Calorie Challenged

So I did it, following my last post, I created a FitDay account and started logging my food and exercise. According to Fitday I need to consume approximately 2,000 calories daily to lose 2 pounds a week. Huh? I eat closer to 1,000. I recall complaining about stalled weight loss over a month ago and at that time I bumped up my caloric intake to get things moving. I just haven't been as diligent lately. For the past few days I've been working to consume between 1,400 to 1,500 calories which has been surprisingly difficult. Trying to eat enough and drink enough water is a challenge; there just aren't enough hours! I follow the wait-at-least- half-hour-after-eating-before-drinking rule and find I still  have a few hundred calories more to go by evening. That I would have any difficulty eating enough is hilarious to me. It seems a bit wonky, but I'm going to stick with it for a week and see if this experiment moves me out of the plateau and in the right direction.

I noticed that I have some new followers, hello! Glad you could stop by. I think I'm following all of you, but if I've missed anyone please post your blog address in comments.

All quiet on the scale front

The scale has not moved in over two weeks and it's starting to annoy me.

I've been working out 5 to 6 days a week and have been sticking to 3 meals and one or 2 small snacks ... well, I was until earlier this week when I realized it didn't seem to matter what I ate. I've been out to dinner a couple of times, ate more that I should be able to,  but far less than I would have pre-band. I've also been eating chocolate covered digestives as a snack every day for the last few days, M took mercy on me and ate the rest of them (ahh, the sacrifices ;)).  I expected to be down at least a few pounds as I've really been challenging myself with the workouts but to no avail, the scale will not budge. I will have to start journaling my activity and food - ugh, really don't want to but I think at this point I've got to do something. My second fill is at the end of the month and I'm hoping some restriction will kick in.

Running

I used to be a bit of an exercise fiend back when I was a much thinner version of myself. I would often work out 2-3 hours a day and enjoyed it, very rarely did I think of it as a chore. It remained that way for a long time until I got into a terrible car accident. I walked away with minor bruises, but the car was totaled. It had a profound effect on me and I think that in part started my downward spiral into eating for comfort. I also stopped exercising and very quickly gained 20 pounds. It’s been a battle ever since.

My work out routine used to consist of the following: bike for an hour, then elliptical, step-mill or stair climber for an hour, ending with 45 minutes of weights and some stretching (a bit intense but I loved it). I was never a runner; I would admire runners and wish I could do the same. I don’t know why I never tried. Because running has always been a goal of mine, I started the Couch to 5K program this week. So far so good. To think that in approximately 9 weeks I will be able to run 5 km is just amazing to me.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Weekday Dish

Last week Jen  suggested that we post what we eat one day per week.  The "Weekday Dish" post occurs on Thursdays and you can list either Wednesday's or Thursday's meals. Here's what I ate today:


30ml of Kéfir (part of my daily morning ritual)

Breakfast - Protein shake made with: water, 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 1tsp flaxseed oil & chocolate protein powder

Snack - 10 raw almonds

Lunch - 1 cup homemade turkey chili, 2 rye crisps

Snack - 1/2 Luna Bar (love the Lemon Zest flavour)

Dinner - Approx 3 -  4 oz of baked chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese (yummy), a few grilled veggies, a couple of forkfuls of rice. This was at a work function and I actually skipped the delicious looking bread, wine and dessert!!!! Glad I didn't have to regret what I ate later.

Fluids - throughout the day I alternated between water and plain green tea.

It can be about both ...

Leisure by W. H. Davies

WHAT is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare?

No time to stand beneath the boughs,

And stare as long as sheep and cows

No time to see, when woods we pass,

Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass

No time to see, in broad daylight,

Streams full of stars, like skies at night

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,

And watch her feet, how they can dance

No time to wait till her mouth can

Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

I had to memorize this poem when I was a child and it has always remained with me. It popped into my head today and I had to look it up to find the poet’s name.

Since the start of my journey with the band I’ve often had to tell myself that it is just that, a journey. Yes, I do have a destination, namely my goal weight but I can also celebrate accomplishments along the way. The irrational part of me wants all the weight off now, but in just less than two months I’ve made good strides. I’ve starting reaching out to some good friends I’d lost touch with, I’m working out again, I’ve surpassed my monthly weight loss goal and I am in generally much better spirits than I was a few months ago when the thought of having to lose over 100 pounds seemed so overwhelming and impossible to me. When I get to my goal, however long it takes, I want to be able to recall all the fun I had along the way.

34!

30 just sort of slipped by, but I'll take 34!  A few weeks ago I was complaining about the fact that the scale had stalled and  in fact seemed to be moving in the wrong direction.  Over the past couple of weeks I have been weighing myself regularly and making mental note of the number (which has been going down). For whatever reason I didn't want to believe it because I thought it would just shoot back up. Weird,  huh? When the number goes up it affects me far more than when it goes down. I realized yesterday that I'm now down 34 pounds and that I've met my second post-op goal!

It's a sunny day here in Toronto and above the freezing mark, yay! I plan to take full advantage of it.  I hope you're all having a great Saturday!

My first fill

I had my first fill last evening and like many others have said, it was very easy. I lifted my shirt,  the fill nurse found my port and injected the saline. I felt it when the needle went it, but it wasn't at all painful just a minor sensation. At my surgery centre they do not  let you know how much of a fill they give you because they have found that people start obsessing about the numbers. I would have liked to know just out of curiousity, but it's not that important to me (some people are up in arms about it). As long as some restriction kicks in, I'll be happy.

After the fill,  I had to sip a cup of water and wait 10 minuites before I could leave. If the water has any problems going down, the nurse is there to adjust the fill right away because if water doesn't go down then food certainly won't.

I'll be on full fluids today, mushies tomorrow and can go back to solids on the 3rd day. I guess I'll know in a few days if this fill has any effect.

The fill nurse also mentioned that there are no weight loss expectations between surgery and the first fill as the body is still healing and there is little to no restriction. Something to keep in mind for those that have been recently banded.