and he promtly threw an elbow to my eye giving me more incentive to nip this night time bs in the bud. That being said I'm not predicting a restful night for me.
Tomorrow I am definately hitting the treadmill no excuses! Maybe I can be in a size 12 before I move! Now that right there makes me want to go get on the treadmill and run til morning.
Thanks for reading,
Mellissa
Food Journal April 3, 2011
Breakfast - 810 calories OME! That is 300 calories higher than I thought it was going to be! Bisquits apparantly are way more calories than McMuffins.
Sausage Egg Bisquit
Hash brown
Small Coke
Lunch - 300
1/2 apple harvest chicken salad
Dinner - 330 calories
Honey bunches of oats w/strawberries
milk
Snack - 120 calories
pretzels
Total calories - 1560 calories
Today's Weight: 216.2
Total Loss: 4.8 pounds
First of four weeks down with day 7 today. I'm down 4.8 pounds in a week which is not quite enough for the 30 pounds in 30 days goal but definately more than I would have lost had I not been writing this blog. I went shopping today and was really prepared to be upset when I left the store like I usually am when I shop for jeans but I grabbed a pair of jeans that didn't have a tag when I was going through jeans for the dressing room and when I tried them on I really liked the way they fit. I started looking for the tag assuming they would be the most expensive jeans in the store and I found the tag stuffed in the front pocket and it said size 14! I took those jeans off so fast to check the size sewn into the jeans for verification and they were a 14! I swear if my wrists wouldn't snap on impact I would have done a backflip right there in the Macy's dressing room.
That great feeling really carried me through the rest of the day. I did have McDonalds for breakfast (a bargain I made with myself years ago if ever I have to go into work on the weekend) but was able to control my calories later in the day and still feel really good about the day as a whole. I didn't get to the treadmill today as its d-day for the landlord inspection so I swept, mopped, scrubbed, and picked up 2600 square feet today. To make it worse it is exactly 11:19pm as I'm typing this so I obviously am not in my bed with the lights out. Strike two on my resolutions for today. Logan has been in bed for almost 3 hours and has already been up twice convinced there is a pirate under his bed. I laid down with him to get him back to sleep and he promtly threw an elbow to my eye giving me more incentive to nip this night time bs in the bud. That being said I'm not predicting a restful night for me.
Tomorrow I am definately hitting the treadmill no excuses! Maybe I can be in a size 12 before I move! Now that right there makes me want to go get on the treadmill and run til morning.
Thanks for reading,
Mellissa
Food Journal April 3, 2011
Breakfast - 810 calories OME! That is 300 calories higher than I thought it was going to be! Bisquits apparantly are way more calories than McMuffins.
Sausage Egg Bisquit
Hash brown
Small Coke
Lunch - 300
1/2 apple harvest chicken salad
Dinner - 330 calories
Honey bunches of oats w/strawberries
milk
Snack - 120 calories
pretzels
Total calories - 1560 calories
Day 6
Starting Weight: 221
Today's Weight: 217.2
Total Loss: 3.8 pounds
Another day without a loss. Not feeling so great about that but at least there wasn't another gain. I got my treadmill today so I'm excited to see the results when I finally add some exercise to my efforts. I had a good day today calorie wise. I always struggle on the weekends when I'm out of my daily routine and have less to occupy my time. I did do some major cleaning and packing today while taking care of a 3 year old by myself so I definately had a few distractions. I tried to get him to participate and help but when I told him we have to clean up and pack so we can move to a new house his response to me was "ok, but you have to do it because I have to watch scooby doo." I guess we all have our priorities. I did drink more than my normal amount of water today which is a good thing because I know I need to increase my daily intake of water.
