Progress, finally

[Guest guest]

Here I am ending week 2 of Challenge FOUR! I began this challenge at

exactly the same 167 that I began CH 1 last December 2005.... and the

first 8 days had no progress in clothes or the scale, but this week, in

successive days, went 164, 165, 164, 163, 162, and today 161. I am so

psyched! this is how I wanted it to be!! Seeing results. makes me so

psyched!

So what am I doing differently, you ask?

1. WATER: 10 glasses of water at least. I never did that. I used to do

4-6, sometimes 8. The water often has splenda sweetner in it. I drink 3

glasses in the morning, 4 at one time at work, and 3-4 at night.

2. SMALLER PORTIONS: I am eating smaller portions, lighter density

foods. I have been really enjoying fruits. Because I eat every 2.5-3

hours, I don't need to pack in the food to feel full, since I'm USUALLY

not VERY hungry. 150-250 calories, with the protein high... So....

snacks:

chicken, or chicken salad, or roast beef, and a peach or nectarine or 3

apricots.

Fage (protein rich Greek yogurt) and blueberries

lots of fish: Tilapia and steamed zuke, with 1/2 cup organic vegie soup

from carton

1/2 can tuna and fruit

eggwhite omelette seasoned, and 6 microwaved chestnuts

lunch is always BIG salad and 3oz chicken or salmon, with 1/4 can

kidney beans and 3 olives, 1-2T lite italian salad dressing.

I am eating smaller portions: smaller piece of chicken (3oz); less

beans: I divide the kidney beans into 4 portions instead of 3; 1/3C

cottage cheese instead of 1/2 cup. I eat 3 olives instead of 6. If it

is 11pm, and it is time for my 6th meal, but I'm not hungry, I eat 2 T

of cottage cheese. I am not eating sugar, white flour, processed carbs,

and really hardly any grain. My carbs are fruit, chestnuts, red kidney

beans, yogurt, occasionally steel-cut oats. But I think WHAT HAS

CHANGED THE MOST is the WATER, and the LIGHTER DENSITY CARBS. I don't

feel week or malnourished. I'm still not usually VERY hungry at meal

time.

3. CALORIE CYCLING: eating one day about 1700 cal, " free day " not more

than 2000 cal, and the rest of the time about 1300 cal instead of

1400-1500 cal previously.

4. Lots of EXERCISE: the prescribed BFL, plus Sat and Sun Jazzercise,

plus 1 or 2 extra 20 min cardios, plus occasional sports:

rollerblading, pilates

5. Eating more if I am REALLY hungry, but eating less if I am not

really hungry. If I am really hungry I will eat the full 6 meals, and

maybe a bit more fat like almonds.

6. RELAXING about it.

I think the lighter density foods (carbs: peaches, straw and

blueberries, vegie soup instead of the dense carbs) are really helping.

I just think, as an endomorph, and at 60, my body really holds on to

its weight. I would be a great survivor! BFL is great, BFL is more than

great: I LOVE this eating style, finally not WeightWatcher counting

points too much (I actually still do count my pts becaause I wasn't

losing for so long on BFL, but since the meals are planned ahead,

there's no real tension aobut a 600 calorie meal, since it just doesn't

happen.... anyway, as an endomorph, and at 60, BFL is great, I just

think that sometimes a stalled weight loss could mean one is still

eating too many calories. AND if I reduce my calories by 100, then if

there is a 50 cal taste of something during the day, a cheat, it may

not hinder the results, since there's some calories to spare. I was

really feeling so guilty that I never really ate " clean " ... if I had 3

extra almonds during the day, it would be a killed day. That wasn't

working for my particular personality, because I always look at what I

did wrong, instead of being proud of the 95% I did right. the 100%

clean was just a killer for me.

for example, there was baklava in the work kitchen this week. I had a

1/2 " square. I made it part of the carb I counted for my afternoon

snack, okay, 50-100 calories higher snack. But when I was pulled to

have another square, pulled physically 3 times and 3 times resisted, to

me that's such a success, that I don't want to berate myself for the 1

tiny taste, but rather just roll it into the carb for that meal.

Wish me luck! my goal for Sept 30 is 159 and today I was at 161, so I

may make this goal

typical day:

WATER

4 egg white omelette and 6 microwaved Trader Joe's frozen chestnuts; or

tuna salad on flaxbread

3 slices roast beef and a peach

EXERCISE

4C LARGE salad, 3 olives, chicken, 1/4 can beans WATER

tilapia, zuke, tomato soup, with ff plain yogurt, blueberries, splenda

(a lot, but very non-dense)

tuna steak, steamed vegie, small salad

maybe: 1/3 C fat free cottage cheese, 1/2 C ff plain yogurt, 1T cocoa

powder, 1/4oz walnuts

WATER

- Etana