Someone told me today that people that sleep less than the average person consume more food and are more likely to be overweight. I wonder how much truth there is to that? I sleep an average of about 6 hours a night but not continuously since Logan usually wakes up every few hours. Last night was even worse because he had a bad dream so I let him sleep in my bed from about 3am on. He insisted on sharing my pillow and not having one of his own and he tosses and turns so much that for most of the night he used my stomach as his pillow (one benefit of being fat I guess). Although very sweet that he wanted to be that close to me when 7am hit and the sun was shining through the window and his little face was right in mine informing me that it is "no more dark" all I could think about was how much I wish I could block out the sun so I could sleep for a few more hours. I struggled all morning with wanting to eat. I kept drinking glasses of water hoping it would help. Logan finally took a nap at around 5pm so I did too. We woke up around 730 (completely throwing off his bedtime schedule) and even though I was hungry I had a much easier time making the right decisions and was able to cut my portion size. So this whole experience leads me to believe there is something to this whole getting more sleep thing. I'm not sure if I'm able to comit to getting more sleep though because it seems like there aren't enough hours in the day as it is. I am going to make a strong effort though to at least be in my bed with the lights off by 11pm every night. And I will not have my phone in my hand!! Facebook and wordfeud will be there in the morning I'm quite sure.
I feel the "light" feeling that I always strive for when I'm counting calories that tells me that I am on track with the number of calories that I'm eating so I feel good for tomorrow's weigh in. More cleaning and packing tomorrow and I promise to do at least a mile on the treadmill.
Thanks for reading,
Mellissa
Food Journal April 2, 2011
Breakfast - 370 calories
2 french toast sticks
2 links turkey sausage
1 cup milk
Lunch - 280 calories
LC sweet/sour ginger chicken
Water
Snack - 340 calories
Grilled cheese
Dinner - 300 calories
1/2 apple harvest chicken salad
water
Total calories - 1290
Today's Weight: 217.2
Total Loss: 3.8 pounds
Another day without a loss. Not feeling so great about that but at least there wasn't another gain. I got my treadmill today so I'm excited to see the results when I finally add some exercise to my efforts. I had a good day today calorie wise. I always struggle on the weekends when I'm out of my daily routine and have less to occupy my time. I did do some major cleaning and packing today while taking care of a 3 year old by myself so I definately had a few distractions. I tried to get him to participate and help but when I told him we have to clean up and pack so we can move to a new house his response to me was "ok, but you have to do it because I have to watch scooby doo." I guess we all have our priorities. I did drink more than my normal amount of water today which is a good thing because I know I need to increase my daily intake of water.
Someone told me today that people that sleep less than the average person consume more food and are more likely to be overweight. I wonder how much truth there is to that? I sleep an average of about 6 hours a night but not continuously since Logan usually wakes up every few hours. Last night was even worse because he had a bad dream so I let him sleep in my bed from about 3am on. He insisted on sharing my pillow and not having one of his own and he tosses and turns so much that for most of the night he used my stomach as his pillow (one benefit of being fat I guess). Although very sweet that he wanted to be that close to me when 7am hit and the sun was shining through the window and his little face was right in mine informing me that it is "no more dark" all I could think about was how much I wish I could block out the sun so I could sleep for a few more hours. I struggled all morning with wanting to eat. I kept drinking glasses of water hoping it would help. Logan finally took a nap at around 5pm so I did too. We woke up around 730 (completely throwing off his bedtime schedule) and even though I was hungry I had a much easier time making the right decisions and was able to cut my portion size. So this whole experience leads me to believe there is something to this whole getting more sleep thing. I'm not sure if I'm able to comit to getting more sleep though because it seems like there aren't enough hours in the day as it is. I am going to make a strong effort though to at least be in my bed with the lights off by 11pm every night. And I will not have my phone in my hand!! Facebook and wordfeud will be there in the morning I'm quite sure.
I feel the "light" feeling that I always strive for when I'm counting calories that tells me that I am on track with the number of calories that I'm eating so I feel good for tomorrow's weigh in. More cleaning and packing tomorrow and I promise to do at least a mile on the treadmill.
Thanks for reading,
Mellissa
Food Journal April 2, 2011
Breakfast - 370 calories
2 french toast sticks
2 links turkey sausage
1 cup milk
Lunch - 280 calories
LC sweet/sour ginger chicken
Water
Snack - 340 calories
Grilled cheese
Dinner - 300 calories
1/2 apple harvest chicken salad
water
Total calories - 1290
Friday, April 1, 2011
Day 5
Starting Weight: 221
Today's Weight: 217.2
Total Loss: 3.8 pounds
So it looks like the Dominos may have caught up a little with me afterall. It is a gain today but less than a pound so I'm not too worried about it. I did really well for most of the day today mostly because I was just so busy that I didn't have time to even think about food. I didn't pass the movie theater test though. I was really hungry and we weren't going to have dinner until after 7pm so I was trying to find a healthy option on the menu and couldn't come up with anything so went with what I like. I got the nachos which was probably about 800 calories had I eaten the whole thing but I stayed concious of the serving size while I was eating and stopped when I'd had enough that I felt I could wait until dinner. I'm still going to estimate high on the calories for this because I'm really not sure what the count is.
Dinner was a breeze because we went somewhere familiar and I knew the calories for my favorites. I ended up getting a 1/2 version of my favorite salad (Red Robin's Apple Harvest Chicken Salad is the bomb!) and cut out most of the chicken so was able to get that down to about 300 calories. Topped it off with iced tea and ended the day on a high note. I skipped the coffees/ice cream etc after dinner and almost had an emergency garlic naan stop later in the night but made the right choice and stayed on the highway.
Now its 11pm and I'm pretty tired and since I have to clean my entire house tomorrow for a move out inspection with my landlord on Monday I am going to have a very long and tiring day.
Good night and thanks for reading!
Mellissa
Food Journal April 1, 2011
Breakfast - 120 calories
Greek yogurt w/blueberries
Lunch - 375 calories
1 chicken fajita with nothing fun on it
Barq's RB (mmmmmm root beer)
Snack - 65 calories
Orange
Movies or Snack 2 I guess - 600 calories
Nachos
Icee
Dinner - 300 calories
1/2 Apple Harvest Chicken Salad with dressing on the side and very little chicken
Iced Tea
Total calories - 1460
Today's Weight: 217.2
Total Loss: 3.8 pounds
So it looks like the Dominos may have caught up a little with me afterall. It is a gain today but less than a pound so I'm not too worried about it. I did really well for most of the day today mostly because I was just so busy that I didn't have time to even think about food. I didn't pass the movie theater test though. I was really hungry and we weren't going to have dinner until after 7pm so I was trying to find a healthy option on the menu and couldn't come up with anything so went with what I like. I got the nachos which was probably about 800 calories had I eaten the whole thing but I stayed concious of the serving size while I was eating and stopped when I'd had enough that I felt I could wait until dinner. I'm still going to estimate high on the calories for this because I'm really not sure what the count is.
Dinner was a breeze because we went somewhere familiar and I knew the calories for my favorites. I ended up getting a 1/2 version of my favorite salad (Red Robin's Apple Harvest Chicken Salad is the bomb!) and cut out most of the chicken so was able to get that down to about 300 calories. Topped it off with iced tea and ended the day on a high note. I skipped the coffees/ice cream etc after dinner and almost had an emergency garlic naan stop later in the night but made the right choice and stayed on the highway.
Now its 11pm and I'm pretty tired and since I have to clean my entire house tomorrow for a move out inspection with my landlord on Monday I am going to have a very long and tiring day.
Good night and thanks for reading!
Mellissa
Food Journal April 1, 2011
Breakfast - 120 calories
Greek yogurt w/blueberries
Lunch - 375 calories
1 chicken fajita with nothing fun on it
Barq's RB (mmmmmm root beer)
Snack - 65 calories
Orange
Movies or Snack 2 I guess - 600 calories
Nachos
Icee
Dinner - 300 calories
1/2 Apple Harvest Chicken Salad with dressing on the side and very little chicken
Iced Tea
Total calories - 1460
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